How Valmik Thapar earned his tiger stripes
In the crowded conservation space, how did the late Valmik Thapar, one of India's foremost tiger experts, author, filmmaker and commentator, stand out?Thapar, 73, lost his battle with cancer in the early hours of May 31, plunging the global wildlife and conservation community into gloom. He is survived by wife Sanjana, the daughter of late actor Shashi Kapoor, and son Hamir.advertisementThapar stood out most importantly because of his frankness of opinion, the not-so-common ability to call a spade a spade. He served on numerous environmental committees, including the National Board for Wildlife, India's top decision-maker on wildlife. Yet, he never minced words even if that meant antagonising those who had appointed him to such bodies.A case in point is Thapar serving as a member of the task force on tigers set up in the aftermath of the conservation debacle at Rajasthan's Sariska Reserve, where the tiger was found in the early 2000s to have been pushed to near wipeout. While on the committee, Thapar had opposed the theory of coexistence of tigers and humans, which used to be a view much in sync with the government of the day in Delhi. Later, in an indication that he was open to correction, Thapar supported the idea of working with forest-dwelling communities, and even did so in the villages around the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan through his not-for-profit, the Ranthambore Foundation.advertisement
Those who have known the Thapar family suggest Valmik's ability to speak the truth to the powers that be may have come from parents Romesh Thapar and Raj Thapar. Romesh's May 1950 victory in the Supreme Court in the case 'Romesh Thapar v State of Madras' remains one of the landmark rulings in India on the freedom of speech and curbing of arbitrary use of state power.Romesh, as editor of CrossRoads magazine, had moved court after the then Madras government banned the sale of the publication in the state over an article on police violence in a prison.The Thapars also conceptualised the Seminar magazine. Romesh, educated in England, was much impressed with Fabian socialism and imbibed Marxist ideals. Highly educated and Marxist in political thought, the couple was perhaps the kinds dispensations are often not comfortable with.'Valmik Thapar had the ability to speak the truth, without malice, to the powers that be. He was not dogmatic as many imagine... He was a strategist. He had strong opinions, based on his field experience imbibed from Fateh Singh Rathore, the first field director of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. He knew Ranthambhore and its tiger intimately and was wedded to that forest,' says Bittu Sahgal, editor of Sanctuary Asia magazine and a long-time friend and associate of Thapar.advertisementBoth Sahgal and Thapar had spent endless nights under the boughs of the banyan tree at Ranthambore Fort's Jogi Mahal, inside the reserve. 'Virtually all his life, Valmik carried the voice of the tiger across the globe, and that positively helped protect Panthera tigris across India,' reminiscences Sahgal.Thapar's critics within the conservation fraternity had an issue with his focus on the tiger, so much so that he was labelled by some as a tiger fanatic to the detriment of other species. Most recently, Thapar had emerged as a prominent voice opposing the government's decision to reintroduce the cheetah in India.The programme launched with much fanfare at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in 2022 has had a rough ride. Thapar, speaking to INDIA TODAY back then, had mentioned that the main issue was the lack of open grasslands, like the ones seen in Africa where cheetahs can roam free.The cheetahs at Kuno now routinely enter human habitations that dot the landscape, vindicating Thapar's stance, at least partly.His friends maintain that being an extremely private person, Thapar did not speak of his battle with cancer with too many people. His son Hamir has spent considerable time in Ranthambore. Will he follow in the illustrious footsteps of his father?advertisementSubscribe to India Today Magazine
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Banks may hold back on fresh loans to Vodafone Idea as AGR clouds linger
Supreme Court (SC) had dismissed petitions by telecom companies Vi and Airtel seeking a waiver on paying interest, penalty, and interest on penalty components as part of their long-standing AGR dues New Delhi Listen to This Article Public sector lenders are unwilling to give fresh loans to the cash-strapped Vodafone Idea (Vi) after the Supreme Court (SC) last month dismissed a plea by telecommunications (telecom) companies seeking a waiver on pending adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, three senior bank executives said. 'We have not engaged with the government on this matter and currently have no plans to do so. There are no intentions at this time to give any relaxations on the pending dues of Vi or provide any fresh loans to the company,' said a senior bank executive.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
High courts can't suo motu enhance punishment in appeal: SC
