| When did you decide you were going
to spend the rest of your life defending nature?
Actually I did not decide that; fate took that decision for
me. Though my ancestors were agriculturists, my own earliest
memories remain those of the shola forests and slopes in whose
midst the Rishi Valley School is now located. Nature was like
the air we breathed. Necessary, but not special. My father's
job exposed me to the most beautiful parts of India and my
parents' abiding respect for nature did the rest. My post
graduation in botany seemed the most natural choice in the
world. One thing simply led to another.
But was there any one trigger?
It was probably Gamble's Flora of the Madras Presidency, written
by the famous British forest officer. Gamble's texts are the
standard even today. Volumes in hand, I recall walking the
famous Sheshchalam Hills in the Eastern Ghats that run parallel
to the Coromandel Coast through which rivers such as the Godavari,
Krishna and Kaveri empty. I did much of my fieldwork here
and every plant or tree I managed to identify in the field
was like a mystery uncovered. Every day was one of discovery.
I was utterly absorbed and happy and could not have asked
for anything better from life. The idea of doing something
that would allow me to stay permanently in such an environment
made the Forest Service an obvious choice.
Books obviously had a huge influence on you… do you
still read a lot?
Between patrolling the forest, government red tape and spending
time with the family, it is difficult for a forest officer
to find the time to read. But, yes, I still love books. Fukuoka's
One Straw Revolution and Road Back to Nature actually changed
my entire approach to nature and life. But it was only after
joining the Forest Service in 1985 that I started any serious
wildlife reading and this interest was further sparked when
I took up specialised wildlife training in 1988. Fortunately
we have a budget for books and I find this a very good way
to enhance my field knowledge.
I notice you never go out into the field without a camera
and binoculars.
Both are tools of my trade. I get so little time to use my
camera, but it can help with evidence for court cases. And
binoculars can save your life when confronted by hostility
from any quarter in the forest. Of course, both also serve
other purposes. When I was with the Territorial Forest wing
in the Banswara District prior to my taking up a wildlife
posting I was able to do quite a lot of birdwatching. Even
today Dr. Sálim Ali's bird books are permanent companions,
together with newer ones written by Bikram Grewal and the
Inskipps.
Let's talk about tigers. When did your life get taken
over by them?
The very first time I saw one was in Sariska in 1988, for
precisely 10 seconds! Almost before I realised it, the tiger
vanished. I doubt that I will ever be the same again. Something
happened deep inside me. Subsequently I was able to spend
lots of time with this family. Once as I sat watching the
cubs, the male, we called him Nandu, began to walk right towards
us. He was really mischievous. The tiny fellow actually forced
me to back my vehicle away from him because his mother was
watching all this with great interest. But she felt secure
about us. It's so easy for tigers to take over your life.
There is something powerful about them that commands you to
become a bagh sevak (servant of the tiger).
Is that what you are?
I am proud to be a bagh sevak. I serve the tiger by trying
to save its forests, which also happen to be so important
to India. In the past few years I have understood how people
like Kailash Sankhala must have felt about helping tiger habitats
recover. Ranthambhore was really in trouble and my people
had to do so little… hardly any management… just
protection. Project Tiger can again turn the corner only if
people in the field are supported politically and provided
with resources.
Are you saying such support is missing now?
How can I say that? Without support from the political and
administrative systems we would never have been able to achieve
what we have in the past two years. But of course, we want
more.
Can you give us one example of the kind of support that
would make a real difference?
Not just me, but probably every field forest officer needs
help with legal issues. As of now, for instance, local courts
have issued three bailable arrest warrants against me. These
are 'counter cases' filed by poachers to harass me. We managed
to obtain a stay order from the High Court, but all this takes
up time and disturbs the peace of mind of department staff.
There are six more cases against me pending in local courts
and I have to attend each one personally. The Wildlife Department
faces scores of cases too. All this eats into our main purpose…
to save the tiger.
Do forest officers have political support?
