Approximately four dozen Jenu Kuruba families have re-entered their ancestral haadis within the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (NTR) in Karnataka, reclaiming land from which they were evicted four decades ago under the pretext of wildlife conservation. The community has constructed makeshift huts, including shrines for their deities, to assert their rights under the Forest Rights Act, which have yet to be recognized.

Key Highlights:

• Around 48 Jenu Kuruba families re-entered their ancestral haadis in NTR on May 5, 2025, to reclaim land from which they were evicted 40 years ago.
• The families constructed three makeshift huts, including two dedicated to their deities, Odathi and Ajjayya, as a symbolic assertion of their ancestral rights. 
• J K Timma, president of the Nagarahole Adivasi Jammapale Hakkottaya Samiti, emphasized that the community has not been granted land rights despite provisions under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. 
• Community leader Shivu stated, "We will remain here," asserting that tiger conservation efforts have been used as a guise to forcibly evict indigenous people from their lands.
• Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, described the re-occupation as an "inspirational act of repossession," challenging the conservation and tourism industry that has profited at the expense of indigenous communities.

This act of reclamation highlights ongoing tensions between conservation efforts and the rights of indigenous communities, raising questions about the balance between environmental protection and the recognition of ancestral land rights.