Madhav Gadgil Biography

Madhav Gadgil is a famous Indian Ecologist, Academic, Writer, Columnist, who was born on May 24, 1942 in Pune, Bombay Province, British India. Find Madhav Gadgil age, wife, net worth, height, weight, education, career, family, images, biography & more updates. Get information about Madhav Gadgil’s all key achievements or accomplishments, including professional and personal life detail.

Personal Profile About Madhav Gadgil

Madhav Dhananjaya Gadgil was an Indian ecologist, conservation biologist, and academic. He was the founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and a pioneer of community-based conservation. He taught at IISc for over forty years and wrote hundreds of research papers and books, such as This Fissured Land and Ecological Journeys. He also chaired the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel from 2010 to 2011 and promoted science-based environmental policy with global recognition.

The Madhav Gadgil biography tells that he completed his master’s degree from Mumbai University in 1965 and earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1969. The Madhav Gadgil Wikipedia page is being updated at HW.

Madhav Gadgil Passed Away

Madhav Gadgil passed away on January 7, 2026, late Wednesday night. He died in Pune, Maharashtra, India, after a brief illness. His son Siddhartha Gadgil confirmed the news through a public statement. Leaders like Jairam Ramesh, UNEP, and many environmentalists paid tribute to him. Many described him as the father of Indian ecology.

Madhav Gadgil Age

Madhav Gadgil age at the time of his death was 83 years. He was born on May 24, 1942, in Pune, India. He founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences in 1983 when he was 41 years old.

Madhav Gadgil Awards

Madhav Gadgil awards include the Padma Shri in 1981 and the Padma Bhushan in 2006 for his public service. In 2024, he won the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award from UNEP, which is the UN’s highest environmental honor.

He also received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the Volvo Environment Prize, the Harvard University Centennial Medal, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 1986. He was a fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

Madhav Gadgil Family

The Madhav Gadgil family belonged to a respected academic background in Pune. His father was Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, an economist known for the Gadgil formula for state funding. He was married to Sulochana Gadgil, a meteorologist and Harvard scholar, whom he met at Fergusson College. She passed away in July 2025. Madhav Gadgil family includes two children, a son named Siddhartha Gadgil, who is a mathematician and professor at IISc, and a daughter who works as a journalist and Spanish teacher.