Battling for Survival: India’s Wilderness Over Two Centuries

This book looks at India’s wilderness over two centuries. It records the efforts to save the fragile remnants of India’s vanishing wildlife and traces the history of wildlife and forests to understand some of the challenges to the survival of India’s wilderness in the twenty-first century. Illustrated with rare pictures, the book explores some remarkable efforts to save India’s forests. It looks at the governance of wildlife and forests and some of the greatest defenders of wildlife in India-Alexander Gibson, S.P. Shahi, P.T.L. Dodsworth, F.W. Champion, Jim Corbett, S.H. Prater, Salim Ali, R.W. Burton, George Schaller, E.P. Gee, Kailash Sankhala, Billy Arjan Singh, and M. Krishnan. The author calls them ‘a wild bunch’, a group that defends the ‘right to life’ of our wilderness. Thapar examines the evolution of wildlife governance in India over two centuries including the Supreme Court’s initiatives, recent court decisions, and loopholes in existing legislation. He explores the amazing efforts of organizations like the Bombay Natural History Society as an institution dedicated to conservation in the last century. Its comprehensive coverage will make this volume essential reading for anyone interested in India’s wildlife. NGOs, activists working for wildlife protection, policy-makers, forest officials, and conservationists will find it especially useful.