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The Evolution, Structure, and Impact of the Chipko Movement

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The Evolution, Structure, and Impact of the Chipko Movement Author(s): Vandana Shiva and J. Bandyopadhyay Source: Mountain Research and Development, Vol. 6, No. 2 (May, 1986), pp. 133-142 Published by: International Mountain Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3673267 . Accessed: 23/07/2014 03:54

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This content downloaded from 203.197.126.115 on Wed, 23 Jul 2014 03:54:48 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MountainResearch and Development,Vol. 6, No. 2, 1986, pp. 133-142

THE EVOLUTION,STRUCTURE, AND IMPACT OF THE CHIPKO MOVEMENT

VANDANA SHIVA AND J. BANDYOPADHYAY

Indian Instituteof Management Bangalore560 076, India

ABSTRACT The traditionalIndian strategyof resolvingconflict by non-cooperation,the satyagraha, has been revivedin theChipko, or "Embracethe Tree",movement to protectforests from commercial felling. This paper tracesthe development of the philosophy and thenon-violent resistance activities from the beginnings of Chipko in theearly 1970s in Garhwalto itspresent role throughout mostof India. It is unique in thatit is based not on the politicsof the distributionof wealthbut on thatof sustainableecological stability, and it is dominated by women. Today the Chipko search for a strategyfor human survival from ecological disaster has world-widesignificance.

RESUME L'volution,la structure,etl'impact du mouvementChipko. "Satyagraha", la strat6gieindienne traditionnelle de r6soudreles conflits par la non-coop6ration,se retrouvedans le mouvementChipko, ou "EtreintI'arbre", qui visea prot6gerles forktscontre une exploita- tioncommerciale abusive. Cette &tuderetrace l'evolution de la philosophieet des activitesde resistancepassive, depuis l'origine du mouvement au debut des annees 70 au Garhwal jusqu'au r81e actuel qu'il joue dans la plupart de l'Inde. Ce mouvement, domine par les femmes,est remarquable en ce qu'il ne repose pas sur une politique de repartitionequitable des richesses, mais sur le maintien d'une 6cologie stable. Cette recherched'une strat6gievisant 6viterun desastre 6cologique pr6senteun gros int&rt&h l'6chellemondiale. . ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Entwicklung,Aufbau und Einfluf der Chipko Bewegung. Zur Konfliktl6sunglebt in der Chipko- oder "Embrace the Tree"(man umarmeden Baum) Bewegungdie traditionelleindische Strategie der verweigertenZusammenarbeit (satyagraha) wieder aufals Mittel,Waldgebiete vor kommerziellem Abholzen zu schiitzen.Entwicklung der Philosophie und Aktionen von nichtgewalttitigem Widerstandverfolgt diese Ver6ffentlichung vom Beginn der Chipko Bewegung in den friihen70erJahren in Garhwalbis zurderzeitigen Bedeutungfast fiberall in Indien. Die Bewegungist darin einzigartig, als dai sie nichtvon Grundsiitzender Besitzverteilunggelenkt wird,sondern von Prinzipienzur Erhaltung6kologischer Stabilitit, und daIs sie von Frauen dominiertwird. Heute hat die Suche der Chipko Bewegungnach menschlichenUberlebenschancen im Fall einer6kologischen Katastrophe weltweite Bedeutung.

Conflicts over forest resources in India are mainly a zational continuity of the Chipko Movement with the product of the opposing demands on these resources. They Indian traditionof resolvingconflicts through non-violent are generated by the requirementsof conservationand the non-cooperation, a political strategyrevived by Mahatma need to satisfythe basic living requirements of the mar- Gandhi and adopted by the Gandhian workersin all parts ginalized majority, on the one hand, and the demands of of the country.The Chipko Movement, however,is unique commerce and industry,on the other. During the past cen- in a fundamentalway. Althoughit had its rootsin a move- tury, there has been a progressive encroachment by the ment based on the politics of the distributionof the bene- State on the rightsand privileges of the people to forest fitsof resources, it soon became an ecological movement resources. The people have resistedthis encroachment in rooted in the politicsof the distributionof ecological costs. various parts of India mainly throughthe Gandhian non- Further, though the visible leaders of the movement are cooperation method of protest, well-known as "Forest men, the strengthof the movementlies in the supportfrom Satyagraha". In the forestareas of the Garhwal Himalaya women. this style of protest was revived in independent India as The paper will analyse the subjective and objective fac- the "Chipko" or "Embrace-the-Tree"movement to protect tors that account for the rapid spread of the movement. trees marked forfelling. Although Chipko was firstprac- Finally, an assessment of its impact at the national and tised in the Garhwal Himalaya, it has now spread to most global levels will be made. Chipko, as a model forthe reso- of the country, especially the hilly regions. lution of conflictsover natural resources in general, will This paper will examine the philosophical and organi- be examined.

