Bangalore. A book based on the popular campaign for forest conservation ‘Chipko Andolan’ was on Thursday adjudged the winner of the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize 2022. This book has been written by historian-forest conservation activist Shekhar Pathak.
‘The Chipko Movement: A People’s History’, a Hindi translation of a book written by Manisha Chowdhary, has been selected for the award among five books on modern Indian history and a wide range of subjects.
The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize is awarded to an author from any country for outstanding non-fiction writing on modern or contemporary India. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a trophy and a citation. The winner was selected by a six-member jury headed by political scientist Neerja Gopal Jayal.
The jury said on the winning book that it is the best history of the Chipko movement by a scholar who practically lived it. This is a book that tells the story of the movement through the eyes of local communities, especially women. The award is named after Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay who contributed immensely to the freedom struggle, women’s movement, rehabilitation of refugees and revival of handicrafts.