51²è¹Ý

Dear All,Ìý

Department of Environmental Studies cordially invites you to the second colloquium in the Monsoon ’25 colloquium series.

Title ofÌýTalk:ÌýThe coup in nature’sÌýgovernance: Centralisation of Indian wildlife conservation in the 1970s

Speaker:ÌýProfessor Biswajit Sarmah, IIT PalakkadÌý

Time: 6:30ÌýPM – 8 PMÌý

Zoom Link:Ìýhttps://zoom.us/j/91449988816?pwd=3fPvkFGkVyKHyPp74W10tjzGY85L7s.1

Abstract:ÌýThe dominant understanding of ecological restoration in India attributes its origins to the 1970s, with the enactment of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 (WLPA) and the launch of Project Tiger (1973). These initiatives led to fundamental power shifts in wildlife management reducing the authority of state governments—who were constitutionally mandated to manage forests and wildlife—in favour of the Union government. This research re-evaluates this conventional dating of ecological restoration by demonstrating significant wildlife conservation efforts in the 1950s and 1960s by states such as Assam. Focusing on rhino conservation in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam, I argue that the centralisation of power in the 1970s was, in fact, the culmination of a conservation vision articulated by a diverse group of Indian conservationists: erstwhile princely state rulers, planters, and natural historians. Their ideas on conservation often conflicted with the principles of an electoral democracy. By tracing the roots of this power shift to the visions of this select group, the talk reveals how ideas averse to democratic norms significantly shaped contemporary Indian conservation policy. I conclude by examining the consequences of this centralisation on the conservation of megafauna, particularly the rhino and the elephant.

Speaker’s Bio:ÌýBiswajit Sarmah is a faculty member in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad, Kerala. Before joining IIT Palakkad, Biswajit was a postdoctoral fellow at the Moturi Satyanarayana Centre at Krea University (2023-24) and served briefly at the Archives of Contemporary India, 51²è¹Ý. Biswajit completed his PhD from IIT Guwahati in 2022 for his thesis on the history of rhinoceros conservation in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam. Currently, he is working on his first monograph based on the thesis. He is a recipient of the Fulbright Fellowship (2019–20) and the Charles Wallace India Trust Travel Grant (2022).

We look forward to your active participation.

Warm regards,

Environmental Studies Department