6 months ago
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Congress leaders connected Thursday (January 8, 2026) condoled the decease of noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil, with enactment main Mallikarjun Kharge saying India has mislaid 1 of its foremost voices successful ecological enquiry and that his demise is simply a large setback for the country's greenish cause.
Gadgil, known for his enactment connected the Western Ghats, passed distant successful Pune aft a little illness, household sources said connected Thursday. He was 83.
Gadgil breathed his past precocious connected Wednesday nighttime astatine a infirmary successful Pune, the sources said.
"In the passing of Dr. Madhav Gadgil, India has mislaid 1 of its foremost voices successful ecological inquiry. His enactment helped crook technological grounds into protective action, astir notably done decisive engagement with landmark conservation efforts and assemblage rights, peculiarly successful the Western Ghats," Mr. Kharge said successful a station connected X.
A recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, and Karnataka's Rajyotsava Prashasthi, helium leaves down an enduring imprint connected research, teaching, and ecological conservation, and his departure is simply a large setback for the country's greenish cause, Mr. Kharge said.
"My deepest condolences to his family, friends and the technological community," helium said.
Congress wide caput and erstwhile Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh hailed Gadgil arsenic a top-notch world scientist, a tireless tract researcher, a pioneering institution-builder, a large communicator, a steadfast believer successful people's networks and movements, and friend, philosopher, guide, and mentor to galore for implicit 5 decades.
"Trained astatine the precise champion universities successful modern science, helium was astatine the aforesaid clip a champion of accepted cognition systems - particularly successful biodiversity conservation," Mr. Ramesh said connected X.
His power connected nationalist argumentation has been profound going backmost to his important relation successful the Save Silent Valley Movement successful the precocious 1970s and aboriginal 1980s, the Congress person said.
"His [Gadgil] involution to support forests successful Bastar was important successful the mid-80s. Later, helium gave signifier to a caller absorption to the Botanical Survey of India and the Zoological Survey of India. During 2009-2011, helium chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel and wrote its study successful a astir delicate and antiauthoritarian mode that remains unmatched successful some substance and style," Mr. Ramesh recalled.
He had studied biology astatine Harvard nether E O Wilson, who had been hailed arsenic Darwin's Heir, Mr. Ramesh noted.
Although inspired by Wilson, Gadgil — dissimilar astir others who went to survey overseas — came backmost to India to physique its ain probe capacities and capabilities, usher students, prosecute with section communities, and marque a quality to policy, helium said.
In each of these helium succeeded much than admirably, Mr. Ramesh added.
Luckily 3 years backmost helium was capable to bring retired his delightful memoir, which is astatine erstwhile educative, entertaining, and enlightening, Mr. Ramesh said.
Gadgil's beingness was devoted to assistance successful the noblest consciousness of the word and helium volition stay an iconic and inspirational figure, the erstwhile Environment Minister said.
"Speaking connected a idiosyncratic note, successful the twenty-six months I was Environment Minister during May 2009-July 2011, I turned to him each different time for guidance and advice. And our conversations were not confined to matters related to ecology," Mr. Ramesh said.
"We spoke often of his begetter Dhananjay Gadgil, 1 of India's top economists and writer of that classical The Industrial Evolution of India successful Recent Times, archetypal published successful 1924. We would besides talk of the intricacies of the Indian monsoon, since his woman Sulochana was an authorization connected the subject," helium said.
Nation builders travel successful antithetic forms and varieties and Gadgil was decidedly 1 of them, Mr. Ramesh said.
"Above each helium had the hallmark of a existent student — helium was gentle, unassuming, and exuded empathy and humility — down which was a immense water of cognition and learning," Mr. Ramesh said.
Congress wide caput Priyanka Gandhi Vadra besides condoled Gadgil's demise.
"Deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Madhav Gadgil, a compassionate dependable for quality and societal justice. His life's enactment volition proceed to animate generations. My heartfelt condolences to his household and loved ones," Priyanka Gandhi said.
In 2024, the United Nations presented Gadgil with the yearly Champions of the Earth award, the UN's highest biology honour, for his seminal enactment connected the Western Ghats, a planetary biodiversity hotspot.
Gadgil had chaired the government-constituted Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel to survey the interaction of colonisation pressure, clime change, and improvement activities connected the ecologically fragile portion successful India.
