Ranjit Bhargava, is an Indian environmentalist, known for his endeavors towards environmental conservation and his efforts for obtaining

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

status for the upper

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

region. The Government of India honored him in 2010, with the fourth highest civilian award of

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

. He is also a recipient of the

Order of the Golden Ark The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark ( nl, Orde van de Gouden Ark) is a Dutch order of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation. Although not a ...

from Prince Bernard of the Netherlands and the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

of the Government of Germany.

Biography

Ranjit Bhargava was born the family of

Munshi Nawal Kishore Munshi Nawal Kishore (3 January 1836 – 19 February 1895) was a book publisher from India. He has been called Caxton of India. In 1858, at the age of 22, he founded the Nawal Kishore Press at Lucknow. This institution today is the oldest printi ...

, (1836–1895) a known publisher, as a fifth generation member, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. to Raja Ram Kumar Bhargava, holder of the title ''Raja'' by the then Viceory of India,

Lord Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded i ...

and Rani

Lila Ramkumar Bhargava Rani Lila Ramkumar Bhargava was an Indian freedom fighter, social worker, educationist and a former leader of the Indian National Congress. She was an associate of Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi and was married into the family of Munshi Naw ...

, a 1971

awardee. He headed the Uttar Pradesh chapter of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(WWF). A member of the faculty of Foreign Affairs at

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher ed ...

, Bhargava is a Convener of the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) where has instituted the ''INTACH Environmental Award'' in memory of his son, Anirudh Bhargava. Bhargava is one of the founders of the ''Upper Ganga Region'' initiative, a collective campaign for getting the Upper Ganga Region, comprising

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints medita ...

and

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the ri ...

, the status of

. He is also involved with other environment related campaigns such as the ''Citizens' Forum on Public Policy'' and the campaign for the protection of Indian sites abroad, like INA Memorial in Singapore and Jim Corbett's tomb in

Nyeri Nyeri is a town situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya. It is the county headquarters of Nyeri County. The town was the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province. Following the dissolution of the former pr ...

, Kenya.He has been honorary advisor for environment ecology and heritage to the Indian Army Central Command from 1991 to 2007. ''The Hive'', a British heritage bungalow used by Christopher Corbett, the father of

Jim Corbett Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was a British hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in the Indian subcontinent. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian ...

, has been bought by Bhargava and is now a tourist attraction in Ayarpatta,

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters ...

. Ranjit Bhargava is the author of a book on environment by title, ''Environment:A Will To Fail''.

Awards and recognition

Ranjit Bhargava has been honored by the Government of Germany

. This was followed by the title, the Officer of the Order of the Golden Ark, conferred by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. In 2010. The

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

included in the Republic Day honours list for the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhargava, Ranjit Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields Scholars from Lucknow Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Indian environmentalists Academic staff of the University of Lucknow Activists from Uttar Pradesh

Biography

Awards and recognition

References

Further reading

External links