Chipko movement leader Sunderlal Bahuguna dies of Covid-19

He was a big critic of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Sunderlal Bahuguna, veteran environmentalist and pioneer of the Chipko movement, breathed his last on Friday at the AIIMS in Rishikesh after battling Covid-19.

He was 94.

Bahuguna, who led protests against the felling of trees in the Garhwal Himalayas and opposed the construction of the Tehri Dam, was admitted to AIIMS in Rishikesh on May 8 for treatment of Covid-19. His condition deteriorated on Thursday night and he succumbed to the deadly virus at 12:05 pm on Friday.

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh among others condoled the death of Bahuguna.

“He manifested our centuries-old ethos of living in harmony with nature. His simplicity and spirit of compassion will never be forgotten. My thoughts are with his family and many admirers,” Modi said.

Born in an affluent family in Maroda in Tehri on January 9, 1927, Bahuguna was influenced by freedom fighter Sridev Suman, a prominent figure in the Garhwal region. Suman introduced young Sunderlal to the Gandhian way of peace and non-violence and spearheaded the anti-liquor movement in the region.

But it was the Chiko movement – a spontaneous reaction of local women in the Chamoli district of embracing trees to prevent them from felling to facilitate development works in the fragile Garhwal Himalayas.

The spark that was lit in Reni village in Chamoli in 1973, soon spread across the Himalayan districts of the then Uttar Pradesh under Bahuguna’s patronage.

Bahuguna took out a trans-Himalayan foot march traversing 5,000 km before meeting the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who imposed a 15-year ban on felling trees in the region in 1980.

He also led the movement against the Tehri Dam – which ranks among the highest large dams in the world – and went on long fasts demanding an independent review of the dam.

Bahuguna called off the fast after 45 days on assurance from the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao of appointing an independent committee. When the promise was not kept, he went on another fast for 74 days which was called off after a personal undertaking from the then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on a review of the project on Bahuguna’s terms.

“I have good memories of interacting with him and convincing him to give up his fast against the Tehri Dam in 1996, when I was the Prime Minister. He was gentle, warm but firm about his principles, which I respected,” Deve Gowda said remembering Bahuguna.

Bahuguna was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981, which he refused to accept. In 1987, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award and the Padma Vibhushan in 2009 for his work in the conservation of the environment.

Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat condoled his death describing it as a big loss not just for Uttarakhand and India but for the entire world.

"It was he who made the Chipko movement a movement of the masses," Rawat said.

The void created by his passing away in the field of environment conservation can never be filled, the chief minister said. He prayed for peace to the departed soul and strength to the bereaved family to bear the loss.

Expressing his condolence at Bahuguna's death, another noted environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt described him as a "brilliant social worker". "His demise is painful for all of us," Bhatt said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday condoled the demise of Bahuguna, saying his efforts to preserve the ecosystem will always be remembered.

"Pained to know that Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna ji has passed away. As a prominent environmentalist and a leader of the Chipko movement, his untiring efforts for the preservation of the Himalayan ecosystem earned him global recognition and will long be remembered," the Vice President Secretariat tweeted, quoting Naidu.

Bahuguna's efforts have spawned a generation of environmentalists and will inspire many more to come, the vice president in another tweet.

"Our tribute to him is to strive and live by his idea- 'ecology is our permanent economy'. My deepest condolences to his family and followers. Om Shanti," he added.