The Old Shikari Interview With Kawshik Rahman For 2021

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Hello Gentleman,
Im FM from Germany.

In my free-time im a writer (books and magazines) about wildlife, photographie, serious hunting, shooting, (hunting and self-defence) guns, pp.

I have written 3 big articles about hunting in "old India".
And I have one more, in my archive, nearly finished, to be published in some years, about an famous german/austrian tiger-hunter (mostly man eaters).
But this is an other story.

I have here more than 20 books, from 1820 - 1980, about and from German hunters (written by themselfs, no translation), in old India, in days long gone.
Of course I have the classic english and french literature also.

One of my dreams was to interview an old and original Shikari, and to write an long article (20 pages or so) about and with him, about his adventures, pp.
I was on an hunting tripp to Angola/Africa in the last weeks and as I came back, I see the postings of our new member Kawshik Rahman and a dream come true.
(This is great with this African Hunting Forum, we get so many new connection. Last year I meet Lon here, wonderfull technique.)
I contact him and he give me his okay.

We will bring the article (in Germany) then the book is published of mister Delgado and with his okay of course.
(Update, by 30.10.2019, German time: 13.51, Mister Delgado give his okay.)

I will use for the article:
- His bio, his live
- His adventures (old and new)
- Infos from his postings here
- I will ask him questions via PM, witch are more personal (I use this only as an "back-ground-understanding")

And:
I will ask him here in this thread week by week some questions.
They are "open to the public here", so you can read this also.
I think this is interessed for you too.


Please:
- My english is not so good
- Let me interact here in this thread with Kawshik Rahman dirctly and only


Thank you.
Best wishes to all members, the owner and moderatores.



Your FM

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Here is one of my three articles about "old India, hunting there, an old gun-bearer., an great H&H double and mutch more...."
Maybe it is interessting for you.
 

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Dr. M.
You may ask me anything you like.
Yours sincerely
Sgt. Kawshik Rahman ( Retd )
 
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Thank you Mister Rahman.

Maybe the title "an old Shikari" will be more exactly (maybe the moderator can change this, I can not edit it), but you know, the press will allways make articles / storys and specialy titels "dramatic".
:)
 
Thank you Mister Rahman.

Maybe the title "an old Shikari" will be more exactly (maybe the moderator can change this, I can not edit it), but you know, the press will allways make articles "dramatic".
:)
Bull Hunter
Indeed , there were several Shikaris still hunting in Northern India in 1971 during the liberation war in Bangladesh , and therefore l am not the last Shikari . You may ask me anything you like. I will try to reply as accurately as possible. As ask many questions as you like. I will reply in a post.
 
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Bull Hunter
Indeed , there were several Shikaris still hunting in Northern India in 1971 during the liberation war in Bangladesh , and therefore l am not the last Shikari . You may ask me anything you like. I will try to reply as accurately as possible. As ask many questions as you like. I will reply in a post.

Okay, I will try.

Please:
Maybe we can go with the questions here in this thread step by step.
So it is easyer for me, to translate your statements and to bring them in correct form, for the article from me /us (combined with the infos via PM, with your positings here, the 2020 book of Mister Delgado, pp.)
 
Please:
Let us start with the term(s) SHIKAR and SHIKARI
What did that mean exactly?
What kind of language is this?
Are there other words for this?
 
Please:
Let us start with the term(s) SHIKAR and SHIKARI
What did that mean exactly?
What kind of language is this?
Are there other words for this?
Shikar means hunt and Shikari means hunter in Bengali and Urdu.
There are no other words that l know of.
 
Did the local people hunt in the area (in the old days) also?
Did they need an permission? (Or only for some special animals)?

Did they must an course / education / test to become an Shikari?
Did you must make an test to lead your clients (like an PH course today, in some parts of africa)?
Or an permission from the state / wildlife / pp.
Can the clients hunt in the old days, alone, without an (indian) Shikari (like an self guided hunt today in Africa, witch I like the most and do regulary).

