Jamuna Tudu, the Lady Tarzan, and Her Fight Against the Timber Mafia

It was a woman's fight against the "timber mafia". Jamuna Tudu, from a village in Jharkhand, brought together a band of activists and conserved 50 hectares of forest land. Armed with just bows and arrows, she took on encroachers with courage and grit that few would have. She is famously known as Lady Tarzan and is known to tie rakhis to the trees on Rakshabandhan.She was born in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha and later moved to Muturkham village in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district after her marriage in 1998. Her village was surrounded by forests, and one day, while collecting firewood, she noticed how rapidly they were disappearing. It was in that moment that she decided to get on a mission to save the forests. The areas around East Singhbhum were under

constant threat from poachers and the timber mafia.In 1998, she formed a small group called the Van Suraksha Samiti (Forest Protection Committee) with five women. But it wasn't an easy mission. Her first task was to get the villagers on her side, since they also depended on the forest for firewood. Jamuna started asking them to use smaller branches and leave the trees intact. When people saw that her efforts were attracting support from the State Forest Conservation Fund, they began to appreciate her work.Read: Where Do Your Clothes Really End Up After You Discard Them? On Earth Day, It’s Time To ReflectShe then encouraged other women in the village to stand with her and protect the forest. Many of them took up simple weapons to drive away the timber mafia. In an interview with the George Crafer for BBC, she described those days: "When we used to go out to patrol, we would go far into the forest. The view of the forest was very beautiful. If we became tired, we would sit under the trees. We would forget all the problems at home, sing songs, and talk about our lives. Our hearts felt very happy. Sitting under a tree is bliss. There were many kinds of beautiful animals, but we also had to carry a bow and arrow, a dagger, sticks, and even dogs for our safety. Danger was always present. We often confronted the mafia in the jungle. They would threaten us, saying this was their forest and that it would not be good for us if we stood in their way." (translated from Hindi).But Jamuna was not one to be intimidated. Once she had the support of her village, she began travelling to nearby areas to spread awareness. Over time, she helped form 200 to 300 forest protection committees to resist the timber mafia. Members worked in shifts, guarding the forests day and night.She was working against people who would not hesitate before killing. She received repeated death threats, her house was looted, husband beaten up and she was nearly killed in an attack. Butt she refused to step back from her cause. Her efforts eventually drew support from the authorities. The Jharkhand Police and Forest Department began working with her organisation, strengthening forest protection efforts. Her work was the perfect example to show, how communities and government can come together to protect the environment.Today, her influence is visible in the traditions of her village. Women plant 18 trees when a girl is born and 10 trees when she is married, carrying forward her message of conservation.In 2019, she was honoured with the Padma Shri for her relentless dedication to protecting forests and the environment.