CONFLICTS OVER FOREST RESOURCES AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE CHIPKO MOVEMENT

The conflictsand tensionfrom which the famous Chipko drasticchanges in forestmanagement and utilizationintro- Movement has emerged can be traced historicallyto the duced into India during the colonial period. Forests, like

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other vital resources, were managed traditionallyas com- need for control slowly became apparent. The formation mon resources with strict,though informal,social mecha- of the forestbureaucracy and the reservationof forestareas nisms forcontrolling their exploitation to ensure sustained was the colonial response to ensure control of commercial productivity. In addition to the large tracts of natural forestexploitation as a means to maintain revenues. Forest foreststhat were maintained throughthis carefulhusband- conservancy was directed at the conservation of forest ing, village forestsand woodlots were also developed and revenues and not at the foreststhemselves. This narrow maintained throughthe deliberate selectionof appropriate interpretationof conservationgenerated severe conflictsat tree species. Remnants of commonly managed natural two levels. At the level of utilization,the new management forestsand village commons stillexist in pockets and these system catered only to commercial demands and ignored provide insightsinto the scientificbasis underlyingtradi- local basic needs. People were denied theirtraditional rights tional land management (Moench and Bandyopadhyay, which, in some cases, were re-introducedas concessions 1985, 1986; Shiva and Bandyopadhyay, 1985). and privileges afterprolonged struggles(Bandyopadhyay Colonial impact on forest management undermined et al., 1984). At the conservationlevel, since the new forest these conservation strategiesin two ways. First, changes management was only concerned with stable forest in land tenure, such as the introductionof the zamindari revenues and not with the stabilityof forestecosystems, system,transformed common village resourcesinto the pri- ecologicallyunsound silviculturepractices were introduced. vate propertyof newly created landlords and this led to This underminedbiological productivityof forestareas and their destruction. The pressure of domestic needs, no transformedrenewable resources into non-renewableones longer satisfied by village forestsand grasslands, were, (Nair, 1985). therefore,diverted to natural forests.Second, large-scale The reservationof forestsand the denial of the villagers' fellingsin natural foreststo satisfynon-local commercial rightof access led to the creation of resistance movements needs, such as shipbuildingfor the BritishRoyal Navy and in all parts of the country.The Forest Act of 1927 intensi- sleepers (railroad ties) forthe expanding railway network fiedthe conflictsand the 1930s witnessedwidespread Forest in India, created an extraordinaryforce for destruction. Satyagrahasas a mode of non-violentresistance to the new Afterabout half a centuryof uncontrolledexploitation the forestlaws and policies.

SATYAGRAHA AS A NON-VIOLENT MODE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Satyagraha,in the Gandhian view, was the use of non- It was used to safeguardthe interestsof the Indian weavers violent resistanceas a political weapon in place of the force who were pauperized by the unequal competitionwith mill- of arms. Unlike many other well-known political philos- made cloth fromEurope. It was used by forestmovements ophies, Gandhian philosophy has never been claimed to to resistthe denial of traditionalrights. Unfortunately, in be strictlymaterialist. In the absence of such overt cate- spite of the fact that Gandhian satyagrahaswere used to gorization,Gandhian philosophyusually has been assumed oppose the economic systemthat created material poverty to be based on subjective, idealist, or moral forces,rather and underdevelopment,usually theyhave been described than objective or materialistones. Accordingly, the most and understood as non-materialand spiritualtransforma- importantpolitical weapon used in the Gandhian move- tions without any materialistbase. This common percep- ments, the satyagraha,has always been mystifiedas an emo- tion of Gandhian movements as unrelated to the material tional force without any materialist base. A closer socio- contradictionsin societyis completelyfallacious. The sub- historical evaluation is needed to de-mystifythe image of jective and spiritual nature of the force of satyagrahahas Gandhian satyagrahasand to establish the materialistbasis systematicallybeen confused with the material and objec- of Gandhian movements such as Chipko. tive contradictionsin society against which the forcewas The power of satyagraha,in the formof non-cooperation, used. has been a traditionalmode of protestagainst exploitative The classical view of the contradictionbetween the work- authority in India. In Hind Swaraj, Gandhiji wrote that ing class and the capitalists has dominated the attempts through satyagrahahe was merely carrying forward an at analysing the class relations in contemporary Indian ancienttradition: "In India the nation at large had generally society. The deeper and more severe contradictionsthat used passive resistance in all departmentsof life. We cease touch upon the lives of the vast number of people, based to cooperate with our rulers when they displease us." on the contradictionbetween the economics of sustainable The dominance of the use of moral forcewas not, how- development and capitalist production for profit-making ever, an indicator of the non-material objectives of these and economic growth,is hardly perceived or recognized. movements. The strong material basis of the Gandhian Gandhiji had focused his attentionon these more funda- movements becomes visible aftera detailed analysis of the mental and severe materialcontradictions in Indian society concrete issues and contradictions for the settlementof since he understood the problem of the invisible and mar- which the satyagrahaswere taken up. Satyagrahaswere used ginalized majorityin India. The material basis forsurvival by Gandhiji against systemsof material exploitationwhich of this marginalized majority was threatened by the re- were the main tools for profitmaking of the British, and source demands of the capitalist production systemintro- in which was rooted the material under-developmentof the duced into India by the British. In this manner, without Indian masses. It was used in Champaran to save Indian making any claims about being materialistic, Gandhiji peasants fromthe compulsorycultivation of indigo in place politicized the most severe material contradictionsof his of foodcrops. It was used in Dandi and in other parts of time. the country to protest against the exploitative Salt Law.

