Latest news with #Wildlife(Protection)Actof1972
India.com
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet Radhikaraje Gaekwad, who lives in Rs 25000 crore home, much bigger than Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani's Rs 15000 crore Antilia, it is in...
Meet Radhikaraje Gaekwad, who lives in Rs 25000 crore home, much bigger than Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani's Rs 15000 crore Antilia, it is in... Radhikaraje Gaekwad, the Maharani of Baroda, is one of the most admired royals in modern India. Known for her elegance and grace, she's often called the 'most beautiful maharani' of this generation, drawing frequent comparisons to the legendary Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. But Radhikaraje is not just about tradition and titles, she's also a well-known face on social media. With a strong presence on Instagram and a growing fan base of over 282,000 followers, Radhikaraje is often seen sharing glimpses of her royal lifestyle. From lavish family celebrations to scenic travels around the world, her page reflects the perfect blend of heritage and modernity. Recently, Radhikaraje spoke up about how royal families are often shown in films and TV shows. Referring to a show called 'The Royals', she expressed disappointment at how India's royals continue to be portrayed in outdated stereotypes where kings are shown with lavish lifestyles and queens draped in pearls and chiffon. She wrote, 'Since 1947, the image of Indian royals hasn't moved past this old narrative. Despite being a part of modern society in politics, business, and more we are still seen through that same narrow lens.' Today, we're going to explore some fascinating insights into her life both personal and professional. About Radhikaraje Gaekwad Radhikaraje Gaekwad comes from a lineage deeply rooted in both royalty and public service. Her father, Dr. MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, was born into the royal family of Wankaner in Saurashtra. However, instead of living a life of privilege, he chose a different path. Dr. Ranjitsinh gave up his royal comforts to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), with a clear goal: to protect India's wildlife. Over the years, he played a crucial role in shaping the country's conservation policies. He served as India's Deputy Secretary for Forests and Wildlife and was the principal architect behind the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. His lifelong dedication to nature earned him widespread respect, and he is especially known for his efforts to reintroduce cheetahs to India from Africa, a mission that led to him being affectionately known as India's Cheetah Man . Radhikaraje Gaekwad's education Following in the footsteps of her father, Dr. MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, who valued knowledge and service, she built a strong academic foundation for herself. She studied at the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), part of Delhi University, where she completed her Master's degree in Indian History. Alongside her studies, she also gained experience in journalism by working as a writer with The Indian Express . Over the years, many people have made assumptions about her life being filled with luxury from the start. But Radhikaraje has openly addressed these myths. She once shared that, during her college years, she regularly commuted on Delhi's DTC buses. Radhikaraje Gaekwad's marriage Radhikaraje Gaekwad is happily married to Samarjitsingh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad, the Maharaja of Baroda and a former cricketer. The two tied the knot on February 27, 2002, and are proud parents to two daughters. In a candid conversation with Humans of Bombay , Radhikaraje shared a heartwarming detail from their early days together. She recalled being struck by Samarjitsingh's thoughtful and respectful gesture when he let her pay during one of their dates. She also spoke about how supportive he has always been, especially when it came to her education and personal goals. His constant encouragement helped her stay focused on her dreams, even after marriage. Radhikaraje Gaekwad lives in India's largest residence After marrying Samarjitsingh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad, Radhikaraje Gaekwad became the Maharani of Baroda. She moved into the Laxmi Vilas Palace with her husband. This palace is the biggest home in India, spread across 3,04,92,000 square feet. To give you an idea, it's about four times larger than the famous Buckingham Palace in London, which is around 828,821 square feet. Interestingly, Laxmi Vilas Palace is also bigger than Mukesh Ambani's house, Antilia. Even though Antilia is the most expensive house in India, Laxmi Vilas Palace holds the record for being the largest.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Wildlife laws by Indira Gandhi govt. obstacle to addressing human-animal conflicts: CM
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said instances of human-animal conflict were on the rise in the State, but a major hurdle in dealing with the issue were the wildlife laws enacted by the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi. Mr. Vijayan, at a press conference here, contended that the State government was taking all possible steps to address the increasing instances of human-animal conflict, which requires a permanent solution in view of the loss of lives and property caused by it. He said the Forest and Wildlife department had been asked to initiate steps for securing permission from the Central government for the killing of wild boars and other wild animals that posed a threat to human life and property. The Forest Secretary had been tasked to submit a proposal for the necessary legislation in this regard in consultation with the Law Secretary, he added. 'However, some are blaming the State government for such instances with the political aim to mislead the people. Such persons are not ready to examine the facts — that it is the Central laws which are a major hurdle in dealing with the matter.' 'Everyone knows that these wildlife laws were brought during the tenure of the Congress government at the Centre under Indira Gandhi in 1972,' he said. He was referring to the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 which had been enacted for the protection of plant and animal species across India. He said the laws passed by Parliament cannot be amended by the State government and had to be changed by the Centre. He claimed that the State government had made several requests for amendment to the wildlife laws, but no steps had been taken till now. Mr. Vijayan also said the guidelines issued by the Central government and the National Tiger Conservation Authority to deal with tigers and elephants that encroached on populated areas were 'completely impractical'.
