GURU GHASIDAS-TAMOR PINGLA TIGER RESERVE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: The Chhattisgarh government has announced the establishment of a new tiger reserve, named Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve. 

Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve

• Location: It is located in the northern part of the state Chhattisgarh, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• Area: It is spread across the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh.
• Fauna: This area is home to various mammal species, including tigers, leopards, hyenas, jackals, wolves, sloth bears, barking deer, chinkara, and chital.
• Rivers: It serves as the origin of significant rivers such as Hasdeo Gopad and Baranga and a catchment area for rivers like Neur, Bijadhur, Banas, Rehand, and numerous smaller rivers and rivulets.
• Reserve Status: This will be the fourth Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, after the Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar, and Indravati Reserves.
• Guru Ghasidas National Park: It connects Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh and provides a corridor for tigers to move between the Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserves.
• Historical Context: It was originally part of the Sanjay Dubri National Park; Guru Ghasidas Park was created as a separate entity in Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja region after the formation of the state in 2001.

Guru Ghasidas: He was the Guru of the Satnam Dharma, a Satnami Saint and a great Scholar from Chhattisgarh in the early 19th century. It was Guru Ghasidas who started preaching in a deep forested part of Chhattisgarh.

• He is the founder of the Satnami community in Chhattisgarh and also Satnam religion.
• During his lifetime, the political atmosphere in India was one of exploitation. Ghasidas experienced the evils of the caste system in the early age, which helped him to understand the social dynamics in a caste-ridden society and rejecting social inequality.