Sandalwood

For over 200 years, a private landowner in Karnataka could own a sandalwood tree, yet have no right to cut it. That strict monopoly, meant to protect the tree, instead helped create India’s most notorious smuggler. This article covers that history.

The Royal Tree

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1792

Declared The “Royal Tree”

Mysore state claims a monopoly over all sandalwood, private land included

1916

Government Sandalwood Oil Factory

Founded under Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV; Mysore Sandal Soap follows in 1918

2001

Private Cultivation Allowed

Karnataka Forest (Amendment) Act ends over 200 years of pure state monopoly

2004

Veerappan Killed

India’s most notorious sandalwood and ivory smuggler dies in Operation Cocoon

The paradox: A monopoly built to protect sandalwood ended up starving legal supply and fuelling one of India’s longest manhunts.

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Timeline

• In 1792, the Mysore state declared sandalwood a “Royal Tree.” Its harvest and sale became a strict government monopoly, even on private land.
• In 1916, the Government Sandalwood Oil Factory was founded. Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV and M. Visvesvaraya led the effort. Mysore Sandal Soap launched two years later, in 1918.
• In 2001, the Karnataka Forest (Amendment) Act finally allowed private cultivation. This ended over two centuries of pure state monopoly.
• In 2004, the bandit Veerappan was killed in Operation Cocoon. He had been wanted for smuggling sandalwood and ivory across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

Must Know

• India’s sandalwood belt, centred on Karnataka, is the natural home of Santalum album, the aromatic tree prized for its heartwood and oil.
• Even after the 2001 reform, the government kept tight control over the sandalwood trade, not just cultivation rights.
• Veerappan was wanted for over 120 murders and the large-scale smuggling of sandalwood and ivory. He evaded capture for nearly two decades.
• Sandalwood is listed under CITES, the international convention restricting trade in endangered species, and remains a prohibited export item.

Good to Know

• In 2008, Karnataka took a further step, letting state-backed agencies like Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) buy sandalwood directly from private growers.
• Under the old monopoly, landowners bore full responsibility for protecting sandalwood trees on their property. They faced heavy fines for theft or damage, yet gained no ownership rights in return.
• Mysore Sandal Soap, still sold under the KSDL brand today, remains one of India’s most recognised heritage products.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. In 1792, the Mysore state declared sandalwood a ‘Royal Tree,’ making its harvest and sale what?

A strict government monopoly

A local village-level trade

A fully free market good

An export-only commodity

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Great to Know

• Making landowners responsible for protecting a tree they could not legally profit from was a poor incentive design. It discouraged exactly the private cultivation the policy needed to succeed.
• Veerappan’s decades-long career reveals something structural. A strict legal monopoly, without matching enforcement capacity, can create the very black market it was meant to prevent.
• Reforming the law only in 2001, after decades of smuggling and violence, suggests regulation often changes reactively. Real damage frequently has to occur before entrenched rules get revisited.