Tharu community | SabrangIndia

Molestation charges against Dudhwa National Park Deputy Director

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 09:50:42 +0000

As per a complaint filed by a Tharu woman, an FIR has been lodged against the Deputy Director of Dudhwa National Park, Manoj Kumar Sonkar, on charges of molestation as well as under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The FIR has been lodged by Gauriphanta police station in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.

On August 1, a Tharu woman was rearing some goats in the forest when Sonkar arrived with his patrolling team and questioned her on why she was rearing goats there. She replied saying that she was doing this on her own farm. Hearing this Sonkar got infuriated and allegedly hurled abuses and casteist slurs at her while also gripping her arm and pulling her close forcefully, while she resisted. When other women started gathering there, Sonkar, with his patrolling party, left while taking away two goats and one villager. This drew the villagers’ ire and they blocked the road.

The police reached on the spot and only after the forest officials let go the two goats and the villager, did the villagers regain composure. Thereafter the FIR was lodged against Sonkar.

This is not the first time that the forest department has gotten itself into trouble by harassing the forest dwelling tribes-persons. In an incident on July 1, forest officials clashed with Tharu tribe living in Kajaria village in Lakhimpur Kheri district whereby some armed forest officials came to the village and allegedly fired some shots in the air, molested a few women (tore their clothes as well), and beat up some youngsters. An FIR was also lodged then against a few forest officials at Gauriphanta police station. In this incident, Citizens for Justice and Peace along with All India Union of Forest Working People have filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission, of which the commission has taken cognisance.

In 2012, thousands of women had tried to enter the forest with their bullock carts in a demonstration of the rights given to them by the FRA 2006. They were brutally attacked by the forest officials and policemen. Nivada Rana, a Tharu woman leader of Kajaria village was seriously injured. In 2019, Nivada Rana was one of the three women who, alongwith CJP and AIUFWP, filed an intervention in the Supreme Court to defend the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006.

While the people of these villages have lived here for centuries, official records indicate evidence on paper dating back to at least 200 years. In 1978 when Dudhwa Reserve Forest was carved out of this area, the Tharu people found themselves facing eviction. A long and bruising legal battle followed that only came to an end when the historic FRA was passed in 2006. Ever since the FRA 2006, in recognition of historical injustices meted out to forest dwelling communities granted them community right over their land, their run-ins with the forest department have intensified. And because the FRA 2006 gives unprecedented power to forest working women, it is not surprising that they find themselves at the receiving end of brutal attacks.

Adivasi women attacked in UP, CJP-AIUFWP move NHRC

Tharu Adivasis emerge resilient, return to farmlands

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Tharu Adivasis emerge resilient, return to farmlands

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 11:29:00 +0000

Martin Luther King Jr. is known to have said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter”. The Tharu Adivasi community of Kajaria village located in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh, particularly the women, refused to remain silent after being threatened and assaulted by government officials demanding their subservience. They were attacked, molested, threatened with bullets fired in the air for farming on a land yet they arose as a community, got an FIR filed against the perpetrators from the forest department as well as one police personnel and got back to farming on the land.

In a joint report released by Tharu Adivasi Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Manch in alliance with All India Union for Forest Working People (AIUFWP) it was stated that the land that the forest officials were claiming to be forest land and were trying to prevent the adivasis from farming on, is actually a piece of land on which members of Tharu community have been farming on since many generations. In 2008 this land got submerged when River Mohana flowing from Nepal had flooded. A few years later this land re-emerged from the river as its flow lessened and since then the forest department has been trying to claim it as forest land. In 2013, the Tharu Community filed its claims under the Forest Rights Act on this piece of land and the claims have been pending ever since.

Yet, every year when it’s time to sow seeds in these lands, forest officials employ some means of harassment to stop these Adivasi women from tilling their lands. This year, too they tried harsher means but remained unsuccessful in suppressing the resilient and indomitable spirit of these women and the community is now back on the land, tilling, sowing seeds, so they can make a living out of it and contribute to the food security of the country.

Background

The Tharu community which resides in quite a few villages along the Indo-Nepal border has been fighting for its community rights to the forests in that region for decades. Kajaria village experienced an attack by forest officials merely because some Adivasis were tilling land that the forest officials claimed was forest land. On July 1, the forest officials reached the field, came to the village, allegedly fired shots in the air, molested women and beat up some youngsters.

The villagers managed to get an FIR registered on charges of rape, criminal intimidation as well as penal sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, against the forest officials and one policeman who despite reaching the spot at the time of incident, did not protect the Tharu women from being molested but instead started hurling casteist slurs at them and abused them.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) along with its partner organization AIUFWP wrote a joint memorandum to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) giving a detailed account of this incident.

The complete report may be read here.

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