P-2 Environmental management — Science STD 10 — Question

(i) In the 1970s, an opposition to the destruction of forests spread throughout India and came to be known as the Chipko movement.
(ii) The name of the movement comes from the word 'embrace' as the villagers hugged the trees and prevented the contractors from felling them.
(iii) Many communities in India have helped save nature. One such is the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan.
(iv) The original chipko movement was started around 260 years back in Rajasthan by this community. A large group of villagers led by a lady called Amrita Devi laid down their lives in an effort to protect the trees from being felled on the orders of the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
(v) After this incident the Maharaja gave a strong royal decree preventing the cutting of trees is all Bishnoi villages.
(vi) The success achieved by this protest led to similar protests in other parts of the country.