Life After The Indian Hunting Ban

[Ridgewalker]

Sir, I believe everyone has already said everything, so thank you once again for sharing your life and knowledge of a grand era! Peace be with you.
Phil

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Sir, I believe everyone has already said everything, so thank you once again for sharing your life and knowledge of a grand era! Peace be with you.
Phil

Ridge Walker
Thank you so much for your kind words and support.

 

[1dirthawker]

Mr Rahman,

this might sound silly to you, but reading your story above reminded me much of a tale written by jim corbett, a flash back to the past. your stories of course not only have the ring of truth to them, but a certain amount of anguish and loss of your homeland and also friends and family. it sounds like you have adjusted well, i am happy for you and thankful for your willingness to share these most excellent stories. thank you,

a fan

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Mr Rahman,

this might sound silly to you, but reading your story above reminded me much of a tale written by jim corbett, a flash back to the past. your stories of course not only have the ring of truth to them, but a certain amount of anguish and loss of your homeland and also friends and family. it sounds like you have adjusted well, i am happy for you and thankful for your willingness to share these most excellent stories. thank you,

a fan

1 dirthawker
Thank you so much for your kind words. Mr. Corbett is my favorite author and childhood hero.

 

[saifattari]

Dear Mr. Rahman,
I have been on this forum for a while and although I have not posted much. I find that the wealth of information and knowledge its members have to share is truly invaluable, specially from the more experienced hunters who have with great honesty mentioned both their good and bad experiences. I have personally benefited from this multiple times, when planning the few African Safaris I have been on and even advice on buying a rifle.

I have been following your posts with great interest for some time now. Is the gentleman in the picture with the leopard you?

Regards
Attari

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Dear Mr. Rahman,
I have been on this forum for a while and although I have not posted much. I find that the wealth of information and knowledge its members have to share is truly invaluable, specially from the more experienced hunters who have with great honesty mentioned both their good and bad experiences. I have personally benefited from this multiple times, when planning the few African Safaris I have been on and even advice on buying a rifle.

I have been following your posts with great interest for some time now. Is the gentleman in the picture with the leopard you?

Regards
Attari

Attari
Thank you so much for your kind words . There are far more experienced people than me , especially those who are hunting in modern times with more advanced rifles.
Yes , l do not have any social media accounts barring this one and all photographs are either of me or taken by me containing people close to me .

 

[saifattari]

Dear Mr. Rahman,
With all due respect, I would like to bring to your notice that the photograph you claim to be your own, is in fact of an Indian school teacher Mr. Lakhpat Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand (a northern state in India & Corbett country) who happens to be a government approved hunter whos services are used from time to time to deal with man-eaters. Here is a link from an article in the Telegraph published 24.10.2018. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/a-big-cat-s-cunning-hear-it-from-her-hunter/cid/1672488

The article in the link above carries the very same photograph with a description "On September 27, Lakhpat Singh Rawat shot a 14-year-old male leopard which had mauled 10 women in Someshwar, which is in Uttarakhand’s Almora district. The old animal, unable to hunt, was attacking people in the daytime and was declared a man eater as a precaution. He was Rawat’s 51st kill."

here is a link to Lakhpat Singh Rawat google search https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...i362i39j35i39j0i131j0i67j0i131i67.d4QA6ba1C8Y

I have read many articles on Mr. Rawat in the past and the face in the photo you shared looked very familiar. A simple reverse image search confirmed my suspicion. Like this one, there are many familiar faces in some of the other photographs you have shared BUT I am going to let you explain the mix up if it is one in the first place.

Looking forward to hearing your clarification for the benefit of this entire community.

