Why in News?
National Forest Martyrs Day is celebrated on September 11 every year to commemorate the Khejarli Massacre of 1730.
Key Highlights
- Maharaja Abhay Singh of the Marwar (Jodhpur) kingdom ordered the cutting of Khejri trees near the village of Khejarli, Rajasthan. He had decided to fell these trees to provide timber for a new palace.
- Amrita Devi, a member of the Bishnoi community, clasped the tree and offered her life rather than allow it to be cut down. She was beheaded, as well as her three daughters, and this led to a larger protest.
- As many as 363 Bishnois from 49 villages were sacrificed that day in defense of the trees.
- When the king learned of the massacre, he stopped cutting the trees immediately, apologized to the Bishnoi community, and issued a royal order forbidding any cutting of trees or hunting of animals in or around Bishnoi villages.
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declared September 11 as National Forest Martyrs Day in 2013.
- Later, the sacrifice inspired the Chipko Movement of the 1970s, where villagers hugged trees to protect them from being cut down.
- The Amrita Devi Bishnoi National Award of ₹1,00,000 was instituted in 2013 for individuals or institutions who contribute to wildlife protection. The first ever award was presented posthumously in 2001 to Ganga Ram Bishnoi.
