Vaibhav’s research interests lie in environmental histories of ‘conservation’ and ‘game’ and ‘forest’ management on the Nilgiri hills in Southern India in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He completed his BA from Loyola College in Chennai before going on to pursue his MA and MPhil, both from the University of Hyderabad. In his Mphil he attempted to look at forest conservation and land rights against the changing canvas of the Nilgiris, a seat of colonial power in the nineteenth century and after. He has worked on research projects with Columbia University before joining Ashoka university. Vaibhav can speak Tamil and English and has an elementary knowledge of Persian, German, and Hindi.
