TRIBALS – 2007 - Indian Social Institute

eported that around 30 per cent of adivasis reported some sort of problem in conception, while amajority of local women complained of fatigue, weakness and depression. Children are next.Five-year-old Gudiya is one of the "victims" of radiation. Managing to come out of her mother’swomb alive, after her mother had five miscarriages, Gudiya now cannot walk and cannot talk. Herlimbs are distorted and she is mentally challenged. "This is not just the tale of my daughter, thereare many children in the village who have met the same fate," says Mangal, the girl’s father.Subsequent surveys by a few other NGOs also claim that children living in more than two dozenvillages surrounding the uranium mines have also shown signs of mutation. While walkingthrough the narrow lanes in this tribal-dominated village, one can easily spot children with twistedlimbs and mutilated body parts sitting on the lap of their mother, quietly and curiously looking atevery stranger passing by. Even the adults are hesitant to mix freely with "outsiders", speciallywhen someone asks what had happened to their child. According to a rough estimate, UCIL,which is under the department of atomic energy, acquired 2,000 acres of land at Jadugoda andestablished a township, displacing five villages. According to the 1961 census, the totalpopulation of these villages was 2,047, of whom 47.1 per cent were tribals. Many indigenoustribal families have also been displaced from their ancestral land owing to the construction ofmines and mills in nearby Bhatin, Turamdih and Narwapahar. Bapi Da, a local activist leading thecampaign against health hazards, says: "Not only women and children, but the workers who getinto the mines to dig out uranium ore and man the tailing ponds where the waste generated fromthe mills is dumped suffer from serious ailments like bone, blood and kidney disorders, braindamage and nausea." According to him, the kit to measure the effect of radiation on the bodies ofworkers, which UCIL used to be provide to every worker earlier, was later taken away; and themedical records of workers who fall ill and get admitted to the hospital run by the corporation arekept secret. (Asian Age 30/1/07)180 people reconverted to Hinduism (6)Bhubaneswar : Keeping an eye on the third World Hindu Religious Conference, which will beginon February 11 in Allahabad, the State unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday reconvertedat least 180 people from 50 families to Hinduism under the Bonai Police Station area inSundargarh district. According to VHP sources here, all the families were reconverted amidstperforming of traditional Hindu rituals at the Jagyan site, where several VHP leaders werepresent. Early in January 2006, nearly 136 tribals were reconverted to Hinduism at a functionorganised by the local unit of the VHP and the Bajarang Dal at a remote village in Tumbei underGurundia police station in Sundargarh. It was again followed by reconverting at least 336 personsof 80 tribal families in 11 villages under Sundargarh district at a special function in Baridia lastOctober. Similarly, at least 73 persons from 17 families in Rourkela on the occasion of KartikPurnima were reconverted into Hinduism. On October 24, 2004, 300 Tribal Christians werereconverted to Hinduism in Sundargarh district. According to a statistics, more than 8,000 peoplewere reconverted in 2006 while Parishad has planned to strengthen its women wing Durga Bahiniand youth wing Bajarang Dal. Besides it has also decided to carry out more reconversionactivities in the tribal dominated regions of the State, where conversion is a war between theChristian Missionaries and Sangha Pariwar. Meanwhile VHP sources admitted that thereconversion is on the active agenda in Sundergarh district. "We are planning to do it moreintensively and in a well-coordinated manner," VHP insiders said. In the past four years, morethan 2,000 tribals have gone through the process of "home coming". "They are not Christians butthey are Hindus in fact and don't call it conversion as we are just bringing them back to the fold oftheir ancestors' religion," argued VHP activists. (Pioneer 30/1/07)Kalinga tribals to meet CM to end stalemate today (6)Jajpur : A 17-member team of the Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch will meet Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Wednesday at the State Secretariat to discuss the Kalinga Nagar issue. The riftamong the activists of the Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch, on Tuesday was amicably settled after along meeting at Ambagadia. An emergency meeting was called to discuss the issue over theChief Minister's invitation to end the stalemate in Kalinga Nagar that has been continuing over thelast one year. In the meeting, there was an angry exchange of words between two factions afterJanmanch Secretary, Rabindra Jarika said he had not given any statement on the action of

political parties who stood by the tribals during the agitation. He also said that his signature on thePress release issued by the CPI (ML), New Democratic leaders, was false. Responding to theChief Minister's invitation, Janmanch submitted a list of 17 members to the Jajpur collector fortomorrow's meeting at the State Secretariat. However, five members out of the list under theleadership of the president of the outfit were threatening to boycott the meeting. Janmanchpresident, Chakradhar Haiburu (senior) said that he and many of its members have decided toboycott the meeting over the alleged remarks on political parties who stood by the tribals duringthe agitation. In an exclusive interview, Janmanch President, Haiburu (senior) said, "Janmanchhas been formed for the interest of the agitating tribals fighting against industrialisation. We areleading the outfit on behalf of them. The innocent tribals have reposed faith in us. Withoutconsulting them we must not say any thing publicly."He further said "As I am ill following a minoroperation, names of all office bearers and executive members of the Janmanch except me areincluded in the 17 member list". It may be noted that only few days ago Janmanch secretary,Rabindra Jarika in association with CPI (ML) and New Democracy leaders had termed theCongress as well as Left parties as enemies and equating them with the ruling BJD-BJP coalition.(Pioneer 31/1/07)TRIBALSAllot pattas to tribals, demands Jamuna Devi (6)Bhopal : Leader of Opposition Jamuna Devi said on Monday that the Madhya PradeshGovernment would no longer displace the tribals after the passing of the Tribal Bill, 2006. Sheurged the Chief Minister to allot patta to the displaced people from the forestlands. She alsoinformed that the Central Government would soon issue an Ordinance in this respect. JamunaDevi also congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhifor constituting the Act in favour of the tribals. In a letter to the CM, she also asked the StateGovernment to allot pattas to those tribals who were displaced after 1980. She asked the CM totake back the cases pending in the High Court against the tribals for unlawfully capturing theforestlands.She sent the document of the Act to the party presidents of district and block levelsasking them to generate awareness among the tribals regarding the 'historical' act for them sothat the State Government can't mislead them any more. (Pioneer 6/2/07)Tribals protest against SC orderJaipur, Feb. 7: Tension prevailed in Rishabdeo town of Udaipur district on Wednesday whentribals assembled to claim Risabdeo temple. The police resorted to lathicharge and lobbedteargas shells to disperse the mob. Over 20 people, most of them policemen, were injured instone-pelting. The tribals agitated when they heard that the temple would be handed over to theJain community following a court order, though the Jain community clarified that it would maintainthe existing management system and tribals would be free to offer prayers the way they used toin the past. According to sources, the tribals on Wednesday used the traditional system of beatingdrums, also considered an emergency call for assembling for action. The tribals, armed witharrows and stones, then descended over the town and clashed with the police. The violent mobwent on the rampage and three vehicles, including a car, were put on fire. The police opened firein the air to control the mob and staged a flag march in the town. "The situation is under controland an additional police force has been deployed in the area," said Mr Rajiv Dasot, inspectorgeneralof police, Udaipur. (Asian Age 8/2/07)Five injured in police firing in Udaipur (6)JAIPUR: Five persons were injured on Thursday in police firing as tribals continued their protestagainst the handing over of its principle temple to the Jain community in Rishabhdeo town inUdaipur district. Police had to open fire when over 5,000 tribals tried to enter the Kesariaji temple.The situation has been tense since Wednesday when a `mahapadav' was organised by thetribals. Over 30 people, mostly policemen, including the Udaipur SP M.N. Dinesh were injured onWednesday when the protesters pelted stones, torched two-wheelers and cars parked in thetemple area and held up traffic for several hours. Two Rajasthan Armed Constable companiesand two Rajasthan Police companies have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order,

Mr. Dinesh told PTI over phone. Police used teargas to disperse the tribals who pelted stones atthem. So far 26 people have been detained by the police, Mr. Dinesh said. The tribals, whoworship the temple's presiding deity as ``Kala Baba,'' are irked over a Supreme Court ruling lastmonth transferring the ownership rights of the ancient temple to the Jain community. (The Hindu9/2/07)Rajasthan town tense after 1 killed in temple violence (6)Jaipur, February 9: A day after one person was killed and seven injured in clashes betweentribals and the police over the Supreme Court’s granting of an ancient temple to the Jaincommunity, the town of Rishabdeo was tense for a third consecutive day on Friday with stonepeltingprotestors torching a shop in the nearby village of Kalyanpur. Tribals in Rishabdeo inUdaipur district had yesterday tried to forcibly enter the 15th century Kesariaji temple, a popularJain pilgrimage site, saying the Supreme Court’s order in January to hand over the templeadministration to the Jain community would restrict their access to the temple whose deity theyworship as ‘Kala Baba’. As hundreds of tribals tried to force their way into the temple, policeopened fire, killing one person and leaving seven injured. On Wednesday, the tribals held a‘mahapadav’ and went on to torch vehicles parked outside the temple, pelting stones at thepolice. Over 30 people, mainly policemen, were injured in the melee. Rajiv Dasot, IG UdaipurRange, said a peace-committee of Jain and tribal representatives along with political leaders andlocal administrative and police officers met on Thursday midnight and agreed to maintain peace.District Collector Shikhar Agarwal said the situation is now under control. “Tension prevailed onFriday but there has not been any major incidence of violence since Thursday evening. Mosttribals, who had gathered here from nearby villages, have returned to their homes. The armyremains on a stand by while extra police force has been deployed,” Agarwal said. (Indian Express10/2/07)Security personnel charged with rape in C’garh; probe on (6)Raipur, February 10 : A trbal woman was allegedly gangraped by India Reserve Battalionpersonnel from Mizoram deployed in the Naxal-affected Dantewada area of Chhattisgarh. Thiscomes within weeks of the National Commission for Women expressing concern at the increasein atrocities against tribals caught between Naxalites and security forces. The incident allegedlyoccurred on February 3 but it was brought to light only after tribal rights activists maderepresentations before Dantewada Collector K R Pisda and Superintendent of Police O P Pal onFriday. Pisda said an SP level inquiry had been ordered into the incident. "A medical test of thevictim will be conducted soon," he added. According to the complaint, the incident occurred onthe evening of February 3 when the victim was on her way home from a shop in Nakulnaarvillage. "Three or four jawans of the Mizo battalion caught her and took her to a desolate placewhere they raped her," it says. The victim was gagged and beaten unconscious, sources said,leading to severe back and abdominal injuries. Adivasi Mahasabha Mahila Morcha secretaryBimla Sori, who filed a complaint with the police, said: “The police refused to register a case whenthe family members of the victim went to lodge a complaint. They even suggested that the familyopt for a compromise," Morcha vice-president Kusum Naam said. Dantewada SP Pal claimedthat it was a case of altercation being distorted by local leaders for political mileage. "The victimwas selling liquor in the weekly haat. The Mizo police personnel had an altercation with her asshe wanted more money for the liquor. How is it possible to rape someone on the day of the haatwhen hundreds of people are present in the village?" he said. (Indian Express 11/2/07)Tribals indifferent to campaigning (6)MEDINIPUR SQUARE (Ganjam district): Manifestoes and promises are just eyewash. Thisseems to be the strong belief of even inhabitants of rural pockets. The Medinipur Square is theconnecting point for tribal villages Tamana, Medinipur, Singabadi, Sihala and Scheduled Castedominated village Jugudi. The high-decibel campaign with catchy slogans and racy numbersseems to have not evoked any interest in the region. "We will exercise our franchise. But, weknow for sure that the candidates will not take up the issues they are raking up now for the sakeof votes," say several persons while enjoying a meal at a roadside shop. Bijay Pradhan ofTamana cites the case of Ghatakeswar small-irrigation project, which is a long-standing demand.

"Foundation stone for the project was laid three times by leaders with much fanfare. But it is yetto materialise," he says. Jagannath Behera, who contested on BJP ticket in the last elections andcampaigning for the BJD now, intervenes saying: "We will submit a memorandum to the ChiefMinister over the matter when he comes to Lathi village." Panchayat elections are won throughpersonal relations rather than tall promises, says the driver of a Congress campaign vehicle.While campaigning was on at this square, tribals of Tamana village just a few km away were busywith their day-to-day chores. (The Hindu 11/2/07)Gehlot blames Raje for Rishabdev violence (6)JAIPUR: Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot has held Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje"directly" responsible for the developments that led to violence and the death of a tribal in policefiring in Rishabdev town last week. "If the Chief Minister had timely monitored the implementationof the Supreme Court order on the management of the Rishabdev temple, the unfortunatesituation would not have arisen," he said. Mr.Gehlot, who visited the affected areas on Monday,said the situation there was indicative of the prevailing anarchy in Rajasthan during the past threeweeks in which the State Cabinet had been fighting the Chief Minister singularly and in groups."The Ministers are openly levelling charges of corruption, deceit and moral turpitude against oneanother. They have no time to govern after their preoccupations. The people are paying a heavyprice for their squabbles," he said. Mr.Gehlot said the BJP-led Government, with a bloody trackrecord of 10 instances of police firing in three years in which 17 persons were killed, hadbreached the age-old harmony among the tribals, the members of the Jain community and therest of the Hindus in Rishabdev area. "The BJP rule has fragmented the social fabric ofRajasthan," he charged. (The Hindu 15/2/07)Panel to frame rules for Forest Rights Bill implementation (6)NEW DELHI: The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has set up a committee to frame rules for theimplementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition ofForest Rights) Act, 2006. The 19-member committee, headed by retired bureaucrat S.R.Sankaran, has been asked to submit its draft report within three months. The finalisation of thereport would take another month before it was actually implemented, Union Tribal AffairsSecretary Meena Gupta told reporters here on Monday. The committee members include officialsfrom the Ministries of Tribal Affairs, Forests and Environment, Rural Development and PanchayatiRaj besides representatives of some State Governments and experts. The Forest Rights Bill waspassed in the winter session of Parliament and received the President's assent on December 29,2006. The Act recognises and vests the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forestdwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in suchforests for generations but whose rights could not be recorded. In this context, the Ministry hasconvened a meeting of the State Ministers in charge of tribal affairs on Wednesday. Also, theMinistry is finalising the National Tribal Policy and it is shortly expected to go to the Cabinet forapproval. The Ministry has revived its Tribal Sub-Plan that had fallen into disuse over the yearsdue to lack of implementation by the State Governments. The States have been asked to create aseparate head for the Tribal Sub-Plan — first started in 1974 — so that funds under this cannotbe diverted. According to Ms. Gupta the Ministry will also develop over 2,700 forest villages andan amount of Rs. 15 lakh per village has been earmarked for the purpose. As many as 13 Stateswill be covered under this scheme that seeks to provide roads, electricity and water for thesevillages. .Further, the Ministry has also decided to involve banks in disbursing loans to the tribalsfor income generation under the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and DevelopmentCorporation which was earlier done only through the State Scheduled Tribe FinancesCorporation, and often faced blockages due to shortage of funds. (The Hindu 14/2/07)Anantapur tribals decry felling of trees (6)Bhubaneswar : Tribals at the Anantapur forest reserve in Dhenkanal district are taking up armsagainst forest officials for the felling of 800 young and healthy trees. The tribals from Khajurinaliand Chauliajharan hamlets have decided not to allow any logs to be removed till a proper inquiryis ordered into what they allege is illegal felling. They say the forest officials have threatenedthem with dire consequences. "The officials told us that there's no proof that we are legal settlers.

