The logic of electoral politics should have prompted the BJP to undermine the Salwa Judum, which was to begin with an initiative of Congress MLA Mahendra Karma. Instead, we see a complete convergence between the two .
The Salwa Judum was not just an initiative by Mahendra Karma – it had full state backing all along, and that’s why both Congress and the BJP support it.
Salwa Judum was probably started by the police, and it grew after Mahendra Karma got involved. It suited the BJP to have him lead it. It also suited Karma because he had led similar movements in the past. Karma has always sided with the BJP against his own party.
At the ground level, however, there are workers from both parties who are not happy with the activities of the Salwa Judum. Mostly, it has been people at the top in Chhattisgarh, including senior state government functionaries, and the security establishment in Delhi, particularly in the home ministry, who have colluded in establishing the Judum and keeping it alive.
Why has there been no opposition to the Salwa Judum from among local civil society?
That is primarily because there is no Adivasi middle class. Besides, all journalists in Chhattisgarh are non-Adivasis, and depend quite a lot on handouts and advertisements from the industry and the government for their livelihood.
It is practically impossible for them, in such circumstances, to write critical stories. And if ever someone was to report on the other side, they are accused of being Maoist.
There have even been cases of some local journalists being beaten up or threatened by Salwa Judum cadre and others arrested under the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005, for speaking out.
Just who comprise the Salwa Judum?
The Salwa Judum leadership is mostly made up of non-tribals. There are some Adivasi leaders, but they are mostly people close to Karma. The leadership is, therefore, almost entirely the non-tribal exploitative strata. There are also tribal SPOs, who have killed too many people to go back.
Then you have the ordinary people, who have been forced out of villages into camps, in a classic case of strategic hamletting, of the kind practised in Vietnam. They were forced to go on Salwa Judum processions to enlist new villages, and threatened with death and their villages burnt down if they refused.
And accompanying them on those expeditions, where they empty out villages, are the security forces — the local armed police, the CRPF and the India Reserve Battalions. There is obviously money involved as well. Many Salwa Judum leaders now have big houses and their lifestyles have become more affluent than before.
A lot of funds, mostly unaccounted, are being channelled into this area by the state to fund the Judum. Also, most of the government contracts for construction activity now go to these people.
Is it true that Salwa Judum has been aiding the corporate sector in its area of influence?
It is not as simple as a direct link between industry and the Salwa Judum. But it is related to the idea that the area needs to be sanitised so that industry can come in.
In that, people rooting for the Salwa Judum also root for industry. Mahendra Karma, for one, completely backs the Tata and Essar steel projects there, and he and his sons have virtually been the companies’ agents to actively get the inhabitants of villages in the Lohandiguda and Bhansi/Dhurli areas off their land so that it could be acquired for the projects.
Also, Essar has started funding, through the Essar Steel Regional Development Plan, the building of resettlement colonies even before they have got consent for acquisition of land. Now it’s curious as to why a private sector company should fund such colonies unless it’s certain that it would get the land it wishes to acquire.
Is there something inherently wrong with the idea of local self-defence committees?
May be there is nothing wrong in, say, patrolling one’s own village. But when locals get drawn into the counter-insurgency grid that’s where the problems start.
Of course, the state claims the Salwa Judum was a spontaneous people’s movement against the Naxalites. Even if that were true, it doesn’t justify the patently illegal activities they have indulged in, including killing children, and raping women in camps and villages.
Objectively, yes, the police has been able to get informers as never before, but were one to look at the police outposts established in Naxal-dominated areas, they are little more than fortified enclaves cut off from everything else. At the same time, the Naxalites have got more recruits than ever before.
These are people whose families have been killed and raped, or whose villages have been burnt. On the whole, there has been a massive increase in violence after the formation of the Salwa Judum. Culturally, all life has stopped.
There have, for instance, been no local festivals ever since the Salwa Judum started. Ironically, one of the reasons quoted by the government for the Salwa Judum’s existence was that the Maoists were interfering with local customs, but now there are none left.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Interview/Nandini_Sundar_Prof_of_Sociology_Delhi_School_of_Economics/articleshow/3158067.cms
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Here Literacy is Unimportant
22 June, 2008
“ Quota! Hum aur hamaare bacche quota ke baare mein sochte bhi nahin hain ," says Kantibhai Vasava with part resignation, all humour. "Our children don't even survive school, so how will they make it to the quota lines of college?"
Vasava is a tribal from South Gujarat. He is presently squatting with two dozen tribal brethren on the floorboards of an idea that has begun changing their lives. Call it education. Situate it on a 10-acre campus and identify it as a school. Usher tribal children in,to stay, and categorise it as a residential school.
Two years ago the Vasant Niwasi Shala (that name may just change rural education as we know it) was accommodated within the brick-knitted complex of the Adivasi Academy, a research centre of Bhasha, a non-profit organisation pivoted on adivasi concerns. The school could go two ways-either serve as a conduit to good government schools or a preparatory ground for state-level exams. Situated in the eastern tribal belt of Gujarat, in a village called Tejgadh, the school is backed by a statuesque hill called Koraj and circled by fields of future corn. This is a utopia made more ideal by the fact that it throws all rules out of its indigo window.
The children decide what they want to wear, whether they'd rather have shoes or slippers (they opt for slippers-easier to kick off), and the vote even extends to their attendance of ‘class'-an informal congress helmed by a teacher who could be holding forth on the lawn or in the gazebos or underneath a Saptaparani tree. The traditional age-based stratification of students gives way to mixed migration, so children, no matter the age, can sit in with any teacher, on any subject, and up and leave, should something else, like the on-site tactile museum of tribal culture or the 27,000-strong library, for example, arrest their attention. Because there is no punishment, there is no crime.
The syllabus is an improbable grouping of nature studies, tribal culture, language and history, art and craft, dance and music, drama and farming. This is the empirical portion of their education that receives no attention in government schools, and one that is valiantly working to reinstate the children's fast-falling indigenous identity. However, the aim of this schooling is not just to confine tribal children to a local ambit but to also acquaint them with wider disciplines. So maths, science, geography, languages, and social sciences are also co-opted into the programme; not rendered in formulaic inscriptions, but through audio-visual engagements that administer knowledge first, characters later.
The construct of this non-formal, unorthodox model of education had its cornerstone formally laid in the mind of Ganesh Devy-litterateur, freewheeler and social reformist-in 2004. This was when, via an article in Little Magazine, he critically examined the net worth of the script in the index of learning. "Scripts have nothing to do with knowledge," he held. "They have been an organised means, by the state, of institutionalising language. Many tribals have no coded equivalent of their language, but they are no less intelligent than ‘literate' individuals. Unfortunately illiteracy is equated with ignorance and this is a social stigma many tribals are branded with. How do we remove this stigma? Through a system of education that begins with learning instead of character recognition. One problem with writing is it divides reason from image. A unified focus on learning is arrived at if scripts are avoided for a while."
And so scripts enter this school unhurriedly. The knowledge of things inspires gradually a curiosity to spell them. "Unlike most schools where learning is almost immediately imposed through written characters, here a student learns to write as late as six months into his residence, at his own pace," offers Vasant Rathwa, school programme coordinator. "And unlike village schools, where the uniform medium of instruction is Gujarati and students who speak tribal dialects lose out, here, teachers speak Gujarati, Hindi, and also Rathwi and Dungri Bhili, the two primary languages of these children. A software we have even teaches them to read English phonetically; and excited about ‘speaking' the language, they then want to learn its meaning."
Between the age of six and 14 they come, with little or no experience of schooling, from villages where government schools are only ornamental proof of policy, and teachers keep embellished attendance records to hurry salary increments. "The success rate of tribal children from government schools is very low," ventures Sonal Baxi, academic coordinator at Bhasha. "And so they remain in an unremitting cycle of illiteracy and migration to cities as cheap labour, taking their children with them. Their defence is ‘What's the use of education?' This is why it took us almost a month to convince them to send their children to our school, despite admission being free. At first we had 45 students, and now, 60."
There is no upper limit, they'll admit all who come. But the school's success is not its robust roll call, and not even in the citation (Centre of Excellence) the academy received from the ministry of tribal affairs this year. It isn't the regard it gained in the sight of the district primary education department that dispatched 50 of its coordinators to the academy to be oriented in tribal culture and language complexities. In fact, its singular success is a narrow failure. This April, 35 students sat for the 6th-standard entrance exam to the government-run Eklayva model residential schools. "Their cut-off percentage was 60 and one of our students almost made it with 59 per cent... after only two years of schooling," says Devy. "And when I prove that our children can compete equally with state-level students, I will go to the ministry of education, campaign for this model and demand that the number of school years be reduced as well. My aim, after all, is not just to educate a small number of tribals but to improve the education system on the whole."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Review/Here_literacy_is_unimportant/articleshow/3152492.cms
“ Quota! Hum aur hamaare bacche quota ke baare mein sochte bhi nahin hain ," says Kantibhai Vasava with part resignation, all humour. "Our children don't even survive school, so how will they make it to the quota lines of college?"
