What Happened
- A feature traced the history of India's environmental activism, highlighting how grassroots movements shaped the country's conservation trajectory.
- The article noted that Indian environmentalism differs fundamentally from Western models because ecology is deeply interwoven with livelihoods — agriculture supports approximately 50% of the population, forests sustain 20%, and livestock economies are critical for rural India.
- Key environmental figures and community-led movements were profiled, including the Bishnoi tradition, the Chipko Movement, and the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
- The narrative underscored that women played a disproportionately significant role in forest conservation movements, as they were most affected by deforestation through loss of firewood, fodder, and water access.
Static Topic Bridges
The Chipko Movement (1973) and Forest Conservation
The Chipko Movement, which began in 1973 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand (then Uttar Pradesh), is one of India's most consequential environmental protests. Villagers physically embraced trees — "chipko" means "to cling" in Hindi — to prevent commercial logging. The movement's first confrontation occurred when villagers of Mandal, led by Chandi Prasad Bhatt and the Dasholi Gram Swarajya Mandal, prevented a sports goods company from felling 14 ash trees.
- Leaders: Sunderlal Bahuguna (coined the slogan "Ecology is permanent economy"), Gaura Devi, Chandi Prasad Bhatt
- Bahuguna undertook a 5,000-km trans-Himalaya march (1981-1983) to spread the movement
- Outcome: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a 15-year ban on green felling in the Himalayan regions in 1980
- Inspired the Appiko Movement (1983) in Karnataka's Western Ghats, led by Pandurang Hegde — the southern counterpart using the same tree-hugging technique
Connection to this news: The Chipko Movement exemplifies how community-led environmental action can translate into national policy, demonstrating the model of bottom-up environmentalism that distinguishes India's conservation history.
The Bishnoi Community and India's Earliest Environmental Ethic
The Bishnoi community of Rajasthan represents one of the world's earliest documented instances of organized environmental activism, predating modern environmentalism by centuries. In 1730, Amrita Devi led 363 Bishnois who sacrificed their lives to protect Khejri trees (Prosopis cineraria) from being felled on the orders of the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
- Year: 1730, Khejarli village, Rajasthan
- 363 Bishnois died protecting Khejri trees, which held religious and ecological significance
- The Bishnoi faith, founded by Guru Jambheshwar in 1485, prescribes 29 tenets, several focused on environmental conservation and animal protection
- The Indian government's Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award (instituted by MoEFCC) honours individuals and communities for wildlife conservation
- Khejri tree is the state tree of Rajasthan
Connection to this news: The Bishnoi sacrifice is the historical foundation of India's environmental activism tradition and is directly referenced in discussions about the cultural roots of Indian conservation.
Narmada Bachao Andolan and Environmental Impact Assessment
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), launched in 1985, opposed the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River, raising fundamental questions about large-dam development, displacement of tribal communities, and the adequacy of environmental and social impact assessments. Led by Medha Patkar, with support from Baba Amte and others, the movement brought international attention to the tension between development and environmental justice.
- Sardar Sarovar Dam: located in Gujarat on the Narmada River; one of the largest dam projects globally
- The World Bank withdrew funding in 1993 following an independent review (Morse Commission) that found inadequate rehabilitation measures
- Estimated displacement: over 200,000 people, primarily tribal communities (Adivasis)
- Outcome: strengthened India's resettlement and rehabilitation norms; contributed to the evolution of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements
- Supreme Court allowed dam construction to continue in 2000 (Narmada Bachao Andolan v. Union of India) with conditions on rehabilitation
Connection to this news: The NBA permanently altered India's approach to large infrastructure projects by making environmental and social impact assessments more rigorous, establishing that development must account for ecological and human costs.
Silent Valley Movement and Protected Area Designation
The Silent Valley Movement (1973-1985) in Kerala successfully prevented a hydroelectric project from submerging one of the last undisturbed tracts of tropical evergreen rainforest in the Western Ghats. Led by the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), poets, scientists, and school teachers, the movement resulted in Silent Valley being declared a National Park in 1984.
- Location: Palakkad district, Kerala; part of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot
- Threatened species: lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus, Endangered — IUCN), among the world's most endangered primates
- Area: 89.52 sq km (core area); later expanded with a buffer zone
- Outcome: Kerala Electricity Board's proposed hydroelectric project was scrapped; Silent Valley declared National Park in 1984 under WPA, 1972
- The movement is considered a landmark in India's environmental jurisprudence
Connection to this news: Silent Valley demonstrates how science-backed public advocacy can save irreplaceable ecosystems, and its designation as a National Park became a template for protecting ecologically sensitive areas from industrial development.
Key Facts & Data
- Bishnoi sacrifice: 363 lives lost in 1730 to protect Khejri trees in Rajasthan
- Chipko Movement: began 1973, Chamoli district; led to 15-year Himalayan logging ban (1980)
- Appiko Movement: began 1983, Karnataka; Western Ghats counterpart of Chipko
- Narmada Bachao Andolan: launched 1985; World Bank withdrew Sardar Sarovar funding in 1993
- Silent Valley National Park: declared 1984; 89.52 sq km in Kerala's Western Ghats
- Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award: instituted by MoEFCC for wildlife conservation
- Forest cover in India (2023 assessment): approximately 21.76% of total geographical area