They said they will carry the logs and then file cases and send us all to jail," said RamchandraMurmu, a local. The tribals also say that in the past they have been jailed for crimes committed bythe timber mafia. "A similar thing happened years ago when the officials felled trees but filedcases for illegal felling against us," said Fagu Soren. A strict ban has been imposed on felling oftrees in the State's forests for the past 16 years. The forest department was given a temporarypermission in 2005-06 to cut a limited number of damaged and diseased trees and working planswere drawn up for 11 Forest Divisions. However, activists say the working plans were completelyignored. "The Government spends so much money on forest conservation and takes huge loansfrom the World Bank," said Akshay Pani, Coordinator, Adivasi Kranti Sangathan. "In principle, aforest so well protected by local tribals should not have been touched. Secondly, the norms forfelling have been violated by the forest department." Despite repeated attempts, the DhenkanalDistrict Forest Officer and Manager of the Forest Development Corporation refused to give theirreaction on the matter. But it's clear that as the tribals wait for the State Government to institutean inquiry, their anger is rising with each passing day. Pioneer 14/2/07)Tribal land grab cases on rise in Jharkhand (6)Ranchi : Jharkhand tribals are facing challenges from different corners. Their problem is evidentfrom the fact that their population is declining in the State while their land is grabbed in theirhomeland. Anthropologists and social scientists are concerned about the declining population oftribals in general and primitive tribes in particular. The tribal population has declined to 27 percent in the State from 42 per cent in 1951. The impact of the declining population trend is seen onthe reserved seats of Assembly constituencies. The Delimitation Commission has recommendeddecrease the reserved tribal seats in Assembly from 28 to 21. The number of cases lodged bytribal people indicates that land grabbing by non-tribals increased manifolds after creation of theState. The cases lodged under Special Area Regulation Court (SPRC) have increased. In 2003-2004 a total of 2,608 cases were registered which went up to 2,657 cases in 2004-2005. A total of3,230 cases were registered in 2005-2006 and in 2006-2007 till January this year the figure is3,789. Tribal people lodge their cases under SPRC. The SPR court hears the cases and finespeople who are found guilty of land grabbing. If anyone has made construction on the tribal plotthen the court slaps a fine, which is given to the original owner (tribal). Two laws are in force toprotect the land rights of tribal people in the State -Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and SanthalParangan Tenancy Act. Both Acts prevent sale of tribal land to non-tribals. "It is a game ofmoney. Those who are poor have no say in politics and they remain neglected and downtroddenand same is the case with tribal people. Heavens were promised to tribal people before creationof the State and now their voices have been crushed. Those who never participated in theJharkhand movement are the ones who rule the State now. And the poor (tribal) never figured intheir agenda," said father Benni Ekka, director of St Xavier Institute of Social Service. (Pioneer14/2/07)Minister seeks quota for tribals in jobs (6)New Delhi : The Minister for Tribal Welfare Kunwar Vijay Shah put forward a demand ofreservation in jobs for the tribals of Madhya Pradesh in proportion to their population in centralservices in the 'Conference of States Ministers incharge of Tribal Welfare Development' at NewDelhi on Wednesday. He also made a fervent plea for early approval of the proposed projectspending before the Union Government as well as release of maximum funds for the welfare oftribals of the State. The schemes being implemented by the State Government for the welfare ofthe tribals were lauded in the meeting. The ministers of tribal welfare of various States attendedthe meeting presided over by the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs PR Kindiya. Drawing attentionof the Union Minister towards the fact that Madhya Pradesh has a very little representation in thecentral services despite 20 per cent of the population is covered by the tribals, Kunwar Shahstressed that Madhya Pradesh tribals should get proper representation in the central services. Hefurther mentioned that special focus should be laid while posting tribal officers in Madhya Pradeshunder the administrative services and Indian Police Services. There is no tribal battalion underthe defence department, although tribal population constitutes 8.2 per cent of the total populationof the country. Several tribal freedom fighters have sacrificed their lives in the freedom struggle.(Pioneer 15/2/07)

Tata gets additional 1,079 acres of land at K Nagar (6)Bhubaneswar : Tata Steel, which had asked for an additional 1,079 acres inKalinga Nagar, is now happy with the State Government's decision to meet itsrequirement. For the last three years, the country's largest private sector steelproducer had been trying to set up its six-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) steelplant in the face of the tribal resistance. The company had signed amemorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State Government on November17, 2004 to set up the greenfield project. On January 2, 2006, 13 tribals opposingthe land acquisition were killed in police firing. Since then, the company has notbeen able to take up any major construction job in the area. Even though thecompany has not been able to bring under its control the 2,400 acres for itsoriginal steel facility, it in the meanwhile, asked the Government to allot anadditional 1,079 acres to facilitate downstream industries, which are likely tocome up at an investment of Rs 3,300 crore. The downstream industries includecold-rolled products, colour coated sheets and spiral welded pipes. The proposalwas okayed at the recent meeting of the State Level Single Window ClearanceAuthority (SLSWCA), said official sources. Sources said that there was a hitchover the allotment of land because Jindal Stainless Limited has also asked for anadditional 400 acres adjacent to its project to upgrade the 1.6-MTPA stainlesssteel plant to a 3.2-MTPA integrated steel project at Kalinga Nagar. The SLSWA,however, decided to allot additional land to both the companies to meet theirrequirements. Over and above the request for the additional land, Tata Steel hasalso requested the Government to modify the MoU, which earlier envisaged aninvestment of Rs 15,400 crore in the steel project. According to sources, theGovernment has given the green signal in this regard and the MoU would bemodified soon. With this modification, an investment to the tune of Rs 18,700crore by Tata Steel in Kalinga Nagar gets the nod from the Government,admitted sources. (Pioneer 20/2/07)Koraput tribal group receives national award for plant protection (6)Bhubaneswar : Panchavati Gramya Unnayana Samiti, an organisation of thetribal farming communities of Koraput district has been selected for the GenomeSaviour Award for the protection of plant variety and Farmers Rights Authority(PP&FR) of the Government of India. The Award is instituted under the PPV&FRAct to recognise and reward communities and farmers for their contribution togenetic resources conservation and improvement. The tribal community ofKoraput has been elected for this recognition for their outstanding and seminalcontribution to conservation of plant genetic resources particularly rice, in thebiodiversity rich centres of South Orissa. The Community representative ofKoraput will receive the Award from the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawarat a glittering function in New Delhi on February 20. Chennai based MSSwaminathan Research Foundation has been assisting the tribal communities ofKoraput for undertaking conservation of traditional rice . (Pioneer 20/2/07)Rajasthan to create separate cadre for tribal development (6)

designs as there was now awareness among the tribals about their religion and traditions," hesaid. The Rashtra Shakti Sammelan was organised as a part of birth centenary celebration ofRSS Sarsanghchalal MS Golwalkar affectionately called Shri Guruji. The Parishad was preparingfor the congregation for the past many months. Sudarshan lauded the work of Parishad in thistribal populated part of the State, which, he says, is the next target of missionary organisations,who are trying their best to get their foothold here. (Pioneer 26/2/07)Jharsuguda: Tribal families lose land without getting any compensation (6)Jharsuguda : For the people of Jharsuguda, displacement has been a part of life.It started with the first post-Independence multi-crore project, the Hirakud Dam in1947 and continues till date. This has pushed the people not only to a future ofuncertainty but has forced upon them untold sufferings, with the landless people(Sukhbasis), who have been enjoying Government land, having to part with theland with no benefits coming forward to keep their kitchen fire burning. And thelatest in the long list of the ousted landless are 11 tribal families who arethreatened with destitution by alumina major Vedanta's proposed 2,50,000-tonnesmelter plant and a thermal power plant by Sterlite in the villages ofBurkhamunda and Brundamal, respectively, in the district. It was in 1974, duringthe then Chief Minister Nandini Satpathy's regime, that landless Timen Bhue,Chanchal Bhue, Parsuram Bhue, Tulishram Kheti and Bhubaneswar Kheti ofvillage Banjari were given Government land. They were even issued withRecords of Right (Patta) duly recorded in the Hamid Settlement. And theyenjoyed the fruits of it, being unaware that the land subsequently had beenrecorded back as Government land during the Major Settlement. This, despitethe fact that mutation of the land was pending since long. Meanwhile, VedantaAlumina Limited (VAL) applied for land for their proposed projects and,accordingly, IDCO sought for alienation of 59.96 acres of Government land underBanjari revenue village for the proposed plant. While 24.48 acres of land hasalready been transferred to VAL, the Revenue Department has given permissivepossession 24.83 acres of the balance land to IDCO. Surprisingly, these landsinclude the land of those poor on whom CM Nandini Satpathy had bestowedlargesse. Although these tribals put forth their grievances during acquisition ofthe lands by the Revenue Department in 2004 to the Jharsuguda Tehsildar, ithas been two long years and their fate hangs in balance, with the officials sittingover the matter. And for these tribals, it now seems to be a case of 'justicedelayed is justice denied.' The situation is no better for those who were givenceiling-surplus land to eke out a living. They have been rendered landless again,with VAL dumping soil on their little patches of land, which has been alienatedwith least thought for them. Now, all of them seem to be caught between thedeep sea and the devil. They neither can opt to develop the land nor can leave it,as it would snatch their livelihood from them. Moreover, with their voices toofeeble to be heard and not enough resources at their disposal to knock the doorsof the courts, they today just stand as mute spectators. And with recordsreflecting the land they have been living on is Government's, it is for sure thatthey will be deprived of both compensation and any financial benefits that maykeep them going. But even though this concern was raised at the last RPDACmeeting held on October 9 last year, the big question is: Will justice ever bedelivered to these tribals in the usual process of law? (Pioneer 27/2/07)

Big package for Gujarat tribals announced (6)GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announceda Rs.15,000-crore package for the all-round development of tribals in the State.Making a statement in the Assembly here, Mr. Modi said the "Vanbandhu KalyanYojana" would be implemented in the next five years along with the 11th five-yearplan to improve the financial, educational and social standards of the ScheduledTribes. He claimed that while the State spent about Rs.6,500 croreunder thevarious tribal sub-plans in 27 years since 1974, in the last five years theallocations under the tribal sub-plan was raised to Rs.6,000 crore. But even thiswas not sufficient for the all-round development of the neglected tribals whoconstitute about 15 per cent of the population spread over 43 talukas in theState. He said in a bid to reflect the aspirations of the tribals, his governmentdecided to formulate a separate scheme for their development. Claiming that theyojana would become a "trend-setter" in the country, Mr. Modi also announced a10-point programme for the implementation of the scheme. Among theprogrammes announced were opening job-oriented schemes in the tribal areasto help double their income, offering educational facilities in all tribal areas fortheir children, laying pipeline to connect all tribal villages for drinking watersupply, providing necessary assistance to encourage tribal farmers to shift to dripirrigation, providing houses for all homeless tribals, electrification of the houses ofpoor tribals at the government's cost and all-weather road links to all tribalvillages. (The Hindu 28/2/07)Tribals enjoy the fruits of a life insured (6)BERHAMPUR : Tribals, especially their women folk in remote areas of Gajapatidistrict have started to experience benefits of group insurance schemes. BalajiSabar of Badamasingi village of Kainpur panchayat under Rayagada block hadnever expected his wife would help him financially even after her death. Balajihas received Rs.20,000 as death claim following the death of his wife, who hadgot enrolled in the Janashree Bima Yojana of the Life Insurance Corporation. It isagain the women Self Help Groups (SHG) in tribal villages that have taken thelead. In Rayagada block 968 members of 80 women SHGs have enrolled theirnames in the `Janashree Bima Yojana' scheme paying yearly premium of Rs.100for each member since 2004. As members of this group insurance scheme thesewomen are also getting extra benefit of the `Sikshya Sahyog Yojana' that is partand parcel of their group insurance scheme. Under this scheme children of policyholders reading from class ninth to +2 get a scholarship of RS.100 per month.Rambhi Guru of Gandahati village, whose son is reading in class X is benefitingfrom it feels it is a great help for her son to pursue studies. "I was overwhelmedwhen I came to know Rs.100 rupees invested by me would beget Rs.1,200 peryear for my son's education," she said. D. Jagannath Raju, president of an NGO,Society for Welfare of Weaker Section (SWWS), which had motivated the womenSHGs to opt for group insurance schemes said women especially in tribal areasare the real homemakers. Once they start understanding the benefits of ascheme it easily percolates through to the general public. (The Hindu 28/2/07)

