Heartfelt Tribute to the Gandhian Defender of Nature Cherished are those whose dedication inspires us to build a better world

Padma Vibhushan Sunderlal Bahuguna, a deeply admired Paryavaran Satyagrahi, ardent defender of the Himalayan ecology and forerunner of the iconic Chipko Movement, succumbed to Covid-19, aged 94

“Ecology is permanent economy.”

So goes the aphorism coined by Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna, whose eco-activism evoked our country’s environmental consciousness through the Chipko Movement and the Anti Tehri Dam protests all his life. His devotion towards the protection and conservation by means of Ahimsa and Satyagraha paved the path for a greener India in ways more than one.

During the 1970s, when the reckless cutting of trees began affecting people's livelihoods, villagers in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli began to protest. The epitome came in 1974 when the Government announced auction of 2,500 trees, overlooking the Alaknanda river. This was the birth of Chipko, where hugging the trees was Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna the Gandhian way of showing solidarity with the (9 January 1927 – 21 May 2021) environment. From 1981 to 1983, Shri Bahuguna led a 5,000-kilometre march across the Himalayas, ending  with a meeting with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who consequently passed a legislation to protect some “From your head to your heart Himalayan regions from tree-felling. with your hands. Whatever you think, take it to your heart, and then act Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna was awarded the Padma Shri according to it.” in 1981 (which he had refused in light of rampant deforestation in the Himalayas), the Right Livelihood Award in 1987, Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1986, Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences by IIT Roorkee and the Padma Vibhushan in 2009.

Perhaps no one could have hugged mother Earth the way Shri Bahuguna did throughout his life. An iconic personality in his own way, he was clearly a man of the masses. His selfless commitment at educating the villagers to protest against the destruction of forests and the Himalayan mountains will be remembered by posterity. He is survived by a nation full of admiring nature lovers who deeply mourn his loss. He will forever be remembered with immense respect and gratitude.

Takshila Educational Society offers heartfelt condolences to this Gandhian soul.