Evolution of Environmentalists from Amrita Devi to Raika Activists
Chander Mohan Sharma
Do the First and the Second Chipko Movements bear any resemblance with the sporadic protests by some environment activists against the proposed felling of around 38,000 trees including about 150 plant species belonging to Phullai, Shisham, Jamun, Khair, Babul, Dhaman, Siris, Chir Pine, Pansar, Katari, etc. in the Raika Forest Reserve in Jammu.
It was recently on 28 June that the Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, Shri D Y Chandrachud laid the foundation stone for the new high court building at Raika forest amid controversy surrounding Rs 938 crore project that has drawn wide public attention and concerns over the likely irrevocable damage to the ecology of Jammu city.
Some local and national level activists along with some NGOs came together under different banners to protest against the project and raise their opposition through various means, apprehending that the project will endanger their livelihood and also pose a threat to several species of flora and fauna, including the natural habitats of peacocks, foxes, porcupines, rabbits, mongooses, wild pigs, musk deer, snakes, leopards and others. Of these, musk deer is a designated ‘endangered animal' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
It is feared that with the displacement of wildlife from Raika, there will be an increase in human-animal conflict locally in the coming years and average diurnal temperatures will go up. Global warming is already threatening the world and the unwanted luxury of deforestation and construction of concrete jungles in Raika forest land will only aggravate the situation in Jammu.
Learned foresters say that Jammu city was once surrounded by a large number of trees and plants of Bahu Rakh spread over an area of around 60 sq km., but reduced to just 6 sq km. now, due to the negligent approach of all the governments.
The surprised common man asks in a somewhat muffled voice, “Why the governments function, plan and decide in an arbitrary and whimsical manner over such serious issues as the environment and town planning?”
Not so long ago, the Jammu bench of the J&K High Court was located in the Mubarak Mandi Complex in Jammu till the 1990s. The high court complex was shifted to the sprawling hundreds of kanals of land at Janipur, Jammu, in 1994 after denuding this hillock too. Today, it houses the district courts complex, advocate general's office, judicial academy, and registrar's office, besides the J&K High Court. Now, after 30 years, it is being shifted to another location at the cost of thousands of trees that provide habitat for thousands of birds and animals!
Strangely enough, shifting the high court to Raika has become the government's priority in the process of reforming the judicial structure in Jammu and Kashmir. Various committees formed under the supervision of Registrar General, J&K High Court and Principal Secretary (Chief Justice), have been working round the clock to ensure early completion of the project.
Agreed, that:
- The new court complex will be one of the best high courts in the country with 35 courtrooms and provision to extend them further to 70 courtrooms later; and the new building will have three auditoriums, an administrative block, a mediation centre, a medical centre, a computer centre, a judges' library, chambers for 1,000 lawyers, facilities for litigants, food courts, an archival section, among others; and that:
- The complex has been designed by famous architect Guneet Singh Chauhan who has designed many high courts, including Delhi high court, metro stations, and malls and the construction will be supervised by the high court judges through the Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation and the Public Works Department; and further, that:
iii. The project is expected to be completed in one and a half years from now; and
- All the requisite No Objection Certificates (NOCs) have been obtained from the Department of Wildlife and Forests; and:
- The National Green Tribunal has also ruled in favour of the project, and that:
- In view of all NOCs and the support of the Bar Association Jammu also, there seems no hurdle in the accomplishment of the project.
One of the presumed supporters of the government's move argued sarcastically, “We hope that the DPR of the new High Court Complex at Raika, also includes the places identified and the time and the finance required and the measures that will be taken for relocation of displaced humans and wildlife and also for the forestation (tree plantation) programme as a compensatory measure in lieu of this deforestation.”
A Common Man on the Street who has never thought of speaking against the government felt, “In any case, deforestation for the building project must be adequately compensated by afforestation at the identified places and other required measures. He quipped, “Taking care of the environment is not the sole responsibility of environment activists only, but each one of us.”
Capt. L. K. Sharma (Retd.), a senior citizen of Jammu who held the post of Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, when asked, observed, “It must be borne in mind that infrastructure can be shifted but not the forest, wildlife and the biodiversity of a place. There is a difference between plantations and forests. Nature takes hundreds of years to create a forest which is an institution in itself containing its own ecosystem, bio-diversity, hydrological cycle, food chain and much more. Forest must stay where it is and never shift. This Raika Forest was already a remnant of the erstwhile Bahu Rakh. This Rakh or Protected area was spread over the whole of Gandhi Nagar, Nanak Nagar, Chhanni Himmat, Gujjar Colony, Sainik Colony, Gorkha Nagar and Bawe Wali Colonies of today. The erstwhile Maharajas were visionary and they had created three lungs for Jammu city i.e. Bahu Rakh, Rolki Rakh and Ramnagar Rakh. Rolki Rakh is already butchered for Bakshinagar, Shaktlnagar and Shivnagar under compelling and somewhat manipulated circumstances and adjoining inhabitations. Ramnagar Rakh is under tremendous pressure. Who will then cater for the oxygen and fresh air needs of Jammuites? It is an Irony that protection agencies like Forest, and Wildlife Departments coupled with a learned battery of lawyers and the intellectual lot of the society are supporting the proposition. This is an anti-environment decision. You are creating a complex to provide justice after butchering thirty-eight thousand trees. The plants too have life and who will be responsible for the ‘Katle Aam' of thousands of trees and their homeland known as Raika Forest.” He reminded me, “The Bar Associations of Jammu have successfully prevailed upon the governments in the past to protect the interests of Jammu and its environment. Now also, it is the time to seriously consider the issue with environmental concerns.” There is still time to revert the decision, he said.
The First Chipko Movement
Do you know that Amrita Devi Bishnoi National Award for Wildlife Conservation is given to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of Amrita Devi and 362 other villagers of Khejarli Village, including her young daughters for the conservation of the Khejri tree in the year 1730? The other names for the Khejri tree are Kalp Taru, King of Desert, and Wonder Tree. The award is given for significant contributions and exemplary work done for the protection of wildlife in the country.
The Black Buck (Deer) Sanctuary, located adjacent to Guda Bishnoi Lake in Jodhpur is the wildlife sanctuary named after this brave lady. Amrita Devi belonged to Khejarli Village, about 25 km from Jodhpur via the road RJ SH61 in Rajasthan. A board stands there as the lone reminder to the present and the future about this gruesome massacre. It is perhaps the first documented and the greatest green movement in India and inspires to fight and protect the trees.
Amrita Devi belonged to the Bishnoi community. Bishnois strictly forbid the harming of trees and animals. Guru Maharaj Jambaji founded the sect in 1485 AD in Marwar (Jodhpur) Rajasthan, India. Every year in September, the Bishnoi community and thousands of others congregate to offer prayers and respects to the martyrs of Khejrali.
The story of Amrita Devi and 362 others of Khejarli Village who sacrificed themselves for trees is as follows:
In the year 1731, King Abhay Singh of Jodhpur was expanding and renovated his fort. He instructed his minister, Giridhar Bhandari to collect the Khejri wood required for the construction. The wood had to be collected from Khejarli village where the trees grew in abundance. What the minister didn't foresee was that there would be stiff opposition from the villagers belonging to the Bishnoi community, to the felling of the trees.
Amrita Devi and her 3 daughters were the first to oppose. They hugged the trees and chanted, “Seir, santhe runkh raheb, to bhee sasto jaan.” (it is still a small price to pay if at the cost of my head, the tree is saved). First Amrita Devi fell and then her daughters Asu, Ratni and Bhagu emulated her and were victims of merciless slaying by the king's men. Their heads rolled down, but the villagers were not scared. Their place was taken by other villagers and so it went on and on.
As the news spread, King Abhay Singh heard it and he came rushing to Khejarli village to stop the merciless slaying of the villagers. By then 363 villagers had sacrificed themselves. The remorseful king immediately declared that no trees would be cut and he personally apologized to the villagers. The place where this Bishnoi movement took place was renamed Shahid Nagar (Martyr's town).”
So, this was the first Chipko Movement (hugging the trees to oppose their felling down) that originated in Khejarli village of Rajasthan and the Bishnois are known as the first environmentalists of medieval and contemporary India.
The Second Chipko Movement
The Second Chipko Movement happened in 1973 in a remote village of the Indian Himalayas. It attracted more global attention and support. This Chipko Movement was inspired by the story of Amrita Devi Bishnoi. Initiated by a group of Sarvodaya workers (followers of Mahatma Gandhi's disciple Vinoba Bhave), it was led by Sunder Lal Bahuguna and originated in Chamoli, U.P., now in Uttrakhand. It was a nonviolent social and ecological movement adopted by the rural people aimed at conserving forests. The movement was to prevent government-backed logging.
(The Writer is a Freelancer and a retired Dy. Director, J&K Agriculture Department)
