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8 Extremely Powerful and Inspiring Environment Movements From India

Huging a tree

Everyone talks about going green these days. However, only very few among us actually do something to go green. This is called the “bystander effect.” Means every person thinks that I would not do and the rest will do. Keeping this in mind, people come up with environmental movements so that they can influence the masses. Some of these movements have made a monumental impact. Here are some of the most popular inspiring environment movements from India.

8 Extremely Powerful and Inspiring Environment Movements From India

For the sake of conservation of the environment and improving environment’s state, environmental movements or the green movements take place. These social or political movements strive to encourage sustainable management of natural resources by protecting the environment in numerous ways. There have been a number of environment movements in India and following are the 8 most powerful and inspiring of all.

1. The Clean India Movement

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Clean India Movement, better known as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, is a campaign by the government of India to clean the streets, roads, and to reduce or eliminate open defecation by constructing individual, cluster, and community toilets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the campaign on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi.

2. Save Silent Valley Movement

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The movement took place in the year 1978, which aimed to protect the Silent Valley – an evergreen tropical forest of the Palakkad district of Kerala. It was a movement against the hydroelectric project across the Kunthipuzha River that could have destroyed four-million-year-old rainforests. The movement was so strong that the government had to take a step back. Indira Gandhi declared in 1981 that Silent Valley would be protected. In 1983, the issue was re-examined and in 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi finally inaugurated the Silent Valley National Park.

3. Narmada Bachao Andolan

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Narmada Bachao Andolan is an environmental movement directed against the number of large dams being built across the Narmada River. Medha Patkar and Baba Amte were its leading spokespersons. Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is the biggest dam on this river and is the first focal point of the movement. It is an international protest now, wherein adivasis, farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists protest through hunger strikes, rallies, and court actions.

4. Appiko Movement

Huging a treeThis is a yet another revolutionary environmental movement that was initiated for environmental conservation in India. Inspired by the Chipko Movement in Uttarakhand, the Appiko Movement was a way that the villagers of the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka State found to save their forests. Appiko is the local term used for hugging in Kannada.

5. Save Ganga Movement

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Save Ganga Movement is an initiative to protect river Ganga that is supported by popular social activists and saints in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Additionally, the movement has garnered support of the Pune based National Women’s Organization (NWO) and a number of other religious and political organizations.

6. Jungle Bachao Andolan 

deforestationJungle Bachao Andolan was a movement that initiated in 1980s by the tribal’s of Singhbhum district of Bihar. It was a protest against government’s decision to replace the natural sal forest with highly valued teak. Later, the movement spread to other states including Jharkhand and Orissa.

7. Navdanya, an Organic Movement

Organic farming is the winnerNavdanya is an India-based NGO that is renowned for promoting biodiversity conservation, organic farming, biodiversity and the process of seed saving. The women-centered movement works for the protection of biological and cultural diversity along with the network of seed keepers and organic producers spread across 16 Indian states. Navdanya has trained over 500,000 farmers in the field of sustainable agriculture and has helped setting up over 54 community seed banks across the country. In addition to all this, Navdanya has set up a learning center named ‘Bija Vidyapeeth’ on its biodiversity conservation and organic farm in Doon Valley.

8. Baliyapal Movement

Soil to water erosion.Baliyapal Movement is a movement that villagers of Baliyal initiated to protest against missile testing on the land, which may cause infertility of soil. Government of India had to dismiss its decision because of the strong resistance of people.

A number of environmental movements have been founded in India for saving environment from time to time. These movements show us that we are not alone who care for the environment. However, this won’t have any effect if we don’t employ the same in our day to day life. Therefore, here are a few ways how you can be eco-friendly every day.

5 – Tips to be eco-friendly every day

Saving environment is not at all a difficult task. You can do this by making simple, practical, and wise choices pertaining to your lifestyle. Here are some simple tips with which you can bring about considerable changes in the environment:

1. Energy saving:

ledGet yourself into the habit of switching off lights whenever not in use. Using fluorescent lights, low voltage lights, or LED light bulbs are good efforts to keep the environment green. Besides helping the environment to be green, this practice also saves huge amounts that you pay as electricity bills.

2. Water Conservation:

water-tap_2066686b

Saving water is a major feature of the “go green” initiative. The ways you can conserve water or refrain from water wastage are the – turning off the tap when not in use. Moreover, do not fill bathtubs to the brink, and take shorter showers, also keep an eye over the leakage in water storages.

3. Efficient Transportation:

carpooling

You can save a lot of fuel and save the environment from air pollution if you follow these tips for transportation – go to office or send your children to school by carpooling. Try to complete multiple works on a single trip rather than going repeatedly. If possible, use bicycles that will keep air pollution at bay.

4. Farming Pattern:

pesticidesNever use chemical pesticides, as they are harmful for the plants, animals, humans and the environment. If you see weeds in your garden, and pluck them out manually. Moreover, you should plant more trees and flowers, and do not forget to assign an area where you can put all the waste like peels of fruits and vegetables in the soil to break down. 

5. Recycling and Reusing:

Recycling Recycle items, reuse them because of its environment is efficient, and cost-efficient.

Summary:

Saving our environment is not at all tough. You can use the abovementioned very simple and effective tips and do your bit to sustain our planet.

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