India: Police Raid Indigenous Village Inside Tiger Reserve
June 18, 2025
This morning more than 250 police, forest guards and tiger force members raided a village which Indigenous people had reclaimed in a tiger reserve six weeks ago. The security forces tore down seven forest shelters where women, children and older people were living, at Karadikallu Atturu Kolli village, in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.
'They are forcing people to destroy their own homes on their own lands. This is a grave violation of human rights as well as the rights guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act,' said a source from inside the village.
Jenu Kuruba people were violently evicted from Nagarhole 40 years ago to make way for a tiger reserve. More than 50 families returned on May 5 to live in their former village and to assert their claims in accordance with India's Forest Rights Act. It's believed to be the first time Indigenous people in India asserted their rights to return to their homes after eviction from a Protected Area.
'It is outrageous that the Jenu Kuruba are being thrown out of their home once again. The authorities must stop this persecution of the Jenu Kuruba, who are just trying to live in peace on their own land,' said Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International. 'As we've seen time and again, conservation – in this case a Tiger Reserve – is being used as a pretext to violate Indigenous rights. It is time to stop this abusive and colonial model of fortress conservation.'
The Jenu Kuruba had lived alongside and worshipped tigers for generations. They decided to return because their sacred spirits, who still dwell in the old village location, became angry at being abandoned when the community was forced from the forest in the 1980s.
This is a developing story.
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India: Police Raid Indigenous Village Inside Tiger Reserve
June 18, 2025 This morning more than 250 police, forest guards and tiger force members raided a village which Indigenous people had reclaimed in a tiger reserve six weeks ago. The security forces tore down seven forest shelters where women, children and older people were living, at Karadikallu Atturu Kolli village, in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve. 'They are forcing people to destroy their own homes on their own lands. This is a grave violation of human rights as well as the rights guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act,' said a source from inside the village. Jenu Kuruba people were violently evicted from Nagarhole 40 years ago to make way for a tiger reserve. More than 50 families returned on May 5 to live in their former village and to assert their claims in accordance with India's Forest Rights Act. It's believed to be the first time Indigenous people in India asserted their rights to return to their homes after eviction from a Protected Area. 'It is outrageous that the Jenu Kuruba are being thrown out of their home once again. The authorities must stop this persecution of the Jenu Kuruba, who are just trying to live in peace on their own land,' said Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International. 'As we've seen time and again, conservation – in this case a Tiger Reserve – is being used as a pretext to violate Indigenous rights. It is time to stop this abusive and colonial model of fortress conservation.' The Jenu Kuruba had lived alongside and worshipped tigers for generations. They decided to return because their sacred spirits, who still dwell in the old village location, became angry at being abandoned when the community was forced from the forest in the 1980s. This is a developing story.
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At its peak in the mid-2000s, the rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters. But the 'Red Corridor' across east and central India with its parallel administration that included schools and clinics has been ruthlessly squeezed since. Security forces have killed nearly 400 suspected rebels – a record – since the start of last year, with Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah vowing to wipe them out by next April. Most have died in the insurgency's last stronghold, the mineral-rich forests of Bastar region in central Chhattisgarh state, where police say up to 1200 insurgents are still holding out. 'Personal fight' Police say their success is largely down to the DRG, a force of local Indigenous tribal men and disillusioned Maoist fighters with intimate knowledge of the ancient forests and the rebels' operational secrets. 'They are our actual fighting force,' the commander of a DRG unit in Bastar told AFP, requesting anonymity. 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A rights group, the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), claimed that those killed 'were civilians who were later branded by police as insurgents'. A DRG commando, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, confirmed that 'civilians died' in Pedia. 'It was a mistake,' the commando said. Police prevented AFP from visiting Pedia and several other villages where military operations have come under scrutiny, citing security concerns. Bastar police chief P. Sundarraj said his troops carry out all their operations lawfully. 'Security forces retaliate as part of the right to self-defence,' he said. 'We take no pleasure in counting dead bodies.' Atrocity claims Yet atrocity allegations have dogged the DRG and their previous incarnation, the Salwa Judum tribal militia, which was set up to spearhead the fight against what former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called India's 'biggest internal security threat'. Salwa Judum was accused of carrying out mass murders, rape and arson in raids on villages as well as forcing people into government-run camps. Those atrocities saw ranks of the rebels swell with disaffected villagers. Kiran, the former Maoist fighter, said he joined the rebels in 2005 after his house and village were razed in one such raid. 'I resisted for a long time but joined them to save my life,' he said. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. In 2011, India's top court ruled it illegal for the Government to recruit tribal youths driven by a 'desire for revenge'. In response, it created the DRG as a formal unit of the police. It now comprises more than 4000 troops – more than triple the police estimate of the remaining Maoist guerrillas. 'Tribals are killing tribals' But some warn that recruiting tribal youth – many nursing personal vendettas – to fight Maoist rebels is only perpetuating the cycle of violence. 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While the Maoists claimed to protect them from discrimination and exploitation, they also ruled by terror, ruthlessly executing 'informers'. 'The camps make us feel safe from the Maoists, who would earlier threaten us if we did not help. But now (government) forces are routinely killing innocent people and branding them Maoists,' said one elderly man. Mining endgame? Many are deeply worried mining will rob them of their traditional livelihoods from farming and foraging, with the state Government announcing plans to further expand operations into a forest considered sacred by locals. Mining has already displaced tribal communities and caused severe environmental damage, according to locals, with an iron ore mine at Rowghat pushed through in 2022 despite fierce opposition. 'The endgame is to open up the forest to mining by big corporations,' said rights activist Sori. Chhattisgarh has a long history of communities being forcibly moved to make way for mining, an issue the Maoists have sought to exploit. Their top body last month claimed that the crackdown was to 'facilitate the plunder of land, forests, water and other resources by imperialists, big corporations and feudal lords'. Even among those fighting the insurgency, there are concerns that history could repeat itself. 'If it becomes all about mining, and people are displaced without proper rehabilitation, they will say that maybe the Naxals were better,' one DRG member told AFP. Cornered by the all-out offensive, the Maoists are now believed to be holed up in a rugged and mountainous stretch of forest, where long-term sustenance is difficult. Last month their top body offered to engage in peace talks if a ceasefire was called. The authorities rejected the offer. Activists say it is a missed opportunity – and one that could backfire. The military approach will only temporarily suppress the rebellion, Sori warned. 'If the government has to end Maoism, it needs to have another strategy,' she said. 'The militarisation of their land will only make the tribal people run towards the Maoists to save their lives.'
