Google Doodle celebrates 45th anniversary of Chipko Movement, a forest conservation initiative

Google on Monday celebrated the 45th anniversary of Chipko Movement with a Doodle. Today's Doodle portrays a colourful design where a group of women are standing around a tree, representing their fight against deforestation which was the main objective of Chipko Movement.

Started in the 1970s, the Chipko movement or chipko andolan was primarily a forest conservation movement in India that began in 1973 and went on to become a rallying point for many future environmental movements all over the world; it created a precedent for non-violent protest started in India.

The word Chipko means 'to stick' or 'to hug' and the name of the movement has been derived from these words. The success of this nonviolent, grassroots resistance was felt around the globe, serving as the inspiration for future environmental movements. The Chipko Andolan also stands out as an eco-feminist movement. Women formed the nucleus of the movement, as the group most directly affected by the lack of firewood and drinking water caused by deforestation.

On the 45th anniversary of Chipko Movement, let's know what the forest conservation movement was:

• The original Chipko Movement dates back to the 18th century Rajasthan.
• A large group of people from the Bishnoi community resisted felling of trees by hugging them. The trees were being cut on the order of Jodhpur's Maharaja.
• In modern India, Chipko Movement started in April 1973 in Uttar Pradesh's Mandal village in the upper Alaknanda valley.
• The Chipko Movement was triggered by a government decision to allot forest land to a sports goods company. Angered by the move, villagers formed circles around the trees to prevent them from being cut.
• The Chipko Movement, led by local women, was spearheaded by Chand Chandi Prasad Bhatt and his NGO Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh.
• Dhoom Singh Negi, Bachni Devi and many other village women were the first to save trees by hugging them. They even coined the slogan 'What do the forests bear? Soil, water and pure air'
• Gandhian activist Sunderlal Bahuguna gave a direction to the movement and his appeal to Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, resulted in the ban on cutting trees.
• His appeal resulted in a 15-year ban on chopping of green trees in 1980.
• Google said, "The Chipko Andolan also stands out as an eco-feminist movement. Women formed the nucleus of the movement, as the group most directly affected by the lack of firewood and drinking water caused by deforestation."

OneIndia News