Environmental

movements in India
JONAYED ROUSAN MANDAL
BED172062 (2nd Semester)
Environmental movement ENVIRONMENTAL
An environmental movement can be defined as a MOVEMENTS IN INDIA
social or political movement, for the conservation
of environment or for the improvement of the
state of the environment .
Your Logo or Name Here 2
Environmental Movements in India

Bishnoi Movement Chipko Movement Silent Valley Appiko Movement Narmada Bachao
Movement Andolan
This was begun in 400 The Chipko movement of Save Silent Valley was an The Appiko movement The Narmada movement
years ago by a Sage known Uttaranchal is famous for environmental movement was an innovative begun in the late 1970s.
as Sombaji. In Rajasthan, a its tree-hugging campaign intended to protect Silent movement based on this movement was
large number of trees are to resist the tree cutting. It Valley, an evergreen environmental centred on the issue of
still worshiped by devotees. was started by noted tropical forest in the conservation in India. human rights and
People resisted the cutting environmentlist Sunderlal Palakkad district of This Movement focused rehabilitation programmes
of such tree and advocated Bahuguna in 1970 to safe Kerala, India. It was on the issues of forest- for the dam displaced.
movement against guard the rich forest of started through a based environmental
deforestation. western Himalaya Range. hydroelectric project. actions in India. 3
1.Bishnoi Movement

Notes Aim What was it all

about:
Year: 1700s
Aim: Save sacred trees Amrita Devi, a female villager could not bear to witness the destruction of both her
Place: Khejarli, Marwar from being cut down by faith and the village’s sacred trees. She hugged the trees and encouraged others to do
region, Rajasthan state. the king’s soldiers for a the same. 363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in this movement. The Bishnoi tree
new palace. martyrs were influenced by the teachings of Guru Maharaj Jambaji, who founded the
Leaders: Amrita Devi Bishnoi faith in 1485 and set forth principles forbidding harm to trees and animals.
along with Bishnoi The king who came to know about these events rushed to the village and apologized,
villagers in Khejarli and ordering the soldiers to cease logging operations. Soon afterwards, the maharajah
surrounding villages. designated the Bishnoi state as a protected area, forbidding harm to trees and animals.
This legislation still exists today in the region.

4
2. Chipko Movement

Notes Aim What was it all

about:
Year: 1973
Place: In Chamoli district Aim: The main objective Mr. Bahuguna enlightened the villagers by conveying the importance of trees in the
and later at Tehri-Garhwal was to protect the trees on environment which checks the erosion of soil, cause rains and provides pure air. The
district of Uttarakhand. the Himalayan slopes women of Advani village of Tehri-Garhwal tied the sacred thread around trunks of
from the axes of trees and they hugged the trees, hence it was called ‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the
Leaders: Sundarlal contractors of the forest. tree movement’. The main demand of the people in these protests was that the benefits
Bahuguna, Gaura Devi, of the forests (especially the right to fodder) should go to local people. The Chipko
Sudesha Devi, Bachni movement gathered momentum in 1978 when the women faced police firings and
Devi, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, other tortures. The then state Chief Minister, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna set up a
Govind Singh Rawat, committee to look into the matter, which eventually ruled in favor of the villagers.
Dhoom Singh Negi, This became a turning point in the history of eco-development struggles in the region
Shamsher Singh Bisht and and around the world.
Ghanasyam Raturi. 5
3. Save Silent Valley Movement

Notes Aim What was it all

about:
Year: 1978 The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) proposed a hydroelectric dam across the
Aim: In order to protect
Place: Silent Valley, an the Silent Valley, the Kunthipuzha River that runs through Silent Valley. In February 1973, the Planning
evergreen tropical forest moist evergreen forest Commission approved the project at a cost of about Rs 25 crores. Many feared that the
in the Palakkad district of from being destroyed by a project would submerge 8.3 sq km of untouched moist evergreen forest. Several
Kerala, India. hydroelectric project. NGOs strongly opposed the project and urged the government to abandon it. In
January 1981, bowing to unrelenting public pressure, Indira Gandhi declared that
Leaders: The Kerala . Silent Valley will be protected. In June 1983 the Center re-examined the issue through
Sastra Sahitya Parishad a commission chaired by Prof. M.G.K. Menon. In November 1983 the Silent Valley
(KSSP) an NGO, and the Hydroelectric Project was called off. In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi formally
poet-activist inaugurated the Silent Valley National Park.
Sughathakumari played
an important role in the 6
Silent Valley protests.
4. Appiko Movement

Notes Aim What was it all

Year: 1983
about:
Place: Uttara Kannada and Aim: Against the felling It can be said that Appiko movement is the southern version of the Chipko movement.
Shimoga districts of and commercialization of The Appiko Movement was locally known as “Appiko Chaluvali”. The locals
Karnataka State natural forest and the ruin embraced the trees which were to be cut by contractors of the forest department. The
of ancient livelihood. Appiko movement used various techniques to raise awareness such as foot marches in
Leaders: Appiko’s greatest the interior forest, slide shows, folk dances, street plays etc. The second area of the
strengths lie in it being movement’s work was to promote afforestation on denuded lands. The movement later
neither driven by a focused on the rational use of ecosphere through introducing alternative energy
personality nor having been resourceto reducece pressure on the forest. The movement became a success. The
formally institutionalised. current status of the project is – stopped.
However, it does have a
facilitator in Pandurang
Hegde. He helped launch 7
the movement in 1983.
5. Narmada Bachao Andholan (NBA)

Notes Aim What was it all

Year: 1985
about:
The movement first started as a protest for not providing proper rehabilitation and
Place: Narmada River, Aim: A social movement resettlement for the people who have been displaced by the construction of Sardar
which flows through the against a number of large Sarovar Dam. Later on, the movement turned its focus on the preservation of the
states of Gujarat, Madhya dams being built across environment and the eco-systems of the valley. Activists also demanded the height of
Pradesh and Maharashtra. the Narmada River. the dam to be reduced to 88 m from the proposed height of 130m. World Bank
withdrew from the project.
Leaders: Medha Patker,
Baba Amte, adivasis, The environmental issue was taken into court. In October 2000, the Supreme Court
farmers, gave a judgment approving the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam with a
environmentalists and condition that height of the dam could be raised to 90 m. This height is much higher
human rights activists. than the 88 m which anti-dam activists demanded, but it is definitely lower than the
proposed height of 130 m. The project is now largely financed by the state
governments and market borrowings. The project is expected to be fully completed 8 by
2025.

Summary
Environmental Movements in India
• The environmental movement also including
conservation and green politics, is a dissimilar
scientific, social, and political movement to address
environmental issues. Environmental movement is a
type of "social movement that involves an array of
persons, groups and coalitions that observe a
common interest in environmental protection and act
to bring about changes in environmental policies and
practices" (Tong, Yanki 2005).
• The environmental movements favour
the sustainable management of natural resources.
The movements often stress the protection of the
environment via changes in public policy. Many
movements are centred on ecology, health and
human rights.
• Environmental movements range from the highly
organized and formally institutionalized ones to the
radically informal activities.
• The spatial scope of various environmental
movements ranges from being local to the almost
global.
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Thank You
Jonayed Rousan Mandal
+91 8100001865
jonayedrousan505@gmail.com
Aliah.ac.in (Dept. Of Education)