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Celebrating 50 years of Project Tiger || By Bhushan Parimoo || LIVE IMAGE |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi the other day. On a safari at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
Social media splashed all over the visit of in Karnataka, to mark 50 years of “Project Tiger”. Media eschewed wittingly or unwillingly out of sheer ignorance. The long arduous journey the Project Tiger has traversed so far.On both the accounts facts concerning Project Tiger have been altogether obliterated from the public.
It was Smt Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi as a Prime Minister of India who launched Project Tiger on the First of April 1973 at Jim Corbett National Park.
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Kailash Sankhala is widely known as Tiger Man of India. He was the first conservationist who raised a voice in favour of protecting the tiger as early as 1956. |
The program commenced at a time when the Bengal Tiger population was dwindling. At the advent of the 20th Century, the tiger population was approximately 50,000. But, by 1972, the population had plummeted to around 1,200 tigers. The man behind launching the Project Tiger was Kailash Sankhala (30 January 1925 – 15 August 1994) . Who once in 1950 went on to hunt and kill a Tiger. The incident made him feel guilty about killing. Consequently, he started looking into conservationist strategies for protecting India’s tiger population.
He convinced Smt Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi , that the dwindling numbers of the majestic Royal Bengal Tigers in the Indian subcontinent has to be stopped. . It was in the first International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) that was hosted in India in the year 1969 .. Where the tiger was brought to fore. That resulted in an immediate ban on tiger shooting. Overriding response the immense pressure by the shikaris safari lobby who protested and termed it as an the loss of precious foreign exchange.
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Indira Gandhi with a tiger at Teen Murti House. |
Smt Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi responded with a resounding that” we do need foreign exchange but not at the cost of life and liberty of some of the most beautiful inhabitants of the continent”. Soon after a task force was created to draft the Wildlife Protection Act. That was got enacted by her as Prime Minister through the Indian Parliament in 1972. This Act provides protection of the wildlife (flora and fauna) in the country. This act was enacted in order to ensure environmental and ecological security. Indira jis earliest introduction to Nature. was at her Prime Ministrial house yhe Teen Murti House where she spent fourteen years that her real love for the wild began. The Teen Murti House was a mini zoo. It was in 1955 that Nehru was gifted three Tiger cubs from Assam. They were named Bhim, Bhairva and Hidamba . Indira became friendly with them. Later when they became older Bhim and Hidamba were sent to Lucknow Zoo and Bhirava was gifted to President Marshal Tito of former Yogaslovia in 1957.
It was from these close contacts with the tiger that Indira Gandhi developed a lasting love for this animal.
Sankhala was appointed the first Director of Project Tiger. Who is called “The Tiger Man of India”.
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Dr. Karan Singh |
Credit goes to Dr Karan Singh of Dogra Dynasty .Under whose Chairmanship at a meeting of the Indian Board for Wildlife the magnificent and charismatic Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) was adopted as India’s national animal in 1972. He was responsible for making the Tiger India’s national animal in place of the lion. Just as a coincidence was called at home by his pet name “Tiger” by his father Maharaja Hari Singh and his friends. Years later Nehru and many Congress stalwarts of his generation and subsequently Indira Gandhi too called him “Tiger” . In all his letters to him , Nehru has addressed him as ” My dear Tiger”
Interestingly , the name “Tiger” was given to Dr Karan Singh byMaharaja Hari Singh’s friend Maharaja Umaid Singh, the ruler of Jodhpur when he once visited to meet Maharaja Hari Singh at the Gulab Mahal Palace( Now Lalit Palace Hotel, also previously Oberio Palace Hotel, Srinagar) and saw the toddlerDr Karan Singh entering the room on all his fours like a tiger. He fondled and cajoled him by saying Tiger and the name stuck!
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Smt Indra Gandhi with tiger cub |
It is an odd coincidence that Dr Karan Singh was called upon by Mrs Indira Gandhi to head Project Tiger. But this writer is of the overriding factor that must have weight with the Dr Karan Singh as a Chairman , being a well readed and has vast knowledge of the India mythology may have been that Tigers across the country are worshipped for the innate co-dependence between the two species.
There are many tiger temples across India.different tribes from different regions in India worship tigers for their own unique reasons. The most common belief that tribal communities have about tigers is that they are their protectors. The Gond tribe of Madhya Pradesh, Garo tribe of Meghalaya, and Tulunadus of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka regard tiger as their protector.
