Save tiger ecosystem, says conservationist Dr Ullas Karanth
Mangaluru (PTI): Well known tiger researcher and conservationist Dr Ullas Karanth on Thursday said that India, having such vast land resources, must ideally move towards enlarging the tiger ecosystem to reach a population of 15,000 of the big cats as against 3,000 presently.
He was delivering a special lecture for Indian National Trust for Cultural Heritage (INTACH) here today.
Presently the rate of growth of the tiger population is just 1 per cent in the country "which is nothing spectacular" for a country with so many resources and a fine range of forest and wildlife promotional machinery, headed by the MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) and the state forest departments, Karanth said.
The vision for 15,000 tigers must be fortified with the protection of tiger habitats, and many degenerated tiger habitats around the country must be revived with policy initiatives such as sustainable landscapes, steps towards responsible wildlife tourism, and conservation methods — protection of biomass and eradication of the market for wildlife artefacts, he observed Due to the pressure of human population and the demand for forest products, the global market has entered forests, which is retrograde development, he said. The increased expansion of agriculture and livestock grazing areas in up to 40 per cent of actual forest cover in the country had a telling effect on wildlife conservation, Karanth stated.
However, Karanth quipped with a certain degree of wit and hope saying, “Wildlife tourism has enhanced the interest of people in wildlife particularly the tiger, which goes to show that people are interested in tigers in their natural habitats which can be transformed in due course -- a theatre for conservation of tigers” Speaking of how tigers historical have been a part of Indian culture, Dr Karanth said, "The Hulivesha of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, the Huliappa deity in tribal areas of Karnataka and Gonda Tiger worship in North India are proof of the tiger being an integral part of Indian culture
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Coastal Karnataka History Summit logo unveiled in Bhatkal; call for research papers issued
Bhatkal: Preparations are under way for the upcoming Coastal Karnataka History Summit, with the official logo of the academic event unveiled at Dawat Centre by Students Islamic Organisation of India Bhatkal Unit in Bhatkal on February 22, 2026. The summit is scheduled to be held on May 5, 2026.
The initiative is being organised by the Centre for Education and Research & Analysis (CERA) with the aim of documenting and examining the historical evolution of Coastal Karnataka, including Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and adjoining areas of Kasaragod.
At the launch event, the organisers released the official Call for Papers, inviting scholars, researchers, academicians and students to submit original and unpublished research. Abstracts of 200 words, either in English or Kannada, must clearly mention the research question, methodology and key findings. The deadline for abstract submission is February 28, 2026. Selected participants will be informed by March 15, and full papers must be submitted by April 20.
The summit will centre around five broad themes. One section will explore the trade and economic networks of the coastal belt, including maritime routes, port towns, fisheries and commodity-based exchanges such as pepper trade. Another domain will examine social structures, caste formations and inter-community relations, along with the role of Islamic, Arab, Persian and local traditions in shaping the region’s cultural fabric.
A separate section will focus on the origin and growth of linguistic communities such as Tulu, Konkani, Beary, Moya Malayalam and Navayati. Governance and administration under different rulers — including the Alupa dynasty, Rani Abbakka, Tipu Sultan, the Nawaith Sultans of Bhatkal and developments after Independence — will also be studied. The fifth theme will highlight social reformers such as Narayana Guru, Syed Madani, Malik Deenar, Vakkom Moulavi, Sayyid Fazl Pasha and Kudmul Ranga Rao, and their contributions to education and social reform.
The logo launch programme was attended by senior journalist Dr. Haneef Shabab, JIH Bhatkal President Moulana Syed Zubair SM, SIO Bhatkal President Mohammed Zayan Bangali, Unit Secretary Githreef Rida Manvi and Media Secretary Mashaikh Talish.
Organisers said the summit intends to create a structured academic space for discussing the region’s layered past and bringing local histories into wider public and scholarly discourse. For submissions and queries, researchers may contact
coastalkarnatakahistorysummit@gmail.com
