prashantsingh wrote:xl_target wrote:
The sad thing is that the state of India's flora and fauna was significantly better, in quality and quantity when the British left India after 200 years of rule. Today after sixty six years of independence that is not the case.
True. But the basic reason is India's ever growing population. From 35 crore in 1947 we are 121 crore now.......and it is only getting worse.Another 15 years we will beat China.
That and a total lack of enforcement of environmental laws due to corruption, incompetence and a lack of resources (resources that should have been made available to the Forest Service)
India is not the only country that has allowed its Tiger population to be decimated. In the rush to industrialization, much of Asia's Tiger habitat has become fragmented and/or has been deforested. Due to the size of its landmass, India still has more Tiger numbers than most other places but they are a tiny fraction of the number that they were when India gained independence.
However, its time to put aside any jingoism and it's time to call a spade a spade as any country that neglects its flora and fauna, including its "National Animal", to the extent that India needs to be called out for it. While we can say we are proud of what India has achieved today economically, we certainly can't say that about any environmental achievements. It's time to stop blaming the British for the low numbers of animals and the widespread deforestation in India
today (as the Tribune article does). As long as we allow journalists and politicians to continue to blame someone else, we will never hold the Government accountable for what is their abject failure to protect India's natural resources adequately since Independence..
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941