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The third tiger estimation exercise is under way in the country. When can we expect to get the latest tiger population figures? Much of the work has been done and the tiger estimation results are expected to be revealed by December. This third tiger estimation exercise — “Monitoring the status of tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat in India” — was part of the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s project. Are there plans to hold similar tiger estimation exercise in neighouring countries like Bhutan and Nepal? Yes, the WII intends sharing its expertise with the tiger range SAARC countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The institute director, Vinod Mathur, has been laying much emphasis on strengthening wildlife conservation ties among SAARC countries. Tigers know no boundaries and thus estimates of the striped cats in countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal would put the tiger population in a perspective. This will hold much importance for tiger conservation in the entire South Asia. There are ample indications that the tiger population is thriving in several tiger reserves of the country. Do you think the man-tiger conflict is bound to increase as a result if newer habitats for striped cats are not explored? Certainly, there is an urgent need to maintain the connectivity between tiger populations and this can only be done if we are able to secure our forest corridors. A legal status needs to be given to these corridors to ensure unhindered tiger movement through them. For example, if the Rajaji Corbett corridor is secured, it could help thriving tigers in Corbett move into Rajaji, thus helping ease out pressure from Corbett and assist in the revival of the tiger population at Rajaji. Some time back, the WII had come up with a tiger translocation plan for the Rajaji National Park. Under this, tigers had to be relocated to Rajaji from Corbett. Yes. The WII study “Population viability of tiger in the northwestern range limit, Terai arc landscape” has strongly suggested tiger translocation as means to revive the population of striped cats in the western sector of the Rajaji National Park. Such a relocation exercise has already been successful in Sariska and Panna tiger reserves and Rajaji was also a fit case. The plan is very much still in place. It has been more than five years since the WII mooted the tiger relocation plan for the tiger-less western sector of Rajaji park. The plan is still to see the light of day. We had recommended the plan after a detailed study and it was for the Uttarakhand Government to take the call. The state government needs to show its willingness and should give the go-ahead to the much-awaited Rajaji tiger relocation plan. How were you driven to the profession of wildlife scientist? From my early childhood, I had a passion for the wildlife and this was the reason I took zoology as my main subject at graduation and postgraduation level. After getting my master's degree in zoology from the University of Bombay, I went to pursue my PhD at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This finally brought me into the wildlife scheme of things. When did you join the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun? I joined the WII in 1993 and have since pursued an active research programme on Indian carnivores. I have supervised research projects on the Indian wolf, striped hyena, golden jackal, Indian fox and foremost the Asiatic lion and tiger.
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Born of Indian parents who migrated from Jaipur in the late 1950s, Manjul, who turned 40 last week, could not have hoped for a better birthday gift. He is also an accomplished tabla player, having studied under such famous gurus as Zakir Hussain. He also studied Sanskrit from his grandfather Purushottam Lal Bhargava, a Sanskrit scholar. Manjul says he met Zakir Hussain when he was an undergraduate at Harvard. “He invited me to visit him in California where he lived then. I have had the pleasure and privilege of learning from him since,” he says. Manjul first started learning from his mother when he was barely three years old. His mother was also a mathematician. “I would always ask her questions, and so I learnt a lot from her. She always answered me enthusiastically and encouraged me to pursue whatever I was interested in. That probably contributed to most of my enjoyment of maths,” he says. Scientists say “Manjul is one of the finest mathematical minds in the world today and much more is expected of him. His outlook on life is very Indian and he has a keen interest in Indian classical music, languages and food. He is fond of speaking Hindi and enjoys coming to India. He is simply brilliant”. Manjul says Indian children with a bent for maths need encouragement to pursue the subject rather than being pushed into engineering and other fields. Asked how he looked at the maths scene in India today, Manjul says: “Unfortunately, today mathematics talent is not encouraged and cultivated as much in India as in the US and Europe. The sheer amount of mathematics talent in India is incredible, but most students talented in mathematics are encouraged to move to engineering and other fields. Mathematics is often not considered a career option. I think this is a mistake. All students should be encouraged to do what they enjoy best. This is my main suggestion for schools in India; encourage students to pursue their talents and interests, whatever they may be, and foster these talents with opportunities to pursue them.” How important is maths in Indian culture? He says: “Maths and mathematical thinking have been a vital aspect of our culture for long. Ancient philosophical verses like infinity minus infinity can still be infinity reflect mathematical thinking.” For a young student trying to learn maths in India, Manjul advises: “Budding and upcoming mathematicians should think about, read about, take courses in and work on the mathematics that they personally find most beautiful, exciting, enjoyable and promising at that moment; everything else will then fall into place. If you truly enjoy and are passionate about what you are doing, you will do great work.” |
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good news karnal is known as the land of ‘Danveer Karan’, a great warrior from the epic Mahabharata, and a town where many people follow in his footsteps to donate generously for the uplift of society. The family of the late astronaut Kalpana Chawla is one such. It has been serving people since 1998 in a unique manner. Giving up the luxuries of life, Kalpana Chawla’s uncle Sant Amrik Dev and father Banarsi Lal Chawla have been living a simple life at Nirmal Dham, situated at Model Town in Karnal.
