OPEN FORUM

New Delhi, 24 January 2008

 Tribal Rights Over Forest Land

WHERE DO THE VAN GUJJARS GO?

By Radhakrishna Rao

The long deferred and highly controversial plan to give the tribals the rights over the forest stretches in the country which they have been inhabiting for centuries, has  assumed a practical shape with the  Indian Government notifying  the Scheduled Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers Recognition of Forest  Rights Act 2007. This landmark Act claiming to benefit about 10 million forest dwellers, was passed in Parliament’s Winter session even as conservationists and wildlife lovers expressed their severe opposition to it.

As things stand, the Act will cover all tribal groups which have occupied forest land till December 31, 2005. But the task of identifying the “real beneficiaries” spread across various parts of the country is both laborious and challenging.

The most significant negative feature of this much publicized Act is that as many as 28 tiger reserves would be excluded from the scope of this legislation. But according to the Minister of State for Environment and Forests, NN Meena, “No one will be forcibly evicted. An expert committee will examine if people have to be evicted. The eviction would be done only if required”.

Undoubtedly, eviction of the tribal groups inhabiting the tiger reserves in the country, could pose a serious challenge to the Forest Administration as the tiger habitats are spread across 31,940 sq.km in 11 States.

The tribal beneficiaries of this Act will need to produce at least two pieces of documentary evidence in support of their claim of ownership of the forest stretch under the legislation. However, the non-Government Organizations (NGOs) working among the forest dwelling indigenous communities, drive home the point that in most areas the forest dwellers have already been evicted from the forest stretches and as such this Act will benefit a very small segment of the community.

A couple of years back, a working group on  empowering the tribals under the  Chairmanship of the former Vice Chancellor of Ranchi University, Ram Dayal  Munda, had in a report  submitted to  the Union Government called  for a comprehensive  national tribal policy to safeguard the interest of the community, particularly those inhabiting the forest  stretches. As they had been deprived of the various welfare measures formulated by both the Central and State and Governments. Any wonder then that primitive forest dwelling tribal groups continue to eke out a sort of living with no hope for tomorrow.

Against this backdrop, Chairperson of the Dehra Dun based organization Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK),Avadesh Kaushal, who had made a significant contribution to the drafting of the Forest Rights Act.2007, has all along been stressing the need to involve the forest dwelling communities in the mainstream of forest management and wildlife conservation. 

In this way, Kaushal says that forest dwellers who share an intricate relationship with the forest ecological system can serve as “unofficial forest guards” by keeping a vigil on the poachers and timber smugglers.

As it stands, the RLEK has been actively associated with the struggle of the Van Gujjars --- inhabiting the forest stretches of the Rajaji National Park (RNP) --- to survive as a culturally vibrant community with a deep rooted emotional attachment to their forest homes. In fact, the story of the Van Gujjars is a story of all forest tribes in India who are being systematically driven out of the areas that they helped conserve and lived upon for centuries.

Moreover, for the Van Gujjars, a life outside the forest is an unthinkable proposition. Specially as an emotional attachment to forests and its various entities is the conspicuous feature of the social life of this virile and colourful community. Like many other tribal groups, the Van Gujjars share a close bond with the forests and nature which is reflected by the fact that natural elements like sky, earth, fire and water play a significant role in their cosmology.

While dismissing the allegation that the community of the Van Gujjars was contributing to the ecological degradation of the RNP, spread over an area of 825 sq.kms across the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, Kaushal asserted that the Van Gujjars had a vested interest in conserving their forest abodes. “The intricate relationship they share with the forest and the idea that all elements of the ecological system are inter-connected is reflected in their concern for the forest and the natural world.”

Besides, the nomadic Van Gujjars have all along been resisting attempts being made by the RNP authorities to shift them out of the Park areas to a claustrophobic resettlement colony near the famed pilgrim town of Hardwar. Unfortunately, in recent years, the traditional way of life and migratory patterns of the community have been severely disturbed by various forest and environmental conservation Acts.

There is no gainsaying that the Van Gujjars traditional rights over the forest resources need to be protected to save the community from certain extinction. Importantly, this  churning has resulted in the proposal of Community Management of  Forests(CFM) that seeks to  make use of the traditional  knowledge of the community to manage  the Rajaji National Park on  an experimental basis.  Thus, by incorporating the local knowledge  and expertise in the forest management strategies, the CFM plan has the capacity to break the stalemate  in the debate on indigenous right and environmental conservation.

Clearly, the long term objective of this innovative plan includes protecting the flora and fauna of the RNP in addition to preserving the cultural milieu and traditional way of life of the Van Gujjars. But then the idea of mooted by the Dehra Dun-based RLEK has not found favor with the forest bureaucracy which is keen on reinforcing its stranglehold on the forest resources of the country. Meanwhile, the Van Gujjars are not sure as to how long they will continue to stay in the RNP without being disturbed by the extraneous forces. For the survival of the Van Gujjars as a socially and culturally distinct group, continued habitation in the forests is a vital pre-condition. ---- INFA

(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)