Tribal Protest Over Tigress Relocation UPSC NOTE

  Tribal Protest Over Sacred Land Restrictions Tribal families who lived in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), claim their rights to continue ag...

 Tribal Protest Over Sacred Land Restrictions

• Tribal families who lived in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), claim their rights to continue age-old rituals in sacred forest groves have been denied.

• A tigress named Zeenat was moved from Maharashtra to STR to improve the genetic diversity of the reserve’s tiger population.

• Villages within STR, like Jamunagarh, have been fenced off and are now part of Zeenat’s territory, restricting the tribes’ access.

• The Munda tribe, former residents of Jamunagarh, protested in Bhubaneswar, highlighting their frustration over being unable to worship in their sacred spaces.

• Residents of Jamunagarh were evicted in two phases (2015 and 2022) to make STR free of human habitation, despite protests and resistance from the villagers.

• After eviction, villagers continued to visit sacred groves and burial grounds for rituals, but now authorities are preventing them from doing so.

• Villagers claim that many have fallen ill or died after being separated from their ancestral lands and sacred sites.

• Zeenat, the tigress, was initially relocated to STR in November 2022 but strayed into neighboring states, creating a temporary challenge for authorities.

Similipal Tiger Reserve

• It is situated in the northern part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. 

• Similipal derives its name from ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree.

• It was formally designated a tiger reserve in 1956 and brought under Project Tiger in the year 1973.

• It was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India in June, 1994.

• It has been part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve since 2009.

• It is part of the Similipal-Kuldiha-Hadgarh Elephant Reserve popularly known as Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes 3 protected areas :

• Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadagarh Wildlife sanctuary and Kuldiha wildlife sanctuary.

• Two tribes, the Erenga Kharias and the Mankirdias, inhabit the reserve’s forests and practise traditional agricultural activities (the collection of seeds and timber).

• Melanistic tigers are only found in the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, India.