2005 - Indian Social Institute

Prof Joshi, the dis trict administration gave him de tails of the policies of the govern ment that have been
initiated to settle the nomadic tribes in mod ern civil society. "They have spent their lives in forests and
have been living there since times immemori al. Thus, they have a right over the land but the government
is now es tablishing .its own right over re serve forests," he added. "Being subalterns they cannot speak for
themselves. The mode of development provided to tribes is agro-centric that puts them under a cultural
shock as they are straightaway introduced to the mainstream where the competi tion is tough," said Prof
Joshi. Having a nomadic way of living, these tribes flourish on forest veg etation. Their meal consists of
honey collected from trees, animal flesh, wild roots and some spices and grains that they sometimes
barter with neighbouring tribals. They should not be forced directly into the agrarian sector and the re forms
should be gradual and well thought out. Prof Joshi said. (Statesman 10/12/05)
Andhra pushes Chenchu tribals close to extinction (6)
Kurnool: When left alone, tribals live in harmony with nature. It is when governments try to bring
"development" to their midst that they land in trou ble. 'A stark instance of this is the sad state of Chenchu
tribals of Nalla-mala forests. Policies evolved with the noble objective of uplift ing them have failed
miserably. They now find themselves alienat ed from their land and lifestyle. Chenchus, who inhabit the
Nallamala forests stretching across Kurnool, Prakasam, Guntur, Nal-gonda and Mahbubnagar districts 6f
Andhra Pradesh, are in a pre carious state because of the new dietary habits and lifestyle forced on them
by the government. „ Some tribal experts have warned that they may be inching towards extinction. "They
are the most pnimitive among the tribes that inhabit the forest and have their own peculiar customs and
tradi tions," says Mr Bhaskar Sastry, en expert on tribal affairs. "The gov ernment has now made them a
dependent and hapless lot." Since ages, Chenchus have been living comfortably in their own tribal
hamlets called Chenchu .Gudems. They are now havens of disease. "Incidence of tuberculo sis is very
high among the mem bers of the tribe," admits an offi cial of the Integrated Tribal Development
Programme. "It is estimated that 50 per cent of trib als suffer from the disease." The official also points out
that more than 80 per cent of the trib als are anaemic because of bad diet. Chenchus used to lead a
self-sufficient lifestyle with the lush forest providing for all their needs, until a few decades ago. "The
forests had a multitude of plant species and wild animals until the 1950s," says Mr V. Raghavaiah, a
retired teacher from Pamulapadu mandal. (Asian Age 10/12/05)
Alleged culprits punish victim for filing complaint (6)
BHOPAL: The hand of a 35-year-old tribal woman were chopped off allegedly by those against whom she
had lodged a complaint of rape five days ago, at Nimri village in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. The
injured tribal woman, Kamlabai, is now under treatment at the government-run Hamidia Hospital here and
the five accused, who were arrested and produced before the Raisen Chief Judicial Magistrate on
Monday, have been sent to jail. The victim has filed a police complaint stating that her right hand was
chopped off and her house set on fire by the alleged rapist as she had refused to withdraw a rape
complaint against them. After being given a compensation of Rs. 12,000, which includes Rs. 10,000 from
the Chief Minister's Fund and Rs. 2,000 from the district administration, an additional compensation of Rs.
15,000 was also sanctioned on Tuesday. A case under Sections 147, 148, 336, and 436 of the IPC and
Section 323 of the SC/ST Atrocities Act has been registered against five accused — Manmod Mehra, Devi
Singh Raghuwanshi, Prem Narayan Raghuwanshi, Dinesh Raghuvanshi and Ramsevak Raghuwanshi.
When contacted, a senior Police Headquarters source said the rape complaint had been investigated by
the Anusucht Janjati Kalyan Deputy Superintendent of Police, Prachi Dwivedi, and was found to be "false
and without any basis". (The Hindu 14.12.05)
Bill to give tribals forest land rights tabled in LS (6)
New Delhi : Recognising the fact that forests have the best chance to survive if communities participate in
its conservation and regeneration measures, the UPA Government introduced the Scheduled Tribes
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill 2005 in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The Bill gives indigenous people right
to hold land, individually or as a community, cultivate forest land, and earn from livelihood from minor
forest produce. The legislation seeks to involve grassroots democratic institutions and asks gram sabhas
to initiate the process of determining individual and community rights over forest land and make
recommendations of the claims to a sub-divisional committee. The forest land in core areas of national
parks have been made provisional for a period of five years. The provisional rights in such core areas
shall become permanent if the right-holders are not re-elected within five years with compensation. All