Chipko movement

1. Chipko Movement An important People’s Movement

2. “Embrace the trees and  Save them from being felled;  The property of our hills,  Save them from being looted .” Ghanasyam Raturi , A Chipko poet

3. Introduction Started in1970s Non-violent movement of organised resistance to cutting down of trees. Indian villagers fighting to protect forests First Chipko Movement- April 1973

4. Why chipko movement? The forests of India are a critical resource for the livelihood of rural peoples throughout the country. These forests have been increasingly felled for commerce and industry. If the Himalayas are not saved all of India will be turned in to a desert, Fodder will not be available. There will be Soil Erosion and land slides. The Chipko movement was started to prevent the cutting of trees. Chipko Movement aimed at protection and conservation of trees and forests from being destroyed.

5. When it all started… In the 18 th Century. Amrita Devi of Bishnoi Community in rajasthan Group of eighty-four later grew to a few hundreds. Resisted the orders of cutting down of trees by Maharaja of Jodhpur Laid down lives of 263 villagers for a noble cause. Mharaja later realized his blunder and declared that no one should ever cut trees in that village of rajasthan

6. What is “ Chipko ” Movement? The name of the movement comes from the word 'embrace', as the villagers hugged the trees, and prevented the contractors' from felling them . In the 1970s, an organized resistance to the destruction of forests spread throughout India and came to be known as the Chipko movement. The name of the movement comes from the word 'embrace', as the villagers hugged the trees, and prevented the contractors' from felling them.

7. The April 1973 Chipko Movement The first Chipko action took place spontaneously in April 1973 in the village of Mandal in the upper Alakananda valley and over the next five years spread to many districts of the Himalayas in Uttar Pradesh. It was sparked off by the government's decision to allot a plot of forest area in the Alaknanda valley to a sports goods company. This angered the villagers because their similar demand to use wood for making agricultural tools had been earlier denied. With encouragement from a local NGO, DGSS ( Dasoli Gram Swarajya Sangh ), the women of the area, under the leadership of an activist, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, went into the forest and formed a circle around the trees preventing the men from cutting them down.

8. Some Major leaders of Chipko Movement Chandi Prasad Bhatt: A leader within the Chipko movement. Bhatt’s teachings focus on the protection of the Himalayan Mountains from deforestation. Organized rallies to protect the forest from mass destruction.

9. Sunderlal Bahuguna Gandhian Activist, philosopher Appealed to Indira Gandhi (the then PM of India); result: Green felling ban 5,000 kilometre trans-Himalaya footmarch in 1981-83 to spread the Chipko message.

10. M ajor victory in 1980 with a 15-year ban on green falling in the Himalayan forests of that state by the order of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. Ban on cutting the trees for the 15 years in the forests of Uttar Pradesh in 1980. By 1981, over a million trees had been planted through their efforts It generated pressure for a natural resource policy which is more sensitive to people's needs and ecological requirements. New methods of forest farming have been developed, both to conserve the forests and create employment. The Chipko is still working to protect the trees today through the same nonviolent methods. Outcome of chipko movement

11. Quotes. “What do the forests bear? Soil, water and pure air.” - Dhoom Singh Negi , Bachni Devi and many other village women, were the first to save trees by hugging them. “Ecology is permanent economy” - Sunderlal Bahuguna "The solution of present-day problems lie in the re-establishment of a harmonious relationship between man and nature. To keep this relationship permanent we will have to digest the definition of real development: development is synonymous with culture. When we sublimate nature in a way that we achieve peace, happiness, prosperity and, ultimately, fulfilment along with satisfying our basic needs, we march towards culture .“ - Sunderlal Bahuguna

12. Thank you A presentation by Arundathi Belur Vidhi Tandon Saurav Kishor Neelanjana Acharya