was so GREATLY infused in the minds and souls of the Bishnois that in Khejrali village of Rajasthan about 363 YOUNG and old men and women embraced the khejri trees (Prosopis cineraria) toprotect them from being felled by the king’s men. The local ruler had ordered the cutting of khejri trees to use them for his lime kilns as fuel; the Bishnois hugged them and many were killed in the episode. Later, a temple was built in honour of the Bishnoi martyrs. One of the leading women of the movement was Amrita Devi Bishnoi. The repentant king later issued an edict protecting trees and animals in Bishnoi-controlled lands. The commoners from a semi-arid zone had understood the real value of trees. Khejri leaves constitute an important feed for livestock in a desert region like westernRajasthan, as they have high nutritional value for camels, cattle, sheep and goat. A unique feature of this tree is that it yields much green foliage even during dry winter months when no other green fodder is available in the dry tracts. People from semi-arid parts of western Rajasthan encouraged the growth of the khejri tree in between the cultivable lands and pastures because its extensive root system helped stabilize the SHIFTING sand dunes. It also fixes nitrogen through bacterial activity. Besides, villagers usedkhejri leaves as organic matter for rejuvenating non-fertile soil. Women use its flowers mixed with sugar during their pregnancy as a safeguard against miscarriage, and its bark is EFFECTIVE against dysentery, asthma, common cold and rheumatic arthritis. Tradition of resistance The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw more examples of resistance against forest cutting. Most of those movements were largely against unjust colonial forest laws which affected the LIVELIHOOD of the local people, especially tribals: the creation of government-protected forests by the colonial government was disastrous for the tribals, who were purely dependent on forest produce. The tribal communities were thus the worst hit by governmental forest departments.Explanation: