Dr. H.F.C. Cleghorn, Founder of Forest Conservancy in India, by S. Subbarayalu, i.f.s. (rtd.) was recently released in Chennai. Here he narrates Cleghorn’s story in brief.

Prior to British rule in India, forest conservation was not a matter of serious concern. But with British rule there was unprecedented pressure on our forests for commercial exploitation. At one stage, the indiscriminate exploitation led to a denudation of forests that caused silting of rivers and poor flow of water, leading to famine. Among the East India Company surgeons were a few persons sensitive about the environment. They were ardent nature lovers who showed keen interest in preservation of natural wealth. Among them Dr. Hugh Cleghorn stands out as a practical forester who was responsible for starting and organising a new department.

Cleghorn was born in Madras in 1820. His father, Peter Cleghorn, was a Registrar of the Supreme Court of Madras. Hugh Cleghorn had his education in St. Andrew’s University, Scotland, where his papers are available. He took his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh. His first posting was in 1842 to the Madras Hospital, where he acquainted himself with tropical diseases.

While accompanying the troops, he had the opportunity to visit forests in the southern region and he acquired a sound knowledge about them.

When he was posted to Shimoga in Mysore State, he observed the wasteful practice of shifting cultivation in forest areas. He took this unhealthy practice up with the Commissioner. As a result, shifting cultivation was banned in the State. This step taken by him was the first in the preservation of forests in India.

While he was in the Mysore Commission, the strenuous work in the difficult terrain ­affected his health within a few years of his landing in India. He had to sail back to Britain, and he reached after surviving a ship wreck. While he was in Britain, he took up at the appropriate forums there the serious issue of unscrupulous felling of forests in India. The matter was paid close attention to by the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS). Dr.  Cleghorn was asked to give a detailed report on the issue. His report was emphatic and stressed the need for a separate department to scientifically manage India’s forests. His re­commendation was the first of its kind in the British Empire. On his return to Madras, Cleghorn was posted as Professor in Botany and Materia Medica at the Madras Medical College.

There was an acute shortage of timber supply at the time and the Governor called for a meeting at which Cleghorn was entrusted with the task of finding the timber. He grabbed the opportunity and stressed the point that formation of a separate department would help to ensure a systematic management of forests and ensure a constant supply of timber. A separate department was formed in 1856 for the Madras Presidency and Dr. Cleghorn was posted as Conservator of Forests, his tenure as a military surgeon coming to an end. Once the department was formed, he recruited suitable dedicated persons to man it. R.H. Beddome was one of those drafted by him from military service as Assistant Conservator of Forests. He proved an excellent naturalist, who authored many books.

Dr. Cleghorn managed the forests scientifically and raised many plantations for fuel and timber. When tea plantations were being raised on a large scale, he wrote to the Collector of Coimbatore to ensure that such plantations were not allowed to be developed on the higher slopes in the interest of preservation of the pristine natural forests. In the Nilgiris, he took special steps to protect the valuable sholas from where the streams originated. He introduced many economically important species. He was also associated with the formation of the botanical gardens in Lal Bagh, Bangalore, Ooty and Coonoor. These gardens were designed by him and he instituted work on them.

In 1861 he was requested to prepare a report on the formation of a forest department for the Punjab and based on it the department was formed. Dr. Brandis was appointed the first Inspector General of Forests there. In coordination with Cleghorn, the I.G. of Forests, worked on a report for forest conservation in India and also for State level management. For his pioneering work, Dr. Cleg­horn was conferred the coveted title ‘The Founder of Forest Conservancy in India’ by the Government of India. He retired in 1869 and returned to Scotland. In retirement, he got an exclusive course in Forestry included in the syllabus of the University of Edinburgh. He also got involved in the selection of personnel for the Indian Forest Service.

Dr. Hugh Cleghorn.

The Cleghorn papers preserved in St. Andrew’s University gave me many leads to explore. There were letters from a bookseller in Edinburgh and, in one of them, he sympathises with Dr. Cleghorn on the loss of his books in a fire in 1852. On further enquiry, I gathered that there was indeed a fire in his apartment in Broadway which destroyed all his belongings. All his books on Forestry, Botany and other subjects were destroyed, but they were later replaced and his valuable collection is in the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

Another letter by his father revealed that the ship Sutlej in which Hugh Cleghorn was travelling back home was wrecked and he was stranded at the Cape of Good Hope. This led me to a newspaper wherein full details of the wreck were available. He used to help many; one of them was Dr. Palaniandy who was in military service. He helped him to go to Britain and guided him in his medical courses. He helped him with finance also, which was later repaid. Above all these qualities, he was true to his profession and proved himself a very good and popular doctor.

Anyone in India interested in the environment would shudder to think about the fate of our forests and the environment today, if it were not for the likes of Dr. Hugh Cleghorn.