In witch area did you hunt in the old days?
Did you have an map or...
 
Did the local people hunt in the area (in the old days) also?
Did they need an permission? (Or only for some special animals)?

Did they must an course / education / test to become an Shikari?
Did you must make an test to lead your clients (like an PH course today, in some parts of africa)?
Or an permission from the state / wildlife / pp.
Can the clients hunt in the old days, alone, without an (indian) Shikari (like an self guided hunt today in Africa, witch I like the most and do regulary).

In witch area did you hunt in the old days?
Did you have an map or...
Local people could hunt in India . We were allowed to hunt the following creatures : Jungle fowl , water fowl , hares , Sambhar deer , Chital deer , barking deer , mouse deer , Gaur , Royal Bengal tiger , leopard , Asian sloth bear , boars and crocodiles.
We needed to have a Shikar license from the Nilgiri Wildlife Association . Except for the hares , mouse deer and birds , we were only allowed to shoot one of each animal per season . The one exception for this was barking deer for which you were allowed two beasts.
Hunting elephants were sadly prohibited even back then. This law was unchanged since British colonial period in 1873.

In order to become a licensed professional Shikari , one must have a professional Shikari License from the Nilgiri Wild life Association. The test is that , for whatever beast you want to be able to guide clients for , you need to have killed at least one on your own as a local Shikari previously. For instance , if you wanted to be authorized to guide client Shikaris for Royal Bengal tiger , leopard , Gaur , Asian sloth bear , bush boar and crocodile , you need to have previously killed at least one animal from each of these six species using your local Shikari license , so that you can acquire a professional Shikari license to guide foreign client hunters after these beasts.
Since l have never killed an Indian water Buffalo ( as there were none in Darjeeling ) , l did not possess a license to guide client hunters for hunting Indian water buffaloes . However , there were sadly many unqualified men who were guiding clients , merely because they were personal friends of the Shikar outfitters who hired them and had good connections.

A foreign client Shikari could not hunt without a professional Shikari from a licensed outfitter , associated with the Nilgiri Wild Life Association . My own outfitter was called Sundar Raj Shikar for whom l worked for eight years . He had two offices . One in Darjeeling and one in Bangalore . I would work for the Darjeeling outfitter firm .
I hunted in Darjeeling , India. Unfortunately , l do not have a map , but l can easily identify Darjeeling on a map.
 

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As I have already noted , many DR caliber 600NE were sold to India. Nobody needed them , but they were prestige objects. Since many DR caliber 600NE built between the two wars will be missing , I hope not that they were destroyed.
Kurpfalzjager
Any fire arm , not manufactured in India which remained in the country after 1972 , was reduced to scrap metal . It is distressing for you to read this. I actually saw it happen and that was what finally made me move to Bangladesh.
 
Changing
"Last" in "old".
I think it is perfect now.

Let me interact here in this thread with Kawshik Rahman dirctly and only

Thank you gentleman.
Otherweise I will "lost my line".
To weapons, caliber and maybe the hell I will come later. :)

"Thank you" and "Hi", all at the same time
Please remember, it is an interview, even then it takes weeks to finshed.
(I think in 02-2020, half of an year from now).
So I say everytime in my mind "Thank you" and "Hi", but dont write it, otherweise it will be to complicated. This is not un-polited from me.
 
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Let us go on please:
(Based on post Nr. 10)

Are the rules that you had written "only for your region" or for "complete india"?

What was with the (3 subspecies) India rhino?
Are there allowed to hunt also?
Or even in your time protected?
(I kwon there are usually in the northern part of old India, it must be in your region.)

You wrote that elephant hunting was long forbitten?
But I have many articles of the time in 1900 - 1940 about elefant hunting, even from kings of England? Mahardschas, pp.?

Are there an assosiation of shikaris (prof. hunters in India, like in Africa)?
Are there also some english or... (not Indian) shikaris?
What did you judge: How many shikaris aber there in the best year? And now? Did any of them write an book? Or
 
Based on your posting 10:
You region Darjeeling / India must be marked in that (following) mapp.
Is this correct?

