Adivasis demand halt to tiger safari push, evictions in south India forests

Indigenous communities from Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — whose ancestral homelands straddle forests shared across state boundaries — convened at Nagar...

What Happened

Indigenous communities from Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — whose ancestral homelands straddle forests shared across state boundaries — convened at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve for the first time in decades to issue a joint declaration demanding an immediate halt to evictions and wildlife tourism expansion in their forest territories.
The joint declaration specifically calls for a moratorium on new tiger safari development and expansion of tiger reserve buffer zones, which communities allege is displacing families from ancestral lands without completing the legal process of forest rights recognition required under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
An estimated 700+ Adivasi individuals from 25 villages participated in demonstrations at Nagarahole gates; across India, an estimated 4,00,000 Adivasis are reportedly facing displacement from tiger reserves.
Protesters allege that forest rights claims submitted under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 are being rejected at disproportionate rates — as of November 2022, approximately 84% of claims filed under the Act in Karnataka had been rejected.
International human rights organisations have condemned the evictions as violations of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted by India in 2007.

Static Topic Bridges

Forest Rights Act, 2006 (Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Recognition of Forest Rights Act)

The Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) is India's most significant legislation recognising the historical injustice done to forest-dwelling communities by colonial and post-independence forest governance frameworks that denied their rights. The Act recognises both individual forest rights (IFR) — rights to land actually occupied and cultivated — and community forest rights (CFR) — rights to use, manage, and govern community forest resources.

Official name: Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
Key right: Individual forest rights (up to 4 hectares of occupied land); community forest resource rights
Beneficiaries: Forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) — the latter must prove 75 years of forest residence
Gram Sabha is the primary authority to initiate, verify, and recommend forest rights claims
Critical provision on tiger reserves (Section 4(2)): No Scheduled Tribe shall be resettled or have rights adversely affected in a tiger reserve unless rights recognition is complete AND the affected Gram Sabha gives free, prior and informed consent to relocation

Connection to this news: The protests centre on alleged violations of Section 4(2) FRA — authorities are accused of proceeding with evictions and touristic infrastructure without completing the rights recognition process, which the law makes a prerequisite for any relocation.

Tiger Reserves and Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

Tiger Reserves are established under Section 38V of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (as amended in 2006) on the advice of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Each tiger reserve comprises a Core (Critical Tiger Habitat / CTH) and a Buffer zone. The CTH is notified by State Governments in consultation with an expert committee, based on scientific criteria establishing the area as inviolate for tiger conservation. However, the 2006 amendment explicitly states that CTH notification must not affect the rights of Scheduled Tribes or forest dwellers.

Tiger reserves notified under: Section 38V, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (as amended 2006)
Core/Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH): inviolate zone; notified by State Government with expert committee consultation
Buffer zone: peripheral area allowing human use with lesser restrictions than core
NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority): statutory body under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; oversees Project Tiger
De-notification of a tiger reserve requires NTCA recommendation AND National Board for Wild Life approval — cannot be done unilaterally by state governments
India has 56 tiger reserves (as of 2025) across 18 states

Connection to this news: Expansion of buffer zones in Karnataka (Nagarahole, Bandipur) and adjacent reserves is the immediate trigger for protests. Buffer zone tourism infrastructure development — including tiger safaris — is proceeding even while CTH boundary reviews and forest rights recognition are incomplete in multiple villages.

PESA Act, 1996 (Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas)

The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) extends the constitutional provisions for Panchayati Raj to Scheduled (Fifth Schedule) Areas, granting Gram Sabhas in tribal areas specific powers including the right to manage natural resources, control minor forest produce, and be consulted before land acquisition or displacement. PESA areas cover the traditional homelands of scheduled tribes across nine states.

Enacted: 1996 under Article 243M and Article 244(1) read with Fifth Schedule of the Constitution
Covers: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan (all states with Fifth Schedule areas)
Gram Sabha powers: manage natural resources; approve land use changes; be consulted before displacement
Section 13 of FRA explicitly preserves pre-existing community rights in PESA areas
Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu are NOT Fifth Schedule states — tribal areas in these states fall under Sixth Schedule or general legal protections

Connection to this news: While PESA does not directly apply to Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the principle of Gram Sabha consent for displacement is embedded in the FRA (Section 4(2)) and applies nationwide. The protests in these states invoke FRA provisions rather than PESA.

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2007 (143 nations in favour, including India; 4 opposed). UNDRIP establishes individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, including rights to land, territory, and resources they have traditionally owned or used. It enshrines the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) — that no project affecting indigenous lands may proceed without the affected community's consent obtained freely, before project start, and with full information.

Adopted: September 13, 2007 (UNGA Resolution 61/295)
India's position: voted in favour (2007)
Key article: Article 10 — indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories; no relocation without free, prior and informed consent
FPIC (Free, Prior and Informed Consent): now a global benchmark for indigenous rights-compliant development
International organisations citing UNDRIP violations: Survival International and others in the context of Indian tiger reserve evictions

Connection to this news: The joint declaration by south Indian Adivasi communities explicitly invokes their rights under the FRA and implicitly aligns with UNDRIP's FPIC standard, calling for forest rights recognition to be completed before any relocation or tourism development is allowed to proceed.

Key Facts & Data

Tiger reserves in India: 56 (as of 2025) across 18 states
FRA enacted: 2006; individual rights capped at 4 hectares
Forest rights claims rejection rate in Karnataka (as of November 2022): ~84%
Estimated Adivasis facing tiger reserve displacement nationally: ~4,00,000
NTCA established under Section 38L, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (2006 amendment)
Wildlife Protection Act amended to create tiger reserve framework: 2006 amendment inserting Chapter IVB
UNDRIP adopted: September 13, 2007 (UNGA Resolution 61/295); India voted in favour
States involved in current protests: Karnataka (Nagarahole, Bandipur), Kerala, Tamil Nadu
PESA enacted: 1996; applicable Fifth Schedule states: 9 (Karnataka/Kerala/Tamil Nadu not included)
Gram Sabha consent for relocation from tiger reserves: mandatory under Section 4(2) FRA