In a society where the appeal of luxury living often takes precedence, few people choose to renounce their royal upbringing in order to leave a lasting legacy. Today, we are going to talk about one such Indian prince, who gave up on his royal life and decided to work on the preservation of the country's wildlife. Dr MK Ranjitsinh Jhala, also known as 'India's Cheetah Man', for everything that he had done for them.
The first member of the royal family to become an IAS officer is Dr. M.K. Ranjitsinh Jhala, an 84-year-old former Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer from the 1961 batch. Often referred to as "India's cheetah man," he worked more than 50 years preserving India's wilderness, creating groundbreaking laws, acting for endangered species, and facilitating a revolution for the country's wildlife. He was also the mastermind behind the 1972 Wildlife (Protection) Act.
After giving up his luxury and regal lifestyle, Ranjitsinh, the heir to the old Wankaner royal dynasty of Saurashtra, Gujarat, enlisted in the Indian Administrative Service in 1961. He has had an enormous interest for protecting and fostering wildlife since he was a young child.
He took leadership of the primary initiatives to save the critically endangered barasingha deer, Rucervus duvaucelii, from central India after he was appointed an IAS.
As the Deputy Secretary for Forests and Wildlife in the Government of India, he also made a significant contribution to the legislation by authoring the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. He devised proposals for the federal government to provide states with funding so they could create national parks and sanctuaries. In accordance with this Act, he was also India's first Director of Wildlife Preservation.
After that, he served as the member secretary of the group that developed Project Tiger, which is now among the world's most effective conservation efforts. Then, he worked as the UNEP's Bangkok Regional Office's Nature Conservation Adviser from 1975 to 1980, contributing to the global wildlife arena. He oversaw up to eight national parks and eleven sanctuaries upon his return to India.
He led the campaign to reintroduce cheetahs, which is one of his noteworthy contributions to the animal kingdom. After the 'African Cheetah Introduction Project in India' was founded in 2009, the Supreme Court formally launched it in 2020, and Ranjitsinh was selected to head the team of experts. He has authored a number of well-known books about wildlife.
He was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 for his efforts in wildlife protection because of his noteworthy contribution to wildlife. In addition, he has held a number of posts, such as director general of the WWF Tiger Conservation Programme (TCP), chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), and director of wildlife preservation.
