History of Corbett

The forests were cleared to make the area less vulnerable to Rohilla invaders. The Raja of Tehri formally ceded a part of his princely state to the East India Company in return for their assistance in ousting the Gurkhas from his domain. The Boks as a tribe from the Terai settled on the land and began growing crops, but in the early 1860s they were evicted with the advent of British rule. The British forest department established control over the land and prohibited cultivation and the operation of cattle stations.The British administration considered the possibility of creating a game reserve there in 1907 and established a reserve area known as Hailey National Park covering 323.75 km2 (125.00 sq mi) in 1936. The preserve was renamed in 1954-55 as Ramganga National Park and was again renamed in 1955-56 as Corbett National Park. The new name honours the well-known author and wildlife conservationist Jim Corbett, who played a key role in creating the reserve by using his influence to persuade the provincial government to establish it.
The reserve does not allow hunting, but does permit timber cutting for domestic purposes. Soon after the establishment of the reserve, rules prohibiting killing and capturing of mammals, reptiles and birds within its boundaries were passed. The park fared well during the 1930s under an elected administration. But during the Second World War, it suffered from excessive poaching and timber cutting. Over time the area in the reserve was increased-797.72 km2 (308.00 sq mi) were added in 1991 as a buffer for the Corbett Tiger Reserve. The 1991 additions included the entire Kalagarh forest division, assimilating the 301.18 km2 (116.29 sq mi) area of Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary as a part of the Kalagarh division. It was chosen in 1974 as the location for launching Project Tiger, an ambitious and well known wildlife conservation project. The reserve is administered from its headquarters in the district of Nainital. Corbett National Park is one of the thirteen protected areas covered by World Wildlife Fund under their Terai Arc Landscape Programme. The programme aims to protect three of the five terrestrial flagship species, the tiger, the Asian elephant and the Great One-horned Rhinoceros, by restoring corridors of forest to link 13 protected areas of Nepal and India to enable wildlife migration.
The natural uniqueness of the area was recognized long ago as a result of which in 1936 Corbett attained the distinction of becoming the first National Park to be established in mainland Asia. The park was then named as the 'Hailey National Park' and was later renamed as 'Corbett National Park' after James Edward Corbett the noted hunter turned conservationist of the area. The area came under 'Project Tiger' in 1971 when Gov. of India launched this ambitious conservation project.

Jim Corbett National Park, which is a part of the larger Corbett Tiger Reserve, a Project Tiger Reserve lies in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand. The magical landscape of Corbett is well known and fabled for its tiger richness. Established in the year 1936 as Hailey National Park, Corbett has the glory of being India's oldest and most prestigious National Park. It is also being honored as the place where Project Tiger was first launched in 1973. This unique tiger territory is best known as the father who gave birth of the Project Tiger in India to protect the most endangered species and the Royal of India called Tigers.
The dense Jungles of the Jim Corbett National Park were the private land of the local rulers as the princely state of Tehri Garhwal before the years 1815-20 of the British Rule. The jungles were uninhabited to make the area less unprotected to Rohilla attackers. The Maha Raja of Tehri authoritatively surrendered a division of his princely state to the East India Company in return for their support in ousting the Gurkhas from his state. Even if the actuality that the rights had passed into the British hands, the government compensated modest or no concern to the protection of the park.The single aim was to develop the natural resources and take out as much profits as possible from the jungle.
Corbett National Park was the first national park of India and the Indian subcontinent, when it was established on 8 August 1936. It was then called Hailey National Park after Sir Malcolm Hailey, the then governor of the United Provinces. Major Jim Corbett was largely responsible for delineation of the park boundaries. After India attained independence in 1947 the park was renamed as Ramganga National Park. In 1957, it was renamed as Corbett National Park, in memory of Jim Corbett. Project Tiger, India's ambitious conservation program to save the tiger and its habitat was launched from Corbett in 1973. In 1991 the area of the reserve was enlarged to its present area, with a large buffer area coming under the direct control of the Field Director.