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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been...

Thackerays’ ‘Taandav’ for trees, tigers

AI generated image Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the government for the systematic degradation of the state’s environment under the garb of development, even as the climate change poses a direct threat to the environment, economy, agriculture, public health and the future of both rural and urban centres. Questioning the state government’s claims of having planted millions of trees, he rued how the World Environment Day has been reduced to an annual ritual of tree-planting drives and clicking selfies for social media, though 90 pc of the saplings don’t survive even a day. “Only the government knows where those trees really are,” said Raj sternly. He recalled a "Blueprint of Maharashtra’s Development" he had proposed in 2015, in which he advocated how development without environmental sensitivity is hollow. Justifying, he said that the consequences are visible where roads, bridges and infrastructure projects are hailed as achievements, but even a short spell of rainfall can paralyze entire cities. Referring to recent reports on farmers returning from the fields after 10 am due to the scorching heat, Raj said that the worsening climate crisis has become an everyday reality. Citing official statistics, Raj claimed that extreme heat has caused productivity losses of nearly USD 159 billion and slashing of 160 billion work-hours annually in recent years. He mentioned the World Bank estimates that India’s GDP could plummet by 2.5-4.5 pc while 57 pc of the country’s districts sheltering 76 pc of the population stare at serious climate-related crises. Taking a swipe, he said while the governments boast about growth figures and economical rankings, they are silent on the staggering costs of environmental destruction. He questioned the development model “whether flooded cities, washed-away crops and unbearable summers” genuinely indicate progress. Claiming that Maharashtra was increasingly becoming unliveable for upto 8 months in a year, he said excessive monsoon rains disrupt rural life and urban floods cripple cities, while extreme heat make normal life a torture in summers in both urban-rural areas. Targeting the Centre, Raj alleged that nearly 173,984 hectares of forest lands were diverted in the past 11 years for mining and infrastructure projects to benefit the PM’s single favourite Adani Group. He said that these lands amount to 1,730 sqkm, or equivalent to the area of 16 Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) that is spread over barely 104 sqkm. Dissolve state wildlife board: Aaditya Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray has accused the Maharashtra government for issuing a permit to carry out mining activity in the sensitive tiger corridor between the Tadoba-Andhari and Indravati sanctuaries housing the big striped cats. In a strongly-worded letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) Member-Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Thackeray sought his immediate personal intervention, sacking the Maharashtra State Board for Wild-Life (SBWL), revoking the permit, and probe against the Chief Wildlife Warden & Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) M. Srinivasa Reddy for the alleged lacunae. Aditya’s two-pager says the permit has been granted for “scientific exploration and excavation/systematic recovery of low-grade iron ore in existing mines in villages Hedri, Bande, Parsalgondi and Round Parsalgondi, in the Etapalli taluka of Gadchiroli district”. Last January, Aditya – MLA from Worli – had first raised the issue saying that the proposed mine would create only 120 jobs, including 32 permanent, and the estimated output is pegged at 1.1 million tons in a year. Referring to two letters of Reddy – on April 28 and May 21 – the SS (UBT) leader claimed that in communications to the state government, the PCCF had changed his stance on the issue. Aditya said that in the first letter, Reddy had effectively opposed the government plans for mining activity but in the second letter, he took a somersault, ostensibly due to government pressures or some commercial interests, “the U-turn is disgraceful and detrimental to India’s national interest” – and this abrupt shift in stance must be investigated thoroughly. In view of the contrary stance of the PCCF Reddy, entrusted with protecting the wildlife but failing to defend the NTCA and NBWL, point to serious malfunctioning of the SBWL, and hence it must be dissolved, besides reviewing all its decisions in the past three years, particularly those pertaining to hazardous activities in sensitive areas, demanded Aditya. 444 tigers roam in 11,000 sq.km As per the Status of Tiger Report (2002), and the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2025-2026, the state boasts of 444 tigers prowling in the wild along with other menacing creatures. The state’s total protected wildlife network of 88 Notified Areas of National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Conservation Reserves - including 6 dedicated to the striped big cats – is spread over 11,092 sq. kms as per current data.

Mediterranean Pivot

As Turkey grows closer to Pakistan and the Mediterranean gains geopolitical weight, India has discovered an unlikely but useful partner in Cyprus.

