The Dialectical History of "Jungle" in Pakistan: An Examination of the Relationship between Nature and Culture
Year: 1992
Type: article
Abstract: The term jangal in contemporary Pakistan refers to "forest." Its etymological antecedent, the Sanskrit term jangala, referred to "savanna." Francis Zimmermann argues that the change in meaning is a historical "misunderstanding." It is argued here, on the contrary, that the change in meaning accurately reflects a fundamental, historical alteration of relations between culture and nature. The economy of the early pastoral societies of this part of the subcontinent was based on transforming the region's natural thorn forest into an anthropogenic savanna. During the succeeding millennia, as the result of intensification of land-use patterns in response to demographic and political pressures, the culturally desirable jangala "savanna" became transformed into the culturally undesirable jangal "forest waste." This transformation in both physical environment and cultural values was the product of a dialectical relationship between nature and culture. For reasons of self-interest, state governments have a history of obfuscating and not recognizing this relationship.
Author: Michael R. Dove
Institution: Yale University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W261710558