‘वो पूछता है कि गालिब कौन था? कोई बतलाओ कि हम बतलाएं क्या?’ 

Whenever someone asks me for an introduction, I often find it challenging — sometimes even awkward — to describe myself. My simplest answer is usually, “I am a conservationist.” Depending on the situation, I may add: “environmental activist,” “doing scientific research,” “I work mainly on legal and policy issues around conservation,” “natural history photography,” “produced some documentaries,” or “write on environmental conflicts.”

But there is much more to me than these labels. Only my journey truly defines who I am. So here I am — summarising my educational qualifications, my professional journey, and a little bit about my personal life.

Summary of my educational qualification

Born into a Bengali family from Kolkata, I was brought to Delhi around 1995. Most of my schooling (from Class IV onwards) was at Raisina Bengali Senior Secondary School, Chittaranjan Park. I completed my higher secondary education in science with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology in 2006. Thereafter, I completed my B.Sc. (Honours) in Zoology from Acharya Narendra Dev College (ANDC), a premier science institute under the University of Delhi. Determined to pursue a career in conservation, I subsequently completed a three-year M.Sc. (Tech.) programme in Environmental Science at Banaras Hindu University.

Leadership Experiences in Early Student Life

I have always believed that rational thinking and knowledge are the foundations of social transformation, and this belief drew me into school eco-club activities from Class VIII onwards. My early contributions included writing essays, poems, plays, and creating paintings for environmental awareness at school events.

However, the environmentalist in me truly took shape in the Zoology Department of ANDC. During my three years at ANDC, I was fortunate to be mentored by exceptional teachers and was given opportunities not only to engage in scientific research but also to explore my long-buried social skills.

In my second year of undergraduate studies, I was elected Secretary of the Zoological Society. I was also determined to revive the college’s Ecology Society — Paritantra — and began volunteering with it. Soon after, I was elected President of the Ecology Society. This experience allowed me to explore my leadership abilities and understand the scale of impact one can bring when placed in responsible positions.

I tried to use these opportunities to the fullest. Under our collective effort, Paritantra was able to engage with communities outside the campus for the first time. Two initiatives remain most memorable. First, working with the housing settlements adjacent to the college ground to persuade them to stop dumping waste on the field — an issue the college had long struggled with. Second, leading efforts to protect a wetland in Badarpur from being drained.

I received immense support from Dr Savithri Singh, Principal of ANDC, who helped me transform from a shy, introverted, and under-confident boy into someone who understood his potential. I was also fortunate to be nurtured by two remarkable scientists, Dr Ram Kumar and Dr Sarita Kumar, during and beyond my college years.

In 2008–09, during my final year, I also contested the college student elections for the position of Mayor (equivalent to ‘President’, as ANDC had a student council rather than a union). I was elected unopposed after the other two contestants — Bhavna Joshi and Anmol Bagga — extended their unconditional support.

The transformation from a Student Leader to an Activist

I was selected for the M.Sc. (Tech.) Environmental Science and Technology programme at Banaras Hindu University, a three-year course based at the University’s South Campus in Mirzapur district. My stay in Mirzapur between 2009 and 2012 proved to be a turning point in my life and equipped me with the skills and training that shaped me as an activist.

In 2009, I started an initiative called The Green Militia (TGM), which achieved significant success but did not sit well with my course coordinator and the University administration, as such student-led initiatives were unprecedented. I was forced to discontinue TGM completely in the following semester in 2010, and several controversies followed thereafter.

With no internet (this was the period when 3G services were just being rolled out, and our campus had extremely poor mobile connectivity) and limited electricity, my only meaningful option was to explore the forests and villages around me. I bought a small digital camera (a Fujifilm S1500) and devoted myself entirely to exploring the woods and hills of Mirzapur. For two semesters, every day after classes, I would carry my tripod and camera and set off alone to study the forests, wildlife, and local communities.
This immersion brought me closer to nature and deepened my understanding of how ecosystems function. It was during this time that I rediscovered myself and felt a renewed motivation to do something meaningful for the environment.

My fifth and sixth semesters in 2011–2012 involved minimal classroom teaching, as we were required to undertake internships and research projects. I returned to Delhi and interned at Toxics Link for five months. During this period, I also produced a 30-minute documentary film titled ‘Vindhyan Scourge’, focusing on Mirzapur’s environmental and socio-economic challenges. It was entirely self-produced — filmed during my time in Mirzapur, edited on a personal computer, and narrated in my own voice. The documentary was well received by academics and screened by several institutions. My growing interest in environmental filmmaking also led me to intern with the CMS Vatavaran International Film Festival in 2011.

Around the same time, the University’s Vice-Chancellor changed, and Padma Shri Dr Lalji Singh replaced Dr D.P. Singh. A scientist of international repute, Dr Lalji was also a remarkably effective administrator with a nuanced understanding of university dynamics.

