Chipko Movement

The Chipko movement in India is regarded as the icon of ecofeminist movements across the globe, whose primary goal has been the preservation of forests. The word chipko in Hindi literally means “to stick to.” The movement came into the limelight in March 1974, when Gaura Devi of Reni village, in the Garhwal region of the Indian Himalayas (then in the state of Uttar Pradesh and currently a part of the state of Uttarakhand), accompanied by 27 other women, decided to embrace the trees of their village, challenging axe-wielding lumber workers to axe them down before they cut down the trees. This act of courage and nonviolence was emulated across the Kumaon and the Garhwal regions of the Indian Himalayas, as well as in other areas. This resistance was directed at the unjust practice of tree felling, a manifestation of the close relations between the state and commercial contractors. The movement gained national and international media coverage, forcing the Indian state to change its policy and impose a 15-year ban on tree felling. To date, environmental activists are often referred to as tree huggers, the [Page 396]term being a literal translation of the Chipko movement of India.

This February 19, 1982, photo shows Indian women of the Chipko movement embracing trees to prevent them from being cut down.

Source: India Today Group/Getty Images. Used by permission.

There are many reasons for the immense popularity and significance of the Chipko movement. First, it was spearheaded by women who were largely illiterate subsistence peasants, representing grassroots democracy; second, it was an environmental movement protesting the deforestation of the Himalayas; third, it resorted to Gandhian methods of peaceful resistance and nonviolence against a postcolonial state that collaborated with capital interests against its own citizens. It also helped demolish the myth that poor or oppressed people are incapable of looking beyond their immediate material needs and practical interests by showing how they can mobilize to protect their long term, strategic interests.

The Chipko movement was led primarily by women, because traditionally, the women of Garhwal and Kumaon have had a special bond with their mountains and forests. Not only do the women have a deep emotional attachment to the mountains and regard the Himalayas as their maiti, or mother's home, but they also rely extensively on the forest products of wood for firewood and fuel; leaves for fodder, food, and medicines; and rivulets and rivers for water supply (which are adversely affected by deforestation). Although the Chipko movement is regarded as an ecofeminist movement, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between women and ecology, a lesser known fact is that men were also actively involved. Indeed, the basic idea was initiated by two men, Gandhian activists Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bahuguna.