Important Revolts and Movements

Regional leaders turned local discontent into organized resistance. In exams remember leader region and issue together.

The beginning of the Chipko Movement is generally associated with 1973, when villagers in the Chamoli region of Uttarakhand embraced trees to prevent their felling. 1972 is not its usual starting year, while 1980 is notably associated with the Forest (Conservation) Act in India. Exam tip: Remember Chipko with 1973 and forest conservation.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan mainly emerged in the 1980s. It was a people’s movement linked to displacement, rehabilitation, and environmental impacts of large dam projects in the Narmada valley. It gained wider national and international attention during the 1990s, but its principal emergence was in the 1980s. Exam tip: Distinguish between the decade in which a movement began and the decade in which it became widely prominent.

The Appiko Movement began in 1983 in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. It opposed deforestation in the Western Ghats and drew inspiration from the idea of embracing trees to protect them. The year 1973 is associated with the beginning of the Chipko Movement, not the Appiko Movement. Exam tip: Remember Appiko—Karnataka—1983 and Chipko—Uttarakhand—1973 together.