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"CHIPKO": THE SPIRIT OF SATYAGRAHA

MAHATMA SALT FOREST Popular protest against GANDHI SATYSATYAGRAHA SATYAGRAHA ---- forest reservation. Firing on peaceful protesters in Tilari on May 30, 1930.

Sarala Behn Freedom Fighters, Freedom Fight in the Mira Behn such as Shri Dev Suman ( Tehri-Garhwal State

Uttarakhand Sarvodaya Mandal I May 30, 1968 declaration of the day as < Tilari Martyrs Day. Pledge taken for the protection of Himalayan forests.

1970-72 1973 1973-74 Increasing protest by hill Chasing away of contractors by Chipko movement spreads the local people in parts of Chamoli like fire specially people against exploi- - tation of forests by district led by Sarvodaya worker through the poems of outside contractors. Demand Chandi Prasad Bhatt. Folk poet Ghanshyam Sailani for higher raw materials GhanshyamSailani writes poem on for local small industries. 'Chipko' as the mode of saving forests.

1980 1980 1978 1977 Prime Minister Indira Bahuguna represents to Indefinite fast (irst saving of Gandhi recommends 15- Prime Minister for a against tree- forests by actual year ban on commercial ban on commercial green felling in hugging in Salet green-felling in UP felling in UP Himalaya Badiyargarh by Forests by Dhum Singh Himalaya Sunderlal Bahuguna Negi. Movement in & his arrest and Henwal Valley gives confinement in ecological turn to police custody. Chipko.

1981-83 4,870 km long Kashmir-to-Kohima Chipko foot-march by Bahuguna.

1984 Chipko movement '1985 Chipko movement in 1983 against limestone Chakrata Tehsil Chipko becomes national quarrying in against UP Forest -Spreads to Himachal Pradesh Henwal Valley Corporation -Spreads to Rajasthan -Spreads to Karnataka as Appiko 1984 Chipko march on Gandhiji's birthday in Switzerland as protest against forest destruction through acid rain

The evolutionof the Chipko Movement.

FROM FOREST SATYAGRAHATO THE CHIPKO MOVEMENT

The years1930-31 witnessed the spread of forest Satya- Indian hills. These non-violentprotests were suppressed grahasthroughout India as a protestagainst the reservation by theBritish rulers. In CentralIndia, Gond tribalswere offorests for exclusive exploitation by Britishcommercial gunneddown for participating in thesatyagraha. On 30 May interestsand itsconcomitant transformation ofa common 1930dozens of unarmed villagers were killed and hundreds resourceinto a commodity.Villagers ceremonially removed injured in Tilari village, Tehri Garhwal, when they forestproducts from the reserved forests to asserttheir right gatheredto protestthe ForestLaws of the rulers. to satisfytheir basic needs. The forestsatyagrahas were espe- Afterenormous loss oflife, the satyagrahas were success- ciallysuccessful in regionswhere survival of the local popu- fulin revivingsome of the traditional rights of the village lationwas intimatelylinked with access to the forests,as communitiesto variousforest products. in the Himalaya, the WesternGhats, and the Central This,however, did notmean that satisfaction of the basic

