The Sage of the Sahyadris

Professor Madhav Gadgil: The man who taught India to listen to the mountains

Prof. Madhav Gadgil (1942–2026)

Mumbai: With the passing of Professor Madhav Gadgil, India has lost more than a world-class ecologist; it has lost its environmental conscience. A man who bridged the ivory towers of Harvard and the rugged rain-shadow forests of the Western Ghats, Gadgil spent his life proving that science is meaningless if it does not serve the soil and the people who toil upon it.

Born in Pune in 1942, Madhav Dhananjaya Gadgil was destined for a life of the mind, but his heart belonged to the wilderness. After a brilliant academic start, he earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he developed foundational theories in mathematical ecology. Yet, unlike many of his contemporaries who remained in the West, Gadgil returned to India with a singular mission: to understand the intricate tapestry of tropical biology.

In 1983, he founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Under his leadership, the CES became a global hub for research, blending rigorous quantitative data with traditional field biology. He was a pioneer in "People’s Biodiversity Registers," a radical concept that recognized that a forest dweller often knows more about a medicinal herb than a laboratory scientist.

A polyglot, he always preferred to converse with the people in their own languages – preferably mother tongues. That also always remained his stand as a Science Communicator. He fondly wrote lengthy articles for popular newspapers explaining the nuances of technical scientific issues that affected people’s lives in Marathi. He also authored several books.

Though his scientific honours were many—including the Padma Bhushan and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement—it was his role as the Chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) that defined his public legacy.

In 2011, he submitted what became known as the Gadgil Report. It was a landmark document that classified the entire Western Ghats (the Sahyadris) into three levels of ecological sensitivity. Gadgil did not just call for a ban on mining and dams; he called for "Grassroots Democracy." He argued that the local Gram Sabhas, not bureaucrats in Delhi or Mumbai, should have the final say on developmental projects.

While the report was initially sidelined by various state governments as "anti-development," the devastating floods and landslides that later ravaged Kerala and Karnataka proved his warnings were not just scientific, but prophetic. He became the "Saviour of the Sahyadris" not by choice, but by the undeniable accuracy of his vision.

Prof. Gadgil was also a key architect of The Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The legislation ensured it included provisions for the People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs).

Professor Madhav Gadgil’s intellectual footprint is vast, spanning over five decades of ground breaking research and public advocacy. His work is characterized by a unique ability to blend high-level mathematical modelling with deeply human-centric field studies. His approach always remained multi-disciplinary. He never looked at a forest just as a collection of trees; he always looks at the soil quality, the rainfall data, the history of the local tribes, and the current economic pressures simultaneously.

Prof. Gadgil’s literary contributions serve as the intellectual foundation of Indian environmentalism, blending historical depth with field-based scientific rigor. His seminal work, This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India (1992), co-authored with Ramachandra Guha, redefined Indian history by tracing the evolution of resource use from hunter-gatherer societies to the "profligate" exploitation of the British Raj. In Ecology and Equity (1995), he introduced a sociologically grounded framework that divided Indian society into "Omnivores," "Ecosystem People," and "Ecological Refugees," arguing that environmental degradation is fundamentally an issue of social injustice. His collection of essays, Ecological Journeys (2005), bridges the gap between the science of biodiversity and the politics of conservation, while his final memoir, A Walk Up The Hill: Living with People and Nature (2023), offers a deeply personal synthesis of his eighty-year journey, emphasizing the "People’s Biodiversity Registers" and his controversial but prophetic warnings about the Western Ghats. Together, these works shift the focus of conservation from exclusionary state-controlled parks to a democratic, community-led model where ecological limits and social justice are inseparable.

Gadgil’s academic output (over 250 papers) laid the groundwork for modern tropical ecology and community-based conservation.

A Civilisational Vision

Gadgil’s scholarship was never merely technical. He viewed sustainability as a civilisational challenge. He often spoke of the "Omnivores" (the urban elite who consume resources from afar), the "Ecosystem People" (the rural poor who depend on local resources), and the "Ecological Refugees" (those displaced by development).

His life was a masterclass in intellectual integrity. Whether he was walking through a sacred grove in Maharashtra or testifying before a high-level committee, his voice remained steady, backed by data and driven by moral clarity. He lived simply, thought deeply, and never shied away from speaking truth to power.

An Enduring Legacy

Professor Gadgil leaves behind a generation of ecologists who view the forest not as a "resource," but as a living system. He taught us that social justice and ecological health are two sides of the same coin.

As the mists roll over the Sahyadri peaks today, they shroud a land that is a little lonelier for his absence. But his work remains—in the People’s Biodiversity Registers, in the protected corridors of the Ghats, and in the hearts of every activist who stands up for a tree, a river, or a village.