In diplomacy, small states frequently become the hinges upon which larger geopolitical doors swing. Cyprus, a divided island in the eastern Mediterranean with barely 1.3 million people, is increasingly acquiring such importance. India, whose foreign policy has traditionally looked east towards Asia or west towards the Gulf, now appears eager to anchor itself more firmly in the Mediterranean through a deepening partnership with Nicosia.


The recent visit of Cyprus’s president, Nikos Christodoulides, to India signalled the emergence of a strategic relationship shaped as much by geopolitics as by economics. Both countries formally agreed to elevate their ties into a strategic partnership


Strange Bedfellows

At first glance, the pairing seems improbable. India is a continental-scale power with global ambitions; Cyprus is a small island nation still grappling with the consequences of Turkey’s invasion in 1974, which left the island divided between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-controlled north. It is precisely this geopolitical vulnerability that makes Cyprus attractive to India.


For New Delhi, Cyprus offers three advantages. First, it provides a gateway into the European Union and the Mediterranean. Second, it offers a diplomatic partner aligned with India on issues such as terrorism and sovereignty. Third, it allows India to subtly counter the growing strategic intimacy between Turkey and Pakistan.


The Mediterranean has today become a crowded geopolitical theatre where energy routes, naval competition, migration crises and great-power rivalries intersect. Russia’s assertiveness, instability in the Middle East, tensions in North Africa and competition over offshore gas reserves have all transformed the region into a strategic crossroads. Cyprus sits directly in the middle of this flux.


Its importance has grown steadily over the past decade. The island has evolved into a maritime logistics hub and a staging ground for humanitarian operations involving Europe and the Middle East. British military bases, relics of empire, still dot its territory, underlining the island’s continuing strategic value to the West.


Growing Interest

India’s growing interest in Cyprus reflects a broader shift in its foreign policy thinking. Under Priem Minister Narendra Modi, New Delhi has attempted to expand its strategic geography beyond South Asia and the Indian Ocean. Europe is increasingly viewed not merely as a trading partner but as a geopolitical arena where India must cultivate influence. Cyprus, despite its size, offers a useful entry point.


Economics forms a substantial pillar of this new partnership. Cyprus has long punched above its weight as a source of foreign investment into India. Cypriot-linked investments have flowed into infrastructure, shipping, real estate and finance.


During the presidential visit, particularly significant was the emphasis on maritime cooperation. India and Cyprus established a joint task force on shipping and infrastructure development, reflecting New Delhi’s growing awareness that maritime security is inseparable from economic security. As global trade routes become more contested, India’s commercial and naval interests increasingly extend into the Mediterranean. The two countries have finalised a defence roadmap for 2026–2031, covering cybersecurity, maritime security and defence manufacturing.


This carries an unmistakable geopolitical message. Turkey’s increasingly close ties with Pakistan have long troubled India. Ankara has repeatedly echoed Islamabad’s positions on Kashmir, while defence cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan has expanded substantially. Cyprus, locked in its own enduring dispute with Turkey, naturally views New Delhi as a useful partner.


Thus, an informal strategic triangle is emerging: Turkey and Pakistan on one side, India and Cyprus on the other. Such alignments reflect how regional rivalries increasingly overlap across continents.


Cyprus has also backed India’s long-standing campaign for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.


Energy considerations further strengthen the logic of partnership. Significant discoveries of natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean have transformed Cyprus into a potentially important energy player. For India, one of the world’s largest energy importers, cultivating relationships in emerging energy theatres is strategically prudent.


Both India and Cyprus see themselves as states confronting unresolved territorial questions while defending sovereignty against external pressure. This shared political psychology fosters diplomatic empathy.


Whether the relationship ultimately flourishes will depend on sustained political attention. Strategic partnerships are easy to announce but difficult to institutionalise. Nevertheless, India is no longer content to remain a regional power confined to South Asia and the Indian Ocean. It seeks influence across a wider geopolitical arc stretching from the Indo-Pacific to the Mediterranean. And in that widening map, tiny Cyprus may prove surprisingly consequential.


(The writer is a foreign affairs expert. Views personal.)

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