At a glance
Four facts that settle most exam questions on this topic
1973, Reni village
Where the Chipko Movement’s most famous stand took place.
15-year felling ban
Won above 1,000 metres in the Himalayas.
Padma Vibhushan, 2009
Awarded jointly with wife Vimla Bahuguna.
Displaced, July 2004
His own home submerged by the Tehri Dam he fought.
The Chipko Movement
Who he was, the movement, and its result
Sunderlal Bahuguna (9 January 1927 – 21 May 2021) was born in Maroda, in the Tehri Garhwal region of present-day Uttarakhand.
He was the best-known leader of the Chipko Movement, an anti-deforestation movement in the Indian Himalayas. Its name comes from the Hindi word for “to cling.”
- The method — villagers hugged trees to physically stop loggers from felling them, putting their own bodies between the axe and the tree.
- Where it started — the idea is credited to Bahuguna and his wife, Vimla Bahuguna. It spread widely after a 1973 protest in Reni village, Chamoli district.
- The result — his advocacy is credited with winning a 15-year government ban on green-tree felling in the Himalayas, above an altitude of 1,000 metres. That was a real, concrete policy win, not just a symbolic protest.
His death: he died on 21 May 2021, from COVID-19 complications, at AIIMS Rishikesh.
True or False: The Chipko Movement’s advocacy won a 15-year government ban on green-tree felling above 1,000 metres in the Himalayas.
Before Chipko, and After It
His own phrase, and what came before Chipko
Bahuguna coined the phrase “Ecology is permanent economy.” It summed up his central argument: healthy forests matter more to long-term livelihoods than short-term timber revenue.
- Before Chipko — he had already campaigned against untouchability and organised hill women in an anti-liquor drive, from 1965 to 1970. That was well before he became known as an environmentalist.
- The long walk — from 1981 to 1983, he walked roughly 5,000 kilometres across the Himalayan range on foot, building village-level support for forest conservation, one village at a time.
- Turning to the dam — from the 1980s, he shifted his focus to opposing the Tehri Dam. He led repeated hunger strikes against it, including a 45-day fast in 1995 and a 74-day fast at Raj Ghat.
True or False: Sunderlal Bahuguna’s environmental activism began before his anti-untouchability and anti-liquor campaigns.
Two Campaigns, Two Endings
Very different outcomes, and losing his own home
- Very different outcomes — Chipko succeeded in changing government policy. The Tehri Dam was built anyway, despite decades of comparable effort against it.
- Losing his own home — he was personally displaced by the dam he fought against for over two decades. His own ancestral home was submerged when the reservoir filled, in July 2004.
- National recognition — he and Vimla Bahuguna jointly received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, in 2009.
- A later, similar fight — the Narmada Bachao Andolan opposed dam-building on the Narmada, raising the same debate over development, displacement, and ecological cost. See EnvEco0036.
Think it through: why did Chipko succeed while the Tehri Dam campaign ultimately failed? Chipko’s method targeted a reversible, ongoing activity (logging) that could be halted immediately and turned into a clear policy ban. The Tehri Dam was a large, already-committed infrastructure project with major government investment behind it, far harder to stop once construction was underway, even with sustained hunger strikes and decades of organised opposition.
True or False: Sunderlal Bahuguna’s own ancestral home was submerged when the Tehri Dam’s reservoir filled in July 2004.
True or False: Sunderlal Bahuguna and Vimla Bahuguna jointly received the Bharat Ratna in 2009.
True or False: The Chipko Movement spread widely after a 1973 protest in Reni village, Chamoli district.
True or False: From 1981 to 1983, Bahuguna walked roughly 5,000 kilometres across the Himalayan range to build village-level support for forest conservation.
Quick Q&A
What does “Chipko” mean, and why that name?
It’s Hindi for “to cling” — villagers clung to trees, putting their own bodies between the axe and the tree.
What was Bahuguna’s central argument, in his own words?
“Ecology is permanent economy” — healthy forests matter more to long-term livelihoods than short-term timber revenue.
Why did Chipko succeed but the Tehri Dam campaign fail?
Chipko targeted a reversible activity that could be halted immediately; the dam was an already-committed infrastructure project, far harder to stop once underway.
What happened to Bahuguna’s own home?
It was submerged in July 2004 when the Tehri Dam’s reservoir filled — the very dam he’d fought for over two decades.
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MCQ on Sunderlal Bahuguna and the Chipko Movement
Try 5 practice questions on Chipko, the Tehri Dam, and India’s environmental movements.
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