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Ecology is permanent economy. The forests are not just trees — they are our soil, our water, our air, our life.
Sunderlal Bahuguna was not merely an environmentalist — he was a moral force. A man who walked thousands of miles so that trees might stand, rivers might flow, and mountain peoples might live with dignity.
Born on January 9, 1927, in the village of Maroda near Tehri in Uttarakhand, Bahuguna was shaped from childhood by the Himalayas. At just 13, he joined India's freedom struggle, drawn in by the Gandhian message of non-violent resistance. He was jailed at 17 for his activism — an experience that only deepened his conviction.
After independence, he worked against untouchability, living among Dalit communities. He married Vimla with a shared vow: to live among rural people and build an ashram in the hills. Together, they led campaigns that trained the grassroots organisers of Chipko.
It was this deep rootedness in Himalayan communities — their forests, their rivers, their livelihoods — that made his later environmental leadership so powerful. He understood that ecology was not an abstract cause, but the ground beneath people's feet.
Nature provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
In the early 1970s, the women of Uttarakhand began hugging trees to prevent commercial felling — and Bahuguna gave this uprising its national voice. He coined its enduring slogan: "Ecology is permanent economy." His 5,000-kilometre trans-Himalayan march from Kashmir to Kohima in 1981–83 culminated in Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposing a 15-year ban on commercial logging above 1,000 metres.
When the Indian government planned the Tehri Dam on the Bhagirathi — the source of the Ganges — Bahuguna waged a two-decade campaign. He led fasts lasting up to 84 days, staged dharna protests, and appealed to multiple prime ministers. Though the dam was built in 2004, his struggle drew global attention to the human and ecological costs of mega-dam projects.
Before the forests, Bahuguna fought for Himalayan women. From 1965 to 1970, he and Vimla organised hill women against alcohol consumption. The same women who learned to organise in that drive became the tree-huggers of the 1970s. He always insisted that the liberation of women and the protection of the environment were inseparable.
Long before his environmental campaigns, Bahuguna fought India's caste hierarchy — campaigning for Dalits' right to enter temples and living alongside Dalit communities. He once said: "My heart is full of anguish due to the wounds on the body of Mother Earth and the miserable life of women. I have dedicated myself to serve these."
Born 9 January in a village near Tehri, Uttarakhand, into a region charged with resistance to colonial and princely oppression.
Inspired by Gandhian activist Sridev Suman, joins the independence movement — distributing pamphlets, going underground, jailed at 17.
Marries Vimla with a shared commitment to live in a village and serve rural people. They establish an ashram in Silyara.
Alongside Vimla, organises Himalayan hill women in a sustained campaign against alcohol — training the grassroots force of the Chipko movement.
The Chipko movement begins in Chamoli. Bahuguna becomes its primary voice, coining "Ecology is permanent economy."
His historic meeting with PM Indira Gandhi results in a 15-year moratorium on commercial felling of green trees in the Himalayas.
Begins his 4,870-km foot march from Srinagar to Kohima with companions including Dehlu, Rajiv and Ramesh Raturi. Refuses the Padma Shri.
Signs the handwritten Pledge for the Protection of Environment at Gangotri on Ganga Dasshera, calling on the Chipko Movement to protect the entire Himalayan region.
Takes up leadership of the movement against the Tehri Dam. Fasts, dharnas and appeals to prime ministers continue for nearly two decades.
Awarded India's second-highest civilian honour, signed by President Pratibha Patil on 14 April 2009.
Awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019 — a crowning recognition of a life conducted in the spirit of the Mahatma he had followed since age 13.
Sunderlal Bahuguna passes away from COVID-19 at AIIMS Rishikesh, aged 94. Memorial held on World Environment Day, June 5, 2021.
A detailed account of Bahuguna's life and legacy from one of India's leading environmental journalism outlets, drawing on decades of close coverage.
Read ArticleYale University's tribute to Bahuguna's ecological vision rooted in the spiritual traditions of India's Himalayan communities.
Read ArticleHow Bahuguna's heart broke as the Tehri Dam was built — and why his legacy transcends even that defeat.
Read ArticleIncluding interviews with granddaughter Haritima on what it was like growing up in his shadow.
Listen & ReadA compiled archive of key writings, interviews, and articles — essential primary source reading.
Read PDFA comprehensive profile covering the full arc of Bahuguna's activism from childhood freedom fighter to beloved environmentalist.
Read ArticleA man who once refused India's highest civilian award because the forests were still being felled.
Hills are a storehouse of resources — but people in the hills are still poor. Protecting these resources will improve their life.
Sunderlal Bahuguna did not always win. The Tehri Dam was built. The forests continue to face pressure. But the world he left is incomparably better than the one he would have left without him.
The 15-year moratorium on Himalayan logging saved millions of trees. The Chipko Movement inspired environmental activism across South Asia, Africa and beyond. The Right Livelihood Award he shared brought global attention to a local struggle that was, in truth, universal.