Asian Elephants in Central India: A detailed history (From the Earliest Times to 1947)

Raza Kazmi

doi:10.63033/JWLS.HNLD1396

TYPE: Monograph

Asian Elephants in Central India: A detailed history (From the Earliest Times to 1947)

Raza Kazmi¹*

¹Omaxe Residency, Phase 2, Gomtinagar Extension Lucknow – 226002

RECEIVED 01 October 2024
ACCEPTED 19 January 2026
PUBLISHED 12 August 2026

https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.HNLD1396

Abstract

Elephants were widely distributed across the length and breadth of the present-day states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra right from the ancient period until the late medieval period. There is irrefutable historical evidence of elephants existing across the western and southern borders of Madhya Pradesh, and into eastern Gujarat and northern Maharashtra, right until the mid-17^th century.

The historical elephant range in central India began shrinking sometime in the mid- 17^th century and continued to do so into the 18^th century. By the time the British gained control of central India in the mid-19^th century, their distribution range had shrunk dramatically across this region. The primary cause for this rapid decline seems to be unsustainable levels of capture of elephants from the wild, carried out relentlessly throughout the centuries by various kingdoms (and later princely states during colonial rule) and zamindaris. Habitat loss or degradation of habitat, though possibly an additional contributing factor, does not seem to be the primary cause for the extinction of elephants across their former range in these states.

By the mid-19^th century, elephant distribution had become limited to the forests of northern Chhattisgarh (i.e. contemporary districts of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Koriya, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Mungeli, Bilaspur, Korba, Surguja, Balrampur, Surajpur, Jashpur, and Raigarh) and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh (Singrauli, Sidhi, Rewa, Umaria and Shahdol). Seasonal presence was recorded from the areas that now fall under the districts of Mandla, Balaghat, Dindori, and Anuppur. Marginal presence was recorded from Seoni and Katni districts, with possible existence in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, and Bastar, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai and Kabirdham districts of Chhattisgarh. The primary concentration of elephants by the mid-19^th century was in contemporary Singrauli, Sidhi, Manendragarh-Chirmiri- Bharatpur, Koriya, Korba, Surguja, Balrampur, Surajpur, and Jashpur districts, which together held possibly up to 1000 or more elephants when the British began writing about this region.

Following the constitution of British Central Provinces in 1861, elephant capture was taken up on a large scale across the forests of north-eastern Madhya Pradesh, northern Chhattisgarh and in Chhattisgarh’s old Bilaspur district (centred around contemporary Korba district). Hundreds of elephants were captured by the British and various princely states and zamindaris of northern Chhattisgarh between 1865 and 1900. This mass capture of elephants during the colonial era also resulted in the disappearance of elephants from their seasonal range districts in eastern Madhya Pradesh and adjoining western districts of Chhattisgarh. Some isolated sightings were recorded by the British even until the opening decade of the 20^th century from northern Chhattisgarh, along with similar anecdotal reports from districts in eastern Madhya Pradesh . However, by the 1920s, elephants seem to have been completely extirpated from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and even isolated cases of migrating loners were no longer recorded. Once again, the only identifiable cause – based on available empirical evidence – for the complete wipeout of elephants from their habitats in eastern and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh, and northern and eastern Chhattisgarh within a short time span of about 50 years (1850-1900) was unsustainable levels of capture of elephants. They were caught year after year, sometimes including entire large herds, by the British or by the zamindaris and princely states (who took permission for the same from the British post the enactment of the Elephant Preservation Act, 1879). The habitat and forests that were once the permanent refuge of large elephant herds in northern Chhattisgarh not only outlasted them but continue to survive even today, albeit in a reduced geographical spread. Many of these old haunts of the last elephants of central India have now been re-occupied by the elephants that moved into Chhattisgarh in the late 1980s, and their progeny.

Moreover, these elephants that migrated into Chhattisgarh in the late 1980s, as well as their progeny, are not just reoccupying the same forests where large resident elephant herds were wiped off between 1850 and 1900 but also appear to be following the same migration routes to move into Madhya Pradesh that were probably used by the last elephant populations of Chhattisgarh in the 19^th century during their seasonal migrations. Additionally, since the primary cause of extinction of elephants across central India between 17^th century to 20^th century appears to have been large scale, relentless, unsustainable capture over successive centuries rather than habitat loss or habitat degradation – and the fact that many of those historical habitats still have significant forest cover – it is very likely that the current elephant population of Chhattisgarh and the newly-resident populations of eastern Madhya Pradesh will continue their march into their former historical habitats across central India. This presents a significant challenge in terms of the management of elephant and human populations to mitigate conflict while also ensuring safe passage for elephants.

