Ek tha tiger, ek tha Rathore

Author Image: 

Dharmendra Khandal [1]

[2]

[3]

Rs 499

I am blessed as I got an opportunity to work with “Boss” (as I used to fondly call Fateh Singh Rathore) during his last decade at Ranthambhore and until he passed away in March 2011. Tiger Warrior is a book written by Soonoo Taraporewala, a retired librarian with the British Council Library with an avid interest in wildlife.

Soonoo has captured the life instances of Fateh, which somehow also helped shape Ranthambhore. She had a long association with Ranthambhore and Fateh Singh Rathore; the book is like seeing Ranthambhore and wildlife conservation through Boss’ eyes.
Boss opened a new frontier in Tiger ecology and landscape. Until the dramatic change that was brought about in the Ranthambhore landscape by the relocation of villages by Fateh Singh in 1976, one rarely saw a tiger during daylight as recounted in the book. More importantly, even pictures in print and films on tigers were very few and the world knew little about the tiger — a beautiful and elusive beast. By successfully carrying out one of India’s rare voluntary large-scale relocation, Boss created history and opened the doors for the world to see tigers in their natural habitat.
The book chronicles Boss’ journey of 50 years, which saw the making of the BBC nature documentary — Land of the Tigers — which for the first time filmed a tiger killing a sambar deer in water. The documentary propelled the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, to visit Ranthambhore and witness a tiger kill a deer on land, a few feet away from his jeep. US President Bill Clinton saw two similar tiger hunting during a short three-hour visit. Never had the world seen such images of tigers in the wild. All of this was possible because of the tireless efforts of Fateh Singh Rathore.
More importantly this book is a must read because it also tells the story of a man hassled and ridiculed by the system only because he opposed and stood against it. Boss, endlessly and tirelessly, fought false cases on his land. He was kept out of his beloved park by the very department he served for 50 years. The book gives insights into Boss’ indomitable spirit. Even when he was made honorary field director in the early 1980s, he was slapped with a retrospective over-inflated penalty of park entry fees. The book recounts how he was kept out of the park for the last five years of his life by the park authorities and yet how his spirit and zest to save tigers never waned.

Fateh Singh Rathore’s biggest contribution to Ranthambhore was the last battle he fought with the authorities highlighting the rampant poaching inside Ranthambhore from 2003 to 2005. As part of the NGO Tiger Watch team, under Boss’ guidance, we nabbed poachers who admitted to killing 18 tigers. When this was reported, the forest department and its officials went into denial and even ridiculed Boss. But he did not give up; he continued to fight. Eventually, the Rajasthan state’s own report said that the tigers were indeed missing and that this was most likely due to poaching.
Tiger Warrior also highlights that it was not just tigers Boss cared for, he cared deeply for the people living around Ranthambhore. The book mention how Boss’ bonds with villagers who relocated lasted for more than 40 years with some of their grandchildren going to the school he established.
Fateh Singh Rathore was instrumental in catalysing friends like Valmik Thapar to start the Ranthambhore Foundation. Even today, Boss’ children, Goverdhan and Padmini, continue to push forward his goals of involving local people in conservation through education, healthcare, legal intervention etc.
As part of the Tiger Watch, an organisation that Boss started, we continue to work with poaching communities, gather information, conduct scientific research and make legal interventions where necessary so that poaching on any large scale never happens again in Ranthambhore.
Today, due to Fateh Singh Rathore’s tireless battles, many times at great personal cost, Ranthambhore boasts of having more than 50 tigers.
Fateh Singh Rathore was a warrior in the true sense of the word. Just like the tiger he so loved, Fateh Singh was totally committed and fearless. This book is a wonderful story of one man’s journey to live and die for his passion — unconditional love for the tigers — against all odds. Fateh Singh Rathore was a true Tiger Warrior indeed.