Identify the reasons which led to the Chipko Movement in UP in early 1970s. What was the impact of this movement ?

The reasons which led to the Chipko Movement in UP (Now Uttarakhand) were as given below :

(i) The forest department refused permission to the villagers to fell ash trees for agricultural tools.

(ii) The villagers protested against the practice of commercial logging that the government had permitted. The government had allotted the same patch of land to a sports manufacturer for commercial use.

(iii) There were larger issues of ecological and economic exploitation of the region. The villagers demanded that no forest-exploiting contracts should be given to outsiders and local communities should have effective control over natural resources like land, water and forests.

(iv) People demanded that the government should provide low cost materials to small industries and ensure development of the region without disturbing the ecological balance.

(v) There was issue of landless forest workers. The movement demanded guarantees of minimum wage.

(vi) The forest contractors doubled up as supplier of alcohol to men. Women were against this habit of alcoholism and held sustained agitations against it. They joined the movement and broadened the agenda of the movement to cover other social issues.

Impact of the movement : (i) The government issued a ban on felling of trees in the Himalayan regions for fifteen years, until the green cover was fully restored.

(ii) The Chipko Movement became a symbol of many such movements which emerged in different parts of the country during the 1970s and later.

24397 Views

The Bharatiya Kisan Union is a leading organisation highlighting the plight of farmers. What were the issues addressed by it in the nineties and to what extent were they successful ?

The anti-arrack movement in Andhra Pradesh drew the attention of the country to some serious issues. What were these issues ?

Some of the statements below are incorrect. Identify the incorrect statements and rewrite those with necessary correction :

(a) Social movements are hampering the functioning of India’s democracy.

(b) The main strength of social movements lies in their mass base across social sections.

(c) Social movements in India emerged because there were many issues that political parties did not address.

Which of these statements are incorrect:
The Chipko Movement

was an environmental movement to prevent cutting down of trees.
raised questions of ecological and economic exploitation.
was a movement against alcoholism started by the women.
demanded that local communities should have control over their natural resources.

Rise of Popular Movements

Identify the reasons which led to the Chipko Movement in UP in early 1970s. What was the impact of this movement ?