Uttarakhand is well known for its various active social movements. The hills have seen the birth of Chipko, possibly the Third World's best known and studied environmental struggle. Uttarakhandi activists have also sought to combat the precipitous declines in the economic, social, and ecological integrity of the Himalayas with a host of campaigns that have met with varying levels of success.

Collected here are links to information sources on these movements, drawn from newspaper articles, web-posted manuscripts, and reports. By gathering them together here, this page can hopefully serve as a valuable resource to the activist and academic alike.

Save the Seeds!
Preserving Biodiversity

• Article - The Story of One Village (Suryanarayan and Kothari)
• Synopsis - Save the Seeds Movement (UN)
• Article - Stating the case for Agricultural Biodiversity (IDRC)
• NGO Project - "Navdanya" Research Foundation for Science, Technology, & Ecology
• NGO Project - Silk and Honey: Biodiversity Conservation Network (USAID)

• News - Need to conserve Uttarakhand's biodiversity stressed (UNI - 5/9/99)
• News - Government efforts to save biodiversity (UNI - 8/12/98)
• News - Government blasted for neglect of conservation (IE - 6/23/97)

Save the Water!
Struggles against Pollution and Urban Sprawl

• News - Book reflects on Gangotri woes (Rediff - 10/22/98)
• News - Nainital Pollution (Hindu - 10/19/98)
• News - Mussoorie Cleanup (UNI - 8/5/98)
• News - Gangotri's woes (6/15/98)
• News - Mussoorie's concrete jungle (ANI - 5/1/98)
• News - Of plastic bags (Hindu - 11/27/97)
• News - Limestone pollution (UNI - 11/27/97)
• News - "Save water movement" begins journey from Gangotri (ToI - 10/3/97)

Historical Chipko
Notes from the Forests

• Article - Women of Uttarakhand (RR - 5/10/96)
• Article - Women as the Backbone of Chipko (CL)
• Case Study - Chipko Movement (TED Database)
• Synopsis - Chipko Movement (IISD Database)

• Personality - Mark Shepard's Gandhi Today (pp. 53-62 on Chandi Prasad Bhatt)
• Personality - Jagat Singh, A Travelling Reforester (ToI - 9/2/97)
• Personality - Visheswar Dutt Saklani, Reforester of mid 20th Century (UNI - 12/9/97)

• News - Chipko Today - Going after the Government/Mafia (Hindu - 6/25/98)

Chetna Andolan
Fighting Corruption by Raising Awareness

• News - Mobilising themselves against a callous Admn (HT - 3/7/97)
• News - Movement against corruption gaining momentum (HT- 3/3/97)

The Bane of Life
The Fight against Alcoholism and for Women's Empowerment

• News - Dehra Dun tense as D-day for auction of liquor vends (HT - 3/21/99)
• News - Garhwal students prefer jobs to liquor vends (TOI - 3/17/99)
• News - UP hills echo anti-liquor call: Slain scribe remembered in Uttarakhand (HT - 4/19/97)
• News - Another Martyr for Prohibition (4/5/98)

• News - The Plight of Women (ToI - 6/16/98)
• News - Legal Awareness: Part II (UNI - 3/10/98)
• News - Legal Awareness for Women (UNI - 12/5/97)
• News - Empowering Women (Hindu - 11/26/97)

Tehri Damned
Megaproject, Megaproblems

• Documents - Tehri Dam Struggle (IRN)
• Personality - Veteran Campaigner Sunderlal Bahuguna (People & the Planet - '96)
• Interview - Bahuguna (Rediff - '96)

• News - Tardy rehabilitation of Tehri residents (ToI - 5/21/98)
• News - Tehri dam cracks (ToI - 4/30/98)
• News - New BJP govn't conflicted over Tehri (ToI - 3/25/98)
• News - Panel continues study (Hindu - 11/28/97)
• News - Government halts construction, Bahuguna ends fast (AFP - 11/26/97)
• News - Government ignores expert views (Hindu - 11/24/97)
• News - Indian activists rally to support Anti-Tehri Dam struggle (ToI - 11/21/97)
• News - Bahuguna rejects government's offer, continues fast (PTI - 11/20/97)
• News - 10-member committee calls for dam construction halt (Telegraph - 11/18/97)
• News - Corruption at highest levels (UNI - 11/9/97)
• News - Bahuguna's fast enters 35th day (PTI - 11/5/97)
• News - Government Policies affecting Himalayan Belt: Bahuguna (PTI - 6/8/97)

Wildlife
Endangered Species

• Institute - Wildlife Institute of India (Dehra Dun)

• News - Savage Harvest: Hunters on a rampage (India Today - 11/2/98)
• News - SATYA issues call to save wildlife (UNI - 10/17/98)
• News - Friends of the Doon call for saving Rajaji Park (UNI - 9/24/98)
• News - Problems with Poaching (ToI - 5/25/98)
• News - Poaching rampant in Kumaon (ToI - 11/10/97)