IN the blazing afternoon heat, a group of Van Gujjars listened solemnly as speaker after speaker spoke about the hardship people face when they are displaced from their traditional habitats to make way for special economic zones, special tourism zones, national parks, sanctuaries and dams. The Van Gujjars are a Muslim pastoral community. They had come all the way from Dehradun to attendthe National Alliance of Peoples' Movements (NAPM) protest meeting against displacement being held outside Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

The Van Gujjars understand what displacement means only too well. About 1400 Van-Gujjar families live in the Rajaji National Park, Dehradun, with their herds of buffaloes who graze in the forests. Traditionally, they take their livestock from the park to the highlands every six months. "But ever since the area was declared a national park in 1986, the Van Gujjars are being thrown out most cruelly with bullets and lathis," said Munnilal who had come with them. He is from the taungiya village of Haripur and is a convener with the National Forum for Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) which has backed the Van Gujjars strongly.

In 2006, park officials declared that the Van Gujjars don't have 'proof of residence', so they cannot be settled in Pathari and Gaidikhata, the two colonies in Haridwar district where 518 families have been forcibly resettled. The park authorities decided the Van Gujjars were not eligible for pattas (permits or land-lease). The Van Gujjars lodged a writ petition in the Nainital High Court against this decision in May 2006. The court ordered the Rajaji National Park officials to honour the new forest rights act in its order on 20 June 2006. It said that the Van Gujjars cannot be evicted from the park without their consent and proper settlement.

But the director of the Rajaji National Park, GS Pande, refused to obey the court's order. He said the new legislation had not been notified so he is not obliged to follow the court's order. On 31 December 2007, when the Scheduled Tribes and Other TraditionalForestDwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) was notified, the Van Gujjars approached the Nainital High Court again and the court on 8 January upheld its earlier order. But till date the director of the park has not acted on it. Just like people live in villages and cities, the Van Gujjars live in the forest. It is unjust to evict them from their home and force them to live in shabby colonies. The Van Gujjars now see a ray of hope in the UPA government's new law, which recognizes their traditional rights to their forests.Noor Alam Gujjar spoke to Civil Society about his community's plight. 

What is the status of your case?

Since the past 26 years we are being evicted most brutally from the Rajaji National Park. We approached the Nainital High Court because we were evicted without any resettlement whatsoever. In June 2006, the court said our rights should be decided as per the new forest rights law. But the director of the park rejected the order of the high court saying that this law is not operational in Uttarakhand since it has not been notified as yet by Parliament. When it was notified in December, we took a copy to the High Court on 8 January and the court upheld its earlier order.

Now four months have passed but the park authorities have not done anything for us. The director of the Rajaji National Park refuses to follow the orders of the Nainital High Court. We are again going to appeal to the Nainital High Court. We are saying that this new law, which has been made for Adivasis, for us, for the taungiyas, should be implemented. 

What is your present condition?

Let me tell you some of us are on the brink of starvation. We are homeless and jobless. A few Van Gujjars are selling a little milk to survive. There are others working as casual labour. Some have gone to Himachal Pradesh to break stones for a living. I just want to tell the government, our community is dying.

We, the Van Gujjars, belong to the jungle. It is our home. In winter we come down to the plains and in summer we move upland. But now the park authorities don't allow us even to move upland through the park. All our buffaloes die in the heat. Since the past few months we were fighting for right of way. Now with great difficulty the park authorities have allowed some of us who have cattle left to go. We are told they have made another national park in the highlands. So our livelihood is gone. We don't know how to do agriculture or any other job. This was our only source of livelihood. We had some 17,000 buffaloes. Now we have only 2,000.

Who helped you with this case?

The Gujjar Kalyan Samiti helped us. A Hindu Gujjar, Shrikant Verma, has done all this for us. We are poor, we could not pay legal expenses. The case has cost around Rs 6 to 7 lakhs and taken three years. Shrikant Verma financed it all. Munnilal here, who comes from the taungiya village of Haripur, helped us in every way leading protests and agitations for our rights. He, too, is from Rajaji National Park.

What are your expectations from the new forest rights law?

We hope that the new law will be implemented fully in letter and spirit. Then our lives will change for the better. But if they don't do it, if this law is twisted and turned, there is no hope left for us whatsoever. You will see in the park, the trees and plants that we use continue to survive because we planted and nurtured them. Our friends, the taungiyas have also planted trees. Forests are green because of us. All other trees have been cut by the forest department. Some trees have been destroyed by elephants.

The job of protecting and nurturing the Rajaji National Park should be entrusted to us. In the areas we inhabit we should be allowed to plant trees and look after them. If we can get some land for our animals and ourselves that would be ideal. We also want school facilities. The school should travel with us: six months in the highlands and six months in the lowlands. This is being done for Van Gujjars in Jammu and Kashmir and in Himachal Pradesh. They are Hindustanis and so are we. Therefore, we should be treated at par.

What about health facilities? Has anything ever been provided?

We have no such facilities whatsoever. How can I explain all the agony we have gone through in the past 26 years? Sometimes the park authorities prevent us from taking fodder for our animals. We go on bicycles to sell milk, they stop our cycles. Then, all the beatings and harassment we have undergone at their hands. How can I explain?

Does the younger generation of Van Gujjars want to stay in the forest?

Our children do want an education but they want to stay in the forest. Why do all of us prefer life in the jungle? The forest gives us everything we need to lead a contented, happy life. See, our way of life, our culture is inextricably linked to the forest. We would like to have the same facilities as the Van Gujjars of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. We want the status of Adivasis with the same rights and facilities within the jungle. If we get this, then our children and our forests will blossom. We also want the employment guarantee scheme introduced but it is not operational in our area as yet.

The wildlife lobby claims tigers and animals cannot live together.

They say the Rajaji National Park is for animals. When we were there in the park, it had 300 tigers. You can see for yourself in forested areas from where we have been evicted there are hardly any animals left. Our lives are linked to the forests and the animals within it. We live in harmony and we are happy within the forest.

http://www.civilsocietyonline.com/jun08/jun084.asp

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