 |
| Ghanshyam Sailani and Chandi Prasad Bhatt |
The rise of Chipko movement
During his travels, Sundar Lal Bahuguna closely
understood the consequences of forest destruction and the benefits of forest
protection. He observed that trees have the ability to bind soil and
conserve water. For the British (who spread the Pines in the hill) and
the forest department it was associated with, the forests were only a source of
wood, Lisa and trading.
He believed that the first use of forests should
be for the people living nearby so the food, grass, wood and fodder could be easily
available to them. He said that the real benefits of forests are soil, air
and water. This thinking later led to the slogans of the Chipko movement:
“What do the forest bear,
Soil, water
and pure air
Soil, water
and pure air
Are the basis of life.”
To pay his respects to the villagers who were
martyred in Tiladi, Barkot fighting for forest rights on 30 May 1967, he
decided to declare 30th May as forest day. For this, he
appealed to everyone to join him besides his Sarvodayi (the title given
by Binoba Bhave) colleagues.
In fact, on 30 May 1930, the army of the King (who
was in rule during that time) opened fire on the villagers who were meeting on
the banks of the Yamuna river in Barkot, in which 17 people were killed. Many
people jumped into Yamuna to save their lives and many were swept away. 80
people were put behind bars.
In 1968, Sunder Lal Bahuguna brought out a
booklet named Parvatiya vikas aur van neeti (Mountain Development and
Forest Policy) to commemorate the day. It said that forest,
agriculture, Animal husbandry and cottage industries should provide at
least 300 days of employment throughout the year. With the establishment
of the Shaheed Smarak (Martyr’s memorial) at Tiladi in 1969, Sundar Lal
Bahuguna along with his Sarvodayi colleagues took an oath to protect the
forests. Meanwhile, Sundar Lal Bahuguna rushed from Garhwal to Kumaon for
the successful liquor ban from 1969 to 1971. After the successful movement
of 1971 against liquor when the government imposed a liquor ban in the hills,
Bahuguna pioneered in the hills with his quest to protect the forests.
On 11 December 1972, for a radical change in
the forest system, the first procession took place in the town of Purola near
Barkot. A large number of villagers attended it. The next day a huge
procession took place in Uttarkashi. Janakavi(folk singer) Ghanshyam
Sailani and Chandi Prasad Bhatt were also involved in this procession led by
Sundar Lal Bahuguna. On the morning of 13 December Sundar Lal Bahuguna, Chandi
Prasad Bhatt and Ghanshyam Sailani left for Gopeshwar in a rented
jeep. The trio stayed in the office of Rudraprayag Khadi Commission at
night. Here, Ghanshyam Sailani wrote a poem:
“Khada utha
bhay bandhu (it’s time
to be awakened my people)
Ab
kattha hola (let’s all unite)
Sarkari
neeti se janglon bachola…(to protect
forests from the government’s evil policy)
.
.
.
..Chipka paedon par ab na katyan dya (hug
the tree to protect them from axes)
Pahadon
ki sampatti ab na lutyan dya” (let’s preserve
the true wealth of our hills)
This song of Ghanshyam Sailani became the
awakening song of the Chiko movement. On 15 December 1972, in the huge
procession of Gopeshwar, this song of Sailani first became the song of the
people and then the Chipko movement.
 |
| From the diary of Sundar Lal Bahuguna |
Comments
Post a Comment