India’s eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil died on January 7. He was 83. His son Siddhartha Gadgil announced the death through a message to all those who had known and worked with Gadgil. His wife, Sulochana Gadgil, had predeceased him in July 2025.
Gadgil died in his home city Pune in Maharashtra. He had done his Bachelor’s from Fergusson College in Pune and Master’s from Mumbai University. He went to Harvard for his PhD on mathematical ecology and fish behaviour.
However, Gadgil did not restrict himself to being a purist academic, but also wanted to learn from the field and use his knowledge for the benefit of people and communities. His initial work involved the studying of sacred groves in the Western Ghats, after which he moved to studying forest and environment policies. In more recent years, he had become widely known for chairing a panel on the conservation of the Western Ghats.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), former environment minister Jairam Ramesh described Gadgil as a “top-notch academic scientist, a tireless field researcher, a pioneering institution builder, a great communicator, a firm believer in people’s networks and movements, and a friend, philosopher and guide to many for over five decades.”
Historian Ramachandra Guha, who had co-authored two books…
Source: Madhav Gadgil (1942-2026): A scientist who instituted ecology studies and conservation