Vasava is a tribal from South Gujarat. He is presently squatting with two dozen tribal brethren on the floorboards of an idea that has begun changing their lives. Call it education. Situate it on a 10-acre campus and identify it as a school. Usher tribal children in,to stay, and categorise it as a residential school.
Two years ago the Vasant Niwasi Shala (that name may just change rural education as we know it) was accommodated within the brick-knitted complex of the Adivasi Academy, a research centre of Bhasha, a non-profit organisation pivoted on adivasi concerns. The school could go two ways-either serve as a conduit to good government schools or a preparatory ground for state-level exams. Situated in the eastern tribal belt of Gujarat, in a village called Tejgadh, the school is backed by a statuesque hill called Koraj and circled by fields of future corn. This is a utopia made more ideal by the fact that it throws all rules out of its indigo window.
The children decide what they want to wear, whether they'd rather have shoes or slippers (they opt for slippers-easier to kick off), and the vote even extends to their attendance of ‘class'-an informal congress helmed by a teacher who could be holding forth on the lawn or in the gazebos or underneath a Saptaparani tree. The traditional age-based stratification of students gives way to mixed migration, so children, no matter the age, can sit in with any teacher, on any subject, and up and leave, should something else, like the on-site tactile museum of tribal culture or the 27,000-strong library, for example, arrest their attention. Because there is no punishment, there is no crime.
The syllabus is an improbable grouping of nature studies, tribal culture, language and history, art and craft, dance and music, drama and farming. This is the empirical portion of their education that receives no attention in government schools, and one that is valiantly working to reinstate the children's fast-falling indigenous identity. However, the aim of this schooling is not just to confine tribal children to a local ambit but to also acquaint them with wider disciplines. So maths, science, geography, languages, and social sciences are also co-opted into the programme; not rendered in formulaic inscriptions, but through audio-visual engagements that administer knowledge first, characters later.
The construct of this non-formal, unorthodox model of education had its cornerstone formally laid in the mind of Ganesh Devy-litterateur, freewheeler and social reformist-in 2004. This was when, via an article in Little Magazine, he critically examined the net worth of the script in the index of learning. "Scripts have nothing to do with knowledge," he held. "They have been an organised means, by the state, of institutionalising language. Many tribals have no coded equivalent of their language, but they are no less intelligent than ‘literate' individuals. Unfortunately illiteracy is equated with ignorance and this is a social stigma many tribals are branded with. How do we remove this stigma? Through a system of education that begins with learning instead of character recognition. One problem with writing is it divides reason from image. A unified focus on learning is arrived at if scripts are avoided for a while."
And so scripts enter this school unhurriedly. The knowledge of things inspires gradually a curiosity to spell them. "Unlike most schools where learning is almost immediately imposed through written characters, here a student learns to write as late as six months into his residence, at his own pace," offers Vasant Rathwa, school programme coordinator. "And unlike village schools, where the uniform medium of instruction is Gujarati and students who speak tribal dialects lose out, here, teachers speak Gujarati, Hindi, and also Rathwi and Dungri Bhili, the two primary languages of these children. A software we have even teaches them to read English phonetically; and excited about ‘speaking' the language, they then want to learn its meaning."
Between the age of six and 14 they come, with little or no experience of schooling, from villages where government schools are only ornamental proof of policy, and teachers keep embellished attendance records to hurry salary increments. "The success rate of tribal children from government schools is very low," ventures Sonal Baxi, academic coordinator at Bhasha. "And so they remain in an unremitting cycle of illiteracy and migration to cities as cheap labour, taking their children with them. Their defence is ‘What's the use of education?' This is why it took us almost a month to convince them to send their children to our school, despite admission being free. At first we had 45 students, and now, 60."
There is no upper limit, they'll admit all who come. But the school's success is not its robust roll call, and not even in the citation (Centre of Excellence) the academy received from the ministry of tribal affairs this year. It isn't the regard it gained in the sight of the district primary education department that dispatched 50 of its coordinators to the academy to be oriented in tribal culture and language complexities. In fact, its singular success is a narrow failure. This April, 35 students sat for the 6th-standard entrance exam to the government-run Eklayva model residential schools. "Their cut-off percentage was 60 and one of our students almost made it with 59 per cent... after only two years of schooling," says Devy. "And when I prove that our children can compete equally with state-level students, I will go to the ministry of education, campaign for this model and demand that the number of school years be reduced as well. My aim, after all, is not just to educate a small number of tribals but to improve the education system on the whole."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Review/Here_literacy_is_unimportant/articleshow/3152492.cms
Poor health services plague Thane Adivasi area
Sunday June 22, 2008
SAYVAN (Thane district): “I brought my wife to the Sayvan primary health centre when she was bitten by a dog, but they asked me Rs. 50 before treating her,” said Janu Babar. He did not know that treatment for dog bite is free for Adivasis. They just have to produce a below poverty line (BPL) card. If they don’t bring the card, they will have to pay Rs. 50 as refundable deposit. Eventually, Janu paid Rs. 120 to get his wife Devli treated in a private clinic.
This was one of the issues raised at a public hearing on the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) at the Sayvan PHC in Dahanu taluk on Friday. The exercise is part of community-based monitoring of health services being conducted in five districts of Maharashtra.
Out of Maharashtra’s annual budget of Rs, 1,000 crore under the NRHM, only Rs. 860 crore was spent last year, according to Dr. Nitin Jadhav of Sathi, State coordinator for community-based monitoring. Before the hearing, NGOs conducted a study of the five villages which come under the PHC, catering for a population of 41,000.
A report card of the study presented at the hearing, presided over by Dr. Anand Phadke of CEHAT, an NGO, revealed that the situation is quite serious in four villages where the people did not even recognise the multipurpose health worker (MPW). In some cases, the auxiliary nurse and midwife (ANM) did not perform her duties. Medicines are in short supply and the State has no stock of tetanus injection. The ANMs spend their money to buy it and get reimbursement later.
The area, inhabited by Adivasis, has reported cases of malnutrition, infant and maternal mortality. Last year in one hamlet alone, four infant deaths were reported. However, the NRHM is supposed to provide “untied funds,” as Dahanu taluk health officer Madhukar Rathod pointed out. At the public hearing at Ganjad on Thursday, he said it was raining money. Each PHC gets Rs. 1.75 lakh while sub-centres are given Rs. 10,000 for expenses.
Of the Rs. 32-crore budget for Thane district last year under the NRHM, Rs.19 crore was spent, Dr. Rathod said. Despite all this money coming in, the situation had not improved. More serious was the problem of doctors not attending to patients and people having to pay for services.
At the Ganjad hearing, an Adivasi complained that she was refused treatment for a badly cut hand when she went to the PHC at 7 a.m. on a Sunday. She had to go to another hospital, where 18 stitches were put. When the two PHC doctors were asked to explain, they said it was too early on a Sunday and so they did not treat the woman, according to Dr. Jadhav.
When Bharati Mahale took her sister-in-law to the Sayvan PHC for delivery, no doctor was present and she was asked to take the pregnant woman to the sub-district hospital at Kasa, 15 km away. The ambulance driver charged her Rs. 150 for diesel. At Kasa, the doctor made them wait and when Bharati lost her patience, she was almost assaulted. Her sister-in-law was then taken to a private hospital and Bharati had to pay another Rs. 300 towards diesel charges.
It is not only patients, doctors too are suffering. T.R. Bansode, medical officer of the Sayvan PHC, said he had not been paid salary since March. The PHC itself is a shambles, there is no water and electricity. The operation theatre remains closed and the delivery room is dusty. The laboratory is non-functional.