Indian Express
19-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Why extinction is not the siren to wait for
It's a playbook that keeps repeating itself and instead of leaning from it, we keep patting ourselves on the back after every SOS 'success'. First we let some magnificent mega-fauna teeter on the edge of extinction and then launch a rescue mission at the last possible moment. In around 1880 there were just about twelve Asiatic lions left in the country — in Junagadh, Gujarat when the Nawab of Junagadh finally forbade all hunting and the dozen were safe in his private hunting preserve. British colonial hunters along with Indian nobility had hunted down every last lion in the rest of the country and they were to be found all over the place. Thanks to protection, those dozen lions have increased their numbers to over 650 animals — surely a success story, but again, they are all too closely packed together and diseases can flare up and take them down. Canine distemper had taken down nearly 25 lions in 2018 (it killed over 1000 animals in the Serengeti). Again, we have the warnings and are ignoring them (Gujarat refuses to let its lions go to other states), so are we going to have to run around flapping our hands if some virus goes berserk among these big cats? The last three Asiatic cheetahs were accounted for in 1947 by the then Maharaja of Korea (now in Chhattisgarh) and now we've had to import them from Africa and are patting ourselves on the back because they're producing cubs galore — all 'made in India'! There were 40,000 tigers at the turn of the century, a figure that plummeted to 4,000 after Independence due to wholesale hunting, and before the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 came into force and Project Tiger was launched. Even so, numbers dropped (chiefly due to poaching) to just over 1400 between 2002 and 2008, before the alarm was sounded yet again and we had to scramble. What's worse — even when whistle-blowers sound the alarm, they are the ones to be persecuted and turned out of their study areas by officials. Warnings that there were no tigers left had been given in Panna and Sariska, which po-faced officials denied. They kept increasing the census numbers every time one was conducted, until the truth emerged. Both places had zero or near zero tigers – all thanks to poaching. Now of course we are patting ourselves on the back because tigers relocated here from Ranthambore and other reserves have been breeding well in these erstwhile bankrupted places. Wonderful! We allowed Indian rhinoceros numbers to sink as low as 100 in the early 1900s (according to the International Rhino Foundation) before scrambling to provide them with Z quality security. At one time there were just 12 animals left in that rhino stronghold — Kaziranga. They've done very well since, and no doubt earned us many hosannas for saving them, but why on earth can't we see the writing on the wall well before we're just about to hit it? Then there's the Great Indian Bustard: once common in the grasslands and scrublands of India, now in critical condition, with just over 100 birds left. We know well the causes for their decline — habitat destruction, transmission lines, solar panels in their territories. Now we have had to take recourse to that last ditch conservation strategy: captive breeding. And we're so thrilled that that seems to be going well, but I guess we must be grateful for small mercies. The stubby little Pygmy Hog of the Northeast, teetering on the edge of extinction, has similarly had to be caught and bred in captivity. Small numbers have been released back into the wilds of their home environment such as the Manas National Park. It's true that in some cases, it is difficult to see a crisis looming. No one really knew how deadly Diclofenac — an analgesic introduced in the early 1990s for livestock — would be to vultures and we only realised that something evil was afoot when over 99 per cent of these birds with iron stomachs died, after ingesting the carcasses of livestock that had been vaccinated with it. Even so, it took until 2003 before the culprit was identified and banned. So it was emergency stations for the vultures too — captive breeding, the opening of vulture 'restaurants'. Now, very slowly they seem to be recovering. But by and large we always unnecessarily tend to let a situation get out of hand before going into SOS mode, and all too often, in the face of warnings being sounded well in advance. In a war, when the air raid sirens go off — you scuttle underground immediately, you don't wait for the bombs and missiles to explode before running helter-skelter. So far we've been lucky in that we have managed to 'save' so many species of large and charismatic fauna — the tigers, lions and rhinos — and have been commended for this by the international community. But are we heeding warnings given even now? There's a monstrous 'development' project being planned in the Nicobar Islands which will cause deforestation and destruction on an epic scale. Will this put the endemic Nicobar pigeon, Nicobar megapode and others in dire straits? (Not to mention the tribals that have lived there for eons). Will we only wake up when there are single digit numbers of these birds (and people) left? With an endemic species, there's really nowhere to relocate them — the Nicobar pigeon can hardly be made to resettle in a Gurugram high-rise!
