The Hindu Business Line : Historic makeover

On September 15, 1883, seven gentlemen interested in natural history got together and proposed to meet every month to exchange notes, exhibit specimens and encourage each other. It was this gathering that created the BNHS, writes Valmik Thapar in his book Battling for Survival: India's Wilderness Over Two Centuries.

Going by BNHS publications there were eight founders and they were Dr D. MacDonald, E.H. Aitkens, J.C. Anderson, J. Johnston, Col. C. Swinhoe, Dr G.A. Maconchie, Dr Sakharam Arjun and Dr Atmaram Pandurang.

Some time from now the BNHS is to be rechristened Bombay Natural History Society India, and its famed logo of the Hornbill altered a bit to include a tree. "There is an impression that BNHS is local and insular, not caring for the flora and fauna in other parts of the country. We want to remove the impression and have decided to add India. The Hornbill logo will continue with the addition of a tree as then it will reflect the concern of BNHS for nature in its entirety," explains the amiable Isaac Kehimkar, Public Relations Officer, BNHS.

After 121 years of existence BNHS will have a makeover — a peeling away of a legendary existence, which this writer finds hard to accept.

BNHS was denied a seat on the National Wildlife Board by the Vajpayee Government in 2003 and some thought it was because of it being a local body with little concern for the country's environment.

The fact was that the BNHS had protested over the building of the Lower Subansiri Dam in the North-East and showed up the flaws in the grandiose but ruinous idea of linking India's rivers.

Sadly, the Manmohan Singh Government also thinks the idea has some virtues. BNHS as an organisation cannot be termed insular as it was Dr Salim Ali, an integral part of BNHS, who had campaigned for protecting the Silent Valley in Kerala not only for its birds but as a sensitive ecological piece of forest deserving to live forever.

BNHS has a brand name and its brand ambassador is the Hornbill derived from a hornbill which lived for 26 years in the old offices of the Society and whose dead body is preserved in the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai. Hornbills live on trees and inserting the tree logo will only be a distraction. Is not history, like forests, precious enough to be left alone?

On field trips one has met youngsters proud of being members of the BNHS for still being the lone forest guard concerned over the hectic destruction of precious forests. In recent months, BNHS has not been in favour of the Sethusamudram Canal, which will put an end to marine life and coastal reefs in the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar. My good friend Kurup, an expert on shipping, admits the Canal will not be of any help to the shipping industry.

The men and women running BNHS think a name-change will lift credibility. One would like to refer them to Thapar's book, which was presented to me by my old friend Jacob John, based in New Delhi. On page 3 of the book, Thapar writes of the first "conservation" of forests which started in 1806-1808, with Captain Watson asked to assess the forests of Malabar and Travancore. "What an expedition it must have been for him," adds Thapar.

After the 1857 mutiny, timber was in demand for building railways. By the end-1860s voices were raised for legislative protection of forests and the first wildlife or forest legislation related to limiting the killing of elephants.

Then came the Wild Bird and Game Protection Act, 1887, with hunters showing their concern over dwindling stock of animals. The Act protected game for the hunting season and tried to curb indiscriminate slaughter. In the early 20th century, George Yule had killed 400 tigers and M. Gerrard 227. They were soon overtaken by the rulers of Udaipur and Gauripur, with each shooting 500 tigers; the Nawab of Tonk crossed the 600 mark.

Says Mahesh Rangarajan: "Over 80,000 tigers, more than 150,000 leopards and 200,000 wolves were slaughtered in 50 years from 1875 to 1925. It is possible this was only a fraction of the numbers actually slain... ."

By 1926 there was much discussion, dialogue and debate on game preservation in India. "The BNHS played a vital role in triggering the issues of this debate — they wrote to forest officers and sportsmen for their opinions and a series of editorials in the Journal created an awareness of the need for conservation," says Thapar.

The finest observation is made in the BNHS Annual Report (1929): "Our present difficulties are mainly due to the increasing number of officials with no interest in sport or natural history." That remark still holds with corporates, government and forest officials acting like the maharajas of yore. Yet, BNHS is termed "insular."

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