In 2013, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests declared September 11 as the ‘National Forest Martyrs Day’. There is a heart wrenching story about why such a day is observed now.
About 20 km from Jodhpur there is a small village, Khejarli. It was the morning of September 11, 1730. Suddenly, the peace and tranquility were shattered by hoof beats of horses. Strange men with large axes descended on the village. They were the men of Abhay Singh, Ruler of Marwar (Jodhpur), with the mission to cut down and carry off Khejri trees to Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. The wood was to be used to fuel the cement lime kilns needed for construction of his palace.
When the axe-men started venturing to cut down the Kherji trees, Amrita Devi Bishnoi, a middle-aged tribal woman, stepped forward and tried to dissuade them. When the soldiers did not heed, she hugged the tree and claimed that ‘cutting off her head was cheaper than felling a tree’. She was decapitated mercilessly. When her three daughters found their mother was not coming back to home, they went out to see the mother’s plight. They voluntarily took her place hugging the trees one by one, which was followed by 363 other Bishnoi men, women and children who met the same plight. The very soil of Khejarli turned red with their blood. Maharaja Abhay Singh was apologetic and made a declaration stating that no cutting of trees and killing of animals will take place in areas that are around the Bishnoi villages.
It was a dreadful dark night of October 1, 1998; two innocent blackbuck deer were shot dead by actor Salman Khan; it was another sad incident in the village. Bishnois, risking their life, caught Salman red handed; he was found guilty and imprisoned. Yet in another similar incident, once an Indian Air Force captain was caught hunting. He was stripped off and forced to lie down on the hot sand in the middle of summer.
Declaration of the Martyrs Day is in remembrance of the day of the Khejarli massacre, and to pay tribute to the valour and sacrifice made by the forest personnel on duty to safeguard the forests and wildlife. Earlier, the Government of India had also instituted the “Amrita Devi Bishnoi Smrithi Paryavaran Award” or “Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award”, in recognition of the heroic conservation movement of Bishnois.
Several incidents of man-animal conflicts do occur in different parts of the country. In a tragic incident, a forest official was charred to death while dousing the fire in a forest near Jadabila village under Thakurmunda police limits of Mayurbhanj district in March 2021. Five Forest department personnel were killed by either timber mafia, fishermen mafia or crocodile attack while they were on duty in Bhitarkanika mangrove swamp and Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. As a fitting tribute to those who have lost their life while performing their duties and to boost the morale of forest personnel a martyr tower was inaugurated inside the Bhitarkanika National Park on September 3. The department deserves to be congratulated for setting such an example for others to imitate.
We depend on forests for almost everything- food, wood, etc. It is also the habitat for many different species of plants and animals. It is in the forests that nearly 80% of the biodiversity of our planet dwell. There are communities and villages where the only source of livelihood is forest. Many even risk their lives guarding and protecting it; which is why the day is observed to pay tribute and hail their contributions. Let us honour what the martyrs have done to conserve and preserve the forests around us. Forest martyrs deserve equal importance as any other martyrs. So, honour what they have done to conserve and preserve the forests around us. Salute them and promise that they will not be forgotten. These unsung heroes deserve to be remembered beyond infinity.
The Bishnoi movement is said to be the precursor to the famous “Chipko Movement” that took place in 1973 in the Tehri-Garhwal Himalaya of Uttarakhand (then part of Uttar Pradesh). This, in turn, spawned the Jungle Bachao Andolan (1982) in Bihar and Jharkhand, the Appiko Chaluvali (1983) in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, and other similar protests. The ‘tree-hugging’ tactic of the Chipko Andolan and its messages gained popularity in many countries beyond India’s borders, leading to launch protests in Switzerland, Japan, Malaysia, The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
On this special day, several educational societies and institutions in the country organise programmes or events through which people are informed about protecting the forests, trees, and environment. What can be a true observance of this special day, without planting a sapling on the day by our own hands. India is committed to raise its tree and forest cover so as to sequester carbon emissions to reduce global warming and climate change impacts, as per its nationally determined commitment at Paris Climate Accord, 2015, and the UN’s Sustainable Developmental Goals as well.
(Dr Patro is president, Orissa Environmental Society, M: 9437190420)
