Prerna Singh Bindra

Author @Penguin Random House

Delhi NCR, IN

Every year, our planet loses over 150 species of plants and animals, and India is very much in the midst of this mass ‘sixth extinction’. We are losing species in our backyard—where are the once ubiquitous sparrows, or the fireflies that lit up our nights? And in the forests, iconic species like the great Indian bustards are down to a hundred, while flamingos are poised to be wiped off the map of India. Th e Vanishing takes an unflinching look at the unacknowledged crisis that India’s wildlife faces, bringing to the fore the ecocide that the country’s growth story is leaving in its wake—laying to waste its forests, endangering its wildlife, even tigers whose increasing numbers shield the real story of how development projects are tearing their habitat to shreds. It tells us why extinction matters, linking the fate of wildlife to ours. The end of the gharial, an ancient crocodilian, signifies that the clear, fast-fl owing rivers that are our lifelines are stilled and poisoned. Th e author deconstructs the raging human–wildlife conflicts to show wild elephants as peaceable creatures and weaves a beautiful tale of their bond with their protectors. With the high-decibel development versus environment debate dominating headlines, the book reveals how the ‘development at all costs’ model threatens our ecological and economic security. Th e author travels to far-flung forests to give an eyewitness account, and an insider’s view of India’s vanishing natural heritage. The Vanishing is a sharp and stirring read about today’s desperate scenarios, and the quest for hope for a wild India.