CHIPKO: SOCIAL HISTORY OF AN ‘ENVIRONMENTAL’ MOVEMENTR. GUHAWhat the chapter intends to narrate?1.Chipko movement in a historical light which traces the changing relationships between thestate and the peasantry.2.Chipko and its relationship to the social structure of Uttarakhand.3.It represents an expansion in the scale of popular mobilisation and the development ofpopular consciousness.CHIPKO: ITS ORGIN AND DEVELOPMENTBackground:In 1958, a committee was formed to investigate the grievances of the people of Uttarakhandconcerning forest management. Its typically non-specific recommendations gave priority to the‘preservation, development and extension of forests’ and to meeting the genuine needs of the localpeople. The members of the Communist party of India organised several satyagrahas against the highhanded news of different state agencies.The undercurrent of protest against forest management was combined with opposition to otherfacets of commercialization and the continuing underdevelopment of the hills especially againstwidespread distillation and sale of liquor. In Tehri, Sunderlal Bahuguna and several women werearrested for defying prohibitory orders.Meanwhile the demand for a separate hill state gathered momentum. Students went on strikedemanding the establishment of universities in the hills.The government responded by setting up universities and autonomous development corporations inboth Garhwal and Kumaon divisions.1970 flood:The 1970 flood marks a turning point in the ecological history of the region. Villagers, who bore thebrunt of the damage, were beginning to perceive the hitherto tenuous links between deforestation,landslides and floods.The villagers cause was taken up by the Dashuli Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS), a cooperativeorganization based in Chamoli district. In October, 1971, DGSS organised a major demonstration inChamoli. The demonstrators called for an end to liquor sale and to untouchability, and for givingpriority to the local use of forests. Led by Sarvodaya workers Sarla Devi and the leading local activistChandi Prasad Bhatt, the procession was of a size never seen in Chamoli district.Mandal:In early 1973, the DGSS asked for the allotment of Ash trees in order to make agriculturalimplements. The forest department refused to accommodate this request. Instead, they asked theDGSS to use Chir trees, totally unsuitable for the purpose. However Symonds Co. was alloted ashtrees in the forest of Mandal. The DGSS protested against this and presented two alternative ways:1.To burn resin and timber depots as was done in Quit India Movement.2.To lie down in front of the timber trucks.When sarvodya workers found both methods unsatisfactory, Chandi Prasad Bhatt thought ofembracing the trees. Thus ‘Chipko’ was born. The government proposed an alternative, where theDGSS would be alloted the ash trees on condition that the sporting goods firm could take away itsquota. But the resistance did not subside and Symond Co. were forced to turn away from Mandalwithout felling a single tree.
