HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies Volume 21 Number 2 Himalayan Research Bulletin Article 12 2001 On the Move: Shifting Strategies in Environmental Activism in Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh Karen K. Gaul Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Hendrix College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya Recommended Citation Gaul, Karen K.. 2001. On the Move: Shifting Strategies in Environmental Activism in Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh. HIMALAYA 21(2). Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol21/iss2/12 This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by the DigitalCommons@Macalester College at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. On the Move: Shifting Strategies in Environmental Activism in Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh Karen K. Gaul Department of Sociology/Anthropology, Hendrix College ABSTRACT In Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh, some local residents have been dedicated to environmental education, forest, watershed and wildlife protection, and the building of sustainable villages on the panchayat level for many years. These activists do not rely on any single source of inspiration or support but employ situation-specific strategies. A simultaneous history of forest protection and regeneration schemes on the part of Forest Department and various development agencies has met with a variety of responses by local people. A great deal of mobility on the part of environmental activists, in terms of not only physical travel but also strategic dexterity, gives new meaning to the term social movement. Activ­ ists and local residents bring a critical perspective to Joint Forest Management and other government initiated programs in the area.' Introduction These social and environmental movements are multi­ In Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh, social and faceted and flexible yet also stable and resilient. The con­ environmental activists work at the village level to estab­ stant restructuring of administrative systems, the frequency lish and protect the species-rich forests that provide wild­ with which government employees are transferred from one life habitat, contribute to the production of honey, fruit and position to the next and the continual introduction of new other income-generating resources, stabilize slopes against programs all contribute to a lack of continuity in govern­ erosion, and provide fodder and fuel wood for daily needs. ment entities. Key local activists are constantly on the move They work on educating the young about wildlife protec­ as well-physically and intellectually. However, they tend tion, watershed management, and other environmental is­ to lend a degree of continuity in communities as waves of sues. These initiatives are undertaken sometimes com­ government programs and personnel flow in and out of the pletely independent of any government-sponsored forest region. development schemes and sometimes in full or partial co­ The following discussion considers the shifting rela­ operation with various government programs. tionships between rural village leaders of grassroots envi­ Activist leaders make decisions about when and under ronmental efforts and government sponsored programs. At what conditions they will participate in government the heart of activists' choices about participation are ongo­ projects. Such strategies reflect underlying political, philo­ ing critiques of government entities and alternative visions sophical, and spiritual perspectives as well as the activists' for a decentralized people-centered approach to develop­ regard for government institutions such as the Forest De­ ment based on village level self-governance at the partment or Rural Development offices. Government spon­ panchayat level. sored programs, such as the past Social Forestry Program or the more recent Joint Forest Management initiative, are Chamba District launched with or without cooperation from these activist The borders of Chamba District include some of the leaders. most mountainous regions in the state and stretch to the Lahoul and Spiti to the west, Jammu and Kashmir on the north, and Kangra District to the south and west. Chamba 1 Research has been carried out in .Charnba District over the District includes a cross-section of the crumbling and grav­ last several years. Research funding has been provided by the elly Shivalik Hills and the steeper mid- to high ranges of Fulbright Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. the Dhaula Dhar and Pir Pangal ranges. Perhaps most re- 70 HIMALAYAN RESEARCH BULLETIN XXI (2) 2003 markable is that people inhabit almost every imaginable right to forest resources in all but Reserve Forests. People part of this region. graze animals, gather fuel and fodder, and live large por­ Chamba town is the district center, nestled on an un­ tions of their lives on these slopes. Women weave mats, common plateau above the Ravi River