The rain of money has not helped much. Kavita Raote, who had a second daughter three months ago, said the infant was not vaccinated. It was a home delivery, but no ANM visited her within a week, which is mandatory. Kavita is entitled to Rs. 800 under the Matrutva Anudan Yojana and Rs. 500 under the Janini Suraksha Yojana, but she got no money under either scheme.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/22/stories/2008062260321100.htmAdivasi woman gang-raped at Dahivat
| |
| Jalgaon, July 02: A four-member-gang, who entered into a hut of an Adivasi couple at Dahivat-Shivar in the district early on Tuesday, raped an Adivasi woman and fled with small cash and some grass-cutting-instruments, police said on Wednesday. Police said that the four members entered into an agriculture field owned by one Madhukar wagh, where Dilvarsingh Sonawane and his wife were asleep in their hut. The gang knocked the door, beaten up the couple, tied Dilvarsingh by a rope to his bullock-cart and gang-raped his wife. Later, they took away cash of Rs 60, some grass-cutting instruments and fled under the cover of darkness. On a complaint by a woman, police have registered offence against the four unidentified persons. DSP Santosh Rastogi, visited the rural hospital, where the woman victim is being treated at Mehunbare and assured that police will arrest the culprits very soon, police added. |
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=452642&sid=REG
Thursday, May 1, 2008
UNPFII - joint statement on migration of women to the cities to work as domestic help
7th Session of United Nations Permanent forum on Indigenous Issues
April 21- May 2, 2008
New York
Agenda item no. 8
Joint statement by Meenakshi Munda -Mundari Literary Council, Rashmi Ekka Chotanagpur Rising Association
Madam Chair, Distinguished member of the UNPFII
Honorable Representative of the observer States, UN special agencies
Fellow Indigenous brothers and sisters from around the World
Ladies and Gentleman
I bring cordial greeting to you from our people. Madam i wish to speak in general. Firstly, we have been raising on this platform several issues affecting our people.
After the formation of new state Jharkhand, there has been sudden increase in the migration of the indigenous people from our state. Most of the female leaving their home working in the metropolis cities as a domestic helper the local data says about more than 70,000 females have been migrated.This migration is forming a pattern and this being followed. The natural calamities have frequently affected most of the regions of Jharkhand in the from of drought, poor crop production and failure of of supporting produce. On the other hand Government policies have failed to handle the issue of development and the problem of migration and on the other the ignorance of the tribals of the region have promoted their migration from the native place. There are in numerous government policies and program for tribals but benefits at the ground level seems negligible. Poverty, demographic pressure the means of income or the land available for the cultivation is fixed but the population of the family is increasing by each generatin other factors are lack of education, lack of employment, naxal activities are the prime factor that promotes migration, all these factors are interlinked.
Early 21st century has witnessed a large emigration especially from the wester region of Jharkhand. The district like Gumla, Simdega,Lohardaga, latehar, Palamu and Daltenganj are the most affected ones.Every individual who is distressed and is deprived develops a wish to visit metropolitan world for the betterment of life. Though this kind of shift of natives from their original habitat enhances their economic status but they are definitely at losers' end regarding social status, particularly in case of females, many young girls returning to their native place as unmarried mother which is culturally not acceptable in my place. Recently there has been death caused by the AIDS. Moreover, these young women face a high degree of physical and economic exploitation. This causes psychological stress and strain.
Our Recommendations:
- Let all the placement agencies get registered
- Let there be one Directory of the Forum, where there will the names and addresses of placement agencies and domestic workers
- Let the girls names and addresses be registered properly at Placement Agencies.
- Awareness program should be given at native place and place of destination
- Placement agencies should become the member of Domestic Workers Forum
- Terms and conditions for girls should be made in a concrete way in Agencies and there should not be any kind of ambiguity in rules and procedures.
Thank You Madam Chair.
UNPFII - Joint statement on education and migration
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Seventh Session, April 21 -
Agenda Item 8
Joint Statement by: Stephen Ekka, PAJHRA (Promotion and Advancement of Justice Harmony and Rights of Adivasis); Anjali Tirkey, Dorothy Kujur, John B. Ekka, Rashmi Ekka, Vincent Minz, Chotanagpur Rising Association; Meenakshi Munda, Mundari Literary Society; Nicholas Barla, Rourkela Social Service Society,
Respected Madam, Chairperson, Distinguished Member of Permanent Forum, Honorable representatives of the UN agencies, delegates and friends,
JOHAR! Greetings from us, the representatives of the Adivasis from
We are the Adivasis meaning aboriginals or original inhabitants or tribals of
We all know that education and awareness is the pre-requisite of any change we can dream of. But the very literacy rate amongst the Adivasi in
Studies show that the then British Government in India, who brought the Adivasis as indentured labourers to work in the tea-estates wanted the people to remain illiterate and cocooned to a life in tea-plantations so that there was a continuous supply of cheap labourers. Even when the country gained freedom, nothing really worthwhile happened in the tea-gardens. The attitude of the tea-planters remained by and large the same. Shrouded by a slave like life in the tea-gardens, struggling with the economics of survival, unaware of their rights and the opportunities, the majority of people of the tea garden and ex- tea garden do not value education. The tea garden management does not provide adequate facility for education for the fear that if the Adivasis are educated; they would refuse to work in the tea garden as labourers for a meagre wage which is not even a dollar a day. Ineffective implementation of Government Education Schemes in the Tea & ex-Tea Garden area is another dominant factor which has deprived the Adivasi children from education.
Majority of the Adivasis work in the tea garden for their sustenance. Those in the villages too work seasonally in the tea garden. This total dependency in the tea garden has created a psyche that they don't have a future outside tea garden. Adivasi children are deprived of education because a large number of them are engaged in child labour. Many remain at home to take care of their younger siblings. There is no middle and high school within the tea garden. The dropout rates are more than 90% among the Adivasis. Even those who venture to go to nearby middle school have to face many challenges because they become alien amid the non Adivasi children. The management and the government do not pay attention to the requirements for promoting education. It is worth mentioning that lack of quality infrastructure; teachers and non-functioning of schemes like mid-day meal scheme etc. fail to attract the parents and children. The medium of instruction being a non Adivasi language add to their disinterest and disadvantage. The syllabus of the primary school is no way related with Adivasi life. There is no mention of their language, culture, history etc and hence the subjects too become alien to the children.
The about 50,000 children and youth in the relief camps (an aftermath of the 1996, 1998 ethnic clash) still have no education or even health facilities, making a whole generation illiterate.
Lack of education and job opportunities have forced the people to migrate to cities looking for daily wage jobs or join the unorganised sectors like that of domestic workers. This has led to further exploitations of Adivasis. In
Migration and Land alienation is also causing the cultural alienation of Adivasis. When the whole community migrates for survival strategy the tribal life is not much affected. However, when the migration is forced or induced as in the case of Assam, Bengal, Andaman and Punjab the tribal life, values, identity are disastrously and sometimes irreversibly affected. Invariably this uprooted group has been marginalized socially, politically, culturally and in fact in every sphere of life. For example in
Our Recommendations:
· We would like your office to impress upon the Indian government to take special interest in the Education of its Adivasi children. For we understand that education is liberation.
· To make policies and schemes which makes education a must and also to see its proper implementations. Implementation is an area where the Indian Government is wanting.
· To introduce free education at least in primary and lower levels and to see that there exists conducive environment to act as incentive for children to study.
· To introduce schools in the rural areas so that children do not have to travel long distances and to have hostels in cities for adivasi children and youth so that they can live in the cities and acquire education.
· To introduce learning in ones own mother tongue especial in primary and lower level of education. This becomes more important where the regional language or the state language is not ones own mother tongue.
· While child labour is banned there are many loop holes in the policy and also in the implementation process. The government must check this and see that every child receives education.
· To make adult education a reality.
· To introduce schools with good infra-structure and human resource and to revive and revitalise the existing schools.
· To introduce mother tongue as a medium of instruction and to include our history and culture as a part of the curriculum.
· To make policies which give opportunities of jobs and work in the ones own area so that it mitigates migration.
· To introduce laws and to make the domestic workers sector more organised with proper work and wage policies.
· To do a proper research and study on migration to urban areas. Some of such induced or forced migrations are man- made and hence man can find solutions for them. One must analyze the historical forces and constraints which normally create causes and nuances of migration. And therefore one must find out the processes, forces and constraints that can become appropriate strategies for relieving them and for migration planning in order to help alleviate those human problems.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
PAJHRA
Chotanagpur Rising Association
Mundari Literary Society
In the News
Thursday, May 1, 2008 (United Nations)
Participating in the ongoing meeting of the United Nations Permanent Mission on Indigenous Issues, tribal leaders from Assam have sought help of international community in safeguarding their interests and protecting their basic rights in this North-Eastern State.
In two different memorandums submitted to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedom of indigenous people, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, a group of about half-a-dozen tribal organizations, have urged him to impress upon the Indian Government to recognize adivasis of Assam in the Schedule Tribe list. These tribal had migrated from Jharkhand during the British era to work in the tea garden.
