National Forest Martyrs Day is observed on September 11th every year to remember those who laid their lives to protect nature in the remote corners of the country.
National Forest Martyrs Day 2021: National Forest Martyrs Day is celebrated every year on 11 September in India. Those who give their lives in protecting the forests, this day is in their honour. On this day people salute the people engaged in protecting the forests of the country.
National Forest Martyrs Day was first observed in 2013 after the Ministry of Environment and Forest announced this holiday throughout India. It goes like this- In the year 1730, during the reign of Maharaja Abhay Singh in Rajasthan, it was ordered to cut down the Khejarli trees.
As brave a woman Amrita Devi, she reportedly told them to behead herself rather than the Khejarli trees. Sadly, the Maharaja’s men mercilessly beheaded her followed by 359 others before this dreadful news reached the ears of the Maharaja.
The Maharaja soon ordered to stop the felling of trees. This massacre that took place on September 11, 1730, was the root cause for the declaration of National Forest Martyrs Day in 2013. Moreover, the Chipko Movement that began later in the 20th century was also inspired by this brave act of the people of the Bishnoi community.
Humans depend on forests for almost everything- food, wood, etc. It is also the habitat for many different species of plants and animals. When we say a forest, it isn’t about just many trees, it is much more than that. It is in the forests that nearly 80% of the biodiversity of our planet dwell.
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