India, Jan. 8 -- Madhav Gadgil, India's veteran ecologist and a foremost figure in environmental causes, breathed his last at 11pm on January 7, 2026. He was 83 years old.

Down To Earth (DTE) spoke to him on January 2 about his opinions regarding the Aravalli issue and the Supreme Court order accepting the new definition of the hills as recommended by the central government panel.

He was unwell and had suffered a fall, hurting his leg in the process. "I am unable to read properly, but I can talk," he said. But his commitment to sharing his views on the environment remained strong. He took short breaks between calls and asked DTE to call back again at intervals of 10 minutes or four minutes and repeated each time, 'do call me again', bef...