''In Assam the adivasis are not even recognized as Scheduled Tribes unlike their counterparts in other States of India. Long years of subjugation and suppression have made the adivasi people suffer from low self image,'' it said.
In a meeting with the Special Rapporteur, they also raised the issue of attack on a rally of All Adivasi Student's Association of Assam (AASAA) on November 24 in which a large number of people were injured.
''We urged the Special Rapporteur to seek information on this issue from the Government of India and also to visit the country for his own assessment of the situation in Assam,'' Stephen Ekka, director of the Tejpur-based PAJHRA told NDTV.com in an interview. PAJHRA stands for Promotion and Advancement of Justice, Harmony and Rights of Adivasis.
The memorandum requested the Special Rapporteur to impress upon the Indian Government to do a fair enquiry and punish the guilty of the 24th November incident.
It also sought his help in urged the Indian Government for quick rehabilitation of the displaced adivasis and victimization and atrocities committed against them.
The alleged Guwahati incident was also brought to the attention of Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Human Rights Council; Council on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and Committee Against Torture.
''The Government has been very unsympathetic towards the community,'' said the memorandum.
However, the participating tribal leaders are not sure if their voice would be heard or not, if this help in getting their demands meet back home. ''How, far it would be helpful, I am not sure,'' Anjali Tirkey Ekka of Chotanagpur Rising Association, said. She was disappointed with the poor response from the Special Rapporteur, who according to her said could only visit India if allowed and only after he was given all the documented proof of the incident.
To read it on NDTV, click here.
In two different memorandums submitted to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedom of indigenous people, Rodolfo Stavenhagen, a group of about half-a-dozen tribal organizations, have urged him to impress upon the Indian Government to recognize adivasis of Assam in the Schedule Tribe list. These tribal had migrated from Jharkhand during the British era to work in the tea garden.
''In Assam the adivasis are not even recognized as Scheduled Tribes unlike their counterparts in other States of India. Long years of subjugation and suppression have made the adivasi people suffer from low self image,'' it said.
In a meeting with the Special Rapporteur, they also raised the issue of attack on a rally of All Adivasi Student's Association of Assam (AASAA) on November 24 in which a large number of people were injured.
''We urged the Special Rapporteur to seek information on this issue from the Government of India and also to visit the country for his own assessment of the situation in Assam,'' Stephen Ekka, director of the Tejpur-based PAJHRA told NDTV.com in an interview. PAJHRA stands for Promotion and Advancement of Justice, Harmony and Rights of Adivasis.
The memorandum requested the Special Rapporteur to impress upon the Indian Government to do a fair enquiry and punish the guilty of the 24th November incident.
It also sought his help in urged the Indian Government for quick rehabilitation of the displaced adivasis and victimization and atrocities committed against them.
The alleged Guwahati incident was also brought to the attention of Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; Human Rights Council; Council on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and Committee Against Torture.
''The Government has been very unsympathetic towards the community,'' said the memorandum.
However, the participating tribal leaders are not sure if their voice would be heard or not, if this help in getting their demands meet back home. ''How, far it would be helpful, I am not sure,'' Anjali Tirkey Ekka of Chotanagpur Rising Association, said. She was disappointed with the poor response from the Special Rapporteur, who according to her said could only visit India if allowed and only after he was given all the documented proof of the incident.
To read it on NDTV, click here.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
At the UN we also distributed this pamphlet.
FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE ADIVASIS OF ASSAM INDIA
The Adivasi (Indigenous) people of
On
One person died on the spot while more than 250 were critically injured. One young Adivasi girl was stripped, kicked and beaten in broad daylight. Even the women with children in their arms were not spared. They were dragged in the streets of Guwahati like animals. The males were brutally beaten with sticks, iron rods etc to break not just their bones but also their spirits. The State machinery failed to curb the mob violence and the government has sidelined the issue.
.JPG)
We request the attention of Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Human Rights Council (HRC), Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and Committee against Torture (CAT).
We will request to all our Indigenous brothers and sisters please get in touch with the following organizations to support the fight for the rights of the Adivasi (Indigenous).
PAJHRA –ekka.stephen@gmail.com
Phone No. +91-3712-237870
Cell No. +91-9435082656
Khara Ati, near Namghar, Tezpur-784001,
Mundari Literary Council - meenakshi.munda@gmail.com
C/O Mrs. Amita Munda,
Chotanagpur Rising Association – rashmiekka@gmail.com
IN SOLIDARITY
To see footage of what transpired on that day, go here.
UNPFII - Joint Statement 2
The second joint statement was one on development induced displacement and was authored by Dr. Ram Dayal Munda.
UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
7th Session, April 21-
Agenda Item No. 4
Joint Statement by Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, All Dimasa Students
Madam Chair, Distinguished Member of the Permanent Forum, Honorable Representative of the UN Agencies and Governments, Fellow Indigenous and Tribal Brothers and Sisters from around the world, cordial greetings to you all.
Madam Chair,
We commend
We therefore, appeal through your office to the concerned governments to consider the following recommendations:
- Urge the Indian Government to recognize Indigenous peoples according to Article 3 of UNDIP on self identification.
- Illegal immigration from the neighboring states and countries be stopped in the greater interest of the indigenous people;
- Stringent measures be taken for safeguarding the natural resource areas;
- Special political safeguards be provided for culturally appropriate development of the indigenous peoples;
- No indigenous land be surrendered permanently to any development or other agency, whether State or private. Indigenous land be made available on short term lease basis subject to occasional review;
- Encourage projects with no or least displacement. In projects which require displacement, cultural rehabilitation must proceed to ensure continuation of community life of the people concerned;
- Maximum number of the concerned people be ensured means of livelihood including employment in the planned project itself for which the said project must have a built-in training component;
- The concerned communities be made shareholders in the said project so that the y may enjoy the benefits of the said projector and thereby they may own up the project in their own interest;
- Especially in the case of mining, the lands be returned to the original owner once the mining is completed after proper landscaping so that the indigenous peoples can help the healing process of Mother Earth.
Thank you, Madam, for your kind attention.
Dr. Ram Dayal Munda, Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
Ms. Meenakshi Munda, Mundari Literary Council
Mr. Prafulla Hafila, All Dimasa Students
Mr. Brindaban Goswami, All Dimasa Students
Ms. Labanya Hazarika, All Dimasa Students
Ms. Anna Pinto, CORE
UNPFII- Joint Statement 1
On the 2nd day, the group mainly concentrated on working on the two joint statements.
The first on was on the atrocities heaped on the Adivasis of Assam and a call for them to be given the ST status.
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Seventh Session, April 21 –
Agenda Item 4
Joint Statement by: Stephen Ekka, PAJHRA (Promotion and Advancement of Justice Harmony and Rights of Adivasis); Anjali Tirkey, Dorothy Kujur, John B. Ekka, Rashmi Ekka, Vincent Minz, Chotanagpur Rising Association; Nicholas Barla, Rourkela Social Service Society.
Respected Madam, Chairperson, Distinguished Member of Permanent Forum, Honorable representatives of the UN agencies, delegates and friends,
JOHAR! Greetings from us, the representatives of the Adivasis from
We are the Adivasis meaning aboriginals or original inhabitants or tribals of
Some of the major human rights violations, the Adivasis have witnessed are:
Denial of Constitutional Right and Suppression of Expression
The first
Guwahati incident
On
A mass Genocide : Ethnic clash of 1996 and 1998
During the 1990s, the Bodo community (a plains tribe of
We therefore, appeal through your office to the Indian Government to consider the following recommendations:
· Request the recognition of Adivasis of Assam in the Scheduled Tribes List;
· Urge the rehabilitation of the displaced Adivasi people;
· Stop the land alienation of Adivasis in
· Stop the victimization and attrocities committed against Adivasis;
· Ensure that the State Machinery recognizes its responsibility towards protecting the adivasis.
Thank you madam for your kind attention.
1. Stephen Ekka, Promotion and Advancement of Justice, Harmony and Rights of Adivasis (PAJHRA)
2. Anjali Tirkey, Chotanagpur Rising Association
3. Dorothy Kujur, Chotanagpur Rising Association
4. John B Ekka, Chotanagpur Rising Association
5. Rashmi Ekka, Chotanagpur Rising Association
6. Vincent Minz Chotanagpur Rising Association
7. Nicholas Barla,
Pictures of the group at work:
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Rajniti aur Adivashi, my perspective .Part 1
As per the census 2001 ,http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_st_jharkhand.pdf
Jharkhand has 26.3% STs
Districtwise gumla(68.4%),ranchi and pakur (41-42%),lohardaga and paschimi Singbhum has more than 50% ST population .
