Bhan Sahu interviews Bharat Mandavi of Jan Shakti organisation who talks about their fight to get deeds for the forest land under Forest Rights Act on 2005. He says “we have been fighting for years to get our lands regularized where we have been farming from years and we will continue this fight against this historic injustice till our death.We will not leave our land at any cost”.

Bhan Sahu while traveling in Bodal village found some women farming on a forest land for which they have not got any deeds under Forest Rights Act. She requested them to sing a Relo song through her mobile phone…Rela re re, Re rela rela…

Aloka an independent journalist is reporting from Chhatra district of Jharkhand where Birhor tribals still live a primitive live and live in houses of leaves. In the past government schemes have not helped Birhors much who do not own any land but Forest Rights Act is giving hope to the Birhors. As a first step Birhors, who are dependent on nature for their subsistence, are given lands to make houses

You have heard about beatings of Adivasis by forest officials in Devlikuan village of Gogamba block in district Panchmahal of Gujarat in this forum. On 9th September they went to local officials asking to check on what happened to their FIR which was filed on 28th July. But the officials sent them back after humiliating them. As you know forest officials had beaten the adivasis who were working on their ancestral forest land on 9th July and an FIR was filed only when adivasis had protested under the banner of a local NGO. According to forest rights act the adivasis should get the deeds for the land but forest department wants to throw them out of their land

Smita from Panchmahal district of Gujarat reports that on 9th July when tribals demanded rights against Forest Rights Act they were beaten up by officers of forest department even after showing documents to prove ownership of land. After intervention from Deoghar based women’s organisation an FIR was filed on 28th July but still no action has been taken against the forest department officers. Now the tribals are planning an agitation on 9th September demanding punishment of the forest officers and land rights to them