Appiko Movement: History, Leader, and Objectives for Students

Appiko Movement was an important people's movement in India aimed at saving forests. It is one of the most well-known environmental protests in the country. 

The movement began in September 1983 in the Western Ghats of South India. The famous Chipko Movement of the Himalayan region directly inspired it. The primary goal of the movement was to stop the cutting down of natural trees by commercial logging companies.

Appiko Movement Overview

Appiko Movement was a grassroots environmental campaign in Karnataka that aimed to protect forests through nonviolent action and community involvement. It drew inspiration from the Chipko Movement and focused on preserving trees, promoting sustainable forest use, and raising ecological awareness.

What is the Appiko Movement?

The name Appiko comes from the local language, Kannada, and it means "to hug" or "to embrace".

The core action of this protest was very simple and non-violent. When loggers came to cut the trees, the local villagers men, women, and children would physically hug the trees to protect them. This act prevented the loggers from using their axes and forced them to stop the felling operation.

History and Cause of the Appiko Movement

Before the movement, a large part of the Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka was covered with dense forests. However, the government encouraged "development," which involved setting up major industries like paper mills, plywood factories, and hydroelectric dams.

These industries began to cut down huge areas of natural forests for commercial profit. They also replaced the original mixed forests with monoculture plantations of teak and eucalyptus.

The continuous tree cutting had very serious negative effects on the environment and the local people.

• It led to severe soil erosion.

• Perennial water sources dried up.

• Villagers lost their main sources of fuel wood, fodder, honey, and medicinal plants, which caused widespread poverty.

The movement was started by the villagers of Salkani in Sirsi Taluk, Uttara Kannada, when their requests to the Forest Department to stop felling were ignored.

Appiko Movement Leader Panduranga Hegde

The Appiko Movement was led by the young environmentalist Panduranga Hegde. He was born in the Uttara Kannada district.

Panduranga Hegde was deeply inspired by the ideas of the Chipko Movement and its leader, Sunderlal Bahuguna. He mobilized people in his area to use the same non-violent, direct action method hugging the trees to conserve their forests.

Objectives of the Appiko Movement

The Appiko Movement had three main objectives, which were summarized in its popular Kannada slogan: Ubsu, Belesu, Balasu.

1. Ubsu (Save): The immediate goal was to protect the remaining forest cover from being cut down by commercial and industrial interests.

2. Belesu (Grow): The second aim was to promote afforestation, meaning planting new trees and regenerating the greenery in deforested lands.

3. Balasu (Use Rationally): The third objective was to ensure that forest resources were used wisely and sustainably, reducing the overall pressure on the forests.

Impact of the Appiko Movement

The movement achieved significant success.

• Immediate Victory: The initial agitation in the Kalase forest continued for 38 days, eventually forcing the State Government to withdraw the tree-felling order.

• Policy Change: The protests led to a ban on the felling of green trees in some evergreen forest areas of the Western Ghats.

• Awareness: The movement used various cultural methods, like folk dances and foot marches, to spread awareness among villagers throughout the Western Ghats.

• Afforestation: The activists actively worked to restore the forests. For example, over a million saplings were planted in the Sirsi region between 1984 and 1985.

Like other famous Indian environmental movements, such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the Chipko Movement, the Appiko Movement successfully showed the power of community action. It ensured that local people could save the sources of their livelihood, like bamboo and medicinal plants, from being destroyed.