Keywords: Abu’l Fazl, British history, Central Provinces, Chhattisgarh, elephant capture, Kheddah, Madhya Pradesh, Mughal history.

Introduction

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have been an integral part of the faunal, cultural, social, and even political history of the Indian subcontinent. Fossil remains of the Asian elephant have been recorded from the Siwalik hills of north India to Kalpi and Pratapgarh in the Indo-Gangetic plains, and from the Narmada and Deccan river valleys to Rajasthan and Gujarat in the west (Bose, 2020). Elephant remains have been recorded from a large number of sites within the Harappan cultural zone – Mohenjodaro and Chanhudaro in Sindh (Pakistan), Harappa in Punjab (Pakistan), Rupar and Bara in Punjab (India), Kalibangan in Rajasthan, and Lothal, Surkotada, Rojdi, Kanmer, and Khirsara in Gujarat (Bose, 2020). A wide variety of seals and terracotta remains from the Indus Valley Civilisation feature the elephant as a motif. The post-Harappan (such as the Northern Black Polished Ware phase and thereafter) iconography of elephants reported from many sites across western India (Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana) and the Indo-Gangetic plains (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar), provides further clues on their distribution and increasing cultural significance (Bose, 2020). Elephant remains excavated from places like Hastinapur and Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) dated to the early 6^th to early 3^rd century BCE, and early 2^nd century BCE to the end of the 3^rd century CE, respectively, along with the excavation of a full elephant skeleton at Autha (in Gurgaon, Haryana) dated to the 2^nd century BCE, point towards possible historic distribution of elephants in regions from which they have been extinct for many centuries now (Bose, 2020). Similarly, numerous rock-art sites and cave paintings, also establish a wide distribution of elephants across the Indian subcontinent since antiquity (Sukumar, 1989; Sukumar, 2003; Bose, 2020), and their historic presence in areas from which they have been extinct for many centuries…. Read More

Figure 1. Distribution of elephant forests (gaja-vanas) in ancient India, as discussed in the Arthashastra. Adapted from Sukumar (2011) and Trautmann (2015).

Scope of This Study

This study focuses on ascertaining the historical distribution and ecology of the Asian elephant in areas that are now part of the contemporary central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The study traces their history in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from the ancient era up until their complete extinction from these areas in the first half of the 20^th century, while it traces their history in Gujarat and Maharashtra up until their extinction in the 17^th century…. Read More

Study area

A. Madhya Pradesh
Spread over an area of 3,08,252 sq km, and spanning from 21°17′ N to 26°52′ N latitude and 74°08′ E to 82°49′ E longitude, Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state of India. Situated in the north-central part of the Deccan Plateau, the state can be topographically divided into four regions – the Narmada-Son valley that runs across the state from east to west, with the Son valley lying north of the Narmada valley, the Central Highlands that lie north of the Narmada-Son valley, the Satpura-Maikal ranges, and to the south-east, the eastern plateau. The Central Highlands are further subdivided into four uplands – the Rewa- Panna plateau (also known as Vindhyan plateau) that lies in the north-eastern part of the central highlands, the Bundelkhand plateau located to the north-west of the Vindhyan plateau, the Central India plateau that is situated west of the Bundelkhand plateau, and the Malwa plateau which covers most of western Madhya Pradesh. With average annual temperature ranging between 22°C and 25°C and annual precipitation between 800 mm and 1,800 mm (FSI, 2019), Madhya Pradesh has a subtropical climate and 11 agro-climatic zones. The major rivers of the state are the Narmada, Tapti, Son, Betwa, Shipra and Chambal…. Read More

B. Chhattisgarh
Spread over an area of 1,35,192 sq km, and spanning from 17º47′ N to 24º06′ N latitude and 80º15′ E to 84º24′ E longitude, Chhattisgarh lies in the East Deccan physiographic zone. The state can be divided into three agro-climatic zones – the Northern Hills, the Central Plains or Chhattisgarh Plains, and the Bastar Plateau. The state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000. With average annual temperature ranging between 11ºC and 47ºC and annual precipitation between 1,100 mm and 1,700 mm (FSI, 2019), Chhattisgarh has a tropical hot and humid climate. The major rivers of the state are the Mahanadi, Rihand, Hasdeo, Jonk and Indravati. The State is rich in mineral resources, especially coal, iron, bauxite, dolomite, and limestone. (FSI, 2019)…. Read More

