TRIBALS - 2012 - Indian Social Institute

ROURKELA: Tribals were taught to make food products from 'mahua' flower at a workshop organized by
the forest department and some NGOs. Around 300 tribal men and women learnt to make jams, jellies,
'chikki', chutney and squash from it. "Mahua" flower is a forest produce on which tribals are hugely
dependent. They earn their livelihood by selling it to traders, apart from preparing 'Mahuli', an alcoholic
drink. Often researchers of tribal development have pointed out that this forest produce is detrimental to
the growth of tribal community because tribals spend a lot of time in collecting "Mahua" from the forest
and preparing "Mahuli". They hardly earn anything for it because they use most of the "Mahuli flowers
they collect for self-consumption. An NGO working for tribal development after a thorough study found out
that the tribals can earn well from "Mahua"."There is no denying the fact that the Mahua flower, which has
been part and parcel of tribal life has been main reason for their backwardness and a stumbling block in
their overall development," said Manoj Patel, the director of the NGO. "During our research we found that
a good amount of "Mahua" is exported to several European countries for its medicinal value," said Patel,
adding that fruit drinks and other food products like jam, jelly, chikki, chutney and squash from it.
"Medicines manufactured from Mahua flower can cure joint pain, stomach-related disease and sexual
problems," Patel claimed. The workshop was conducted at the initiative of forest department and senior
forest officials like DFO A K Behera, assistant conservator of forests Khyama Sarangi and range officer P
K Dhal. "I am confident once tribals know better ways to utilize Mahua flower, their economic status will
become better," said Behera. H. Tumar, deputy director general of foreign trade attended the workshop
as a resource person. He made a presentation at the workshop and explained in detail, how tribals can
change their lives by adopting these new methods. (Times of India 12/4/12)
Tribal bodies want Adivasi leader as 13th President (6)
KOKRAJHAR: Tribal organizations are looking forward to seeing a tribal leader become the next
President of India. The tribal leaders of the Indian Confederation of Indigenous Tribal People (ICITP),
Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace (IWFWP) of Victoria and Canada, and United People's
Forum of Assam (UPFA) are campaigning in New Delhi to pressurize mainstream political leaders to
consider nominating a suitable tribal leader for the post of President of India. A delegation of the tribal
bodies led by ICITP (NEZ) president Jebra Ram Mashahary and general secretary Sanmoni Kemprai
recently met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum urging him to
nominate a tribal leader for the post of the 13th President of India. "In India's 65 years of independence,
we have had Muslim, Sikh and Scheduled Caste President from the minority section of society, but the
people of India have never had a President, Vice-President or Prime Minister from the Adivasis
(Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of this country," the memorandum said. It added, "We, as the weakest
section of the society, have been neglected, suppressed, oppressed, marginalized and exploited over the
years even though we have been contributing equally to the nation-building process"."We strongly feel
that the national political parties must give a chance to a capable person belonging to Adivasi community
as they are equally eligible to compete for the top posts to serve the nation. However, the Adivasis
(Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) have been colonized, dominated, exploited, suppressed, oppressed and
politically marginalized by the privileged section of the society in every respect," the ICITP leaders said.
(Times of India 12/4/12)
Centre to tell states to check crime on dalits (6)
NEW DELHI: The Centre is set to tell states that they are not doing enough to check crimes against dalits
at a special meet called by the Union home ministry to underline the statistics that have triggered
concern. Union home minister P Chidambaram will on Tuesday meet state home ministers and social
justice ministers to flag rising crimes against SCs and STs. The issue has turned serious because the
prosecution system in states remains weak despite stringent demands of the Prevention of Atrocities Act.
Sources said social justice minister Mukul Wasnik and tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deo would
make presentations to exhort the states to address the concerns of socially vulnerable groups. The worry
is evident from home ministry calling the meeting after requests from Wasnik, though social justice
ministry meets state social welfare secretaries annually. The invite to the home ministers is significant as
they are in charge of crime and prosecution while social welfare departments have limited mandate of
welfare schemes and policies. Since chief ministers in most states hold the home portfolio, the
expectations from the gathering are high. The statistics with the Centre underline the seriousness of the
problem. Ten states led by Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh
account for 93% of the crimes against SCs, while MP, Rajasthan, Andhra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are
among the 10 states which alone witness 95% of anti-tribal atrocities. In contrast, the prosecution
machinery is inadequate to deal with the magnitude of the problem. The conviction rate is as low as
32.5% while pendency of cases in 2008-10 stood at 80.6%.The states have been indifferent in taking the