On May 21, 2021, an influential environmental activist died of Covid-19 and you probably didn’t hear about it. Sunderlal Bahuguna’s passing didn’t make the major news outlets in the US, but it was a big deal in India, where he was the renowned leader of the Chipko movement against deforestation in the 1970s. 

Chipko is a Hindi word for “hugging”, but according to Bahuguna, he was just the messenger of the movement. “It was the ladies who hugged the trees,” he said.

This story is about the life and legacy of Sunderlal Bahuguna, and the tree huggers that saved India’s forests.

Featuring: Haritima Bahuguna

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LINKS

On The Fence: Chipko Movement Re-visited

The Axing of the Himalayas

Appiko (To Embrace)

CREDITS

Reported and produced by Felix Poon

Host: Justine Paradis

Edited by Taylor Quimby

Additional editing by Justine Paradis, and Erika Janik

Executive producer: Rebecca Lavoie

Mixed by Felix Poon

Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder

Additional music by Saumya Bahuguna, Samuel Corwin, and Blue Dot Sessions