Rs 15,000 cr for Gujarat tribal development (6)GANDHINAGAR, FEb 28: In a step apparently aimed at countering Congress’ thrust in the tribalregion of the State, Chief Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a grand Rs 15,000 crore plan for tribaldevelopment, in the State Assembly on Tuesday. To be spent over the next five years, theambitious ‘10-point Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana’ translates into Rs 3,000 crore per annum, whichis close to 20 per cent of each year’s annual plan size of the Government. Modi said the entirepackage would be implemented in a mission mode beginning this year. In a clear sign that not allsections of the Government were not taken into confidence over the ambitious project, TribalDevelopment Minister Mangubhai Patel, when questioned from where the money would come forthe scheme, expressed his inability to answer. “It is a CM’s scheme and he would know theanswer,” said the Minister. Leader of Opposition Arjun Modhvadia called it a panic reaction of aGovernment worried by the massive turnout of tribals at last month’s Sonia Gandhi rally inDevgadh Baria. Projects under the Yojana include broadband connection to all tribal talukas;quality employment to five lakh tribal families; quality higher education through one sciencestream higher secondary school in each tribal taluka, one Navodaya or Eklavya type school ineach tribal taluka, establishment of 100 more hostels for college students among others. (IndianExpress 1/3/07)Tribal students make merry (6)BHUBANESWAR: Holi, the festival of colours, was celebrated with great enthusiasm by studentsof Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in the capital city on Saturday. The school offersfree boarding and education from primary to Plus Two science level to 3000 tribal childrenbelonging to 28 tribes coming from 30 districts of Orissa. The Holi celebration in the school wasinaugurated by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Development Minister Chaitanya PrasadMajhi. A host of Oriya film personalities and eminent persons also attended the celebrations andplayed Holi with the tribal boys and girls. (The Hindu 4/3/07)Tribal leader held after leading dharna (6)BHOPAL: A tribal leader, along with two others, was arrested this weekend after he went to theDistrict Collector' s office at Betul in Madhya Pradesh with a large number of tribals to play Holiand draw the Collector's attention to their pending demands through "Gandhigiri." The districtpresident of the Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Mangal Singh, had given advance information aboutthe plan. The national executive member of the Parishad, Anurag Modi, told The Hindu onSunday that the tribals, on reaching the Collector's office at 4 p.m. on Saturday, found thatSection 144 of Criminal Procedure Code had been imposed. They waited there for about an hourand left the place after distributing pamphlets. The pamphlet said despite theiragitation, theCollector did nothing to address their demands that were linked to the rate for plucking tendu leaf,below poverty line survey and irregularities in payment as well as granting of compensation underthe Employment Guarantee Act. When the tribals left the Collectorate, Mangal Singh and twoothers were arrested near Nehru Park and sent to Betul Jail. (The Hindu 5/3/07)Tribals to lift road blockade (6)BHUBANESWAR: The Jajpur district administration heaved a sigh of relief on Monday with theagitating tribals of Kalinga Nagar tribals agreeing to lift their road blockade agitation on Tuesday.Under the banner of the Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch, the tribals of Kalinga Nagar had beenblocking the Daitari-Paradip highway at Kalinga Nagar since January 2 last year when 13 tribalmen and women were killed in police firing while opposing construction of a boundary wall for theproposed steel plant project of Tata Steel. The leaders of the Janmanch agreed to lift the roadblockade after they discussed their grievances with District Collector Arabinda Kumar Padheeand other officials at a meeting held at Kalinga Nagar. About 25 representatives of the Janmanchattended the meeting. Talking to The Hindu over the phone, Mr. Padhee expressed satisfactionover the outcome of the meeting. "The peace initiative that we attempted sincerely and properimplementation of the resettlement and rehabilitation measures paid dividends," he said.According to Mr. Padhee, the tribals were assured that the chopped off limbs of a few firingvictims will be returned to their families on Tuesday. It was also agreed that the ex gratia

payments will be paid to the next of kin of the 12 tribals who were killed in the police firing. One ofthe 13 families had accepted the ex gratia amount earlier. It was also decided that all those whohad sustained injuries in the police firing will also be paid ex gratia amount of Rs. 50,000 each. Asregards the withdrawal of cases registered against the tribals, the authorities assured that theGovernment has taken a lenient view and the cases were being reviewed. Some cases will bewithdrawn as per the law. The district administration had been desperately trying to win over thetribals to put an end to the road blockade agitation as the High Court had fixed March 9 as thedeadline for lifting the blockade. The High Court had passed the order while hearing a publicinterest petition on the issue. Although the Janmanch has said it would continue its agitationagainst displacement in the area, they have told the administration to continue the dialogueprocess till their demands were fulfilled (The Hindu 6/3/07)Tribal refugees continue hunger strike in Tripura (6)Hundreds of tribal refugees, who have been on a hunger strike in Tripura seeking repatriation toMizoram, refused on Monday to call off their agitation, despite appeals by the State Government."We shall continue our fast-unto-death agitation till our problem is resolved permanently," saidElvis Chorkhy, president of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum. Some 300 tribal refugeeslaunched the indefinite hunger strike on Friday after resorting to a week-long sit-in demonstrationnear the Raj Bhavan here. Over 33,000 Reang (locally called 'Bru') tribal refugees have beenliving in six north Tripura camps since October 1997 after they fled Mizoram following ethnicclashes with the majority Mizos. An all-party delegation from the Tripura Assembly led by ChiefMinister Manik Sarkar met the striking refugee leaders and requested them to withdraw theiragitation. Earlier on Monday, the Assembly passed a unanimous resolution urging the refugees towithdraw their stir. "The Tripura Government, all the political parties in the State and the UnionGovernment are sympathetic towards your cause and struggle. New Delhi has taken certainsteps to solve your problems," Sarkar told the agitating refugee leaders. The Chief Minister saidUnion Home Secretary VK Duggal and Joint Secretary (Northeast Affairs) Naveen Verma werearriving in Aizawl Thursday and then visit Agartal Tuesday to discuss the refugee crisis. TripuraChief Secretary Shashi Prakash also held a series of talks over phone with the union homeministry and requested it to take urgent steps to end the crisis.Khagen Das, Lok Sabha memberfrom Tripura, also met the Reang tribal leaders. In April 2005, the Mizoram government and themilitant Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) signed an agreement after 13 rounds of talks tosolve the decade-old ethnic crisis, leading to the surrender of about 1,040 militants of the BNLFand Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM).Both the rebel outfits have been fighting for settingup an autonomous council for the refugees. (Pioneer 6/3/07)Orissa tribals lift highway blockade (6)Bhubaneswar, March 6: Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch, the tribal organisation that has beenspearheading the blockage of the Daitary-Paradip national highway since January 2, 2006, hasfinally agreed to relent from its 14-month long agitational activities. The Janamanch leaders onTuesday received the chopped off palms of their relatives and announced to lift the road blockadeon Wednesday. As per the practice, the doctors — who conducted post-mortem on the body ofthe police firing victims, had dismembered the palms of the slain tribals as their identity could notbe ascertained then. Although efforts were made earlier to return the palms of the victims to theirkith and kin, the latter had disowned the same saying the chopped off organs did not belong thekilled tribals. The ice was broken when the much awaited dialogue between agitating tribals ofKaliga Nagar and Jajpur collector Arabinda Padhi took place on Monday for an amicable solutionto the crisis arising after the January 2 police firing incident. Despite road blockade, theJanamanch has, however, been allowing vehicular traffic, except trucks, to ply on the road for thelast couple of months. All ground levelling and construction activities of the proposed Tata steelplant in the industrial complex area had been brought to a halt by the triabl agitation. It may bementioned here that the firing incident took place when the tribals opposing construction ofboundary walls of Tata steel project clashed with the police. Tata Steel, after signingmemorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government, is facing tough time to make upwith the agitating triabls, who are opposing to hand over the land in favour of the steel company.After two futile attempts over the last week, the district administration was successful in getting

the Janmanch leaders to the negotiation table on Monday. A twenty-member delegation led bythe Janamanch general secretary Rabindra Jarika headed the talks with the administration whichlasted for three hours. The collector informed the tribals about the high court order directing thedistrict administration and the state government to lift the road blockade and said that everyonehad to obey the court’s directive. Mr Jarika, however, said their outfit would continue the roadblocked till the government withdrew all cases registered against the tribals, issuance deathcertificate to the kith and kin of those who were killed in police firing and the return of palms —chopped off the victims — to their families. A letter was given to the Janmanch assuring them ofsympathetic and lenient review of all cases registered against the tribals. These apart, deathcertificates and post-mortem certificates were also assured to be handed over to the deceased’sfamilies. (Asian Age 7/3/07)K Nagar tribals demand further talks with CM (6)Bhubaneswar/Jajpur : Contrary to the expectation that the agitating Kalinga Nagar tribals wouldlift their 14-month-old road blockade from Tuesday, the Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch made acondition that any decision to this effect would only be taken after another round of talks betweenits leaders and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. In this connection, Secretary Visthapan VirodhiJanmanch, Rabindra Jarika faxed a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday. Theyalso renewed their demands and demanded that the compensation amount for the families of thedeceased of the police firing should be enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and jobs to themembers of the concerned families. They also urged the Government to pay Rs 1 lakh to theconcerned family for each pair of chopped-off palms so they would be able to cremate it withrequired rituals. All these demands have created uncertainty over the lifting of the road blockadein a peaceful manner. However, after the Janmanch, the umbrella outfit of the agitating tribals,softened their anti-Government stand, its members on Tuesday received the chopped-off palmsof the tribals killed in the January 2, 2006 police firing from the district administration. Returning ofthe chopped-off palms was one of the major demands of the tribals, who have been staging theroad blockade on the Daitary-Paradeep Express Highway , since the police firing incident. A 15-member delegation of the Janmanch, led by its president Chakradhar Haiburu, received the fivepairs of chopped-off palms of the tribals kept with the district administration since January 2 lastyear after 13 tribals were gunned down by the police while opposing construction of a boundarywall for the proposed project of Tata Steel. Amid a storm of protests, the doctors, who conductedthe postmortem on the firing victims' bodies, were suspended by the Government. Earlier, thedistrict authorities had failed to hand over the palms after the tribals expressed their doubts overthe genuineness of the limbs. It was decided at a meeting between Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik and the tribals in Bhubaneswar on January 31 this year that the limbs would be returnedafter forensic testing. Janmanch secretary Rabindra Jarika said, "We cannot obey any decision ifit affects our life and livelihood. The agitation against the industrialisation will continue unless weget a written assurance from the Chief Minister." The Janmanch leaders further said theopposition to the steel project would continue. (Pioneer 7/3/07)Tribals lift road blockade (6)BHUBANESWAR: The tribals of Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district of the Orissa lifted their roadblockade agitation in the wee hours of Friday much to the relief of the Naveen PatnaikGovernment. Secretary of the Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch said that the blockade had been liftedshowing respect to the High Court order, but the movement against displacement by theproposed steel plant project of Tata Steel will continue in the area. As per their announcementmade on Thursday evening, the office-bearers of the Janmanch and a large number of men andwomen from the nearby villages gathered at the blockade site near Ambagadia village aroundmidnight and removed the obstruction from the Daitari-Paradip highway around 2 a.m. Thetribals, who lifted the blockade after performing a puja ceremony, vowed to continue theiragitation against displacement by industries in their locality. High Court, which had earlierdirected the State Government to remove the road blockade, had fixed Friday as the deadline forimplementing its orders. When the case came up before the Court at Cuttack, counsel for theState Government submitted that the blockade had been lifted. In Bhubaneswar, Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik expressed satisfaction over the lifting of the road blockade by the tribals of

