The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve is a protected area in Uttar Pradesh that stretches across the Lakhimpur Kheri and Bahraich districts and comprises the Dudhwa National Park, Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. The region which spans across 46 villages is largely occupied by the tribal Tharu community. The tribal community depend on forest for their livelihood, including collecting grass from the forests to make and repair their huts every year. However, after the rejection of the community forest rights claims in July 2019 by the Supreme court in a larger forest rights case, the locals say that the Forest Department officials are extorting money from them and stopping them to collect grass or other forest produce.
The Uttar Pradesh government declared Dudhwa as a national park in 1978. After the declaration, 44 villages were relocated outside the forest on revenue land. However, with the implementation of Forest Rights Act in 2006, the people started demanding their rights over forest. The community members formed the Tharu Adivasi Mahila Mazdoor Kisan Manch in 2009 and mobilised demanding revenue status for Surma and Golbojhi villages. The villages were accorded revenue status on 8 April 2011 but the struggle for community forest rights and access to common resources continued.
In 2013, the tribal members filed claims which the Sub Divisional Level Committee (SDLC) recognised and forwarded it to forest department who rejected it.
Despite five decades of struggle, the villagers still fighting to get recognition of their rights under the Forest Rights Act. Rajnish Gambhir from the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) says that even when the petitions filed by the tribal community members await the Supreme court hearing, the Tharu tribals are continuously being harassed and threatened over using forest produce.
In an investigative report, Journalist Nidheesh J Villatt flagged brutal atrocities committed by forest officials on tribal members, especially against women. The report highlighted that to divide those fighting for their rights, forest officials have allegedly formed vigilante groups Pranthiya Rashak Dal under the garb of protecting forests.
In 2015, the files of the locals went missing from the administration. The local residents alongside the AIUFWP re-submitted duplicate files to ensure the recognition of their claims in 2016. However, this did not yield any results.
There has been constant suppression by the forest officials. Several allegedly false cases have been registered against Tharu tribals. In April 2016, 75-year-old Bhanduram of Jayanagar village was arrested allegedly on false charges. In August 2020, an FIR was lodged against the Deputy Director of Dudhwa National Park, Manoj Kumar Sonkar, for allegedly physically harassing and hurling casteist slurs at a Tharu woman who was rearing goats in the forest. Earlier, on 1 July 2020, Kajaria villagers were reportedly attacked by forest officials while they were tilling the land, which officials claimed was forest land. An FIR was lodged even in this case.
In February 2021, the Allahabad High Court directed the authorities to take action into allegations of locals resorting to poaching levelled by a Lucknow-based petitioner, who sought their relocation. In November, the Tharu Adivasi community residing in 20 villages in Dudhwa region of Lakhimpur Kheri filed their objections to denial of community land rights claims with the district administration.
The community's resistance movement entered its fifth decade in 2024.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Common
Forest and Non-Forest, Non-Forest (Grazing Land)
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Other Natural Resource extraction/dependence
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws, Other, Forest and Scheduled Area Governance Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-implementation/violation of FRA
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Supreme Court of India
Case Number
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 109/2008
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Arrest/detention/imprisonment
Killing
Attempted killing
Displacement
Other harassment
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
On multiple occasions, the tribal members have alleged sexual assault, molestation, torture, fake criminal charges and illegal arrest by the forest department.
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department; Forest Department
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Local Tribes
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
