Rethinking Gandhian Concept of Sustainable Development in the context of Responsible Tourism

Abstract

Mahatma Gandhi underlined the concept of ‘Sustainability’ as the course of life for the present and the future.  He observed that human body requires three kinds of nourishments namely, air, water and food. Nature provides these three components and, hence mankind fully depends on nature for its existence.  It is high time to think of   preserving the nature and its environment as its degradation and the subsequent climate change have raised serious challenges/threats to the existence of life on earth. Steadily constructing a discourse on sustainability and properly conceiving the developmental paradigms are the need of the hour. Gandhian concepts and ideals have contributed to the broader discourse on sustainable development with special emphasis on environment. Most of the developmental activities in one way or the other, affect nature.  The much celebrated Eco-Tourism is one such developmental activity introduced in Kerala with the goal of ensuring environmental sustainability. The paper explores the prospects of Ecotourism in Kerala within the Gandhian concept of sustainable development.