Shanti Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioner Vijay Singh Gond and the Adiwasi GiriwasiSamiti Duddhi, said it would pronounce its interim order on Tuesday. (PTI) (Asian Age 13/3/07)Parents starve tribal baby girls to death (6)Parigi (Andhra Pradesh), March 13: Eleven newborn girls were starved to death in the past oneyear by their parents in a tribal village of Ranga Reddy district, 80 km from Hyderabad. The tribalsof the Lambada sect in Cheruvu Mundali Tanda of Kulkacharla mandal let the infants die byrefusing to feed them. It is a long-standing practice of the tribals to wrap up girls in a piece ofcloth and leave them to die. They cherish only male babies and consider daughters to be aneconomic burden. In fact, the villagers did not have any qualms in admitting that they let the poorinfants die. "My wife Bhagyamma gave birth to a female baby for the third time," said JarpulaPeerya Nayak, 27, of the village. "A daughter is a burden and we decided not to feed her. So shedied." Jarpula Nayak hastened to add that he did not kill the baby by smothering her or stranglingher. "We just let her die," he added. "It is very difficult to bring up girls and marry them off." Hiscousin, J. Ravi, and his wife Sujatha also let their newborn baby girl starve to death. Thishappened on February 25. "My daughter died two days after birth since we did not feed her,"admitted Ravi. "We already have two girls and can’t afford to have one more." After starving andkilling the baby girls, the tribals dig a grave in their fields and bury them. Then they put a stone onthe grave. Villagers said that dogs had eaten parts of the body of Ravi’s daughter and he had tobury her again. Most of the 40-odd families in the village have either witnessed such killings orhave performed it themselves over the years. Jarpula Lokya Nayak, brother of MPTC PentyaNayak, is also learnt to have starved to death two girls. Most of the infants starved to death werethe third or fourth daughters of couples. Female infanticide is also practised at Rokatigutta Tandaof Ipavapalli panchayat, Gorigadda Tanda of K. Samudram and Nerellagadda Tanda. On March9, schoolteachers, with the help of an NGO activist of Gorigadda Tanda, prevented K. Buggammaand Pandya Nayak from killing their fifth child, which also turned out to be a daughter."Buggamma had said beforehand that she would kill the child if it was female," said RajeshRathod, headmaster of the Government Upper Primary School in Gorigadda Tanda. "After thebaby was born, we told her that Goddess Lakshmi had come to her home. Only after that did shefeed the baby." Kulkacharla deputy mandal revenue officer Y.B.N. Avataram said that therecurrent infanticide had not come to his notice so far. "We will conduct an inquiry into this," hesaid. Parigi inspector P. Maheswar also said that he came to know of the killing of the infantsthrough media representatives. "The villagers told our constables that the babies were stillborn orwere premature," he said. "We haven’t booked any cases so far." Keshulamma, a midwife ofCheruvu Mundali Tanda, said that she had delivered 11 female babies in her village recently butall of them had "died" soon after. Strangely enough, the main reason cited by parents for killingthe girls is the huge expense of marrying them off, maybe 20 years later. "We have to give ascooter, five to six tolas of gold and Rs 50,000 cash to a good groom," said a villager. "How manypeople can afford that?" Because of this, villagers turn a deaf ear even if they hear the heartrendingcries of an unfed child on the throes of death. …….. (Asian Age 14/3/07)Congress complains to Central Tribal Commission (6)JAIPUR: The Congress has complained to the Central Tribal Commission about "discriminatory"treatment being meted out by the BJP-led Government in Rajasthan to tribals in providing relief.While the families of the victims of police firing elsewhere in the State were given Rs.5 lakh each,the kin of Ram Lal, killed in police firing in Rishhabdev town last month, was given only Rs.1 lakh,it has pointed out. In a representation to the Chairman of the Tribal Commission, PradeshCongress Committee general secretary Ashk Ali Tak alleged, "Even in the matter of awardingcompensation to the deceased in police firing a tribal is discriminated against in Rajasthan." Afterthe police firings at Gharsana in Sriganganagar in October and December 2004 in which sixpersons were killed, the families were given a relief of Rs.5 lakh each. Similarly, in Tonk districtwhere five persons were killed in police firing in June 2005, a solatium of Rs.5 lakh each hadbeen paid to the kin, Mr. Tak said. The family of Ram Lal, a tribal who belonged to Dhelanavillage in Kherwara tehsil of Udaipur, was paid only Rs.1 lakh, Mr. Tak pointed out. "Withoutgoing into the un-justifiability of police firing, which is a separate issue, the Rajasthan Pradesh

Congress Committee submits that even in tragedies the BJP State Government is not desistingfrom making discrimination against Adivasis," he added. (The Hindu 14/3/07)Jharkhand tribals protest near Parliament (6)NEW DELHI: Representatives of the Scheduled Tribes from Jharkhand held a protestdemonstration at Parliament Street here on Wednesday demanding that the number of seats inthe Assembly be increased and also that the present proportion of the Scheduled Tribes reservedseats be maintained. The protesters claimed that villagers in the area were being illegallydispossessed of their lands by the defence establishment, the Airports Authority of India and theSteel Authority of India. Addressing the gathering, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaderBrinda Karat said a petition listing the problems of the people had been submitted to PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh and he had promised that the matter would be looked into. "What thepeople here are demanding are their rights. A letter from the Defence Ministry states that the landin and around Ranchi airport belongs to the defence establishment and that the villagers have nolegal right over it and that members of the Scheduled Tribes have encroached on it. We areasking for a re-look into the matter," said Ms. Karat. As for their demand for increasing thenumber of seats in the Legislative Assembly, Ms. Karat said: "We spoke about the problem to thePrime Minister and he said that a committee will be constituted to look into the matter. We alsowant the Government to provide rice and wheat at competitive prices to the villagers. We willcontinue to raise our voice till the Government addresses the needs of the villagers." Thedemonstration was also addressed by several tribal representatives including Ramnika Gupta,Sukhnath Lohra and Surjeet Sinha who spoke about the "sufferings of the people of Jharkhand.""People are being deprived of their democratic rights and are not being allowed to participate indevelopmental activities as the Government is not holding panchayat elections in the State. Wewant to know why the Government has not yet looked into our problems?'' said Ramnika Gupta.CPI (M) leader J.S. Majumdar was present. (The Hindu 15/3/07)PM assures adivasi seats: Brinda (6)New Delhi, March 15: The political bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI(M) and member of Parliament, Brinda Karat, on Thursday said that the Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has assured her of protection to the adivasi 'seats. Ms Karat had met the PrimeMinister on Wednesday and submitted a memorandum. "I am relieved after the assurance fromthe Prime Minister," Ms Karat said. She was addressing a press conference at the CPI (M)headquarters in capital. "After we submitted the memorandum to the Prime Minister, he said thathe finds no problem as to why it should not be done". Ms Karat said the Prime Minister hasassured her that the entire population in the adivasi scheduled areas would be brought under the5th schedule of the Constitution. Five hundred adivasi's from Jhark-hand had come to Delhi onWednesday and protested in front of the Parliament. The protesting adivasis, led by the CPI (M),were saying that they are losing the assembly seats, scheduled areas, land, jobs and food. Theywere also saying that their condition hasn't improved even after the UFA government came topower. The adivasi delegation also met the Union home minister Shiv Raj Patil and submitted thememorandum to him. The adivasis had put forth five major demands in their memorandum thatwas submitted to the Prime Minister and home minister. (Asian Age 16/3/07)Terror-stricken night for tribal children (6)Ranibodili: There were 48 girls, all of them tribal children, staying in the same building, with only awall separating them from the khaki-clad policemen and the Special Police Officers. Not a singlebullet was embedded in the wall. The girls mostly belong to the Moriya tribe, generally known tobe sympathetic to the Maoists. The three hours was nerve-wracking, though, as they cried out forhelp, hiding under their cots. The minute the gunfire shattered the stillness of the night, theirteacher, S.R. Thakur, closed the doors and took the little ones into his arms. He helped themremain calm under the cots, as they waited for help that did not come. Eventually, he broughtthem out only after the sounds of bullets and the explosion of the smoke bombs died out. Theywere later shifted to the Somanpalli Ashram School. (The Hindu 17/3/07)

7 families ostracized as girls take HSC exam (6)Balangir: Seven families of the Chakotia Bhunjia tribe in Orissa have been ostracised i by theircommunity for breaking rules — allowing their daughters to appear for the HSC examination.Tribals of Sanbahali village in Sunabeda sanctuary ostracised the families after ChandiniChhatria, Jayashri Jhankar and Tribeni Jhankar, who could not succeed in the examination lastyear, appeared for it again this year. Another girl Laila Chhatria also appeared along with them.Education is not encouraged among tribals. It was only a few years ago that some ChakotiaBhunjia boys appeared for the HSC examination for the first time. Nowadays, girls are also beingsent to school but dropout once they attain puberty, said Kama Chhatria, a tribal. The communityis enraged as some families have allowed their daughters to sit for the examination. "We haveostracised them because they didn't follow our customs and traditions. They also sent theirdaughters outside the village to appear for the test, which is against our tradition," said anothermember Chaitanya Jhankar. (Times of India 18/3/07)Chhattisgarh pilot project gives wing to a tribal dream (6)Raipur, March 23: Hailing from the tribal heartland of Bastar, Ankur Ekka or her family has neverset foot in an aeroplane. Now, if a Chhattisgarh government plan takes off, she will soon be oneof a group of 10 tribal girls from the state working as airhostesses. The small step might alsoprove the giant leap tribals, who form 44 per cent of the state’s population, need for integrationinto the mainstream. “The entire process has been like a revelation to me and my parents,” saysan excited Ankur. State Tribal Welfare Minister Ganesh Ram Bhagat, the brain behind the pilotproject, says the government will bear the cost of training the girls. “We will be spending anamount of about Rs 1 lakh on each of these girls. However, this amount is nothing when weconsider the fact that they will be breaking new ground,” says Bhagat. The first batch of 10 girls,selected under the project, will begin training at Air Hostess Academy, a private institute inRaipur, soon. The applicants had to be between 17 and 24 years of age, have a pleasingpersonality, good communication skills, and should have at least passed Class XII. Christina Lal,who hails from the tribal majority district of Dhamtari, says what’s driving her is the memory of thelate Kalpana Chawla. “I think there is a definite correlation between our cases as both of us triedfor a profession that has not generally been associated with our communities, in her case as awoman and in my case as a tribal,” Christina says. The government will be lobbying with privateairlines for a job for each of these girls once they are through with the training. “Unless we areable to secure a job for each of these trained students we won’t consider our responsibilitycomplete,” says Secretary, Tribal Welfare Department, M K Raut. (Indian Express 24/3/07)Tribals to hold maha rally on April 29 (6)Rourkela : The tribals of Kuarmunda Block in Sundargarh district observed March 24, 2007 asKranti Diwas following the completion of one-year of their demonstration against the sponge ironfactories, protesting against environmental pollution and other four issues. The have also decidedto organise a maha rally in Kuarmunda on April 29. One year ago, thousands of tribals ofKuarmunda Block demonstrated before the Neepaz Steel and other five factories under theleadership of former Biramitrapur MLA and Sundargarh district former BJD president GeorgeTirkey on five issues: employment to local youth, save environment, proper compensation todisplaced, peripheral development and no further displacement. Later the movement turnedviolent and the demonstrators ransacked the six sponge units. Even the Sub-Collector Panposhwas severely injured. To rein in the violence, police lathicharged and on the FIRs of differentvictims arrested more than hundred tribals including George Tirkey and eight school goingchildren - released on bail after three months on the direction of Orissa High Court. Thedemonstrations continued thereafter and even spread to different part of the District againstdisplacement and pollution alleging Government's non-chalance to their demands. On Saturdayat Kuarmunda Inspection Bungalow, to commemorate their anniversary of the movement andalso to chart the future course of action, a meeting had been organised, where the participantsagreed on to accelerate their movement in the coming days for the cause of tribals. A steeringcommittee, taking two representatives from each GP of the twenty GPs under Kuarmunda GP,

was formed to orchestrate the plans decided upon. Earlier the Local Displaced Association forRSP and Mandira Dam had given a call to go for economic blockade. Experts see the call of thetribal meet to hold a mega rally could be a testing time for the administration and political parties.Meanwhile, apprehending law and order problem, police had cordoned the area of Neepaz Steeland Kuarmunda IB area as a precautionary measure. (Pioneer 27/3/07)K Nagar tribal team reaches Nandigram (6)Jaipur : Despite the 24-hour detention by the West Bengal Police at the Kharagpur railwaystation, a 38-member Kalinga Nagar tribal delegation reached Nandigram in East Medinapurdistrict that hit the headlines recently after 14 farmers were killed in violence over land acquisitionon Monday evening. The delegation consisting of some woman members headed by VisthapanVirodhi Janmanch general secretary Rabindra Jarika were detained at the railway station onSunday, as they were heading towards Nandigram on the show Puri-Howrah Express, to expresstheir solidarity with the family members of the victims, who had died in the police firing. "We weresurprised. About 40 police personnel, many of them in civilian clothes, surrounded us atKharagpur railway station and asked why we were going to Nandigram. We told them we weregoing to express our solidarity with the people of Nandigram. But they herded us into a waitingvan," said Amar Singh Banara, one of the delegation members over telephone after reaching thedestination. West Bengal Police swung into action after reportedly getting an alert message fromtheir Orissa counterpart. The tribals ran into trouble when they got off the Puri-Howrah Express atKharagpur around 3 am. Banara said that the delegation was interrogated by the police. Headded, "police looked keen to know if the tribal group had any links with Maoists. Though theygave us food, they did not allow us to move out." Vista pan Virodhi Janmanch presidentChakradhar Haiburu (Senior) said, "The West Bengal police's action on our delegation isunfortunate and as an attempt to 'curb the democratic rights'. There is no difference betweenKalinga Nagar and Nandigram. Hence the people of Kalinga Nagar thought it was their duty tostand by the people of Nandigram in their hour of crisis. Nandigram tribals had come here toconsole us after the ghastly police firing. Our men had gone there to empathise with them onhumanitarian point of view, as a friend in need. Besides, the delegation will express our solidaritywith the farmers who are agitating against the Left Front Government's bid to procure land forIndonesian based Salem Group." Palpable tension prevailed in the tribal-dominated villages inthe industrial complex area as the news of the detention tribals by the police at the railway stationreached here. (Pioneer 28/3/07)Naxal attacks a nightmarish experience for tribal families (6)MARAIGUDEM: The raids by the CPI (Maoist) on a police station and adjacent Salwa Judumbase camp, housing about 1,600 tribal families, at Maraigudem in Dantewada district ofChhattisgarh from March 24 to 27 has caused considerable alarm. The families were displaced inthe wake of confrontation between the extremist group and the State-sponsored Salwa Judumcampaign. The raids were spearheaded by an assault group of 70 naxalites, accompanied byabout 1,000 members of the party's village level "sanghams." The naxalites, camping in nearbyforests, launched attacks only after nightfall. They hurled petrol and soap bombs and resorted toheavy firing. It was a nightmarish experience for the inmates of the tribal settlement, which lacksbasic amenities. There is no power supply either at the camp or in the police station. DantewadaCollector K.R. Pisda visited the camp on Tuesday and assured the inmates that all steps toprotect their lives. They made a representation him, urging that the camp be shifted either toGollapali or Konta, division headquarters. Mr. Pisda said their request would be looked into. Thefirst attack was launched in the early hours of March 24. The Salwa Judum activists respondedquickly and retaliated with bows and arrows. About 60 youths, designated as special policeofficers and armed with .303 rifles, thwarted the attack. The fierce fighting lasted for about threehours. A Central Reserve Police Force unit camping in the village and some 30 personnel of theState civil and armed police joined the SPOs in beating back the Maoists. A CRPF officer said thenaxalites suffered heavy casualties. Explosives, a .303 rifle and Rs. 27,000 were recovered.Maoists laid siege to the village again the next night. There was sporadic firing all through thenight, with the naxalites retreating to the forests at 5 a.m. So was the case on the third and fourthday. No reinforcements could be sent to Maraigudem as the area lacked proper roads. Some of

