Indira Gandhi was a nature lover and this was evident in her pro-environment policies. She introduced the Tiger Conservation project to preserve India’s biodiversity, said veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh here on Friday.
Speaking after releasing the Kannada version of his book Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature, Mr. Ramesh said the late Prime Minister’s views on environment remained steadfast even as her political and economic stances changed.
Translated by K.E. Radhakrishna, the Kannada book titled Indira Gandhi-Prakruti Sangatya weaves Indira Gandhi’s personal, political and environmental history and narrates the compelling story of Indira Gandhi, the naturalist.
“As a politician she also gave permission to extract petroleum 40 km away from Taj Mahal, and iron ore in Kudremukh. However, she was opposed to these projects as an environmentalist,” he said.
Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court M.N. Venkatachaliah and Manu Chakravarthy, critic, spoke.
