Which one of the following is the first National Park established in India ?

Jim Corbett National Park is the first National Park established in India [1]. It was founded in 1936 in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand (formerly part of Uttar Pradesh) and was originally named Hailey National Park after Sir Malcolm Hailey, the then Governor of the United Provinces [1][t1][t6]. The park was established primarily to protect the Bengal tiger and serves as a pioneer in Indian wildlife conservation [t2][t6]. In contrast, other options were established much later: Bandipur National Park was established in 1974 [t3], Velavadar (Blackbuck) National Park in 1976, and Periyar National Park was declared a national park in 1982 [c1][t3]. Jim Corbett National Park also holds the distinction of being the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative in 1973 [t8].

Sources

1. [1] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Popular National Parks of India > p. 43