Highest population among tribes is of Santal out of 30 other tribe.They have highest in Dumka followed by Purbi Singbhum and then Pakur and Sahibganj.In Girdih its 90.8%
Now see the Lok Sabha constituencies: http://www.indian-elections.com/jharkhand/index.html
1 - Rajmahal(ST) 2 - Dumka(ST) 3 - Godda
4 - Chatra 5 - Kodarma 6 - Giridih
7 - Dhanbad 8 - Ranchi 9 - Jamshedpur
10 - Singhbhum(ST) 11 - Khunti(ST) 12 - Lohardaga(ST)
13 - Palamu(SC) 14 - Hazaribagh
In a tribal state like jharkhand , only 5 ST constituencies ........aaaaahha....really funny .........
Now check the legislative constituencies :.......http://www.indian-elections.com/assembly-elections/jharkhand/jharkhand-assembly-constituencies05-phase-1.html
Out of 81 there are only 28 ST seats .Earlier it was 33 now 28 .......recently we heard abt "Delimition Act" which was to further reduce the seats to 21 ...
Lets analyse the situation in Orissa .......http://ceoorissa.nic.in/erollpdf.asp?Pc=9
In Orissa 147 assembly seats .....Out of which only 33 are ST ......
For Lok Sabha only 5 out of 21 .
This is our representation in State .
Pathetic thing is that there are many more seats which can be ST seats but unfortunately they could not because of the less population density caused by migration.
Constituencies like Kalahandi,phulbani ,bolangir can be made tribal if population density is more .Even some more seats could be ST seats .....Like balesore,jaleswar,
In jharkhand also you manually check which could have been Tribal constituencies ...In many areas kordah,kodarma,girdih could be made ST if there were still fair density of tribals ..........
Why are we loosing our voice in Govt day by day??
Lets analyse ........
Migration is the chief reason for poor population density in Orissa and Jharkhand.
Tribal Population has scattered or densely concentrated in one place.
Tribal people migrated in three ways
1: Labour migration :Rich contractors own these labourers and for any kind of construction work take them along with them .These ppl hav inhabited wherever they got place ...... [i]wo bhi kya karee , bhuk toh sabko lagti hai[/i]In cities these people stay as slum dwellers where they have hardly a significant participation in law making bodies.They live in small chunks ,few families together .
2: migration because of marriages
I find it funny that a lot of people oppose inter caste marriage . So its rare to see a Ho and a Santal couple ....things get worse this way ...It becomes difficult to get a suitable groom in locally ,so brides move across villages .....and leave their place after marriage which is obvious for a girl.
I have observed one peculiar fact " this kind of migration leads to uneven population density .The areas where tribals are more ,they are flooded with few more .Wherever there is a high sex ratio under 15 now ...will soon be found "Suna Suna ,empty" after 10 yrs ......Observe it carefully.
3: migration of educated mass for jobs and better employment:
My father used to vote in mayurbhanj constituency some 30 yrs back ....now he votes in bhubaneswar constituency .There are thousands ,lakhs (if all tribals taken into account )are doing jobs in various cities and towns .
They are in small clusters in big cities .Do u think their votes matter ???
Hypothetically if a tribal candidate contest from a non-tribal constituency .Will he ever win?
We do not thrust on our women folk to reproduce more babies .We do not marry within the family and near kith and kins in order to utilise the fertility to increase our head count.
How can we increase our influence?
Jharkhand has 26.3% STs
Districtwise gumla(68.4%),ranchi and pakur (41-42%),lohardaga and paschimi Singbhum has more than 50% ST population .
Highest population among tribes is of Santal out of 30 other tribe.They have highest in Dumka followed by Purbi Singbhum and then Pakur and Sahibganj.In Girdih its 90.8%
Now see the Lok Sabha constituencies: http://www.indian-elections.com/jharkha
1 - Rajmahal(ST) 2 - Dumka(ST) 3 - Godda
4 - Chatra 5 - Kodarma 6 - Giridih
7 - Dhanbad 8 - Ranchi 9 - Jamshedpur
10 - Singhbhum(ST) 11 - Khunti(ST) 12 - Lohardaga(ST)
13 - Palamu(SC) 14 - Hazaribagh
In a tribal state like jharkhand , only 5 ST constituencies ........aaaaahha....really funny .........
Now check the legislative constituencies :.......http://www.indian-elections.com
Out of 81 there are only 28 ST seats .Earlier it was 33 now 28 .......recently we heard abt "Delimition Act" which was to further reduce the seats to 21 ...
Lets analyse the situation in Orissa .......http://ceoorissa.nic.in/erollpdf
In Orissa 147 assembly seats .....Out of which only 33 are ST ......
For Lok Sabha only 5 out of 21 .
This is our representation in State .
Pathetic thing is that there are many more seats which can be ST seats but unfortunately they could not because of the less population density caused by migration.
Constituencies like Kalahandi,phulbani ,bolangir can be made tribal if population density is more .Even some more seats could be ST seats .....Like balesore,jaleswar,
In jharkhand also you manually check which could have been Tribal constituencies ...In many areas kordah,kodarma,girdih could be made ST if there were still fair density of tribals ..........
Why are we loosing our voice in Govt day by day??
Lets analyse ........
Migration is the chief reason for poor population density in Orissa and Jharkhand.
Tribal Population has scattered or densely concentrated in one place.
Tribal people migrated in three ways
1: Labour migration :Rich contractors own these labourers and for any kind of construction work take them along with them .These ppl hav inhabited wherever they got place ...... [i]wo bhi kya karee , bhuk toh sabko lagti hai[/i]In cities these people stay as slum dwellers where they have hardly a significant participation in law making bodies.They live in small chunks ,few families together .
2: migration because of marriages
I find it funny that a lot of people oppose inter caste marriage . So its rare to see a Ho and a Santal couple ....things get worse this way ...It becomes difficult to get a suitable groom in locally ,so brides move across villages .....and leave their place after marriage which is obvious for a girl.
I have observed one peculiar fact " this kind of migration leads to uneven population density .The areas where tribals are more ,they are flooded with few more .Wherever there is a high sex ratio under 15 now ...will soon be found "Suna Suna ,empty" after 10 yrs ......Observe it carefully.
3: migration of educated mass for jobs and better employment:
My father used to vote in mayurbhanj constituency some 30 yrs back ....now he votes in bhubaneswar constituency .There are thousands ,lakhs (if all tribals taken into account )are doing jobs in various cities and towns .
They are in small clusters in big cities .Do u think their votes matter ???
Hypothetically if a tribal candidate contest from a non-tribal constituency .Will he ever win?
We do not thrust on our women folk to reproduce more babies .We do not marry within the family and near kith and kins in order to utilise the fertility to increase our head count.
How can we increase our influence?
Industrialisation, a tribal's perspective
Is India a mere economy only??
Is profit the only scale to measure development in India??
Is modernisation==westernisation??
Today money has become god.Profit drives money and money drives minds.
Industrialisation has undoubtedly brought great changes in all spheres of life .Faster urbanisation ,Increased technical prowess ,economic boom and unending job oppourtunities are few of its brighter outcome.
But has it brought a proportionate growth in among all Indians?
In recent past we all have witnessed gruesome killing of Tribals in unethical endeavour of encroaching their land .
Be it Koyal karo dam project, be it Kalinganagar,be it Lanjigarah ,be it Maikanch ...or be it Nandigram ......whenever such project took its course ,its cost tribal blood.We all lost our lands ,lost our livelihood and dumped into misery .
All we need is to peep in to poor tribal minds to understand the precarious situation.Tribals are like earthworms ,live in the same land and die in the same.Just like a fish taken out of water dies ,tribals will die if they are made landless.
*Even International Labour Organisation has set standards like Land for Land.But all the R & R packages by the Govt. and the capitalists offer cash or job promises (fake most of the times).
The literacy rate among tribals is below 50% .Even in Census criteria for counting someone literate is the ability to read and write.I can safely say if we count number of adult tribals who are 10th passed .....is much more low....
So what kind of job will govt. offer to them??
Basically maximum number of tribals are farmers .They work in fields ,raise crops,rear cattles ,sell wild fruits.......In a way they are self sufficient in Livestock.
Few of them work in cities as labourers in off time ,to compensate their landlesness or seasonal unemployment.
If they are displaced without providing them land ,they will turn into pool of labourers and that too unskilled.Earlier they had not to pay for Livestocks ,now Livestocks will eat up all their hard earned money........education and health care is a far dream.
Who will save them from Inflation??
Has govt. thought in this regard??