C. Gujarat
Spread over an area of 1,96,244 sq km, and spanning from 20°07’N to 24°43’N latitude and 68°10’E to 74°29’E longitude, Gujarat is the westernmost state of India, and also the state with the longest coastline. The state can be topographically divided into three distinct regions – the Saurashtra peninsula, Kachchh and the mainland. With an average annual rainfall from 800 mm to 1,000 mm, Gujarat has a moderate climate. The mean annual temperature ranges from 25°C to 28°C. (FSI, 2019)…. Read More

D. Maharashtra
Spread over an area of 3,07,713 sq km, and spanning from 15°35′ N to 22°02′ N latitude and 72°36′ E to 80°54′ E longitude, Maharashtra is located in the western peninsular region of India. The state can be topographically divided into three distinct regions – the Deccan Plateau, the Western Ghats and the West Coast. With average annual temperature ranging between 25°C and 27°C and annual precipitation between 400 mm and 6,000 mm, the state experiences a tropical monsoon climate (FSI, 2019). The major rivers of the state are the Godavari, Bhima, Narmada, Tapti, Koyna and Krishna…. Read More

Figure 2. A herd of wild elephants that Babur came across near Kalpi (present-day southern Uttar Pradesh, east of Gwalior-Shivpuri-Narwar landscape) along the Yamuna; from the Vaqiʻat-i Baburi or Baburnama (c. 1589). Composition (outline) by Kanha painting (colours and details) by Ikhlas. Source: Collection of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, Geneva (Das, 1999; Sukumar, 2011).

Historic Distribution in Central India

I. Ancient and Medieval Era (Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh)
The earliest visual representations of elephants from central India include their presence in various rock-art sites spread across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh…. Read More

Figure 3. Distribution of wild elephants in Mughal India. This map uses Irfan Habib’s An Atlas of the Mughal Empire (Habib, 1982) and the Ain-i- Akbari (Blochmann, 1873) as the primary reference sources for plotting points. The contemporary names and locales within modern-day political boundaries of the historical plot points have been researched by the author. In the process, this map also corrects the errors that had crept into Trautmann’s map of wild elephants in Mughal India (Trautmann, 2015). Please note that the plot points are representative of the larger surrounding landscape as explained in the parentheses accompanying each entry.

North India (including Nepal):

UTTARAKHAND
1. Haridwar (forest landscape around it), 2. Kumaun Hills (Kumaon and Terai forests of Uttarakhand)

UTTAR PRADESH
3. Western Terai (west of Kheri), 4. Eastern Terai (east of Bahraich into Nepal and Bihar Terai), 5. Kalinjar (roughly Banda-Chitrakoot-Tikamgarh-southern Allahabad-Chhatarpur-Panna-landscape), 6. Kantit (roughly Mirzapur-Sonbhadra landscape), 7. Chunar (roughly Mirzapur-Chandauli- Sonbhadra landscape)

Note: The territories of Kalpi (now in Jalaun district), Manikpur (now in Pratapgarh district), and Karrah (Kara; now in Kaushambi district) in Uttar Pradesh, which Babur recorded for the occurrence of wild elephants, have not been represented in this map because these areas seem to have lost their wild elephant populations soon after the establishment of Mughal rule and are absent from the active elephant-catching habitats listed in the Ain-i-Akbar

BIHAR
8. Rohtas (Kaimur Hills landscape)

NEPAL
9. Murung (roughly Morang on Nepal-Bihar border)

Central India:

GUJARAT
10. Western Vindhyachal Range (roughly Champaner-Pavagadh Hills), 11. Dohad (forest landscape around it), 12. Rajpipla (surrounding forested hill landscape)

MAHARASHTRA
13. Berar (Sultanpur landscape in Khandesh), 14. Bairagarh (roughly eastern portion of old Chanda district i.e., the Tadoba-Bramhapuri-Gadchiroli landscape)

