Shikargah


Shikargah, from Persian shikārgāh meaning shikār hunting + gāh ground, is often described as a hunting ground where 'qamargah' or encircling of game occurs, an overtone of war exercise performed within a controlled arena of flora and fauna to create easier shooting and camping for hunting party.
The Mughals, who already had a hunting tradition in Central Asia, brought the practice to India upon their conquest of the subcontinent. On such occasions unresolved matters of courts were settled which included conspiration and preparation for mutinying, raising of invasion forces.
File:George_Curzon_with_his_wife_posing_with_a_hunted_Bengal_tiger,_1903.jpg|thumb|Lord Curzon Viceroy of British India
File:TigerHunt.jpg|thumb|Lord Reading Viceroy of British India
The British continued to entertain their dignitaries with elaborate tiger hunts famously known as "hunting party" at these Shikargah.

Chronicled Shikargah

Terrorizing wild beasts were often tamed by Mughals who considered themselves as protectors of people, sources record over seventy shikargahs situated in mountainous forests, deserts, Indo-Gangetic floodplains, rocky outcrops, and coastlands.
established in 1932 was first Shikargah turned into a national park during British India, only 40,000 tigers were left during India's independence in 1947, the first-ever all-India tiger census conducted in 1972 revealed the existence of only 1,827 tigers. Realizing the gravity of dwindling number of seven major big cats of the world — tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, pumas, jaguars and cheetahs, Indian Govt enacted Wild Life Act, 1972. As of December 2024, there are 58 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves., among which important tiger reserves where the numbers are more than 100 in each respectively are Uttrakhand State - Corbett and Rajaji, Uttar Pradesh State - Pilibhit and Dudhwa, Madhya Pradesh State - Bandhavgarh, Karnatka State - Nagarhole and Bandipur, Tamil Nadu State - Mudumalai, Assam State - Kaziranga, West Bengal State - Sunderbans.
Today India boasts 104 national parks, 551 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 131 Marine Protected Areas, 18 Biosphere Reserves, 88 Conservation Reserves and 127 Community Reserves, covering a total of 1,65,088.57 sq km. In total, there are 870 Protected Areas which make 5.06% of the geographical area of the country where 3,682 big cats are estimated ranking India with topmost share of 75% worldwide in 2022.

Shikargah Weave

In popular culture

In movie The Deceivers , the hunting party scene includes the phrase: "There is no greater pleasure than the hunt, for it reveals the essence of life and death." This line reflects the cultural and philosophical undertones of the film, which explores themes of deception, power, and morality in colonial India.