From that region you moved later on to Bangladesh?
Where is your hometown / region now?

37108185tu.jpg
 

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Let us go on please:
(Based on post Nr. 10)

Are the rules that you had written "only for your region" or for "complete india"?

What was with the (3 subspecies) India rhino?
Are there allowed to hunt also?
Or even in your time protected?
(I kwon there are usually in the northern part of old India, it must be in your region.)

You wrote that elephant hunting was long forbitten?
But I have many articles of the time in 1900 - 1940 about elefant hunting, even from kings of England? Mahardschas, pp.?

Are there an assosiation of shikaris (prof. hunters in India, like in Africa)?
Are there also some english or... (not Indian) shikaris?
What did you judge: How many shikaris aber there in the best year? And now? Did any of them write an book? Or
Dr. M.
I know for a fact that these rules were applicable in Darjeeling and Shiliguri , as these places were where l had hunted and guided clients . I cannot verify with 100 % authenticity if these rules applied for all of India , but l can safely say that these rules were probably the same , because l highly doubt that the Nilgiri Wild Life Association would make separate rules for India’s different states. Although , to be fair , there were slight variations . For instance , Bangalore had required foreign client Shikaris to use nothing smaller than a magnum .375 Holland and Holland for dangerous animals ( although , unofficially 9.3 millimeter mauser was acceptable ) .
In Darjeeling , there was no minimal calibre law ( which unfortunately cost a client Shikari his life , when he attempted to hunt a Royal Bengal tiger with a .220 Swift calibre Model 70 Rifle from Winchester. )

Rhinoceros species were protected in our time and they were not hunted. Although , l have seen many get poached by Garo tribal poachers. The only dangerous animals available for Shikar were : Royal Bengal tiger , leopard , Gaur , Asian Sloth Bear , bush boars and crocodiles.
Sir , l know for a fact that Elephant hunting in India was prohibited during my time as a professional Shikari from 1962 to 1970. I also know that from 1947 to 1962 , hunting elephants was banned , because although l was a child then , l was still very interested in reading and knowing about hunting. I have a book “ Thirteen years among the wild beasts of India “ written by George P Sanderson Shahib , who lived in the late 19th century. He in fact records elephant shooting being banned in 1873 in India. The one exception to this was shooting rogue elephants , but this was carried out by the forest department officials from 1947 onwards ( including my friend , Mohiyuddin whom l have written one article about , here titled “ a day after the Indian elephant “. ) Before 1947 , shooting rogue elephants were also carried out by British colonial hunters appointed by the government. Even His Royal Excellence , the Maharajah of Kuch Bihar wrote in his autobiography about elephant shooting sadly being prohibited in his time.
From 1950 to 1970 , there were no official associations of professional Shikaris in India , unlike Africa. These were independent businesses which had to be registered with the Nilgiri Wild Life Association .
Professional Shikaris had to be citizens of India in order to become licensed professional Shikaris under the Nilgiri Wild Life Association. That essentially ruled out western people .
From 1950 to 1970 , it must be remembered that Shikar season was seven months long and therefore , we had no less than three to four dozen clients in one year. The best year was in 1965 , for some odd reason. Sundar Raj Shikar had 77 clients in that year alone.
While not a book , my good friend , Captain Newaz ( who has shot 81 panthers ) was featured in a local newspaper in 1984 . It must be remembered in the time that l lived, we never thought that Indian people actually made any money by writing books about hunting . We were just young men , trying to earn our wages.
Dr. M. , l should add here that the only first hand information which l can give you , is from the year 1950 to the year 1970. The rest is based on what l have heard from my elder generations or read on news papers .
 
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Th
Based on your posting 10:
You region Darjeeling / India must be marked in that (following) mapp.
Is this correct?

From that region you moved later on to Bangladesh?
Where is your hometown / region now?

37108185tu.jpg
That marking on the map is correct. I moved to Bangladesh in 1979. I live near region of the Syhlet tea gardens now.
 
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