According to Ramachandra Guha in Unquiet Woods, what was at stake when villagers hugged trees to stop government forest contractors from felling them?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Villagers' subsistence
Option (1) Statehood for the hill region — Incorrect. Statehood for a region is the demand of the regional movements for separate statehood. The tree-hugging protest was about the villagers' daily needs from the forest.
Option (2) Ownership of the forest land — Incorrect. The villagers made no claim to title over the forest land. They wanted to keep using the trees for their daily needs, so the conflict was over the use of the forest.
Option (3) Villagers' subsistence — Correct. In Ramachandra Guha's account, the villagers relied on the forest for firewood, fodder and other daily necessities. So their subsistence, their basic means of living, was at stake when contractors came to fell the trees.
Option (4) Sacredness of village groves — Incorrect. The villagers valued the forest as ecological wealth that benefits all. Faith or the worship of sacred groves played no part in what the protest defended.
NCERT (2026-27): “8.4 Ecological Movements … |