The Delhi High Court has stayed proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed against Sudarshan TV and its editor Suresh Chavhanke in connection with allegations that his channel made false accusations against a madrasa. The case against Chavhanke was filed by Mohammed Tufail Khan
China said on Sunday (August 23, 2026) it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon. The Chang'e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch
Canada’s Carney Puts His ‘No Deal Is Better Than a Bad Deal’ Doctrine to the Test The prime minister ’s approach has broad support from the Canadian public and his political opponents, but it isn’t without risks. Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 14:05:27 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via
A group of former cricket captains, including Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and one of England's longest-serving skippers Sir Alastair Cook, have called on Pakistan to ensure its ex-PM Imran Khan be given proper care while in custody. The cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since
Fewer than 20 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, shipping data showed on Monday (August 24, 2026), as Iranian and U.S. blockades restrict traffic through the chokepoint for energy shipments. Four vessels crossed the strait on Sunday (August 23, 2026)
Descriptions of savannahs in Marathi literature point to a deeper ecological history
It might have been just another coffee session between two researchers catching up on their work, but when Ashish Nerlekar noticed the mention of savannah specialist trees in Digvijay Patil’s historical references, the duo realised they were onto something new.
“Digvijay’s research focuses on people’s perceptions of natural environments, and he was showing me some of his references from the western Maharashtra region, when I noticed savannah-specialist or indicator trees in them. That led us to systematically study traditional literature to understand the ecological history of savannahs,” says Nerlekar, Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan State University, United States. Patil is a PhD student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at the Indian Institute of Science Education Research, Pune.
Over the next two years, they scoured through narrative poems, religious texts, myths, field notes, biographical and hagiographical accounts in the Marathi language, published between the 13th and 20th centuries CE. They found several savannah-specific landscape descriptions and mentions of flora and fauna in oral and literary references. These findings refute the popular claim that tropical savannahs are a result of anthropogenic deforestation.
The study, published in People and Nature has garnered wide attention and raised significant interest in unearthing the history of India’s savannahs.
“While previous scientific research establishes the antiquity of Asian savannahs, and researchers have long been telling the general public and policymakers that these ecosystems are ancient, the misconception continues to prevail,” Nerlekar explains. Apart from providing an appropriate window into an ecosystem’s past, traditional literature also enables spreading the message to a larger audience, the researcher shares.
The researchers focussed on seven districts for the study, namely Nashik, Ahmednagar, Pune, Solapur, Satara, Sangli, and Kolhapur, georeferencing savannah-related landscape and floral data to reconstruct the ecosystem’s evolution over time. The plants were identified and then classified as savannah indicators, forest indicators, generalists (which are found in both savannahs and forests), and cultivated species.
Based on data gathered from 28 excerpts of traditional Marathi literature, 44 wild plant species were identified, of which 27 were savannah indicators, and 14 were generalists. Trees like hivara or white bark acacia (Vachellia leucophloea), bābhūḷa or gum arabic tree (Vachellia nilotica), khaira or black catechu (Senegalia catechu), palasa or palash (Butea monosperma), and śisava or Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia), which are often found in fine-leaf and broadleaf savannahs, were commonly mentioned in these excerpts. Hivara, an endemic species found in Asian savannas, was mentioned in eight excerpts, the researchers noted.
Savannah indicator birds, such as species of partridges and bustards, and grey francolins, were also mentioned in ancient texts along with other faunal species that frequent the ecosystem.
The literature review also revealed how people interacted with these landscapes. For example, in the 16th-century narrative poem Ādiparva, an abundance of grass and thorny trees near the Baramati region (Pune district) are described.
Apart from the white bark acacia, the poem mentions trees like the khaira and babhul, indicating a savannah landscape. Although the “thorny forest” was frightening to the people, their cattle thrived by grazing on the grass and produced abundant milk, the poem elaborates.
Patil shares that acquiring these references and establishing chronology was a significant challenge that the duo faced.
“The 13th-century biography Līḷācaritra was one of the oldest texts that we included in our study. It is available in multiple critical editions, and identifying the edition suitable for our study needed some thought. As we also included oral histories, we looked for specific elements to establish chronology. In one folk song, for example, a woman talks about her māher (parental home) in Satara and mentions the rich pomegranate shrubs there. We know that pomegranate cultivation was encouraged by the Government of India in the region around three decades ago, so we can place the song in that timeline,” explains Patil. The researchers also sought the help of historians and ethnographers to untangle some of these references.
