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A protest in Ranchi in recent months has perhaps seemed like a minor local conflict to those elsewhere in the country. They have centred around the construction of a ramp for a flyover in the city, which Adivasi activists argue has eaten into space meant for a vital sacred grove of the community.

But though the matter is focused in Ranchi, its ramifications are, in fact, far wider.

As experts and activists have noted, what is at stake is the very idea of what can be considered a sacred space. They note that across the state, such groves, as well as fields and water bodies, which are sacred to the community, have been taken over or destroyed because they lack markers that mainstream religious sites have, such as walls and shrines.

These sites are also “key signifiers of how Adivasi communities’ religious and cultural values are linked to environmental conservation,” said Nolina Minj, who reported on the community’s fight to save these sites from destruction. “According to public policy there is a push to increase green spaces as a measure against the climate crisis,” she added. “And yet, sacred groves, which have been around for hundreds of years in some areas, are not being protected as they should.”
You can read the story here.

How Adivasis are fighting to protect their sacred groves from destruction

Symbols of the Adivasi community’s deep cultural ties with the environment, these sites are being steadily encroached upon in Jharkhand.

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Ajay Krishnan
Senior Editor

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