WINNER OF THE 2024 Goldman Environmental prize, 44-yearold Alok Shukla is no stranger to extraordinary challenges. As a founding member of the Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, a grassroots movement of adivasis from about 30 villages in one of India’s largest contiguous forest tracks—the Hasdeo Aranya forest in Chattisgarh—Shukla has been locked in a real-life David vs. Goliath fight, battling India’s richest coal conglomerates.
Spanning over 1,70,000 hectares, the bio-diverse Hasdeo Aranya forest bears the burden of being resource-rich. It sits atop some 5.6 billion tons of coal, making it one of India’s largest reserves— and the focus of intense interest from coal corporations. These dense woodlands also serve as the watershed for the Hasdeo Bango reservoir, which irrigates 7,41,000 acres of farmland, and forms the life-force for nearly 15,000 Adivasis, such as the Gonds, who draw their both their sustenance and their identity from it. Shukla’s successful community campaign has saved 4,45,000 acres of these biodiversity-rich forests from 21 planned coal mines in Chhattisgarh.
Born in undivided Madhya Pradesh into a family of farmers, Shukla grew up in the lap of nature. Since gaining statehood in 2000, Chhattisgarh—44 per cent of which is forestland—fell prey to rapid development, changing the young state beyond recognition. With its natural resources under duress, several movements protesting this plunder took root.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2024 de Reader's Digest India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 2024 de Reader's Digest India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
