Slow Travel Through The Bishnoi Villages Of Rajasthan

Make a trip down to the Bishnoi village of Khejarli (25 km southeast of Jodhpur), best known as the place where the precedent for the Chipko Movement was established. In 1730, the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Abhay Singh, ordered the cutting down of trees in and around Khejarli for the renovation of the Mehrangarh Fort. In protest, about 360 people, including women, from 84 Bishnoi villages wrapped themselves around the trees, in the hope that they would be able to save them. However, the maharaja’s armies ruthlessly went ahead and cut down the trees, along with the people clinging to them. Three hundred and sixty-three people died at that time and today, 363 trees have been planted around the Jambheshwarji Temple in their memory. They can easily count among India’s first environmentalists.