*Being a technocrat I can safely say that for any mining project ,few more basic supplementary projects are also needed like
a) Power ( often hydro), for which dams are needed .This again pose a threat to displacement of a bunch of people.All rivers are not Ganga ,whose glacial origin never allows it to dry down.
In mountains of Orissa , its the aluminium content of soil which retains moisture and this flow down as streams of water .Tribals use it for irrigation and household purposes ,but extensive use of these water in refineries and smelters not only leaves the Tribals helpless but also pose a threat to environment .The improper disposal of waste is just another menace.
In 1950-60s Indal(Indian Aluminium) a subsidiary of Alcan built an Aluminium smelter in Hirakud(north west Orissa) which displaced 16 000 ppl of which 50% were tribals .
For this it got a dam named Hirakud dam.
Major floods which occured in 1980 and 1999 was caused by the need of sudden release of heavy rain water to save the Dam.
b)Transportaion of raw materials and finshed goods.
Again Railways tracks need to be laid up .Roads to be built.
so clear the forests ,dismantle the villages which come in way ...Eh!! it so bitter fact.
c)Labourers in Mines Not all work is done using machinery .Atleast in India where Labor is cheap ,who bothers to buy the most advanced machinery .Though it is hazardous but tribals find no way out and are compelled to work in these factories.
*Most of the mining companies are of foreign Origin .
POSCO(S.korea),Vedanta(england),Alco( by Birla with collaboration of Kaiser ,US )...etc etc ..............I need pages to write its effects on economy.
We are pooling our natural resources to soothe ,to appease the luxurious aspirations of one section of rich people.
In India 33 major automobile Industries,which every year showcase 2-3 new models of cars .
People are busy choosing models ,even if the head light looked odd they manufactured a new model.
Have ever anyone thought from where the Aluminium for those come?
In their super markets ,they wrap junk food ,sweets and food materials in Aluminium wrappers (thin foils).These are nothing but wastes in Aluminium refineries.
Is this what we call Modernisation ??I call it "Over development"
All Indians are black pigs ,few of us try to project themselves white by itching,scratching and bleaching.The aping of West has increased the greed of luxury and fashion.
But the people who suffer for this are far away from our eyes in the remote villages living a cursed life.
Today ,People call us fools as we hinder Nation's progress.
Is our progress not counted as nations progress just because we dont add to GDP?
They are not interested in educating us ,giving medical facility.
And they say they are developing us by Industrialisation.Hilarious!!
So again I ask the same question "Is India a mere Economy ?"
In this country People can forget Bhopal Gas tragedy in a span of 15 years .See the stock price of DOW today...still in the forefront.People can forgive Narendra Modi and elect him CM even after Godhra, just because he has brought economic development.Adivashis are duped and their Land is snatched in order set up industries which will provide jobs to the educated mass in Metros.
Money Money Money.........Profit hi saab kuch hai bhai ..
Can I expect ethics ?
Can I expect spirit ?..........Is nation all about points in Exchanges?
Is profit the only scale to measure development in India??
Is modernisation==westernisation??
Today money has become god.Profit drives money and money drives minds.
Industrialisation has undoubtedly brought great changes in all spheres of life .Faster urbanisation ,Increased technical prowess ,economic boom and unending job oppourtunities are few of its brighter outcome.
But has it brought a proportionate growth in among all Indians?
In recent past we all have witnessed gruesome killing of Tribals in unethical endeavour of encroaching their land .
Be it Koyal karo dam project, be it Kalinganagar,be it Lanjigarah ,be it Maikanch ...or be it Nandigram ......whenever such project took its course ,its cost tribal blood.We all lost our lands ,lost our livelihood and dumped into misery .
All we need is to peep in to poor tribal minds to understand the precarious situation.Tribals are like earthworms ,live in the same land and die in the same.Just like a fish taken out of water dies ,tribals will die if they are made landless.
*Even International Labour Organisation has set standards like Land for Land.But all the R & R packages by the Govt. and the capitalists offer cash or job promises (fake most of the times).
The literacy rate among tribals is below 50% .Even in Census criteria for counting someone literate is the ability to read and write.I can safely say if we count number of adult tribals who are 10th passed .....is much more low....
So what kind of job will govt. offer to them??
Basically maximum number of tribals are farmers .They work in fields ,raise crops,rear cattles ,sell wild fruits.......In a way they are self sufficient in Livestock.
Few of them work in cities as labourers in off time ,to compensate their landlesness or seasonal unemployment.
If they are displaced without providing them land ,they will turn into pool of labourers and that too unskilled.Earlier they had not to pay for Livestocks ,now Livestocks will eat up all their hard earned money........education and health care is a far dream.
Who will save them from Inflation??
Has govt. thought in this regard??
*Being a technocrat I can safely say that for any mining project ,few more basic supplementary projects are also needed like
a) Power ( often hydro), for which dams are needed .This again pose a threat to displacement of a bunch of people.All rivers are not Ganga ,whose glacial origin never allows it to dry down.
In mountains of Orissa , its the aluminium content of soil which retains moisture and this flow down as streams of water .Tribals use it for irrigation and household purposes ,but extensive use of these water in refineries and smelters not only leaves the Tribals helpless but also pose a threat to environment .The improper disposal of waste is just another menace.
In 1950-60s Indal(Indian Aluminium) a subsidiary of Alcan built an Aluminium smelter in Hirakud(north west Orissa) which displaced 16 000 ppl of which 50% were tribals .
For this it got a dam named Hirakud dam.
Major floods which occured in 1980 and 1999 was caused by the need of sudden release of heavy rain water to save the Dam.
b)Transportaion of raw materials and finshed goods.
Again Railways tracks need to be laid up .Roads to be built.
so clear the forests ,dismantle the villages which come in way ...Eh!! it so bitter fact.
c)Labourers in Mines Not all work is done using machinery .Atleast in India where Labor is cheap ,who bothers to buy the most advanced machinery .Though it is hazardous but tribals find no way out and are compelled to work in these factories.
*Most of the mining companies are of foreign Origin .
POSCO(S.korea),Vedanta(england),Alco( by Birla with collaboration of Kaiser ,US )...etc etc ..............I need pages to write its effects on economy.
We are pooling our natural resources to soothe ,to appease the luxurious aspirations of one section of rich people.
In India 33 major automobile Industries,which every year showcase 2-3 new models of cars .
People are busy choosing models ,even if the head light looked odd they manufactured a new model.
Have ever anyone thought from where the Aluminium for those come?
In their super markets ,they wrap junk food ,sweets and food materials in Aluminium wrappers (thin foils).These are nothing but wastes in Aluminium refineries.
Is this what we call Modernisation ??I call it "Over development"
All Indians are black pigs ,few of us try to project themselves white by itching,scratching and bleaching.The aping of West has increased the greed of luxury and fashion.
But the people who suffer for this are far away from our eyes in the remote villages living a cursed life.
Today ,People call us fools as we hinder Nation's progress.
Is our progress not counted as nations progress just because we dont add to GDP?
They are not interested in educating us ,giving medical facility.
And they say they are developing us by Industrialisation.Hilarious!!
So again I ask the same question "Is India a mere Economy ?"
In this country People can forget Bhopal Gas tragedy in a span of 15 years .See the stock price of DOW today...still in the forefront.People can forgive Narendra Modi and elect him CM even after Godhra, just because he has brought economic development.Adivashis are duped and their Land is snatched in order set up industries which will provide jobs to the educated mass in Metros.
Money Money Money.........Profit hi saab kuch hai bhai ..
Can I expect ethics ?
Can I expect spirit ?..........Is nation all about points in Exchanges?
Friday, April 25, 2008
UNPFII - Day 1
On the first day, I mainly met and interacted with fellow Chottanagpuri adivasis.
Distinguished scholar and ex-vie chancellor of Ranchi University, Dr. Ram Dayal Munda was there representing the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.
Meenakshi Munda, a PhD candidate of Social Anthropology who has written her masters dissertation on the migration of adivasi women to the cities for employment as domestic workers was there representing the Mundari Literary Council. Meenakshi has traveled widely all over the world attending several conferences on indigenous issues, raising awareness about Adivasis and networking with other indigenous people.
Nicholar Barla, an advocate and human rights expert has worked extensively in Orissa was there representing the Rourkela Social Service Society. He has worked extensively on trying to make the mines in Orissa more socially and environmentally responsible.
Anjali Tirkey is a freelance journalist, who founded PAJHRA, an organization which works for the rights of adivasis, who were taken from the Chottanagpur plateau to Assam by the British to wokr in the tea gardens. Her colleague, Stephen Ekka, who is the Executive Director of PAJHRA was also present at the permanent forum.
