Tribal peoples across India join forces to denounce Protected Areas on their lands.

Survival | March 24, 2023

Hundreds of Indigenous (Adivasi) people from Protected Areas across India joined forces in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in southwest India for an unprecedented week-long protest march against the seizing of their lands to create so-called ‘Protected Areas’ for conservation, including tiger reserves.

The protest was centered on the world-famous Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, which was imposed, without consent, on the ancestral land of the Jenu Kuruba, who are renowned for their prowess as honey collectors, as well as the Beta Kuruba, Yarava and Pania tribes.

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Adani Group: Chhattisgarh tribes’ year-long protest against tycoon’s coal mine

BBC News, Chhattisgarh | Nikhil Inamdar | March 21, 2023

Deep in the jungles of central India, forest-dwelling tribes are marking the one-year anniversary of a continuous agitation against a new coal mine to be developed by the Adani Group. In recent months, they’ve received a show of support from high-profile politicians and celebrity activists. But in this David vs Goliath battle, a victory for the tribes will be hard won.

The village of Hariharpur in the state of Chhattisgarh stands on the precipice of two discordant worlds. To its east, the myriad greys of the decade-old Parsa East Kete Basan (PEKB) open cast coal mine, operated by the Adani Group, stretch as far as the eye can see. To the other side of this hamlet of a few scattered homes, lies the sprawling expanse of the Hasdeo forest, under which billions of tons of power grade coal still rests unexplored.

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No ‘outside festivals’ allowed, nod required for religious activities: Tribal-majority Bastar village’s diktat sparks row

The New Indian Express | March 20, 2023

The Ransargipal gram sabha directs Adivasis not to work in the fields of Hindus and Christians, says Christians cannot bury their dead in the village; the objective is to protect “tribal traditions, culture”, it claims.

In the tribal majority Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, a gram sabha has passed a resolution prohibiting the celebration of “outside festivals” and mandating that its permission be sought for any religious activity. The resolution passed by the gram sabha of Ransargipal village also directs Adivasis not to work in the fields of Hindus and Christians.

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Ensure basic rights of tribals: NCST to Odisha government

The Indian Express | March 20, 2023

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has asked the Odisha government to ensure basic human rights and justice to tribals residing in more than 45 villages bordering West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Taking cognisance of a petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer and rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy, the apex panel for tribal rights has issued notice to chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena seeking a detailed reply within 15 days.

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‘Misuse’ of PESA Act in Ghar Wapsi of Chhattisgarh Tribal Christians: Report

NEWS Click | Kashif Kakvi | 21 Feb 2023

A fact-finding team finds abuse of the Act to banish more than 1,000 tribal Christians from their villages because they refused to embrace Hinduism.

Bhopal: The implementation of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, (PESA) by Chhattisgarh last August has allegedly become a tool for ‘Ghar Wapsi’ of tribals.

Abusing the Act’s clause (d), under the influence of Hindu extremist groups, Gram Sabhas banished more than 1,000 tribal Christians from their villages because they refused to embrace Hinduism, according to a fact-finding team.

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