the panic-stricken camp inmates have started migrating to safer places. The youth, shoulderingthe task of fortifying the camp, were engaged in the last few days in putting up wooden barricadesto block the free passage of intruders. (The Hindu 29/3/07)Tension prevails in Kalinga Nagar industrial complex (6)BHUBANESWAR: Tension prevailed in Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex in Jajpur district onMonday following the death of a tribal youth who was injured in police firing on January 2 lastyear. The victim Kisan Buliuli, aged about 25 years, breathed his last at the Shriram ChandraBhanja Medical College at Cuttack late on Sunday evening. As many as 13 tribal men andwomen had been killed when police opened fire on the agitating tribals, who were opposingconstruction of a boundary wall for he proposed steel plant project of Tata Steel. As the body ofthe victim reached Kalinga Nagar, hundreds of tribal men and women blocked the Daitari-Paradiphighway alleging that Buliuli died due to negligence on the part of the authorities who failed toprovide him necessary medical help. The office-bearers of the Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch, theorganisation that is spearheading the anti-displacement agitation in the locality, alleged that thevictim was got not given adequate medical attention when he was admitted to a local governmenthospital on Saturday. Buliuli, who was treated at the SCB Medical College after he received bulletinjuries last year, was ailing and continued to suffer from fever most of the time, Janmanchsecretary Rabindra Jarika said. The victim, who hailed from Chandia village of Kalinga Nagararea, was married and is survived by his pregnant wife. As the tribals continued to block the roadfrom around 1 p.m. demanding adequate compensation for the family of the deceased, the districtadministration officials assured that Buliuli will be treated as a firing victim and his wife would begiven necessary governmental support, Mr Jarika said. The authorities also assured to providemedical care to 38 other tribals, who had been injured in the police firing. Of the 38 persons, 18had received serious injuries in the incident, Mr. Jarika said. The tribals lifted the road blockadearound 7 p.m. after the body of Buliuli was cremated and assurances were given by theauthorities to fulfill their demands. The road blockade agitation by the tribals of Kalinga Nagar,which started on the day of the firing incident last year, was lifted on the night of March 8. TheJanmanch lifted the road blockade showing respect to a High Court order on the issue. (TheHindu 3/4/07)Tribal-friendly, eco-unfriendly (6)With the popularity of the Raman Singh government at its lowest, over the past few monthsBharatiya Janata Party leaders have been busy finding innovative ways to appease andconsolidate the party vote bank. In a step that is being widely viewed as an attempt to maintain itsdominance among the tribal population of Chhattisgarh, the government has decided to dropcriminal charges against 2,20,613 people, registered under various forest and wildlife protectionlaws. Of these, 1,08,890 are Scheduled Tribes, while 36,298 belong to the Scheduled Castecommunity. With this move, the government is set to lose Rs 12.76 crore in terms of finesimposed on the suspects booked under the various forest and wildlife protection laws. While theentire nation is protesting loss of tree cover and illegal poaching, this step taken by the RamanSingh government has only been successful in shielding criminals involved in destruction of forestresources. However, the chief minister defends his decision to drop the charges by saying that “amajority of these cases had been pending for many years and as most of these offenders wereinvolved in minor crimes, we decided to let them off with a warning.” BJP sources said the recentlosses in Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha and Kota Assembly bypolls led to this step to shield the tribalpopulation. “While the Congress has maintained a stronghold in the non-tribal districts, the BJPdoesn’t want to lose its hold over tribal constituencies, which have been our supporters,” thesources added. They pointed out that the Bharatiya Janata Party was brought to power in the lastAssembly polls due to the votes it received from Scheduled Tribes constituencies. It won 26 STseats, while the Congress could only secure eight seats. Surprisingly, the state Congress hasbeen silent over the issue. No senior leader is willing to go on record to criticise the governmentsince the Scheduled Tribes enjoy an overwhelming majority in the state with about 35 per cent ofthe total population being classified under the category. However, animal lovers andconservationists have been crying foul in what is being termed as government’s “political standover the issue”. Though the Raman Singh government repeatedly claims that the state has one of

the highest green covers in the country, with about 45 per cent of its total area under forests,such policies could cause the state to lose its precious forest cover. (Indian Express 5/5/07)Tribals protest runway expansion (6)Tribals in Jharkhand are up in arms against the State Government's decision to extend therunway of Ranchi airport. The expansion plan will require acquisition of around 210 acres of landbelonging to the tribals. A team of tribals, along with CPI(M) leaders, had last month met DefenceMinister AK Antony over the issue. They requested him that the land of the tribal people not betaken over for the project. "Around 2,000 acres of land was acquired by the defence coordinationcommittee in 1942. The land was not acquired under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and thetribals were not given compensation," said Gyan Shankar Mazumdar, CPI(M) Jharkhand unitgeneral secretary. A major part of the land was later transferred to the Civil Aviation Ministry andsome of it remains with the Defence Ministry. Mazumdar claimed that many tribal families still payland revenue and possess the original land papers. A case is also pending in the Jharkhand HighCourt over the issue. The tribals are pressing for two demands. Firstly, the acquisition of freshland be stopped and secondly, the land acquired in 1942, which is lying unused, be given todisplaced people. (PIONEER 7/4/07)Tribal Council for scrapping of Polavaram (6)BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa's Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) on Tuesday unanimously passeda resolution urging Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to impress upon Centre to scrap the PolavaramMultipurpose Project proposed by Andhra Pradesh Government across the Godavari. The TAC,comprising of prominent tribal legislators, Member of Parliament and tribal leaders, expressedconcern that the back water of Polavaram project would submerge large areas which were underoccupation of tribals in Malkanagiri district of the state. Water Resource Secretary ArabindaBehera gave a presentation of submergence to be caused. Mr. Patnaik assured that he wouldsoon write to Centre intimating the resolution of the TAC. (THE HINDU 11/4/07)Tribal women in need of good health system (6)BHUBANESWAR: At a time when medical science made a substantial progress and the OrissaGovernment claimed to have made healthcare available in remote pockets, most of tribal womeninterviewed by the State Commission for Women (SCW) said they depended on traditionalmethods of deliveries and other childcare practices. "Wherever we have visited, we have foundnegligible presence of gynaecologists. In Koraput, Rayagada and Malkanagiri, the womendemanded appointment of women doctors to address their problems," SCW chairperson NamitaPanda said here on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference on the occasion of NationalSafe Motherhood Day, she said hundreds of women across undivided Koraput district complainedof poor health system. The SCW has so far conducted public hearing on safe motherhood in 14districts and will be holding similar interactions in nine districts. Ms Panda said though theMaternal Mortality Rate (MMR), maternal death per lakh live births, in the country hadsubstantially come down to 301 between 1997-2003 as against 407 in the early 1990s, the Statehad fared badly by managing to reduce the rate from 376 to 358 during the same period. TheSCW also found that stray cases of corruption among doctors' community made the mater worsein different districts including Keonjhar and Malkanagiri. At another workshop organised by WhiteRibbon Alliance (HRA), a voluntary organisation, to mark the day here on Wednesday, speakersexpressed concern on slow progress of Orissa on this front. State HRA chairperson Sakti Sahusaid "reduction of nine points in nine years in MMR is not an encouraging sign. In fact, there hasnot been any significant reduction in the rate of maternal deaths in the last few years. What isworrisome is that maternal mortality is far greater in rural areas than in urban areas." EarlierNehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, an autonomous body under Union Ministry of Youth Affairs andSports, decided to post 15000 post cards to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik emphasising safemotherhood in the State. The weeklong campaign titled `Know Your Entitlement' would belaunched on April 30. (THE HINDU 12/4/07)Bail cancelled for four tribals (6)

BERHAMPUR: The Additional District Judge, Paralakhemundi, on Thursday cancelled the bail offour tribals arrested on the charge of helping Maoists through video shows of the movie `LalSalam' in remote villages in Gajapati district on Thursday. The public prosecutor filed a reviewpetition on the bail order on April 10. The Gajapati police arrested these four persons of Mohanablock in Gajapati district, Prashant Kadraka, Narendra Dengamaka, Manoj Majhi and MalekaMajhi on Sept 22 last year from Gilakuta village while they were showing 'Lal Salam' there. Theyclaim to be members of a tribal cultural organisation named Kui Sanskrutika Sangh. But as perpolice they were supporters of naxals who also helped in the naxal attack on R.Udaygiri town lastyear. (THE HINDU 13/4/07)Tribal body tells migrant workers to go (6)Shillong, April 12: Fear and panic has gripped non-tribal migrant workers in the north-easternstate of Meghalaya after an influential tribal body served quit notices, asking them to vacate thestate by the month-end or face action. "We are having sleepless nights and feeling greatlyinsecure after the threat. Like me, many people working here are in a quandary," Harsha Gurung,a middle-aged Nepali-speaking daily wage earner, said. Mr Gurung, originally hailing from Nepal,has been working in coalmines in Meghalaya since the past 12 years. The Federation of Khasi,Jaintia and Garo Peoples (FKJGP), a group that claims to fight for the rights of the indigenoustribal people of Meghalaya, have set May 1 as the deadline for Hindi, Nepali and Bengalispeaking migrant workers to leave the state. "We are not going to spell out what course of actionwe would take once the deadline expires. But something is going to happen and we shall throwthem out," warned Emlang Lytan, president of the federation. There are an estimated 12,000migrant workers, most of them working in the many coalfields in Meghalaya, borderingBangladesh. "These migrant workers are a bunch of criminals who have been indulging in looting,murders, and even raping our tribal women," Lytan said. A number of other tribal organisationsand individuals have backed the federation’s demand to free the state of migrant workers. (IANS)(ASIAN AGE 13/4/07)Jeep in Raje’s carcade set on fire by tribals (6)Jodhpur, April 15: A group of tribals angered over the alleged entry of security personnel in atemple in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district on Sunday, set ablaze two government vehicles, including ajeep in the chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s convoy and pelted stones at policemen, injuring fourof them. The Meena tribals were protesting the "entry" of security personnel of Ms Raje in thetemple of Gautam Rishi, near Poshaliya village, in that district. The incident occurred at around12.45 pm after Ms Raje departed from the temple after taking part in the annual fair there. As perconvention, tribals do not permit uniformed men in the temple and the panchayat and localcommunity had asked police to ensure that no personnel went near the shrine. Ms Raje was thechief guest at the function and addressed a huge gathering, faced "angry" words during herspeech. After completing her speech Ms Raje left. A group of tribals followed her convoy, but shehad already left the helipad before their arrival. The annoyed mob first pelted stones at thereturning convoy and then burnt an escort jeep and another vehicle. Four policeman, including asub-inspector, were injured in the incident. (PTI) (Asian Age 16/4/07)Green signal for mortgaging tribal land draws flak (6)BHUBANESWAR: The State Government's recent green signal to mortgage tribal land for someselect purposes, mostly for taking up of economic activities, has come in for a sharp criticism fromsocial activists, who allege it would serve interest of less than five per cent of tribal population inthe state. According to Union Ministry of Rural Development (MORD) report, of total 18,08,660tribal families live in rural areas, 41 per cent are landless while 55.16 per cent are small andmarginal landholders. These groups constitute about 96.74 percent of tribal population in theState. Only 3.26 per cent of tribal population could afford to mortgage their land. As per the newmodel, tribals would be given permission to mortgage their land with banks for some specificreasons and non-tribal could participate in auction arranged by banks in the event of bankruptcy."In the event of bankruptcy, permission to non-tribals for participating in the auction of tribal landwill open the floodgate. The relaxation in the existing law indicates that there are deeper interestsat work," said Y. Giri Rao of Vasundhara, a city-based voluntary organisation. MORD's figure said

10,48,669 tribal families go for loans from informal sources for their daily consumption. Whilethese families constitute 57.98 per cent, only 9.67 per cent of total tribal families borrow forproduction purposes. Ironically, only 1,95,530 tribal families from 14,648 villages of the state areyet to come inside the vicious circle of debt. These groups constitute only 10.81 per cent of totaltribal population. "If 57.98 per cent of tribal people have been taking loans for their dailyconsumption for years now, the state government should first assess as to how much land havebeen left with the tribal people. If this relaxation comes in place, the rest 10.81 per centpopulation will enter the ring of indebtedness in no time," Mr. Rao said. The Tribal AdvisoryCouncil had been demanding relaxation of Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of ImmovableProperty (by Scheduled Tribe) Regulation 1956 which could pave the way for mortgaging triballand for loans for banks. "The problem of land sale to obtain money, faced by a minisculeproportion of tribals, can be easily solved by either setting up a line of credit by Integrated TribalDevelopment Agency or banks based on land mortgage or by setting up a tribal land purchaseand distribution scheme," Soumendra Sarangi, a social activist, said. He said government couldpurchase the land from tribals who wanted to sell land at the prevailing market price and then itcould distribute such lands to landless tribal households. (The Hindu 19/4/07)Tribals, police clash in Rewa district (6)Bhopal : Six police personnel were injured in stone-pelting even as tribals who had encroachedon forest land were being evicted on Thursday at Ghateha village about 100 km from Rewadistrict headquarters. Police had to fire in the air to disperse the agitating tribals. ''Roughly 3,000tribals are encroaching on the forestland. A notice was served earlier by the districtadministration. After repeated warnings proved futile, Forest, Revenue and district administrationofficials reached the place and began the process of eviction,'' said Inspector-General (RewaRange) B Maria Kumar. The IG said that the situation was under control and did not warrant theimposition of prohibitory orders. The stone-pelting ensued after approximately half the hutmentswere removed. One personnel had to be rushed to Rewa for treatment of a head injury. ''Policedid not use even mild force on the crowd despite the incident,'' the officer claimed though a NewTrade Union Initiative (NTUI) release alleged that several tribals, who have been residing therefor more than three years, sustained injuries. The NTUI said that police opened fire and lobbedtear gas shells. ''According to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers' Act,2006, a person who occupied such land prior to 2005 could be labeled an encroacher,'' the NTUIexplained. Forest officials in Bhopal said that the encroachments on the reserve forest land weredone after December 13, 2005, encroachments prior to this date were not removed. The removalof encroachments had been going on for about a week. The work of removal of encroachmentson forest land was suspended after nightfall and was likely to resume in the morning. (Pioneer20/4/07)Tribals participate in Thakurani jatra (6)BERHAMPUR: Around 600 tribals, including women and children from R.Udaygiri area ofGajapati district, took part in the ongoing Thakurani Jatra festival in the city on their way to Purion Thursday night. This group is part of an organisation `Parsuram Vahini' with tribals living atMahendragiri hill range area as members. They are involved in the protection of environment andheritage of Mahendragiri, which they believe was the dwelling area of Lord Parsuram, the seventhavatar of Vishnu. According to Ajay Das and Bibhuti Nayak, who led the tribals, they had taken upa travel to the Puri to have darshan of Lord Jagannath on Akshaya Tritiya, which is observed asthe birthday of Parsuram. As Thakurani Jatra happens to be a major festival of South Orissa theydecided to break their journey in Berhampur to become part of it. The tribals took out a rally withtheir traditional drums, cymbals and tribal musical instruments. They moved around the city andwent to Desibehera Street to offer their obeisance at the makeshift temple of goddess BudhiThakurani during the festival. (The Hindu 21/4/07)Tribals seek representation in expert panels on wildlife area (6)BHUBANESWAR: Tribal leaders and activists have demanded inclusion of communityrepresentatives in expert committees, which play a key role in declaration of villages as CriticalWildlife Area. At the conclusion of a two-day long consultation on Scheduled Tribes and Other

Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, a set of recommendationsthat was agreed upon stated, "in case when finally decision is taken to declare an area as criticalwildlife area, the rehabilitation plan should be prepared by the Government in active consultationand participation with the people of the area." Every village or hamlet or pada coming under theproposed critical wildlife area or National Park or Sanctuary should have the right to nominateone person to the expert committee, it said. The meeting, which was attended by lawyers, NGOactivists and people from tribal communities, resolved that for the displaced people who did nothave any such evidence or record or rights, there should be provision for verbal evidence.Moreover, palli sabha should be the unit for identification and vesting of rights to the forestdwellers. "There should be a time limit of 180 days for the completion of the whole process ofinitiation of the process of identification or rights by the gram sabha till the final vesting of rightsby the district level committees," it said. The recommendations will be submitted to the TechnicalSupport Group appointed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Technical Support Group member K.C.Malhotra and noted tribal activist Padmashree Tulasi Munda attended the consultation meet,which was organised by the Orissa Development Action Forum and Forum of Collective FormsCooperation (Eastern Region). (The Hindu 21/4/07)NGOs condemn police action against tribals (6)BHOPAL: Last week's pitched battle between police, forest and district authorities, on the oneside, and alleged encroachers, on the other, on forestland near Ghateha village in MadhyaPradesh's Rewa district has drawn protests. While non-governmental organisations and people'sgroups have condemned the use of force against forest dwellers, the Government is firm that nofresh encroachment will be tolerated. Activists of people's organisations, in a statement at a pressconference here on Monday, said the police attacked and opened fire on tribals, six of whomreceived bullet injuries. Over 250 others had been missing since the April 19 incident, thestatement claimed. The signatories included Ramesh Chandra Shukla of the Rashtriya Van JanShramjivi Morcha, Manohar Kothekar of the New Trade Union Incentive, Vijay Bhai of theAbhiyan Jungle Jeevan Suraksh, Anil Garg of the Madhya Pradesh Van Abhiyan, Rashida Bee ofthe Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karmchari Sangh, Sushil Bhai of the Samajwadi JanParishad and Madhuri of the Jagrut Adivasi Dalit Sangathan. When contacted, Principal ChiefConservator of Forests V.R. Khare said it was a case of fresh encroachments. The authoritieshad on April 12-13 and April 17 tried to remove the encroachers, but they were chased away. Thefirst time, there were only a few encroachers. But when a larger Forest Department team wentagain, the number of encroachers had swelled, and it had to retreat under attack by tribals. OnApril 19, there was heavy stone throwing as a strong force, comprising police and forestpersonnel, led by the Sub-divisional Magistrate and the SDO Police, attempted to clear theencroachments. (THE HINDU 24/4/07)Tribals protest refinery plans in Orissa (6)Bhubaneswar : Thousands of tribal men and women armed with bows and arrows marched inOrissa on Wednesday to protest against an alumina refinery owned by Britain's VedantaResources Plc, police said. Dongria Kondh tribals vowed to stop Vedanta starting the refinery inthe mineral-rich Lanjigarh area of Orissa, about 475 km southwest of Bhubaneswar. Largebauxite deposits had lured the company to this remote and impoverished corner of Orissa, wherethey have already built the $900 million alumina refinery. At issue is Vedanta's plan to turn the topof the nearby Niyamgiri mountain into open-cast mines. Tribals say the project will rob them oftheir homes. "Niyamgiri or no Niyamgiri, Vedanta go back," shouted several tribal men, wearingcolourful headgear as they prepared to wage mock battle with spears and arrows. (Pioneer27/4/07)Exploitation of tribals well depicted (6)BERHAMPUR: The true colours of the `gentlemen' who exploit tribals, particularly girls, werethoroughly exposed in the play `Nila Amruta' that was staged by artistes of the Ganjam KalaParishad at its golden jubilee celebrations. According to director Nrusinhananda Mohapatra,playwright Raju Patro used `Desia' dialect of tribal dominated Koraput district in place of chasteOriya to lend authenticity to the play. Veteran theatre personality Raju Padhi, who acted in the

play, was all praise for the stagecraft by Kedar Apta. The whole prop on the stage was designedwith an investment of a few hundred rupees. "There is scope to transform it into a street-playalso," Mr. Padhi said. Rabi Narayan Behera, who played the main character `Ghenu', said all theartistes attended a workshop on the tribal language and behaviour to make it look natural. Hissweetheart Jhumuri is part of a tribal dance troupe that visits Bhubaneswar to perform. But, shenever returns. Ghenu then reaches Bhubaneswar in search of Jhumuri. In the process, he too isexploited. He also comes to know how his lover was exploited. He then musters courage tounmask the white-collared exploiters of his clan. (The Hindu 27/4/07)Massacre out in the open, DGP of Chhattisgarh takes back words, orders a probe (6)Raipur, May 5: A day after this newspaper reported that the killing of seven tribals in an“encounter” on March 31 near Bijapur in Chhattisgarh was kept under wraps, the state’s toppolice officer today announced a probe saying the bodies will be exhumed for autopsy. A policeteam is also on its way. Local police have been asked to register a case of murder “againstunknown persons”, said Director General of Police O P Rathore. “The bodies will be exhumedand if evidence is found they were killed by security personnel, legal action will follow,” saidRathore. This is in sharp contrast to what he told The Indian Express just days ago: “Gujarat kibimaari sab jagah phaila rahein hai log. The Naxalites are savages, we are not into these things.”This newspaper had reported yesterday that according to villagers, seven tribals from Ponjervillage, who the police claim were Sangham members (Naxalite sympathisers), were picked up byChhattisgarh Armed Police and Salwa Judum, taken to nearby Santoshpur, and killed. “Thesewere Sangham members and we had gone to these villages to conduct a search mission. Therewas an encounter and we were forced to act,” a senior district police officer had said. (IndianExpress 6/5/07)Move to vacate tribals from cashew plantation areas deplored (6)KORAPUT: Dangar Adhikar Samiti of Koraput district has asked the government to abstain fromusing force on tribals of Machkund region. Sania Sisa, president of the samiti, has reactedsharply to the decision taken by the State government to use police force to evacuate tribals fromthe cashew plantation area within a month. Challenging the move to declare the possession oftribals on the cashew plantation areas as encroachment, he said the government was violatingthe norms of PESA, which was applicable in the undivided Koraput district where no decision oftransfer of land was permissible without the acceptance of the proposal by Palli Sabha orGramsabha. And no such process was adopted to acquire the land. The plantation was done bythe soil conservation department to check soil erosion in big dam areas like Machkund, Kolab,Chitrokunda and Indravati dam area. Further the plantation was taken up on a massive scaleunder different poverty elevation schemes. The intention was that the local community wouldkeep a watch on the plantation and would become the owners of that once the governmentdistributes tree pattas to beneficiaries, he said. But, when the trees bear fruits, the department,allegedly had earned profit by harvesting the crop that was protected by the community. Thingshad got worsened from 1975 when the State government created Cashew DevelopmentCorporation and Soil Conservation Department was asked to hand over the plantation area to thecorporation, he said. After a long struggle by tribals of the region, the Tahsildar of Machkund hadgiven 1500 families tree pattas in these cashew plantation areas. But, surprisingly the same landwas auctioned to another party by the corporation, he said alleging that the State governmentwas taking away the legitimate rights of poor tribals depriving them of their basic source oflivelihood to favour the corporation. (The Hindu 6/5/07)Efforts on to get recognition to STs in Puducherry: Rangasamy (6)Puducherry: Chief Minister N. Rangasamy has said the administration will persist in its efforts toget due recognition for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) residing in Union Territory. He was replying topleas made by R. K. R. Anandaraman (PMK), Leader of the Opposition A. M. H. Nazeem (DMK)and a few other members during a debate on a private member resolution tabled earlier byAnandaraman in the Assembly on Saturday. Mr. Rangasamy said the administration was alreadyseized of the necessity to get recognition for the STs so that they would get reservation in

employment and educational institutions. Mr. Rangasamy said that in response to therepresentations made in the past, the Centre had written a letter to the administration, asking it toprovide a quota of one per cent of the employment or admission in the institutions for some time.He hoped that a full-fledged approval would be given soon. Mr. Anandaraman (PMK) and S. P.Sivakumar (DMK) placed two resolutions separately seeking the Government's firm steps toensure that private medical colleges and also those `deemed to be universities' functioning inUnion Territory earmarked 50 per cent of the total seats in the MBBS course for studentssponsored by the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC). Similar quota should be createdin private engineering colleges also. Replying to members' views, the Chief Minister said thatsteps were already taken to ensure that equal sharing of seats was available in the privateprofessional colleges. (The Hindu 7/5/07)Kalinga Nagar firing inquiry is suspended (6)Bhubaneswar, May 6: The judicial probe into Kalinga Nagar police firing incident has been woundup half way. Justice A.S. Naidu Commission of Inquiry, which was probing the case, has declaredthat the probe has "ceased to exist" in view of the Supreme Court’s rejection of the Orissagovernment’s appeal to continue with the probe. "The commission has ceased to exist withoutcompleting the inquiry process in view of the Supreme Court’s rejection of the state government’sappeal," Justice Naidu said in a statement on Saturday. At least 13 tribal people were killed onJanuary 2, 2006 when the police opened fire on them while they were protesting againstconstruction of the boundary walls by a private steel firm. In November 2006, the Supreme Courthad ruled that no sitting judge of high court can head an inquiry commission. However, the topcourt allowed continuance of some commissions which were in the final stages of completion ofprobes. Soon after the top court’s order, Justice Naidu suspended the proceedings of thecommission on December 9, 2006, and sought direction from the state government if it shouldcontinue. After a month, the state government replied that the commission could continue with itsproceedings since it was in final stage of completion. Justice Naidu, however, insisted that thestate government should obtain clearance from the court. The government had moved the topcourt to allow the commission to complete the probe. But the court on April 9 rejected the appeal.(Asian Age 7/5/07)Tribals preserve forests (6)New Delhi, May 6: It is an initiative, which can become a role-model for conserving the fragileeco-system of the country. Tribals in one of Meghalaya’s little-known villages have gone a stepforward and declared some of their lands as a wildlife reserve. The villagers of Selbalgre haveofficially identified around five km square area as a village-wildlife reserve. The village, locatedabout 20 km from the Tura district headquarters, is also home to endangered species of HollockGibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock). This initiative was the result of a project initiated by Wildlife Trustof India (WTI) and the British high commission to study the role of district councils in protectingforest and wildlife. Welcoming the move, conservationists have termed it unique as it is thevillagers who themselves decided to keep aside some of their land for wildlife conservation. Thearea can be further expanded in future, as villagers have shown willingness to give more land.Tribals in the area practice jhum (rotational) cultivation which has disturbed the sensitive ecosystemcausing lack of rainfall and less forest cover. The villagers also face water scarcity insome areas. This led the tribals to conserve the forests and the eco-system. As part of theproject, WTI has been collecting information on forest resource extraction by villagers andproducing forest cover maps to help in the study. For this, council members, nokmas (villagehead) and other villagers are being contacted. The objective of the project is to come out with apolicy document which will help village councils to tackle contemporary issues on wildlifeconservation. In December 2006, the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) hadconstituted a Wildlife Monitoring Committee to suggest measures for wildlife conservation inareas which are under their jurisdiction. The main task of this committee is to identify areas whereconservation actions can be initiated. (Asian Age 7/5/07)Karnataka CM, deputy to stay with tribals (6)

