India: Evicted Tribe Re-Occupies Their Homes Inside Famous Tiger Reserve
A group of Indigenous people who were evicted from their ancestral village in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in south India 40 years ago have returned to their former homes.
It's believed to be the first time Indigenous people in India have asserted their rights in this way, and returned en masse to their homes after being evicted from a Protected Area.
More than 50 Jenu Kuruba families took part in the long-planned operation, and have started building houses using their traditional materials and techniques. The Jenu Kuruba say they decided to return because their sacred spirits, who still dwell in the old village location, became angry at being abandoned when the community was forced from the forest in the 1980s.
Forest department officials, backed up by police, warned the Jenu Kuruba against re-occupying their homes, but the Indigenous people castigated them for delaying the recognition of their forest rights for years, and went ahead anyway. Today around 130 police officers and forest guards were on the scene, and prevented journalists from accessing the area.
Shivu, a young Jenu Kuruba leader, said today: 'Historical injustice continues to happen over us by denying our rights on our lands, forests and access to sacred spaces. Tiger conservation is a scheme of the forest department and various wildlife NGO's to grab indigenous lands by forcefully moving us out, but opening the very same lands in the pretext of tourism to make money
We have to today returned to our home lands and forests. we will remain here. Our sacred sprits are with us.'
Jenu Kuruba families begin to construct a house for their ancestors, as they rebuild their old village inside Nagarhole National Park. ©Sartaz Ali Barkat/ Survival
In a statement the Jenu Kuruba of Nagarhole said: 'Enough is Enough. We can't part from our lands anymore. We want our children and youth to live a life that our ancestors once lived. Tigers, elephants, peacocks, wild boar, wild dogs are our deities. We have been worshipping them as our ancestral spirits since generations. This deliberate attempt to separate us from our lands, forests and sacred spaces will not be tolerated. We resist the current conservation model based on the false idea that forests, wildlife and humans cannot coexist.'
For decades it has been official policy in India, as in many other countries around the world, to evict Indigenous people whose lands are turned into Protected Areas, a practice known as Fortress Conservation.
An estimated 20,000 Jenu Kuruba people have been illegally evicted from Nagarhole. Another 6,000 resisted, and have managed to stay in the park.
The Jenu Kuruba's belief system centers around their connection to the forest, its wildlife, and their gods – including the tigers who live there – but forest guards harass, threaten, and even shoot members of the tribe.
Jenu Kuruba people are experts in their environment. They gather medicine, honey, fruits, vegetables, tubers, and the thatch and bamboo needed to build their houses.
Famed for their honey collecting skills – Jenu Kuruba means 'honey collectors' – they are guided from birth to death by the philosophy 'Nanga Kadu Ajjayya… Nanga Kadina Jenu Ajjayya – Our forests are sacred… The honey from our forest is sacred.'
Those beliefs underpin the tribe's careful management of their environment and have ensured tiger survival. Indeed, the healthy tiger population found in their forest is what drove the Indian government to turn the area into a Tiger Reserve. It has one of the highest concentrations of tigers in all of India.
Caroline Pearce, Director of Survival International, said today: 'The Jenu Kuruba people's re-occupation of their ancestral land is an inspirational act of repossession. They're reclaiming what was theirs, in defiance of a hugely powerful conservation and tourism industry that has enriched itself at their expense.
'If the Indian government really cares about tiger conservation, it will not only allow the Jenu Kuruba people to return, but encourage them to do so – because the science is clear that tigers thrive alongside the Indigenous people whose forests they live in.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
29-05-2025
- RNZ News
Chinese paraglider survives accidental flight in the clouds without oxygen
By Jennifer Hauser , CNN Chinese paraglider Peng Yujiang says he "definitely won't fly for a while" after surviving high altitude accident. Photo: CCTV via Reuters via CNN Newsource Chinese paraglider Peng Yujiang is lucky to be back on the ground after surviving a powerful updraft that suddenly lifted him into the upper atmosphere above the Qilian Mountains in China's Gansu Province on Saturday. Peng reportedly went soaring 8,598 metres or about 28,208 feet without oxygen; amateur video shared by Chinese state media showed Peng with ice covering his face and clothes while drifting in the clouds. "I had just bought a second-hand paragliding harness and wanted to test it, so I was conducting ground parachute shaking. After a while, the wind suddenly picked up and lifted me into the air. I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed," Peng told Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) on Tuesday. "I found myself surrounded by cumulonimbus clouds and trapped inside. It was terrifying - everything around me was white. Without the compass, I wouldn't have known which direction I was heading. "I thought I was flying straight, but in reality, I was spinning. Eventually, I managed to fly out toward the northeast," he added. Peng said he was shocked to learn he reached such a high altitude and believe he might have briefly lost consciousness, state media reported. Peng had been paragliding for more than four years and is a certified B-level paraglider which required at least 20 days of flight experience, per CCTV. He was able to control his paraglider using his compass and radio communication with teammates despite having nearly frozen and numb hands, state media reports. "As soon as I came out of the clouds, I was very excited because I had survived. The scariest moment was when I tried to pull out of the spiral and failed and when the canopy nosedived. It's still frightening to think about," Peng told CCTV. "I'm not sure about the future, but for now I definitely won't fly for a while," he added. - CNN
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Scoop
UN Awards 2025 Mandela Prize To Brenda Reynolds And Kennedy Odede
