On the beginning of conservation in India
The idea of conservation was more of protection of wildlife. Protection is different from conservation, which includes management. Till the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were no real wildlife laws pertaining to the entire country. In 1971, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi called a meeting of the wildlife community. She asked what was needed. I made two suggestions. One was to pass a law applicable to the whole country - a uniform legislation pertaining not only to wildlife protection but also to wildlife management. The second covered subjects like setting up of parks, management of national parks, sanctuaries and endangered species, among other things. The Project Tiger also started around the same time.

On the concept of national parks
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