7 Major Environmental Movements in India

The contemporary India experiences an almost unrestricted exploitation of resources because of

the lure of new consumerist lifestyles. The balance of nature is disrupted. This has led to many
conflicts in the society. In this article, we discuss the major environmental movements in India.

What is an Environmental Movement?

 An environmental movement can be defined as a social or political movement, for the

conservation of environment or for the improvement of the state of the environment. The
terms ‘green movement’ or ‘conservation movement’ are alternatively used to denote the
same.
  The environmental movements favour the sustainable management of natural resources.
The movements often stress the protection of the environment via changes in public
policy. Many movements are centred on ecology, health and human rights.
 Environmental movements range from the highly organized and formally institutionalized
ones to the radically informal activities.
 The spatial scope of various environmental movements ranges from being local to the
almost global.

Major Environmental Movements in India

Some of the major environmental movements in India during the period 1700 to 2000 are the
following.

1.Bishnoi Movement

 Year: 1700s
 Place: Khejarli, Marwar region, Rajasthan state.
 Leaders: Amrita Devi along with Bishnoi villagers in Khejarli and surrounding villages.
 Aim: Save sacred trees from being cut down by the king’s soldiers for a new palace.

What was it all about: Amrita Devi, a female villager could not bear to witness the destruction
of both her faith and the village’s sacred trees. She hugged the trees and encouraged others to do
the same. 363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in this movement. The Bishnoi tree martyrs were
influenced by the teachings of Guru Maharaj Jambaji, who founded the Bishnoi faith in 1485 and
set forth principles forbidding harm to trees and animals. The king who came to know about
these events rushed to the village and apologized, ordering the soldiers to cease logging
operations. Soon afterwards, the maharajah designated the Bishnoi state as a protected area,
forbidding harm to trees and animals. This legislation still exists today in the region.

2. Chipko Movement

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 Year: 1973
 Place: In Chamoli district and later at Tehri-Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.
 Leaders: Sundarlal Bahuguna, Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi, Chandi Prasad
Bhatt, Govind Singh Rawat, Dhoom Singh Negi, Shamsher Singh Bisht and Ghanasyam
Raturi.
 Aim: The main objective was to protect the trees on the Himalayan slopes from the axes
of contractors of the forest.

What was it all about: Mr. Bahuguna enlightened the villagers by conveying the importance of
trees in the environment which checks the erosion of soil, cause rains and provides pure air. The
women of Advani village of Tehri-Garhwal tied the sacred thread around trunks of trees and they
hugged the trees, hence it was called ‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the tree movement’. The main
demand of the people in these protests was that the benefits of the forests (especially the right to
fodder) should go to local people. The Chipko movement gathered momentum in 1978 when the
women faced police firings and other tortures. The then state Chief Minister, Hemwati Nandan
Bahuguna set up a committee to look into the matter, which eventually ruled in favor of the
villagers. This became a turning point in the history of eco-development struggles in the region
and around the world.

3. Save Silent Valley Movement

  Year: 1978
 Place: Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India.
 Leaders: The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) an NGO, and the poet-activist
Sughathakumari played an important role in the Silent Valley protests.
 Aim: In order to protect the Silent Valley, the moist evergreen forest from being
destroyed by a hydroelectric project.

What was it all about: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) proposed a hydroelectric
dam across the Kunthipuzha River that runs through Silent Valley. In February 1973, the
Planning Commission approved the project at a cost of about Rs 25 crores. Many feared that the
project would submerge 8.3 sq km of untouched moist evergreen forest. Several NGOs strongly
opposed the project and urged the government to abandon it. In January 1981, bowing to
unrelenting public pressure, Indira Gandhi declared that Silent Valley will be protected. In June
1983 the Center re-examined the issue through a commission chaired by Prof. M.G.K. Menon. In
November 1983 the Silent Valley Hydroelectric Project was called off. In 1985, Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi formally inaugurated the Silent Valley National Park.

4. Jungle Bachao Andholan

  Year: 1982
 Place: Singhbhum district of Bihar
 Leaders: The tribals of Singhbhum.
 Aim: Against governments decision to replace the natural sal forest with Teak.

What was it all about: The tribals of Singhbhum district of Bihar started the protest when the
government decided to replace the natural sal forests with the highly-priced teak. This move was
called by many as “Greed Game Political Populism”. Later this movement spread to Jharkhand
and Orissa.

5. Appiko Movement
  Year: 1983
 Place: Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka State
 Leaders: Appiko’s greatest strengths lie in it being neither driven by a personality nor
having been formally institutionalised. However, it does have a facilitator in Pandurang
Hegde. He helped launch the movement in 1983.
 Aim: Against the felling and commercialization of natural forest and the ruin of ancient
livelihood.

What was it all about: It can be said that Appiko movement is the southern version of the
Chipko movement. The Appiko Movement was locally known as “Appiko Chaluvali”. The
locals embraced the trees which were to be cut by contractors of the forest department. The
Appiko movement used various techniques to raise awareness such as foot marches in the
interior forest, slide shows, folk dances, street plays etc. The second area of the movement’s
work was to promote afforestation on denuded lands. The movement later focused on the rational
use of ecosphere through introducing alternative energy resourceto reducece pressure on the
forest. The movement became a success. The current status of the project is – stopped.

6. Narmada Bachao Andholan (NBA)

  Year: 1985
 Place: Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra.
 Leaders: Medha Patker, Baba Amte, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human
rights activists.
 Aim: A social movement against a number of large dams being built across
the Narmada River.

What was it all about: The movement first started as a protest for not providing proper
rehabilitation and resettlement for the people who have been displaced by the construction
of Sardar Sarovar Dam. Later on, the movement turned its focus on the preservation of the
environment and the eco-systems of the valley. Activists also demanded the height of the dam to
be reduced to 88 m from the proposed height of 130m. World Bank withdrew from the project.

The environmental issue was taken into court. In October 2000, the Supreme Court gave a
judgment approving the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam with a condition that height of
the dam could be raised to 90 m. This height is much higher than the 88 m which anti-dam
activists demanded, but it is definitely lower than the proposed height of 130 m. The project is
now largely financed by the state governments and market borrowings. The project is expected
to be fully completed by 2025.

Although not successful, as the dam could not be prevented, the NBA has created an anti-big
dam opinion in India and outside. It questioned the paradigm of development. As a democratic
movement, it followed the Gandhian way 100 per cent.

7. Tehri Dam Conflict

 Year: 1990’s
 Place: Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand.
 Leaders: Sundarlal Bahuguna
 Aim: The protest was against the displacement of town inhabitants and environmental
consequence of the weak ecosystem.

Tehri dam attracted national attention in the 1980s and the 1990s. The major objections include,
seismic sensitivity of the region, submergence of forest areas along with Tehri town etc. Despite
the support from other prominent leaders like Sunderlal Bahuguna, the movement has failed to
gather enough popular support at national as well as international levels.