Yes, but we always want more support! I do wish, however,
that political parties and their representatives were made
a little more aware of the tremendous benefits to Rajasthan
from forests like Ranthambhore. When the whole state is in
the grip of such a terrible drought the water from Ranthambhore
is nothing short of a lifeline for thousands of humans living
downstream. No one can put a value on water, which is literally
the tiger's gift to us. Actually, many politicians support
us privately, but when elections draw near, they are forced
by the system to make populist statements and that encourages
people to do things that put them in conflict with us. What
to do? This is life.
Can you give me an example of what you would like the
political system to do for tigers?
We want to connect the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve with the
Jamua-Ramgarh Sanctuary towards the south, in the Bundi district.
The Amli-Kwalji closed area corridor can actually enable this
to happen. Towards the north-east the Keladevi Sanctuary needs
to be connected to the Dholpur District. This would provide
a critical breeding habitat for tigers extending across 2,500
sq. km. (as against 824 sq. km.), which could save the tigers
of Ranthambhore for years to come. All this land belongs to
the Forest Department and nothing should prevent us from achieving
the above objective. But we need political support. In return
this tiger habitat could change the face of Rajasthan by guaranteeing
its water security. The ground water recharge contribution
of this extended tiger habitat alone would justify the plan.
What have you done to explain Ranthambhore's water contribution
to the public?
Very little. We barely have the time and energy to patrol
and defend the forest. Communication requires very special
talents. NGOs should be doing this job. Ranthambhore's two
large water bodies directly help thousands of villagers around
the reserve to farm their fields. The forest is also the catchment
area of the Banas river, which flows into the Chambal. Thousands
of wells would run dry if Ranthambhore's forests, god-forbid,
were to be lost. Yet no one from the water resources or agriculture
department has ever done any systematic studies to evaluate
the hydrological contribution of the tiger reserve. The Tarun
Bharat Sangh, an NGO, has ably demonstrated some of the positive
effects of what I describe, near the Sariska Tiger Reserve.
Are NGOs supporting you more than government departments?
It's not like that. No one can replace the government, but
NGOs can supplement official programmes. Fortunately, we have
a really good relationship with the four NGOs working around
Ranthambhore. WWF-India has been running their field station
at Khandar for a decade and have a good rapport with selected
villages. Tiger Watch, a relatively new NGO that is being
run by Mr. Fateh Singh Rathore has helped to build up the
department's infrastructure. They also help to train forest
staff and have financed accident insurance policies for them.
The Ranthambhore Foundation, of course, is the oldest NGO
here and has been instrumental in so many initiatives including
school programmes, promotion of local fine-artists, holding
exhibitions, tree planting and dairy improvement. The Centre
for Environment Education (CEE) is active in the area of children's
education. I wish, however, that there was more coordination
between NGOs so they could work to a common strategy. Like
government departments, sometimes one NGO is unaware of the
other's agenda!
And what about the controversial World Bank Ecodevelopment
Project?
That is a very difficult question to answer. The project was
sanctioned in 1996-97, but only last year did any villages
start seeing any sign of investments. The bureaucratic procedures
for micro-planning and engaging consultants have been so tedious
that after three years we were unable to engage even one.
And because we have no additional staff to implement the project
there is increased pressure on the existing people whose prime
task is protection. How can such people handle the delicate
job of 'participatory management' and that too with no legal
provisions in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to support
the Bank's prescriptions?
Almost every forest officer will agree with you, but how
do the villagers feel about it?
They expect huge sums of money or benefits… that may
not be possible. Also they are most often fighting with our
staff. In such a climate how can harmonious village meetings
be held with objectives such as biodiversity enhancement?
The greatest difficulty is not government procedure, but World
Bank procedure. The Bank asks to be consulted at every stage
for approvals. Sometimes strange situations emerge. For instance,
some villages are literally begging to be relocated. But the
Bank wants 'authentication' from some NGO, which no one is
willing to do. Strangely, Bank officials have themselves talked
to villagers and are convinced of their desire to move; yet
'NGO Certification' holds up progress. Nevertheless, ecodevelopment
has helped acquire some infrastructure for the park in the
form of buildings and roads and in improving water conservation
structures. Perhaps more transparency and time is required
before judging the Ecodevelopment Project.