Despite the challenges, Nerlekar and Patil emphasise that the wealth of information garnered using a biocultural approach is crucial for understanding the evolution of savannah ecosystems in the country. While sacred groves have gained significant attention in this regard, a similar approach would act as a much-needed catalyst to encourage the conservation of savannahs, they add.
“Moving forward, we plan to document stories and poems from other parts of the state as well, because these are quickly fading away from existence. There is a lot of data out there,” says Nerlekar. Patil adds that the study also highlights the importance of localised environmental histories in devising appropriate conservation initiatives.
The research comes at a crucial time when tropical savannahs are threatened bymisguided afforestation initiatives, agricultural activities, and biological invasions. Nerlekar’searlier research reveals that these land-use changes drastically impact the biodiversity of savannahs, pushing some of the endemic floral species towards extinction.
The wrongful interpretation of Asian savannahs as woodlands or degraded forests and regions suitable for afforestation would lead to a 35%-40% loss of the ecosystem, according to a 2020 modelling study by the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Germany.
Simon Scheiter, Senior Scientist at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, and a co-author of the 2020 study, shares that remote sensing or site-scale data from field surveys and experiments enable the ecosystem’s evaluation, but only over the span of a few decades. “Such biocultural work and reconstruction of past vegetation states could help us go further back into time and get information on vegetation and land use history,” he adds.
Adding to the conversation, Trisha Gopalakrishna, climate change ecologist and Royal Commission 1851 research fellow, University of Bristol, shares that natural historical context for any ecosystem aids in establishing baselines, which is key for conservation.
She adds that the push towards renewable energy has led to India’s savannahs being considered for solar energy projects. Beyond the loss of biodiversity, these land-use changes also impact the pastoralist communities that depend on the ecosystems, she explains.
As climate change and anthropogenic factors further compound the threats to Asian savannahs, the researchers call for urgent measures to protect and conserve the ecosystem.
“Savannahs are driven by a complex network of interactions between vegetation types, climate disturbance, and humans. There is grass-tree competition; two vegetation types that typically exclude each other in grasslands and forests,” explains Scheiter. He adds that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, changing rainfall patterns, and drought-induced tree mortalities can influence the two vegetations, and the ecosystem at large, making it challenging to predict how savannahs would respond to climate influences.
In their study, for example, Nerlekar and Patil reveal that an increasing aridity in the region over the centuries led to a change in livestock rearing patterns from cattle and buffaloes to goats and sheep. Additionally, the elimination of lowland savannahs due to agriculture and urbanisation is also observed through the study period.
In light of these changes, mapping the extent of natural savannahs in India is important, shares Gopalakrishna.
“Having a map to show policymakers and practitioners of where savannahs are present is essential to designing any sort of protection schemes. Secondly, this might be a surprise, but we still do not clearly understand the underlying science of how natural fires and herbivory, key disturbances crucial for savannahs to function, interact with a changing climate. For example, with this knowledge, we can develop schemes to reintroduce fire and schemes detailing prescribed fire actions, mirroring those of countries like Australia and Brazil. In the same vein, developing schemes for the movement of livestock such that it supports savannah functioning is also key,” adds Gopalakrishna.
As ecologists and conservationists continue to unravel the mysteries of savannahs, Nerlekar shares that the oft-quoted adage by grassland ecologists “a grassland is not a grassland is not a grassland” holds true now more than ever.
“We must acknowledge the fact that these ecosystems are different, and while some are ancient, others are a result of deforestation and anthropogenic interference. Humans are responsible for the subsequent modification of tropical savannahs, but they are not responsible for creating them. The origins are certainly ancient and natural,” he explains.
The study has been widely reported across media post its publication, and Nerlekar hopes that this paves the way for more interdisciplinary research and spotlights the urgent need to digitise historical documents.
“While documentation is a significant constraint in India, our study shows that we still have enough to conduct interdisciplinary analysis and gain something from it. This also sets precedence to digitise documents and other forms of traditional literature. We have to take advantage of all this knowledge and drive it towards conservation,” he adds.
This article was first published on Mongabay.
