Van Vihar National Park
national park in Madhya Pradesh, India
Van Vihar National Park is a national park in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Declared a national park in 1979, it covers an area of about 4.45 km2. It has the status of a national park, but is developed and managed as a modern zoological park, following the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority. Animals are kept in near natural habitats. Most animals are either orphaned and brought from various parts of the state or are exchanged from other zoos. No animal is deliberately captured from the forest. Van Vihar is unique because visitors access it from a road through the park, and trenches, walls, and chain-link fencing protect the animals from poachers while providing natural habitat.
History
In the mid twentieth century a number of illegal stone quarries were operational in the area and, being in a serene and beautiful location on the bank of big lake, many commercial organizations were trying to take hold of this valuable piece of land.
Realizing the importance of both in-situ and ex-situ conservation of wild fauna, it was decided to provide this area with a legal umbrella under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. A committee of experts was constituted to decide how to make Van Vihar a protected area.
“Van Vihar National Park” enters the record as national park in Madhya Pradesh, India. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Vihar, National and Park can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Van Vihar National Park” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Vihar, National and Park provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3092357. Authority coordinates are 23.229, 77.370. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1979 and 1972.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Van Vihar National Park”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Van Vihar National Park primary sources, Van Vihar National Park archive and Vihar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Van Vihar National Park”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Van Vihar National Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.