Sunderlal Bahuguna

Sunderlal Bahuguna is a noted environmentalist who has fought for the preservation of the Himalayas. He is also a leader who is known for the famous Chipko Movement .

His life has been one of unremitting devotion as one of India's foremost Gandhian workers, a torchbearer ofpeaceful non-co-operation or Satyagraha against unjust order. Also, as a Chipko activist, he encapsulates the natural spirit of the mountain people healthy, courageous and sturdy.It is hardly ironic then that in the dusk of his life Sunderlal's principles would be cruelly tested at his doorstep. A mere birdsong from his ashram (a spiritual community) and at the heart of India's spiritual inspiration, the headwaters of the Ganges and the Bhagirathi, the construction of the massive Tehri Dam has focused all of Sunderlal's skills as a satyagrahi.

He married his wife Vimla, also a devoted and determined social activist. Vimla's condition on marriage was that they were to work in remote villages, and together they established their ashram. They taught in the villages, mobilized people against colonial rule, worked for the welfare of the Harijans (the untouchables), lobbied against deforestation and encouraged forest-based small-scale industry. They protested treeauctions, thus commemorating the Chipko Movement and got a moratorium on cutting forest trees on heights above 1,000 m.

Following the Gandhian tradition of spreading the message through folk songs, spiritual discourse and foot marches, Sunderlal set off to walk 4,870 kms across the Himalayas where he saw the relentless pace of deforestation, erosion and devastation brought about by development projects on the fragile mountain ecosystems and the subsequent social

impoverishment of the villagers. He submitted his findings in reports to the UN. Sunderlal's message rattled local forestry officials and spread the Chipko message to other parts of India.

Following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, Sunderlal has conducted long fasts on the banks of the Bhagirathi river, demanding a full and independent review of the dam.

Sunderlal Bahuguna MEANWHILE, continues his campaign against the Dam and for the well-being of Himalayan people and their culture.