These kids know it and now they want their elders to be as aware. 'Tigers are dying. Save them, save the natural water resources - save yourself,' they say

As we embark on a new journey of re-discovering the path once treaded by India's tigers, I feel a sense of guilt, trepidation and responsibility. There has never been a time so important and neither any message as urgent as SAVE THE TIGER!

It is typical human nature to remain passive till thrust into becoming active. Precisely due to this India's tigers remain elusive in our forests. As long as the movement to save the tiger does not become a mass movement, we will never be successful.

In the recent few days, the jungles of Sariska, Kanha, and Ranthambhore have come under extreme scrutiny. It is pitiful that only after the damage takes place, do we react to the call of the wild.

In the past, tiger conservation gained importance. In 1972, when Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, launched PROJECT TIGER, the number of tigers gradually increased. But over the last decade, the number has sharply declined due to the politicisation and inefficiency of the bureaucracy. It is appaling to see the forest guards in a pitiful state in some of India's best jungles. No one complained, nothing was done.

Poaching is also on the rise. Human greed for more space infringes upon the rightful area of the tiger, causing them to come into contact with humans and thereby increasing the man-animal conflict.

Thus, we are the tiger's culprits in the garb of victims. The lack of public interest in deciding the tiger's fate makes me livid.

It is only a handful that responded to the call of the tiger. Equate tiger defenders to army men who are fighting an urgent battle to save the tiger and with it, India's natural environment and identity.

They need your help. Only an awakened public conscience would make the government sit up and take notice.

As the PM embarks on his tour to unfold the mystery surrounding Sariska, I feel greatly vindicated. All the years of slogan chanting did pay off. As Jawahar Lal Nehru said, "not wholly or in full measure but very substantially. A time comes when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance... at the stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom..."

Tigers are endangered. How many times have we heard that? May be about a zillion. And what have we done about it? Just raised some concerns sitting in the drawing rooms or bars over a cool glass of drink, and have forgotten about it. It is now well known that 1500 tigers have been poached in India in the last 10 years. The Indian tiger may well become extinct from the wild in the next 15 years at this rate. If this isn't a cry for help, what else will be?

In India, many ill-informed, ignorant people are often fed with fables of tiger killing men for pleasure, thus justifying the poaching of tiger in their interest. This idea has been passed from one generation to another for years.

However, clarifications here are important. A tiger is a solitary animal. They mark their territory with different scents, which in turn warn the other tigers to know that the area is occupied. It is only when the tigers feel insecure about humans invading their territory, that they tend to attack.

Tigers cannot speak or cry for help. Yet their condition in the wildlife seems to have a language of their own. The tiger is very important to us. We humans are alive because of them. And how? It is because of the tigers that our forests are intact as they keep the herbivorous population in balance. Because of the forests acting like a sponge, we humans get water through rain. And who can live without water? To save the tiger, we can start by doing something as small as saving water and electricity, so that the forest lives and so does the tiger.

The disappearance of tigers in Sariska caught everyone's attention. It was shocking to see Sariska, a wildlife sanctuary supported by Project Tiger, tiger less. It finally opened the eyes of common people to the fact that the tiger is truly in need of help and we have to do something about it. We have to take a step forward and stop the indiscriminate and painful killing of the tiger. We, the common people, have to understand the state of the tiger in the forest and put our hands forward to help it.

Help! Yes help the tigers. The tigers are dying and all we are doing is watch them die. If we as little children know this, how come adults don't? We are sad and upset when we read the paper every day. It seems that nobody cares about them. Not even the big politicians. The tiger is one of the most beautiful animals in the world. We are lucky that it is our national animal and India is it's natural habitat. India is our country and we are proud of its rich and varied heritage. Should our elders not protect this heritage for us? Or should they destroy India's natural beauty and leave nothing for our future? Do you know why we need to save the tiger?

(a) If it is killed at this rate, in another five years there will be no tigers left.

(b) When we save the tiger we save the forest, thus saving water. Our country can't progress without water. Forests hold the extra rainwater for our dry months! This is how we get water in our taps today. So the tiger is not only connected with saving the forest but also with saving water and the ecological System. We once had an experience in the Corbett National Park where my family and I were on elephant back and we got surrounded by not one, not two, but four tigers! Understandably, we were all trembling with fear and even the mighty elephant was shaking like a leaf. It was an incredible experience and we all realised we were insignificant compared to this magnificent animal. We can hold it, control it, trap it and kill it only by using unfair means. If we were to stand face to face with the tiger, in his territory, we would be no match for him.

The time has come for us to stop cheating nature. Nature is not ours to destroy.