I represented the Chottanagpur Rising Association, which is a network of adivasis living abroad.
Anjali took part in a special photo shoot of the UN which documents indigenous people. There are some 370 million indigenous people in more than 90 countries in the world, representing about 5000 cultures and more than 4000 languages. Many of these peoples and cultures are disappearing with each passing day. This special photo project makes self-potraits of indigenous people through an interactive approach.The Oraon-Munda group together came up with several ideas for our joint statements top the permanent forum. Most of the day went by in discussing our ideas and tightening up our focus for our joint statement.
Meenakshi and me also got involved in the youth caucus which was working on the issue of indigenous languages. It was great to meet other indigenous youth from all over the world and have a dialogue.
Monday, April 21, 2008
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: BELONGING
I was at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) for the last three days. It was an amazing experience and it was great to meet so many indigenous people, not only from India and from all over the world. I will try to blog my experience here in many small posts.
On the first day, as soon as I entered the main UN premises, I was struck by the number of indigenous people there. This sounds funny because of course the permanent forum on Indigenous Issues was going on, so it logically follows that they would be present there - but to actually see people, my own people, from all over the world, gathered together in one place, so that we can discuss our own issues was just phenomenal. The feeling of unity and belonging and that I am not alone was simply overwhelming. The line was long and all the people in the line were talking to each other in whatever languages they could manage. Most everybody was dressed in their traditional clothes. Right from the beginning their was an environment of exchange and dialogue.
MBA dreams ,a tribal's perspective
Here are the list of leading B-schools in India and the current fees.
1. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A), Ahmedabad Fees:4.6Lakhs for 1 yrs
2. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-B), Bangalore Fees:4 lakhs "
3. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-C), Kolkata Fees :7 lakhs "
4. Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad Fees:15 lakhs "
5. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-L), Lucknow Fees: 3 Lakh "
6. Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur Fees:3.04 lakhs "
7. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-I), Indore Fees:1.5 lakhs "
8. Indian Institute of Management (IIM-K), Kozhikode Fees:6 lakhs "
So terrific hikes in fees .Now let me give a tribal's perspective of this.The fee hikes has encouraged the private institutions to follow the fashion .
Once again it is proved that the Capitalist Minds dont care for the poor.In today's world talent is bought.Merit is traded upon .I wonder whether people like Dhirubhai Ambani had ever taken such course to raise themselves to unreachable heights.
Media has always shown the brighter side of the issue .Recently IIM C was in news for its record placements of 1.36 crore .Lets dig out some facts which is revolving in my mind.
*As many as 243 offers had already been made to the students before the beginning of the final placements. This included 153 offers made during the laterals process and the 90 pre-placement offers (PPOs) that were awarded for excellent performance during the summer internship.*The average domestic salary this year was Rs 16.4 lakh per annum. But that’s only the beginning. The highest package this year is in the range of Rs 65 lakh to Rs 70 lakh per annum, offered by a leading international investment bank. Another highlight this year is that Mckinsey has offered the profile of an associate to a fresh IIM-C grad.
*42 are in zero slot.
This piece of news has been collected from various sources.Now my views.
1)The average salary is 16.4 lakh ,Higest package being 65-70 lakhs .....Oww!!
Why dont all IIMs provide a reliable pie chart for Income range??
I get confused by my mathematical skills ......as it force me to believe that many students are poorly placed below 7 lakhs.
2)what happened to those 5 students who had no PPOs and who were not in slot zero ??No news of them,though IIMs write final Placement is over .
Getting into IIMs is not an easy job.One needs sound coaching .Leading coaching Institutes like IMS Learning and T.I.M.E charge around 8000-10000 rupees per student per year.Recently Govt . has increased service tax to 8% for coaching institutes .So the present prices are likely to shoot up.Under such financial constraints how can a Middle class-tribal go for such elite education??
The people becoming crorepati from ISB are the people who could afford for 15 lakh tution fee.
The people who get into IIMs are the people who have extensively been guided at such high costs.Apart from the coaching fees ,study materials are other big expenditure a tribal has to incur.
So is MBA a far dream for tribals?
Lets get down to local government and private institutes .These are also following the elite fashion .Now MBA is a costly affair .
The pain would have not been so intense if the returns on such Investments were high. The dark side of IIMs is the poor placement of a bunch of students.Even in IIT being an IITian I say that there are many students who gets jobs of salary range 2.44lakhs to 5.5lakhs. It was not a problem as tution fees were not so high ,but recent hike in Prices will piss off lot many..
Many MBA graduates are working for mere 2-3 lakhs/annum even after spending lavishly in the hope of making fortunes.UPES (University of Petroleum and Energy Studies) charges as high as 11 Lakhs and placements are of 4-5 lakhs.
People may argue that Educational Loans are easily available and more funds are in store for students.But that doesnt justify .They are encouraging poor ppl to take loans under the risk of less return.
I can today safely say that Education has become a costly commodity today.People trade on it.There is nobody who cares for the poor.
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Reservation ,from a Tribal's perspective
Reservation ,a controversial concept of development which has plagued many minds for years.The history of reservation was the history of voice for representation .In Kerala, the demand for reservation of government jobs was made as early as 1891 with an agitation in the princely State of Travancore against the recruitment of non-natives, mainly Tamil Brahmins, into public service, overlooking qualified native people.It has evolved across the time and is today a powerful tool to bring economic and political equality among the individuals and in present day the Caste is the deciding factor being the base of Reservation.
I m here only to give my views on the ongoing anti-reservation protests from a tribal's perspective.
They say Merit should be the base to get seats in educational Institutions.
Merit??? Whats that ?? Merit is not attached to caste .It is acquired by the kind of upbringing one has,by the exposure one gets.I m sure an average Brahmin student of Delhi Kendriya Vidyalaya can score more in Boards then his counterpart in Baripada Kendriya Vidyalaya in Mayurbhanj district .So should I conclude that Baripada Brahmins are less meritorious????
Money is their god and they want every institute to spin money for them.Education has today become an expensive commodity to procure for the poor tribals.The average tribal family income from all sources was calculated to be Rs 2036.96.Its not easy for a tribal father get his son educated in Convent or Xaviers ,its not easy to admit him in FIIT JEE or AKAASH which gives best coaching for IIT and Medical entrance with fees as high as 40 ,000 rupees per 6 months .
An AIIMS student may certainly talk about merit .But I remind him that he has bought it.People are buying talent .Mukherjee street in Delhi ,IAS mecca certainly doesnot give quality education at cheaper rate.What about the students who cannot afford for such ???
Are they less meritorious???
TamilNadu is a state from which the Northies should learn to use Reservation to bring social and political equality.It has 69% reservation in education and jobs at present.See the status of the backward castes in Tamil Nadu today.Reservation is not a poverty alleviating tool .Its aim is to bring social equality.The humiliations we have faced being tribals by the so called upper caste ,its just the compensation we crave for.Only high education can bring respect.So Reservation is a must.
In Tamil Nadu,Anna University conducts exams where cut off marks for general and backward caste student's is almost equal. Wow!! this is what reservations can do .
A hilarious comment was made by Wipro chief -Ajim Premji "Let’s start the reservation with our cricket team. We should have 10 percent reservation for muslims. 30 percent for OBC, SC/ST like that. Cricket rules should be modified accordingly. The boundary circle should be reduced for an SC/ST player. The four hit by an OBC player should be considered as a six and a six hit by a OBC player should be counted as 8 runs. An OBC player scoring 60 runs should be declared as a century.
We should influence ICC and make rules so that the pace bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar should not bowl fast balls to our OBC player. Bowlers should bowl maximum speed of 80 kilometer per hour to an OBC player. Any delivery above this speed should be made illegal."
I feel pity for the man to be ignorant about the ground realities.I would like to remind all that the Captain of Indian Hockey team is Dilip Tirkey ,a tribal .About Cricket, its a rich man's game .Almost all the players are from affluent families who can afford for their son to invest his time and energy in such unconventional fields.
And dont worry the second generation tribals will soon come up ,the real race has begun now.
They say Creamy Layer should be out of reservation.
what a joke !! In a country where Govt. can not provide basic Primary education properly want to wash off hands by providing reservation at graduation and post graduation level.Rates of drop outs is high in secondary education ...I exctly dont know the factors.Tribal literacy rate is below 40% in chotanagpur and Orissa .
And our elite upper caste fellows think that Creamy Layer should be excluded!! hehe ....So whom to include??
