Environmental activism refers to the coming together of different groups of individuals and organizations working to solve environmental problems. Today we will talk about environmental activists who have shown a different path to the climate movement in India.
1. Sunderlal Bahuguna
Sunderlal Bahuguna was an Indian environmentalist and prominent leader of the Chipko movement. He fought for the preservation of the Himalayan forests. He fought for the first time in 1970 as a member of the Chipko movement, then from 1980 to early 2004 he led the anti-Tehri dam movement. We can say that he was one of India’s earliest environmentalists.
An environmental activist and an ardent protector of the Himalayan people and the rivers of India, she also worked to alleviate the plight of the hill people, especially the working women. He was associated with social movements and before that the fight against caste discrimination. Inspired by Gandhi, he walked in the forests and hills of the Himalayas and covered more than 4,700 km. The Government of India offered him the Padma Shri award, but he declined it.
2. Anupam Mishra
Anupam Mishra was a well-known Gandhian, journalist, author, environmentalist and water conservationist. He worked to raise public awareness of environmental protection and attract the attention of governments when they had not yet opened an environmental department in the country.
His workplace was in drought-stricken Alwar, where he began water conservation work that the world saw and appreciated. Anupam Mishra has been visiting villages in India to make people aware of traditional ways of conserving water and conserving water. He did important work in reviving the dried up Arvari River in Alwar.
Similarly, he has done important work to rejuvenate traditional water sources in Uttarakhand and Lapodia in Rajasthan. The books written by him, ‘Aaj Bhi Khare Hai Talab’ and ‘Rajat Drops of Rajasthan’ are considered as milestones in the field of water conservation.
He also told about how people living in different parts of India, understanding their geographical location, resources and needs, are adopting effective methods of water conservation both in the country and abroad. He was also honored with the country’s highest environmental award, the ‘Indira Gandhi Environment Award’.
3. Sunita Narayan
Sunita Narayan is a renowned environmentalist from India. He is currently the director general of the Science and Environmental Protection Center and the editor of the biweekly Down to Earth magazine. He worked on rainwater harvesting and its political implications in developing community-based water management paradigms.
For decades, he has been working to draw attention to the fundamental problems of the environment and society. He worked on water related issues, nature and environment related issues etc. for the upliftment of the society. It calls for solutions to develop a coexistence program with local communities, to share the benefits of nature conservation and to secure the future.
In 2005, on the instructions of the Prime Minister, he led the Tiger Working Group, which developed an action plan for the protection of the country after the loss of Sariska tigers. Apart from environmental issues, he expresses his views on Naxalism, political corruption, tiger and tree conservation and other social issues. In the same year, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
4. Marimuthu Yoganathan
Marimuthu Yoganathan is popularly known as the Woodman of India. Also known as the “Green Warrior”. Yoganathan is an Indian environmental activist. He is a bus driver for the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and is well-known as an eco-activist. He has also received recognition from US-based footwear company Timberland for his outstanding work in planting around 3 million tree saplings. He also drew students’ attention to environmental protection.
Yoganathan has visited around 3,743 universities, colleges, schools and industries and taken classes on environmental awareness. Yoganathan also received an award for his pet project ‘Uirwaza Oru Marn’. As part of this, the students were taught to plant saplings on their birthdays. He was awarded the “Eco Warrior” award by the Vice President of India.
5. Rajendra Singh “Jalpurush”
Rajendra Singh is an Indian water conservationist and environmentalist. He is known as the ‘Waterman of India’. His place of work was Alwar in Rajasthan, where he works on the revival of dried up rivers. They are currently roaming around the country working to save rivers. water harvesting and water management
