He gave his life to something bigger than himself. Heroes are the people who do what has to be done, regardless of the consequences.
It is a matter of profound regret and grief that the Gandhian, who was the driving force behind such legendary movements that marked a milestone in Indian environmentalism, succumbed to Covid-19 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences on 21st May 2021.
Sunderlal Bahuguna – born on 9th January 1927, in Maroda village in Tehri – dedicated his life to social causes, activism and writing. As a Gandhian peace worker, he does not resort to
violence to achieve the change he is working towards. He pioneered the Chipko movement in 1973, Uttar Pradesh, and had an active role within the anti-Tehri Dam movements.
In the 1960s, Sunderlal began moving throughout the mountains and providing strength and encouragement to the mountain women to eradicate alcohol from the native regions. Directly following the elimination of the threat of alcohol, he turned his energy to another prominent peril, the deforestation of the Himalayas Mountains. Sunderlal worked with others to ignite the
Chipko movement. Chipko means tree huggers. His supporters and this assiduous man himself would chain themselves to the trees so that the loggers could not cut the trees down. Sunderlalji understood this and maintained that our movements need to be vis-a-vis with our needs. He carried the discourse of environment, forests, and ecology to the rest of the country. The Chipko is still working to protect the trees today through the same novel and nonviolent methods.
Sunderlal Bahuguna has contributed globally through awareness-raising measures concerning deforestation, the detrimental effects of liquor on mountain life, and the health of the Ganges river. His outspoken views have instigated the young people of India into action to perpetuate the protest against the ecological ruin imposed on India. He will be a memorable personality in history for sparking a grassroots movement for protecting the environment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Bahuguna’s demise as a “monumental loss” for the nation. “He manifested our centuries old ethos of living in harmony with nature. His simplicity and spirit of compassion will never be forgotten,” he posted on Twitter. President Ram Nath Kovind described Bahuguna as “a legend in his own right” who “made conservation a people’s movement. ”
Ignorance is a choice,
So is finding your fire.
Heroes get remembered,
But legends never die.
Sunderlal Bahuguna lived a life he preached, giving us a wealth of ground truths.
The void created by his passing away in the field of environment conservation can never be filled. Let us commit ourselves to working for a better environment, not only to honor the fervor spirit of him, but for our future too.
