The Chipko Movement , also known as Chipko Andolan or the “hug the tree” movement, began in 1973 at the foothills of the Himalayas. It was led by environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna and started in the Chamoli district of Uttar Pradesh (now part of Uttarakhand). Chipko Movement , which began in the early 1970s in the villages of Reni and Mandal in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India, stands as one of India most iconic environmental movements. Biography The Chipko Movement is a non-violent resistance movement aiming to protect India’s forests. When government-controlled exploitation of natural resources started to threaten the livelihoods of Indian villagers, the movement sought to stop the destruction using Mahatma Gandhi’s method of Satyagraha or non-violent resistance. The movement , which got its name from protesters hugging trees (the Hindi word “ chipko ” means “to hug”), has had a tremendous impact on India’s ... The Chipko movement is considered the first ecofeminist environmental movement that started in India in the 1970s to protect trees and forest areas from deforestation. The name comes from the Hindi word “ chipko ”, meaning “to cling” or “to hug”, as the villagers embraced the trees to prevent them from being felled. During the 1970s, forests were being cleared for logging and commercial development across India, leading to extensive deforestation and the destruction of large swaths ...
