The Chipko movement was a non - violent agitation in 1973 that was aimed at protection and conservation of trees, but, perhaps, it is best remembered for the collective mobilisation of women for the cause of preserving forests, which also brought about a change in attitude regarding their own status in society.
The goal of the Chipko Movement was to draw attention to and prevent deforestation. The movement that began in Uttar Pradesh was an initiative of Sunderlal Bahuguna, a renowned environmentalist.
How the name ‘Chipko’ did come into being?
The word 'Chipko' is Hindi for 'to stick to' and the way people expressed solidarity with the movement was by surrounding trees and linking their hands together around it, to physically prevent trees being chopped down.
The 1973 movement was inspired by a similar movement in 1730 in Rajasthan where people sacrificed their lives to save ‘Khejri trees’.
Not many people know that over the last few centuries many communities in India have helped save nature. supporters of the Chipko movement, mainly village women, have successfully banned the felling of trees in a number of regions and influenced natural resource policy in India.
The Chipko protests in Uttar Pradesh achieved a major victory in 1980 with a 15 - year ban on green felling in the Himalayan forests of that state by the order of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India.
Source: The Indian Express
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