TDU VC Darshan Shankar pays tribute to Prof. Madhav Gadgil

Madhav Gadgil

I do not feel sad at the passing away of Madhav Gadgil. He led a full life honourably with conviction and dignity and used his intellectual resources for societal benefit.    

These are a few lines about my friendship with Madhav Gadgil, at both interpersonal and institutional levels. 

I first met Madhav in the 1980’s long before I came to Bangalore. This is when he was a full Professor in Indian Institute of Science. He took time off to attend a workshop of social activists in a tribal area, at the invitation of an NGO, with which I was closely associated. The “Professor” was simple enough to travel by bus, walk over a mile to reach the venue of the workshop in a village and gracious enough to accept modest hospitality provided of food and stay in a simple hut with cow dung floor. Of course, his contribution to the workshop was enlightening. 

After I shifted to Bangalore in the 90’s I met him frequently and worked closely with him on several community-oriented programs, particularly related to documentation of community knowledge of biodiversity, programs for conservation of biodiversity, school education about local landscapes and so on, until he retired.  An important program we worked most closely on was the design of the “Peoples Biodiversity Registers” (PBR). The pilot testing in 500 community locations of this people’s knowledge instrument, initially focused on medicinal plant resources, was in fact done by FRLHT. Subsequently Prof Gadgil expanded the scope of PBR, and strategically took the PBR program up to the national level by getting it endorsed by the National Biodiversity Authority as a legal instrument under the Biodiversity Act 2002. 

Several colleagues in FRLHT and TDU were also students of Madhav Gadgil. Madhav’s strong thoughts, strategies, priorities for conserving nature alongside unstinted support for the rights of indigenous communities, will influence generations to come.

Prof Darshan Shankar, FNASc

Vice Chancellor

The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology