Transcript From Chipko to Jhapto Cheeno

From Chipko to
Jhapto Cheeno
New Environmental Justice
Movements in the Indian
Himalayas
CAG 2005
June 4, 2005
Outline of Presentation
 Geographic
Setting
 The Chipko Movement (1970s-1980s)
 Academic Interlude
 Post-Chipko Movements (1980s-1990s)
 Jhapto Cheeno Movement (1998-2005)
A New Indian State, 2000
Uttaranchal
Jharkhand
Chhattisgarh
Three new states,
Uttaranchal,
Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh
created in 2000,
after decades of
struggle by their
residents
Tehri
Dam
Nanda Devi
Biosphere Reserve
Henwal Valley
Uttarakhand: Terrain of Resistance
“Backbone of the Hills”
Female majority in all
interior districts
 Feminization of poverty
observed
 Subsistence cultivation
on small parcels of land
 Remittance
supplements family
income
 Access to common
lands, health services,
water major issues

Birthplace of the Chipko
 Chipko
- literally “to hug”
 Active phase from 1973 to 1987
 Major milestone in the global
environmental movement, focus on
resource rights
 Celebrated confrontation between mainly
village women and loggers that resulted in
local forests being saved.
 Spread to rest of Uttarakhand Himalayas,
inspired women environmental activists
throughout world including at Clayoquot.
Gaura Devi, 1925-1991




Heroine of Reni forest
defense action, 1974
President of Reni
Women’s Association
Dedicated life to
community defense &
development
Died in penury
Mass Mobilization, 1970s
Academic De(con)struction
Anupam Mishra writes first history of Chipko
(1978), followed by Shiva & Bandyopadhyay
(1986), Weber (1987), Guha (1989),
Routledge (1993), Küchli (1997)
 Critiques launched by Aryal (1994), Mawdsley
(1998), Bandyopadhyay (1999), Rangan
(2000), mostly targeting Shiva’s ecofeminist
interpretations
 Mawdsley (1998) & Rangan (2000) update the
Chipko story with comparisons to the
Uttarakhand separate state struggle that
raged throughout the 1990s

However, post-Chipko
movements ignored…
Other Social Movements
associated with Chipko
 Prohibition
Movement (ongoing)
 Beej Bachao Andolan (late 1980s-)
 Maiti Movement (1995-)
 Jal Andolan (1997-)
 struggles against mines, dams,
development-induced displacement
 local community regeneration &
development campaigns
Tehri Dam Struggle,
1978-2004
Direct Action by Women,
1993
Dam Struggle shifts to
Rehabilitation 2002


Bahuguna, Chipko
veteran gives up
struggle
Matu People’s
organization
continues agitating
for proper
rehabilitation
Protracted struggle
leaves little desire for
repeat
Uttarakhand Movement,
1994-2000
Uttarakhand Movement,
1994-2000




Mobilization of
practically entire
population
Women again at the
forefront, with 80%
participation
Largely non-violent,
met with police
repression
Struggle for autonomy,
self-determination,
development
Renewed Mining Struggles,
2001



Henwal Valley in Tehri
District witnesses successful
1980s protests against
mining
Establishes landmark
constitutional
environmental guarantees
Mining pressures resume
around Kataldi village,
courts support mining
company 2001-2003
Women-led protests met
with intimidation, veteran
Chipko activists arrested
Ironies of Chipko
 State
deployed environmental narrative to
strengthen control over natural resources,
while ignoring the demand for the
repatriation of land and forest rights to
local communities.
 In Gaura Devi’s own community, this led
to large-scale dispossession in the name
of conservation through the creation of
the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
A Look at the Nanda Devi
Biosphere Reserve
Core Zone 640 km2
 Buffer Zone 1600 km2
 Altitude Range 1900–
7817m
 12 peaks over 6400m

Diverse variety of
microclimates
 Biodiversity hotspot
 Complete ban on
access

Jhapto Cheeno, 1998-2001
 Creation
of national park created enormous
hardship for local communities.
 Unilateral imposition of western model,
draconian ban on local access & end to
tourism industry alienated villagers, turning
them against government-led conservation
efforts.
 In 1998, Lata village launched the Jhapto
Cheeno (“Swoop and Grab”) movement,
involving direct action against the ban.
Core Zone Protest, 1998
Core Zone Protest, 1998
Nanda Devi Women’s
Festival, 2004
 Launch
of 30th
anniversary of
Chipko celebrations
 Cultural survival
through indigenous
knowledge &
practices honoured
Chipko Anniversary &
Reconciliation, 2004



Divisions of early
years between
Chamoli & Tehri
districts mended
Role of women
recognized
However, tensions
with park authorities
remained
All-Women’s Squad Reunited
Campaign Press Coverage
“Ecotourism Awards 2nd Runner-Up”
Conde Nast Traveler July 2004
Feature Article: “Peasants deprived of their land
in the name of ecology” GEO January 2005
“Paradise Regained”
National Geographic Adventure
June/July 2005
Bali Devi in Nairobi, 2004




First Chipko woman to
travel outside India
Shared dais of
opening plenary with
Wangari Maathai
Spoke & sang in local
dialect about unity of
struggles
Reaffirmed roots of
contemporary
struggles in history of
resistance.
Many thanks to the
communities of Lata &
Henwalghati
— uttarakhand.net —
— nandadevi.org —