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requirements of the people, or the ecological role of the tive regions, such as the Himalaya, this destructionhas forests,replaced the revenue maximizing objectives as the threatenedthe survivalof the forest-dwellingcommunities. guiding principle of British forestmanagement in India. The people's response to thisdeepening crisishas emerged Furthermore, the objective of growth in financial terms as non-violent Gandhian resistance: the Chipko Move- continues to direct contemporary forestmanagement in ment. Beginning in the early 1970s in the Garhwal region post-Independence India with even greater ruthlessness, of Uttar Pradesh, the methodology and philosophy of since it is now carried out in the name of "national interest" Chipko has now spread to Himachal Pradesh in the north, and "economic growth".The cost of achieving this growth to Karnataka in the south, to Rajasthan in the west, to has been the destruction of forestecosystems and huge Bihar in the east, and to the Vindhyas in Central India. losses through floods and droughts. In ecologically sensi-

LEGACY OF FOREST MOVEMENTS IN GARHWAL HIMALAYA

Forest resources are the critical ecological elements in a forestofficer, Sadanand Gairola, was manhandled in the vulnerable Himalayan ecosystem. The natural broad- Khandogi. When King Kirti Shah heard about the revolt leaved and mixed forestshave been central in maintain- he rushed to the spot to pacifythe citizens(Bhaktadarshan, ing water and soil stabilityunder conditions of heavy sea- 1976). sonal rainfall. They have also provided the most signifi- The contradictionsbetween the people's basic needs and cant input for sustainable agriculture and animal hus- the State's revenue requirementsremained unresolvedand bandry in the hills. Undoubtedly, the forestsprovide the in due course they intensified. In 1930 the people of material basis forthe whole agro-pastoral economy of the Garhwal began the non-cooperation movement mainly hill villages. around the issue of forestresources. Satyagrahato resistthe Green leaves and grass satisfythe fodder requirement new oppressive forestlaws was most intensein the Rawain of the farmanimals whose dung provides the only source region. The King of Tehri was in Europe at that time. His of nutrientsfor food crops. Dry twigsand branches are the Dewan, Chakradhar Jayal, crushed the peaceful satyagraha only source of domestic cooking fuel. Agricultural imple- with armed force. A large number of unarmed Satyagrahis ments and house framesrequire foresttimber. The forests were killedand wounded, while many otherslost theirlives also provide large amounts of fruit,edible nuts, fibres,and in a desperate attemptto cross the rapids of the Yamuna herbs for local consumption. River. While the right of access to forest resources re- During the nineteenthcentury a thirddemand was put mained a burningissue in the Garhwal Kingdom, the anti- on these forestresources of Garhwal. In 1850 an English- imperialist freedom movement in India invigorated the man, Mr. Wilson, obtained a lease to exploit all the forests Garhwali people's movementfor democracy. The Saklana, of the Kingdom of Tehri-Garhwal for the small annual Badiyargarh, Karakot, Kirtinagar, and other regions re- rentalof 400 rupees. Under his axe severalvaluable Deodar volted against the King's rule in 1947 and declared them- and Chir forestswere clear-felledand completelydestroyed selves independent panchayats. Finally on 1 August 1949 (Raturi, 1932). In 1864, inspiredby Mr. Wilson's flourish- the Kingdom of Tehri was liberated fromfeudal rule and ing timberbusiness, the Britishrulers of the northwestern became an integralpart of the Union of India and the State provinces took a lease for 20 years and engaged Wilson of Uttar Pradesh. to exploit the forestsfor them. European settlements,such The heritage of political strugglefor social justice and as Mussoorie, created new pressures forthe cultivationof ecological stabilityin Garhwal was strengthenedin post- food crops, leading to large-scalefelling of oak forests.Con- Independence India with the influence of eminent servation of the forestswas not considered. In his report Gandhians, such as Mira Behn and Sarala Behn. on the forestsof the state,E. A. Courthope, IFS, remarked: The Chipko Movement is, historically,philosophically, "It seems possible that it was not mainly with the idea of and organizationally,an extensionof traditionalGandhian preserving the foreststhat government entered into this Satyagraha.Its special significanceis that it is taking place contract"(Raturi, 1932). In 1895 the Tehri State took the in post-Independence India. The continuitybetween the management of forestsin its own hands when theyrealized pre-Independence and post-Independence forms of this their great economic importance fromthe example of Mr. satyagrahahas been providedby Gandhians, such as Sri Dev Wilson and the government.Between 1897 and 1899 forest Suman, Mira Behn, and Sarala Behn. Sri Dev Suman was areas were reservedand restrictionswere placed on village initiated into Gandhian Satyagrahaat the time of the Salt use. These restrictionswere much disliked and utterlydis- Satyagraha.He died as a martyr for the cause of the regarded by the villagers, and led to cases of organized Garhwali people's rightsto survive with dignityand free- resistance against authority(Raturi, 1932). On 31 March dom. Both Mira Behn and Sarala Behn were close asso- 1905 a Durbar circular (No. 11) from the Tehri King ciates of Gandhiji. Afterhis death, theyboth moved to the announced modificationsto these restrictionsin response interiorof the Himalaya and established ashrams. Sarala to the resistance. Behn settledin Kumaun and Mira Behn lived in Garhwal The modifications, however, failed to diffusethe ten- until her departure forVienna due to ill health. Equipped sion. Small strugglestook place throughoutthe kingdom, withthe Gandhian world-viewof developmentbased upon but the most significantresistance occurred in 1907 when justice and ecological stability,they contributed silently to

