UNIT-5

Chipko movement:-

Chipko movement, also called Chipko andolan, nonviolent social and

ecological movement by rural villagers, particularly women, in India
in the 1970s, aimed at protecting trees and forests slated for
government-backed logging.

The movement originated in the Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh

(later Uttarakhand) in 1973 and quickly spread throughout the
Indian Himalayas. The Hindi word chipko means “to hug” or “to cling
to” and reflects the demonstrators’ primary tactic of embracing the
trees to impede the loggers.

.The Movement

In 1964 environmentalist and Gandhian social activist Chandi

Prasad Bhatt founded a cooperative organization, Dasholi Gram
Swarajya Sangh (later renamed Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal
[DGSM]), to foster small industries for rural villagers, using local
resources.

When industrial logging was linked to the severe monsoon floods

that killed more than 200 people in the region in 1970, DGSM
became a force of opposition against the large-scale industry.

The first Chipko protest occurred near the village of Mandal in the
upper Alaknanda valley in April 1973. The villagers, having been
denied access to a small number of trees with which to build
agricultural tools, were outraged when the government allotted a
much larger plot to a sporting goods manufacturer.

When their appeals were denied, Chandi Prasad Bhatt led villagers
into the forest and embraced the trees to prevent logging. After
many days of those protests, the government canceled the
company’s logging permit and granted the original allotment
requested by DGSM.
Inspired by Gandhian principles of nonviolence, Chipko protesters
embracing a tree to prevent its felling in rural India.

With the success in Mandal, DGSM workers and Sunderlal

Bahuguna, a local environmentalist, began to share Chipko’s tactics
with people in other villages throughout the region.

One of the next major protests occurred in 1974 near the village of
Reni, where more than 2,000 trees were scheduled to be felled.

Following a large student-led demonstration, the government

summoned the men of the surrounding villages to a nearby city for
compensation, ostensibly to allow the loggers to proceed without
confrontation.

However, they were met with the women of the village, led by
Gaura Devi, who refused to move out of the forest and eventually
forced the loggers to withdraw.

APPIKO MOVEMENT

The Appiko Movement was an Indian environmental movement that began in the Uttara Kannada
district of Karnataka in the Western Ghats in 1983.

The Appiko movement was a southern version of the Chipko movement, which began in the
Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand (then part of Uttar Pradesh) in 1973.
 In September 1983 (after ten years of the Chipko Movement), Salkani men, women, and
children "hugged the trees" to save the Kalase forest in Karnataka.

Under the direction of environmentalist Panduranga Hegde, this movement was known as
the Appiko.

They forced the state forest department's fellers and contractors to stop cutting trees.

In Kannada, "hugging" is referred to as "appiko"; the movement is locally known as Appiko

Chaluvali or Chalewali.

The appiko andolan raised awareness among villagers throughout the Western Ghats about
the ecological threat posed by commercial and industrial interests to their forest, which
served as their primary source of sustenance.

Silent Valley Movement?

The Silent valley is an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. The Silent
Valley Movement was an environmental movement against the state to protect the Silent valley.
It was a landmark environmental movement that began in 1973. The protest was in response to
the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam across the Kunthipuzha River. The river ran
through the Silent Valley, a region of dense tropical forest home to a diverse range of flora and
fauna.

The Silent Valley Movement was a social movement in Kerala, India. It opposed the construction
of a hydroelectric power project in the Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest. The movement
was successful in preventing the construction of the project. The Silent Valley was declared a
national park in 1985.

History of the Silent Valley Movement

The Silent Valley project was a popular social and environmental campaign that began in the
1970s to protest against the proposed hydroelectric project in the Silent Valley area of Kerala,
India. The movement was primarily led by environmentalists, scientists, and local people
concerned about the destruction of the unique ecosystem and the displacement of the
indigenous communities living in the area.