28 May 2025 Secretary-General António Guterres will present the award to Brenda Reynolds and Kennedy Odede on 18 July, Nelson Mandela International Day. Established in 2014, the prize is awarded every five years to two individuals whose work reflects the late South African President's legacy of leadership, humility, service, and unity across borders. 'This year's Mandela prize winners embody the spirit of unity and possibility – reminding us how we all have the power to shape stronger communities and a better world,' said Mr. Guterres. Brenda Reynolds A Status Treaty member of the Fishing Lake Saulteaux First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, Brenda Reynolds has spent decades advancing Indigenous rights, mental health, and trauma-informed care. In 1988, she supported 17 teenage girls in the first residential school sexual abuse case in Saskatchewan. Later, she became a special adviser to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), helping shape survivor support and trauma responses. She is most recognised for her key role in Canada's court-ordered Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and her subsequent development of the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Program—a national initiative offering culturally grounded mental health care for survivors and families. In 2023, she was invited by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to share her expertise on trauma and cultural genocide. Kennedy Odede Living in Kenya's Kibera Slum for 23 years, Kennedy Odede went from living on the street at 10 years old to global recognition when he was named one of TIME magazine's 2024 100 Most Influential People. His journey began with a small act: saving his meagre factory earnings to buy a soccer ball and bring his community together. That spark grew into Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a grassroots movement he now leads as CEO. SHOFCO operates in 68 locations across Kenya, empowering local groups and delivering vital services to over 2.4 million people every year. Mr. Odede is also a New York Times bestselling co-author and holds roles with USAID, the World Economic Forum, the Obama Foundation, and the Clinton Global Initiative.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- RNZ News
Five-year-old Ward Sheikh Khalil shares story of survival after Israeli air strike
By Matthew Doran , ABC Ward Sheikh Khalil. Photo: ABC News Sitting amongst charred rubble and clutching a rag doll with a few strands of bright pink woollen hair, Ward Sheikh Khalil is handling a wave of attention with maturity beyond her years. Her story of survival is stunning, to say the least - particularly given the unimaginable losses her family experienced in the early hours of Monday morning. A silhouette of Ward, calmly walking through a school set ablaze in an Israeli air strike, quickly spread around the world. Now in full view, the brave 5-year-old explained how she remarkably survived the fire. "I escaped the fire walking on the side [of the room]," she told the ABC in Gaza City. "My mother's room was smashed and the ceiling fell on me. "I went out alone, no-one helped me. "I escaped the fire, then came back and found no-one. I was on my own." Ward's father and brother survived the strike and the fire and remain in hospital in a critical condition. Her mother and five brothers and sisters perished. "That's my sister's sandal," she pointed out in the rubble. "Mum is in paradise." Ward Sheikh Khalil is seen escaping the school strike in Gaza City. Photo: ABC/Supplied The family had been sheltering in the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi School in Gaza City, after being forced to flee Israel's bombardment of the strip multiple times during the course of the 19-month-long war. Palestinian health authorities said 36 people were killed in the strike - the majority of them women and children. "We are staying at a school even though they bomb schools, but what can we do?" Ward's uncle, Iyad Sheikh Khalil, told the ABC. "There are no alternatives - streets are full, landfills are full, neighbourhoods and homes are full, we hardly have homes like before." Iyad was staying in a different area when he heard the news of a strike hitting the school where his brother's family were sheltering. "We went on social media, I saw the image of Ward - I recognised her," he said. "That's how I found out that the missile hit my brother and his children. "We did not dare come at night because at night planes will hit you if you walk on the street. " Iyad said it was a "real miracle" that his niece had survived. The Israel Defense Forces and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet said it had been targeting a "command and control centre" used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. "The command and control centre was used by the terrorists to plan and gather intelligence in order to execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops," it said in a statement. "Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence." The comments do not mention giving advance notice to families sheltering at the school to flee. "I was not here, but that was without warning," Iyad said. "Had there been an evacuation order, they would have moved out, we would not have seen that many killed and injured." Israel also has not released any evidence to back up its claim that militants were using the school as a command centre. The only imagery released was a satellite image with highlighted areas showing what Israel said the military hit. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is the latest world leader to condemn Israel's conduct in Gaza, following in the footsteps of British, French and Canadian politicians intensifying their criticism of the Netanyahu government. "The expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza targeting civilian infrastructure, among them a school that served as a shelter for displaced Palestinian families, killing civilians, including children, is abhorrent," Ms von der Leyen told Jordan's King Abdullah, according to an EU readout of their latest phone call. "We call on the government of Israel to put an immediate halt on the current escalation. "We also call on the terrorist organisation of Hamas to immediately and without any delays release the remaining hostages cruelly held since 7 October 2023." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reiterated his concerns about the conflict. "What has happened in recent days appears to me no longer to be urgently necessary for the defence of Israel's right to exist and for fighting Hamas's terrorism," he told a press conference in Finland. "The civilian population is being affected excessively here. "What is happening there at present is no longer comprehensible and therefore, we will intensify dialogue with the government in Israel." The sharper language from world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has been welcomed but also as coming far too late for the Palestinian population in Gaza. Since the war began, Palestinian health authorities said more than 53,000 people had been killed in Israeli strikes. More than 1100 were killed and 250 taken hostage in Hamas's deadly attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, fuelling the war. Fifty-eight hostages remain in the strip, and the Netanyahu government is facing intense criticism at home over its handling of ceasefire and hostage release negotiations. - ABC
