Sarla Behn

Sarla Behn
Born5 April 1901
Shepherd's Bush, England, United Kingdom
Died8 July 1982 (1982-07-09) (aged 81)
Dharamgarh, Pithoragarh district, Uttar Pradesh (present-day Uttarakhand, India)
NationalityBritish
Other namesCatherine Mary Heilman
Known forfollower of Gandhi and key role in the Chipko Movement

Sarala Behn (born Catherine Mary Heilman; 5 April 1901 – 8 July 1982) was an English Gandhian social activist whose work in the Kumaon region of India helped create awareness about the environmental destruction in the Himalayan forests of the state. She played a key role in the evolution of the Chipko Movement and influenced a number of Gandhian environmentalists in India including Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Bimala behn and Sunderlal Bahuguna. Along with Mirabehn, she is known as one of Mahatma Gandhi's two English daughters. The two women's work in Garhwal and Kumaon, respectively, played a key role in bringing focus on issues of environmental degradation and conservation in independent India.[1][2][3][4]

  1. ^ "Sarala Behn remembered". The Tribune. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Indian Women Freedom Fighters" (PDF). Bhavan Australia. 7 (2): 15. August 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  3. ^ Katz, Eric (2000). Beneath the surface: critical essays in the philosophy of deep ecology. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 251. ISBN 9780262611497.
  4. ^ Shiva, Vandana. "THE EVOLUTION, STRUCTURE, AND IMPACT OF THE CHIPKO MOVEMENT" (PDF). Ecospirit. II (4). Retrieved 29 May 2013.