The tribes follow certain traditions and wear certain jewelry to profess their belief—Garos wear necklaces made with tiger claws entrenched in gold or silver for protection, and the Gonds keep the shoulder bone of the tiger with them believing it to bring strength.
he Irula tribe of Tamil Nadu also believes that tiger protects them from evil spirits. A pastoralist tribe in Maharashtra, known as Dhangars, venerate tigers as “Waghdev or Waghjai” with the notion that the they protect their sheep.
Waghoba is a primeval tiger or leopard god, known to be the protector of the forest, worshipped by several tribal communities across India for ages. The Waghoba idols are hundreds of years old, and they are usually seen in small temples dedicated to tiger; however, it’s also seen in bigger temples dedicated to other gods.
The folks in Goa call their big cat deity “Waghro” and they also have a few shrines with extremely ancient idols. In a village called Vagragal in Goa, the tiger god is deified by the Velip community twice a year – two days after Ashadi Poornima and two days after Holi Poornima.
The tribes of the Sundarbans in West Bengal believe tigers to be the owners of the forest, and they are worshipped as “Bano bibi” and “Dakshin Ray” by both Hindus and Muslims. These deities are remembered while collecting honey in the forests, or by the woodcutters for safety against tiger attacks. The Santhals and the farmers of Odisha refer tiger as “Bagheshwar” and “Banjara”.
The Mishmi tribe of the northeastern India regards the tiger as their brother. The Baiga tribe of central India believes they are posterity of tiger. They also believe that if the tiger gods are happy, they bring rainfall to satisfy their lands, and if they are insulted in any manner, the farmers have to face drought. Tigers also signify fertility, which is why they are believed to bestow good harvest.
Since tribal communities depend on forests for necessary resources, food, and firewood, they worship tigers and offer sacrificial offerings to them. They believe that tigers are appeased with their adoration and they do not enter their villages to harm them.
Even if a tiger attacks a villager, the devotees do not turn hostile towards their deity. In fact, the villagers build a temple close to the conflict point to possibly pacify the tiger.
The Santhals and the farmers of Odisha refer tiger as “Bagheshwar” and “Banjara”. The Mishmi tribe of the northeastern India regards the tiger as their brother. The Baiga tribe of central India believes they are posterity of tiger.2
The folks in Goa call their big cat deity “Waghro” and they also have a few shrines with extremely ancient idols. In a village called Vagragal in Goa, the tiger god is deified by the Velip community twice a year – two days after Ashadi Poornima and two days after Holi Poornima.
The tribes of the Sundarbans in West Bengal believe tigers to be the owners of the forest, and they are worshipped as “Bano bibi” and “Dakshin Ray” by both Hindus and Muslims. These deities are remembered while collecting honey in the forests, or by the woodcutters for safety against tiger attacks. The Santhals and the farmers of Odisha refer tiger as “Bagheshwar” and “Banjara”.
The Mishmi tribe of the northeastern India regards the tiger as their brother. The Baiga tribe of central India believes they are posterity of tiger. They also believe that if the tiger gods are happy, they bring rainfall to satisfy their lands, and if they are insulted in any manner, the farmers have to face drought. Tigers also signify fertility, which is why they are believed to bestow good harvest.
Even if a tiger attacks a villager, the devotees do not turn hostile towards their deity. In fact, the villagers build a temple close to the conflict point to possibly pacify the tiger.
. For instance, when they reap honey from high in the trees, Soligas, the tribe in the southern Karnataka, take some for themselves and leave some on the ground just as respect to the nature and forests.
Tribal communities have dwelled in the wild for generations, which is why they are the keepers of natural habitat and they know how to live with tigers. Hence, protecting the rights of tribal communities can be a way to conserve tigers.
The tribal folks know a great deal about wild animals and they also know how to protect themselves from tigers and leopards. The idea of tiger worship allows us to understand the human-animal relationship on a different level, which is rare in the arena of wildlife conservation
( the writer is a Jammu based Environmentalist )
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| Bushan Parimoo (The writer is a Jammu based environmentalist and a regular contributor to this Website.) (Feedback at: blparimoo@gmail.com) Ph.No: 9469163100 |
