Sundarlal Bahuguna is a noted activist and philosopher in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and an environmentalist who has fought for the preservation of forests in the Himalayas as a member of the Chipko movement. One of his notable contributions to that cause, and environmentalism in general, was his creation of the Chipko slogan "ecology is permanent economy". He helped bring the movement to prominence through a 5,000 kilometer trans-Himalaya march conducted from 1981 to 1983, and Met with the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. That meeting is credited with resulting in Ms. Gandhi's subsequent green-felling ban. [1] Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: , Hindi: , IAST: mohandÄs karamcand gÄndhÄ«, IPA: ) (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of the Indian Independence Movement. ... Bold textHello ... Perspective view of the Himalayas and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... The Chipko movement was a group of villagers in the Uttarakhand region of India who opposed commercial logging. ...
Sundarlal Bahuguna has been a passionate defender of the Himalaya peoples, working for temperance, the plight of the hill peoples (especially the working women), opposing the Tehri dam project for years, although construction and flooding are nearly completed. He has also struggled to defend India's rivers. [2][3] Tehri dam (November 2004) Tehri dam is the main dam of the Tehri Hydel Project, a major power project located near Tehri in the state of Uttaranchal in India. ...
Environmentalist and founder of the Chipko movement, SundarlalBahuguna, who inaugurated the march by handing over the flag to the padayatris, lauded the initiative taken by nature lovers in creating awareness among the people about the need for conservation of water.
SundarlalBahuguna said: "The rivers which flow for our good cannot express the pain caused by selfish human beings who forget that nature is our mother.
SundarlalBahuguna said people should learn to live with nature in harmony.
Bahuguna said that in attempting to speed up the project, which has been plagued by time and cost over-runs, the administration was threatening to cut off water and electricity supplies to people still living in the medieval town of Old Tehri -- which is due to be completely submerged by the project.
Bahuguna, who believes that restoring the harmonious relationship between people and nature would solve most modern problems, emphasized that the biggest danger to the ecology and livelihood of the people of Uttaranchal came from the series of large dam projects planned for the region.
Bahuguna, who between 1981 and 1983 undertook a 5,000 kilometer march through the Himalayas to spread the message of the chipko movement, said any revival should be accompanied by a new policy for the entire region which protected both livelihoods and the environment.
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