Participants of the Silent Valley Movement

Here are some of the participants of the Silent Valley Movement:

o Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP): A science and social welfare organization. It was
instrumental in raising awareness of the issue. It mobilized support for the movement.
o Silent Valley Samrakshana Samithi (SVSS): A local organization. It was formed to
oppose the construction of the project.
 o Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI): A government research institute. It conducted
studies on the Silent Valley. It concluded that the project would have a devastating
impact on the forest.
o World Wildlife Fund (WWF): An international conservation organization. It supported
the movement and provided financial help.
o Salim Ali: A renowned ornithologist who was a vocal critic of the project.
o Madhav Gadgil: A scientist and ecologist who played a key role in the movement.
o Sugathakumari: A poet and environmental activist. She wrote a poem called "Marathinu
Stuthi" ("Ode to a Tree") that became a rallying cry for the movement.

Narmada Bachao Andolan

The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) was a mass movement that began in 1985 to protest
against the lack of an appropriate resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) policy for the more
than 250,000 people who faced submergence during the construction of big dams along the
Narmada river. Originally named Narmada Dharangrast Samiti or Committee for Narmada
Dam-affected people, the movement was renamed NBA in 1989.

he Narmada Valley project was conceived in 1946, but work on it started only in 1978 after
the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) gave its final orders including plans for
R&R. The plan was to build 30 large dams, 135 medium dams, and 3,000 small dams along
1,312 km of the Narmada from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat. Except for the Sardar Sarovar,
all the dams were in Madhya Pradesh. Its 138.68-metre-high wall would submerge 38,000
hectares of land, and displace 244 villages and 250,000 people.

In 1985, the dam faced its first legal challenge when 35-year-old Medha Patkar petitioned
the Supreme Court against the project, citing poor R&R. The court stayed work but vacated
it in 1998 on condition that permission would be granted after a review of the affected areas.

In 2000, the court allowed construction on condition of supervised R&R. By 2004 it stood at
110.64 metres and by 2006 it had permission to rise to 121.92 metres.

Patekar’s legal battle continued because the R&R regulations were being violated.
Regulations say people should be resettled six months prior to submergence. The NWDT
also said that no area should be submerged until all payments were made. Both these
fundamental rules were betrayed.

Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, and 17 days later, he granted permission to
raise the Sardar Sarovar to its full height and install sluice gates at the top.

Modi dedicated the dam in September 2018. This, while about 21,000 families awaited
R&R.

Dam supporters see its construction as their victory, but the NBA too has had many
successes along the way. The organisation’s biggest triumph was in 1993, when the World
Bank withdrew its Narmada loan and also published an independent review of the project.
Patkar’s strengths lay in mobilising and educating the oustees, attracting a group of
committed activists, strategising plans of action, and interacting with people across the board
from district collectors to international leaders.

The Andolan brought the national spotlight on environmental and rehabilitation issues
raised by big dam projects, raising awareness of tribal and underprivileged people most
affected by such projects.

Bishnoi Movement: History, Objectives, Bishnois of Rajasthan

Movement-
The Bishnoi Movement began 260 years ago in Rajasthan in the early 18th century
by the community of Bishnois of Rajasthan.

A significant number of people from 84 villages, headed by a woman named Amrita

Devi, sacrificed their lives to prevent the trees from being cut down by instructions of
the Maharaja of Jodhpur.

The Bishnoi movement has historically been an expressive and powerful

representation of ecological philosophy in Rajasthan. The Bishnoi sect was a
religious organization in India founded in 1485 by Guru Jambeshwar Ji Maharaj. It
originates in Rajasthan, India.
The Bishnois are a religious sect from India that is strongly committed to protecting
the environment, including animals. The group was established in 1485 AD and had
29 tenets, also referred to as the 29 principles as well as commandments that Guru
Jambeshwar had taught. Livestock and agriculture are the two main pillars of the
Bishnoi community subsistence economy.

Objectives of the Bishnoi Movement

There were four main objectives of the Bishnoi movement, which are as follows:

 To protect the region’s biodiversity by guaranteeing a healthy, eco-friendly

social life for the community.
 To encourage proper personal cleanliness, fundamental health, and
responsible social engagement.
 Another objective of the Bishnoi movement is to campaign against the
removal of such trees and support anti-deforestation movements.
 To protect biological variety and promote responsible animal husbandry.