101 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
The **Bishnoi Forest Campaign** was an early
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[environmentalist](Environmentalism "wikilink") campaign in what is now
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Western Rajistan, [India](India "wikilink") in
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[1730](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Southern_Asia "wikilink") to
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prevent deforestation, this led to a state-supported massacre of 363
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nonviolent protesters.
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## Background
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The Bishnoi or Vishnoi faith is a [religious](Religion "wikilink")
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offshoot of [Hinduism](Hinduism "wikilink") founded in 1485 by Guru
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Maharaj Jambaji, it has 29 principles, they are:
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1. Observe 30 days' state of ritual impurity after child's birth and
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keep mother and child away from household activities.
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2. Observe 5 days' segregation while a woman is in her menses.
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3. Take bath daily in the morning before Sunrising.
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4. Obey the ideal rules of life: Modesty, Patience or satisfactions,
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cleanliness.
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5. Pray two times everyday (morning and evening).
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6. Eulogise God, Vishnu, in evening hours (Aarti)
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7. Perform Yajna (Havan) with the feelings of welfare devotion and
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love.
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8. Use filtered water, milk and cleaned firewood.
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9. Speak pure words in all sincerity.
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10. Practice forgiveness from heart.
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11. Be merciful by heart.
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12. Do not steal or keep any intention to do it.
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13. Do not condemn or criticize.
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14. Do not lie.
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15. Do not indulge in dispute/debate.
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16. Fast on Amavasya.
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17. Worship and recite Lord Vishnu in adoration
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18. Be merciful to all living beings and love them.
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19. Do not cut green trees, save the environment.
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20. Crush lust, anger, greed and attachment.
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21. Cook your food by yourself.
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22. Provide shelters for abandoned animals to avoid them from being
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slaughtered in abattoirs.
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23. Do not sterilise bulls.
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24. Do not use or trade opium.
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25. Do not smoke or use tobacco or its products.
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26. Do not take bhang or hemp.
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27. Do not drink alcohol/liquor.
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28. Do not eat meat, always remain pure vegetarian.
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29. Do not use violet blue colour extracted from the indigo plant.\[1\]
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Notable of these are several rules promoting environmental stewardship,
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forbidding the harming of trees and animals. This was based on Jambaji's
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personal experience as he witnessed the cutting of trees during droughts
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which made them worse, and began to realize ecosystems were highly
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sensitive and interdependent, their instability having massive
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consequences for humans and animals. When the local maharajah (king) of
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Jodhpur wanted to build a new palace, he sent soldiers to gather wood
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from the forests around Khejarli, a small villages with many Bishnois.
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## Events
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When the soldiers began to cut down trees, many Bishnois protested
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peacefully, but were ignored by the soldiers who followed their orders.
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Amrita Devi, a local villager, could not bear to witness the destruction
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of both her faith and the village's sacred trees. She decided to
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literally hug the trees, and encouraged others to do so too,
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proclaiming: “A chopped head is cheaper than a felled tree.” Bishnois
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from Khejri and nearby villages came to the forest and embraced the
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trees one by one to protect them from being cut down. The soldiers
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attempted to bribe the villagers, which only insulted them.\[2\]
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Bishnois from 83 villages began to travel to Jehnad in an attempt to
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save the trees. and a council was convened to determine what could be
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done about the situation. The council's decision was that each Bishnoi
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volunteer would lay down their life to defend one of the threatened
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trees. Older people went forward first, with many of them being killed
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as they hugged the Khejris.They began to decapitate villagers who As
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each villager hugged a tree, refusing to let go, they were beheaded by
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the soldiers. This voluntary martyrdom continued until 363 Bishnoi
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villagers were killed in the name of the sacred Khejarli forest.\[3\]
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## Results
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Upon hearing of the beheadings, the king rushed to the village and
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apologized, ordering the soldiers to stop logging, and designated the
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Bishnoi state as a protected area forbidding harm to trees and animals.
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This legislation still exists today in the region. In memory of the 363
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Bishnois, who died protecting their dear trees, a number of khejri trees
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are planted around the area, which is still notably lush and rich with
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animal life. The Bishnoi sacrifices became the inspiration for a much
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larger [Chipko movement](Chipko_\(India\) "wikilink") that is still
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growing today, in which villagers physically embrace trees to save them
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from logging.\[4\]
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## References
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<references />
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1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishnoi#29_rules>
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2. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khejarli_massacre>
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3. <https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/bishnoi-villagers-sacrifice-lives-save-trees-1730>
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4. |