SUNDERLAL BAHUGUNA

Subject: Environment

Context: Well-known environmentalist and Gandhian Sunderlal Bahuguna passed away at the age of 94 due to COVID-related complications.

Concept:

Sunderlal Bahuguna (1927 – 2021) was an Indian noted Garhwali environmentalist. He was one of the early environmentalists of India.
He was one of the founders of the Chipko, or hug the tree movement, in the 1970s to save Himalayan forests from cutting down by forest contractors.
He later spearheaded the Anti-Tehri Dam movement starting 1980s, to early 2004.
He also fought against untouchability and later started organising hill women in his anti-liquor drive from 1965 to 1970.
He adopted Gandhian principles in his life.
In 2009, he was awarded Padma Vibhushan Award by government of India for environment conservation.

Chipko movement:

Chipko movement was the uprising against the felling of trees and maintaining the ecological balance originated in Uttar Pradesh’s Chamoli district (now Uttarakhand) in 1973.
The name of the movement ‘Chipko’ comes from the word ’embrace’, as the villagers
Hugged the trees and encircled them to prevent being hacked.
It was a silent, non-violent protest condemning ecological destruction.
Sundarlal Bahuguna, a famous Gandhian, is said to have initiated this movement to guard the trees on the Himalayan slopes. Bahuguna is also known for coining the Chipko slogan ‘ecology is permanent economy’
The movement’s biggest triumph was making people aware of their rights to forests, and how grassroots activism can influence policy-making regarding ecology and shared natural resources.