Amrita Devi:
India`s First Eco-feminist
Dr. Sukanta Biswas,
Independent Researcher,
Nadia, West Bengal, India.
Abstract: The chief architect of the 1730 A.D. Bishnoi
Movement was Amrita Devi, despite the impact of the twenty-nine principles of
Guru Jambheswarji at the primary level. Amrita Devi was India`s first female
environmentalist and eco-feminist. She sacrifices her life to protect nature. A
great rising body of literature on eco-feminism in the west describes gender
and environment mainly in ideological terms. Eco-feminism not only women`s
matters but also environmental problems as well. Women and nature are related to
each other. An environment without women is inconceivable. Women and the
environment complement each other. Environmental movements around the globe
that are dedicated to the continuation of life in the world like Bishnoi
Movement in India, Anti Militarist movement in Europe, the Green Belt movement,
and many more are all labeled as popular. The term “Eco-feminism” was first
used by French writer Francoise D`Eaubonne.
Keyword: Amrita
Devi, Eco-feminism, Environment, Movements, Women, Rajasthan
Introduction: - In this article, I will discuss the role of
Amrita Devi in Bishnoi movement. At the start of the Bishnoi movement in 1730
A. D., Amrita Devi was a torch bearer. In the leadership of Amrita Devi 363
Bishnoi`s sacrificed their life to save trees; including her three daughters.
Since the 15th century, many women sacrificed their lives to save
the trees, inspired by Guru Jambheswarji1. Whenever we talk about
women in the environmental movement, the theory of eco-feminism comes up. The name of the Chipko movement, nowadays, is mostly
familiar to us. The word ‘Chipko’ is derivatively a Hindi word, which means 'to
hug'. Although the word gained currency in popular cultural discourses in the
1970s, the Bishnoi community was the first to set this movement in India.
Literature review: - The initial hindrance in the path of any in-depth
investigation is the lack of primary data. Surprisingly, the stalwart
historians, writers, scholars, ecologists, and environmentalists are mostly
silent about Amrita Devi and Bishnoi Movement; no work of any great
significance has ever been produced by any historians that could be said to be
centered around it, except Pankaj Jain in his ‘Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and
Sustainability’, where he tried to shed some light on this topic, although
not without many absences and gaps. The history of the Bishnoi community and
tradition is available in the oral form as well as in a scanty amount of
handwritten documents compiled by Hiralal Maheshwari, came up with books (in
Hndi)titled‘Vishnoi Sampradaya Aur
Sahitya: Jambhavani Ke Patha-Sampadana Sahitya’, ‘Jambhesvara ki Sabadavani:
Mula Aur Tika’ and ‘Jambhesvara’, in
which he has described the community`s origin, rituals, traditions and struggles
of everyday life. Hiralal Maheshwari worked from a religious perspective, but
we must work from a historical perspective. Ann Grodizins Gold & Bhoju Ram
Gujar, who briefly mentions the Bishnoi in her book ‘In the Time of Trees and Sorrows: Nature, Power, and Memory in
Rajasthan’, also cites the lack of materials on this community2.
Authors such as Dwivedi3, Vandana Shiva4, and many more
have also briefly mentioned the Bishnoi in various works, but only to remark on
their extreme commitment to the environment; none of these authors provide
depth or detail about community. There is also shorts write up by Vinay Lal in
the ‘Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature5’,Mangilal6,
and an MA thesis written by Elizabeth Landry which does not address ecology or
lived religion, it is rather a philological study of Guru Jambheshwar`s
statements7. Despite the lack of academic sources, thereare numerous
media reports, websites, YouTube videos, and nature documentaries that
highlight the Bishnoi and Amrita Devi.If you look at the books, articles, and
journals, you will see that there is less discussion about Amrita Devi. Still,
there is a lot of discussion about their Guru and the Bishnoi movement in all
the books. Why? In this essay, therefore, I will try to bridge those gaps and
fill in the absences in the presently available literature. I hope this article
will help the reader develop a clear understanding of Amrita Devi and, at the
same time, that the public will realize what we are thinking about the
environment now, as Amrita Devi considered it almost 300 years ago.
