Jenu Kuruba leaders refuse to call Nagarahole a tiger reserve
Mysuru: Jenu Kuruba tribal leaders from Karadikallu Atturu Kolli Haadi inside the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Ponnampet taluk of Kodagu district said on Monday that they will never call Nagarahole a tiger reserve.
This is not a tiger reserve. It is just Nagarahole. We were forcibly moved out of our soil in the name of forest-tiger protection, Shivu JA, JK Timma, and Shivamma said.
Speaking at a press meet organised by the Nagarahole Indigenous Land Assertion Committee, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and Communities Network Against Protected Areas (CNAPA), they alleged that those who don't know anything about the forest are encroaching on the forests in the name of conservation.
Shivu stated that all the 52 Jenu Kuruba families now staying in their ancestral land are happy with what is available inside the forest now. "For decades, we were made to struggle in the lane houses," he said. He alleged that forest department officials misused the provisions of the law to displace them.
Timma recollected his experience with a tiger conservation project where he demonstrated his understanding of the forest.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Homens acima dos 40 anos estão comprando esse óculos militar
Óculos Max
Saiba Mais
Undo
"Unfortunately, those who don't know anything about the forest and wild animals are allowed to encroach on the forests while those who know the forest are sent out of the forests," he charged.
He alleged that the tiger conservation projects resulted in the death of tigers.
Shivamma urged govt agencies not to displace them as they are leading a real life in their own hamlets.
Nitin Rai, an independent scholar who has looked at the socio-ecological impacts of wildlife conservation, and Pranab Doley, a community leader from the Mising community, Kaziranga, Assam, and convener of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Committee, who is also the founding member of CNAPA, spoke during the press meet.
Rai alleged that govt agencies are misusing the increase in the number of tigers to dilute the forest laws for the benefit of mining and other activities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
3 days ago
- The Hindu
Group of over 200 demands Tribal Welfare Department to urgently address violations faced by tribals in Nagarahole
Representatives of a solidarity group of 206 social and environmental organisations, lawyers, academics, and other professionals, submitted a joint memorandum to Randeep D., Principal Secretary, Tribal Welfare Department, and Yogesh, Director, Tribal Welfare Department, to urgently address the alleged ongoing violation of forest and tribal rights at Karadikallu, Nagarahole, where 150 Jenu Kuruba adivasis are facing 'forced eviction' in violations of the Forest Rights Act. The members of the solidarity group include groups such as India Labour Solidarity (U.K.-based), Food Sovereignty Alliance, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Community Network Against Protected Areas, Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, Fridays For Future India, National Alliance of People's Movements, and Students for Peoples Democracy, as well as activists including Meera Sanghamitra, Clifton D'Rozario, Yuvan Aves, and Disha A. Ravi. Signatories also include academics from IIT Madras, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, National Law School of India University, and Azim Premji University. The collective submitted this letter in light of the tense situation that has been unfolding at Karadikallu Hattur Kollehaadi, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, since May 5 after the tribals re-entered the forests 'to reclaim their ancestral land'. 'Over 120 paramilitary troops of the Forest Department, State police, and Special Tiger Protection Force were deployed to intimidate members of the Jenu Kuruba tribe, with threats to evict them forcibly. In addition to this, the Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Nagarahole Wildlife division, issued a letter on May 8, citing a supposed May 6 High Court order, later found to have been fabricated, suspending the FRA-related activities, thus asking the Jenu Kuruba families to vacate their ancestral homeland in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve,' said a statement from the collective. The letter by the collective termed it 'a blatant attempt to withhold implementation of the FRA, 2006, amounting to perjury (lying under oath) under criminal law for the tiger reserve authorities, as well as section 3 (g) of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.' According to members of the collective, Mr. Randeep promised to look into the grievances and address them, and was open to sending a delegation to Nagarahole.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Adivasis say Project Tiger and tourism are displacing them from their ancestral land
TOI correspondent from London: Indigenous communities across India are being pushed out of their ancestral lands in the name of tourism and expansion of tiger projects whilst the laws to protect them are being diluted and not implemented properly, Adivasis told a global press briefing on Monday. 'They say India has got freedom. But I think Adivasi people have not yet got freedom,' J C Shivamma, from the Jenu Kuruba tribe, said at the online event organised by Community Network Against Protected Areas. She is among the 52 households who reoccupied their ancestral land within Nagarhole tiger reserve on May 5, 35 years after their families were forcibly evicted. 'Some of our family members died when in the plantations, but our sacred deities, our graveyard, everything that concerns us, is still in the village, so we used to go back to bury our people in our ancestral land, but it was always a fight with the forest department toconduct rituals. We consider our ancestors to be on the lands, they become deities and this way we were tortured. If we have to die, we will die on our ancestral land,' she said. Shivu JA recalled how their houses were burnt and elephants brought to destroy their fields when they were evicted from Karadikallu. 'This land is ours. It's not any tiger project or scheme of the govt for tiger conservation,' he said. 'Our elders are very happy now. We are having our food, we are going for honey collection. We have our own water resource. We sit together in the evening, and they are teaching us songs. All these songs and lessons were silenced for 40 years." 'The forest department keeps saying that only after your rights are recognised, you can live on this land. We already have these rights,' he said. The Jenu Kurubas are filing a case against the Forest Department under the SC/ST Atrocities Act for withholding their rights and filing an appeal against 39 rejected forest rights claims. 'Why are their rights not being recognised despite the notification of central legislation such as the Forest Rights Act 2006,' asked scholar Nitin Rai. 'People across the country in different states are fighting the same battles. It is important to find a way to raise a collective voice for what is happening all over,' said lawyer Lara Jesani.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Jenu Kuruba leaders refuse to call Nagarahole a tiger reserve
Mysuru: Jenu Kuruba tribal leaders from Karadikallu Atturu Kolli Haadi inside the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Ponnampet taluk of Kodagu district said on Monday that they will never call Nagarahole a tiger reserve. This is not a tiger reserve. It is just Nagarahole. We were forcibly moved out of our soil in the name of forest-tiger protection, Shivu JA, JK Timma, and Shivamma said. Speaking at a press meet organised by the Nagarahole Indigenous Land Assertion Committee, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and Communities Network Against Protected Areas (CNAPA), they alleged that those who don't know anything about the forest are encroaching on the forests in the name of conservation. Shivu stated that all the 52 Jenu Kuruba families now staying in their ancestral land are happy with what is available inside the forest now. "For decades, we were made to struggle in the lane houses," he said. He alleged that forest department officials misused the provisions of the law to displace them. Timma recollected his experience with a tiger conservation project where he demonstrated his understanding of the forest. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Homens acima dos 40 anos estão comprando esse óculos militar Óculos Max Saiba Mais Undo "Unfortunately, those who don't know anything about the forest and wild animals are allowed to encroach on the forests while those who know the forest are sent out of the forests," he charged. He alleged that the tiger conservation projects resulted in the death of tigers. Shivamma urged govt agencies not to displace them as they are leading a real life in their own hamlets. Nitin Rai, an independent scholar who has looked at the socio-ecological impacts of wildlife conservation, and Pranab Doley, a community leader from the Mising community, Kaziranga, Assam, and convener of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Committee, who is also the founding member of CNAPA, spoke during the press meet. Rai alleged that govt agencies are misusing the increase in the number of tigers to dilute the forest laws for the benefit of mining and other activities.