This content downloaded from 203.197.126.115 on Wed, 23 Jul 2014 03:54:48 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions V. SHIVA AND.. BANDYOPADHYAY/ 137 the growthof women-power and ecological consciousness meeting of all activists in the hill areas of Uttar Pradesh in the hill areas of Uttar Pradesh. Sunderlal Bahuguna is State which furtherstrengthened the movement and con- prominent among the new generation of workers deeply solidated the resistance to commercial fellingsas well as inspired by these Gandhians. Influenced by Sri Dev excessive tapping of resin from the Chir pine trees. In Suman, he joined the Independence movement at the age Gotars forestin the Tehri range the forestranger was trans- of 13. Now, at nearly60, he is busy strengtheningthe philo- ferredbecause of his inabilityto controlillegal over-tapping sophical base of the Chipko Movement fromthe Gandhian of resin. Consciousness was so high that, in theJogidanda view of nature. The rapid spread of resistance, based on area of Saklana range, the public sector agency, Garhwal the Movement, in the hills of Uttar Pradesh and its success Mandal Vikas Nigam, was asked to regulate its resin- in enforcingchanges in forestmanagement was largelydue tapping activity. to the awareness created by folkpoets, such as Chanshyam Among the numerous instances of Chipko successes Raturi, and grass-rootsorganizational effortsof a number throughoutthe Garhwal Himalaya in the years to follow, of activists, such as Chandi Prasad Bhatt in Chamoli and the instances in Adwani, Amarsar, and Badiargarh merit Dhoom Singh Negi in Tehri Garhwal. special mention. The auction of Adwani foreststook place The Gandhian movement in Garhwal in the post-Inde- in October 1977 in Narendernagar, the districtheadquar- pendence period had organized itselfaround three central ters. Bahuguna undertook a fast against the auction and issues: (1) organization of women power; (2) struggle appealed to the forestcontractors and the districtauthori- against the liquor menace; and (3) the forestproblem. The ties to refrainfrom auctioning the forests.The auction was organizational platform for the Chipko Movement was undertaken despite the expression of popular discontent. ready, therefore,when in the 1960s destructionof Hima- In the firstweek of December 1977, the Adwani forests layan foreststhrough commercial exploitationbecame the were scheduled to be felled. Large groups of women led major cause of ecological instabilityin the Himalaya. Since by Bachhni Devi came forwardto save the forests.Inter- forestexploitation was carried out by private contractors, estingly, Bachhni Devi was the wife of the local village the Movement, in its initial stages, attempted to stop the head, who was himselfa contractor. Dhoom Singh Negi auctioning of forestsfor fellingby contractors. Auctions supported the women's struggleby undertaking a fast in were held up by protestersin Nainital, Dehradun, Narend- the forestitself. The women tied sacred threadsto the trees ranagar, Tehri, and Uttarkashi. Songs by the folk poet as a token of a vow of protection. Between 13 and 20 De- Ghanashyam Raturi were central to the mobilization of cember large numbers of women from15 villages guarded support for these protests. The songs reminded the hill the forestswhile discourses on the role of forestsin Indian people of their forest-basedculture and created an envi- life from ancient texts went on non-stop. It was here in ronmentwithin which the hill people became more aware Advani thatthe ecological slogan "What do the forestsbear? of the need forforest protection. In particular,one popular soil, water, and pure air" was born. folk-songby Raturi, writtenin 1973, identifiesembracing The axe-men withdrew only to return on 1 February the trees as a method of saving them from the axe-men. 1978 with two truckloads of the armed police. The plan It is this cultural and political climate and heritage which was to encirclethe forestswith the help ofthe police in order marks the birthof the now famousChipko Movement (Fig- to keep the people away during the fellingoperation. Even ure 1). before the police reached the area the volunteers of the There has been a lot of confusion in the search for the Movement entered the forestand explained their case to originatorof the Chipko Movement. However, the Move- the forestlabourers who had been broughtin fromfar dis- ment is not the conceptual creation of any one individual. tant places. By the time the contractorsarrived with the It is the expression of an old social consciousness in a new policemen each tree was being guarded by three embrac- context.Chipko, like the earlierforest satyagrahas and move- ing volunteers. The police, having been defeated in their ments in Garhwal, is aimed jointly at protectingforests, own plan and seeing the awareness among the people, preservinga culture, and maintaininglivelihoods. It is the hastily withdrew before nightfall. response of a whole culture to the centralproblems related In March 1978 a new auction was planned in Narend- to the survival of the hill people. Today, the women of ranagar. A large popular demonstrationtook place against Garhwal are the main bearers of this culture. it and the police arrested 23 Chipko volunteers,including This is the primary reason why the contemporary women. In December 1978 a large fellingwas planned by struggle to save the survival base in the Himalaya is led the public sector U.P. Forest Development Corporation by the women. The firstChipko action took place spon- in the Badiyargarh area. The local people instantlyin- taneously in April 1973, when the villagers demonstrated formedBahuguna who starteda fastunto death at the fell- against felling of ash trees in Mandal forest. Again, in ing site. On the eleventh day of his fast Bahuguna was March 1974, 27 women under the leadership of Goura arrested in the middle of the night and taken to jail. This Devi saved a large number of treesfrom a contractor'saxe. act only served to furthersteel the commitment of the Afterthis, the governmentstopped the contractsystem of people. Folk poet Ghanashyam Raturi and priest Khima fellingand formedthe Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation. Shastri led the movementas thousands of men and women During the next fiveyears Chipko resistanceto fellingtook fromall the villages around joined themin the Badiyargarh place in various parts of Garhwal Himalaya. In May 1977 forests.The people remained in the forestsand guarded Chipko activists in Henwal Valley organized themselves the trees foreleven days, when the contractorswithdrew. for future action. In June 1977 Sarala Behn planned a The cumulative impact of the sustained grass-roots

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strugglesto protectthe forestswas a re-thinkingof the forest was recognized at the highestpolicy-making level. The late managementstrategy in the hill areas. The Chipko demand Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, aftermeeting with Bahu- for declaration of Himalayan forestsas protectionforests guna, issued a directive fora 15-year ban on commercial instead of production forestsfor commercial exploitation green fellingin the Himalayan forestsof Uttar Pradesh.

ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF THE CHIPKO MOVEMENT

Both the earlier forestsatyagrahas and their contempo- The contemporaryChipko Movement, which has be- rary form,the Chipko Movement, have arisen fromcon- come a national campaign, is the result of these multi- flictsover forestresources and are similarcultural responses dimensional conflictsover forestresources at the scientific, to forestdestruction. What differentiatesChipko fromthe technical, economic, and especially the ecological levels. earlier struggleis its ecological basis. The new concern to It is not a narrow conflictover the local or non-local distri- save and protectforests through Chipko Satyagrahadid not bution of forestresources, such as timber and resin. The arise froma resentmentagainst furtherencroachment on Chipko demand is not fora biggershare forthe local people the people's access to forestresources. It arose from the in the immediate commercial benefits of an ecologically alarming signals of rapid ecological destabilization in the destructivepattern of forestresource exploitation. Since hills. Villages that were self-sufficientin food had to resort the Chipko Movement is based upon the perception of to food imports as a result of declining food productivity. forestsin theirecological context,it exposes the social and This, in turn, was related to the reduction of soil fertility ecological costs of growth-orientedforest management. in the forests.Water sources began to dry up as the forests This is clearly seen in the slogan of the Chipko Movement disappeared. The so-called "natural disasters", such as which claims that the main products of the forestsare not floodsand landslides, began to occur in riversystems which timber or resin, but soil and water. Basic biomass needs had hithertobeen stable. The Alaknanda disaster ofJuly of food, fuel, fodder, small timber, and fertilizercan, in 1970 inundated 1,000 km2 of land in the hills and washed the Chipko vision and the Garhwal practice, be satisfied away many bridges and roads. In 1977 the Tawaghat as positive externalitiesof biomass production primarily tragedy took an even heavier toll. In 1978 the Bagirathi aimed at soil and water conservation to stabilize the local blockade above Uttarkashiresulted in massive floodsacross agro-pastoral economy. the entire Gangetic plains. The Chipko Movement has been successful in forcing The over-exploitationof forestresources and the result- a fifteen-yearban on commercial green fellingin the hills ing threat to communities living in the forestshave thus of Uttar Pradesh, in stopping clear-fellingin the Western evolved from concerns for distributionof material bene- Ghats and the Vindhyas, and in generating pressure for fitsto concerns for distributionof ecologically-generated a national forest policy which is more sensitive to the material costs. At the firststage, the growthof commer- people's needs and to the ecological requirements of the cial interests resulted in effortsto exclude competing country. Unfortunately,the Chipko Movement has often demands. The commercial exploitationof India's forestre- been naively presented by vested interestsas a reflection sources thus created the need fora forestlegislation which of a conflictbetween "development" and "ecological con- denied village communities'access to forestresources. The cern", implyingthat "development"relates to material and Forest Satyagrahasof the 1930s were a result of the Forest objectivebases oflife while "ecology"is concernedwith non- Act of 1927 which denied the people access to biomass for material and subjectivefactors, such as scenic beauty. The survivalwhile increasingbiomass productionfor industrial deliberate introductionof this false and dangerous dichot- and commercial growth.The growthimperative, however, omy between"development" and "ecology"disguises the real drove production forcommercial purposes into the second dichotomy between ecologically sound development and stage of conflictwhich is at the ecological level. Scientific unsustainable and ecologically destructive economic and technical knowledge of forestrygenerated in the exist- growth.The latteris always achieved throughdestruction ing model offorest management is limitedto viewingforests of life-supportsystems and material deprivation of mar- only as sources of commercial timber. This gives rise to ginal communities. Genuine development can only be prescriptionsfor forest management which are manipula- based on ecological stabilitywhich ensures sustainable sup- tions to maximize immediate growthof commercial wood. plies ofvital resources. Gandhi and laterhis disciples,Mira This is achieved initiallyby the destructionof other bio- Behn and Sarala Behn, clearlydescribed how and why de- mass formsthat have lower commercial value but may be velopmentis not necessarilycontradictory to ecological sta- very importantto the people, or have great ecological sig- bility. Conflictbetween exploitativeeconomic growthand nificance. The silviculturalsystem of modern forestryem- ecological development implies that, by questioning the braces prescriptionsfor destruction of non-commercialbio- destructiveprocess of growth,ecological movements like mass formsto ensure the increased productionof commer- Chipko are neveran obstacle to the processof development. cial forms. The encouragement given to the replacement On the contrary,by constantlykeeping ecological stability of ecologically valuable oak forestsby commerciallyvalu- in focus, they provide the best guarantee for ensuring a able conifersis an indicator of this shift.Ultimately, this stable material basis for life. increase in production may be described as mining of the ecological capital of the forest ecosystems which have evolved through thousands of years.

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ECOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OR ECO-DEVELOPMENT?

