India's Forests - Revisiting Nature and History - S3 Ep 5 with Mahesh Rangarajan

<p>In this episode, Ranjit Monga sits down with Prof. Mahesh Rangarajan, one of India’s most respected environmental historians and co-editor of the new volume &#39;<em>India’s Forests: Revisiting Nature and History&#39;. ( </em><a href="https://link.amazon/B0bpNjfaR"> https://link.amazon/B0bpNjfaR</a> )</p><p> The book is a collection of research papers by eminent scholars and challenges the idea of forests as static, silent backdrops in human history. Instead, it reveals them as dynamic spaces — shaped by climate, economy, politics, migration, and watershed moments. </p><p>The linkages between forest dwellers and wildlife are part of this landscape. Prof. Rangarajan talks about how these spaces have been imagined, governed, contested, and lived in for centuries. They discuss the shifting relationships between wildlife and people, the historical forces that have shaped conservation, and why understanding the past is essential for navigating the ecological crises of the present.</p><p>Prof. Rangarajan has a special interest in forests, wildlife, and conservation. He studied history at <a href="https://www.ashoka.edu.in/profile/mahesh-rangarajan/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Hindu College, University of Delhi</a> and later at Balliol College and Nuffield College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has taught at the University of Delhi, <a href="https://www.ashoka.edu.in/profile/mahesh-rangarajan/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Ashoka University</a> and <a href="https://krea.edu.in/spotlight/krea-university-appoints-dr-mahesh-rangarajan-as-vice-chancellor/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Krea University</a>, and has also been a visiting faculty member at Cornell University, Jadavpur University and the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru. He has also served as Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and as Vice Chancellor of <a href="https://krea.edu.in/spotlight/krea-university-appoints-dr-mahesh-rangarajan-as-vice-chancellor/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Krea University</a>.</p><p>Get the book here: <a href="https://link.amazon/B0bpNjfaR">https://link.amazon/B0bpNjfaR</a> (Amazon Affiliate programme)</p><p>Write to us podcast@ramonproductions.org</p><p>Join the ‘Books and Us Community&#39; on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19X2sQwnbU/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19X2sQwnbU/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a