In this season-ending episode of From The Marginlands, Arati and I dive deep into Indian forests, not just as ecosystems but as archives of memory, power, and change. Our guide into this layered terrain is Raza Kazmi, who helps us explore how history helps explain present-day conservation realities, from the shifting fortunes of tiger populations to the erasure of forest places from both maps and memory. 

What stories do forests tell when we stop treating them as static backdrops and start reading them as historical texts? And how do human policies, economic forces, and cultural blind spots shape the fate of forests and the communities entwined with them?

This is a conversation about loss, certainly, but it is also about interpretation, about continuity, and about what it means to see land and life in their full, historical depth. Errata: Raza meant to say "Kispotta" clan when he said Kerketta clan while referring to their totem.

ABOUT RAZA KAZMI:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razakazmi_rk/
Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/raza-kazmi/portfolio
Raza's bio: https://www.currentconservation.org/people/raza-kazmi/
https://sanctuarynaturefoundation.org/article/meet-s.e.h.-kazmi-and-raza-kazmi

TALKS/INTERVIEWS
Forests, History, and Conservation: A wide-ranging talk on forests as historical landscapes, conservation beyond numbers, and how memory reshapes ecological understanding: 
https://youtu.be/cnRMhAcWJBw

Personal History & Conservation Trajectory: An interview weaving Raza’s personal journey into forests, his family history, and the intellectual path that led him to wildlife history: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLrCP4gsOoQ

ESSAYS & OPINION
The Lost Character in Aranyer Din Ratri: The Kechki Forest Rest House: A meditation on forests, cinema, and memory, using a vanished forest rest house to explore how places slip out of India’s cultural and ecological imagination: https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/the-lost-character-in-satyajit-rays-aranyer-din-ratri-the-kechki-forest-rest-house-10039903/

As India’s Tiger Numbers Rise, a Troubling Trend Can Be Seen (Indian Express, 2023): A sharp critique of headline tiger successes that mask habitat loss, uneven recovery, and deeper structural failures in conservation policy : https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/raza-kazmi-writes-as-indias-tiger-numbers-rise-a-troubling-trend-can-be-seen-8548504/

The Last of the Forest Giants: Exploring the story of Central India’s wild buffaloes and their struggle for survival in a shrinking landscape : https://www.wildlifeconservationtrust.org/the-last-of-the-forest-giants-central-indias-wild-buffaloes/

Birdwoman: Raza Kazmi on Jamal Ara, India’s first “birdwoman,” whose pioneering ornithological work in Jharkhand laid the foundations for regional wildlife history and whose legacy Raza helped recover : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/if-indias-first-birdwoman-were-alive-jharkhands-wildlife-would-have-been-different/articleshow/104723327.cms

More stories: An archive of Raza's writings in the Hindu, covering a vast expanse of themes: https://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/raza-kazmi-3786/

PODCAST:
Fragmented Forests — Stories from the Subverse: A conversation on capitalism, extraction, charismatic wildlife, and why forest fragmentation — not just species loss — defines India’s ecological crisis: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4JjrPtvXgICqSfYlY4MtfC

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Leopards live far closer to us than most of us realise — not just in forests, but across farms, villages, and city edges. In this episode, Arati and Prem speak with Dr. Vidya Athreya, one of India’s leading carnivore ecologists, about why leopards are so remarkably adaptable, why encounters in human-dominated landscapes are increasing, and what the science actually says about conflict and safety. We unpack common misconceptions, the gaps in policy, and what real coexistence looks like in a country where people and big cats share space every single day.

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Award-winning filmmaker and photographer Kalyan Varma joins Arati and Prem on From the Marginlands to explore what it means to document the natural world today. From the ethics of filming a vanishing wilderness to the uneasy rise of AI-generated imagery, this conversation asks where the line lies between seeing and showing, between witness and spectacle. How do stories of the wild stay true in an age when the camera, the storyteller, and even the viewer are all changing?

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Each monsoon, the Himalayas make headlines for floods, landslides, and loss. But what if these aren’t “natural” disasters at all, but the result of choices we keep making? In this episode, Arati and Prem speak with environmental researcher Manshi Asher of Himdhara Collective about disaster justice, flawed development models, and the fight for fair futures in the mountains. Here, a deep dive into how we can — and must — rethink “progress” in fragile landscapes.