and SUITOunded by men spin wool, children study books or perform any num­ flowing wheat fields and occasional plantations of chir pine. ber of tasks while herding sheep, goats, and/or cows. Terraces built on steep and often rocky soils climb like The variety of ways in which people use forest materi­ unending staircases up hillsides. Small hamlets are als is extraordinary (Malhotra 1992). For example, birch sprinkled over this landscape. bark (bhuj) is laid out as a base under dung floors, some­ Chamba town is in many senses a hub for those living times used on ceilings like tar paper, and in the past was in the surrounding hills, a destination for distant travelers, used as writing paper. Wild apricot trees provide fruit that and the administrative center for surrounding areas of the is eaten fresh or dried and eaten as a salty snack, dead district. Now home to about twenty thousand people, branches for firewood, oil from the seed which is used for Chamba was formally first settled about the sixth century earaches, and some building materials. Goon or Horse (Negi 1963, 1966; Hutchison 1904; Hutchison and Vogel Chestnut trees are used for medicine to treat stomach prob­ 1933; Ohri 1989). Temples dating from eighth century, pro­ lems in horses, washing powder, fodder, and nuts that are tected from destruction during violent overthrows in neigh­ both eaten and used medicinally. boring areas by the town's relatively sheltered location, are Besides the fairly predictable list of fuel, fodder, some scattered throughout the town's architectural layers. food, and construction materials, people draw from the for­ Slate-roofed buildings (supplied by slate quaiTied from est materials for shoe polish, skin and hair oil, fencing ma­ surrounding hills), including shops, temples, and houses, terials, and fibers for cloth, rope, and teeth cleaning. Par­ crowd the plateau area and creep up the steep surrounding ticular kinds of wood are used for farm implements, cricket hills; winding roads in various stages of repair curve around bats, furniture, ceilings, cross beams, doorframes, window hill contours. Additionally, trails that cany foot and ani­ trim, and fruit boxes. Materials for basket making and mal traffic are carved into the mountainsides. This region woven sitting mats are collected. Sheep, goats, cows, horses is demographically comprised of a primarily Hindu popu­ and water buffalo feed on a wide range of edibles. Olives, lation with some Muslims, Sikhs, and transhumant Gujjars benies, fruit, and nuts are eaten fresh or made into chut­ and Gaddis. These groups intermingle in local markets that neys or jams. Leaf dishes are used for big feasts such as feature a combination of locally grown fruits, vegetables, weddings. Medicinal plants treat colds, coughs and fever, and milk products as well as sodas, packaged foods, plas­ purify blood, and help increase memory. tics, produce, and other supplies brought from the plains The peepul (Ficus religiosa) is used for puja (worship) on large, noisy, and brightly painted orange lonies. Sew­ and offers shade. Flowers are appreciated for their beauty age and trash stream by in (or clog and flow over) open and lovely scent. Lovers go to the forests for private trysts. ditches on the sides of roads, eventually reaching the Ravi These latter uses reflect an intimate appreciation of the River. variety of things forests offer, including spiritual expres­ In small hamlets or villages on the hills surrounding sion, rest, and physical pleasure. In a related survey of this town, women and men rise early to stall feed young people's perceptions about forests in the Chamba area, goats, sheep, and cows. Women and older girls prepare Gupta and Pirta found that: breakfast and ready children for school. Very young vil­ Not only did people know about the capacity of for­ lage children usually walk some distance to a village level ests to meet their very mundane day to day needs, primary school, and high schools are often even farther. If but they were also conscious as to how forests could they do not attend school, children will help take animals help in creating a better environment and in serving out for grazing on the slopes, cut and store grass, or work the most vital needs of humanity by providing it in the small terraced fields that produce a summer crop of with fresh air, water and by conserving proper maize and a winter crop of wheat. Only in a few lower agroclimatic conditions ( 1990). areas, where the valley floor is near the river, can rice be Some people told me that while some plants had been successfully grown. available locally in the past, one would now have to travel to far reaches to find them. Many of these were medicinal Forest Use herbs that have been subject to extensive illicit cutting and smuggling. One such respondent, a herbalist healer, had Designated forestlands in the Western Himalaya con­ vast and detailed knowledges about countless medicinal sist of some small diameter trees and shrubs but are often herbs and their localities.