What in your view should we do to protect wildlife more
effectively?
To begin with, stop the sole preoccupation with National Parks
and Sanctuaries to the exclusion of wildlife protection in
unprotected forests where the vast bulk of our wildlife is
to be found. And let all wings of government and the public
work towards the objective of protecting nature. This should
not be the monopolistic prerogative of the Forest Department
alone. In days gone by peoples' attitudes towards other species
were much more evolved. They believed in the sanctity of life
for all species. Today things have changed. Perhaps it is
necessary therefore to nudge individuals and society at large
into changing some of our more destructive habits, lifestyles
and consumption patterns. Even minor sacrifices at the individual
and community level could make a huge difference to the fate
of the tiger.
Many officers lobby to be posted in cities such as Jaipur,
are you happy in Ranthambhore?
Very happy. I had heard so much about the tigers of Ranthambhore
from the writings and photographs of Fateh Singhji and Valmik
Thapar. I had also seen the many films that had been produced.
I was very keen to be posted here. And, as luck would have
it, the second day after I joined Ranthambhore, as I was driving
through Lahapur, we heard a call from the talaab (lake). We
went to the site and waited quietly for half an hour. Then,
suddenly, just when I thought we must have missed the cats,
a tigress and her two cubs came out. I am not ashamed to admit
that I was scared because of the stories of maneaters and
fear psychosis about the Sundarbans tigers. But within moments
my whole perception changed. They did nothing except rest
in the shade and keep alert. I was thrilled. The tiger's hold
on my life became even more strong.
So your job is not really dangerous?
Not because of the tigers. But I was introduced to danger
in 1997, my first year of service in Ranthambhore. It was
October and some villagers had sneaked into the forest and
were camping in the Semli area with their cattle. We rounded
up the villagers but just as we headed for the cattle pound
in Sawai Madhopur they began to attack us with slingshots.
The attack was sudden and the stones could have killed someone.
A forest officer's job involves danger… from humans,
not wild animals.
And what about humans like President Clinton?
I look upon President Clinton's visit to Ranthambhore as a
god-given opportunity to renew the world's interest in the
tiger. If the world's most powerful man, who has an influence
on all aspects of our economic world can be so open in his
support for the tiger, surely we can get even more people
behind the tiger. This is particularly important today when
public enthusiasm for conservation seems on the decline in
cities. With evidence that international terrorism is connected
to wildlife traders, the intervention of people like President
Clinton is vital.
What did you all see in Ranthambhore?
He spent three hours with us in the park together with his
daughter Chelsea and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Rodham. Everything
seemed to interest them. The President was particularly taken
up with the large herds of sambar and chital. He seemed to
love the austere beauty of the dry forest. When he saw a peacock
he asked whether the bird was native to India, or whether
Persians had introduced it. Fateh Saheb quickly said: "Ancient
epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana make mention of
the peacock." The President was instantly convinced that
the bird was native to India.
He was thrilled to see the huge male tiger who we call Bamburam,
whose name he mistook to be Boomerang! He told us he had seen
a white tiger in captivity but that this was the very first
time he saw one in the wild and it was: "More majestic…
fabulous." He was not worried about how close the tiger
was and watched it for over 20 minutes. He was extremely considerate
and asked that the vehicle in which we were seated be moved
forward so people behind may also see it. President Clinton
was really lucky because soon after he saw a tigress stalking
a sambar, which she narrowly missed.
He understood how lucky he was and was quite moved by the
wildlife drama, alarm calls and all. He asked us many questions
about the tiger's behaviour. He enjoyed the trip. This must
be why he mentioned the tiger in both Hyderabad and Mumbai,
asking business people to help save the cat.
Do you have any message for young Indians?
Love your country. Love your tiger. And be prepared to defend
them because there are people who are capable of taking both
away from you. And when you grow older, treat India's soils,
forests and rivers better than this generation has done. |
