Environmental Movement

Introduction

Environmental movements are social or political movements aiming to protect the environment from degradation. This can include protecting biodiversity or saving trees from being logged. India has witnessed some major environmental movements that date back to the 1700s. Even in the present era, some environmental movements are in place.

Environmental movements play a very critical role in conserving the environment. They are usually performed by general people who seek to protect and save their livelihoods from the threat of getting the environment degraded. Here are some of the significant environmental movements of India.

Significant Environmental Movements in India

Here are some of the most significant environmental movements in India from 1700 to the 2000s periods.

Bishnoi Movement

The Bishnoi movement is the first and oldest environmental movement that took place in and around Khejarli village in the Marwar region of India. This movement took place in the 1700s. The movement was led by Amrita Devi, a resident of Khjejarli who took part and inspired other villagers to protect the trees from getting logged by the soldiers of the King for making a new palace. More than 360 villagers were killed in the movement.

The Bishnoi villagers actually followed Guru Maharaj Jambaji who preached about saving animals and trees. Therefore, the villagers gave up their lives to save the trees from getting logged. The king afterward rushed to the village after hearing the news of the death of the Bishnoi villagers. He barred any future activity of cutting trees and promised that no trees will be cut in that area. This legislation is still being practiced in the region.

Chipko Andolan

The Chipko Andolan had many similarities with the Bishnoi movement. It occurred in 1973 in the Chamoli district of Uttar Pradesh. It then moved to the Tehri−Garhwal region. Both of these places are now part of Uttarakhand.

The main objective of Chipko Andolan was to protect the trees in the Himalayan region. Chamoli and other villages suffered a debilitating flood in 1970 due to excessive rains and a lack of enough forests in the region which caused major landslides. Moreover, the villagers also depended on the forests for fodder too. That is why they protested when the government ordered massive logging down of trees.

Image 1: This was the scene in a village in Uttar Pradesh in 1973, now in Uttarakhand, where the modern Chipko Movement took birth under the aegis of Sunderlal Bahuguna, a noted Garhwali environmentalist.

The movement is called Chipko Movement because the villagers hugged the trees so that they cannot be cut. Chipko means to hug and hence the name. There are many leaders who took part in the movement. Some of them are Sundarlal Bahuguna, Bachni Devi, Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Dhoom Singh Negi, Govind Singh Rawat, Shamsher Singh Bisht, and Ghanasyam Raturi.

The movement reached its maximum potential in 1978 when women of the villages faced police firing and other torture. The then chief minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna ordered a probe into the matter and it ruled in the favor of the villagers.

Save Silent Valley Movement

Silent Valley is an evergreen forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala. In 1973, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) planned to build a hydroelectric dam in the Kunthipujha river that runs through the valley. It meant that more than 8.3 square kilometers of the area would get submerged. This raised many concerns and The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) an NGO, and the poet−activist Sughathakumari started to voice against it.

As the pressure of the public and activists mounted, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared that the Silent Valley will be protected. In 1983, the project was shut down. The region was declared a national park by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

Jungle Bachao Andolan

The Jungle Bachao Andolan took place in 1982 in the Singbhum district of Bihar. It was led by the tribals of the Singbhum district. The Bihar government had planned to replace the sal forests with high−priced steak. This was popularly called the Greed game political populism by many. The Birbhum’s tribal community depended on the sal trees for their living and so they started to protest the move. This movement spread to Jharkhand and Odisha later on.

Appiko Movement

Appiko is the Chipko Movement of the South. It was popularly called Appiko Chaluvali where people embraced the trees to save them from getting logged. The Appiko movement was modern in various ways − it used foot marches in the deep forests, slide shows, street plays, and folk dances to raise awareness about saving trees.

The movement also focused on the afforestation of the denuded lands. At the later stage, the movement focused on the rational use of the ecosphere by using alternative energy. Like Chipko, Appiko movement also tasted success as the order of cutting trees has been stopped by the government.

Narmada Bachao Andolan

Image 2: Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Right Livelihood Award Foundation

The NBA is an anti−big−dam movement that started in 1985 with the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat. The movement started with the fact that the villagers who lived nearby the river were not properly rehabilitated. However, the movement focused on the destruction of the ecosystem due to the construction of a 130−meter−high dam. The movement was led by Medha Patkar who petitioned the supreme court to reduce the height of the dam to 88 meters along with proper rehabilitation of the nearby villagers.

The world bank promised to provide loans for the project withdrew in 1993 and published a report about the mishandling of the project by the government. The supreme court, however, permitted building the dam up to 90 meters high. This was more than what the activists asked for but it was much lower than the original plan of 130 meters.

Although the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam could not be stopped, it has built an opinion against big−dam construction in India and abroad. The dam is expected to be operational fully in 2025.

Tehri Dam Conflict

Image: Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi river, India

The Tehri dam on the Bhagirathi river faced a similar conflict to NBA in the 1990s which was led by Sunderlal Bahuguna. However, this failed to attract popular media and government attention. It is opined by activists that the Tehri Dam will submerge forests and the Tehri town which are nearby the river.

Conclusion

The environmental movements show that people are still vigilant about their environment and they want to protect it. India’s environmental movements have generated enough attention internationally and they are one of the most talked about mass activisms India has ever seen. Learning about them is inspiring and it must be done to understand why the movements are important.

Frequently Asked Questions

Qns 1. Who was the main leader of the Bishnoi Movement?

Ans. The Bishnoi movement was led by Amrita Devi.

Qns 2. What is the greed game political populism?

Ans. The Bihar government had planned to replace the sal forests with high−priced steak. This was popularly called the Greed game political populism by many.

Qns 3. Which is India’s largest anti−big−dam conflict?

Ans. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is the largest anti−big−dam conflict in India.