Bangalore, May 6: In a first-of-its-kind in the political history of Karnataka, chief minister H.D.Kumaraswamy and deputy chief minister B.S. Yediurappa will stay overnight on Sunday in theresidence of Sudugadu Sidda, a native nomadic tribal, in Srirampura village of Arkalgud taluk inHassan district. It was Mr Kumaraswamy who started the practice of spending a night withcommon people and listen to the grievances of the family and the villagers. Ever since hebecame the chief minister in February in 2006, Mr Kumaraswamy has stayed in the residence ofa HIV-afflicted patient in Bijapur, a leprosy-afflicted patient in Raichur and a farmer in Gadagamong others. "It is my way of telling them that I am with you," the chief minister said. Now, MrYediurappa — who would be accompanying the chief minister — has decided to emulate MrKumaraswamy. "I would like to continue this practice at least once in a month to follow the chiefminister," Mr Yediurappa said. "This is the first time I am staying in the residence of an ordinaryvillager after becoming the deputy chief minister. However, I used to stay with farmers andagricultural labourers in my native constituency of Shikaripura when I was the BJP president ofShimoga district in mid-80s," Mr Yediurappa recalled. Now that Mr Yediurappa has decided toemulate Mr Kumaraswamy, will he direct his party ministers to emulate him? "You cannot enact alaw and enforce it. But, I will appeal to them," he said. Meanwhile, the Hassan districtadministration has spruced up the village and the residence of Sidda in order to receive the VIPguests. Roads approaching Srirampura village has been asphalted and two standby generatorshave been installed to ensure uninterrupted power supply. "This is from the security point ofview," a senior police officer said. (Asian Age 7/5/07)Tribals to demonstrate (6)BHUBANESWAR: Tribal leaders have announced to stage demonstration here on Thursdaydemanding immediate implementation of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.The leaders, who have united under the banner of thestate chapter of Campaign For Survival And Dignity, criticised the Union Government saying evenafter four months of passing of this Act in Parliament, it had not been notified. Pointing out thattribal lands were under threat, Gopinath Majhi, the state convener of the movement, said theState Government was encroaching upon tribal land through different schemes such ascompensatory plantation, joint forest management and bio-diesel plantation. At a pressconference here on Monday, he alleged, "forest department has been trying to take upplantations on land cultivated by tribals and other forest dwellers in order to evict the tribals inBalangir, Nuapada and Kandhamal district." Tribals particular were facing hardships due toattempts by the government to acquire their lands for corporate houses and contractors, be it inthe name of mining or development or special economic zones, he alleged. Taking strongexceptions to Tribal Advisory Council's recent recommendation to allow tribals to mortgage theirland for loans, the leaders said the Government was trying to dilute the constitutional protectionfor tribal land in the scheduled area by manipulating existing law. (The Hindu 8/5/07)Tribals cry halt to eviction drive (6)BHUBANESWAR: With the notification of the Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional ForestDwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act getting delayed, hundreds of tribals and forestdwellers on Thursday took out a rally on the Mahatma Gandhi Street demanding a halt to thedrive to evict them from forests of the State. The protesters also took strong exception to a recentattempt to amend the Orissa Scheduled areas Transfer of Immovable property (by ScheduledTribes) Regulation, 1956 (OSATIP). "Even after four months of the passing of the Act, it has notbeen notified. The Forest Department is continuing with eviction of tribal and forest dwellers fromforestland in many tribal dominated district such as Bolangir, Kandhamal, Nuapada andSundargarh," State convenor of Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD) Gopinath Majhi said.Alleging that the action of the Forest Department was against the spirit of the law and mandate ofParliament, he said the eviction drive was taken up in the guise of Joint Forest Management andplantation programmes to alienate forest dwellers from their traditionally cultivated forestland. Hedemanded that all gram sabhas be vested with supreme authority to determine forest rights. Theprotesters demanded that all forced land acquisition in Scheduled V areas be stopped. (TheHindu 11/5/07)

Historian moves SC against Judum (6)NEW DELHI, MAY 17 : Historian and social activist Ramchandra Guha today approached theSupreme Court challenging the Salwa Judum movement, which was launched in June 2005 tocombat Naxalism in Dantewara district of Chhattisgarh. Following brief arguments, the apex courtissued notice to the Chhattisgarh Government on the petition which seeks direction to the state torefrain from supporting and encouraging the movement. A Bench comprising Chief Justice ofIndia K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran issued notice to the state and directed it tofile a reply before the next date of hearing. It was contended by the petitioner that the movementhad intensified violence. Senior Counsel T Andhirijuna, appearing for the petitioner, said: “Farfrom being a peaceful campaign, Salwa Judum activists are armed with guns, lathis, axes, bowsand arrows.” “As of January 2007, more than 47,000 people were living in relief camps. Thecondition of these camps are deplorable. Nutrition, especially child nutrition, has been badlyaffected with inmates of these camps receiving scant rations,” he said. He submitted that theresidents of the district were forced by the security forces and activists of the movement to leavetheir villages and live in these camps. The petitioner also sought an independent inquiry into thealleged human rights violations. (Indian Express 18/5/07)Workshop to sensitise tribals on forest laws (6)BERHAMPUR: A workshop was organised on Thursday at Dambapud village of Rayagada blockin Gajapati district to sensitise tribals on the recent forest Acts passed by Parliament. Around 40tribal leaders from various villages of the block participated in this workshop organised byNational Campaign for Survival and Dignity. These participants would create peer groups at theirvillages to make tribals stand up for their legal rights in forests, said Achyut Gamang, aparticipant. The participants were advised to hold village-level meetings to make others knowwhat they learnt. The tribals were requested to be hand in hand with the forest department to helpin correct mapping of forests. They were advised to be in touch with government officials to passon information regarding happenings in forests for the protection of the forests to which theirlivelihood is attached. The tribals also learnt about the measures to be taken by them to get thelegal documents regarding the ownership of the forestland on which they are living sincegenerations for over 75 years. Most of the tribals in south Orissa do not have the pattas for theland on which they live. At times non-tribals take over this land leading to clashes and tensesituations. (The Hindu 19/5/07)Mass tribal conversion: RSS to look other way (6)PUNE, May 23 : It could well become the mother of all conversions, though there are many whoquestion the veracity of the claim that around one lakh people from 42 nomadic tribes willconverge on the state capital on May 27 and convert to Buddhism. But the RSS seems to be inno mood to go on the offensive, perhaps fortified by the last such attempt in Nagpur in 2006 whenonly a few hundred tribals turned up despite a similar claim. Laxman Mane, a nomadic tribalwriter whose autobiography Upara (Outsider) is a landmark in Marathi literature, is currently on astatewide tour to garner support for the campaign. Mane himself had converted to Buddhism inNagpur on October 2, 2006, and claims the conversion event at the Mahalaxmi Race Course inMumbai will be India’s largest religious mass conversion till date. The Sangh Parivar has decidedto ‘ignore’ it on the grounds that Buddhism is a part of the Hindu dharma. “We neither support noroppose the conversion of Mane and other nomadic tribals. It is their own decision and why shouldwe discuss it?” asked Katcheshwar Sahane, RSS Western Maharashtra prant sanghchalak.“They are just altering the methods of worship. After all Buddhism is a part of Hindu dharma. So,it is an internal matter of Hindus.” Sahard Kunte, Maharashtra prant prachar pramukh of VishwaHindu Parishad said they were not bothered about conversions to Jainism, Sikhism or Buddhism.“Mane’s conversion will not harm the nation or the Hinduism as Buddhism is the integral part ofHindu religion,” he said. But, Mane had a different take on the issue. “Tribals never followedHinduism, so there’s no question of relinquishing it. All these years we suffered at the hands ofHindus, now we want to live as human beings. Buddhism will give us a sense of belonging,” hesaid. Hardliners in the parivar are, however, livid with Mane’s “anti-Hindu” statements. “ If wekeep mum anyone will come and start speaking against Hindus. We are being told officially that

we should not react to Mane and his conversion campaign. But there are heated discussions inthe parivar on what stand we should take,” said a senior RSS leader. (Indian Express 24/5/07)Tribals' land rights subverted: Brinda Karat (6)BHOPAL: CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat on Tuesday accused the Ratlam districtadministration and Forest Department officials of subverting the tribals' land rights. Ms. Karat,who attended a public hearing at Ratlam's Sailana Development Block on Monday and touredsome villages in the block and the neighbouring Bajna block on Tuesday, told The Hindu that theForest Department had dug up huge holes in all villages on the pretext of a plantation drive"anticipating that the tribals will get permanent settlement rights once the Tribal Act isimplemented." She said tribals from about 50 villages attended the public hearing at Sailana.Their grievance was that the Forest Department officials were going to tribal villages and diggingup holes, saying they were required for plantations. It could be inferred from the public hearingthat almost 3,000 to 3,500 tribals families were directly affected by the digging at a time whenthey should be engaged in preparing the land for cultivation. Ms. Karat said the Collector told herthat he was not directly involved. However, the forest officials, who were asked to accompany herto some villages on Tuesday, admitted that the holes had been dug up over those pieces of landthat were already in the tribals' possession. "It is unfortunate that this is the state of affairs in adistrict represented by the State Forest Minister and a Minister of State at the Centre," she said.(The Hindu 30/5/07)Tribal students, parents block road (6)BERHAMPUR: Daringbadi in Kandhamal district was tense on Friday following an agitation bytribal students of the local residential high school for girls and their parents. They blocked theDaringbadi-Brahmanigaon road and laid siege to the tehsil office till evening. Additional DistrictMagistrate of Kandhamal district Suresh Chandra Suar, along with the Superintendent of Police,had to rush to the spot to hold discussions with the agitators. The agitation had the support of atribal organisation Lok Sangram Manch. Its leaders Raghunath Padhi and Tapan Mishra led theprotest in support of the suspended in-charge headmaster of the school Devraj Sahu, who wasabsconding to avoid arrest. The protesters alleged that Sahu was framed and demeaned by thepolice and administrative officials. It may be recalled that on March 23, the police had to interveneto allow a new headmaster take charge. The students opposed the new appointment and wantedSahu to continue. This led to unruly scenes and the school had to be closed down. The policelater recovered some pornographic materials and condoms from the room of Sahu on the schoolcampus. The protesters, however, believe, that Sahu was implicated. Sunita Pradhan and herfather Kasinath Pradhan alleged that the police were trying to frame-up Sahu. They alleged thaton March 23 some miscreants misbehaved with the girls and the police were yet to arrest them.They further said that Sahu was a victim of his detractors. "The fact is that not a single girl of theschool has spoken against the character and nature of Sahu," Mr. Pradhan said. The protesterssought legal action against police and administrative officials who, they alleged, damaged theimage of the school and its former headmaster. They relented only after Mr. Suar promised toinquire into the matter and take action within one week. (The Hindu 2/6/07)Tribals gearing up for a showdown (6)BERHAMPUR: Tribals of Gangabada panchayat under Rayagada block in Gajapati district arejoining hands to wage a united struggle against the proposed irrigation project by the AndhraPradesh Government across a tributary of the Mahendratanaya near the panchayat. Resentmentis brewing in villages like Akada, Manikpatna, Khambagaon, Dimirigaon, Bengasahi and Sankudathat are situated along the tributary on the Andhra-Orissa border. They say that the neighbouringState is planning an irrigation project called `Nakasahi' with an estimated cost of Rs. 33 crores.Sarpanch of Gangabada Sumitra Sabar says that the project spells doom because it wouldsubmerge over 1,100 acres of agricultural land and cashew orchards in the panchayat. Besides, itwill affect the livelihood of some 860 persons hailing from 158 tribal families. The villagers arealso worried over the prospect of submergence of the road connecting Gangabada panchayat toManjusa in the adjoining State, for the panchayat is more accessible by this road. This apart, theproject will also submerge some forestland, they say. While those displaced on the Andhra

Pradesh side will get some compensation, no study has been made regarding losses on theOrissa side, the villagers rue. Stating that the neighbouring State has already completed surveyof the project and that `bhoomi puja' is expected to be performed soon, the tribals have urged theChief Minister to intervene and put pressure on the Andhra government to shelve the project.They have threatened to launch an agitation if the Orissa Government fails to protect thelivelihood of tribals. (The Hindu 3/6/07)Violence erupts again in Kalinga Nagar (6)Jajpur : Tribals attack Jindal workers for constructing boundary wall near Hudisahi After a gap of12 days, violence returned to Kalinga Nagar, the steel hub of India in Orissa's Jajpur district, onSaturday. The agitating tribals beat up three labourers engaged by Jindal Stainless Limited thathas been constructing a boundary wall near Hudisahi in the industrial complex area, 60 km fromhere. Sources said a private agency was awarded the construction work of the boundary of theplant by Jindal in the industrial area.However, about 30 tribals of the nearby Gadhapur village,armed with lethal weapons, reached the construction site and attacked the labourers as theyrefused to stop the boundary wall work and leave the site.The private security guards of the plantallegedly fired three rounds to chase the attackers. But they fired blanks sources added. Threelabourers at work sustained injuries during the attack. The injured were rushed to the localDanagadi hospital. They have been identified as Ashok Behera of Sribantapur, Bulu Dehury andBishnu Dehury of Mangala Chhak in Sukinda village.Kalinga Nagar police station officer-incharge,Sarat Kumar Mohapatra confirmed the incident. However, no FIR was registered in thisregard. It is the third incident in a week in Jindal Stainless Limited in the emerging steel city afterlabourers working with the plant were attacked on Saturday by the agitating tribals. It may berecalled that on May 21 some miscreants assaulted workers including some officers of the JindalCompany in its premises. Seven persons including senior Manager of Power plant Vinit Jain andSecurity Officer, Smrutiranjan Nayak sustained injuries following the attack.While five injuredwere rushed to the Danagadi Community health centre, two of them were shifted to SriramChandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack when their condition was deteriorated.However, some of the employees of the Jindal plant overpowered three of the miscreants, armedwith lethal weapons and handed them over to the police. (Pioneer 4/6/07)Tribals demand cashew plantations restored to them (6)Bhubaneswar : Thousands of tribals and Dalits from different parts of the State, under the bannerof Dongar Adhikar Samiti, on Wednesday took to street in protest against the anti-poor and antitribalpolicies being followed in the cashew plantation work undertaken on community land. Samitipresident Rama Chandra Gadanayak said cashew plantations exist in 22 of the 30 districts in theState and most of such cashew plantations were taken up in land, which was actually undercultivation by tribals and Dalits of Machkund and several other areas of Koraput, Gajapati,Nayagarh and Ganjam. "The lands were under shifting cultivation customarily claimed by tribalcommunities and their rights were not recorded during the survey and settlement and such landswere either recorded as Government wasteland or forest land," Gadanayak said. He further saidthat during the 1960s, the State Government also took up large areas of cashew plantations onsuch lands under the Government-sponsored schemes like Economic Rehabilitation of the RuralPoor, Integrated Tribal Development Agency, Employment Assurance Schemes, Jawhar RojgarYojana and Tribal Sub Plan. At that time, the impression given was that such cashew plantationswould be distributed among the landless families, but in most cases, the promise was not kept, headded. The Samiti demanded immediate withdrawal of all cashew plantation leases from theOrissa State Cashew Development Corporation (OSCDC) and handing them over to eligiblelandless tribals and Dalits. Excess plantations left after distribution must be transferred to thevillage (palli sabha). The Samiti further demanded that the Orissa State Cashew DevelopmentCorporation (OSCDC) should be excluded from the scheduled area or at maximum be allowed formarketing, processing and extension activities. "The recent attempt of OFDC to invite plantationon 25 villages under Machkunda area on revenue land should be stopped and the lands shouldbe distributed among the landless," the Samiti said. (Pioneer 7/6/07)