In 2011, I applied for a fellowship under the Environment Equity and Justice Partnership (EEJP) with a proposal to make the BHU South Campus a zero-waste campus and phase out polythene. This work would form part of my final semester research project. I received the fellowship in December 2011 and returned to RGSC in January 2012.

In January 2012, I registered a trust with Shiv Kumar Upadhyaya (a senior journalist from Mirzapur) and Ajai Swamee (my senior at BHU), under the name Vindhyan Ecology and Natural History Foundation (VENHF). Through this, we launched two campaigns:

• Vindhya Bachao Abhiyan — a people’s movement to protect the wilderness of Mirzapur; and
• Eco-1, a student wing focused entirely on environmental issues at BHU.

Within a few months, both Eco-1 and Vindhya Bachao gained immense popularity and public support. Eco-1 attracted around four hundred volunteers and organised several campaigns and cleanliness drives at the waterfalls of Mirzapur. Vindhya Bachao, meanwhile, brought together scientists, journalists, and lawyers to work collectively for the protection of Mirzapur’s forests and wildlife. While Vindhya Bachao continued under the VENHF trust, Eco-1 was independently managed by students of RGSC and remained active until the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Environmentalism since 2012

Soon after my graduation in 2012, I joined the Science Express – Biodiversity Special (SEBS), an exhibition train owned by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and managed by the Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre. I received formal training as a Science Communicator at the Vikram Sarabhai Centre for Development Interaction and the Centre for Environment Education, and later spent eight months travelling across the country as part of the SEBS team. The experience allowed me to interact with people in diverse states, understand regional perspectives, and observe India’s environmental realities first-hand.

We also had the unique opportunity to spend two weeks at the Conference of Parties (COP) summit in Hyderabad. Towards the end of our expedition on the Indian Railways network, I produced a documentary titled ‘What Makes Science Express Biodiversity Special’, which was screened at SEBS’s valediction ceremony. During this engagement, I received invaluable mentorship from Dr Chander Mohan (Ministry of Science and Technology), a fine bureaucrat and visionary.

After concluding my contract for the fifth phase of SEBS, I returned to Mirzapur in 2013, only to discover that a mega thermal power plant was being proposed in the forests of Madihan. Activists opposing the project informed me about how land had been acquired illegally for it. Coming from a science background and a humble upbringing, I had always been apprehensive about matters of law. Nonetheless, I shared the situation with my mentors, seeking advice and support.

On the recommendation of my long-time mentor Dr Faiyaz Khudsar (Scientist-in-Charge, Yamuna Biodiversity Park), I joined the Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) in March 2013, run by lawyers Ritwick Dutta and Rahul Chaudhary. At LIFE, I learnt how to combine science with law to protect the environment. Over my thirteen months there, I must have critiqued at least a hundred Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports and assisted in numerous environmental litigations. I also travelled to places such as Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Nepal for evidence-gathering in environmental disputes. I left LIFE in April 2014 to pursue personal commitments in Mirzapur.

I continued following up on the Mirzapur Thermal Power Plant issue, writing representations to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and encouraging others to do the same. However, shortly after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the project — now owned by Adani — received final Environmental Clearance in August 2014. With the assistance of my former colleague and friend Advocate Parul Gupta, I challenged the clearance before the National Green Tribunal (NGT). She argued the matter on my behalf, and in December 2016 the NGT quashed the Environmental Clearance, describing the entire process as “tainted.”

Between 2014 and 2016, I filed several other cases, including those concerning the Kanhar Dam (Sonbhadra), the Karchhana Thermal Power Plant (Allahabad), and a compensation case relating to pollution of the River Ganga. I was also involved in negotiations with the World Bank to halt funding for the ‘National Waterway-1 Redevelopment Project’ on the Ganga, under the leadership of Dr Bharat Jhunjhunwala, a distinguished economist and influential river activist from Uttarakhand. During this period, I had the opportunity to work closely with seasoned social activists such as Vimal Bhai, Om Dutt Singh, Maheshanand Bhai, and Ram Dhiraj. Through them, I also briefly interacted with and learnt from well-known environmentalists including Rajendra Singh, Sandeep Pandey, and Medha Patkar.

While actively engaged in activism, I also continued working for wildlife conservation in Mirzapur. In 2015, I received financial support under the Small Grants Programme of WWF-India to conduct a survey on sloth bears in the district. I completed the survey in 2016, and in 2017 published “Sloth Bears of Mirzapur”, the first scientific wildlife research publication for the district. The report not only brought recognition to Mirzapur’s biodiversity but also to the work of Vindhya Bachao.
This was followed in 2018 by a more comprehensive camera-trap survey documenting wildlife and supporting the Forest Department’s proposal to declare three forest ranges as a Conservation Reserve.

