01806nam a22001217a 4500008004100000100004100041245012200082260002800204300003000232520131200262650008301574773002701657210127b           ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aSinha, Bobby Luthra. and Singh Anand  aEmbodying a preparedness to die: Why bishnois of western Rajasthan rise in defence of the blackbuck and the Chinkara?  aSociological Bulletin    a69(1), Apr, 2020: p.34-50  aOften referred to as the custodians of nature, the Bishnois have been taking initiatives to curb the illegal hunting/poaching of animals such as the blackbuck and the chinkara that are fully covered under the provisions of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA, 1972). From within the realms of their philosophical engagement with nature, the Bishnois imagine the law offenders from hunting communities, such as Ban Bawri and Bhil, and those who come to be defined exclusively as poachers as the ‘violent’ other. While the hunting tribes heavily contest such a viewpoint, the contours of a grass-roots debate as well as Bishnoi activism against destruction of natural resources continue to fortify in western Rajasthan. The growth of an organised protest movement of the Bishnois, spearheaded by the Bishnoi Tiger Force (BTF), since the past two decades has also coincided with an embodiment of the community’s general preparedness to die in defence of the wildlife. What fuels the spirit and the sentiment behind this rising defence of the endangered wildlife, amidst other creatures of the desert? How do Bishnoi repertoires of protest influence the discourses of other involved communities and manage to keep the democracy of India on constant alertness in the great Indian Thar? – Reproduced   aWestern Rajasthan, Bishnois, blackbuck, Chinkara, Wildlife protection Act 1972  aSociological Bulletin