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Deccan Herald
4 days ago
- General
- Deccan Herald
Lessons in co-existence: Karnataka tribes blend rituals with conservation
Waghoba, Beteraya, Wageli, Wagro, Hulidevara, Huliyappa, and Huliveerappa — these are just some of the many names by which the awe-inspiring tiger is known among forest dwellers across Karnataka. These names are not merely linguistic variations. They reflect deep devotion among Kunabi, Soliga, Havyaka and Jenukuruba these communities, the tiger is both protector and destroyer, revered as a divine being who rules the land. To live in harmony with this king of the forest, they believe, is to ensure a win-win relationship for both humans and the beast. .'Project Tiger' review: Retelling the tiger's before the world began observing International Tiger Day on July 29, celebrated globally since 2010, forest communities in India — including those in Karnataka's Western Ghats and coastal tiger territories — have worshipped the big centuries, certain rituals have invoked the tiger's blessings. For instance, when newlywed daughters or daughters-in-law pass through forested paths on their way to their husband's home, families seek the tiger's protection for a safe journey. Similarly, prayers are offered at the start of the harvest season or before cattle are sent to graze in the forest. .This blend of reverence and ritual can be seen clearly in the town of Londa in Belagavi district, where the Waghoba temple stands as a symbol of enduring devotion. Locals say the recently renovated temple is more than 300 years old. It was once surrounded by dense forest, until railway tracks laid during British rule fragmented the landscape and brought human settlements closer. .Ravishankar Mirashi, a priest from the Kunabi community, recalls how the temple served as a ritual starting point for brides heading to their new homes. 'The entire village would gather at the temple and pray to Lord Waghoba to keep her safe as she passed through the forest path,' he today, Waghoba is honoured with special prayers during the ten days of Dasara. Devotional songs in Marathi echo through the temple, sung by members of the Kunabi community. On Mondays and new moon days, rituals are held to seek protection from the tiger deity. 'No labourer will begin harvesting in nearby fields without offering prayers to Waghoba first,' says Mirashi. .Elevated statusBeyond individual temples, the belief system itself gives the tiger an elevated place in spiritual life. There are sacred sites where the tiger is worshipped even before Lord Ganesha, who traditionally receives the first prayers in Hindu rituals. In some places, the tiger is venerated as the mount of deities; in others, it is worshipped as a deity in its own the Soliga community, tiger worship is not a seasonal ritual but an intrinsic part of daily life. Frequently cited as a model of human-animal coexistence, the Soligas do not see the tiger merely as the mount of their deity, Male Mahadeshwara.'Every Soliga child grows up hearing hundreds of songs praising the tiger's strength and grace. Huliveerappa is our judge. We believe he punishes those who harm the community or break the laws of the forest,' says Soliga leader Dr C Madegowda from B R Hills. .Tiger worship among the Soligas peaks during Ugadi and the harvest season. From February to May, community members carry tiger idols in processions as part of seasonal rituals that reinforce their respect for the Agnihotri, who has worked with the Soliga tribes, explains that deifying a wild animal was a conscious way to ensure its tribal communities recognised that safeguarding the tiger also meant preserving the forest around it. .'At a time when tigers are rapidly losing their habitat and human-tiger conflicts are rising, there is much to learn from these traditional practices. They remind us that conserving this apex predator, an umbrella species, is also a way of conserving the forest itself,' she reverence is echoed across regions. In Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, there are hundreds of Hulidevara temples and sacred groves dedicated to tigers. In Joida taluk, for instance, the Kunabi community places the tiger third in their religious hierarchy. 'After our local deity and the Astadikpalakas, the tiger or Vagro is our most important god. During Holi, we offer him special prayers,' says community member Jayanand Derekar. .According to him, the tiger is regarded as a leader or Nayak. Every hamlet has either a statue or a stone that serves as a site of worship. 'Though we have lived among tigers for centuries, not a single one has harmed or killed a member of our community. We believe a tiger will attack only if one commits an unpardonable sin. In such cases, we perform special prayers at one of the tiger's sacred sites as an act of repentance,' he also notes that the tiger defines the boundaries between its territory and human habitation. 