Citizens for Justice and Peace
A Dalit Woman’s resilience forms the bedrock of the Forest Rights struggle in Sonbhadra Shobha's journey to secure her forest rights has been over uneven terrain
22-Mar-2019
Located in a peculiarly odd terrain, Badi is a set of small huts spread across small hillocks on uneven land just adjacent to National Highway 39, connecting Robertsganj and Renukoot. Badi falls in the Chopan block of the Robertsganj taluka, Sonbhadra district. A long stretch of land lies bare, baking in the blazing sun. Families here live in…
जमिनीसाठी संघर्ष केला म्हणून तुरुंगात डांबलं, त्यांनी ऐकवला तुरुंगातील दाहक अनुभव महाराष्ट्र टाइम्स
11-Mar-2019
आदिवासींना त्यांच्या हक्काच्या वन जमिनी परत मिळाव्या म्हणून आम्ही रस्त्यावर उतरलो. सरकारविरोधात आवाज उठवला. त्यामुळे आम्हाला तुरुंगात टाकण्यात आलं. आमच्यावर खोटे गुन्हे टाकण्यात आले. आमच्याविरोधात जमीन बळकाल्याचे, अतिक्रमण केल्याचे आणि चोरीचे गुन्हे दाखल करण्यात आले. मुंबईः आदिवासींना त्यांच्या हक्काच्या वन जमिनी परत मिळाव्या म्हणून आम्ही रस्त्यावर उतरलो. सरकारविरोधात आवाज उठवला. त्यामुळे आम्हाला तुरुंगात टाकण्यात आलं. आमच्यावर…
Forest Rights: A daughter awaits her father’s return in Sonbhadra’s Lilasi Nexus of UP Police, Forest Dept. officials and brokers destroy Nandu Gond’s home
28-Feb-2019
It was a windy day with fragmented, asymmetrical clouds spread across the sky. Yellow mustard plants swayed with the force of the wind, as did the wheat crops. We visited Lilasi village, a site of bitter conflict, even bloodshed, between state forces, the forest department and the forest dwelling community (Gond Adivasis). It was February…
Supreme Court changes course on Adivasi rights SC order flies in the face of established jurisprudence
26-Feb-2019
Whereas previously SC affirmed indigenous people’s inalienable rights to their land, in 2019, under the Modi Regime, it now orders their unilateral eviction. The SC has turned established constitutional jurisprudence on its head. There are three significant SC judgments on the indigenous Adivasi people’s rights over their land and natural resources: 1. In 2011, the…
Crony capitalism imperils millions of India’s indigenous people SC order directs eviction of Adivasis and other forest dwellers across several states
26-Feb-2019
A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra has ordered eviction of Adivasis and other forest dwelling communities from the ‘forest’ regions whose claims for entitlement have been rejected by the Forest department. The written copy of the order was made available on February 20, 2019. The court order says, “The Chief Secretary shall ensure…
CJP in Action: Defending Adivasi Human Rights Activists in Courts CJP is providing legal aid to leaders and members of the forest workers movement in Uttar Pradesh
25-Feb-2019
India’s indigenous peoples, most commonly called ‘Adivasis’, which means ‘original inhabitants’, are under attack in various areas of the country. With the rising looting and exploitation and mounting corporate greed and the thirst for mineral-rich land, India’s Adivasis are increasingly being displaced from the very lands they helped cultivate and fertilised for generations. Not only…
Spaces of Higher Education are the New Battlegrounds of Inequality: Abhay Xaxa Everyday struggles of Adivasis and their limited representation in Social Media
15-Feb-2019
Adivasis or India’s indigenous people have faced centuries of oppression and exploitation. Today they fight a battle on many fronts. The first against a powerful nexus of industrialists, bureaucrats and the police who have made successive attempts made to usurp their forests, land and water resources. The second in institutes of higher learning against systemic exclusion…
The Republic of Memory Lost A Poem by Adivasi Rights activist Abhay Xaxa
26-Jan-2019
Dear Republic, When your best citizens are killed on the streets, and piled in the jails. While the traitors adorn your high offices. Something is terribly wrong with you! When the apologists of empire become nationalists, And defense of constitution becomes act of rebellion, You suffer from acute loss of memory! Before people reach out…
UP’s Indomitable Van Tangias: Overcoming Marginalisation with Tenacity How unions pressurised CM Adityanath to recognise several villages as Revenue Villages
20-Nov-2018
In the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Adityanath has reportedly “stepped up efforts to expand his influence in the most backward communities” living in the forest protected regions of the Eastern UP. This, the CM plans to do by granting revenue status to villages which will entitle them…
Adivasi leader Sokalo Gond Released on Bail CJP's campaign for Forest Rights strengthened
01-Nov-2018
Adivasi leader Sokalo Gond has been released on bail today, in what is a major victory for CJP’s and AIUFWP’s campaign to free Adivasi human rights defenders who have been incarcerated in the course of their struggle for forest rights. We are positive that this will boost our campaign to aid the ongoing fight for…
In Pictures: A Walk Through Aarey A glimpse into the life of Warli Adivasis in the Aarey forest
29-Oct-2018
A lot has been said about the need to save trees in the Aarey forest and protect the green cover of the concrete jungle that Mumbai has become. However, very few people are familiar with the fact that the Aarey forest is also home to Warli Adivasis, who have inhabited the area for decades. Multiple…
Meet this Lover of the Aarey Forest, Prakash Bhoir Reclaiming Forest Land, One Tree at a Time
27-Oct-2018
Prakash Bhoir is a fiery Adivasi activist from Aarey, whose consistent initiatives have helped shed light on the condition of Adivasis in this forest. The Aarey forest, located in the Northern suburbs of Mumbai, is the only green cover in the area, and is known for its lush greenery, with tall trees, grasslands and rocky…
How Adivasis in Aarey are at risk of losing their land and livelihood CJP supports the struggle of Warli Adivasis
26-Oct-2018
Adivasis in Aarey at risk of losing their land, their homes, and their livelihood due to the proposed Metro shed, which is also a threat to Mumbai’s precious green cover. Even as the fight to preserve the city’s limited tree cover is waged, the rights of the Adivasis in the area must be protected. The…
वन अधिकार रक्षकों के पक्ष में आया अलाहाबाद हाईकोर्ट का फ़ैसला आदेश है कि किसी दावेदार को न झेलनी पड़े परेशानी
22-Oct-2018
वन अधिकार अधिनियम 2006 के तहत दावों को दर्ज करने वाले वन श्रमिकों और आदिवासियों के लिए हाईकोर्ट का ये आदेश एक बड़ी जीत की तरह है. अलाहाबाद उच्च न्यायालय ने अपने इस फैसले में न केवल वन अधिकारों को मान्यता दी है, बल्कि यह भी सुनिश्चित करने का आदेश दिया है कि दावेदारों के साथ…
Allahabad HC stands by Forest Rights defenders Orders no claimant be harassed
18-Oct-2018
In a big victory for forest workers and Adivasis who had been filing claims under the Forest Rights Act 2006, the Allahabad High Court has not only recognised forest rights, but also ruled that the harassment of claimants be brought to an end immediately. Earlier this year the Swaraj Abhiyan Committee had discovered that 90…