Patron: To be advised

Founders
Ms. Margie Watts-Carter Mr. Adityaraj Dev
Mr. Amit Kher Mr. Satyendra Upadhyay
Shri Motram Baiga S/o Bakru Baiga (Deceased) Shri Besaku Baiga S/o
Advisory:Field Director of Kanha Tiger Reserve,(Advisory)
AN INTRODUCTION
Kanha National Park is probably India’s greatest achievement in its jungle & wildlife conservation efforts. It is also said to be the prime location in the country from where Wild Tigers can be observed in their natural habitat, not forgetting the other magnificent fauna species this Project Tiger Reserve protects. The past & present Kanha Field Directors and Forest Department staff deserves our congratulations, our gratitude and, most importantly, our continuous support for their laudable dedication and efforts. However, regrettably, wild Tigers Leopards & sloth Bears in India are again under severe attack from Traders, middlemen & poachers.

Local tribal communities, mainly Baiga & Gond, should also be recognized & honoured for the important role their original, earth friendly way of life contributed in maintaining these magnificent Sal jungles that once, uninterruptedly, stretched across the ancient Satpura Mountain Range & throughout the Maikal & Vidhya Hills, for thousands of years. It was their traditions & religion related to nature-worship; their respect for Mother Earth & the protective & medicinal properties of trees, shrubs & roots that made them the natural co-protectors of these jungles, and all the flora & fauna therein. The region must have been quite breathtakingly serene & beautiful in those days.

Tigers for their part were the Lords of the jungle and co-protectors of the jungles. They were called Chota Bhai, by Baiga Tribesmen, and thus treated with respect. Tigers were honoured for their hunting skills and for religious reasons, which today everyone seems to ignore or has forgotten. Had the Tribal communities not respected the natural world they lived in, or the creatures they shared their lives with, we would certainly not have places like Kanha to visit today. Nor would there be gentle Baiga & Gond tribal or the majestic Tigers to captivate our hearts and mesmerize us with their magical & majestic presence.

Sadly, ‘progressive’ man, with his greater knowledge of all, invaded and unwittingly disrupted their wild yet gentler, balanced world. The Tribal ceased to be the time honoured “Masters of the soil”, and lost control of their own destiny. They were denied their centuries old methods of Bewar cultivation, (which actually ensured re-generation of jungle cover), alienated from all they knew as their world and all that once depended on these Tribes for protection. The result of 250 odd years of neglect of the natural world is, plainly speaking, a dangerous & existence threatening imbalance in nature for one and all.

Modern thinkers have subsequently, in their eagerness to protect the nation’s remaining wildlife, slightly ignored these indigenous Tribal communities, their problems, aspirations and needs. This lack of attention, even if it was unintentional, has had a disastrous ultimate effect. The present back-lash against wildlife is probably the result of too many years of listening to and observing as outsiders cared more for the survival of animals than the once Kings & natural protectors of these jungles; of watching as outsider villains plundered anything & everything from their ‘ancestral home lands’ – and getting away with the crimes, while they are, some times wrongly, blamed. The founder members of “Shanti Bagh” – Kanha’s Tree, Tribe & Tiger Foundation are confident that we can have a positive impact on all that is currently horrifyingly evident, but we must become pro-active now.

Our concerns are for the next generations of humans, both Indian & foreign. We fear for all the children who may not have a green world to escape to regroup their weary senses. Who were not born at a time when the world was greener, safer & not so over-burdened, and a time when ample opportunities for the betterment of our planet lay at our feet - What happened! Why did we ignore all the signs of impending decay?

What will there be in the world of any importance for tomorrow’s adults – tomorrow’s children? Fear, violence & abuse, isolation, hunger & thirst, societies devoid of love, compassion, trust &, worst of all, HOPE – just like our Tribal friends & Tigers.

Today the Tribes of Kanha are being coerced into soul destroying crimes against their own environment & way of life, simply because their economical conditions are far from even tolerable. They have watched, peripherally, as outsiders came into their world and reaped the huge benefits & profits of wildlife tourism; they were employed for a pittance while they kindly employers amassed wealth beyond their comprehension from what they had preserved for all. When they asked for help, (from those that could make a difference), their pleas were sometimes met with uncaring responses & even scorn for them being tribal. Their current attitude towards the jungles, Tigers et al is today one of cool indifference. “Why should we care what happens to the Tigers & the jungle when no-one is ready to listen to our fears for even today, never mind tomorrow. They are nothing to do with us any more” was an emotional response to our questions when researching the viability of establishing this foundation and its objectives. Luckily, in time, we were able to convince this dejected, hostile man that, together, we can still make a difference to the quality of the rest of his life and for the future of his offspring.

