Karnataka distributes title deeds to 114 Hakki Pikki, Iruliga tribal people

After a 62-year struggle, Bengaluru rural MP DK Suresh distributed title deeds to 114 Hakki Pikki and Iruliga tribals near Bannerghatta on August 12

Bengaluru: After a 62-year struggle, Bengaluru rural MP DK Suresh distributed title deeds to 114 Hakki Pikki and Iruliga tribals near Bannerghatta on August 12, marking the occasion of ‘International Indigenous People’s Day.’

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This land allocation aimed to provide them with a new settlement after they were forcibly displaced from forests and their traditional livelihoods were disrupted. Despite the nomadic Hakki Pikki and the forest-dwelling Iruliga communities were granted 350 acres of land denotified from the Ragihalli State Forest, situated on the fringes of the Bannerghatta National Park, in 1962, their journey has been arduous as bureaucratic obstacles and a lack of political determination resulted in delays.

The Hakki Pikki and Iruliga Tribal society released a statement expressing their appreciation of the distribution of the deeds, underlining its significance in establishing a positive model for the ongoing well-being of such communities. The statement highlighted, “The grant of deeds establishes a positive model for the sustained livelihood of displaced forest-dwelling communities not only within forests but also on revenue lands, where they become vulnerable to land mafias and uncontrolled urbanization.”

While criticising the fortress-like conservation approach to forests, which had led to the suffering of traditional forest-dwelling communities, the statement praised the Forest Rights Act of 2006 as a landmark legislation aimed at rectifying the injustices faced by these tribes. The statement also noted that the land had been designated as a no-development zone, a measure intended to deter the entry of real estate mafias.

Madhu Bhushan from the society for Informal Education and Development Studies, along with Leo Saldhana from Environment Support Group, emphasized that this event marked a historic milestone in the extended struggle of these tribes for their land, livelihood, and dignity. Bhushan stated, “Their efforts to obtain ownership of the land had faced continuous hindrance from indifferent officials in both the Forest and Revenue Departments. This was compounded by a lack of political determination and calculated disruptions from influential groups aiming to fracture the community and gain dominion over the land.”