Wikipedia Trails: Chipko movement to Tehran
The Chipko movement
The Chipko movement was a movement with the objective of stopping rapid deforestation. This movement started in Uttarakhand in 1973 and created a ripple effect, inspiring other non-violent environmental movements. The Wikipedia article says that "one of Chipko's most salient features was the mass participation of female villagers", which I thought was very cool as women are often disenfranchised because of their sex and villagers in India are often disenfranchised for not being higher class or from the city. This movement did not only seek to save the environment, but it also sought to address the socioeconomic consequences for those who depended on forests for their livelihoods.
Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi was the first and only female Prime Minister of India and "the second longest-serving Indian Prime Minister after her father". She was Prime Minister during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the war that led to Bangladesh's independence. Gandhi was also the Prime Minister when India became one of the limited countries in the world to gain nuclear weapons. Gandhi was assassinated by Beant Sign, who was one of her own bodyguads. Because he chanted a Sikh religious slogan as he shot her, "millions of Sikhs were displaced and nearly three thousand were killed in anti-Sikh riots" after he assassination.
The Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement was the group of states that chose not to align with any major power bloc, originating during the Cold War. India was a part of the movement and established its respect for other's sovereignty, mutual non-aggression and non-interference with other states, and peaceful coexistence in its Five Precepts. As of 2012, 120 states claimed to not be aligned with any of the great powers. Since the Cold War is ended, many of the non-aligned states have been growing stronger relations with each other in an alignment called South-South solidarity, in which countries of the global south align together against major players like the US, Great Britain, and Russia.
Tehran
The Chipko movement was a movement with the objective of stopping rapid deforestation. This movement started in Uttarakhand in 1973 and created a ripple effect, inspiring other non-violent environmental movements. The Wikipedia article says that "one of Chipko's most salient features was the mass participation of female villagers", which I thought was very cool as women are often disenfranchised because of their sex and villagers in India are often disenfranchised for not being higher class or from the city. This movement did not only seek to save the environment, but it also sought to address the socioeconomic consequences for those who depended on forests for their livelihoods.
Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi was the first and only female Prime Minister of India and "the second longest-serving Indian Prime Minister after her father". She was Prime Minister during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the war that led to Bangladesh's independence. Gandhi was also the Prime Minister when India became one of the limited countries in the world to gain nuclear weapons. Gandhi was assassinated by Beant Sign, who was one of her own bodyguads. Because he chanted a Sikh religious slogan as he shot her, "millions of Sikhs were displaced and nearly three thousand were killed in anti-Sikh riots" after he assassination.
The Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement was the group of states that chose not to align with any major power bloc, originating during the Cold War. India was a part of the movement and established its respect for other's sovereignty, mutual non-aggression and non-interference with other states, and peaceful coexistence in its Five Precepts. As of 2012, 120 states claimed to not be aligned with any of the great powers. Since the Cold War is ended, many of the non-aligned states have been growing stronger relations with each other in an alignment called South-South solidarity, in which countries of the global south align together against major players like the US, Great Britain, and Russia.
Tehran
Tehran has been the capital of Iran since 1796 and it has a population of 8.4 million, of which 99% speak Persian. Tehran is facing the problem of bad air pollution and it is vulnerable to earthquakes, as it has been rated as one of the world's most polluted cities, and is also located near two major fault lines. This has even led to public officials contemplating moving the capital of Iran to another city. The article says that the most famous landmark in Tehran is the Azadi Tower, which was built by the Shah of Iran in 1971 to mark the 2,500th year of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran and it is pictured below.
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