From The Marginlands
In From The Marginlands, we -- Prem Panicker and Arati Kumar Rao-- explore storytelling and making sense of the elemental connections between us and the world around us. We converse with carefully curated guests on the art of telling stories about the environment and on climate change as it manifests around the world.
From The Marginlands
So What Is Going On In Great Nicobar?
This conversation delves into the Great Nicobar Project, a massive infrastructure initiative at the southern end of the Nicobar Islands, focusing on its economic viability, ecological impact, and the implications for indigenous communities. Pankaj Sekhsaria and M Rajshekhar break down and analyze the project, which includes a transshipment terminal, airport, and township, raises significant concerns regarding ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA0teTB0msU for detailed Show notes
Pankaj Sekhsaria: https://www.instagram.com/pankajsekhsaria/
Pankaj Sekhsaria: https://x.com/pankajsekh
M Rajshekhar: https://x.com/mrajshekhar
Overview of the Great Nicobar project:
The Great Nicobar Betrayal (curated essays by Pankaj Sekhsaria), the foundational book on the subject: https://www.amazon.in/Nicobar-Betrayal-Paperback-Pankaj-Sekhsaria/dp/9393875863/
and TR Shankar Raman's extensive review for Mongabay: https://india.mongabay.com/2024/08/book-review-chronicle-of-an-ecocide-foretold/
The Great Nicobar project: A costly miscalculation? by M Rajshekhar for Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/great-nicobar-project-campbell-bay-transshipment-terminal-galathea-bay-infrastructure-project/article69159231.ece and
Frontline issue dedicated to the Great Nicobar Project: https://frontline.thehindu.com/current-issue/article69207368.ece
India’s plans to ‘develop’ Great Nicobar island threatens its unique wildlife and indigenous peoples, by Sohel Sarkar: https://therevelator.org/great-nicobar-island/
Let's talk about the Great Nicobar Project, a Frontline podcast featuring Pankaj Sekhsaria and M Rajshekhar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJjplULyl1c
Pankaj Sekhsaria on India's Great Nicobar misadventure for Himal Southasian (video): https://youtu.be/Z5MDOZB_VTw?si=FRbA-8W69uoo2jRK
Great Nicobar project could destroy the island, by M Rajshekhar for Time magazine: https://time.com/7316182/modi-destroy-great-nicobar-island/
The crisis of Great Nicobar, a video feature: https://youtu.be/9BEEjI6dkVs?si=VxyRnM6VhThjjKnn
Great Nicobar Island Development Project — Wikipedia entry for basic facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Nicobar_Island_Development_Project
Economics of the project
Great Nicobar port clears paperwork, but will money follow? by M Rajshekhar for Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/great-nicobar-port-clears-paperwork-but-will-money-follow/articleshow/120213450.cms
In Nicobar, ecology loses out, but who receives a windfall?, by Pankaj Sekhsaria, Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/in-nicobar-ecology-loses-out-but-who-receives-a-windfall-101741700135419.html
Great Nicobar gamble, risk it? by M Rajshekhar in the Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2025/apr/12/satet-edit/great-nicobar-gamble-risk-it/articleshow/120217586.cms
Environmental / Social / Ecological Costs
Great Nicobar: Greenwashing a catastrophe, by T R Shankar Raman and Rohan Arthur: https://shankarraman.in/2025/05/22/great-nicobar-greenwashing-a-catastrophe/
The human cost of misgovernance in the Andamans by M Rajshekhar for The News Minute: https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/tnm-investigation-the-human-cost-of-misgovernance-in-the-andamans
On the biodiversity trail in Great Nicobar by M Rajshekhar: https://mrajshekhar.in/2025/02/13/pain-and-rapture-in-great-nicobar/
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