PARI Contributors 

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<h2>The tiger-chasing superman of the Sundarbans</h2><p>Reports of tiger attacks on humans in the Sundarbans do reach the mainland. But those who save the two and four-legged creatures from each other remain invisible. Here’s the story of one such unsung hero</p><h5>August 28, 2025 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles?&amp;authorName=Arnab%20Dutta">Arnab Dutta</a></h5>

The tiger-chasing superman of the Sundarbans

<h2>A fateful triangle: tigers, humans and development</h2><p>The summer of 2025 has ended, and Chandrapur district in Maharashtra counted fresh human casualties in tiger attacks, signalling the continuation and perhaps worsening of the human-tiger conflict</p><h5>August 26, 2025| <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles?&amp;authorName=Jaideep%20Hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5>

A fateful triangle: tigers, humans and development

<h2>Tiger tiger everywhere</h2><p>At the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, the tiger population has risen swiftly, and so have the deaths caused by human-animal conflict</p><h5>May 22, 2025| <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles?&amp;authorName=Umesh%20Kumar%20Ray">Umesh Kumar Ray</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles?&amp;authorName=Shreya%20Katyayini">Shreya Katyayini</a></h5>

Tiger tiger everywhere

<h2>Adivasis in Panna tiger park: dammed futures</h2><p>First, they were moved to make space for tigers. Now it’s the Ken-Betwa river linking project that is grabbing forest dwellers’ land. The uncertainty about compensation, displacement dates and destination, is happening all over again</p><h5>November 28, 2024 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/priti-david/">Priti David</a></h5>

Adivasis in Panna tiger park: dammed futures

<h2>Dukkarwale mama is a man in a hurry!</h2><p>Vitthal Badkhal is a godsend for farmers in and around Chandrapur district and the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. 'Dukkarwale mama' as he is called here, is a compensation crusader, educating and actively helping farmers file claims to recover the losses caused by wild animal raids</p><h5>December 12, 2023 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles?&amp;authorName=Jaideep%20Hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5>

Dukkarwale mama is a man in a hurry!

<h2><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/chandrapurs-cultivators-farming-in-fear/">Chandrapur’s cultivators: farming in fear</a></h2><p>Wild animals are attacking people working on land near forest, causing grievous injuries and even fatalities. This comes after price volatilities and climatic aberrations have already put the tiller’s survival here at risk. The bloody fallout of the man-animal conflict around the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is linked to the growing success of Project Tiger</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h5>September 27, 2023 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/authors/jaideep-hardikar/">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5><p>&nbsp;</p>

Chandrapur’s cultivators: farming in fear

<h2>In the Sundarbans, a tiger-shadowed wedding</h2><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Priyanka Mondal recently got married in the Sundarbans' Rajat Jubilee village amid memories of her father, Arjun Mondal, whose death in a tiger attack in 2019 has left his family struggling with sorrow and finances</p><h5>January 4, 2021 | <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/ritayan-mukherjee/">Ritayan Mukherjee</a></h5><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/ritayan-mukherjee/</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

In the Sundarbans, a tiger-shadowed wedding

<h2><a id="5743" linktype="page">Forced out of the forest and into uncertainty</a></h2><p></p><p>The Adivasis of Talgaon, in the Panna Tiger Reserve&#39;s core area, had to give up their traditional livelihoods when they were relocated. They now live without land titles, rations and schools – fearing further eviction</p><h5>December 12, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/maithreyi-kamalanathan">Maithreyi Kamalanathan</a></h5><p></p>

Forced out of the forest and into uncertainty

<a id="5635" linktype="page">‘Tiger! Tiger!’ – a conflict burning very bright</a><h5>November 26, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5>

‘Tiger! Tiger!’ – a conflict burning very bright

<h2><a id="5603" linktype="page">‘Where will the tigers go?&#39;</a></h2><p></p><p>Tiger landscapes in Vidarbha are shrinking, largely due to infrastructure projects, while the tiger population is growing. So the animals venture into villages, where attacks are increasing. And there&#39;s no solution in sight</p><h5>November 20, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5><p></p>

‘Where will the tigers go?'

<h2><a id="5573" linktype="page">Tigress T1’s trail of attacks and terror</a></h2><h2><p>Before the tigress was shot dead on November 2, T1 killed at least 13 people over two years in Yavatmal. Who were her victims? How did she attack, and, as many here describe it, ‘sucked the blood out of her prey&#39;?</p></h2><h5>November 7, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5>

Tigress T1’s trail of attacks and terror

<h2><a id="5571" linktype="page">‘When I see him back home, I thank the tiger’</a></h2><p>Though Shankar Atram, a terrified cattle herder in Yavatmal, fashioned a near-comical flimsy ‘body armour&#39; against the recently-killed T1, for him and other villagers the problem could now be more displaced tigers</p><h5>November 6, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5>

‘When I see him back home, I thank the tiger’

<h2><a id="5569" linktype="page">In tigress T1 territory: chronicle of a killing</a></h2><p></p><p>On November 2, T1, a tigress believed to have killed at least 13 people, was shot in Yavatmal district. What happened in the weeks before this massive operation involving hundreds of officials and dozens of tactics?</p><h5>November 5, 2018 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jaideep-hardikar">Jaideep Hardikar</a></h5><p></p><h2></h2>

In tigress T1 territory: chronicle of a killing

<h2><b><a id="3861" linktype="page">Widowed by tigers, abandoned by the state</a></b></h2><p>Every year, estimates indicate, around 100 men are killed by tigers in the Sundarbans. A bureaucratic maze then disallows their widows from getting compensation, forcing them to live in distress and penury</p><h5>October 12, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/urvashi-sarkar">Urvashi Sarkar</a></h5>

Widowed by tigers, abandoned by the state

<h2><b><a id="3669" linktype="page">&#39;This calf went missing after I took this photo&#39;</a></b></h2><p></p><p>N. Swamy Bassavanna, a farmer from Mangala village, says in this sixth in a series of six photo essays on life in a forest, ‘Everyone should be involved in farming and understand the challenges we face’</p><h5>August 21, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/n-swamy-bassavanna">N. Swamy Bassavanna</a></h5><p></p>

'This calf went missing after I took this photo'

<h2><b><a id="3639" linktype="page">&#39;That is where the leopard and tiger attack&#39;</a></b></h2><p></p><p>Indra Kumar, who works in Mangala village near Bandipur National Park, records cattle herders, leopard attacks, folk art performers and the harvest in this fifth photo essay in a series of six on PARI</p><h5>August 14, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/m-indra-kumar">M. Indra Kumar</a></h5><p></p>

'That is where the leopard and tiger attack'

<h2><a id="3614" linktype="page">Close encounters with the Prince of Bandipur</a></h2><p>K.N. Mahesha, a naturalist and cultivator who lives close to Bandipur National Park, brings images of fighting bulls, sensitive cows, work elephants and raptors, in this fourth photo essay in a series of six on PARI</p><h5>August 7, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/kn-mahesha">K.N. Mahesha</a></h5><h2></h2><p><br/></p>

Close encounters with the Prince of Bandipur

<a id="2668" linktype="page">‘Maach and chaash brought us to Sundarbans’</a><p>Flood, famine, Partition, riots, the promise of land and jobs drove early migrations to the Sundarbans. The settlers then battled disease, hunger and attacks by tigers, but eventually found a home<br/></p><h5>April 10, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/urvashi-sarkar">Urvashi Sarkar</a></h5>

‘Maach and chaash brought us to Sundarbans’

<a id="2596" linktype="page">When Jayamma spotted the leopard</a><p></p><p>Jayamma Belliah, an Adivasi from Ananjihundi village in Karnataka, documents her life in a forest with a camera. An outstanding photo essay on PARI to commemorate March 8, International Women&#39;s Day</p><h5>March 8, 2017 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/jayamma-belliah">Jayamma Belliah</a></h5><p></p>

When Jayamma spotted the leopard

<h2><a id="2158" linktype="page">The sting of bees and the tyranny of tigers</a></h2><p>The ‘mouleys’ or honey collectors of the Sundarbans work without safeguards in dense and dangerous jungles – encountering crocodiles, tigers and the diktats of the Forest Department</p><h5>September 23, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/urvashi-sarkar">Urvashi Sarkar</a></h5>

The sting of bees and the tyranny of tigers

<h2><a id="1392" linktype="page">Ferries, fish, tigers and tourism</a></h2><p></p><p>All in a day&#39;s work on Bali island in the Sundarbans, in West Bengal&#39;s South 24 Parganas district</p><h5>June 22, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/mahesh-ramchandani">Mahesh Ramchandani</a></h5><p></p>

Ferries, fish, tigers and tourism

<h2><a id="1272" linktype="page">Land of eighteen tides and one goddess</a></h2><p></p><p>A documentary that looks at how the blended mythologies of Ma Bonbibi and Dakshinrai aid the coexitence of humans, nature and the wild in the Sundarbans</p><h5>June 21, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/malay-dasgupta">Malay Dasgupta</a></h5><p></p>

Land of eighteen tides and one goddess

<h2><a id="1255" linktype="page">Ma Bonbibi, mother to humans and tigers</a></h2><p></p><p>The jungle goddess of the Sundarbans in West Bengal demands that Hindus and Muslims unite in upholding her pact with the animal kingdom</p><h5>April 16, 2016 | <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/authors/shatarupa-bhattacharyya">Shatarupa Bhattacharyya</a></h5><p></p><h2></h2>

Ma Bonbibi, mother to humans and tigers

When your neighbour is a tiger

<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.</span></span></p>


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


<p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">PARI exists to change that.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.</span></span></p><p style="line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0pt;margin-top:0pt;" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</p>

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When your neighbour is a tiger

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