Avni: Man-eater or devoured by man?

Much has been written about Avni – magnificent tigress of the Yamatal forests in Maharashtra, mother of two cubs, tragic symbol of the choices India is making today. Her killing left India with one question : how could we have managed the terror of Avni better?

Yes, you cannot ignore a maneater because then human population becomes hostile to wildlife. Avni could have been tranquillised and kept captive. But the big picture is that Avni’s territories were violated. Part of the Yamatal forest was given to a cement plant.

Not only does such a plant take up land, but it is known to be polluting and resource-guzzling. You cannot have this and expect the forests to stay inviolate. One trend clear from this case is that the India of 2018 has disinvested its natural wealth. It is as if our forests, grasslands, meadows, rivers, deltas, skies, soil, tigers, birds are to be cast aside because they are not fungible.

The case of this tiger is an outcome of such a framework, despite the existence of Project Tiger.

Article 51A(g) of our Constitution expects us to protect the environment.

We cannot do this without changing our framework of development.

So Avni was killed by our own sense of entitlement. Indeed, our development model set up her demise before her shooting was ever actively planned. It seems almost strange that Avni was called a man-eater by some, because facts show she was devoured by man-made greed.