MAN OF THE TREES – NO MORE – NATURE WEPT AT PASSING OF TREE-HUGGER ON MAY 21, 2021

 

Sundarlal Bahuguna – Tree Hugger – Chipko (Meaning - Embrace) Movement Leader – aged 94 – died of Covid-19 on May 21, 2021. In the thick of his movement to protect the Himalayan forests and to protect Tehri Dam, His was the voice of nature.

His following poem would speak volumes about his mission to love and to live with nature - a shift from ego-centric thinking and living to eco-centric thinking and living.

Ego-centrism, as per his vision, leads to greed, consumerism and stealing from others - while Eco-centrism leads to caring, sharing and not stealing from others. 

His poem:

Politicians have loudspeakers.

But who will speak for the tree that will be cut?

Who will protect the mountains?

It is now time to hear the voice of the tree being cut,

The voice of the river,

The scream of the mountain that is sliding.

He was inspired by Vinoba Bhave and Gandhi’s disciples Mira Behn.

Three “S” of Gandhian principles – Swaraj or Self rule or self-organisation, Swedeshi or self-reliance or reliance in the local economy and Satyagraha – the yearning for truth and the obligation to oppose an unjust law through a constructive vision of non-violence were his guiding factors in spearheading his movements.

Nature had not spared him even, as his ashtram was destroyed in an earthquake in 1991, but, it did not deter him from pursuing his life mission of protecting trees, mountains, rivers.

Prime Minister Indra Gandhi used to refer to him as “Chipko Bahuguna” who felled projects instead of trees. Yet Indira was understanding enough to pass a 10 year ban on chopping trees in Uttarakhand, which was then part of Uttar Pradesh.

Bahuguna’s wife, Bimla, was herself a leading light of the movement. She had worked for Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement in Bihar in the 1950s, before she married Bahuguna and became one of the pillars of the Chipko movement.

Chipko and Bahuguna received the Alternative Nobel Prize in 1987 and in 2009 he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.

His clarion call was: Development is not to convert Nature into Cash. True Development lies in nurturing and embracing nature – Enjoy Chipko Moments throughout your life.

In 2003 itself he predicted India’s gravest challenges, when he said: “Today our lifestyle is very different. We do not think about oxygen. I think the first basic need is oxygen – and then water, food, shelter and clothing.”

Really prophetic Indeed!

E-Touch pays its homage by placing a wreath. His mission and vision to take care of Nature – while undertaking developments – will be Chipkoed by the Governments at the Centre and States so that ‘Heat of Developments by Uncivilized Destructions of Nature’ should not affect the coolness of Mother Earth leading to Global Warming.