“SHANTI BAGH” – Tree, Tribe & Tiger Foundation has been established to undertake the following required projects to re-associate the Tribal communities with their world & environment, giving them a sense of involvement & purpose in the larger scheme of life; pride of what they and their ancestors have so carefully preserved for so long; a sense of responsibility that they should seriously become more pro-active and continue to shield Kanha from all the evils that could ultimately destroy it and the very basic fabric of their lives – for they have nowhere else to go to………..
Our motto, which has been well received by Tribal communities to date, is simple and to the point:-
Warning: NO TIGERS = NO JUNGLES= NO WATER= NO LIFE.
Ø Reforestation of areas in every village around Kanha National Park. This is a huge undertaking to re-green all the villages that live on the edge of Kanha’s 1945 sq. km mass of core and buffer zones. However, it is vital for the future of Kanha Tiger Reserve’s future existence that we commence now with this part of our planned assistance to Tribal communities. These efforts will ensure accessible wood/bamboo for home making, arts & crafts, cooking & keeping Tribes warm is readily available. Their nutritional intake will be vastly improved from all the fruit trees we plan for them to plant and nurture, such as Amla, Mango, Jamun, Jack fruit, Guava etc. These trees will also provide non-toxic medicinal produce to stem attacks of Malaria & skin complaints, especially from Neem. These trees will provide desperately required shade from the scorching sun for villagers and their livestock, as well as lowering the temperature during the torrid summer months. Leaves from Neem & Babool also help retain moisture in the soil of farm land when tilled in, and improves the soil quality substantially. However, the most important perceived outcome of re-forestation on such a large scale will, hopefully, be the reduction of necessity by villagers to enter Kanha’s core areas to steal any forest products, thus stemming the temptation and opportunities to poach Tigers, Leopards & sloth Bears for the illegal Chinese markets. Kanha’s jungles are being eroded, and we have to treat the cause of its potential demise, now, immediately.

Ø Tribal handicrafts. We aim to call on the expertise of accomplished artisans to assist Tribal communities to upgrade the quality of their products to a merchandisable level. All the 66,000 visitors to Kanha, annually, want memorabilia to take home, and Tribal artisans could benefit economically from that aspect of wildlife tourism, considerably. INTACH & DASTKAR are two organizations that have been approached. Any supporter of our cause that has a skill they could share with our Tribal friends will be most welcome to participate in our efforts to make a niche for these gentle souls, making them economically stronger & more self reliant. Translators are available & very willing.

Apologies for the lengthy content, but the situation is so very serious for both Tribal communities and the Tiger. We know we can alter attitudes & stem poaching being encouraged in & around Kanha if we simply reach out with understanding and respect for Tribal communities & Mother Nature, and a whole lot of concentrated encouragement.

Ø Water Conservation: Kanha usually has two years of drought like conditions, followed by heavy down pours in the third monsoon season. Water, the globally most vital, yet ignored and abused source of life is in danger of affecting the streams, talabs & water holes in and around Kanha National Park. Very few modern souls even think about wastage of water, and every year more lodges & resorts open their doors for business, creating false environments of lush greenery at the cost of the reason for business being there in the first place – the jungles and the animals there in. Tourism has to be more aware of its responsibilities to the jungles. It is our intention to invite the nation’s famous water conservationist from Rajasthan, Shri Rajendra Singh of “Tarun Bharat Sangh”, to review the many varying situations around Kanha Tiger Reserve and discuss with the Tribal communities and our team of assistants the best methods for water conservation & harvesting to be implemented in our area. We will then launch a massive movement to treat all aspects of conserving this irreplaceable commodity with the respect & attention it deserves. As points of interest, during the monsoon of 2005 Damoh district, just notrthwest of Jabalpur, experienced severe floods where many forest dwellers & townsfolk lost not only homes & crops, but also a few lives …..all due to the mindless, illegal felling of protected forest tracts.

