| Adhering to the tradition of satyagraha,
or nonviolent protest for the sake of truth and
purity, the Chipko movement in the Indian Himalayas
is a predominately female peasant movement dedicated
to ecological protection, especially forest preservation.
Named for the practice of “hugging” trees
in order to protect them from loggers, this grassroots
movement protests land use and development schemes
that are socially and environmentally destructive.
Chipko participants express a reverence for nature
and a perception of trees as sacred that testifies
to the religious dimension of the movement. Leaders
in the movement also utilize other religious techniques
and practices such as the recitation of Hindu religious
writings and the performance of rituals during protests.
Scholars such as Vandana Shiva argue that the gendered
nature of Chipko as a women’s movement testifies
to its religious base through the longstanding association
of nature and “the feminine principle”
in Indian religious traditions. |
| Hinduism |
| The Indian Himalayas |
| 1973–Present |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| To protect local forests and the people
that dwell in them from contract logging, abusive
resin-tapping, and other destructive land-use practices
or development projects through nonviolent resistance
efforts. |
| George A. James, “Ethical and
Religious Dimensions of Chipko Resistance”
in Hinduism and Ecology: The Intersection of
Earth, Sky, and Water, eds. Christopher Key
Chapple and Mary Evelyn Tucker (Cambridge, Mass.:
Center for the Study of World Religions; Harvard
University Press, 2000) 499–530. |
| None Listed |
Sunderlal Bahuguna
Chipko Information Centre
P.O. Silyara via Ghansali
Tehri-Garhwal,U.P., 249155 India
Fax #1: Delhi
91 11 4364914
Fax #2: 4360784 Tehri 91 1376 84566
For additional information see the following websites:
We
the People: 50 Communities
American
University Case Study on the Chipko Movement
|
