By IANS
New Delhi : At a time when the tiger is in peril in India, what better way to underline the message of protection than to bring out a book on the 20th century hunter-conservator Jim Corbett whose name is synonymous with the big cats.
The launch of "The Corbett Inheritance", written by Bittu Sehgal, Bikram Grewal and Brijendra Singh, at the India Habitat Centre here late Saturday became a platform for animal lovers to point out the importance of the tiger to the eco-system.
"Why only tigers, we need to save all animals who live in the dense forests, not only for us but for our next generation," said Sehgal.
The book has a vivid description of Corbett, his life and his achievements, which have made him an iconic figure of the mighty Himalayan forests. Priced at Rs.2,150, it has been published Sanctuary Asia and sponsored by The Corbett Foundation.
The book was released by Uttarakhand Forest Minister Bansidhar Bhagat along with Karan Singh, president, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Also present were forest and wildlife experts and academicians who commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Jim Corbett National Park, one of India's best-known wildlife reserves.
"Most of us do not realise that as we lose our forests and the invaluable animals which reside in it, we are actually harming ourselves as losing them would mean we would not get wood and most importantly we would not get water," Singh said.
According to Singh, a former tourism minister, in the 1960s it was the lion and not the tiger that was the national animal. The tiger became the national animal in the year 1968 during the rule of Indira Gandhi, India's former prime minister.
"It was after this that both Mrs. Gandhi and me took the initiative and banned tiger hunting in 1972," Singh added.
Excerpts from the book were read out in a story-telling fashion by actor Tom Alter, who is also a wildlife enthusiast. It conjured vivid images of the hills of Kumaon where man-eating tigers were rampant and where the India-born Corbett used to hunt them in the early 1900s.
On the occasion, awards were given away to some brave and hard-working forest wardens and rangers for their courageous and hard task of maintaining the sanctity of the forests.