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

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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 which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

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

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

. He is also a recipient of the

Order of the Golden Ark The Most Excellent Order of the Golden 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 awarded by the government o ...

from Prince Bernard of the Netherlands and the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

of the Government of Germany.

Biography

Ranjit Bhargava was born the family of Munshi Nawal Kishore, (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 (United Kingdom), 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 Wa ...

and Rani Lila Ramkumar Bhargava, a 1971

awardee. He headed the Uttar Pradesh chapter of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based 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 th ...

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

Lucknow University University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

, 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 the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...

and

Haridwar Haridwar (; ; formerly Mayapuri) 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 s ...

, 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 and was the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province (Kenya), Central Province. The town is situated a ...

, 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 an Anglo-Indian hunter and author. He gained fame through hunting and killing several man-eating tigers and leopards in Northern India, as detailed in his bestselling 1944 memoir '' M ...

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

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

. 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 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

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