MADHYA PRADESH
15. Bayawan/Payanwan (Gwalior-Shivpuri landscape), 16. Shivpuri (Gwalior-Shivpuri landscape), 17. Narwar (Gwalior-Shivpuri landscape), 18. Chanderi (roughly in Ashoknagar district, south of Gwalior-Shivpuri landscape), 19. Gahora (Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Rewa landscape), 20. Battha/ Battha-Gahora (Bandhavgarh-Sanjay-Rewa landscape), 21. Raisen (roughly in Raisen district), 22. Unchod (roughly along Shajapur-Dewas landscape; the sarkar of Sarangpur where Akbar captured elephants is adjacent to Unchod), 23. Santwas/Satwas (roughly in Dewas district), 24. Handia/ Handiyah (roughly along Harda-Dewas landscape), 25. Hoshangabad (roughly in Narmadapuram district), 26. Haryagadh (roughly in Chhindwara District), 27. Deogarh (roughly Satpura-Pench corridor landscape in Chhindwara, later expanding into Vidarbha), 28. Bijagarh (roughly Khandwa, Burhanpur, Barwani and Khargone and areas along Gujarat-MP border; the forests of Sendhwa in contemporary Barwani district especially noted), 29. Kherla (roughly area between Betul and Amravati districts), 30. Garh (roughly in Mandla-Balaghat landscape)

CHHATTISGARH
31. Bastar (roughly all of undivided Bastar), 32. Nandanpur (Habib identifies it as a misreading of Madanpur; Madanpur aligns roughly with the Korba landscape), 33. Surguja (roughly all of northern Chhattisgarh), 34. Ratanpur (roughly old Bilaspur District)

JHARKHAND
35. Kokhra (also spelt as Khokhra, Kokra, or Khankarah; the entire area of contemporary southern Jharkhand is marked as the elephant forests of Kokhra or ‘Charkhand’)

ODISHA
36. Orissa (Ain-i-Akbari records five sarkars in Orissa viz. Katak, Bhadrak, Jalesar, Kaling Dandpat and Raj Mahendra, and says elephants abound in Orissa without specifying any sarkar in particular)

Eastern India (including Bangladesh):

WEST BENGAL
37. Satgaon/Satganw (roughly the area of Hugli)

BANGLADESH
38. Mahmudabad (not to be confused with Mahmudabad in UP, most of its area now in contemporary Bangladesh), 39. Khilafatabad (contemporary southern Bangladesh), 40. Arakan/Rakhang (roughly Chittagong Hill Tracts on the Myanmar border)

ASSAM
41. Kajliban (roughly Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape), 42. Upper Brahmaputra Valley (roughly the Tinsukia-Dibru Saikhowa-Sadiya-Lakhimpur landscape)

Southern India:

TELANGANA
43. Ramgir (northern Telangana plateau; roughly Peddapalli-Karimnagar-Warangal forest landscape)

ANDHRA PRADESH
44. North of Tirupati (roughly Seshachalam hills and Nallamala hills landscape; 17th-century traveler Tavernier records capturing of elephants from the forests of Kadapa-Gooty-Ramallakota landscape)

KARNATAKA
45. Canara/Kanara (roughly all of Western Ghats marked by Habib but Kanara especially noted)

KERALA
46. Malabar (roughly all of Western Ghats marked by Habib but Malabar especially noted)

Figure 4. Akbar, in 1564, leading his men through the forests around Narwar and Shivpuri to capture wild elephants; from the Akbarnama (c. 1590- 95). Attributed to Farukh Chela, or Govardhan, or Dhanraj. Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, 2013.309.

Figure 5. Painting from Akbarnama (c.1590-95) depicting Akbar (on a piebald horse) watching elephant catching near Shivpuri (Sipri), which eventually led to the capture of 70 elephants. The top half of the painting shows one of Akbar’s elephants (Bhirun) fighting with a wild bull, and another tusker captured by his men tied to a dried tree (top left). The lower half shows several wild elephants in a waterbody, and two trained elephants leading another wild elephant (stuck between the two). Composition (outline) by Mahesh and painting (colours and details) by Kesav Khord. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum, London No. IS.2:40-1896 Courtesy V&A Picture Library (Das, 1999).

Figure 6. Wild elephants driven into the fort at Bayanwan (Pawaya), Madhya Pradesh during the Shivpuri hunt; from the Akbarnama (c. 1590–95). Composition (outline) by La’l, painting, (colours and details) by Khem (left) and Hari (right). Source: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Left half- IS.2:44-1896, Right half- IS.2:43-1896 painting by Hari.

Figure 7. Akbar inspecting the newly captured male elephant (one out of the herd of 70 elephants captured in that particular hunt) outside Shivpuri (Sipri) fort, Madhya Pradesh. Notice the ropes tied around this wild elephant’s feet, while the two tame elephants used during the capture operation are seen in the foreground. This is the male in mast that was made to fight with two of Akbar’s best elephants (Bhirun and Khandi Raj) and was eventually given the name Gajapati; from the Akbarnama (c.1590-95). Composition (outline) by La’l and painting (colours and details) by Sanwala. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. No. IS.2:39-1896. Courtesy V&A Picture Library. (Das, 1999).

