Green Mission links India’s heritage with future

Moodbidri: Marking India’s 79th Independence Day celebrated recently with a message rooted in heritage and sustainability, the Oppiko Pachchevanasiri Abhiyan (Accept the Greenery Movement) organized a mass distribution of 6,241 saplings, seeds, and buds across select districts.

The initiative, led jointly by Swasti Sri Bhattaraka Charukeerthi Jain Math, Alva’s Education Foundation, and the Oriental Research Centre, Udupi, underscored the fusion of cultural tradition and ecological responsibility. Seventy-nine participants also took “green pledges,” symbolising a long-term commitment to nurturing trees.

Among the saplings were fruit-bearing trees and the endangered Talipot Palm (Corypha umbraculifera) — once central to India’s civilizational legacy as palm leaves preserved Vedas, Upanishads, and epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Swasti Sri Charukeerthi Bhattaraka and Managing Trustee of Alva’s Education Foundation, Vivek Alva emphasised that protecting biodiversity and reviving rainforests is a sacred duty aligned with national values of sustainability. Professor S.A. Krishnaiah, campaign founder, revealed that under the Green India Vision Ecological Studies (GIVES) initiative, over 1.3 lakh seeds and saplings have already been distributed, with plans to expand globally.

This year’s celebration also unveiled “Bio-Trove,” a unique seed-collection model enabling steady replantation. Nearly 1,100 seeds were pooled and redistributed on Independence Day.

Inspired by a 12th-century Jain inscription at Hirebevinur, the movement has grown into a national mission, blending India’s ancient eco-wisdom with a modern vision of sustainable living.