Ideological pattern of Bishnoi Movement: - The whole area of women in social movement is
beginning to be explored and consequently, some common patterns of women’s
participation are surfacing. Social scientists have a poor record of
documenting women`s role in agrarian and workers' struggles in the past; it is
now difficult to reconstruct women`s role in these struggles historically. This
lack of historical dimension in the analyses of women and movements has
obscured our understanding of the emergence and growth of the ideology of
women`s movement and its relationship with the nationalist and micro-social
movements.
At the start of the Bishnoi movement in 1730 A. D.,
Amrita Devi was a pioneer. Amrita Devi was the first woman environmental
activist in India and the world. In the leadership of Amrita Devi 363 Bishnoi`s
sacrificed their life to save trees; including her three daughters. Since the
15th century, many women have sacrificed their lives to save trees, inspired by
Guru Jambheshwarji.
Women`s active participation in the Chipko movement has
been acknowledged and written about by the Chipko leaders and activists, by
bureaucrats, scholars concerned, and scholars concerned with popular movements.
Many of these narratives of a series of incidents that took place between
1973-80 are anecdotal and give an impression that women`s participation in the
movement was sporadic and spasmodic, in response to the immediate crisis
(saving their village forests), whether they were mobilized by the Chipko activists
or it was a spontaneous act to save their forest from which they drew their
sustenance. Looking from women's perspective, we are compelled to observe that
most of these narratives do not provide much insight into the role and
contribution of women in the genesis, growth, and later developments within the
movement.
Historically research is gradually digging up evidence
that women have played important roles in peasant and worker's movements
although they have not benefited as much as women. Women participated in many
other movements, not only Bishnoi or Chipko or environmental movements. Women
have jumped into the movements whenever they felt the need, be it any movement.
Like Tebhaga, Telangana, and other peasant rebellions suggest that women were
more militant and contributed towards the radicalization of the movement. Even
in peasant societies where women`s status is subordinated, the loss of their
traditional privileges has often brought women into open confrontation, if
there is a rallying point for act
Eco-feminism: I will start with the
initiative of eco-feminism. I will discuss the relationship of women with the
environment. A great rising body of literature on eco-feminism in the West
describes gender and environment mainly in ideological terms. In modern India,
growing agitations against environmental destruction and the fight for survival
and livelihood point to the fact that caste, class, and gender issues are
deeply engaged. Eco-feminism not only women`s matters but also environmental problems
as well. Women and nature are related to each other. An environment without
women is unimaginable. Women and the environment complement each other.
Environmental movements around the globe that are dedicated to the continuation
of life in the world like the Bishnoi movement and Chipko movement in India,
Anti Militarist movement in Europe, the Green Belt movement, and many more are
all labeled as "Eco-feminist"
movements. From the 1970s and 1980s, the theory of eco-feminism became popular.
The term "eco-feminism" was
first used by French writer Francoise D'Eaubonne in 1974 A.D. "It seems
that the time has come to show that feminism is not solely, which has already
given it, its fundamental dignity; the protests of the human category that has
been crushed and exploited from the most ancient times, since the woman was a
slave before slavery existed. Feminism is entire humanity in crisis; it is the
reinvention of species; it is truly the world that will change its base8”.
Subsequently, Ynestra King popularized the term eco-feminism9 in
1976 A.D. The world`s first eco-feminism conference was held on "Women and life on Earth: Eco-feminism in the
80s", at Amherst, Massachusetts, US, was held10.
The conference analyzes the
relationship between feminism, militarism, health, and ecology. At this
conference ‘Women`s Pentagon Action Group’ was founded. According to
eco-feminist Ynestra King “Eco-feminism is about connectedness and wholeness
of theory and practice, the devastation of the earth and her beings by the
corporate warriors, and the threat of nuclear annihilation by the military
warriors as feminist concerns. It is the same masculinity mentality which would
deny us our right to our bodies and our sexuality, and which depends on
multiple systems of dominance and state power to have its way11".
Feminist scholar Carolyn Merchant has categorized
eco-feminism theory into liberal, radical or social frameworks. In Merchant
word “Liberal feminism is consistent with
the objects of reform environmentalism to alter human relations with nature
from within existing structures governance through the passage of new laws and
regulations. Cultural eco-feminism analyzes environmental problems from within
its critique of patriarchy and offers alternative that could liberate both
women and nature. Social and socialist eco-feminism ground their analyses in
capitalist patriarchy12”.
In
India, Vandana Shiva is the most visible advocate of eco-feminism. Vandana
Shiva critiques modern science and technology as a western, patriarchal and
colonial project, which is inherently violent and perpetuates this violence
against women and nature. Pursuing this model of development has meant a
shift away from traditional Indian philosophy. “The everyday struggle of women
for the protection of nature takes place in the cognitive and ethicalcontext of
the categories of the ancient Indian worldview in which nature is Prakriti, a
living and creative process, the feminine principle, from which all life
arises. Women`s ecology movements, as the preservation and recovery of the
feminine principle, arise from a non-gender based ideology of liberation, different
both from the gender-based ideology of patriarchy which underlines the process
of ecological destruction and women`s subjugation, and the gender based
responses which have, until recently, been characteristic of the west13”.
Women`s extraordinary wisdom of environment and their reliance on it for ‘staying
alive’. Shiva however, annotated that third world women are not simply
victims of the improvement procedure, but also possess the power for change.
She points to the experiences of women in the Chipko movement of the 1970s in
the Garhwal Himalayas, where women struggled for the protection and
regeneration of the forests.
Indian prominent scholar Bina Agarwal told us “Women, especially those in poor rural
households in India, on the one hand, are victims of environmental degradation
in quite gender specific ways. On the other hand, they have active agents in
movements of environmental protection and regeneration, often bringing to them
a gender specific perspective and one which needs to inform our view of
alternatives14”.
Eco-feminism and
its Critiques: - Eco-feminism fails to take any account of
historical change in the community.
Relationships of women with environment and politics connote that what
men do to nature is worsened, unlike women, thereby neglecting the fact that
men too can enlarge an ethic of caring for nature. It also fails to explore
capitalism and its authority of nature. It is true women`s special knowledge of
environment: has helped to maintain life. Eco-feminist study portrays the
historical exploitation and authority of women and nature as running hand in
hand, and both are seen as prey of improvement. It is taken as self-evident
that any damage to the environment damages women equally; women are closer to
nature than men. Manisha Rao argues that “None
of the eco-feminist literature attempts to establish this linkage through
concrete evidence or strong argument. It is very anecdotal and takes its
position as self-evident. It locates the domination of women and nature mainly
in ideology, thereby neglecting the interrelated materials sources of dominance
based on economic advantage and political power. The eco-feminist images of
women in fact retain the patriarchal stereotypes of what men expect women to be15”.