I got 92% marks in 10th and I know Santals who have scored upto 95% .....this wouldnot have been possible if my father and mother had not worked in bhubaneswar and given me good education.Again if there were no reservation ,they could never get education at all as being core village tribals they hardly understand what merit is all about.After they got job ,they encouraged other family members and finally all of my uncles are in job of some kind or the other.Now that I have got into IIT ,I will guide my brothers and sisters.
Educate one tribal and you educate a family,educate one family and you educate a village,Educate a village and you educate the community.This is tribal society .We believe in
co operation.
They say Caste should not be the criteria.
Again a joke!!
I saw on TV how vehemently AIIMS students were opposing reservation in delhi streets.
Again same kind of opposition came when Union Health Minister -Anbumani Ramados proposed one year compulsury training in rural villages of India.Girls from AIIMS wrote to Ramados asking him to marry them as their Marriage age would pass away if they serve rural India for 1 yr.
This is the real face of these self-centred people who consider India as बाप का माल
How many Tribal doctors serve in Apollo?
How many tribal doctors have private clinics in big cities ?? in bhubaneswar NIL.
In Mayurbhanj a tribal district of Orissa,there are more number of tribal doctors serving the poor people then their general counter parts.The doctors who get involved in Organ smuggling,female infanticide are definitely not the tribals.
So in one hand they deny higher education on the grounds of Merit at the same time they dont want to come down to us to serve us by their superb Merit.what a hypocrisy!!
80% of Upper caste hindus are better off economically and politically.
So what have they done to help their fellow brothers of the same caste and religion???
Now they talk about the plight of those poor Brahmins who cannot study because of extensive reservation.
So are tribals responsible for that?? Being in power everywhere what have they done for their fellowmen??
The highest evaders of Income tax are they themselves,Highest corruption rate is among themselves only.And they clamor for justice.Sick!
For a nation's formation two basic things are needed
1)Ethics (social,moral...etc etc)
2)Tolerance.
Its Tribals who have sacrificed everytime for national interest.For industries, mines and many power projects we tribals have sacrificed our lands in lieu of poor rehabilitation.For the sake of employment of many urban Upper caste ,we sacrificed our lands .Every now and then tribals are killed in attempts of Land encroachment.Yet we have not raised voice like those stupid AIIMS kids nor we picked up Arms like Communists.
This is what tolerance is.
What is Development as per them ??
Is Development of country== Development of Upper Caste Hindu??
Today they talk about Merit.They criticize tribals' getting good education.
If in Bhubaneswar ,the roads are widened wiping out the local poor traders is Development to them ,Then I have nothing to say.
If a tribal gets educated.Is it not seen as development of the country??
Lastly before I conclude Let me remind all of us..........We are the indigenous tribes ,the first settlers in India.Every inch of land is equally ours as it is anyone's else.
In all govt. Property we have equal share .
So sack them who consider India as their Baap Ka Maal
I m here only to give my views on the ongoing anti-reservation protests from a tribal's perspective.
They say Merit should be the base to get seats in educational Institutions.
Merit??? Whats that ?? Merit is not attached to caste .It is acquired by the kind of upbringing one has,by the exposure one gets.I m sure an average Brahmin student of Delhi Kendriya Vidyalaya can score more in Boards then his counterpart in Baripada Kendriya Vidyalaya in Mayurbhanj district .So should I conclude that Baripada Brahmins are less meritorious????
Money is their god and they want every institute to spin money for them.Education has today become an expensive commodity to procure for the poor tribals.The average tribal family income from all sources was calculated to be Rs 2036.96.Its not easy for a tribal father get his son educated in Convent or Xaviers ,its not easy to admit him in FIIT JEE or AKAASH which gives best coaching for IIT and Medical entrance with fees as high as 40 ,000 rupees per 6 months .
An AIIMS student may certainly talk about merit .But I remind him that he has bought it.People are buying talent .Mukherjee street in Delhi ,IAS mecca certainly doesnot give quality education at cheaper rate.What about the students who cannot afford for such ???
Are they less meritorious???
TamilNadu is a state from which the Northies should learn to use Reservation to bring social and political equality.It has 69% reservation in education and jobs at present.See the status of the backward castes in Tamil Nadu today.Reservation is not a poverty alleviating tool .Its aim is to bring social equality.The humiliations we have faced being tribals by the so called upper caste ,its just the compensation we crave for.Only high education can bring respect.So Reservation is a must.
In Tamil Nadu,Anna University conducts exams where cut off marks for general and backward caste student's is almost equal. Wow!! this is what reservations can do .
A hilarious comment was made by Wipro chief -Ajim Premji "Let’s start the reservation with our cricket team. We should have 10 percent reservation for muslims. 30 percent for OBC, SC/ST like that. Cricket rules should be modified accordingly. The boundary circle should be reduced for an SC/ST player. The four hit by an OBC player should be considered as a six and a six hit by a OBC player should be counted as 8 runs. An OBC player scoring 60 runs should be declared as a century.
We should influence ICC and make rules so that the pace bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar should not bowl fast balls to our OBC player. Bowlers should bowl maximum speed of 80 kilometer per hour to an OBC player. Any delivery above this speed should be made illegal."
I feel pity for the man to be ignorant about the ground realities.I would like to remind all that the Captain of Indian Hockey team is Dilip Tirkey ,a tribal .About Cricket, its a rich man's game .Almost all the players are from affluent families who can afford for their son to invest his time and energy in such unconventional fields.
And dont worry the second generation tribals will soon come up ,the real race has begun now.
They say Creamy Layer should be out of reservation.
what a joke !! In a country where Govt. can not provide basic Primary education properly want to wash off hands by providing reservation at graduation and post graduation level.Rates of drop outs is high in secondary education ...I exctly dont know the factors.Tribal literacy rate is below 40% in chotanagpur and Orissa .
And our elite upper caste fellows think that Creamy Layer should be excluded!! hehe ....So whom to include??
I got 92% marks in 10th and I know Santals who have scored upto 95% .....this wouldnot have been possible if my father and mother had not worked in bhubaneswar and given me good education.Again if there were no reservation ,they could never get education at all as being core village tribals they hardly understand what merit is all about.After they got job ,they encouraged other family members and finally all of my uncles are in job of some kind or the other.Now that I have got into IIT ,I will guide my brothers and sisters.
Educate one tribal and you educate a family,educate one family and you educate a village,Educate a village and you educate the community.This is tribal society .We believe in
co operation.
They say Caste should not be the criteria.
Again a joke!!
I saw on TV how vehemently AIIMS students were opposing reservation in delhi streets.
Again same kind of opposition came when Union Health Minister -Anbumani Ramados proposed one year compulsury training in rural villages of India.Girls from AIIMS wrote to Ramados asking him to marry them as their Marriage age would pass away if they serve rural India for 1 yr.
This is the real face of these self-centred people who consider India as बाप का माल
How many Tribal doctors serve in Apollo?
How many tribal doctors have private clinics in big cities ?? in bhubaneswar NIL.
In Mayurbhanj a tribal district of Orissa,there are more number of tribal doctors serving the poor people then their general counter parts.The doctors who get involved in Organ smuggling,female infanticide are definitely not the tribals.
So in one hand they deny higher education on the grounds of Merit at the same time they dont want to come down to us to serve us by their superb Merit.what a hypocrisy!!
80% of Upper caste hindus are better off economically and politically.
So what have they done to help their fellow brothers of the same caste and religion???
Now they talk about the plight of those poor Brahmins who cannot study because of extensive reservation.
So are tribals responsible for that?? Being in power everywhere what have they done for their fellowmen??
The highest evaders of Income tax are they themselves,Highest corruption rate is among themselves only.And they clamor for justice.Sick!
For a nation's formation two basic things are needed
1)Ethics (social,moral...etc etc)
2)Tolerance.
Its Tribals who have sacrificed everytime for national interest.For industries, mines and many power projects we tribals have sacrificed our lands in lieu of poor rehabilitation.For the sake of employment of many urban Upper caste ,we sacrificed our lands .Every now and then tribals are killed in attempts of Land encroachment.Yet we have not raised voice like those stupid AIIMS kids nor we picked up Arms like Communists.
This is what tolerance is.
What is Development as per them ??
Is Development of country== Development of Upper Caste Hindu??
Today they talk about Merit.They criticize tribals' getting good education.
If in Bhubaneswar ,the roads are widened wiping out the local poor traders is Development to them ,Then I have nothing to say.
If a tribal gets educated.Is it not seen as development of the country??
Lastly before I conclude Let me remind all of us..........We are the indigenous tribes ,the first settlers in India.Every inch of land is equally ours as it is anyone's else.
In all govt. Property we have equal share .
So sack them who consider India as their Baap Ka Maal
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