Ranjit Bhargava

Ranjit Bhargava, is an Indian environmentalist known for his endeavors towards environmental conservation and his efforts for obtaining UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the upper Ganga region. The Government of India honored him in 2010 with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri. He is also a recipient of the Order of the Golden Ark from Prince Bernard of the Netherlands and the Order of Merit of the Government of Germany.

Biography Ranjit Bhargava was born in the family of Munshi Nawal Kishore, (1836–1895) a publisher, as a fifth generation member, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, His parents were Raja Ram Kumar Bhargava, holder of the title Raja by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Wavell and Rani Lila Ramkumar Bhargava, a 1971 Padma Shri awardee.

Bhargava is one of the founders of the Upper Ganga Region initiative, a collective campaign for getting the Upper Ganga Region, comprising Rishikesh and Haridwar, the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. and the campaign for the protection of Indian sites abroad, like INA Memorial in Singapore and Jim Corbett's tomb in Nyeri, Kenya. He has been honorary advisor for environment ecology and heritage to the Indian Army Central Command from 1991 to 2007.

Awards and recognition Ranjit Bhargava has been honored by the Government of Germany Order of Merit.