Think tourism in India and the first images that will flash through your mind is -- the Taj Mahal and the Indian tiger. Tigers, and the protected areas created for their conservation, are the dominant motif of the picture postcard from favourite holiday destinations. If you've ever seen a tiger postcard, it's an even money bet that the picture is from the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve -- one of the most popular tiger reserves in the country. But don't let the pretty picture fool you -- the situation in Ranthambore is anything but pretty. Conservationists allege that tigers are disappearing from the park at an alarming rate. The crisis has been caused by a number of well-known reasons -- from organised poaching to human pressures on the park's resources. But some believe that there is more to the tiger crisis. The business of hospitality and the mismanagement of tourists could be damaging the park and its magnificent animals. But more importantly, they say that the way this business is organised could be seriously jeopardising the relationships between the animal inhabitants of the park and the humans that live outside. They say tourism is benefiting a few but hurting many, which is why anger is intensifying against conservation. In this classic and much repeated fight between the rich and the poor, the problem is confounded by the perception that the lawmakers and the beneficiaries are often the same people. People in the town neighbouring the sanctuary will tell you that their problem is that people who direct conservation policies profit from the regulations that promote tourism and park management. They even believe that this is ultimately hurting the very species that brings tourists to this back of beyond place. Tourism, they say, in the way it is practised in Ranthambore, is part of the scourge that is killing tigers -- slowly but inexorably. Many conservationists disagree. They say tourism is big bucks, which can be invested in protection. Tourism is pleasure and education, which can help build the constituency to protect, conserve and cherish the wild beasts. But what happens when the owner-proponents of tourism are the same as the manager-proponents of conservation? Does this compromise their position? Does this compromise conservation? kushal pal singh yadav travels to the tiger reserve and then to Jaipur, to see how Ranthambore-style tiger tourism could well decide the Indian tiger's fate. Tiger tourism is special because here business is based on conservation. If there are no tigers, there will be no tourists. The moot question is what does this business do for conservation?