Adivasis say Project Tiger and tourism are displacing them from their ancestral land
'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.
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Hindustan Times
39 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
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New Indian Express
2 hours ago
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Constitution under siege, BJP doing ideological coup to replace republic with theocratic state: Sonia Gandhi
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday alleged that the Constitution is "under siege" as the ruling BJP is using its power to dismantle the very framework it long opposed. She alleged that the BJP is seeking to bring an " ideological coup " by replacing our democratic republic with a theocratic corporate state serving the powerful few. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Others Management others Artificial Intelligence Digital Marketing Project Management Operations Management Data Science healthcare Data Analytics Technology PGDM Public Policy Design Thinking Product Management Leadership Finance Degree Cybersecurity Data Science MBA MCA CXO Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 months IIM Lucknow SEPO - IIML CHRO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT-ISB Transforming HR with Analytics & AI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details In her special message read out at the day-long national legal conclave on 'Constitutional Challenges - Perspectives and Pathways', Gandhi said the Congress would oppose every attempt to undermine the Constitution in Parliament, in courts and on the streets, asserting that it is not just a political but an ideological commitment to defend every Indian's dignity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Bilra: 1 Trick to Reduce Belly Fat? Home Fitness Hack Shop Now Undo "Today, the Constitution is under siege. The BJP-RSS, which never fought for freedom or upheld equality, now uses its power to dismantle the very framework it long opposed," she said. "Their ideological forebears glorified Manusmriti, rejected the tricolour, and envisioned a Hindu rashtra, where democracy is hollow and discrimination is the law. In power, they've eroded institutions, criminalised dissent, targeted minorities and betrayed Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and the working poor. Live Events "Now they seek to erase socialism and secularism , pillars of Ambedkar's vision of equal citizenship. This is not reform, but an ideological coup replacing our democratic republic with a theocratic corporate state serving the powerful few," the former Congress chief alleged. She stressed that India yearns for the inclusive, just and democratic nation envisaged by our freedom fighters and Constitution makers. "That is what the Congress party stands and fights for. We will oppose every attempt to undermine the Constitution, in Parliament, in courts, and on the streets. This is not just political, it is our ideological commitment to defend every Indian's dignity. I commend Abhishek Manu Singhvi and his team for reigniting this vital conversation. Our mission is clear - to reclaim the republic and protect the rights of each and every person," she said in her message. Gandhi said the Constitution is more than a legal charter and claimed that it is the moral foundation of our democracy, built on justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. Noting that the Constitution was shaped through the sacrifices and vision of the Indian National Congress, she said even before independence, the Congress imagined a Constitution "by Indians, for Indians". From the Nehru Report in 1928 to the demand for a Constituent Assembly in 1934, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru laid the groundwork and B R Ambedkar , as chairman of the Drafting Committee, gave form to these ideals. She said he warned that without social and economic justice, political democracy would be just a top dressing. "The Congress recognised this and acted on it, expanding rights, strengthening institutions, and upholding dignity and inclusion," she said.
