The Movement took its name from the word ‘Chipko’ which means ‘to hug or to embrace’. The villagers were hugging the trees to prevent them from being felled. The Movement was started in 1970s by the villagers of Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh) against indiscriminate cutting and felling of trees in the forests.
The movement began because the Forest department did not allow villagers to use ash trees for making agricultural tools. But the forest department allotted the same to the sports manufacturing company for commercial use. This angered the villagers and protested against this decision. So the villagers including women stepped forward and hugged trees to protect them from being cut down.
The most prominent leaders of this movement were Sunderlal Bahuguna, Gauri Devi and Chandi Prasad. The movement spread far beyond those villages. They voiced issues of ecological and economic exploitation of the region.
Slogans of the Chipko Movement:
i. ‘Ecology is the permanent economy’
ii. What the forests bear, ‘soil, water and pure air’
iii. Trees are like our mothers.
Features or Various aspects of this movement: The various aspects of this Movement were:
1. It was a people’s movement. It was against issues like:
i. Deforestation
ii. Alcoholism.
2. It was an environmental and a livelihood movement.
3. It was based on non-violent methods
4. It sought to bring local forests and resources under the control of local communities.
5. Women’s participation was very important. Women launched a sustained agitation against the habit of alcoholism.
6. It mobilised environmental activists all across the country.
Impact of Chipko Movement: The impact or achievements of the Chipko movement were:
i. The movement achieved success in 1980 when Government banned the felling of trees in the Himalayan region for 15 years, until green cover is fully restored.
ii. It attracted national and international attention e.g. mobilised environmental activists
iii. It gave rise to similar movements in other parts of India like Appiko Movement in Karnataka.
iv. It sustained over a long period of time without centralised organization.