Show Notes:
Himdhara Collective home page: https://www.himdhara.org/

An interview on what Himdhara is, and what it does: https://www.himdhara.org/2022/05/30/an-interview-about-himdharas-vision-work/

Mansi's writings and podcasts:

Audio interview with Manshi Asher on the Himalayan ecology: https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/episode/manshi

Impacts of Hydropower Development and Compensatory Afforestation on forest ecosystems in the high Himalayas: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837719315819

Disasters in Himachal and Uttarakhand point to flawed development model: https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/disasters-in-himachal-pradesh-and-uttarakhand-point-to-flawed-development-model-himalayan-states-indigenous-communities-excluded/article67306462.ece

India's flawed development model leading to disasters in the Himalayas: https://janataweekly.org/indias-flawed-development-model-leading-to-disasters-in-the-himalayas-3-articles/

A mission without a Himalayan vision: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392964158_A_Mission_Without_a_Himalayan_Vision

Video interview with Manshi on the 2025 disaster in Himachal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbFf5WBmVAY

Tunnels as "temples" of New India: https://repository.nls.ac.in/nlsj/vol17/iss1/1/

Making a molehill out of a mountain (Video interview with Azim Premji University): https://www.youtube.com/live/q5_Zqa4HJmc

Eroding people power -- a Himalayan village struggles to assert its forest rights: https://caravanmagazine.in/lede/himalayan-villages-struggle-assert-forest-rights

Conversations on reimagining Pahari futures: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00856401.2025.2518726

Evolution of the Forest Rights Act: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336898561_Evolution_of_the_Forest_Rights_Act_A_Historcial_Perspective

A collection of Manshi's writings in the Economic & Political Weekly: https://www.epw.in/author/manshi-asher

A collection of Manshi's writings from The Wire: https://science.thewire.in/author/manshi-asher/

People in the Himalayas need environmental justice, not sermons: https://thewire.in/environment/people-in-the-mountains-need-disaster-justice-not-sermons-on-environmentalism

Himalayan hydropower is not a green alternative: https://dialogue.earth/en/climate/opinion-himalayan-hydropower-is-not-a-green-alternative/

Keep environmental justice at the core -- an in-depth interview with Manshi: https://questionofcities.org/keep-environmental-justice-at-the-core-not-mere-environmentalism/

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Prem & Arati look back at episodes, pulling out key issues from each.

10:14: Pranay Lal:    • From The Marginlands Ep4 Ft PranayLal 

16:46: S Vishwanath :    • From The Marginlands E5 Ft Vishwanath (Zen... 

24:02: Yuvan Aves :     • From The Marginlands Ep 6: Ft. Yuvan Aves 

31:14: Dr Roxy Koll:    • From The Marginlands Episode 9: Dr Roxy Koll 

38:04: Pradip Krishen:    • Busting The Afforestation Myth: From The M... 

45:20: Abi Vanak:    • The Truth About "Wastelands" & Dogs | Dise... 

51:12: Pankaj Sekhsaria & M Rajshekhar:    • So what is going on in Great Nicobar? 

58:36: Book recco: One Day Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad: https://www.amazon.in/Everyone-Will-H...

1:03:29: Nachiket Kelkar:    • How are the Ganga Dolphins Doing? Ft. Nach... 

1:09:55 :

Paul Salopek:    • From the Marginlands with Prem & Arati, Ep... 

Nilanjana Roy:    • From The Marginlands: Ep2 Ft.  Nilanjana Roy 

Telling Slow Stories:    • From The Marginlands: Ep2 Ft.  Nilanjana Roy 

Julie Winokur & Ed Kashi:    • Abridged: Stories For Change -- Ep 13 Ed K... 

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Nachiket Kelkar, Head of Riverine Ecosystems and Livelihoods at the Wildlife Conservation Trust, shares his experiences and insights on the Ganges River, particularly focusing on the ecological changes observed in Bihar over the years. 

Kelkar takes us into the multifaceted challenges and cultural dynamics surrounding the Ganges River dolphin and the fisher folk communities in India. It explores the socio-economic transitions of fisher folk, the unique characteristics of the Ganges River dolphin, and the implications of conservation projects like Project Dolphin. 

Show Notes: 
MC Elsa3 Sinking — Latest News: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/ship-wreck-off-the-kerala-coast-in-may-led-to-significant-ecological-disruption-report/article70071493.ece

Who is Nachiket Kelkar — https://www.linkedin.com/in/nachiket-kelkar-59975213/ https://www.wildlifeconservationtrust.org/about-us/team-2/

Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramshila_Gangetic_Dolphin_Sanctuary

Bhagalpur Blindings case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Bhagalpur_blindings 

How India moves: Bhagalpur, Bihar’s third-largest city, wants to be ‘Smart’. But pollution and gridlock prevent that https://www.downtoearth.org.in/air/how-india-moves-bhagalpur-bihars-third-largest-city-wants-to-be-smart-but-pollution-and-gridlock-prevent-that 

