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For long, India has mirrored the top-down development approach of the West. In this special interview, environmentalist and thinker Ashish Kothari talks about why that needs to radically change through imbibing the ideas of ‘Eco Swaraj’ – a common theme among many grassroots environmental movements in the country that are re-defining their relationship with the environment. “You build in the notion of Swaraj, which is a deeply political and economic concept of independence and autonomy, but also a responsibility to the rest of nature,” says Kothari.