Regards
Attari

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Dear Mr. Rahman,
With all due respect, I would like to bring to your notice that the photograph you claim to be your own, is in fact of an Indian school teacher Mr. Lakhpat Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand (a northern state in India & Corbett country) who happens to be a government approved hunter whos services are used from time to time to deal with man-eaters. Here is a link from an article in the Telegraph published 24.10.2018. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/a-big-cat-s-cunning-hear-it-from-her-hunter/cid/1672488

The article in the link above carries the very same photograph with a description "On September 27, Lakhpat Singh Rawat shot a 14-year-old male leopard which had mauled 10 women in Someshwar, which is in Uttarakhand’s Almora district. The old animal, unable to hunt, was attacking people in the daytime and was declared a man eater as a precaution. He was Rawat’s 51st kill."

here is a link to Lakhpat Singh Rawat google search https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNS8KkK3cUIaSnba7TY9FW8Poo6aUg:1572630117893&source=hp&ei=ZW68Xar1M8SSwgPqhIHQBg&q=lakhpat+singh+rawat&oq=lakhpat+si&gs_l=psy-ab.3.0.0l4j0i22i30l4j0i22i10i30j0i22i30.1802.4916..6230...0.0..0.456.2217.3j4j2j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....10..35i362i39j35i39j0i131j0i67j0i131i67.d4QA6ba1C8Y

I have read many articles on Mr. Rawat in the past and the face in the photo you shared looked very familiar. A simple reverse image search confirmed my suspicion. Like this one, there are many familiar faces in some of the other photographs you have shared BUT I am going to let you explain the mix up if it is one in the first place.

Looking forward to hearing your clarification for the benefit of this entire community.

Regards
Attari

Attari
Yes , that is him . I even spoke about him in an article here titled " The Shikari who slew 81 panthers " .
And l have spoke to the site owner about this matter. I personally know him and l received permission to use this photograph as a sample which l verified to the moderators long ago . I have not claimed it to be my own , but rather all photographs to either be mine or of people that l personally know. He lives in Uttar Pradesh but has not hunted in a while . There are some photographs here taken from third parties and some taken by myself . And many of my personal photographs belong to Mr. Hoss Delgado now , a forum member here for use in his upcoming book for copyright reasons . Some used for references are taken from third parties with permission , as verified long ago . That photograph was provided by the publishers for use.
Kind regards
Sgt Kawshik Rahman ( Retd )

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Dear Mr. Rahman,
With all due respect, I would like to bring to your notice that the photograph you claim to be your own, is in fact of an Indian school teacher Mr. Lakhpat Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand (a northern state in India & Corbett country) who happens to be a government approved hunter whos services are used from time to time to deal with man-eaters. Here is a link from an article in the Telegraph published 24.10.2018. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/a-big-cat-s-cunning-hear-it-from-her-hunter/cid/1672488

The article in the link above carries the very same photograph with a description "On September 27, Lakhpat Singh Rawat shot a 14-year-old male leopard which had mauled 10 women in Someshwar, which is in Uttarakhand’s Almora district. The old animal, unable to hunt, was attacking people in the daytime and was declared a man eater as a precaution. He was Rawat’s 51st kill."

here is a link to Lakhpat Singh Rawat google search https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNS8KkK3cUIaSnba7TY9FW8Poo6aUg:1572630117893&source=hp&ei=ZW68Xar1M8SSwgPqhIHQBg&q=lakhpat+singh+rawat&oq=lakhpat+si&gs_l=psy-ab.3.0.0l4j0i22i30l4j0i22i10i30j0i22i30.1802.4916..6230...0.0..0.456.2217.3j4j2j1j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....10..35i362i39j35i39j0i131j0i67j0i131i67.d4QA6ba1C8Y

I have read many articles on Mr. Rawat in the past and the face in the photo you shared looked very familiar. A simple reverse image search confirmed my suspicion. Like this one, there are many familiar faces in some of the other photographs you have shared BUT I am going to let you explain the mix up if it is one in the first place.

Looking forward to hearing your clarification for the benefit of this entire community.

Regards
Attari

It was my suggestion , bro 46 of Mr. Rahman's personal photographs , including his 1995 leopard are with me . I am using them for my upcoming book , so l told him to use his other personal photographs here and some taken from people who gave him permission .

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

It was my suggestion , bro 46 of Mr. Rahman's personal photographs , including his 1995 leopard are with me . I am using them for my upcoming book , so l told him to use his other personal photographs here and some taken from people who gave him permission .

Hoss Delgado
Thank you so much for clarifying and explaining in better English than myself.

 

[Frederik]

Kawshik,

Thank you for sharing the much interesting reading and history love it.
Maybe you should compile it into a book of memoirs.

