Who Were the First Treehuggers?

An early environmental movement gives new meaning to the word

Indian women surround a tree to protect it, 1973 (CC 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

The khejri tree — also known as Prosopis cineraria — isn’t a particularly majestic species. It’s not huge like the redwoods or otherworldy like the baobab. It’s pretty common; it grows all over the Middle East and South Asia. It grows to about 30 feet, blooms with little yellow flowers, and then drops little…