Dear Jack,

In the early hours of this morning, Survival was alerted by Jenu Kuruba friends in India that a 250-strong government force has surrounded them. Right now, forest guards and police are tearing down the houses they have been rebuilding in their ancestral forest.

We are already asking a lot of you this week, for Uncontacted Peoples Week. But given the urgency of this situation, can you do one more thing, and urge officials in India to let the Jenu Kuruba live in peace? Even if you emailed for the Jenu Kuruba recently, please do so again — we’ve updated our action in light of today’s emergency.

The Jenu Kuruba people of Karadikallu Atturu Kolli village, in Nagarhole forest, were first violently evicted 40 years ago, to make way for a Tiger Reserve. They had lived alongside and worshipped the tigers for countless generations. But they were thrown out of their home in service of an abusive and colonial model of ‘fortress conservation’ that denied their rights and their stewardship of their own land.

On May 5 this year, the people of Karadikallu Atturu Kolli went back into their forest to reclaim their land, and began rebuilding homes, and houses for their gods. Today, government forces came to drive them out once more.

The Jenu Kuruba are asking for people to contact the authorities. Please, Jack, support them by sending an email.