Question

What is the ‘Amrita Devi Bishnoi’ National Award?

Answer 1

This is one of the National level awards which is given to any person or institution who devote their life to the conservation of wildlife and environment. The award consists of a cash prize of one lakh rupees given to the winner.

Step by step answer: Amrita Devi was a Bishnoi woman living in a small village near Jodhpur. The trees which this woman along with her three daughters and other people of the Bishnoi committee saved was ‘Khejri’. This tree has got traditional as well as geographical importance in the regions of Rajasthan.
-As this region mainly consists of the desert not many evergreen plants grow there. The Khejri tree is one of the few plants growing there which is of big use to the local communities living there. The leaves of this tress are used as fodder for camels and cattle, the wood obtained from this tress is a source of fuel, its root habitat nitrogen fixers which fertilize the soil with nitrogen and it also provides shade on a hot sunny day of desert. As this tree symbolizes life in the desert it was taboo to cut it down.
-But in 1730, when the Maharaja Abhay Singh commanded his men to chop down the trees to use the wood and logs for construction, this brave woman along with her daughters and other villagers started hugging the trees.
-Amrita Devi felt that, even if by sacrificing her own life she could protect one tree, it would be fair and that is why she took this extraordinarily courageous step. The merciless men continued to chop trees through the bodies of Bishnoi, and the Bishnoi people sacrificed their lives in the protection of the holy tree.
-When Maharaja heard the news, he apologized on his men’s behalf and stopped the chopping of trees near Bishnoi village forever and this rule is followed to date and the Bishnoi community is still known for their bravery and their unconditional love towards their environment.
-Due to this the people who work fiercely for protection of the environment and ecosystem sustaining in them, those people are awarded the ‘Amrita Devi Bishnoi’ National Award by the government of India.
Additional information: ‘Amrita Devi Bishnoi’ National Award was first awarded in 2001 to a Bishnoi youth who was killed by poachers. Followed by this incident in 1973, a group of women followed the footsteps of Amrita Devi and saved many trees by hugging them and thus preventing them from being chopped down.

Note: this award is always offered to the people or institution who have done amazing work in the field of wildlife, especially towards its protection. This award inspires a lot of people to come forward and follow the footsteps of the brave Indians who stood against anyone who threatened nature and sacrificed their own life in protecting the environment.