Working at Vidhi

I realised that activism alone would not be enough unless we also worked towards bringing systemic change. A friend introduced me to the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a policy research think tank founded by young, passionate lawyers from Oxford University with the mission of improving laws and legal governance in India.

In March 2016, I joined the team of Dr Dhvani Mehta, a Rhodes Scholar pursuing her DPhil at Oxford on environmental law, who was then leading Vidhi’s work on Public Health and Environmental Justice. The team was later renamed Vidhi Aid, with a focus on health, education, and the environment.

At Vidhi, I had the opportunity to meet, work with, and learn from some of the finest legal scholars in the country. This exposure helped me understand the processes of law-making and how evidence-based research can be used to strengthen environmental governance.

In 2019, I was assigned a project titled ‘Courting the Environment’ — a research initiative evaluating the implementation of environmental judgments across India. As part of this project, we also produced a series of five documentary films. In 2021, Vidhi’s Research Director Arghya Sengupta and Dr Dhvani Mehta encouraged me to develop a dedicated research vertical on conservation law at Vidhi, which we named Climate & Ecosystems.

During this period, I also conceptualised and launched ‘The Green Mandate’, an immensely popular talk series aimed at facilitating in-depth conversations on contemporary conservation issues and fostering informed public discourse on the legal and policy dimensions of environmental protection.

My Hobbies

I have loved photography since my school days. I used to borrow analogue cameras from friends on special occasions and would eagerly take family portraits. In 2004, I first realised my inclination towards nature photography during a visit to Uttarakhand, when someone lent me a camera and I bought two rolls of film to spend time photographing the forests.

My passion for photography continued through college, especially during field trips for research work, where I used a Sony camera borrowed from one of my teachers and a Canon camera issued by the college. I bought my first personal camera in 2010 — a Fujifilm S1500, which had a 10x optical zoom and could record SD-quality films. I used it extensively during my stay in Mirzapur (including shooting for Vindhyan Scourge) and afterwards, even though the camera suffered physical damage more than once.

In 2014, I upgraded to a Sony HX400V, which had a 50x optical zoom, in-built GPS, and much better video recording capabilities. It travelled with me on all my research and field visits. Despite enduring several physical hits and accidents, it continued to serve me faithfully until 2019, when its lens motor finally began to malfunction.

There was a time when I was a voracious reader who could finish books within a day or two. However, due to my legal activism, almost 99% of my reading is now limited to issue-based articles and research papers, rather than novels or fiction. Still, I try to pick up books when strongly recommended by friends. In recent times, I particularly enjoyed reading Sapiens, The Great Derangement, and The Nature’s Trust — books I recommend to every environmentalist. I also enjoy writing whenever I find time outside my activism. Some of my articles published in popular media can be read here.

Another long-standing passion of mine is watching films, a hobby I developed during my school years. Although I enjoy films from across the world and in various languages, Indian cinema remains closest to my heart. Satyajit Ray and Guru Dutt are my all-time favourite Indian directors. Some of my favourite films include Pyaasa, Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (both by Guru Dutt), the Goopi Gayne Bagha Bayne series (Satyajit Ray), Aankhon Dekhi (Rajat Kapoor), Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (Dibakar Banerjee), Hungama (Priyadarshan), Hunterrr (Harshavardhan Kulkarni), and Gangs of Wasseypur (Anurag Kashyap), to name a few. In recent years, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the web series Scam 1991, Mirzapur, Asur, and Maharani. If I had not become a conservationist, I would certainly have pursued filmmaking as a career. I have also made and produced a few documentary films, which can be accessed here.

I enjoy reading about innovative technologies and learning new software. I learnt web designing using Joomla and WordPress in 2012, and since then I have designed hundreds of websites to support my activism. Since 2016, I have stopped taking on commercial projects and now use my web design skills solely for pro bono support to environmental campaigns.

In mid-2017, I also developed an interest in stock market trading. Since then, I have been investing in mutual funds, debt instruments, and a diversified portfolio of shares. I spent considerable time and resources learning fundamental analysis of stocks, technical analysis of chart and making best use of trading applications from some well-known market experts. Although I never pursued it professionally, I use it as a way of managing my savings and occasionally train friends and family members and have a quite decent CAGR to boast myself.

Awards & Recognitions

I have been fortunate to receive recognition for my work on several occasions. Such acknowledgements are important because they keep one motivated, help in understanding the impact of one’s efforts, and, most importantly, offer reassurance that the work is moving in the right direction.

One of the most memorable moments of recognition came in December 2019, when I received the prestigious Sanctuary Wildlife Service Award 2019 at the Tata Theatre in Mumbai. In September 2020, I was also interviewed by GQ Magazine and featured as the “Bear Keeper of Mirzapur.” In 2024, The Better India also featured me among “8 Indian Heroes Working to Save Endangered Species.”

My work has been quoted in numerous national and international newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Science, and most leading media outlets in India. [Click here to see a complete list of media mentions]