The philosophical confusion created by taking sectoral resource-intensiveand resource-wastefultechnologies. In growth as synonymous with development, however, has contrast,the political economy of ecological development permeated movementssuch as Chipko. There is a growing is based on the distributionof both the benefitsand the tension between two streams of the Chipko Movement; costs created through ecological disruption. It involves a one, guided by the ecological world-view of Sunderlal development shiftto resource-prudentand resource-con- Bahuguna, and the other, representedby the eco-develop- servingtechnologies which are more productiveat the sys- ment model of Chandi Prasad Bhatt (Agarwal, 1982; tems level. Gadgil, 1984). In the ecological view, the old restrictednotion of pro- The Bahuguna philosophy is based on the ecological ductivityas an increase of labour productivityis counter- thesis that protectionof livelihood and economic produc- productiveat two levels. At the resourcelevel, it consumes tivityis directlydependent on the maintenance of the life- more resourcesto produce less usefulgoods. At the human support systems. The contemporaryeconomic crises can level, it displaces labour in a labour-surplus context and be solved only by directlyaddressing the ecological crises thus destroyslivelihoods instead of creatingthem. Gandhi symptomizedby the destabilizationof the hydrologicalsys- criticallyarticulated the fallacy of increasing labour pro- tem and the disruption of nutrientcycles. Ecological re- ductivityindependent of the social and material context. habilitation of the hill areas is the primary task, and this Gandhi's followersin the Chipko Movement continue to involvesa temporarymoratorium on green-fellingfor com- criticallyevaluate restrictednotions of productivity.It is mercial objectives, both local and non-local, to facilitate this concern with resources and human needs that is cap- regeneration. Economic development in this perspective tured in Bahuguna's well-knownslogan that"ecology is per- can only be based on minimizing the ecological costs of manent economy". growthwhile maximizing the sustainable productivityof Growth for its own sake has been the overriding con- nature for the satisfactionof primary human needs. cern in resource use in India in the past. The threatto sur- The eco-developmentmodel of Bhatt (1980) is based on vival fromecological disruptionis becoming the major con- the acceptance of presentmodes of resourceutilization with cern in resource use for the future. And human survival a new emphasis on the location of manufacturingactivi- in sensitive ecosystems, such as the Himalaya, is more ties in the hill areas and strengtheningof their raw mate- severelythreatened than elsewhere. The urgencyto estab- rial base. This model explains poverty as the absence of lish a new economy of permanence based on ecological processingindustries and not in the impoverishmentof the principles is created with each environmentaldisaster in environment.Poverty is seen by Bhatt as having a techno- the Himalayan region which spells destructionthroughout logical solution,in contrastto Bahuguna who sees the solu- the Ganges basin. Chipko's search for a strategyfor sur- tion to povertyin the ecological rebuildingof nature's pro- vival has global implications.What Chipko is tryingto con- ductivity. For Bahuguna, material benefits arise from serve is not merelylocal forestresources but the entirelife- lowering ecological costs due to resource destructionand support system,and with it the option forhuman survival. increasingproductivity of natural and man-made systems. Gandhi's mobilizationfor a new society,where