LONDON: Indigenous communities across India are being displaced from their ancestral lands under the pretext of expanding tiger conservation projects and boosting tourism, Adivasi representatives said during a global press briefing on Monday. They also raised concerns about the weakening and poor implementation of protective laws such as the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
“India may have gained freedom, but Adivasi people are still waiting for theirs,” said J.C. Shivamma of the Jenu Kuruba tribe, speaking at an online event organised by the Community Network Against Protected Areas.
Shivamma is among 52 families who reoccupied their ancestral land inside the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve on May 5—35 years after being forcibly evicted. “Our sacred sites, our graveyard, our gods are all tied to this land,” she said. “Even when we were living in plantations, we would return to bury our dead in our village, but the forest department always interfered. For us, our ancestors become deities, and being kept away from our land was torture. If we must die, we will die on our ancestral land.”
Another community member, Shivu J.A., recounted how, during their eviction from Karadikallu, homes were burned and elephants used to destroy their fields. “This land belongs to us. It is not the government’s tiger project or tourism venture,” he said. “Now, our elders are happy. We gather honey, collect water from our own source, and sit together in the evenings, learning the songs and stories that were silenced for 40 years.”
He rejected the forest department’s claim that Adivasis can only live on the land after formal recognition of their rights. “We already have these rights,” he insisted.
The Jenu Kurubas are now filing a legal case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act against the Forest Department for suppressing their rights, and are appealing against the rejection of 39 forest rights claims.
“Why are their claims being denied despite the existence of laws like the Forest Rights Act, 2006?” asked scholar Nitin Rai. Lawyer Lara Jesani added, “Communities across India are facing the same struggle. There’s an urgent need for a unified, collective voice to challenge these systemic injustices.”
As conservation efforts expand, critics argue that indigenous communities are being unfairly blamed for ecological harm and removed from lands they have sustainably lived on for generations—raising serious questions about the human cost of conservation and tourism-driven development.
