Chandi Prasad Bhatt

Born: 23 June 1934

• He is an Indian Gandhian environmentalist and social activist.
• He founded Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (DGSS) in Gopeshwar in 1964, which later became a mother-organization to the Chipko Movement, in which he was one of the pioneers, and for which he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1982, followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2005.
• Today he is known for his work on subaltern social ecology and considered one of India’s first modern environmentalist.
• In 2013, he was the recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize.
• He and his wife continue to live the simple life of their Himalayan neighbours.
• In the process, he has become knowledgeable and productive in helping ensure his peoples’ hard-won living.
• In 2003, he was appointed a member of the ‘National Forest Commission’, which reviewed all existing policies and legal frameworks relating to forest management, and submitted its report to the Government in 2005.

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