Judgement

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J:- We grant special leave and proceed to dispose of the appeal.

2. A hundred and thirty-two years ago, in 1854, the wise Indian Chief of Seattle replied to the offer of the great White Chief in Washington to buy their land. The reply is profound. It is beautiful. It is timeless. It contains the wisdom of the ages. It is the first ever and the most understanding statement on environment. It is worth quoting. To abridge it or to quote extracts from it is to destroy its beauty. You cannot scratch a painting and not diminish its beauty. We will quote the whole of it :

*"How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land! The idea is strange to us.

* Reproduced verbatim from Pariyavaran Vol. I No. 1, June 1984.

"If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

"Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.

"the white mans dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk