2005 - Indian Social Institute

sleeping in my small thatched house on July 9 night. Some policemen forced enter into my house and
dragged me out. Before I could make out anything, a police threw me into the jeep. I was just wearing a
blouse and petticoat. The police did not allow me to wear my sari. I was taken to the police station
semi-naked and later sent to the jail. I spent at least eight-days in jail without proper clothes. After my
relatives supplied me sari and other clothes, I could breathe easy." The vesrions of Pellang Gagarai and
their other village women was similar. These illiterate women who were released on bail after 23 days
custody, are ignorant about the reason for their arrest. (Asian Age 11/7/05)
Woman paraded naked, clubbed to death (6)
Raipur : A 55-year-old tribal widow Phulwati Gond was paraded naked and then killed by the villagers who
charged her with practicing witchcraft.The incident took place in the village Taramtola under Ambagarh
police post in Rajnandgaon, over 100 km from the State Capital. The police have registered a case and
arrested over two dozen persons, including women. Local district police sources said that Phulwati who
lived in the village with her sons and daughters-in-law was suspected as practicing witchcraft. The village
people believed that she made them her victims.People of the village held a meeting and despite repeated
plea by Phulwati that she did not practice witchcraft, she was taken to a pond by the villagers where she
was striped and beaten up. The villagers even tried to kill her by downing her in the pond. But they could
not succeed. Then she was brought back to her village and was clubbed to death. The villagers tried to
burn her dead body in the night. However, her son Ranjan Gond informed the local police which foiled the
attempt.Ranjan said that whenever anyone fell sick in the village, the people held his mother responsible.
All this happened after villagers held a meeting and on the instruction of the village panchayat Phulwati Bai
Gond was branded as a witch. It may be mentioned here that for the last ten years 56 killings on the
charge of practicing witchcraft have taken place in Chhattisgarh. (Pioneer 12/7/05)
Concern at abduction of tribal girls (6)
NEW DELHI: Worried over the increasing incidents of abduction of minor girls from tribal areas,
concerned citizens on Tuesday demanded a more proactive role by the police and administration. ``There
is an increasing trend to abduct minor girls from tribal areas and sell them off in other areas for marriage
or as sex workers. Over the past few months four incidents have come to light in Chindwara district of
Madhya Pradesh. But this is not justa regional problem, but a national issue", actress Nandita Das told a
press conference here. Describing a recent incident, social activist Mercy Mathew, said a 15-year-old girl
was abducted in March, but the police did nothing. "I went to the police" but they took about two months
even to register the first information report. In fact, they took about two months to register it. "We
organised a public meeting, approached the women's commission and spoke to the Superintendent of
Police. Only when the pressure came from all these quarters did they listen to us.'' Ms. Mathew said, "We
finally traced the girl in Agra." She had been sold for Rs. 60,000 for marriage. There were people in
Chindwara who lured the girl with promises of a good life. "The police did question the local culprits but did
not carry out any investigation against those in Agra.'' Ms. Mathew listed three other cases of abductions.
``It is horrifying to villagers of the region that people can take away their girls and sell them. These girls
are sometimes shown blue films, drugged and gradually prepared for prostitution. There is also demand
for girls for marriage in some regions due to rampant female foeticide and infanticide," she said. (The
Hindu 13/7/05)
Attappady tribal people `occupy' land (6)
PALAKKAD: The controversy over alienation of tribal land has once again come to the fore in Attappady,
with 150 families of tribespeople of Nakkuppaty Ooru (tribal hamlet) occupying 350 acres of Government
land on Sunday. The tribal people led by Ooru Moopan (chieftain) Thothi Moopan marched to the land that
was allotted to them by the Government some years back and sowed ragi and paddy crops to establish
their right over the land. They had earlier been evicted from the land by the Forest Department. Last
month, Thothi Moopan had staged a 15-day satyagraha in front of the Agali village office demanding
restoration of the land to the tribesfolk. The satyagraha was called off on June 15 after the Revenue
authorities accepted the demand. However, the land was not allotted to them. To protest against this
`betrayal,' they marched to the land in their traditional style of singing and dancing to the beat of drums.
The previous Left Democratic Front government, as part of providing land in lieu of the alienated land, had
allotted 410 hectares to 500 tribal families of Melthottam in Sholayur village of Attappady in July 1999. In
fact, the State Government had decided to distribute 1,315 acres in the area. The State-level