 

[saifattari]

Dear Sirs,
Thank you for clarifying the matter. However I am still confused with respect to the use of photographs that do not belong to the author. In multiple articles he alludes to them being of himself or people he knows. I guess what i am being told is that they are only being used as reference?

I would request Mr. Rahman for the benefit of members of this forums, please clearly mention the source of the photos and identify the people correctly if known, when posting them in his articles so that there is no confusion hence forth.

Thank you once again for your stories, look forward to reading more of them.

Regards
Attari

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Dear Sirs,
Thank you for clarifying the matter. However I am still confused with respect to the use of photographs that do not belong to the author. In multiple articles he alludes to them being of himself or people he knows. I guess what i am being told is that they are only being used as reference?

I would request Mr. Rahman for the benefit of members of this forums, please clearly mention the source of the photos and identify the people correctly if known, when posting them in his articles so that there is no confusion hence forth.

Thank you once again for your stories, look forward to reading more of them.

Regards
Attari

Attari
Thank you so much for being so quick to understand. Many of the photographs are of myself ( which are not contractually belonging to Mr. Delgado for his book ). This includes all the photographs with the Royal Bengal tigers . Some , however are merely used for reference as the original photo is to be used in Mr. Delgado's book . In my very early articles , l did not properly give the lay out of every photo , however in my more recent articles , l always strive to mention the source.
Kind regards
Sgt Kawshik Rahman ( Retd )

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Kawshik,

Thank you for sharing the much interesting reading and history love it.
Maybe you should compile it into a book of memoirs.

Frederik
Thank you so much for your kind words and support.

 

[PSRaghav]

Dear Rehman saab
I live in India and am a registered Shikari with the Forest Department. I have just started reading your post and observed quite a few discrepancies . I belong to a family of army and forest officers. My grandfather late Col Maheshwar Singh (2 Rajput) fought the Japanese in Burma during World War 2 . My uncle Brigadier Rajendra Singh (Sappers) was part of the first unit which entered Dhaka during the 1971 war and my great Granduncle Thakur J Singh was first batch of Indian Forest officers who went to Trinity College Oxford in 1921 for a course in forestry ..
Presently I am the Executive Vice President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of India . The second oldest such society in India
Indira Gandhi did ban tiger hunting in the early 1970s when Project Tiger was launched but other hunting continued till the mid 1980s.
The ban had nothing to do with being a vegetarian or drinking cow urine
But because tigers had been overhunted in their home range and would have probably gone extinct had the ban not been implemented . I have personally attended Pig Sticking events till the mid 1980s.
I find your comments towards my country rather derogatory . India is a democratic and a secular country . Infact the photo you have posted speaks volumes about my country . During the 1971 war we had a Parsi Chief of Army Staff General Manekshaw , A Sikh General Arora , A jew General Jacobs a Hindu Rajput General Sagat Singh fighting a war for the liberation of a Muslim nation .

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Dear Rehman saab
I live in India and am a registered Shikari with the Forest Department. I have just started reading your post and observed quite a few discrepancies . I belong to a family of army and forest officers. My grandfather late Col Maheshwar Singh (2 Rajput) fought the Japanese in Burma during World War 2 . My uncle Brigadier Rajendra Singh (Sappers) was part of the first unit which entered Dhaka during the 1971 war and my great Granduncle Thakur J Singh was first batch of Indian Forest officers who went to Trinity College Oxford in 1921 for a course in forestry ..
Presently I am the Executive Vice President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of India . The second oldest such society in India
Indira Gandhi did ban tiger hunting in the early 1970s when Project Tiger was launched but other hunting continued till the mid 1980s.
The ban had nothing to do with being a vegetarian or drinking cow urine
But because tigers had been overhunted in their home range and would have probably gone extinct had the ban not been implemented . I have personally attended Pig Sticking events till the mid 1980s.
I find your comments towards my country rather derogatory . India is a democratic and a secular country . Infact the photo you have posted speaks volumes about my country . During the 1971 war we had a Parsi Chief of Army Staff General Manekshaw , A Sikh General Arora , A jew General Jacobs a Hindu Rajput General Sagat Singh fighting a war for the liberation of a Muslim nation .

