Two countervailing propositions about the developmental state both have force in an era of climate change. Its weaknesses have failed to address deep inequalities that now structure social vulnerability to climate shocks; and its excesses have created a cascade of new environmental risks. Drawing on the Indian experience—and looking beyond India to the wider region—Sunil Amrith’s Radhakrishnan lectures reflect on how the problem of postcolonial freedom became inextricable from a broader crisis of habitability. It concludes by examining paths to environmental justice within and beyond the state.