A tribal revolution
Dhenkanal is one of the pioneers in community forest movement of Orissa. In 1937, this erstwhile princely state saw a prajameli (people's revolution) for complete rights over forest resources and abolition of forest tax. It was followed by kandhameli (tribal revolution) to demand the same. These early uprisings spread to other princely states likes Nayagarh, Daspalla and some areas of Sambalpur.
Finally, the king declared an equal division of the forest produce between him and the community and suggested joint management of the resources. "This was the foundation of Orissa's forest management. Even after Independence, when the people started clearing government forests, they did not touch the forests given by the king,' says Udayanath Mohanty, president, federation of Dhenkanal's 732 villages.
Today, in Dhenkanal district, villages are protecting 8,000 ha of forest land, and in nearby Angul district 630 villages are protecting 6,000 ha of forest land. Most of these forests were demarcated by the king for these villages.
"Dhenkanal can boast of a Chipko movement of its own, one older than the Himalayan Chipko movement,' says S P Das, a faculty member of Centre for Development Research and Training, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.
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