Ø Medical assistance is to be made available to Tribal community members in the form of regular Health Camps, and hopefully the future establishment of a fully equipped Malaria clinic right here in Kanha. We have about 40 fully qualified doctors from all over India waiting for us to get started, and who have promised to donate both their time and medicines for the Tribal peoples of Kanha. Many off-shore doctors too have also pledged time & advisory assistance.

The main focus of our efforts will be the re-greening of Mother Earth all around Kanha Tiger Reserve. Hopefully, in years to come, we will be able to stretch out our activities to spread the message, and greenery, throughout these magical hill regions of Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, not so long ago covered in dense jungle……..

We hope you will find our goals essential and our intentions worthy of your support. For, as we have said before, without the active will of the indigenous people living with India’s magnificent wildlife and the national parks & sanctuaries, there will nothing left of jungles, wildlife, or life of any value in this ancient, magically natural world if we let the Tigers & the jungles and Tribals disappear…….

Thank you for taking the time to read about our concerns and how we will be attempting to reverse the damage already so very evident. We most sincerely hope you will join us in this fight against reducing central India to a desert state, where no Tribal or anyone would survive, and losing the greatest symbol of ecological survival the creators of this world could ever have given us.

With passion for the survival of Tigers, the jungles and the gentle Baiga & Gond Tribals of central India
Yours faithfully,

Margie Watts-Carter
President
For & on behalf of “SHANTI BAGH”– Kanha’s Tree, Tribe & Tiger Foundation.
Margie Watts-Carter was involved with the “Kawardha Baiga Tribal Society” from 1990 to 2001, assisting Tribal communities in the southern edge of Kanha’s buffer zone. After moving to Kanha National Park in 2001 to involve herself in wildlife tourism, she was horrified to see so much of the buffer zone & further afield had been eroded by farming and illegal felling of trees. Margie was also saddened by the hardened attitudes of the area’s Tribal people – so different from those she knew in Kawadha district, but their circumstances are worsening daily. “SHANTI BAGH” means Garden of Peace ………….we hope this translation can honestly reflect the future outcome of our collective endeavors.

Please note that I am currently C/o Royal Tiger Resort, Kanha National Park, P.O. Mukki via Baihar, District Balaghat,
MP – 481111, India. Telephone: 00 91 7637 226 028

Ø Where has the other 20%+ of forest cover the Indian sub-continent had at independence gone?
Ø Where are the missing Tigers, Leopards & Sloth Bear etc. statistics have broadcasted existence of for so many years? This query includes deer species etc.
Ø Why weren’t tribal communities incorporated in larger numbers in the protection of wildlife and the vital forests of India, ensuring they too progressed like most other Indian citizens?
Ø Why are there so many newly effected areas of India suffering flood situations, where once no such calamities ever struck?
Ø Who are the people who were forced to turn a blind eye while the powerful and influential broke the ancient jungle rules, as well as India’s 1972 Wildlife Act laws?
Ø Why is there this awful desperation to take from the jungle before the greedy destroy everything?
Ø How is any Indian going to survive in a huge nation like this without jungles of the green variety? What will stop the floods? Where will drinking water come from? Where will the nutrients come from for arable lands? What will cows & Goats eat? What will we eat?
Ø Does anyone else notice that the lack of a green & natural world is probably one of the main reasons & causes of the de-humanization of all people on this earth? With lack of food, water and opportunities for proper employment & betterment of living standards as the crux of most ill feelings towards westernization. There is bound to be an ever increasing number of crimes & violence.
Ø Does anyone realize that Baiga Tribals near Kanha have committed suicide due to the cruel circumstances of not being able to feed their families?

Horribly blunt questions/statements, but, unless we want to continue to live in a fool’s paradise, believing that nothing will ever affect us (because we have money), it really is time to address the many foreseeable disaster areas as soon as possible, and start to repair the damage done to the indigenous peoples of this region, and India’s most valuable natural resource – the oxygenating, nutrient giving jungles. Tigers, (apart from being our national animal & Mother Nature’s perfection), are the pinnacle symbol of India’s ecological survival, and if we lose them to poachers & Chinese lies, we will have lost ours souls and our right to call ourselves Indians, and most definitely Hindus. Ultimately all other creatures will disappear from our world……and that includes us greedy Homo sapiens.