Forest rights activists and lawyers across the country expressed their concern over the discriminatory executive order of the Madhya Pradesh government against tribal and forest dwellers regarding the search and surveillance of ‘infamous hunting communities’ in different forest circles.
“The order issued by the MP forest department is draconian and doesn’t have any legal basis,” said Tushar Dash, a forest rights activist and an independent policy researcher.
He further said that Britishers categorised few tribes as criminal tribes under the now-repealed Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. After independence, these tribal communities were denotified.
“The order is unconstitutional as it violates the right to equality, against discrimination, and the right to privacy,” said Harsh Kinger of Criminal Justice and Police Accountability, who wrote a letter to the MP forest department undersigned by dozens of experts, civil rights activists, and lawyers.
On January 29, Madhya Pradesh government’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Shubhranjan Sen issued an order calling for extensive search and surveillance of nomadic tribes, including the Pardhi community, which is classified as a scheduled tribe in the forest circles of Narmadapuram, Seoni, Chhindwara, Betul, Bhopal, Jabalpur, and Balaghat.
The order directs search operations with the help of dog squads at the homes of nomadic tribes and documentation of the presence of the denotified tribe to the nearest police stations. Further, surveillance activities on the denotified tribe engaged in trading activities such as plastic-made household items, bedsheets, herbs, and plants in tiger corridors.
The Govt order was issued in the backdrop of the possible presence of illegal poachers in the area. In January 2025, the Maharashtra Forest Department arrested the infamous poacher Ajeet Pardhi, who had been on bail since September 2024. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Forest official arrested Pardhi in July 2024, who was on the run for 11 years.
The order states that the presence of the poaching community in the state's tiger corridors can put state tigers in danger.
In August 2023, the State Tiger Strike Force arrested the infamous poacher KallaBawaria from Vidisha district. On his tip-off, different state forest officials also arrested him.
“Acting on as per the Bawaria tip-off, state police found presence of poacher community in state’s tiger's corridor,” the order states.
Citing a Supreme Court order of 2024 in Sukanya Shantha vs. Union of India & others, Dash said the Department order smacks of a colonial outlook and lack of understanding of India’s caste system.
“Forest department order is stereotyping wandering tribe as a habitual thief or criminal which is against many supreme court orders,” said Dash.
Further, experts say the order violates the peaceful enjoyment of the rights vested under the Forest Rights Act 2006, which include the right to hold and live on forest land, access forest produce, right to community tenures of habit, and other community rights of seasonal resource access for nomadic and pastoralist communities.
Further, tribal rights are also protected under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
“The actions of officials using this notice to harass, threaten the communities and control their movement may also make the acts of the officials liable for being tried and held accountable,” said Dash.