He is a die-hard conservationist, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Wankaner, a wildlife expert and a former bureaucrat but most of all he was the principal author of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

So, when MK Ranjitsinh says that the "governments now do not have enough political will" to protect our wildlife, it highlights the threat to India's forests and wildlife.

"In the revision of the 1972 Wildlife Act, no state government was ready to establish a new park or a sanctuary. Being the Forest Secretary for 2.5 years in Madhya Pradesh (1970-73), I established nine new national parks and 14 new sanctuaries. For the existing parks, I doubled their size. A little less than 6,000 sq km of parks and sanctuaries is the only area that is left where nature will survive," said Ranjitsinh in an interview.

He asserted that even 35 years after of his retirement in 1983, just 200 sq ft has been added to national parks and sanctuaries in two states and three little sanctuaries, that too 20 years ago.

"No political party wants any new national park and sanctuary, as a matter of fact, they want to reduce them," he said.