How Indian Diplomacy Brought Very Important Cats To India

How India overcame umpteen odds to reintroduce the cheetah on its territory after the handsome cat became extinct in the country decades earlier.Photograph: @narendramodi X/ANI PhotoKey PointsIndias reintroduction of cheetahs, extinct since 1947, was a complex diplomatic mission led by Prashant Agrawal, Indias then envoy to Namibia.Ambassador Agrawal navigated significant obstacles, including building consensus in Namibia, addressing concerns about high mortality rates, and establishing a legal framework for the intercontinental translocation.Logistical challenges included ensuring safe transport, managing last-minute delays, and even a near-tragedy at the airport due to extreme heat.Despite initial setbacks and some cheetah deaths, the project has seen success with the birth of many cubs in India, increasing the population to 53. The chosen cheetahs almost died in Namibia even before they boarded a path-breaking flight to India that was keenly watched around the world.This is the pulsating full story -- made public for the first time -- of how India overcame umpteen odds to reintroduce the animal on its territory after the handsome cat became extinct decades earlier.At the heart of the struggle was an unsung hero, Prashant Agrawal, Indias then high commissioner to Namibia.This was not a task he learnt in diplomatic school.Indeed, there was no precedent to go by even to frame a government-to-government MoU between Namibia and India to transfer the majestic cats, the fastest animal on earth.IMAGE: An African cheetah going through a health exam by an international team of experts in Windhoek on August 15, 2022 before being transported to the Kuno national park in Madhya Pradesh, in the presence of then Indian high commissioner in Namibia Prashant Agrawal. Photograph: ANI PhotoThe Diplomats Unique RoleIt helped that Ambassador Agrawal was among the rare diplomats who was also a wildlife enthusiast.This netted him friends across the Namibian wildlife ecosystem even as he tapped his diplomatic expertise to overcome crippling objections and differences in perception as Namibia studied Indias request for cheetahs.There were a number of interests that did not want the project to go ahead, Ambassador Agrawal reveals in his very readable book Bringing the Cheetah Back to India: How Diplomacy Made Conservations Big Mission Possible (Hachette India).Unfortunately, he does not elaborate; we can only surmise what these mysterious forces could be.IMAGE: Ambassador Prashant Agrawal speaks at the launch of his book Bringing the Cheetah Back to India: How Diplomacy Made Conservations Big Mission Possible at the India International Centre in New Delhi. Photograph: Naveen Sharma/ANI PhotoThe cheetah became extinct in India around Independence in 1947, primarily due to rampant hunting by the British and Indian royalty.Since then, conservationists have dreamt of bringing it back to India.Namibia, the global cheetah capital, rejected the first Indian request in 2012; fortunately, it changed its mind eight years later.When Ambassador Agrawal took charge as Indias high commissioner in late 2018, he would not have even guessed how much of his professional skills would be tested to gel with the political vision in New Delhi to undertake the worlds first ever intercontinental translocation of a major carnivore species.IMAGE: An Indian Air Force C17 Globemaster with nine cheetahs on board lands at the Air Force Station Gwalior on February 28, 2026.

Photograph: @IAF_MCC/ANI PhotoOvercoming Daunting ChallengesThe challenges were daunting. Since Namibia had some unpleasant experiences in animal relocation, not everyone was enthusiastic about the Indian request. So, Ambassador Agrawal had to first build a consensus at the highest policy-making levels in the African country.Indias long-standing support for Namibian independence came to the diplomats help by opening many doors.Namibian experts warned of possible high mortality once the cheetah was moved to India.Although the Indian government worked like a team to ensure royal treatment for the cheetahs, Ambassador Agrawal was aware that even a small error during the transfer or any loss of cats would be disastrous, killing the project for good. After all, this was not to be a one-time translocation.The legal framework for the transfer of cheetahs did not come about easily.There were so many bottlenecks that the initial deadline of August 15, 2022 for the animals to reach India had to be skipped.Amid positions that seemed very difficult to reconcile between the two countries, Ambassador Agrawal and his team engaged the Namibians non-stop, discussed various options, and explored different solutions, permutations and combinations till a meeting ground was reached.

More than once Ambassador Agrawal got the feeling that the project would crash.This made him call on Namibian leaders time and again, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.It was she who finally signed the all-important MoU during a visit to New Delhi.IMAGE: A cheetah sedated before being flown to India. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/ReutersThe Perilous Journey to IndiaTransporting the cheetahs turned out to be more intimidating.After much back and forth, the four males and four females were driven to the Hosea Kutako international airport, about 45 km from capital Windhoek, from where a chartered Boeing 747 would fly to India without any halt -- and in the least possible time.It was vital to put them in safe and secure cages. Any wrong permutation in their placement on the plane could lead to attacks on one another.They were to be flown to Gwalior and then taken to the sprawling Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh by Indian Air Force helicopters.

But the Namibian experts vetoed the use of Chinook choppers due to their noise level; they were replaced by the equally sturdy but relatively quieter Mi-17s.For a world used to VIP traffic, the cheetahs were classified as Very Important Cats!IMAGE: A Namibian cheetah gives birth to five cubs at the Kuno National Park, May 9, 2026. Photograph: @byadavbjp X/ANI PhotoThe final hassle in Namibia was the long road journey amid searing heat to the airport and the most unexpected last-minute delays in putting the cheetahs onto the plane. This almost caused a tragedy.At the airport, Ambassador Agrawal was shocked to see the cats listless due to the heat, their condition deteriorating by the moment.This is when the otherwise calm diplomat lost his cool and shouted at an airport worker whose lethargy had delayed the all-important transfer.I told him if the cheetahs were left for just a few more minutes on the tarmac, they would die.Ambassador Agrawals explosion had the desired effect. The dimly lit aircraft and the air-conditioning immediately soon lifted the cheetahs spirit.If this wasnt enough, there was a further tension-filled delay due to a row over payment for the aviation fuel, costing more precious time.IMAGE: Gamini, an Indian-born female cheetah, aged 25 months, gives birth to four cubs in the Kuno National Park, April 11, 2026.

Photograph: @byadavbjp X/ANI PhotoSuccess and Future ProspectsThe cats reached India on September 17, 2022. Twelve more cheetahs came from South Africa five months later and eight from Botswana in 2026.Unfortunately, some of the cheetahs died. The good news is that many cubs were born in India, a clear sign that the cats were able to settle in India.All this took the cheetah population in India to a respectable 53, including 33 India-born cubs.The cheetahs return to the Indian habitat, Ambassador Agrawal says, was as important as India getting hold of the iconic Kohinoor diamond one day.Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff