Saturday, 22 May 2021 | Vinod Chamoli | New Tehri
Kya hai jungle ke upkaar- mitti, paani aur bayaar (what are the blessings of the forests- soil, water and wind). This was the simple line that gave a boost to the Chipko movement in the 1960s when natural disasters were rising in the Himalayas.
Sunderlal Bahuguna set out on foot to save the environment when he found that the destruction of forests was the main reason for the disasters in Himalayas. His movement bore fruits and several species were saved from being felled. The timber contractors had to leave due to his agitation. In the 1970s, the Bahuguna began to measure the Himalayan trails on foot. His goal was to make people understand the consequences of forest destruction and the benefits of forest conservation.
He saw that trees have the potential to keep the soil tied and help in water conservation. He could not understand the definition of forests as given by the colonial British who spread the web of pine trees across the region. He believed that the first use of forests should remain with the people. This will make forests accessible to them near the house and would provide fodder, wood, etc for local needs.
Bahuguna’s movement against liquor started from the village. In addition to Gandhian Meera Behen, Bahuguna also came in contact with another Gandhian, Sarla Behen who was active in Kumaon and whose Kausani Ashram, the young lady Vimala was studying. Vimala married Bahuguna and conditioned Gandhi’s idea of Gram Swaraj to be implemented. The Bahuguna couple started using these ideas among the villagers of Silyara after their wedding by setting up a hut at Silyara, 20 miles from Tehri. The biggest obstacle in this was the alcoholism of the youth of the village. The Bahuguna couple disbanded the country liquor kilns with the support of women in the village, along with the establishment of the Nav Jivan Mandal at Silyara. Men were asked to take a pledge to not drink alcohol in the future. The Bahuguna couple worked in the fields with villagers in the day and taught women and girls in their hut above the village at night. School for children was also started during the day. The Bahuguna couple got so engrossed among the villagers that during the day more than a hundred children started coming to their school to study, but the girls and women would handle the housework and study at night. They were also taught sewing, spinning and weaving besides studying.
During this time, Vinoba Bhave asked Bahuguna to spread the message of Gandhi by moving across the country. Bhave said that “this old man is breaking his bones by roaming around and you are sitting in one place”. On the other hand, Sarla Behen also asked Bahuguna to spread Gandhi’s ideas, at least by moving across what is now Uttarakhand.
On the advice of both, Bahuguna handed over the school and Ashram at Silyara to his wife Vimala and went on long journeys. When Bahuguna returned to Silyra after one such trip, he came to know that some people in Silyara had started brewing country liquor again and the youths were again caught up in substance abuse. Bahuguna sat on a fast under a tree in the village in what he called an act of atonement. The women urged Bahuguna to break the fast and spoke of campaigning against alcohol. He ended his fast on the assurance of the women who said that if their men drank liquor again, they too would go on a hunger strike at home. In 1965, a liquor store opened in Ghansali town, some distance away from Silyara. Bahuguna reached Ghansali and formed a prohibition committee. People were exposed to the ill effects of alcohol through dramas and Bahuguna himself sat on a protest fast. Many prominent people supported Bahuguna’s protest against the liquor store. Among them were retired SDM Balakrishna Nautiyal and retired judge Surendra Dutt Nautiyal. On the other hand, Sarala Behen from Kausani Ashram also reached there with her group. Gradually a large number of people and especially women joined with the movement. The result was that the contractor could not open the liquor store. After that, protests were held in various parts against liquor following which the government was forced to cancel liquor contracts.
Another major role played by Bahuguna was the protest against the Tehri dam, which he opposed till the last moment possible before the old Tehri town was submerged in the waters of the dam’s reservoir. With his demise, the nation has lost a gentle warrior who fought for environmental conservation and led by example during his decades of activism.
