ABSTRACT
A profile of the state of Uttarakhand is provided and its relationship with the rest of India is discussed. Details about the people and the importance of mythological beliefs about causes of emergencies is explored. Social, gender, economic and rural/urban stratifications are outlined as they relate to emergencies and their associated power relationships. The four imbalances of transcultural, transdisciplinary, transformative and transpersonal are analyzed in the context of all the divides in Indian society highlighting India’s complex social landscape. The conflict between the ancient and the modern is a running theme as well as its potential for creating resilience through reinvention of the past.
Environment degradation of the fragile Himalayan Region as the entry point for community learning about emergency preparedness and its relationship to the religious beliefs of the region is explored. The potential of ancestral knowledge about disaster prevention as an important contributor to community education on emergency preparedness is introduced in this chapter.
Uttarakhand’s power dynamics, history, religious beliefs and modern social realities are examined through the lens of the Integral Worlds Approach and the Transformational Topography, providing an excellent framework for understanding the social relationships both inside the region and between Uttarakhand and the outer world.