India`s most prominent eco-feminist activist Vandana
Shiva critiques various scholars. Vandna Shiva criticism present science and
technology as a western, patriarchal and colonial program, which in inherently
fierce and immortalizes the violence against women and nature. Manisha Rao
analyses Vandana Shiva`s argument as follows: Vandana Shiva`s relates to the
study of rural women in North-west India, but she neglects to generalize her
analyses to cover all Third World country women. Gabriel Dietrich (1990) “Points out that Shiva seems to presuppose a
society that is democratically organized, where people own sufficient land to
survive on its produce. She seems to treat castes factors and political options
as non-existent and neglects the realities of hierarchies, subordination, patriarchy
and violence within traditional tribal and present communities16”. Vandana
Shiva trying to establish his thought, third world women being closer to
nature. Vandana Shiva`s this theory not
acceptable. Her notions of “Shakti” and “Prakriti” are asserted as ambassadors
of Indian philosophy as a whole. Nevertheless, the “feminine principle” is
hugely revealed in Hindu terms which are close to Sankhya philosophy, which is
chiefly popular in the North India. Vandana Shiva connotes the “feminine
principle” only for Dalits, Tribals, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other
minority communities. Shiva does not analyze religious authority over women,
when she practices the “Shakti” perspective of religion. Meera Nanda in a
stringent attack on Vandana Shiva, mark her a typical neo-populist scholar, who
has tried to imprint the “West” as inherently bad and the “Third World” as
fundamentally good. She criticizes Shiva for branding modern science as western17.
Nature based
knowledge: Women are everywhere being symbolically
connected with nature as an opponent to men. The connection between women and
nature was plainly rooted in the biological method of reproduction although,
even then. Under developing countries women are dependent on nature for drawing
sustenance for themselves, their families, their societies. Women collect food,
fodder, fuel and many things from the forest. That is why women relate to
nature more than men. If nature harm, its effects on women`s lifestyle. The
destruction of nature thus becomes the destruction of women`s sources for
‘staying alive’. Violence against women and against nature is linked not just
ideologically but also materially.
Amrita Devi sacrifices her life to protect trees. Amrita Devi got this
idea of protecting trees from her religious Guru Jambheshwarji. One of the
twenty-nine principles of Jambheshwarji was not to cut a signal tree.
Ever since mankind came into being there has been a close
dependence of mankind on nature. The Aranya (forest) and Rishis (sages) had
their Ashrams (hermitages) in the woods. The name Bishnoi is derived from the
words bis (twenty) and nau (nine), and thus (it) denotes the twenty-nine tenets
of their faith. On becoming Bishnoi, they commonly give up their caste names
and call themselves after their new creed. In Rajasthan, the Bishnois live in
the districts of Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, and Bikaner, and many more
places18. Their abodes are called ‘Dhanis’. Bishnoi women worship
the tree daily. One of the main tasks of women is to take care of trees. Every
Bishnoi religious center has a lot of trees and women nurture the trees
constantly. Bishnois are an agricultural village-based community and are deeply
committed to the religious teaching of their Guru and other saints. No wonder
that 363 of their men, women and children, old and young alike, sacrificed
their lives almost 300 years ago, in the year 1730 A.D. for protecting green
trees. It must however be made clear that the martyrs were not governed by the
economic advantages of the trees, but by the religious merit of upholding the
commandment of their scriptures, handed to them by generations.
Roll of Amrita Devi
in the Bishnoi Movement: - In this section I will discuss the role of Amrita Devi in the
Bishnoi movement. At the start of the Bishnoi movement in 1730 A. D., Amrita
Devi was a pioneer. In the leadership of Amrita Devi 363 Bishnoi`s sacrificed
their life to save trees; including her three daughters.
Amrita Devi was a pioneer in
the field of environmental movement. What she was thought of in the 15th
century as an uneducated woman, in modern times this is unimaginable. She got
these ethical ideals from their religious Guru Jambheshwarji. Their Guru`s
primary principle was to protect nature. Not only Amrita Devi but also every
Bishnoi man and woman, all time ready to sacrifice their life to save the
environment. Amrita Devi is the first female environmental
activist in India and the world. She and her community were the first in India,
and the world to create interest in the environment among the people. Her
Guru`s 29 principles became the main driving force of the movement. As a result
of Amrita Devi's movement, everyone, from the rich to the poor, and the Kings,
was compelled to consider the environment. For her active role, vast forest
areas, and forest dwellers were saved in Rajasthan. Amrita Devi taught the
people of the world how to manage an environmental movement.
