Jenu Kuruba

The '''Jenu Kuruba''' are a tribal group from the Nilgiris, numbering around 37000.<ref>{{Cite journal |quote=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. |pmc=4510769 |date=2015 |last1=Roy |first1=S. |last2=Hegde |first2=H. V. |last3=Bhattacharya |first3=D. |last4=Upadhya |first4=V. |last5=Kholkute |first5=S. D. |title=Tribes in Karnataka: Status of health research |journal=The Indian Journal of Medical Research |volume=141 |issue=5 |pages=673–687 |doi=10.4103/0971-5916.159586 |doi-access=free |pmid=26139788 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-09 |title=As India's tiger count grows, Indigenous groups protest evictions from ancestral lands |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/as-indias-tiger-count-grows-indigenous-groups-protest-evictions-from-ancestral-lands |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref> They are considered a subgroup of the larger Kurumba tribal community, which also includes clans such as the Mullu Kurumbas, Betta Kurubas, Palu Kurumbas, and Shola Nayakkars.{{sfn|Pullaiah|Krishnamurthy|Bahadur|2021|page=26, The Shola Nayakkars, Mullus, Uralis, Alus or Palu Kurumbas, Jenu Kurubas, Betta Kurubas, etc. are all considered as subgroups or clans of Kurumbas (see Satishkumar, 2008).}} 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Thurston, Edgar.|title=Castes and tribes of Southern India.|date=1993|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=81-206-0291-9|volume=4|oclc=734094928}}</ref> 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 national parks. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Girisha|date=15 July 2020|title=Karnataka tribals evicted from Bandipur in the 1970s allege raw deal in relocation|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/karnataka-tribals-evicted-bandipur-1970s-allege-raw-deal-relocation-128748|access-date=2020-08-06|publisher=The News Minute}}</ref> They speak the Jenu Kurumba language, either classified as being related to Kodava or a rural dialect of Kannada.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kumar H|first=Pavan|date=2019-03-03|title=Indigenous dwellers can be evicted only with consent|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/indigenous-dwellers-can-be-721258.html|access-date=2019-08-20|website=Deccan Herald|language=en}}</ref> The tribals have fought multiple times to live in the reserved forests, most recently in 2020, under the terms of the Forest Rights Act<ref>{{Cite web|author=Lakshmikantha BK|date=Jul 16, 2020|title=Aggrieved Jenu Kuruba community members write to PM Modi seeking justice {{!}} Mysuru News - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/aggrieved-jenu-kuruba-community-members-write-to-pm-modi-seeking-justice/articleshow/76988145.cms|access-date=2020-08-05|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> and in 2021 protests continued against "the forest department as an encroacher, promoting eco-tourism and safaris … [in a way which] … is illegal under Indian and international laws."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsclick.in/Over-6000-Jenu-Kuruba-Adivasis-Karnataka-Indefinite-Protests-Tiger-reserve|title=Over 6,000 Jenu Kuruba Adivasis in Karnataka Begin Indefinite Protests against Tiger reserve|author= |date=2021-03-24|website=www.newclick.in|access-date=2021-04-16|quote=" … 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. <br>IN THE NAME OF TIGER CONSERVATION <br> The struggle for land rights by the traditional honey collecting community has been going on since the 1970’s … "}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":0" />

In May 2025, 50 Jenu Kuruba families returned to their ancestral village in Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, 40 years after they were evicted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=International |first=Survival |title=India: Evicted tribe re-occupies their homes inside famous tiger reserve, in landmark event |url=https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/14199 |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.survivalinternational.org |language=en}}</ref>

In June 2025, Survival International reported that 250 forest guards, tiger force members and police had raided the village, tearing down seven forest shelters where women, children and older people were staying.<ref>{{Cite web |last=International |first=Survival |title=India: Police raid Indigenous settlement inside tiger reserve |url=https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/14251 |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=www.survivalinternational.org |language=en}}</ref>

==References== === Citations === {{Reflist}} === Sources === * {{cite book |last1=Pullaiah |first1=T. |last2=Krishnamurthy |first2=K. V. |last3=Bahadur |first3=Bir |title= Ethnobotany of India, 5-Volume Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INQhEAAAQBAJ|year=2021 |publisher=Apple Academic Press (CRC Press imprint)|isbn=9781351737661}}

Category:Ethnic groups in Karnataka