II. Colonial Era (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh)
British influence in central India began in the second decade of the 19^th century (Figure 9). With the deposition of the Maratha Peshwa by Lord Francis Rawdon-Hastings in 1818, his territories in Saugor (Sagar) and Damoh (both in contemporary Madhya Pradesh) passed into British hands…. Read More

Figure 8. A large male elephant captured by Jahangir in the Dohad–Panchmahal hills of eastern Gujarat (March 1618), later named Pavan Gaj (Pavan Sar), owing to him being “very handsome in shape, of good breed, and perfect marks”. This was one of the 12 elephants captured in this particular hunt led by the emperor (with the entire exercise eventually yielding a total of 266 captures from this landscape in 1618). Sketch reproduced from Das (1999). Original sketch in Private collection.

II. A) Elephants of Old Bilaspur District (1861-1920)
Immediately after the constitution of Bilaspur district in 1861, the British administrators began asserting that wild elephants were the cause of great misery in this district. They argued that their “ravages had become so destructive” across the district that it was necessary to establish a “government khedda” for “materially thinning the herds” (Chisholm, 1869)…. Read More

Figure 9. An 1820 Geographical, Historical, and Statistical Map of India marking the forests of contemporary south-eastern Madhya Pradesh and north-eastern Maharashtra as “Elephant Wilds”, from Lavoisne’s Genealogical, Historical, Chronological, and Geographical Atlas (Carey & Lavoisne, 1820).

Figure 10. Upper: Zamindaris of the old Bilaspur district where, between 1861 and 1920, either wild elephants were reported or large-scale elephant capture operations were conducted, overlaid on present-day district and state boundaries. Lower: An archival colonial map from 1913 showing the principal zamindaris of the old Bilaspur district (Pandaria, Pendra, Kenda, Lapha, Matin, Chhuri, Uprora, Korba, and Champa). This map, together with another archival map, was used as a reference for constructing the map shown in Figure 10 (upper).

Figure 11. Upper: A hand-coloured aquatint painting by Samuel Howitt (1765–1822) depicting the process of driving elephants into a Kheddah. Source: Williamson, T. (1807), Printed by William Bulmer.
Lower: A wood engraving illustration depicting the process of herding of wild elephants into a stockade during a Kheddah operation in Mysore in Honor of the Visit of Prince Albert Victor. The entire operation was supervised by G.P. Sanderson, the long serving Superintendent of Mysore Kheddah Operations, who was also consulted for designing the Kheddah operations in Bilaspur. Source: Nash, J. (1890), The Graphic.

Figure 12. The process of capturing wild elephants was extremely cruel and traumatizing, especially so for calves and their mothers. They were often brutally separated (B), tied up (D), and beaten until they submitted (A). All too frequently, a calf or the mother would die in the process, as shown in the heartbreaking photo series (C & D) by Frank Horvat, an Italian-born French photographer. Horvat witnessed a captured elephant desperately straining against heavy leg ropes (D), as well as a distraught calf gently caressing its dying mother who was tied up in a noose (C). A glimpse of the cruelty of the entire process, especially for young calves and their mothers, is described in the passage by Sir Andrew Fraser (Fraser, 1911) quoted in the text. Sources: Woodville, R. C. (1892), Harper’s New Monthly Magazine for A & B; Horvat, F. (1953), http://horvatland.com/for C & D.

Figure 13. Upper: A 1906 painting by Raja Ravi Varma depicting typical scenes during a Kheddah operation organised in Mysore in the honor of the visiting Prince of Wales. One of his last works, it was produced after Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV of Mysore invited Raja Ravi Varma to document the Kheddah operations. Source: Sri Chitra Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram.
Lower: Multiple ‘koonkie/kumki’ (tame) elephants were used during elephant capture exercise, especially to force them into the stockades and then assisting in lassoing the captured elephants. Source: Reed, S. (1906), Bennett, Coleman & Co., Bombay.

Figure 14. An archival image showing the process of restraining wild elephants inside a stockade using Koomkie (tame) elephants. Source: Barton, Son and Company (1906), The British Library, London.

Figure 15. Details of Kheddah operation in old Bilaspur District between the years 1865 and 1867. Source: Morris (1867).

