The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that Dr. Ranjitsinh converted an opportunity that came his way as a civil servant into a passion. He was addressing the gathering after releasing the book ‘A Life with Wildlife: from Princely India to the Present’ authored by Dr. M.K. Ranjitsinh, here today. The Publisher, HarperCollins India, Shri Udayan Mitra and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The Vice President said that the objective, and admirable part, of Dr. Ranjitsinh is that he is a deviationist. Those familiar with political vocabulary know that this is usually a loaded term, used for persons who for have indulged in right or left deviation from a certain path, he added.
The Vice President said that as the first Director of Wildlife Preservation of India, Dr. Ranjitsinh designed schemes for establishing national parks and sanctuaries. He further said that the author was the Member Secretary of the task force that formulated Project Tiger, one of our most successful conservation projects. He also worked as an Advisor for the UN Environmental Programme, he added. The Vice President said that this book - part autobiography, part a conservationist’s handbook and part travelogue - traces the course of wildlife from the princely and British era to the present. It is an insider’s narrative, an authoritative account of conservation efforts in India, he added.