Source: Scroll
Related Posts: India, savannas in western maharashtra, are savannah manmade, maharashtra grasslands, Marathi Literature, Grasslands, Ecological History, Maharashtra
India had asked the United States not to allow reporters to ask questions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France in June, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Saturday
8 hours ago
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell with the support of 20 other former international skippers appealed to the Pakistan Government led by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, to provide ‘humane treatment and proper medical care’ for Imran Khan
11 hours ago
The shock resignation of Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran earlier this month has left corporate India's top job vacant. But finding his successor will be no easy task for the country's most revered conglomerate, whose sprawling $300bn empire spans Jaguar Land Rover and Air India as well as
11 hours ago
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war. Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic's top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighbouring countries support U.S
11 hours ago
Authorities in China have launched an investigation into reports of formaldehyde being used to preserve the freshness of cabbages for human consumption. Officials in the northeastern Hebei province confirmed that they had verified footage showing individuals dipping cabbages in a solution before
11 hours ago
Three newborns died after a fire that broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati district in the early hours of Monday, PTI reported. The fire broke out at the Amravati District Women’s Hospital around 3
11 hours ago
Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Imran's party demands immediate cardiac care for him at Shifa International Hospital Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:10:49 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Islamabad
11 hours ago
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s three-day visit to New Delhi in July 2026 for the India-Japan summit appears to have elevated relations between the two Asian countries into a fresh phase of strategic expansion. Ties had already undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade
11 hours ago
How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought How well do COVID antivirals actually work? Not as well as we thought Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 11:11:50 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Sydeny, If you're aged over 70
11 hours ago
On Sunday, in a post on X, Wali said the audio contained "explosive evidence" and claimed that Brar admitted his gang had ordered Nijjar's killing, alleging that the assassination was driven by an inter-gang feud. Ottawa: Three years after NIA designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in
14 hours ago
Until recently, there would have been little to distinguish Vietnam's so-called Justice Tree from the hundreds of others lining the streets of Hanoi. Then the bouquets started piling up. It was here that former politician Nguyen Sy Cuong was driving his BMW in May last year when he veered into the
14 hours ago
Fast-fashion giant Shein says it plans to raise up to HK13.86bn (£1.3bn; $1.77bn) when its shares start trading on the Hong Kong stock market on 1 September. In a filing on Monday, Shein said it will offer nearly 280 million shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50
14 hours ago
A fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire near Reno, Nevada, has forced about 42,000 people to evacuate, while another 45,000 have been urged to prepare to leave. The Hawk Fire has burned 15,040 acres, destroyed some homes and injured six people. Officials declared a state of emergency as the blaze
14 hours ago
Former Indian diplomat Navdeep Suri has raised concerns about the verification process under the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Suri, a retired Indian Foreign Services officer, went through the process in Punjab. It is among the 16 states where the voter roll revision is being
14 hours ago
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 rattled eastern Japan, including the Tokyo area, early Sunday (August 23, 2026), injuring more than 20 people, most of them slightly, officials said. There was no danger of a tsunami. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency
1 days ago
Chinese humanoid robots broke records set by humans, including beating Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint world record, on the opening day of the Olympics-like World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Saturday (August 22, 2026). More than 2,000 humanoid robots were participating in the event
1 days ago
One afternoon in 1907, a young accountant named Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman walked into the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science at 210 Bowbazar Street in Calcutta. Though he had a passion for the sciences, colonial India offered no stable careers in the field
1 days ago
Three first information reports were filed against 14 identified and more than 200 unidentified persons on Saturday in connection with clashes between the police and student protesters a day earlier, PTI quoted Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana as saying
1 days ago
Did an Amazon delivery guy assault a 71-year-old man in California? What we know about the attack and lawsuit A California lawsuit alleged that an Amazon delivery driver assaulted a 71-year-old man at an Elk Grove gas station. Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
‘Pure evil’: Videos of mothers splashing water at their kids spark outrage amid Lindsay Clancy trial Social media videos of mothers throwing water at their children have sparked concerns amid Lindsay Clancy's trial. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The sister of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday (August 22, 2026) filed a petition in the Supreme Court, accusing the government and senior officials of violating the top court’s order to shift him to a private hospital for medical examination and treatment
1 days ago
The United States and Canada have entered into uncharted territory. The longtime allies and economic partners, who have enjoyed free trade for decades, are now in an escalating trade war with no clear off ramp. And for Prime Minister Mark Carney
1 days ago
Harrisburg weather update: Special Weather Statement issued for central Pennsylvania as thunderstorms bring 40mph wind NWS has issued a Special Weather Statement for Harrisburg and surrounding parts of central Pennsylvania. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
The police in Maharashtra’s Latur have registered a first information report against Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, for allegedly entering a government school without permission, threatening teachers and defaming the institution
1 days ago
The United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday’s (August 24, 2026) scheduled announcement of new U.S. economic sanctions that could impact the Islamic Republic and Tehran’s most important trading partners including China
1 days ago
Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said. All of those killed were elderly and a number of monks were also injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice
1 days ago
The Armed Forces Tribunal on Thursday upheld an administrative censure for a brigadier who was commanding a sector of the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district in December 2023 when three civilians died during an interrogation following a militant attack
1 days ago
