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45,000 homeless, Gogoi under fire (6)<br />
GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 23: Over 45,000 tribals, both Karbis and Dimasas, have fled their villages and<br />
taken shelter in 53 relief camps as the situation in the strife-torn Karbi Anglong autonomous district<br />
continues to be volatile. Assam CM Tarun Gogoi, meanwhile, is busy trading charges with Opposition<br />
leaders on who was behind the trouble. Confirming that the number of inmates in relief camps has risen<br />
from 27,000 last Sunday to a little over 45,000 today, Karbi Anglong Deputy Commissioner G D Tripathi<br />
told The <strong>Indian</strong> Express over phone from Diphu that more people had fled the villages out of fear. The<br />
number of relief camps in the district has risen to 53, while 10 camps have been opened in North Cachar<br />
Hills and Nagaon district. There was, however, no report of fresh incidents since Friday afternoon. With<br />
the October 17 massacre of 34 Karbis, who were pulled out from two buses, the death toll from the<br />
month-long bout of ethnic violence stands at 91—80 Karbi tribals, eight Dimasas, one Bodo and one<br />
Nepali. In Guwahati, while Opposition parties blamed the Congress government for failing to anticipate<br />
and control the situation, Gogoi has taken on Jayant Rongpi of the CPI(ML), a prominent Karbi leaders<br />
and former MP, and NDA convenor George Fernandes. As he blamed Rongpi for being ‘‘irresponsible’’,<br />
the BJP has expressed surprise at the CM calling Fernandes a trouble-maker. ‘‘Gogoi has failed to<br />
douse the fire in the hill district and is now indulging in cheap politics. He is also trying to protect his junior<br />
minister (P&D Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma) against whom there are serious allegations of hobnobbing<br />
with perpetrators of the violence in Karbi Anglong,’’ said Rongpi, adding ‘‘If he is a responsible CM and<br />
knows that I am involved (in the violence), then why does not he ask the police to arrest me’’ (<strong>Indian</strong> Exp<br />
24/10/05)<br />
National tribal policy in the offing, says Kyndiah (6)<br />
GANGTOK, NOVEMBER 7: The Centre is in the process of bringing out a national tribal policy with<br />
special provisions for small tribal groups. Addressing a high-level meeting here today, Union Minister for<br />
Tribal Affairs and Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) P R Kyndiah said preserving the<br />
socio-cultural identity of small tribal groups which have a population of 50,000 to 100,000 was one of the<br />
prime concerns of the Centre. He added a national policy with special reference to such groups was being<br />
prepared. Kyndiah, on his first visit to the state after assuming office, was speaking in the context of<br />
allocation of primitive tribe status to Lepcha community of Sikkim - a demand which the state government<br />
has been raising for long. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, his<br />
cabinet colleagues, Assembly Speaker D N Takarpa, legislators and senior government officials. The<br />
minister said the Centre was considering giving Limboos and Tamangs of Sikkim their political rights,<br />
including reservation in jobs. (<strong>Indian</strong> Exp 8/11/05)<br />
Tribals plan campaign for forest rights Bill (6)<br />
NEW DELHI: The Campaign for Survival and Dignity, a federation of tribal and forest communities, will<br />
launch a `jail bharo' movement from November 15 to protest against the ongoing evictions and "brutal''<br />
violation of human rights of the tribal communities, and delay in tabling of the Scheduled Tribes<br />
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, <strong>2005</strong>. In a notice sent to the Union Home Ministry, "the campaign<br />
activists have said that they would protest, march and court arrest from November 15. We will fill the jails,<br />
for we would rather be prisoners in jail than hostages in our homes." (The Hindu 9/11/05<br />
Tribal Rights Bill only to record people's rights, says Manmohan (6)<br />
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured environmentalists on Thursday that the proposed<br />
legislation on tribal land rights would seek to record the rights of the tribal people and involve them in<br />
protecting the environment. ``This would give them (the tribal community) a sense of security and involve<br />
them in protecting the natural resource base. But this would not be done at the cost of our environment,''<br />
he said after giving away the Bombay Natural History Society Green Governance Award here to Godrej<br />
and Boyce Manufacturing, Tata Chemicals and 8 Mountain Division of the Army. People who lived near<br />
forests must, therefore, become their protector. The effort must be to ensure that people at local levels<br />
were involved in conservation of water, forests and other life-support systems. "This cannot, and will not,<br />
be done at the cost of our environment," Dr. Singh said. The ongoing debate on the tribal land rights bill,<br />
proposed to be introduced in Parliament, was a good example of the kind of discussion on how the dual<br />
imperatives of safeguarding people and safeguarding our natural habitat was managed. The role of the<br />
local population in managing the environment had been historic. Sadly, many of these very people do not<br />
have rights over their land. Dr. Singh said the issue of replacement of lost forest cover could be
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