He frolicked in forests as a kid. Now he's saving them from a coal mine plan

He frolicked in forests as a kid. Now he's saving them from a coal mine plan Enlarge this image toggle caption Idrees Mohammed/AFP via Getty Images Idrees Mohammed/AFP via Getty Images Alok Shukla, the youngest of eight siblings, grew up in a village in Central India. “And it used to hurt to see even a single tree being cut because there were many memories associated with it.” Shukla’s childhood forest adventures fueled his determination as an adult to protect forests — as did his post-high school travels with his uncle in a neighboring state, when he first saw coal mines and the pollution they caused. Enlarge this image toggle caption Idrees Mohammed/AFP via Getty Images Idrees Mohammed/AFP via Getty Images Along with Save Chhattisgarh Movement activists from other parts of the state, he visited Hasdeo’s villages, explaining the rights of tribal and traditional forest communities to use forest resources for their livelihood, homes and cultural needs. Shukla met with local communities around Hasdeo in 2011 to form an alliance of local governments called the Save Hasdeo Forest Resistance CommitteeFor more than a decade, Shukla helped the villagers plan marches, rallies and social media campaigns to halt the government's plans to auction off coal fields.