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Tree Hugger
The CHIPKO MOVEMENT was a group of villagers in India
best known for its tactic of hugging trees to prevent them being cut
down. This gave rise to the term tree hugger for environmentalists.
Also, it was notable in that
the movement was led by women who were influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.
The name of the movement comes from the Hindi word for 'stick' (as
in glue), as the villagers hugged the trees, and prevented the
contractors from felling them. Ghanasyam Raturi, the Chipko poet,
whose songs echo throughout the Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh, wrote a
poem describing the method of embracing the trees to save them from
felling:
Embrace the trees and
Save them from being felled;
The property of our hills,
Save them from being looted. |