Major Environmental Movements in India
Geography /Environment Notes APSC, UPSC and State Exam Notes
Go to Assam Geography Quiz MCQ Assam Geography – Overview
Environmental movement is a type of social movement for the conservation of the environment or for the improvement of the state policy especially inclined towards the environment.Many environmental movements have emerged in India. These movements have grown out of a series of independent responses to local issues in different places at different times.
Major Environmental Movements in India
Bishnoi Movement: This movement was started by sage Sombaji around 1700 AD against deforestation. After that Amrita Devi forwarded the movement. Around 363 people sacrificed their lives for the protection of their forests. When the king of this region came to know the protest and killing, he rushed to the village and apologized, and declared the region as a protected area. This movement was the first of its kind to have developed the strategy of hugging or embracing the trees for their protection spontaneously.
Narmada Bachao Andolan: This movement is against the Narmada River Valley Project. It has drawn upon a multiplicity of discourses for protests such as: displacement risks and resettlement provisions; environmental impact and sustainability issues; financial implications of the project; forceful evictions and violations of civil liberties; issues pertaining to river valley planning and management etc.
Chipko Movement: It is one of the world-known environmental movements in India.This movement initiated by Shri Sunderlal Bahaguna to guard the trees on the Himalayan slopes. Sunderlal Bahaguna not only successfully resisted deforestation in several areas but also showed that community afforestation with indigenous species can be enormously successful. He enlightened the villagers by conveying the importance of trees in the environment which checks the erosion of soil, causes 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 the ‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the tree movement’.
Jungle Bachao Andolan: The tribal community of Singhbhum district of Jharkhand agitated against the forest policy of the Government in 1982. The Government wanted to replace the natural soil, forests with the high-priced teak. This movement was called by many environmentalists as “Greed Game Political Populism”. Later this movement spread to Jharkhand and Orissa.
Appiko Movement: It is one of the forest-based environmental movements in India. The movement took place in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka in the Western Ghats. Its main objectives were afforestation as well as development, conservation and proper utilization of forests in the best manner. The movement created awareness among the villagers throughout the Western Ghats about the ecological danger posed by the commercial and industrial interests to their forest which was the main source of sustenance.
Silent Valley Movement: Silent Valley Movement in Kerala was against the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the river Kunthipuzha under the Kudremukh project.
Tehri Dam Conflict: In recent years, it is one of the most publicized environmental movements in recent years. The major issues of the movement include- seismic sensitivity of the region, submergence of forest areas along with Tehri town etc.
These environmental movements were mainly against the ecological concerns such as greater exploitation of the already depleted natural resources, construction of big dams etc. However, along with these ecological concerns, there were also economic and identity issues associated with these environmental movements.
Some of the economic issues associated with environmental movements
- The economy of subsistence was pitted against the economy of profit. Along with this issue of social inequality (villagers versus a government that represented commercial, capitalist interests), the Chipko Movement also raised the issue of ecological sustainability.
- Villagers relied on the forest to get firewood, fodder and other daily necessities. The livelihood needs of poor villagers were put at stake against the government’s desire to generate revenues from selling timber. The need for infrastructural development attracted many foreign logging companies, who were eyeing the vast forest resources. This led to denying of villager’s control over these natural resources on which they relied for both food and fuel.
- Widespread flooding of the villages and forest areas, which was attributed to the mismanagement due to commercial logging and construction of big dams, led to displacement of villagers thereby losing their means of livelihood.
Some of the identity issues associated with environmental movements
- Environmental movement is a type of “social movement that involves an array of persons, groups and coalitions that observe a common interest in environmental protection and act to bring about changes in environmental policies and practices
- The villagers valued the forest for their own sake and were of the view that their existence and identity is closely linked to the forest. They were able to perceive the link between their victimization and the denuding of mountain slopes by commercial interests.
- Women, being solely in charge of cultivation, livestock and children, suffered the most due to floods and landslides.
- Women were given no share in the decision-making process, public power and political activities like men. These movements provided them with the opportunity to raise their concerns and fight for their rights.