The State of Jodhpur, a kingdom
then was ruled by Abhay Singh’s son of Ajit Singh. Abhay Singh was having
constant troubles with Delhi kings, but at one stage he had some respite. He
then wanted to construct a palace for himself. Lime was required for this
purpose. Limestone was available but it needed to be burnt before use, for
which fuel was required. One court official
was entrusted with the responsibility of procuring firewood for burning
limestone. Where could the wood be procured more easily than in a Bishnoi
village? The village’s name was Khejarli. Distance from Jodhpur 21 km.
As soon as the axes were raised, the whole village
gathered and they begged the Diwan that their religion is not desecrated. They
pleaded for preservation of the trees that their ancestors had nurtured over
generations. But Diwan was determined that the trees must be cut to fuel the lime
kilns. He ordered the workers to go ahead. But Bishnois were determined too,
and the most notable among them was Durga Amrita Devi, the wife of Ram Khod. “Sar santeyrukhrahe to bhisastojan”19,
she thundered and called her three daughters to join her. They clasped four of
the trees. The Diwan fumed and ordered the axe men to cut all four of them down
with the trees. Axes fell, and the brave women were cut to pieces. But the
Bishnois were not to be cowed. More of them came forward to hug the trees and
to be cut down with them. The news of this wanton massacre spread rapidly, and
thousands of Bishnois rushed from their 83 surrounding villages to help their
brave brothers and sisters. Altogether 363 Bishnoi men, women, and children
sacrificed their lives to guard their sacred heritage.
The shocking tragedy, man`s inhumanity to man, crimson
blood flowing all around, and yet Bishnois coming forward, in wave upon wave,
to clasp the trees. They came back to Jodhpur to report the events to the King.
And on hearing the tale of senseless killings a shiver ran down Abhay Singh`s
spine and he saw clearly that he was helpless in the face of such moral
courage. He rode to Khejarli to contain the damage and assuage the hurt
feelings of his subjects. He assured the weeping, agonized mass of thousands of
Bishnois that from that day onwards he would fully respect their religious
principles and sensibilities. A copper plate was later presented to the
Bishnois, inscribed with the promise of the King.
The Khadana20 continued for about a week and
ended on Tuesday, the 10th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhado of
the lunar calendar of the year Samvat 1787 Vikrami corresponding to the year
1730 A.D., 11th September, when the soldiers refused to perform the ghastly act
of killing innocent people any more21. People from 49 villages
sacrificed their lives, 294 of them were men and 69 were women. To commemorate
the supreme sacrifice made by 363 Bishnoi men, women and children a memorial
has recently been built at village Khejarli22.
But unfortunately, by that time Bishnois belonging to 49
villages, 64 gotras (clans), 36 couples (both spouses) 217 families numbering
363 in total, 69 females23 and 294 males had made the supreme
sacrifice of their lives and, thus attained martyrdom in the cause of saving
green trees. A special mention is being made of a newly married couple. Mr.
Peethoji Dhaka Bishnoi of village Dhaw was taking his wife Mrs. Bali Beniyal
Bishnoi from her father`s village Hoon to his village for the first time after their
marriage. When they were passing by the site where Khadana was going on, they
came to know the cause, Mr. Peethoji instantly dismounted from his camel and
straightaway hugged a Khejri tree. His wife did not lag; she was too dismounted
from the camel and hugged another Khejri tree. Both sacrificed their lives
within no time24. Another case deserves special mention where 10
members covering three generations belonging to one family of Bhadu gotra
(clan) from village Khejarli formed part of these great martyrs. Still, one
more incident deserves special mention. Two Meghwal25Bishnois from
village Guda Bishnoian also made supreme sacrifice of their lives like their
other co-religionists.
The number of
families from whom sacrifices life for protect environment
One
member made the supreme sacrifice of 140 i.e. 140 heads.
Two
members made the supreme sacrifice of 56 i.e. 112 heads.
Three
members made the supreme sacrifice 19 i.e. 57 heads.
