Environment degradation and subsequent revolts and movements are nothing new. The history of Environment movement in India dated back farther than I had imagined.
Bishnoi Movement:
A drought in the Pipasar village in Rajasthan in the year 1471AD triggered a environment cum religious movement of sorts. The starvation of men and animals alike pained Jambeshwar, a resident of the village. unlike in the past, the land was not able to withstand the destruction from the drought as a large number of trees had been felled. If life was to survive, people must understand the value of environment. He preached that the way in which we lived should be in harmony with nature and not against it. He came to be known as Guru Maharaj Jambaji. Jambaji put down his thoughts into 29 principles which are followed by his disciples who are known as Bishnois (20+9) or twentyniners. According to the religion preached by Jambaji, there was strict ban on Killing of any animals or bird and Felling of a green tree.
The unique religion of conservation was taken up by a large number of people in Rajasthan and the number of Bishnois increased to the entire village communities. This helped to make villages greener and restore the natural ecosystems. The population of Black Buck, which is in the list of endangered species, is found to be in greater number in Bishnoi villages than outside.
The Chipko Movement:
Literally meaning Being stuck to, this movement saw villagers, mostly women come forward and hugging trees in a protest against the government's decision to allot a plot of forest area in the Alaknanda valley to a sports goods company. This angered the villagers because their similar demand to use wood for making agricultural tools had been earlier denied. With encouragement from a local NGO (non-governmental organization), DGSS (Dasoli Gram Swarajya Sangh), the women of the area, under the leadership of an activist, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, went into the forest and formed a circle around the trees preventing the men from cutting them down. 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. Since then, the movement has spread to many states in the country. In addition to the 15-year ban in Uttar Pradesh, the movement has stopped felling in the Western Ghats and the Vindhyas and has generated pressure for a natural resource policy that is more sensitive to people's needs and ecological requirements
Narmada Bachaao andolan:
Narmada Bachao Andolan is the most powerful mass movement, started in 1985, against the construction of huge dam on the Narmada river. Narmada is the India's largest west flowing river, which supports a large variety of people with distinguished culture and tradition ranging from the indigenous (tribal) people inhabited in the jungles here to the large number of rural population. The proposed Sardar Sarovar Dam and Narmada Sagar will displace more than 250,000 people. The big fight is over the resettlement or the rehabilitation of these people. The two proposals are already under construction, supported by US$550 million loan by the World Bank. There are plans to build over 3000 big and small dams along the river.
Silent Valley Movement:
Save Silent Valley was a social movement aimed at the protection of Silent valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. It was started in 1973 to save the Silent Valley Reserve Forest in from being flooded by a hydroelectric project. The valley was declared as Silent Valley National Park in 1985
Baliyapal Movement:
The Government of India decided to setup a missile testing range at Baliyapal in Orissa. Baliyapal become a centre of controversy because the area to be taken for the testing range area a very fertile area with thick population. The Government could not implement its decision because of the strong resistance of the people.
These are but a few of the many movements in our country. The government policies though in paper take into consideration the environmental laws but often overlook them in practice. It is again up to the common man to dig the dirt, unearth facts and gather similar minded people to raise the issue and try and bring about a change
But the important lesson to be learnt here is if a though (noble or otherwise) is to be propagated in our country, converting it into a religion helps.
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