Peepal Baba — The Man Who Planted 2 Crore Trees
In a country where forests are shrinking and cities are losing their green lungs, one man has spent over four decades quietly, persistently planting trees. Peepal Baba — known formally as Swami Prem Parivartan — has planted more than 20 million trees across 18 Indian states, making him one of the most impactful Heroes of Sustainability our country has ever produced. His mission is not driven by policy or funding — it is rooted in a promise he made to himself as an eleven-year-old boy.
The Seed of an Idea
Azad Jain was born on 26 January 1966 in Chandigarh, to a doctor in the Indian Army. At the age of eleven, his English teacher at a hobby club in Pune introduced him to the simple act of planting a tree. On 26 January 1977 — Republic Day and his own birthday — he planted his very first trees at the Kirkee Military Station in Pune. That single act became a ritual. Every year on his birthday, Azad planted trees. And then, gradually, every day became a planting day.
What began as a personal tradition evolved into a lifetime vow. Over the years, Azad shed his birth name and adopted asceticism, taking the spiritual name Swami Prem Parivartan — meaning “lover of transformation” — after studying under Osho Rajneesh in 1984. His spiritual journey and his environmental mission became inseparable. The world came to know him simply as Peepal Baba.
Give Me Trees Trust
In 2010, Peepal Baba formalised his decades of tree-planting work by founding the Give Me Trees Trust, registered as an NGO in 2011 with its headquarters in Delhi. Today it stands as India’s largest community-based voluntary tree-planting and conservation movement.
The Trust operates across 202 districts in 18 Indian states, mobilising volunteers, communities, schools, and local governments to plant and nurture trees — not just on plantation drives, but through long-term care programmes that ensure saplings survive and grow. The organisation has created 278 mini forests across urban and rural spaces, nurturing native biodiversity and providing critical green corridors for wildlife. Over 272,000 hectares have been transformed into green spaces through the Trust’s sustained efforts.
The Give Me Trees Trust also delivers nature education and awareness programmes, drawing ordinary citizens — from city-dwellers to farmers — into the act of planting and protecting trees. Peepal Baba continued this work even through the COVID-19 pandemic, organising socially distanced plantation drives to keep the mission alive. The work is a model of environmental conservation through grassroots community action.
The Peepal Tree — Sacred and Sustainable
Peepal Baba’s particular devotion is to the Peepal tree (Ficus religiosa) — one of India’s most ecologically significant and culturally revered trees. He has personally planted and conserved 1.25 crore (12.5 million) Peepal trees, making him perhaps the single largest individual contributor to Peepal conservation in history.
The Peepal is among the very few trees that release oxygen at night as well as during the day, making it invaluable for urban air quality. It supports an entire ecosystem — from birds and bats to insects and microorganisms. Ecologists consider it a keystone species in India’s indigenous forest systems. Beyond ecology, the Peepal holds deep significance in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, making it a tree that connects the sacred and the sustainable. Alongside Peepal trees, the Trust has also planted Banyan, Pilkhan, Jamun, Mango, Neem, Sheesham, and Babool — all indigenous species suited to India’s diverse climates.
A Life of Transformation
Peepal Baba’s journey is as much spiritual as it is environmental. Born into an army family, educated with Master’s degrees in English Literature and Journalism, Azad Jain could have followed a conventional career path. Instead, in 1984, he chose the path of renunciation, becoming a disciple of Osho Rajneesh. It was Osho who gave him the name Swami Prem Parivartan — a name that translates to “lover of transformation.”
That name proved prophetic. Over four decades, Swami Prem Parivartan has transformed landscapes, communities, and countless individual lives through the simple, ancient act of planting a tree. His TED Talk, titled “Barriers of Progress,” articulates the invisible walls — cultural, political, and economic — that stand between India and a genuinely green future. His message is urgent yet hopeful: transformation is possible, one tree at a time.
Impact by the Numbers
- 20 million+ trees planted across India
- 1.25 crore (12.5 million) Peepal trees planted and conserved personally
- 202 districts across 18 Indian states covered by Give Me Trees Trust
- 272,000+ hectares transformed into green spaces
- 278 mini forests created, supporting native biodiversity
- Active since 1977 — over 43 years of continuous tree plantation and conservation
These numbers represent not just ecological restoration but a movement — hundreds of thousands of people across India brought together around the idea that planting a tree is both a personal act and a collective responsibility. This is sustainable living in its most grounded, most powerful form.
Books by Peepal Baba
Give Me Trees by Peepal Baba
Give Me Trees is Peepal Baba’s own story — the journey of one man’s lifelong commitment to planting trees and inspiring a nation to care for its green cover. Available as an audiobook on Amazon.
Affiliate disclosure: Purchasing through these links supports Prakati at no extra cost to you.
Watch: Peepal Baba’s Story
How You Can Help
Peepal Baba’s work is powered by people — volunteers, donors, and communities who believe that trees matter. The Give Me Trees Trust welcomes individuals, schools, corporates, and local bodies to participate in plantation drives across India. Whether you join a drive, donate, or simply plant a tree in your neighbourhood, you become part of a movement that has already transformed millions of lives.
You can find Give Me Trees Trust at givemetrees.org or on Instagram at @givemetreestrust and @peepalbaba. Supporting this kind of work — patient, persistent, community-rooted — is one of the most direct forms of environmental action available to any of us. Explore more stories of changemakers shaping a greener India on Prakati.
