Radical Ecological Democracy (RED) is an independent knowledge, media and learning platform for ecological democracy, just transformations and alternative futures. Rooted in India and internationalist in its origins, RED brings together grounded stories, critical ideas, public conversations and collaborative initiatives from across the Global South and beyond. RED was initiated by the India-based Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group, which has been at the forefront of struggles for environmental justice and sustainability in India for nearly five decades. It is now stewarded by an independent collective and continues to grow as a space for exploring, documenting and debating transformative alternatives.
The RED platform and web journal welcome contributions from grassroots activists, community practitioners, academics, thinkers, organisers, artists, journalists and others who are imagining, developing and practising socially just and ecologically grounded futures. To propose an article, conversation or collaboration, please contact the RED curator.
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Meet Our Team
Nehla Salil
Nehla Salil is a writer, editorial strategist and communications practitioner working across ecology, labour, pastoralism, place and public storytelling. She is the Curator and Programme Coordinator of Radical Ecological Democracy (RED), where she works across editorial development, publishing, communications and the wider evolution of the platform.
She has previously worked as Communications Manager at Sahjeevan, Communications Associate at the Centre for Pastoralism, and Climate Storyteller with Equilibrium Earth. Her work has included writing, editing, communications, newsletters, website content and coordination around ecological and social issues.
Nehla has published writing on ecology, labour and place in The New Indian Express, Maktoob, Springtide and TIEEDI, including long-form work on waste workers in Kurseong. Alongside writing and editing, she has a practice in photography and illustration, with a particular interest in the relationship between landscape, culture and everyday life. She holds a BA in Humanities (Sociology) from Manipal University and a Diploma in Photography from SACAC, Delhi. Originally from Kerala, she is currently based in Bengaluru.
Madhuresh Kumar
Madhuresh Kumar is a social and climate justice practitioner, and movement organiser with more than two decades of experience working with social movements, civil society organisations and networks in India and internationally. He is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the London School of Economics and a Resistance Studies Fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
He has been associated with the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (GTA), World Social Forum processes and a range of struggles and networks working on climate justice, economic justice, democratic rights and alternatives to dominant development models. His work has involved movement building, international solidarity, fossil fuel phase-out and just transition, as well as efforts to connect local struggles with wider debates on systemic transformation.
Madhuresh has written and edited on social movements, multilateralism, cultural resistance, democracy, climate politics and alternative futures. He is particularly interested in how a new generation of organisations, activists and knowledge producers can be nurtured – grounded in the idea of a pluriverse, democratic and non-violent resistance, collective self-determination, social justice and the possibility of many different ways of living well. These days, he spends much of his time learning from past and emerging practices, movements and experiments that may help illuminate such futures.
Ashish Kothari
A founder and former member of Kalpavriksh, Ashish Kothari has been involved for several decades with people’s movements, environmental struggles and initiatives exploring alternatives to dominant development models. He taught at the Indian Institute of Public Administration; coordinated India’s National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan; served on the boards of Greenpeace International and Greenpeace India and the ICCA Consortium; and has served as a judge on the International Tribunal on Rights of Nature.
Ashish is the co-founder of Vikalp Sangam, Global Tapestry of Alternatives and Radical Ecological Democracy. His work has focused on biodiversity, community conservation, ecological democracy, commons, localisation, radical alternatives and the relationships between social justice, ecological sustainability and self-determination.
He has written and edited extensively on these themes and is the co-author and co-editor of several books, including Churning the Earth, Alternative Futures and Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary. Much of his recent work has centred on connecting grounded alternatives across regions and supporting dialogue between movements, communities and networks seeking more just, democratic and ecologically rooted futures.
Pooja Kishinani
Pooja Kishinani is a researcher, program coordinator, and network-weaver. She has five years of experience working across climate campaigns and communications, policy, research, and project coordination. She is currently working with The Emergence Network and is pursuing a Masters in Political Ecology, Degrowth, and Environmental Justice from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
She has previously worked with Kalpavriksh, Vikalp Sangam, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the RSPB England, and Manchester Centre for Youth Studies on projects exploring the intersection of climate, economic, and social justice and nurturing post-capitalist alternatives. She was editor and curator of Radical Ecological Democracy from April 2024 to September 2026, and continues to support the website as part of the editorial team.
Pooja lives and breathes stories, and can almost always be found at her local library immersed in the wor(l)ds of Ursula K Le Guin or scribbling away in her notebook.
Shrikanth Aithala
Shrikanth Aithala is a seasoned entrepreneur having founded and participated in many startups. He has knowledge of diverse sectors from solar energy and automobiles to ecommerce and cloud computing. He helps in keeping this website oiled and functioning.