Sant Amrik Dev has donated all his belongings to Mahant Ram Singh for undertaking various social welfare projects. Sant Amrik Dev, along with his brother, is looking after an old-age home, an orphanage, a vocational institute and schools being run by their trust. Fulfilling the dreams of his father to build an old-age home for those who have been abandoned or neglected by their children, and a school for those children whose parents are unable to afford the fee, Sant Amrik Dev’s son Vaneet Chawla established the Bhagat Labha Mal Kartar Kaur Charitable Trust in 1997 in the memory of his grandparents. Once the trust was set up, the family members never looked back and have been serving all sections of society. With the view to imparting quality education to the poor, the trust set up three schools, a vocational institute and an ITI in Karnal. The premises of Nirmal Dham have an old-age home with around 150 senior citizens, an orphanage with 50 children and a senior secondary school with 1,406 students. The vocational training institute and ITI have a capacity of around 200 girls while the schools at Sadar Bazar and Zarifa Farm have a strength of around 1,000 and 1,416 students, respectively. The education provided at these centres and schools are free of cost. Even the examination fee is paid by the trust. Initially, Sant Amrik Dev had the business of making luggage trunks in Karnal. Later, he ventured into the manufacture of electrical goods in Delhi and Mumbai and became a well-known entrepreneur. Sharing his idea about the school and old-age home, he says: “This is all due to the blessing of my Guruji Sant Nikka Singh, who inspired me and guided me for taking up these social causes. “When I was in Mumbai, I was inspired to open a school and an old-age home, where children could get education free of cost and neglected senior citizens would be taken care of. I shared my vision with my friend Shiv Kumar and decided to set up a charitable trust. When my son Vaneet came to know about it, he eagerly took the initiative forward and got the trust registered,” he says. “I have an affinity with Karnal as my parents lived here. I discussed my dreams with Sant Nikka Singh and Mahant Baba Ram Singh. After their blessings, I purchased the land for the project. The foundation stone of Nirmal Dham was laid on October 17, 1997,” he says. Banarsi Lal Chawla, who looks after the management and working of the vocational institute and ITI, says: “It is my family’s privilege to serve society and nurture the younger generation.” Rajesh Gupta, manager of Sant Nikka Singh Senior Secondary School, says: “The aim of the trust is to provide education free of cost to everyone and impart vocational training to girls. The trust provides uniform and books to those who cannot afford to buy these. Free transport facility has also been provided to needy students. The trust has been able to provide jobs to around 200 persons.” “The elderly people who have been neglected by their families have been provided with shelter here. The environment of the old-age home is very comfortable,” says Raj Kumari, an elderly inmate. Daya Rani, another inmate at the Nirmal Dham old-age home, says: “Even though I have children, they are not ready to take care of me. They have forced me to live here, but I am happy at this home with other people my age.”  |
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tiger studies without Dr Yadvendradev Jhala are incomplete in India. This tiger biologist serving in the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun has done yeoman’s service to the cause of tiger conservation. He is credited with being a guiding force in the conduct of the first-ever comprehensive camera trap-based tiger census exercise in 2008, which revealed the true tiger population in India. Dr Jhala also successfully led the team of WII scientists in the maiden tiger relocation exercise in the country. It involved bringing tigers from the Ranthambore tiger reserve to the tiger-less Sariska reserve in Rajasthan. Dr Jhala, who is passionate about tiger studies, talks about his work and experiences. Excerpts:
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