On August 2023, 114 tribal people from the Hakki Pikki tribal community in Karnataka got title deeds to the land they had been cultivating for about a century. The colony for the nomadic tribe is located on the edge of the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP), about 36 km from Bengaluru.
The Hakki Pikkis are traditionally a semi-nomadic tribe of bird catchers and hunters, who settled down in several parts of Karnataka.
In the last 20 years the community left bird catching and hunting, and have started to prepare traditional medicines, especially hair oils. The settlement on the edge of the Bannerghatta National Park has both Hakki Pikki and Iruliga tribals staying here.
In 1962, the Government of Karnataka allotted 350 acres of land for them to sustain themselves through agriculture. But for the longest time, the Forest Department claimed that the tribes were encroachers.
In 1974, the Bannerghatta wooded area was declared as a National Park. This led to the criminalisation of these communities living on the edges of the forest.
The Hindu visited the settlement of around 270 families, and spoke to them about the issues they have with the title deeds which they have received from the Karnataka government.
Reporting: KV Aditya Bharadwaj
Production and videos: Ravichandran N.
Photos: K. Bhagya Prakash
Voiceover: Nalme Nachiyar
