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
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