At the UN we also distributed this pamphlet.

FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE ADIVASIS OF ASSAM (INDIA)

The Adivasi (Indigenous) people of Assam were brought by the British from the Chotanagpur plateau of Central India to work in the tea plantations as indentured laborer from the year 1839 onwards. They are the largest single community who has contributed enormously to the economy of the state. But the government has been very unsympathetic towards the community. In its long existence since their migration the community has been deprived of its most basic Human Rights. Till this date the community is considered as outsiders by the local populace and treated with impugnation by the state government.

On 24th November 2007, The All Adivasi Student's Association of Assam (AASAA) had organized a rally in Guwahati to demand for inclusion of Adivasis in the Scheduled Tribes' list. The 10,000 people who had participated in the rally were brutally beaten by the local residents.

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.

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, Assam, India

Mundari Literary Council - meenakshi.munda@gmail.com
C/O Mrs. Amita Munda, Behind Ranchi College, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

Chotanagpur Rising Association – rashmiekka@gmail.com

Rourkela Social Service Society - Nicholas Barla, nickybarla@yahoo.co.uk, +91-9437196752

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- May 2, 2008, New York

Agenda Item No. 4

Joint Statement by Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, All Dimasa Students Union, CORE, Mundari Literary Council.

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 India’s support for the UNDIP. Specific to this agenda this morning, we wish to speak on a common and most critical issue faced particularly by the indigenous and tribal peoples of our areas, that is, heavy influx of an external population from the neighbouring states and countries as a consequence of the so-called development activities of mining, industry, power plants and military installations. This is so for exploiting the natural resources found in our areas - whether in the oil field of the Assam plain, forests of North Kachar Hills or mining in Meghalaya in the North East and power plants in Jharkhand, Orissa, and Chattisgarh in Central India, the story is the same. The result is large scale displacement of our people without proper rehabilitation leading to total disintegration of our community life which is the strength of our living. Without our lands, forests, waters and culture we will be nothing. The fear of extinction is real for us.

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 Union

Mr. Brindaban Goswami, All Dimasa Students Union

Ms. Labanya Hazarika, All Dimasa Students Union

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 – May 2, 2008

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 India.

We are the Adivasis meaning aboriginals or original inhabitants or tribals of India. We would like to highlight the pathos of us Adivasis who reside in the state of Assam. The Adivasis in Assam were brought by the British mostly from the Chottanagpur plateau of Central India to work in the tea plantations as indentured labourers from the year 1839 onwards. We are the largest single community who have contributed enormously to the economy of the state. But the government has been very unsympathetic towards the community. In its long existence since their migration the community has been deprived of its most basic Human Rights. Till this date the community is considered as outsiders by the local populace and treated with impugnation by the state government.

Some of the major human rights violations, the Adivasis have witnessed are:

Denial of Constitutional Right and Suppression of Expression

The first Assam state government de-scheduled the Adivasis from the Schedule Tribe status even when their kith and kin in the rest of India exercise this right. Various Adivasi organisations and people have been demanding the inclusion of the Adivasi tribes in the ST (Scheduled Tribe) list since 1950s through memorandums, rallies and protests but the state government has shown a deaf ear. The fight of the Adivasi community is not only for becoming eligible for the Affirmative Actions but also for the restoration of the tribal and legitimate cultural identity to which they are entitled being the descendants of various tribal communities of Central India.

Guwahati incident

On 24th November 2007, The All Adivasi Student's Association of Assam (AASAA) had organised a rally in Guwahati to demand for inclusion of Adivasis in the Scheduled Tribes' list. The 10,000 people who had participated in the rally were brutally beaten by the local residents. 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. We request the attention of Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Human Rights Council (HRC), Committe on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and Committee Against Torture (CAT).

A mass Genocide : Ethnic clash of 1996 and 1998

During the 1990s, the Bodo community (a plains tribe of Assam) who had been agitating for a separate homeland, entered into an Accord with the government for an autonomous council area. In order to create majority for Bodo Autonomous Council, a 'purge' or as they say ethnic cleansing started. Between 1996 and 1998 more than ten thousand Adivasis, mostly Santhals, living in the area were killed and more than 250,000 displaced. Even after 12 years, this displacement continues to plague Adivasis mostly Santhals.

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 Assam

· 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, Rourkela Social Service Society

Pictures of the group at work:

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?

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?

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.

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.

Powered by Gregarious (41)

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

Johar Gomke!!

Johar Gomke!!

TribaLog is the result of a discussion on the Adivasi Friends Group on Orkut. Concerns were raised over bad press coverage of tribal issues. We realized that we had a pretty large group of tribal youth connected on Orkut and we had many stories to tell. The result of that discussion is this space. It is our hope to make this blog a place where we can hold a dialogue within the great indigenous community of the Chottanagpur region as well as with India and the rest of the world.

The name of the blog, was decided through a poll on Orkut. Tribalog was chosen because as Sameer said, "log in hindi means people..........in english it means keeping record.....which best symbolises what is the mission of the said site..."