Our Chairman Emeritus Mr Ashok Kumar turns 81 today. Ashokji, as he is fondly known to us, is a legendary figure, much feted, considered in the conservation community as the father of wildlife crime control in India. He has fought on the frontlines of wildlife conservation for over 45 years, shaping crucial policy interventions, creating and enriching important organisations, participating in undercover operations, authoring seminal articles and publications, even arguing cases before the Supreme Court.

Over the last 18 years he has also built and nurtured the Wildlife Trust of India. He has been friend and mentor, jokester and moral guide, our gaon buurha, our village elder. While he is severely ill at present, his spirit, indomitable, shines through. From all of us at WTI, Ashokji, you are a constant source of strength and inspiration.