Portrait of a Bishnoi Man

The Bishnoi are among the world’s most dedicated conservationists. They hold all animal life sacred.They believe that they will be reincarnated as antelopes. The people also have a long history of protecting the sacred khejri tree – sometimes with their lives. The sect was founded in the 15th century, when a severe drought was crippling the desert regions near Jodhpur. A villager named Jambheshwar had a vision that the drought had been caused by humans meddling with the natural order. He laid down 29 tenets for conserving nature, including not killing animals, felling trees or using wood for funeral pyres. In 1730 the most famous Bishnoi act of self-sacrifice occurred. The Maharaja of Jodhpur sent woodcutters into Bishnoi villages to cut down khejri trees for his lime kilns. A woman named Amritdevi clung to one of the trees and refused to be removed, crying: 'A chopped head is cheaper than a felled tree'. The axeman cut her head off. One by one, other Bishnoi villagers followed Amritdevi’s lead, until 363 people lay dead. The maharaja, hearing of the carnage, declared a conservation zone around the Bishnoi villages, prohibiting tree felling or poaching in the area – Jodhpur, India