Education
Orphaned at two years of age, Dharmakumarsinhji studied under an English tutor before attending Rajkumar College in Rajkot.
Orphaned at two years of age, Dharmakumarsinhji studied under an English tutor before attending Rajkumar College in Rajkot.
Dharmakumarsinhji had interests and talents in a variety of fields. He was a pioneer of wildlife photography in India as well as an amateur painter, winning awards in both fields. In his youth he was an enthusiastic hunter, a collector of birds’ eggs, and also a falconer who kept an extensive collection of falcons.
His interest in birds led him to undertake field studies of the great Indian bustard and lesser florican.
In 1950 the Indian Government appointed him to survey five states – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab and make recommendations on suitable areas to be declared national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
Over the next three decades he held several conservation-oriented government positions, among which he was India’s first Honorary Wildlife Warden, Vice Chairman of the Indian Board for Wildlife, and a member of the Rajasthan and Gujarat Wildlife Advisory Boards.