II. B) Elephants of Feudatory States of Northern & Eastern Chhattisgarh and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh: Rewa- Chang Bakhar-Korea-Surguja-Udaipur/Dharamjaigarh (1861-1920)
Even as elephants were being eliminated from Bilaspur in the second half of the 19^th century, they continued to thrive in the forests that lay north of Bilaspur, across a string of heavily forested princely states that today constitute northern Chhattisgarh and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh…. Read More

II. C) Territories of Marginal and Seasonal Elephant Movement in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with a note on the ‘Mandla Rogue’ (1861-1920)
Even though by the time Central Provinces was constituted in 1861, resident elephant herds had been restricted to northern and eastern Chhattisgarh, and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh (Rewah State), elephant presence and movement were recorded from eastern and south-eastern districts of contemporary Madhya Pradesh…. Read More

II. D) Circumstantial and Anthropological Evidences of Elephant Presence from territories in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra India where they had gone extinct in early 19th century (1800-1900).
Wild elephants were found across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh right until the late medieval era, as has been explained in detail earlier using Mughal texts for reference. However, by the time Central Provinces was constituted in 1861, the range of elephants across central India had shrunk to eastern and north-eastern Madhya Pradesh, and northern and eastern Chhattisgarh…. Read More

Conclusion

This study establishes that elephants were widely distributed across the length and breadth of the present-day states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh right from the ancient period until the late medieval period. They were found in large numbers in north-west Madhya Pradesh until the 16^th century, and in northern Maharashtra, along the Gujarat-Madhya Pradesh border, and into eastern Gujarat, right until the mid-17^th century…. Read More

Acknowledgement

This monograph is dedicated to S.E.H. Kazmi, to whom I owe everything. To my mother Sanjida Kazmi and sister Zehra Kazmi for their encouragement, love and support. To Aditya Gangadharan, Programme Lead – Lands, The Nature Conservancy India, who gave me the idea for this study and constantly supported me throughout the process. To The Nature Conservancy India for commissioning and funding the initial study (Award ID: F107554) that led to this monograph. To my mentors – Mahesh Rangarajan, Divyabhanusinh, Belinda Wright, M.K. Ranjitsinh, A.J.T. Johnsingh, and Prosenjit Das Gupta – who have been a constant source of support, kindness, help, guidance and inspiration to me. They have freely shared their wealth of knowledge, experience and time, and believed in my abilities even when I did not. Words can never truly express how deeply grateful I am to each one of them for everything. To Anusheela Chatterjee and Amit Bansal for their friendship and warmth, and for always being my go-to advisors. To my brother Yasir Rizvi for always supporting me, having my back, and keeping me in good spirits.

This monograph would never have seen the light of day were it not for Bilal Habib, who not only encouraged me to submit it to the Journal of Wildlife Science (JWLS) but also kept pushing me to see it through. To him, I am extremely grateful.

I am deeply grateful to Shivam Shrotriya for being so patient, thoughtful and supportive in editing this monograph. I am indebted to Dhruv Jain, Sneha Madhwal, and Aardhra Santhosh for designing the wonderful maps that accompany this monograph.

Finally, this monograph is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Ajith Kumar and Vinod Rishi, IFS (Retired), two remarkable teachers, naturalists, and role models, who I wish could have seen this work in its final published form.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The author declares that they have no competing interests.

DATA AVAILABILITY
No additional data were used in this work.

AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTION
All work was done by the single author.

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Information

Edited By
Ajith Kumar
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, India

Mewa Singh
Bangalore University, Bengaluru, India

*CORRESPONDENCE
Raza Kazmi
✉ raza.kazmi17@gmail.com

SPECIAL ISSUE
This paper is published in the Special Issue '30 Years of Elephant Conservation in India'

CITATION
Kazmi, R. (2026). Asian Elephants in Central India: A detailed history (From the Earliest Times to 1947). Journal of Wildlife Science, 3 (3, Monograph 1), 155-201. https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.HNLD1396

FUNDING
An initial preliminary version of this study was funded by The Nature Conservancy India in 2023 (Award ID: F107554).

COPYRIGHT
© 2026 Kazmi. This is an open-access article, immediately and freely available to read, download, and share. The information contained in this article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), allowing for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited in accordance with accepted academic practice. Copyright is retained by the author(s).

PUBLISHED BY
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 248 001 INDIA

PUBLISHER'S NOTE
The Publisher, Journal of Wildlife Science or Editors cannot be held responsible for any errors or consequences arising from the use of the information contained in this article. All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organisations or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated or used in this article or claim made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Volume 3, Issue 3 (Monograph 1)

September 2026