'This understanding ensures that we do not over-extract minor forest produce from protected areas. Today, the modern forest department's tender system is breaching these boundaries, leading to more human-animal conflict.'Further south, in Yellapur and neighbouring areas, the tiger is revered with an added sense of fear. Members of the Havyaka community offer one coconut for each head of cattle they own, a gesture of supplication to the the holy month of Karthika, as the rest of the country celebrates Deepavali, the Havyakas begin their rituals with prayers to the tiger before turning to their cows. .ConservationEnvironmentalist Shivananda Kalave explains that the practice of balake ondu tenginakai — one coconut for every cattle tail — is a prayer asking the tiger not to harm their livestock when grazing. Here, the Hulidevara temples are not located within villages, but deep inside the jungle.'The presence of such temples is proof that tigers once lived in these areas. Within half a kilometre of each site, there is usually a perennial water source. These forest patches were left untouched by humans in reverence for the tiger,' Kalave says. He has documented more than 160 such places between Bhatkal and Yellapur in Uttara Kannada.'Not all of these temples have tiger idols. Some are marked by stones, hillocks or trees that were known tiger haunts. The Malnad region is dotted with many such Hulikallu and Hulimane,' he many experts agree that these traditions stem in part from fear, they also acknowledge the role such beliefs have played in creating safe spaces for wildlife. These cultural practices, born from reverence and restraint, have quietly contributed to conservation for generations.
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Business Standard
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Environment ministry rejects FRA subversion charge, says facts twisted
The Environment Ministry has strongly rejected allegations by forest rights groups that it is attempting to "subvert" the Forest Rights Act (FRA), calling them a "gross misunderstanding of facts" and asserting that it remains committed to both environmental protection and the welfare of forest-dependent communities. In a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 90 forest rights organisations had accused the ministry of trying to undermine the FRA and demanded that Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav clarify his reported statement that the "FRA leads to forest degradation". The groups said the minister's remarks, published in a newspaper article on June 5, were "false, misleading, legally untenable and an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the FRA". Responding to the criticism, the ministry said in a statement: "The reference in social media to a letter alleging 'Subversion of the Forest Rights Act' reflects a gross misunderstanding of facts. MOEFCC remains committed to protecting forests, India's green cover and communities dependent on them or living in the vicinity of said areas." It said that Yadav's statement as quoted in social media has been "grossly misrepresented, distorted, represented in a piecemeal manner and is totally out of context". According to the ministry, the minister's comment referred to findings in the latest India State of Forest Report which showed a net increase in the country's forest cover, though some areas did experience degradation due to various reasons. It said this degradation could be addressed through protection measures involving local communities. "The context of the statement about increase in forest cover and halting of the degradation of forest through active involvement of the local community has been totally undermined, overlooked and misrepresented," it said. The ministry also pointed to the government's recent initiatives to work closely with tribal communities, citing direct interactions by the environment minister with the Tharu tribal community in Uttar Pradesh's Dudhwa region and the Soliga tribals in Karnataka. "These efforts ensured their active involvement in management of tiger habitats and surrounding forest areas, both of which elicited a very good response," it said. On the issue of encroachment, the ministry said it relies on data provided by state governments and Union Territories. "The status of forest encroachments remains dynamic The allegations being made that MoEFCC submits legally untenable data on encroachment in different forums is totally incorrect, unfounded and does not hold any merit." Refuting the criticism about relocation of villages from tiger reserves, the ministry said: "The point quoted about the relocation of villages from core areas of tiger reserves is devoid of merit and misrepresentation of facts. The voluntary relocation of villages is a key strategy in India's wildlife conservation efforts." It added that such relocation is conducted by state governments and governed by both the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the FRA, 2006. The ministry also defended the recent amendments to the Forest Conservation Act, now renamed Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, saying the changes were passed following constitutional and parliamentary procedures. "The allegation that Van (Sansarkhan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam has been amended, subverting the legitimacy of institutional authorities has been made without an in-depth knowledge and understanding of its various provisions," the ministry said. It pointed to Rule 11(7) of the new rules, which mandates that rights under the FRA must be settled before any forest land is diverted. The forest rights groups had also alleged that the ministry and forest bureaucracy had "stiffly resisted and disrupted" the implementation of the FRA for 16 years and that amendments to forest laws had ignored the concerns of constitutional bodies and local communities. The ministry, however, said it has been making "unprecedented attempts" to both expand India's green cover and ensure the sustainability of forest-based livelihoods. "In the interest of India's fight for a greener future, it is imperative individuals desist from deliberate misinformation and selective quoting of issues," it said.
