The Lalit Blog

CREW's aim is to emerge as Central India's primary centre for policy and enforcement regarding conservation and management of natural resources, wildlife and biodiversity. The Central Indian States of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have distinctive characteristics that set this region apart from other areas of the Indian sub-continent. Besides the wealth of natural resources-both forest and mineral--some of the most important archaeological sites, dating back to ten thousand years are located in Madhya Pradesh.

It was a bright sunny afternoon; the year was 1998; some time in April, when I heard a pleasant trilling sound of a bird just outside my window as I worked on my news story of the day. At that time I was working for The Hindu as Principal Correspondent for Madhya Pradesh in central India. The continuous proclamation of the bird’s presence touched the chord of anxiety and without losing any time, I was out gazing through the thicket and the entangled shoots and branches of my Bougainvillea tree to spot the bird singing those beautiful notes. Oh what a delight it was to witness for the first time the grandeur of a grey-headed mango yellow bird, the size of a sparrow.I kept gazing at the bird but remained unsatatiated though the avian delight stayed hooked to the same branch for a long time oblivious of my presence. This one episode came as a turning point in my life. It kindled in me the desire to explore, to learn, and to know as much as I could about the wonderful world of birds. That

The rapidly shrinking Bada Talab of Bhopal (now called Bhoj Tal). Mark the concrete reinforcement on the left-this wall was constructed for the purpose of lake conservation with the help of Japanese funds under the ambitious Bhoj Wetland project. Despite the conservation efforts, the fact remains that the lake is now threatened like never before by reckless development activities and massive destruction of forests in the catchment of the Kolans River in neighbouring Sehore district. This river is now almost dry due to massive destruction of the the green cover under the knowledge and supervision of those heading successive governments.

The Political Mirage 50 years after India became Republic A book by Lalit Shastri , Special Correspondent with India’s leading newspaper The Asian Age . Published by Writers Dream Publications New Delhi This book was launched by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee at his official residence in New Delhi on June 16, 2000 Email: lalitshastri@gmail.com Publisher's Note: Time passes and generally erases many facts and issues from human memory and sensitivity. However there are issues whose importance and sensitivity is made keener by the passage of time. Government neglect and callousness; downright selfishness and self-aggrandizement over the decades are issues that the author has brought to public gaze and notice so that the dark and gray areas could get lighted and the normal and deprived sections of society could hope for and get some redress. These are articles of lasting interest and value.

The Kanha National Park in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, which is one of the first Project Tiger reserves, is a macro watershed that can be treated as an example for protecting and conserving such areas in other parts of the country especially when large parts of India are confronted with the problem of drought and rapidly depleting ground water. Tiger is symbolic when it comes to environment and forest protection since the Tiger sits at the apex of the biotic pyramid. If the tiger is safe in the wild it means the pray base is safe and there is plenty of green cover, which is so essential for normal rains and recharging the ground water, arresting the silting process and ensuring perennial flow of water into the streams, rivulets and rivers. The Kanha Tiger Reserve spread over 1945 sq kms. having a core area of 940 sq. kms is rich in Sal and mixed forests. It has a huge pray base, which mainly includes Cheetal and Sambhar. There are of course plenty of Langoors that sho

Vanishing Stripes II A Report by CREW On the Status of Tiger and Its Habitat in the Central Province of Madhya Pradesh, India- April, 2000 Tiger and Its Habitat Tiger continues to remain the main concern of CREW when we are confronted with the question of the protection and conservation of wildlife and ecological balance in the country in general and Madhya Pradesh in particular. Unfortunately the circumstances on the ground indicate that the powers that be only pay lip service and exhibit superficial concern for the basic issues involved; whereas they remain mainly interested in deriving benefits, both financial as well as political by ensuring populist activities to continue even in the core forest areas. Unless ecological balance is ensured on a long-range basis, no living species, including the human beings, may be able to survive. CREW remains vitally concerned about the survival of Tiger as the most important of the wildlife species in its natural ecologically balanced surroundi

Here is the introductory chapter from the book "Political Mirage—50 years after India became Republic" by Lalit Shastri The Downhill March It is more than five-decades now that the vast subcontinent of India became Independent and the people oppressed for hundreds of years under foreign rule, perhaps rightfully, hoped and expected that under their own leaders, who had fought shoulder to shoulder with them the struggle for Independence, they would be progressing on the path leading to agricultural, industrial and infrastructural development, which would in turn ensure education, employment, better living conditions and all-round happiness and satisfaction for all of them. They had immense faith in the honesty, integrity and commitment of their leaders who in their new roles in the Parliamentary Democracy as Ministers were consequently vested with immense powers and discretion, both administrative and financial, to push through the dreams and expectations of the millions in th