Four
members made the supreme sacrifice 6 i.e. 24 heads.
Five
members made the supreme sacrifice 6 i.e. 30 heads26.
This incident of great sacrifice has no parallel in the
world. An annual fair to commemorate the martyrdom of valiant Amrita Devi and
362 other martyrs has been held at village Khejarli since 1978 A. D. Due to the
efforts of Mr. Jaswant Singh Bishnoi27, Member of Parliament
(Jodhpur), the Government of India instituted the 'Amrita Devi Bishnoi
Wild-Life Protection Award28’ in February 2001. Earlier, due to
his efforts the Government of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had instituted an
award 'Amrita Devi Smriti Puraskar'29. Due to similar efforts made
by another Legislator from Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Ajay Bishnoi, Jabbalpur, the
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Digvijay Singh30 was pleased
to announce the decisions of the State Cabinet:
i)
Srimati Amrita Devi Bishnoi Vriksh Raksha
Diwas shall be celebrated by the Madhya Pradesh Government on the 8th of
September of each year.
ii)
Two
cash awards of Rs. 50,000 each for every year have been instituted and
iii)
A lesson shall be included in the history
book prescribed for the 8thclass, narrating this great
sacrifice.
Conclusion: -Mankind is so much
unconscious under the spell of materialistic civilization that in a country
like India having spiritual foundations, we have forgotten the origin of our
civilization. The Aranya (forest) culture gave birth to our civilization. The
sages, who lived in their Ashramas in the woods, were the representatives of
this culture. They were not only the seekers of knowledge but also pondered over
the problems facing society and provided right guidance to society. Gandhiji aptly said, "Earth provided enough for
every man`s need, but not for any man's greed". This greed one day
disappears the human being from the earth. Man has plundered the earth for his
gain and power, which has destroyed our soil, water, forests, and air. Man
wants to satisfy his desire increasingly from nature. Without forests, we can't
exist. We need to stop destroying nature. How to save the environment we must
learn from Bishnoi of Rajasthan. Women can save the environment if they get
freedom. We need to act like Amrita Devi. Amrita Devi protects nature for her
life. Amrita Devi has yet to receive any such recognition for his work. Not
even historians and environmentalists thought about her. Amrita Devi`s causes of this neglect
are the male-dominated social system or the mentality of honoring us. There
will come one day when perhaps Amrita Devi will receive her worthy honor.
Notes
1.
In the year 1451 A.D. Christan Era in a
village namely Pipasar, in the Bikaner- Nagaur area of the north-western part
of the state of Rajasthan was born a great saint who was named Jambhaji or
Jambhoji. As a mark of respect, he was subsequently known as Jambheswar. He was
the only child of Lohat Panwar and Hansa Devi. For the first seven years of his
life, Guru Jambheswar was considered silent and introverted. He spent 27 years
of his life as a cow herder. Aged 34 Guru Jambheswar founded the Bishnoi sub-sect
of Vaishnavism at Samrathal Dhora. He had laid down 29 principles to be
followed by the sect. killing animals and felling trees were also considered to
be sacred by the Bishnois. Bishnoi panth revolves around 29 rules. Of these,
eight prescribed to preserve biodiversity and encourage good animal husbandry,
seven provide direction for social behavior, and ten are directed towards
personal hygiene and maintaining basic good health. The other four commandments
provide guidelines for worshipping Vishnu daily.
2.
Ann Grodzins Gold &Bhoju Ram Gujar, In
the Time of Trees and Sorrows: Nature, Power, and Memory in Rajasthan, Durham
& London, Duke University Press, 2002, p. 249
3.
O. P. Dwivedi, World Religious and
Environment, Gitanjali Publishing House, New Delhi, 1989
4.
Vandana Shiva, Staying Alive: Women Ecology and Development, South End Press, 2010
5.
Vinay Lal, Bishnoi, in the Encyclopedia of
Religion and Nature, Bron Taylor (ed), London, 2005.
