Jenu Kuruba Explained

The Jenu Kuruba are a tribal group from the Nilgiris, numbering around 37000.[1] [2] They are concentrated in the districts bordering the states of Kerala and Karnataka. 'Jenu' means 'honey' in Kannada, referring to their traditional occupation as collectors of honey in the forest. In the early 20th century they lived in huts in the forests and cultivated.[3] Starting from the 1970s and continuing today, many of the Jenu Kurubas have been evicted from their homes due to conservation measures in the various tiger reserves of the Nilgiris, like Nagarhole and Bandipur. Those who have been relocated outside the forest are daily wagers and agricultural labourers, who live in extreme poverty. Many work as labourers on coffee estates in Kodagu or for the Forest Department.[4] They speak the Jenu Kurumba language, either classified as being related to Kodava or a rural dialect of Kannada.[5] The tribals have fought multiple times to live in the reserved forests, most recently in 2020, under the terms of the Forest Rights Act.[6] and in 2021 protests have continued against "the forest department as an encroacher, promoting eco-tourism and safaris … [in a way which] … is illegal under Indian and international laws."[7]

Previously their women wore a sari in the style of typical Mysore rural women, and if poor, wore a cloth around the waist and another to partially cover the upper body. The men of the community cut their hair short in the style of a typical cultivator, providing some protection from heat and sun.

Notes and References

  1. The population of Jenu Kurubas is 36,076 in Karnataka mostly living in the districts of Mysore, Kodagu, and Chamarajanagar. A few are also found outside the State mostly in the border forests of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. . 4510769 . 2015 . Roy . S. . Hegde . H. V. . Bhattacharya . D. . Upadhya . V. . Kholkute . S. D. . Tribes in Karnataka: Status of health research . The Indian Journal of Medical Research . 141 . 5 . 673–687 . 10.4103/0971-5916.159586 . 2024-06-04 . free . 26139788 .
  2. Web site: 2023-04-09 . As India's tiger count grows, Indigenous groups protest evictions from ancestral lands . 2024-02-20 . PBS NewsHour . en-us.
  3. Book: Thurston, Edgar.. Castes and tribes of Southern India.. 1993. Asian Educational Services. 81-206-0291-9. 4. 734094928.
  4. Web site: Girisha. 15 July 2020. Karnataka tribals evicted from Bandipur in the 1970s allege raw deal in relocation. 2020-08-06. The News Minute.
  5. Web site: Kumar H. Pavan. 2019-03-03. Indigenous dwellers can be evicted only with consent. 2019-08-20. Deccan Herald. en.
  6. Web site: Lakshmikantha BK. Jul 16, 2020. Aggrieved Jenu Kuruba community members write to PM Modi seeking justice Mysuru News - Times of India. 2020-08-05. The Times of India. en.
  7. Web site: Over 6,000 Jenu Kuruba Adivasis in Karnataka Begin Indefinite Protests against Tiger reserve. . 2021-03-24. www.newclick.in. 2021-04-16. " … The community has accused the state government and the forest department alongside the Wildlife Conservation Society of trying to forcefully evict them from the forest in a bid to pave way for eco-tourism activities while trampling on the Adivasis’ rights to the forest and land.
    IN THE NAME OF TIGER CONSERVATION
    The struggle for land rights by the traditional honey collecting community has been going on since the 1970’s … ".

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