The women who led the landmark environmental movement 50 years ago, speak to Down To Earth
Whenever a dictionary of green terms is written, no matter in what language, it will contain at least one Hindi word—Chipko, which means to hug.
In the 1970s, women from the Himalayan villages of Reni and Mandal hugged trees in the nearby forests to protect them from commercial loggers.
The tree-huggers’ movement was an assertion of local people’s rights over their resources. It told the world that it is the poor who suffer the most when the environment degrades and, therefore, they have a vested interest in its management on a sustainable basis.
Chipko enthused so many people that it inspired a nationwide environmental concern and influenced policy formulation to balance economic development with environment protection.
As the Chipko movement marks its 50th anniversary, Down To Earth travelled to the upper Alaknanda Valley in Uttarakhand to meet the women who led the crusade. Their words demand introspection.
‘THE YOUNG NO LONGER CARE ABOUT THE FORESTS’
Ukha Devi
On March 26, 1974, when the contractor’s men moved towards the forests of Reni, the women from the village, under the leadership of Gaura Devi, ran some 5 km and formed human-shields around the trees to protect them. I was one of them. People of my generation are either too old to visit the forest or have died, while the young generation prefers city life.
Earlier, women from the village would go to the forest in the morning, roam around through the day, playing or gathering vegetables and herbs, before returning. We continued visiting the forest till our health allowed us. Men from the village would also go to the forest, especially to collect keedajadi (a fungus used in traditional medicine) or vegetables.
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Due to a disaster two years ago, the road to the forest was damaged, which has further hindered access. The number of youth in the village is very less, with most young women having gone with their husbands to nearby towns or plains. So, who will go to the forest now?
50 years after Chipko, we only look at the forest from our village every day.
‘LOW DEMAND FOR FOREST PRODUCE’
Jutti Devi
I moved to Reni after marriage, a few years before the start of the Chipko movement. My husband, Chandra Singh, was the son of Gaura Devi. He was not at home on the day the contractor’s workers were going to the forest. My mother-in-law not only called on the entire village to go to the forest but also asked me to accompany her.
Now, the dependence on the forest has reduced. Earlier we used to bring dry wood from the forest to light the stove, now we have cooking gas. Wood was used to build houses, especially roofs and balconies, but now roofs are being made of cement. We also used to make baskets from the leaves of ringal (dwarf bamboo), that is available only in the forest; but now plastic baskets are available for cheap. Similarly, the elderly physicians who knew about herbs are no longer there, and, therefore, the demand of herbs from the forest has reduced. In those days, we used to eat our meals on big leaves collected from the forest. Now we use utensils, else the children will consider us savages. People have even started using disposable utensils at weddings. Forest resources have lost their relevance for the younger generations.
‘FLASH FLOODS HAVE BECOME FREQUENT’
Bala Devi
My husband died when I was about 30 years old. I raised my three sons by myself. The forest helped a lot. I would collect dry wood, vegetables and herbs from the forest. I also farmed a bit, growing grains. All my sons are educated and work at different places, but I live here alone. They want me to live with them, but I love my village. I feel that as long as I am alive, I should take care of my house.
I remember the flash floods on February 7, 2021, after a glacier burst. The Rishiganga river suddenly made a scary sound and my house started shaking. At that time, everyone in the village was scared. Forests again came to our rescue. We ran towards the forest above for protection and stayed there for three days. When we came down, we saw that there were cracks in the houses. After this, there was another flood on June 17-18. It rained very heavily. The lower part of the village was washed away into the Rishiganga, along with a long stretch of the Joshimath-Malari highway. To build the road again, the hill towards the village was dug, for which a guest house, a primary school and a statue of Gaura Devi were removed. The idol of Gaura Devi was reinstalled in the village above. Now the village gets scared whenever there is heavy rain.
‘WITH YOUTHS GONE, VILLAGES ARE EMPTY NOW’
Kali devi
We used to feed the entire family from what we collected and grew in forests and fields. We used to plant different types of pulses and vegetables. There are chullu (apricot) trees nearby. We would pluck their seeds and extract their oil for use in making vegetables dishes. Even now this oil sells for Rs 1,000 per kg. But now farming has almost stopped in the village. Wild boars, and monkeys do not leave any vegetation unharmed. Moreover, there are no young people left in the village, and only a few of Gaura Devi’s generation remain. The rest of the village is becoming empty and there are no resources for education. There used to be a school just 2 km from the village, but that too is falling apart. Most of the people have gone to Joshimath or Dehradun. If there is no source of employment around the village, what will we do here? Those with government jobs take their children along to the place of their posting. They come to the village once or twice a year for a day or two.
There are some houses where no one has returned for many years. There are 52 families in the village, but of these only 20-22 families live in the village. The rest have gone to the cities.
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Chandi Prasad Bhatt When the contractor and labourers arrived to cut the forest of Reni village on a March morning in 1973, there was no man in the village. Under the leadership of Mahila Mangal Dal President Gaura Devi, the women from Reni village reached the forests and saved the trees. The effect of this incident was that Chipko movement got recognition all over the world. It also taught us a lesson. Before this incident, we were conveying our message only to men and were forming committees of men to monitor the forests. But when the women of Reni came forward, we understood that there is a lot of love for the forest among women. In fact, the Chipko movement was not only about saving trees. It was also a movement for the rights of the local people on the forest wealth. We were explaining to the government that green trees should not be cut at all. Even if dry trees had to be cut, we, the local people, should use them. This was the root of this movement. If the local people have rights over the forest wealth, migration from the mountains can be stopped. When we were preparing for the movement in Reni, we understood that it is necessary to save the forests to prevent incidents of floods in a sensitive area like the village. This is what we explained to the local people, because in 1970 there was a severe flood that destroyed many areas. After the success of Chipko in Reni, we tried to make people understand the role of forests in preventing disasters. To a large extent, we were successful. This is the transformation we had strived for. Five decades ago, women in the region would not speak out. Today, they take all decisions related to forest and village governance. Even the forest department has changed its attitude. Earlier, chir pine constituted 90-95 per cent saplings in the department’s nursery. Chir pine is commercially important but does not benefit soil. In the past 10-15 years they have not had chir pine in the nursery. Research shows that a forest of 50 hectares can generate enough fodder in six months and help the village earn Rs 10 lakh a year. This is both economic and environmental gain. (Chandi Prasad Bhatt is a Gandhian who founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh, which steered the Chipko Movement)
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TRANSFORMATION WE HAD HOPED FOR This was first published in the 16-30 April, 2024 print edition of Down To Earth
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