6.
Mangilal, Bishnoi Movement of Khejarli: a
Socio-Cultural Analysis, in Internal Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR), Vol.
8, pp.381-383
7.
Elizabeth Landry, An Introduction to the
Fifteenth Century Rajasthani Saint Jambho and his Vani, Master of Arts, Thesis
(University of Washingto, 1990).
8.
Francoise
D`Eaubonne, Feminism or Death: How the
Women`s Movement Can Save the Planet, Verso, 2020, pp. 4-5.
9.
Ynestra King, Feminism and the Revolt of Nature,
Heresies, 13, Feminism and Ecology vol. 4, 1981, pp.12-16
10. Pacifica
Radio Archive, Los Angels, 1980, https://www.pacificaradioarchives.org/recording/iz0366
11. Ynestra King, loc. Cit
12. Carolyn
Merchant, Eco-feminism, Terra Femina,
RosiskaDarchy de Oliveira Thais Corral, 1992, p. 2
13. Vandana
Shiva, Staying Alive: Women Ecology and
Development, South End Press, 2010, p. xxxii.
14. Bina
Agarwal, the Gender and Environmental
Debate: Lessons from India, Feminist Studies – 18, No. 01, April 1992, pp.
119-155
15. Manisha
Rao, Eco-feminism at the Crossroads in
India: a Review, DEP, 2012, p.128
16. Gabriel
Dietrich, Plea for Survival, Economic
and Political Weekly, February 18, 1990
17. Ibid
18. Anthropological
Survey of India, People of India, Rajasthan, Vo. XXXVIII, K. S. Singh (ed)
Part-One, Mumbai, 1935, pp. 188-192
19. If one
tree is saved at the cost of the one`s head, it`s worth it.
20. Khadana
means Supreme sacrifice of life.
21. Amar Jyoti
Monthly Hindi Journal, Hissar, July 2001 issue.
22. The names
and villages of the 363 people who died here are recorded by Mangilal Rao and
Bhagirathirai Rao, two men from Mehlana village of Jodhpur District. Both
worked for two years from 1976 to 1977 to gather this information from
traditional writings. The Raos have been traditional recorders of historic
events in Rajasthan since ancient times.
23. Dr.
Krishna Ram Bishnoi & Dr. Narsi Ram Bishnoi, (ed), Religion and Environment, Guru Jambheshwar University Publication,
2002, pp. 339-340.
24. Surya
Sankar Parik, Jambhoji ki Vani,
Bikash Prakashan, 2001, p. 261.
25. Formerly
scheduled caste
26. R. S.
Bishnoi, A Blueprint for Environment:
Conservation as Creed,Jambhani Sahitya Akademi, 1992. pp. 181-182.
27. Jaswant
Singh Bishnoi was a member of Indian Parliament of 13th & 14thLokh
Sabha.
28. The Amrita
Devi Bishnoi National Wildlife Protection Award is instituted by the government
of India for wildlife protection and conservation. The award is in the memorial
of Amrita Devi Bishnoi. The award launched in 2000 A. D. The cash award
consists of 1,00,000 given to individuals or institutions involved in wildlife
protection. The first Amrita Devi Bishnoi National Wildlife Protection Award
for wildlife conservation was conferred on 11thSeptember 2001 A. D.,
posthumously on Gangs Ram Bishnoi; of Chirai village, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Government of India has declared 11th September as Forest Martyr`s
Day since 2011 A. D.
29. The
Government of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, department of Forest, have started
the prestigious state-level Amrita Devi Bishnoi Smriti Award for excellent
contributions to the protection and conservation of wild animals. The Award
consists of cash 25,000, and a Prashasti.
30. Mr.
Digvijay Singh is an Indian politician and member of Rajya Sabha and he was 14th
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Bibliography
Francoise D`Eaubonne, Feminism or Death: How
the Women`s Movement Can Save the Planet, Verso, 2020
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