NEW DELHI: Tiger or human, who is more important? The NDA government has this question to ponder over as the recently released film The Jungle Book has brought the attention back to the tribals evicted from Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
Last June, 500 Baiga and Gond tribal families comprising 3,000 forest dwellers were evicted by the Tiger Conservation Authority in Kanha on the grounds of tiger conservation. The forest was the stage of Rudyard Kipling’s classic, The Jungle Book. The tribals claim that some families received a fraction of the promised compensation, while most got nothing.
Tribal rights organisations, including Survival International, have started pressuring the World Wildlife Fund to stop supporting tiger conservation projects after the movie’s release.
“Tribes across India are being illegally evicted from their lands because they’ve been turned into tiger reserves, while fee-paying tourists are welcomed in,’’ says the campaign pamphlet, which is under international circulation now.
Letters have also been written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). “We have sought a report from our officials on the ground,’’ said an MTA official. He added the issue has also been taken up with the MoEFCC. “As it has become an international issue, the PMO will also be alerted.’’
A joint meeting of all ministries concerned is expected to happen soon.