Founding member of Chipko movement dies
Environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, a founding member of the tree-hugging Chipko movement in the 1970s to prevent their felling, died of Covid-19 at a hospital in Rishikesh on Friday. He was 94. A recipient of India’s second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, Bahuguna’s work revolved around people’s rights over forests in the Himalayas.
Bahuguna, who inspired many young men and women to get involved in environmental movements, was admitted to Rishikesh’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on May 8. He was on ventilator support when he passed away. V Nautiyal, who handles media relations at the hospital, said Bahuguna had two stents in his heart and had earlier been bedridden for around seven months at his residence in Dehradun. “Due to Covid-19, he also developed pneumonia which worsened his health condition along with high blood sugar and hypertension.”
Tributes poured in as soon as the news of Bahuguna’s death broke. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Bahuguna’s death a “monumental loss” for the nation. He added Bahuguna manifested India’s centuries-old ethos of living in harmony with nature. “His simplicity and spirit of compassion will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with his family and many admirers. Om Shanti,” Modi tweeted.
President Ram Nath Kovind said Bahuguna’s death has ended a glorious chapter in the field of conservation. “A ‘Padma Vibhushan’ awardee, he was a Gandhian to the core. A legend in his own right, he made conservation a people’s movement. My condolences to his family and admirers,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.
Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat called Bahuguna’s death an irreplaceable loss for the whole world. “It is a grave loss for all of us. He had contributed immensely to the environment. Our prayers are with his family members,” said Rawat.
Author Ramchandra Guha called Bahuguna a person of
extraordinary energy and intelligence, and a wonderful speaker too. “I have vivid memories of my meetings and interviews with him. With Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Gaura Devi, Dhoom Singh Negi, & many others, he made the Chipko Andolan what it was,” he tweeted.
The Chipko movement was launched against the allocation of a hornbeam forest plot in the Alaknanda Valley to a sports goods company. A few months earlier, the Gandhian Dashauli Gram Swarajya Sangha had been refused permission by the forest department to fell trees in the same forest. This prompted the Sangha-led villagers to hug the trees to prevent them from being felled by the company. The movement spread to other parts of what is now Uttarakhand as villagers stopped felling operations and disrupted the auction of forest coupes. “The movement has received wide publicity and its two main leaders, Chandi Prasad Bhatt and Sunderlal Bhauguna have emerged as among the best-known environmentalists in India,” wrote Guha and Gadgil Madhav in their book “The Use And Abuse of Nature”.
Rights activist Medha Patkar said Bahuguna’s work has inspired many. “He fasted for 75 days against Tehri Dam [in Uttarakhand]. He and his wife Vimla never compromised on their views on the dam... The then [Atal Bihari] Vajpayee government of course did not pay attention to what Bahuguna had to say. I think the way Uttarakhand is suffering today with extreme disasters every year could have been averted if Bahuguna and Vimla’s views were taken on board.”
Rajendra Singh, a water conservationist, said Bahuguna symbolised Ganga’s holiness and Himalaya’s greenery as well as environmental ethos. “The Chipko movement was started by Gaura Devi and other women from Raini village in Chamoli. But Bahuguna took their struggle to the world. Europe, the UK, the US... they were in awe of the movement.” Singh said Bahuguna was against dams and feared Tehri Dam will destroy the Himalayas. Singh said he met Bahuguna last on April 28, when the two sang together.
Ravi Chopra, the director of People’s Science Institute, said when all environmental regulation and caution has been abandoned by those in power, Bahuguna’s voice was a great encouragement to those struggling for the environment. “His passing is, therefore, a setback to environmental struggles across the country.”
Vijay Jhardhari, a member of the Chipko movement, said Bahuguna shaped his vision. “He has taught many of us the way of life. How can I sum him up in a few words? In a way, he instilled the willpower to fight in all of us who worked with him--the fight to protect our forests. We found success in all our Chipko campaigns except the Tehri Dam movement.”