A Study of the Role of Hinduism on Agriculture in Relation to Climate Change: The Case of India

Abstract

India is the seventh-largest country by area and the second-most populous one. This vast country is home to most of the world’s Hindus with Hinduism to be the largest religion there (80% of the population). Agriculture is the main activity in the rural areas of India, contributing a significant figure to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. However, climate change seems to have become a harsh reality with increasingly negative consequences to agriculture and quality of life, in general. Throughout the ages the impact of Hinduism on the agriculture in India seems to be considerable. The purpose of the present study is to discuss the aforementioned impact on agriculture in the Indian subcontinent taking into consideration climate change. Appropriate research and review articles from reputed publication houses and other trustworthy sources were scrutinized and included in our study. Results showed that Hinduism is definitely connected with some traditional agricultural practices generally accepted and applied by the population in India. This connection may play a crucial role to achieve sustainable farming and life quality improvement for the farmers, and not only, in the Indian subcontinent, weighing and mitigating the negative consequences of climate change.