Maiti Movement
Meiti movement is an environmental movement whose father is considered to be Shri Kalyan Singh Rawat. In Uttarakhand, the word Mait means “maternal house” and the word Maiti means maternal house. In the Maiti movement, after taking rounds at the time of the marriage of their daughter, the parents plant trees while chanting Vedic mantras and making her their Maiti. This tree is looked after by the parents. It is believed that just as the tree will flourish or the garden will remain prosperous, similarly the family life of the girl will also remain prosperous. Seeing this, Maiti takes care of that tree wholeheartedly like a daughter.
Beginning of the movement:
This environmental movement was started in 1994 by Mr. Kalyan Singh Rawat, lecturer in Biology of Gwaldam Inter College, Chamoli. It started at the school level, and then this movement inspired the villages and areas towards nature. Gradually this movement became so huge that now more than 18000 villages and 18 states in India have joined this movement.
Inspiration of the movement:
When Shri Kalyan Singh Rawat ji saw that despite planting trees, the trees dry up without any care after some time, then he understood that unless man is emotionally connected with the environment, no tree plantation is successful. It is possible And considering this, he gave it an emotional form in which Maiti takes care of the tree like her own daughter.
Life journey of Kalyan Singh Rawat
Kalyan Singh Rawat was born on 19 October 1953 in Bainoli village of Karnaprayag block of Chamoli district to Vimala Devi and Trilok Singh Rawat. Kalyan Singh Rawat's father was working in the Forest Department. He inherited his love for trees and forests.
Kalyan Singh Rawat ji's education was done in village primary school Bainoli (Nauti), education till 8th was completed in Kaljikhal and 10th and 12th education was completed in Karnaprayag. Received graduation and post graduation from Government Post Graduate College, Gopeshwar.
During his college days, he also participated in the Chipko movement of the frontier district Chamoli. On March 26, 1974, he reached Joshimath in heavy rain with 150 boys in a truck from Gopeshwar to join the Chipko movement. He got inspiration for environmental protection from the success of Chipko movement.
The idea of 'Maiti' came to his mind after his wife Manju Rawat planted two papaya trees on the very second day of their marriage in 1982, but at that time he was unable to implement it. In 1987, there was a severe drought in Uttarkashi. In such a situation, a tree consecration ceremony fair was organized by them.
In which Tree Abhishek Committee was formed at the village level and the village head was made its president. Everyone appreciated his initiative. In 1994, while serving as biology lecturer at Gwaladam Government Inter College, Kalyan Singh inspired school children for the Meiti movement. Then gradually he worked to inspire the people of the entire village.
Meiti movement in other countries
The Meiti movement has been going on continuously in the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand since 1994. Seeing the positive results of Kalyan Singh Rawat's Maiti movement, Prime Minister Modi has also praised him in Mann Ki Baat. Not only this, in the year 2020, he was honored with the Padmashree Award by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 26. Nitin Gadkari honored him on World Environment Protection Day. He has received many awards including Best Ecologist. Canada's former Foreign Minister Flora Donald has also praised Kalyan Singh Rawat for his excellent work. Not only this, “Maiti Movement” has also started in US, Nepal, UK, Canada and Indonesia, which has also been adopted by Himachal Pradesh.