The Supreme Court on Wednesday held high courts cannot exercise suo motu revision powers either to enhance the sentence or to convict an accused on any other charge in the absence of appeal filed by the victim, complainant or the state. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the verdict on an appeal filed by one Nagarajan, challenging an order of Madurai bench of the Madras High Court which convicted him for abetment of suicide of a woman and sentenced him to five-years rigorous imprisonment. He was also convicted of charges of outraging the modesty and house trespass. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Sistema TMS para empresas de logística Sistema TMS embarcador Saiba Mais Undo The top court noted that the trial court acquitted him of the charges of Section 306 of IPC for abetment of suicide and convicted him only for outraging the modesty of the woman and house trespass. Nagarajan appealed in the high court, which upheld the trial court's order of conviction but suo motu initiated proceedings for his conviction under Section 306 of the IPC and convicted him. Live Events It came on record that no appeal was filed by the state, victim or complainant for enhancement of sentence or acquittal under section 306 of the IPC. "An appeal filed by the accused/convict and in the absence of any appeal filed by the victim, complainant or the state, the high court cannot exercise suo motu revision either to enhance the sentence or to convict the appellant on any other charge," the bench said. As a result, the bench set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant under Section 306 of IPC but confirmed his conviction for "outraging the modesty of woman" and "house trespass". "The appellant is directed to undergo the sentence and to pay the fine as imposed by the sessions court," it held. The top court noted that the sentences were ordered to run concurrently by the high court. "Thus, a conviction awarded for offences under Sections 354 and 448 of IPC has also resulted in a conviction under Section 306 of IPC and an enhanced sentence, that too, in an appeal filed by none other than the appellant," it said. According to the bench "the rationale of the above can be explained in simple language by stating that no appellant by filing an appeal can be worse-off than what he was". "That is exactly what we are seeking to reiterate in our judgment having regard to the facts of the present case." Justice Nagarathna, who authored the verdict, said for exercising powers of the appellate court for enhancement of sentence in an appeal filed either by the state or the complainant or the victim, CrPC provides that the appellate court can reverse the finding and sentence and acquit or discharge the accused, or order him to be re-tried by a court competent to try the offence, or alter the finding by maintaining the sentence, or with or without altering the finding, alter the nature or the extent, of the sentence so as to enhance or reduce the same. "Thus, the power to enhance the sentence can be exercised by the appellate court only in an appeal filed by the state, victim or complainant, provided the accused has had an opportunity of showing cause against such enhancement," the court held. The bench said that the trial court should also be very careful while passing an order of sentence which must be "concomitant" with the charges framed and the findings arrived at while arriving at a judgment of conviction. Nagarajan had challenged the November 29, 2021 order of the high court. He was accused of outraging the modesty of his neighbour by trespassing her house on July 11, 2003. The woman died by suicide along with her infant, the very next day.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Waqf Umeed portal tantamount to contempt of court, claims Muslim Board
The Union government's plan to unveil the UMEED portal to digitise the registration process for Waqf properties across India has met with expected criticism from Muslim bodies, notably, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board which is planning to challenge the move in the Supreme Court. The Board contends that at a time when petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 are under consideration of the Supreme Court such a move is tantamount to contempt of court. The UMEED portal, it is claimed, is based on the recommendations of the Act. Judgment reserved The Supreme Court, it may be noted, has heard several petitions against the Waqf Act, including those by many Muslim bodies, and reserved its judgment in the final hearing last month. 'The Waqf Act 2025 is currently under consideration in the Supreme Court. Most Muslim organisations have rejected it. The Opposition parties, human rights organisations, as well as Sikh, Christian, and other minority communities have also declared it unacceptable. It is unfortunate that despite this, the government is launching the Waqf Umeed Portal from June 6 to make the registration of Waqf properties mandatory. This is entirely illegal and constitutes contempt of court,' said All India Muslim Personal Law Board president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani. The Board has appealed to State Waqf Boards besides common Muslim citizens to refrain from registering Waqf properties on this portal until the court delivers its verdict. 'It seems like a move to implement the Waqf Act through the back door,' a Board official said on condition of anonymity. The AIMPLB fears the government through the portal UMEED, an acronym for Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development, ostensibly meant to usher in greater transparency and better management of Waqf properties, is using it as a ruse to stake claim on Muslim properties through the Waqf-by-User clause in the new Act. The clause has been hotly contested in the Supreme Court. Property registration mandatory Incidentally, the UMEED portal makes the registration of Waqf properties mandatory and aims to integrate them all into a centralised digital platform. Developed under the provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, the portal will require all Waqf properties to be registered within six months of its launch. The registration is said to be a long drawn-out process, needing comprehensive details of the property. The Minority Affairs Ministry, under which the portal will operate, has offered technical assistance besides detailed guidelines on the process of registering a property. The AIMPLB, however, contends that, if implemented, any Waqf property not registered on the portal, may be treated as disputed, and the community may even lose ownership over it. 'The registration is entirely based on the disputed law, which has been challenged in court, and labelled unconstitutional. Therefore, the Muslim Personal Law Board strongly opposes it. We will soon approach the apex court against this move of the government,' Mr. Rahmani said.