neitherman For Bhatt, material benefitsare not seen in the perspec- nor nature is exploited and destroyed,was the beginning tive of essential ecological processes. The instrumentsof of thiscivilizational response to a threatto human survival. production do not include nature and its ecological pro- Chipko's agenda is the carrying forward of that vision cesses, and productivityis definedthrough the technologi- against the heavier odds of contemporarycrises. Its con- cal productivityof labour alone. In this respect Bhatt's temporary relevance, and its significance for the future model is subsumed by the dominant development world, is clearly indicated in the rapid spread of the eco- paradigm which equates economic growthwith social and logical world-viewthroughout the whole Himalaya, follow- economic development. The development prescriptionis ing the historical 5,000-km trans-Himalaya Chipko foot- that with the help of modern scientific knowledge the march led by Bahuguna, and subsequently throughother instrumentsof production are improved and the standard vulnerable mountain systemssuch as the Western Ghats, of living is raised (Bhatt, 1980; Bhatt and Kanwar, 1982). Central India, and Aravalli. Co-operative fellingand the use of treesby the local people Since the ecological crises threatensurvival irrespective can provide employment and thus regenerate the hill of the industrial status of societies, the philosophical sig- economy (Kowal, 1984). There is no consideration of eco- nificanceof re-directingdevelopment onto an ecologically logical limits to commercial exploitation of natural re- sustainablepath relatesto the industrializedNorth as much sources in order to sustain the productivity of nature; as to countries of the South. This is why the ecological water, for instance, whose economic significance is strategyof Chipko finds new application in the people's immense, is ignored in modern economic analysis. movementin European countriessuch as Switzerland,Ger- The absence of an ecological perspective in the eco-de- many, and Holland. The spread of the message of an alter- velopment model results in the neglect of special strate- nate world-view is crucial to the creation of a sustainable gies to regenerate and stabilize vital soil and water re- world, particularly in the context of a highly integrated sources. It also leads to failureto assess the impact of other global economic system. The ecological world-view of economic activities, including afforestationprogrammes, Chipko provides a strategyfor survival not only for tiny on the essential processes of soil and water conservation. villages in the Garhwal Himalaya, but forall human socie- The political economy of eco-development is based upon ties threatened by environmental disasters. a new distributionof the goods produced by the existing

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Theanalysis and information presented here has evolved in perceptionand has correctedmany mistaken assump- froma decadeof interaction with the Chipko Movement. tionsabout resources and development. Opportunities of ParticipationinChipko footmarches inthe Garhwal Hima- closeinteraction with Sarala Behn, Sunderlal Bahuguna, laya and in theWestern Ghats has providedthe experi- VimalaBahuguna, Visveswar Dutt Saklani, Ghanashyam encefor understanding the ecological crises more clearly. Raturi,and Dhum Sing Negi, have helped us appreciate The first-handopportunity to live with, and learnfrom, the strengthof non-violentsatyagraha, not merelyas a therural people in the Chipko areas has led to major shifts politicalweapon, but as a life-style.

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