What does the term “tree hugger” mean?  Today in the West, it’s often used as a flippant pejorative (or worn as a badge of honour), but it stems from a story of stunning defiance and vicious bloodshed.  In 1730, a reported 363 Bishnoi people in India sacrificed their lives to stop their trees from being cut down, inadvertently laying the foundation for a strategy of peaceful resistance that has come to be used the world over.  The tale of the Bishnoi, and later the Chipko movement that it inspired, would even go on to provide a “beacon” during the early years of Australia’s environmental protest movement.  The Bishnoi are a Hindu community from northern and north-western India who adhere to the teachings of Guru Jambhoji, according to historian, environmentalist and author Nanditha Krishna.  “[Bishnoi] started in a little desert village called Samrathal Dhora in Rajasthan in 1485,” Dr Krishna says.