In 1970, a devastating flood in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh made villagers awaken to the dangers caused by logging. The Chipko movement was started as an initiative to protect the trees from those who o were c e cutting th them down. The word Chipko means "hugging". The first protest happened in the Mandal village (now in Uttarakhand) in 1973. Heeding the calls by activists, men and women of the village embraced the trees to protect them from loggers.
The world-famous Chipko movement had stood as a pillar for the rise of other non-violent protests around the world. It created a precedent for starting nonviolent protests across India. However, it was the Gandhian activist Sunderlal Bahuguna, the man with a simple smile, who gave the movement ca proper direction. Its success meant that the world immediately took notice of this non-violent movement. The Chipko movement has inspired many similar eco-groups to slow
down rapid deforestation, to expose vested interests, to increase social awareness regarding the need to save trees, to increase ecological awareness, and to demonstrate the viability of people's power. Sunderlal Bahuguna coined the famous slogan. of Chipko movement, "Ecology is permanent economy".
Bahuguna was one of the early environmentalists of India. Later he and others associated with the Chipko movement turned their attention towards other environmental issues. They mey opposed the construction of Tehri Dam. Bahuguna adopted Gandhian principles in his life. He married his wife Vimla after she agreed to live among rural people and build ashram in the village. Inspired an ashra by Gandhi, he walked through Himalayan forests and hills. He travelled more than 4,700 kilometres on foot and observed the damage done by mega developmental projects on the fragile eco-system of the Himalayas and consequent degradation of social life in villages. The famous Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalization author Dr Vandana Shiva said about Sunderlal Bahuguna that:
"Bahuguna taught our generation that nature's economy is the real economy which supports all economies, which also includes the market economy".
"We are doing violence towards the earth, towards nature. We have become butchers of nature". Bahuguna used these words to express his deep sadness and frustration towards those who have no concern about the future of nature. His words mean that we have become the butchers of nature by destroying the balance of nature through mega developmental projects like the Tehri dam.
Today many Environmentalists and Climate Change Activists organize non-violent protests which are ignited from schools and colleges around the world snapping a selfie. especially Greta Thunberg the Swedish Climate Change Activists who is currently engaged on protests against Climate change . In recent years, many countries have decided to conserve trees and protect their wildlife. Notably, the Norway Government has decided that they will no longer award any deforestation contracts. News like these remind the citizens of the world about the importance of conserving trees. We can also say that the conservation of forest is the solution for a stabilized global climate.
As per the available data, about 1,12,169 trees were cut down from 2010 to 2018, which means that 24 trees were cut down per day. Meanwhile, the total tropical forest area in India fell by 0.38
per cent. These observations have been made by the Global Forest Watch, a worldwide platform that monitors forests and provides information on changing patterns globally as part of the World Resources Institute. The new report comes on the heels of the Centre's recent response in Parliament stating that India's forest cover is continuously increasing, and it has reached 24.56 per cent of the geographical area of the country. These data are recorded in a sovereign republic, also known as the world's largest democratic country with a 1205.6 Million population. In that, about 229.0 Million are youth between the ages of 15- 35, people who can take a major step in their life to conserve trees. We must remember that we live in a country with great cultures and traditions that teach respect towards nature. Instead we ignore our responsibilities, and limit our environmental obligations to a single day, i.e. "WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY", by just
The theme for the 2021 World Conservation Day is "Ecosystem Restoration". It means assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed, as well as conserving the ecosystems that are still intact. Young people must come out of their comfort zones, and they must play their part as fellow beings of the Earth. The First to the Third World countries are spending trillions of their revenue for the destruction of human life and not for Nature Conservation. We see many political dramas where the politicians visiting sites, but not taking necessary actions against the loggers and flee away from their responsibilities. They convince the villagers and the protesters
with fake promises. In reality, the politicians support the loggers - the tree butchers - in the name of "DEVELOPMENT". For creating a new world we need "CREATIVE HEAD, COMPASSIONATE HEART, and CONSTRUCTIVE HAND".
Expert's say that the pandemic is the result of ignorance that we had in conserving our natural flora and fauna. It's heart-breaking that the greenery of our world is vanishing day by day. We have to realize that the landslides, flash floods, wildfires, which are occurring in the world are the result of our arrogance and ignorance of nature .We have to change our ignorance towards the nature and start to love our fellow beings, and nature equally.
Bahuguna is an exemplary role model who devoted his entire life for the resurrection of our dying earth. So, let us follow Bahuguna the true environmentalist and let us become the real tree hugger's of this time for our future generations.
[Reference Source's: Global Forest Watch Report 2019, Vandana Shiva's "The Week" Interview 2021]
You must be logged in to post a comment.