We The People: Chandi Prasad Bhatt, The Chipko Movement Torchbearer

Almost half a century after the launch of the Chipko Movement—one of independent India’s most famous non-violent social movements that drew global attention to the need for protecting forests—Chandi Prasad Bhatt, 89, has vivid memories of the initial days. Ailing but agile, Bhatt, a Padma awardee and associate of the founder of the Chipko movement, Sunderlal Bahuguna, speaks with great difficulty. In fact, his eyes speak more than his words, as do the countless newspaper clippings of the 1973 Chipko movement, iconic photographs, books, journals and articles he’s carefully preserved.

“Developmental priorities of this government are highly ill-conceived. The felling of green forests on the pretext of four-lane highways and dams may have slowed down, but haven’t stopped. The Chipko movement was unique in many ways as it had women outnumbering those who wanted to fell forests. There is no movement parallel to it in the world,” Bhatt says.

In the aftermath of Bahuguna’s death, the Chipko movement threw up iconic women leaders like Gaura Devi, Suraksha Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi. For those who came in late (old jungle saying), “Chipko” means hug in Hindi. After the government of the day announced proposals for development in Garhwal and Kumaon, residents of villages in these areas, especially women, left their homes to hold demonstrations in the forests where trees were marked for felling by a private company. As slogans and drum beats filled up the hill sides, women embraced the trees and the loggers were forced into a hasty retreat.

Bhatt became a champion of the cause to define the future use of India’s natural resources. As the movement gained momentum and attracted global attention, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was forced to impose a 15-year ban on commercial felling in the forests.

Born at Gopeshwar village in 1934, Bhatt is known as a Gandhian environmentalist and social activist, who founded the Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeshwar in 1964, which later became the mother-organisation for the Chipko movement. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award for Community Leade­rship in 1982, followed by Padma Shri and Padma Bhu­shan in 1986 and 2005, respectively.

Bhatt is also known for his work on social ecology and livelihoods, and is considered one of India’s first modern environmentalists. “Uttarakhand has a history of social and environmental movements of global importance,” reminds S.M.A. Kazmi, a veteran journalist.

Bhatt had led the first Chipko movement near the village of Mandal in 1973, organising a group of villagers to embrace trees in the forest to prevent logging. “It was essentially a women’s movement. Women, being solely in charge of cultivation, livestock and children, suffered the most due to floods and landslides caused by defo­restation,” Bhatt says, adding that sheer survival instinct made the movement so popular among women.

On the long-term impact of the movement in saving forests, he says, “Today, our forests and environment are in more danger than ever before. Not only have global, national and local pressures increased, but the root cause—our concept of economic development, involving uncontrolled, ‘planned’ development—rema­ins intact. He says this will have catastrophic conse­quences in the Himalayas. “Uttarakhand has alre­ady faced so many disasters in the past few years.”

Nevertheless, the Chipko movement did send a strong message that reverberated across the country and beyond as a successful, non-violent Gandhian andolan.

In the aftermath of the Chipko movement, the government had to promulgate several laws, while the Supreme Court also ruled in favour of protection of forests. The Forest Conservation Act of 1980 saved millions of hectares of forest land from being cut every year. Even today, the Chipko movement continues to inspire people at the grassroots.

(This appeared in the print edition as "The Tree-hugger")

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