Muria tribe settlement in Chukkalapadu | Lost in the woods

In Chukkalapadu, Muria tribe faces challenges of displacement, education, healthcare, and access to basic amenities in a lush jungle.

In the depths of a lush jungle, the intoxicating scent of the Mahua flower permeates the air, enveloping the settlement of Chukkalapadu, which has been home to the Muria tribe of Chhattisgarh for over a decade.

Around noon on a sunny April day, the Murias, accompanied by their cattle, return from their early-morning expedition into the forest, carrying baskets laden with freshly bloomed Mahua flowers. This daily ritual commences as early as 2 a.m. in Chukkalapadu, which is nearly 30 kilometres from the tribal administration headquarters of Chintoor in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district of Andhra Pradesh.

The settlement lies within ‘India’s Red Corridor’ on the A.P.-Chhattisgarh border hit by Naxalism, and stands as an oasis within a reserved forest, protected by stringent laws prohibiting settlement and deforestation. Its resilience is evident as the Murias turned the forest cover into their permanent abode, after it was set on fire six times by the Andhra Pradesh Forest department since the mid-2000s.

The settlement has 34 Muria tribal families, who fled from their native village in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh during the conflict between left wing extremists and State-sponsored Salwa Judum, a wing designated to counter the Naxals. The government said the meaning of Salwa Judum was “peace mission” in Gondi, the tribal language, but the native speakers saying it meant “purification hunt”, according to a report by the Independent Citizens initiative, an excerpt of which was published in Social Scientist.

In the case of Nandini Sundar and Others vs. State of Chhattisgarh (July 2011), the Supreme Court declared the Salwa Judum unconstitutional and ordered the Chhattisgarh government to disband it immediately. Between 2005 and 2011, Maoists killed 173 special police officers (Koya Commandos) of the Salwa Judum, as per official records. Subsequently, the Chhattisgarh government welcomed the Murias back to their ancestral villages. However, those settled in united Andhra Pradesh chose not to return, citing an uncertain future, despite owning land and assets there.

The Murias, who fled from the districts of Sukma, Dantewada, and Bijapur in Dandakaranya region of Chhattisgarh, settled in the erstwhile East and West Godavari districts. The Muria settlements are known as habitations of Internally Displaced People (IDPs), whose population is around 6,600 in A.P., and the Murias here referred to as ‘Gutti Koyas’ by the native tribes.

According to a survey done by a group of NGOs, there are 1,621 Muria households in the State. “In A.P., there are 54 settlements of Murias who migrated from Chhattisgarh,” says Venkatesh Jatvi, a tribal rights activist working with the Murias in the State.