Hindustan Times
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Removing 'locals' won't save forests, need more humanitarian approach: Bhupender Yadav
New Delhi, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday said forests cannot be protected by "removing local" communities and that there is a need to take a fresh look at forest management in the country to prevent human-wildlife conflicts. Removing 'locals' won't save forests, need more humanitarian approach: Bhupender Yadav Addressing the Indian Conservation Conference at the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun, the minister said there is a need to bring a more humanitarian approach into conservation policies. "We should combine our scientific approach and traditions... Don't even imagine that the forest will be protected once you make everyone vacate it," Yadav said. "I am the forest minister, but I am saying this with utmost seriousness, if you remove all the local people, does that make the forest safe? And then later, if you bring in 10,000 tourists, is the forest still fine? If the forest is safe with 10,000 tourists, then how is it harmed by people who have been living there for thousands of years?" he said. The minister said building a developed India means caring for the people connected to the land and for the animals, too. "I am talking about moving forward with an open mind. Both ecology and economy are important," Yadav said. He emphasised the need to take a relook at the country's forest management. "This review must also be done in the context of the Godavarman judgment. What were the practices before this judgment? We need to consider this in light of the new and changing pressures," he said. "In Dudhwa, tigers have entered sugarcane fields; in Karnataka, elephants are coming into coffee plantations; and wild boars are regularly destroying crops. So, we need to think in a new way. The solution is not just wire fencing. We must move forward with coexistence, new approaches, traditions and our traditional knowledge," Yadav said. He said people who have been living in forests for thousands of years are repositories of this traditional knowledge, but this knowledge has not yet been documented or codified. "There is the Soliga tribe in the forest areas of Karnataka, the Meenas in Sariska and the Maldharis in the Gir forest of Gujarat. Tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh have coexisted with elephants for a long time. The Baiga people in the Amarkantak region of Madhya Pradesh can recall more herb names than a student of botany. The traditional knowledge of tribal communities in India's forest areas is our heritage," he said. Yadav said the government will organise a conference focusing on the documentation of traditional knowledge in Kolkata on June 30. "Their practices, way of life, and experiences, combined with a scientific approach, can help resolve many conflicts. For example, if you go south of Bandipur in Karnataka, it is not as if the Soliga people face wildlife attacks every day. They understand animal movements and other related aspects very well," he said. The minister also said that India has added 11 tiger reserves in the last 11 years, taking the total number to 58, despite all the challenges. "This reflects our commitment to wildlife conservation. Otherwise, why would we declare more areas as tiger reserves despite such immense population pressure," he said. The number of Ramsar sites, which are wetlands of international importance, has increased from 25 to 91 in the last 11 years, he said, adding that the government is also working to conserve dolphins, elephants, tigers and sloth bears. Yadav said India has proved to the world that ecological responsibility can go hand in hand with economic progress. "From the launch of the International Big Cat Alliance to our contributions at COP28, we are proving to the world that ecological responsibility can walk hand in hand with economic progress," he said. Initiatives like MISHTI, Amrit Dharohar and the Green Credit Programme reflect the Centre's commitment to a development model rooted in tradition, technology, and trust in communities, the minister said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
