Increased Tiger Population Led to Nagarhole Tribals’ Eviction from their Ancestral Lands
Updated [16/May/23] The forest dwellers have been in constant struggle to win back their ancestral lands for decades in Nagarhoe Tiger Reserve near the Kerala-Karnataka border. Generation of Adivasi Communities had their settlements in the region till it was declared as one of the 53 Indian tiger reserves in 1999.
Around 47 villages have been unsettled after the Nagarhole was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and a national park in 1988. The evicted forest dwellers have been forcefully transferred to gated communities with insufficient amenities and many were even rendered homeless.
The displaced forest dwellers’ lives turned upside down as they were unable to adapt to the new livelihood, completely uprooted from their original lands. The agony of alienation has persisted since 6 decades of the Betta Kurubas, Jenu Kuribas, Paniyas, Yaravas and other Adivasi communities.
In March 2023, several Adivasi communities from various parts of India came in solidarity with the Nagarhole tribals to win back their original habitat along with dignity. The population of the big cat has witnessed a steep rise from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,167 in 2022, based on accurate surveys. Unfortunately, the success came at the cost of the eviction of the forest dwellers, leading to the loss of their age-old livelihood process. The settlement colonies for their rehabilitation is like an open jail for them.
In the struggle to reclaim their ancestral land, many tribals of Nagarhole have lost their lives. Still, they did not let their morale down against the wrongful eviction, militarisation and violence against them in disguise of forest conservation.
The inhabitants of Nagarahole National Park have firmly stated that they are determined to continue with their demand under the forum of Nagarhole Adivasi Jammapale Hakku Sthapana Samiti (Nagarhole Adivasi Communities Rights Assertion Committee) till their claims to ancestral land are acknowledged, and the forceful dispossession of their ancestral land is halted.