PSRaghav
It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance . I mean no disrespect to Hindus as l have countless Hindu friends myself . Sikhs and Rajputs have the hearts of lions and are fearless. They earn nothing but my respect. I have served alongside them in the war . I was born and lived in India myself until 1979 and l did not mean to degrade the country. That is merely how l personally feel about some things in the country based on how l observed things as they were. Tiger hunting was banned before 1971 , although leopards were still hunted until 1972 . I cannot speak of other parts of India , but in Darjeeling where l lived , all hunting infact did get stopped in 1972 .
Sgt. Kawshik Rahman ( Retd )

 

[mark-hunter]

@PSRaghav

Thank you for joining this forum, and this intersting discussion!

How would you comment on (alledged) fact, that in India in 70-ies, all privately owned imported rifles and guns have been confiscated and possibly scrapped, following hunting ban?

Probably without compensation to owners?

Second question, is more complex:
As you are registered shikari, with forest department, you will have first hand knowledge - so, how would you comment on following issues:
- status of wildlife poaching now and before hunting ban? (reduced or incresaed?)
- is poaching mainly motivated for meet, or for selling ivory, skins, tiger parts for black market?
- census of tigers now and before hunting ban (numbers steady, reduced, increasing?)
- status and cesnus of other iconic species: leopard, rhinoceros, (numbers steady, reduce, incresing?)
- overall census of wildlife (numbers steady, reduced, increasing)
- now when hunting is not permited in India, what in your opinion is the biggest threat to wildlife in your country (like: loss of habitat, deforestation, human-wildlife conflict, poaching, etc)
- in your opinion is there any chance that hunting in India can be legalised again? Is there any initiative from any party or group to eventually legalise hunting?

I was always fascinated with India, and read some books on historical hunts in india, thus your time to answer would be highly appreciated!

Many thanks!

 

[PSRaghav]

Looks like I will have to clarify alot of things here.
I have hunted in South Africa with African Sky hunting safaris more than a decade ago. I have also hunted in Argentina and England. I am one of the few regstered shikaris in Uttarakhand and have hunted with Lakhpat Singh Rawat and Joy Hukil.
While Lakhpat prefers his IOF 315 rifle
Joy has a Mannlicher
While I use a Browning 375 magnum
I had posted a snap of a man-eating leopard I shot many years ago on this forum but have not been regular
I would like to enlighten you Sir that meat is openly sold in the market here
I have Muslim and Christian friends with whom I dine regularly. We celebrate our festival together . Be it Eid, Christmas or Deewali
No one is forced to purchase IOF weapons
I am surprised Bangladesh will start import of.32 bore and 3006 now.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Looks like I will have to clarify alot of things here.
I have hunted in South Africa with African Sky hunting safaris more than a decade ago. I have also hunted in Argentina and England. I am one of the few regstered shikaris in Uttarakhand and have hunted with Lakhpat Singh Rawat and Joy Hukil.
While Lakhpat prefers his IOF 315 rifle
Joy has a Mannlicher
While I use a Browning 375 magnum
I had posted a snap of a man-eating leopard I shot many years ago on this forum but have not been regular
I would like to enlighten you Sir that meat is openly sold in the market here
I have Muslim and Christian friends with whom iIdine regards. We celebrate our festival together . Be it Did Christmas or Deewali
No one is forced to it purchase IOF weapons
I am surprised Bangladesh will start import of.32 bore and 3006 now.

PSRaghav
I have never said that meat eating is banned. Only that it is demonized .
The Mannlicher and the Browning must have been brought into the country before 1986 , l believe .

 

[PSRaghav]

The main threat for wildlife in India today is our growing human population . Fragmentation of habitat due to development projects like roads , canals , railway lines and dams . Poaching is a threat but not the main cause of depleting wildlife .
Infact with the ban on hunting wildlife in general has benefited. Most of our protected forests have shown increase in tiger number . The threat normally comes from surplus population . Older big cats moving out of protected areas and young sub adults trying to establish new territories are the ones which are more likely to fall prey to poachers. We did have Panna and Sariska where the tiger went extinct . But translocating them has brought their numbers back.
Many states in India having started issuing permits to cull wildboar and neelgai for crop protection