Jadav Payeng

 Kakatiya University Warangal

II year. Sem 4 unit 1

&

Osmania University Degree English Sem 3

&

Palamuru University Sem 2 - The Forest Man of India. 

KU-Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

             Jadav Payeng

 Q:- 1.Describe Molai Forest (KU june 2023) 

2.what sight ultimately inspired Jadav to protect the island and the forest? ( KU July 2022) 

3.How were Javad Payeng's efforts on planting discovered ( KU July 2021) 

Jadav Payeng dedicated his entire youth to transforming a deserted island into a dense forest. The forest was named after his nickname, Molai Forest. After 33 years of his constant efforts, the government, NGO's, and the international community recognised his wonder. He became the subject of school textbooks, and many documentaries have been made on his life.

At the age of sixteen, he saw a pile of dead snakes washed up on a sandbar after floods in the Brahmaputra River. This sight made him think about the threat to humans on deforested land. He was advised by village elders to plant trees, especially bamboo trees, to prevent the impending danger. To stop the submersion of Majuli island due to constant soil erosion, the Forestry Division of Golaghat district started planting trees on 200 acres. Jadav continued this mission, though the Forestry Division stopped the plan in 1983.

Jadav in 2008 fiercely protested the villager's plan to cut down part of the forest to stop the elephant menace. He said, "Kill me first, before killing these animals." When the world discovered the Molai forest, poachers began to invade the forest in search of animals. The forest department acted quickly on Jadav's information and stopped poachng activities. Jadav lived with his wife and three children in a hut near the forest. Though his cattle were killed by tigers, he never got angry. He said, " Nature has made a food chain, why can't we stick to it"?.  He further says that man is the biggest danger to the forest. 

Many documentaries have been made about Jadav's sacrifice and success. Arti Srivastav, an Indian film maker, made a documentary titled "Foresting Life."

In 2014, William McMaster, an American film maker, made the "Forest Man" film on Jadav's work with the Molai forest. In 2012, he was given the title "The Forest Man of India" by Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.