Identifying potential causes of fish declines through local ecological knowledge of fishers in the Ganga River, eastern Bihar, India: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12390 

What are Schedule 1 Species — IUCN CITES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_species_protected_by_CITES_Appendix_I 

Panidari system and the nature of fisheries: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ghazala-Shahabuddin/publication/265440866_Nature_Without_Borders/links/5eabf720299bf18b958a94ac/Nature-Without-Borders.pdf#page=76 

Ganga Mukti Andolan 1991: https://sandrp.in/2025/04/29/relevance-of-ganga-mukti-andolan-then-and-now/ 

Thirsty Rivers, Bygone Fishes, Hungry Societies: https://sandrp.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/thirsty_rivers_bygone_fishes_hungry_societies_nachiket_kelkar_dec2012.pdf 

Arati’s article on the effects of the Farakka Barrage on the river: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/in-the-shifting-embrace-of-the-ganga/

Hilsa recovery ranching and ladders: Challenges abound to conserve the popular hilsa fish https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/challenges-abound-to-conserve-the-popular-hilsa-fish/ 

Franciscana Dolphin of Brasil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Plata_dolphin 
Turtle hunting: https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/tracking-critically-endangered-turtles-in-the-ganges/ 


Platanista gangetica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_river_dolphin 

Baiji: 1:36:48 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiji 

Book on the extinction of the Baiji: Witness to Extinction: How we Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin: https://www.amazon.in/Witness-Extinction-Failed-Yangtze-Dolphin-ebook/dp/B003N2P44Y 

First human caused extinction of a cetacean: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2391192/ 
Yangtze Finless Porpoise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_finless_porpoise 

Indus River dolphin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_river_dolphin Now virtually extinct in India

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This conversation delves into the Great Nicobar Project, a massive infrastructure initiative at the southern end of the Nicobar Islands, focusing on its economic viability, ecological impact, and the implications for indigenous communities. Pankaj Sekhsaria and M Rajshekhar break down and analyze the project, which includes a transshipment terminal, airport, and township, raises significant concerns regarding ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA0teTB0msU for detailed Show notes

Pankaj Sekhsaria: https://www.instagram.com/pankajsekhsaria/
Pankaj Sekhsaria: https://x.com/pankajsekh
M Rajshekhar: https://x.com/mrajshekhar

Overview of the Great Nicobar project:
The Great Nicobar Betrayal (curated essays by Pankaj Sekhsaria), the foundational book on the subject: https://www.amazon.in/Nicobar-Betrayal-Paperback-Pankaj-Sekhsaria/dp/9393875863/ 

and TR Shankar Raman's extensive review for Mongabay: https://india.mongabay.com/2024/08/book-review-chronicle-of-an-ecocide-foretold/

The Great Nicobar project: A costly miscalculation? by M Rajshekhar for Frontline: https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/great-nicobar-project-campbell-bay-transshipment-terminal-galathea-bay-infrastructure-project/article69159231.ece and 

Frontline issue dedicated to the Great Nicobar Project: https://frontline.thehindu.com/current-issue/article69207368.ece

India’s plans to ‘develop’ Great Nicobar island threatens its unique wildlife and indigenous peoples, by Sohel Sarkar: https://therevelator.org/great-nicobar-island/

Let's talk about the Great Nicobar Project, a Frontline podcast featuring Pankaj Sekhsaria and M Rajshekhar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJjplULyl1c

Pankaj Sekhsaria on India's Great Nicobar misadventure for Himal Southasian (video): https://youtu.be/Z5MDOZB_VTw?si=FRbA-8W69uoo2jRK

Great Nicobar project could destroy the island, by M Rajshekhar for Time magazine: https://time.com/7316182/modi-destroy-great-nicobar-island/
The crisis of Great Nicobar, a video feature: https://youtu.be/9BEEjI6dkVs?si=VxyRnM6VhThjjKnn

Great Nicobar Island Development Project — Wikipedia entry for basic facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Nicobar_Island_Development_Project

Economics of the project
Great Nicobar port clears paperwork, but will money follow? by M Rajshekhar for Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/et-commentary/great-nicobar-port-clears-paperwork-but-will-money-follow/articleshow/120213450.cms 

In Nicobar, ecology loses out, but who receives a windfall?, by Pankaj Sekhsaria, Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/in-nicobar-ecology-loses-out-but-who-receives-a-windfall-101741700135419.html

Great Nicobar gamble, risk it? by M Rajshekhar in the Economic Times: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2025/apr/12/satet-edit/great-nicobar-gamble-risk-it/articleshow/120217586.cms


