Ghazala Shahabuddin

Interview Summary (00:00:40) Early years, school life and developing an interest in nature Ghazala Shahabuddin shares that she was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Her father was a diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service and her mother was a homemaker. They moved to India in 1975 and her father became a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. She says she has five siblings. She talks about being in Delhi till her post graduate studies, for which she went to Pondicherry University. Her earliest memories are of Algeria- a...

Interview Summary (00:01:09) Place of religion/faith in Shahabuddin’s life and three major influences on her work Ghazala Shahabuddin shares that she comes from a conservative Muslim family in North India, but she rebelled against the restrictive nature of the religion. While religion was not a significant part of her life before, she feels the need to revisit it now as she believes the Quran is a progressive document with many valuable lessons, and she wants to understand it better. She cites three major...

Interview Summary (00:01:12) Council for Social Development, the Sariska project and interactions with colleagues and collaborators Ghazala Shahabuddin talks about facing difficulty in finding a teaching position upon her return to Delhi. Despite being qualified, she did not get the assistant professorship she applied for. Instead, she decided to freelance and continue her research. She then came across an opening in the Council for Social Development, which was starting an environment department and wanted a...

Interview Summary (00:01:24) Conservation worldview With reference to her conservation worldview, Ghazala Shahabuddin shares that it has remained largely the same since her involvement in various campaigns and projects since high school, but she now realises the complexity of conservation and the need for a wider framework of understanding, including social and government policies. She emphasises the importance of working with people and communities to bring about change locally, but also recognises the...