साथियो,
आप लोग मैती आन्दोलन से परिचित होंगे ही,
उत्तराखण्ड में मैत का अर्थ होता है मायका, और मैती का अर्थ होता है, मायके वाले। इस आन्दोलन में पहाड़ की नारी का उसके जल, जंगल और जमीन से जुड़ाव को दर्शाया गया। क्योंकि एक अविवाहित लड़की के लिये उसके गांव के पेड़ भी मैती ही होते हैं, इसलिये जिस भी लड़की की शादी हो रही हो, वह फेरे लेने के बाद वैदिक मंत्रोच्चार के बीच एक पेड़ लगाकर उसे भी अपना मैती बनाती
है।
इस भावनात्मक पर्यावरणीय आन्दोलन की शुरुआत 1995 में राजकीय इण्टर कालेज, ग्वालदम, जिला-चमोली के जीव विग्यान के प्रवक्ता श्री कल्याण सिंह रावत जी द्वारा की गई। जो अभी भी निरन्तर चल रहा है, आज इस कार्यक्रम ने अपना फैलाव पूरे उत्तराखण्ड सहित देश के कई अन्य राज्यों तक कर लिया है।
मैती आन्दोलन की धूम कनाडा तक भी
ABOUT MAITI MOVEMENT
Maiti Andolan a green movement is doing their every bit to save the environment by restoring the country's green cover and of many other nations too. The women-centric movement, which involves a unique ritual of planting a sapling by a newly-wed couple, was initiated in a small town of Gwaldam in Uttarakhand in 1995. This movement has now spread across 6,000 villages in 18 states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Kerala besides foreign countries like the US, UK, Canada, Nepal, Indonesia and Thailand. The Maiti Andolan has generated a lot of public awareness and tree planting is now done not only during weddings but on other occasions as well. Maiti is derived from the term “Mait” which in uttarakhand means married girls parental home. Maiti is a socio-environmental campaign, In Maiti the bride and the bridegroom plants a tree sapling during their marriage ceremony either in the premises of the home (mait) of the bride’s mother or somewhere in her parental village depending on the space available. It is owing to this deep bond that mothers and daughters share in the pahari (hill) society that the maitis (members of the mother’s home) ensure that the tree sapling planted during marriage gets proper care after the girl’s marriage and mothers naturally ensure that the saplings planted by their married daughters remain well protected and grow into leafy trees. The groom gives some money to activist of maiti for the care of the plant. The money received by the groom is not only utilized for the purpose of up-keeping the sapling but also used for taking care of the needs of underprivileged girls of the village. Besides, instinctively they are more concerned about future. So, by planting a sapling at the time of their marriage, they not only leave behind a precious memory, but play their part in safeguarding mother earth. The massive planting of saplings undertaken in the region as part of the Maiti Andolan resulted in a number of barren patches of hills and valleys being covered with lush green forests. This campaign has also ignited green consciousness among the locals besides doing away with some vain traditions prevailing in Uttarakhand’s hill society. Significantly, Maiti movement has also proved to be a boon for girls from poor families as it also helps generate funds for their education, health and marriage.