Environmental / Social / Ecological Costs
Great Nicobar: Greenwashing a catastrophe, by T R Shankar Raman and Rohan Arthur: https://shankarraman.in/2025/05/22/great-nicobar-greenwashing-a-catastrophe/

The human cost of misgovernance in the Andamans by M Rajshekhar for The News Minute: https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/tnm-investigation-the-human-cost-of-misgovernance-in-the-andamans

On the biodiversity trail in Great Nicobar by M Rajshekhar: https://mrajshekhar.in/2025/02/13/pain-and-rapture-in-great-nicobar/

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Photojournalist Ed Kashi and documentary filmmaker Julie Winokur have spent decades telling urgent, human stories — from climate injustice to ageing, migration, and forgotten coastlines. In this episode of From the Marginlands, Arati and Prem talk to them about the art of long-form storytelling, the patience it demands, and why bearing witness matters now more than ever.

Show Notes:
Ed Kashi's website: https://www.edkashi.com/

Julie Winokur's Talking Eyes website: https://talkingeyesmedia.org/ 

0:37: About the award-winning The Sacrifice Zone: https://talkingeyesmedia.org/documentary/the-sacrifice-zone

2:09: Our first podcast with two-time Pulitzer winner Paul Salopek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_xqxD5splo&t=5s

2:18: Our podcast with author Nilanjana Roy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0L6GIJXs3k&t=4379s

2:53: About Ed Kashi: https://www.edkashi.com/about

3:47: Curse of the Black Gold, Ed Kashi's book on the Niger delta: https://www.amazon.in/Curse-Black-Gold-Years-Niger/dp/1576875474/

3: 59: Ageing in America by Ed Kashi: https://www.edkashi.com/books/aging-in-america and trailer: https://talkingeyesmedia.org/documentary/aging-in-america

4:49: Bring It To The Table, a Julie Winokur documentary: https://talkingeyesmedia.org/documentary/bring-it-to-the-table and https://bringit2thetable.org/learn-more#concept and a short Vimeo video: https://vimeo.com/channels/bringit2thetable/213743985?

5:00: Newest Americans, by Julie Winokur: https://talkingeyesmedia.org/documentary/newest-americans

12:21: Ed Kashi for National Geographic on life as a photojournalist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFYobvn8wlE

12:41: When The Borders Bleed, Ed Kashi with a Christopher Hitchens intro: https://www.edkashi.com/books/when-the-borders-bleed-the-struggle-of-the-kurds

13:57: A Chat With The Kashis, National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/a-chat-with-the-kashis-a-photojournalism-family-juggles-chaos-and-calm

15:35: On Imogene Cunningham: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imogen_Cunningham

16:42: Ward 81, by Mary Ellen Mark: https://www.maryellenmark.com/books/ward-81-voices

18:37: Alive and Dead, Ed and Julie's work from Cairo's City of the Dead: https://talkingeyesmedia.org/blog/city-of-the-dead

35:58: Newest Americans by Ed and Julie with Tim Raphael: https://newestamericans.com/ 

1:04:04: Sheila and Joe, a film about love that transcends prison bars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mL7FaRDJRw and https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2021/04/03/981437100/video-when-love-transcends-prison-a-couple-finds-each-other-through-letters

1:29:06: Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia: https://archive.org/details/empiresofindusst0000albi_b2t4/mode/2up and an extract: https://www.alicealbinia.co.uk/books/empires-of-the-indus/empires-of-the-indus-extract

EOM

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In this episode, Dr. Abi Tamim Vanak discusses the misclassification of vital ecosystems as "wastelands" in India. Championing the importance of recognizing Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs), and the role of pastoralists in managing these landscapes, he emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. Through the One Health approach he highlights the need for adaptive governance in policy-making. The conversation also touches on zoonotic diseases and the challenges faced in bridging the gap between scientific research and policy implementation.

Extensive show notes with links here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPddaNZP8So&t=3s 

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In this episode, featuring ecologist Pradip Krishen, Prem and Arati explore the restoration of ecosystems. Pradip shares his journey and insights into the importance of native plants, observation, and community involvement in restoration efforts. The discussion highlights the challenges faced in restoration projects, the impact of government policies, and the need for ecological literacy among the public. The episode emphasizes that restoration goes well beyond a "tree planting project" -- it is a relationship with the land, requiring patience and a deep understanding of local ecologies.

Pradip Krishen Books:

Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide https://www.amazon.in/Trees-Delhi-Fie...
Jungle Trees of Central India: https://www.amazon.in/Jungle-Trees-Ce...

Pradip Krishen movies:

Massey Sahib: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massey_...

In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Whic...

Electric Moon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electri...

Show Notes:

5:03: A Scroll interview where Pradip talks of his beginnings, and much else:

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