Tribals happy over UNICEF project (6)BERHAMPUR: Tribals in remote areas of Ganjam district, who are yet to have identity papers forthemselves, are happy to get birth certificates of their progenies at their doorstep. A projectsponsored by the UNICEF is continuing in the district to provide birth certificates to all tribalchildren between the age of 1 to 14 near their homes. A tribal activist, Jagabandhu Sabar ofBeguniapada area said: "At least the birth certificates of our children would prove that we areliving on jungle land for generations other wise who will come over to these remote places to givebirth certificates to their children." Sabar is enthusiastic about the project as according to himthese birth certificates would provide some proof regarding their ownership of the land on whichtribals stay in jungles. Owning to efforts of the village level health workers, most of the births getregistered but the tribals, due to their ignorance, do not collect birth certificates. When they try tocollect the birth certificates after years they get dissuaded by the long bureaucratic process andthe money involved. Mangaraj Panda, the director of United Artists, which has joined hands withthe UNICEF to take up the project said, usually births in tribal areas are recorded without namesto get names put on the certificates needs deposition of Rs. 2 as treasury challan which is acumbersome process for an ignorant tribal. It was an effort to get together a notary public, localtehsildar, doctor of the local primary health centre at a particular point in tribal areas to issue birthcertificates at the spot after on the spot verification of children. Till now birth certificates havebeen issued to the parents of 2024 tribal children living in remote areas of 11 blocks of Ganjamdistrict. This work could be done through 26 camps. On June 22 a meeting is to be held whereadministrative officials, health officials, parent representatives from tribal villages would gettogether to decide upon the future course of action so that the tribals can get birth certificates fortheir children in time near their homes. (The Hindu 8/6/07)‘Father’s surname will lead to loss of tribal identity’ (6)Shillong, June 7: The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council Chief Executive member H SShylla has said whoever takes surname from the father’s side would lose his tribal identity. This isbad news for the Synkhon Ka Rympei Thymmai, which has been advocating for taking up father’ssurname. Meghalaya follows the matrilineal system where the surname is taken up from themother’s side. However, there is a movement initiated by the Synkhon Ka Rympei Thymmai todiscard the matrilineal system and follow the patriarchal system. Shylla also said the childrenborn out of wedlock of a tribal and non-tribal couple would be considered a tribal and would get allthe benefits of a schedule tribe. He said the district council has the Khasi Hills AutonomousDistrict Council Khasi Social Custom of Lineage Act 1997 and according to the Act, the offspringof a tribal and a non-tribal is considered a tribal. He asserted that “if a woman is a tribal, heroffspring can claim scheduled tribe status.” The decision of the district council to continue with theact by according the schedule tribe status to the children born out of non-tribal father and tribalmother is contradictory to the Supreme Court ruling that children born out of the non-tribal fatherand tribal mother cannot be treated as a tribal. Shylla said the SC ruling is applicable only to theOraon tribe which has a patriarchal system unlike in Meghalaya which follows a matrilinealsystem. However, acting on the Supreme Court ruling the Income Tax department has decidednot to allow exemption of income tax to children born out of wedlock of non-tribal father and tribalmother. The Chief Executive also said if a tribal man marries a non-tribal woman, the Act applieswhere the man can get another Khasi surname by a system called Tang Jait ( giving a newsurname). (Indian Express 8/6/07)Jharkhand teachers to learn tribal languages (6)RANCHI, JUNE 13: Backed by a constitutional mandate enshrined in Article 350 A, that primaryeducation be imparted in mother tongue, the Jharkhand Government is set to make theknowledge of local tribal and non-tribal language compulsory for teachers in state-run schools.According to the 2001 Census report, the male and female literacy rates in Jharkhand are 67.94per cent and 39.39 per cent, respectively. The dropout rate is estimated to be around 55 per cent.It is the second highest after Bihar. State’s towns and villages have witnessed mushrooming ofprimary schools where tribal students either speak in Santhali, Mundari, Oraon, Kharia or Khorta.The teachers, however, communicate with them in Hindi, Bengali, Oriya and Urdu. “Due to thislanguage dualism, local students often do not find education interesting forcing some of them to

drop out of the school,” said J B Tubid, Secretary (HRD). “Most teachers employed in theseschools communicate in Hindi. Our plan is to encourage them to learn any one of the locallanguages so that they can do their job well,” he said. (Indian Express 14/6/07)Abducted tribals axed to death (6)RAIPUR, JUNE 13 : Two tribals, who were abducted by extremists last week, have been killedand their bodies were dumped on the roadside in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Dantewadadistrict. The two men were among the nine tribal daily workers who were taken hostage byMaoists last week. The victims were abducted from Bande village of Dantewada district by 25armed Maoists when they were returning from a Government-run employment generatingscheme. All nine—including two women—were staying at the Konta relief camp. The Maoistsfreed four men on June 10 and had not put forward any demand to release the remaining five.“We found the bodies of the two tribal hostages early on Wednesday from Konta area. They hadmultiple injury marks, around the neck,” a senior police officer said. “The two men were brutallyaxed to death,” he added. He said three persons were still being held captive and state policeteams were combing the forested hideouts of Maoists to secure their safe release. In a majoraction targeting civilian population in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh last week, Maoist extremistshad kidnapped 12 people, including two women, from Dantewada and Narayanpur districts of thearea. (Indian Express 14/6/07)Tribal women work out a water marvel, harvest spring with wisdom (6)Malkangiri : When the current dictum of a global village is the common refrain, the Statemachinery itself gets inaccessible to the State's inaccessible terrain and remote tribal areas,where the basic minimum needs remain only a farfetched reality and the inhabitants struggleagainst the adversities to earn their livelihood. This is what the story is about a remote tribalvillage Mahupadar in Malkangiri district, which is surrounded by hills and dense forests. Andalmost similar is the story about four other villages Kantamadi, Khilguda, Balichua andBandaguda that lie cradled between two hills and are bereft of any roads, potable water or anyother basic facilities. Government officials neither visit the villages nor are they come under anygovernmental welfare schemes. Handicapped by the non-availability of any groundwater sourceor surface water, an acute water scarcity was haunting the villagers for decades. Summer used tomake their lives miserable, and in rainy season they used to tap water from small shallow placesfor their daily use exposing them to the harmful effects of unclean water. However, for the tribals,nature was not too harsh; only 2 km away a perennial spring flows down the hill, and for the 800people of these five villages, this was the lone water source to quench their thirst. From dawn todusk, people queued up here to collect a pot of water, and being in a dense forest, the attack ofwildly beasts always lurks in their minds. Even men armed with bows, arrows and other sharpedged weapons were a common sight then. Many cases of tiger attacks were even reported then.Given the problem of beastly attacks and scaling up the unfriendly terrains, to collect water wasvirtually impossible daily. Also, the water flow gets reduced in the summers. How to bring thewater down the hill always stirred their minds, especially the female members, who bore the bruntof collecting water daily. Up came some eight women, prominent among them are Choini Khara,Gurubari Khil and Kamala Dantal, and they organised a meeting in Mahupadar to find a solutionto this vexing problem. Despite not having any technical background, the women decided to uselong bamboo logs at the mouth of the spring to divert the water down the hills to avail it.Unsatisfied, as water scarcity still dogged them, the women then devised another noveltechnique, taking the wooden logs from forest, they cut it into boat like shapes and put them atthe mouth of the spring to channel it completely to their village door-step and collected it in areservoir. The interesting fact is, by this, neither the spring water strays out anywhere nor a singledrop got wasted. More so, they converted these wood logs as water pipes and wrapped cloth atits mouth to collect the clean water for daily use. Indeed, a novel water project by illiterate tribalwomen, that not only catered to their drinking water needs but also other water imperatives.These indefatigable women didn't rest on their laurels, rather, they with a fistful of food grains andlittle amount of money goes on to form a SHG (Self Help Group) named Maa Padmabati, only tomodernise their this novel water project. The male folk by constructing another water reservoir put

the water for agricultural use to cultivate rice, jowar, pulses etc. Excited at this marvel, the villagechief Balram Dantal eulogised both the women and the nature for bringing water to the villages.Although the water problem more or less solved but the problems that still dogs the villagers areof health, education and transport. The villages lack all weather roads and schools. Result:Children go to forests along with their parents to collect wood, kendu leaves or mahul. Healthcareservices does not exist even by name, in case some fell ill, villagers carry him on a bed tofaraway Korakunda PHC for treatment. Although a variety of tribes inhabit the villages like inMahupadar and Bantaguda, lives the Paraja, Rana, Ghadhava and Bhumiya tribes, whereas inKhiliguda, Kantamadhi and Balichua, Khond and Paraja tribes inhabits, but all live so in completeharmony. Like other tribals, they too observe number of festivals and on these occasions, rightform old to youth entertain by participating in folk dances like Dhangda-Dhingdi (for young boysand girls) and Dukura-Dikiri (for old men and women) and sipping the Salap (liquor) intogetherness. The ironical fact here is, these very tribals, are in fact got displaced due theMachakund Water Project and resided here. But they are still to get land pattas even afterdecades. Let aside land rights, the Government did not bother to provide electricity, roads, healthcentres, and schools or say any so-called welfare schemes like PDS. Result: to procure kerosenethey have to spend Rs 20/litre and at night, many either quietly sleep or lit a wood log to carry outroutine works. This paints Government's so-called rehabilitation measures in very poor light andfor this there are very few takers to Government's displacement drives. (Pioneer 19/6/07)Draft National Tribal Policy ready (6)New Delhi : The Tribal Affairs Ministry is ready with the draft proposal for formulating the NationalTribal Policy. The Ministry officials said that the draft would be sent to the Cabinet soon forapproval. The proposed policy envisages all-round social and economic development of tribalswhile preserving their traditional and customary systems. The officials said that the draft proposalwas prepared after holding detailed consultations with different States, departments and NGOs.The policy would provide a conducive environment for the preservation of traditional andcustomary systems and regime of rights and concessions enjoyed by different ST communitiesand reconciliation of modes of their socio-economic development. The officials said that the policywould help in bridging the gap in the Human Development Index (HDI) of tribals and the generalpopulation. The UPA in its Common Minimum Programme has pledged to protect the rights oftribal communities and their socio-economic development. The policy would also facilitatetranslation of the Constitutional safeguards into reality with simultaneous socio-economicdevelopment, protection and vesting of rights of STs on forest lands. (Pioneer 20/6/07)Hearing in tribal youth detention case concludes (6)CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday reserved its judgment after completing thehearing over sensational case pertaining to illegal detention of a tribal youth in jail custody forover eight years even as the youth accused of murder charges was exonerated by the HighCourt. The bench of Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice Indrajit Mohanty reserved their verdictafter a marathon hearing of the PIL that was filed by a social activist and lawyer. Petitioner’sadvocate Prabir Kumar Das had urged the court to adequately compensate the victim, who hasturned lunatic due to illegal confinement. The police arrested one Pratap Naik of Ghimuhanivillage under Puruna Katak police station in Boudh district in connection with a murder case in1992. The boy was 14-year-old when he was first sent to jail by the Phulbani district andsession’s judge court. He was, however, acquitted by the High Court in October 1994, but wasreleased from jail only on January 22, 2003, after more than eight years of the HC order. Thoughthe HC had exonerated Naik of murder charges, a clerk at the lower court did not place the HCorder before the Phulbani district judge for necessary actions to release the tribal youth. As aresult, he was kept in illegal custody from January 17, 1995 to July 22, 2003; the PIL said seekinga compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the boy for illegal detention in jail. Arguing the case, Mr Das onWednesday told the bench that due to illegal detention for a long period, the boy was nowsuffering from severe mental ailment and was currently under treatment at a hospital. "Thevictim’s mental health had deteriorated due to long confinement. He is undergoing psychiatrictreatment at VSS Medical College Hospital in Burla and is finding it very difficult to meet thehospital expenses", Mr Das said. (The Hindu 21/6/07)

Tribals give up road blockade plan (6)BERHAMPUR: Tribals called off their planned road blockade at Mohana in Gajapati district onWednesday following written promises by the authorities concerned. Tribals of Mohana block hadgiven a call for 12-hour road blockade at Mohana on Wednesday under the banner of tribalorganisation, Lok Sangram Manch (LSM). On Tuesday night, the authorities decided to holddiscussions with the tribal leaders over their genuine demands. According to Santosh Mallik,general secretary of LSM, the administrative officials also gave in writing to take steps to fulfill thedemands of the tribals as early as possible. Satisfied with the concern shown by the authoritiesthe tribal organisation decided to call off the stir for the time being. As the tribals living in remoteareas had not received any information about the calling off of the agitation, many of themreached Mohana on Wednesday morning. Gajapati sub-collector Madhav Chandra Bariha,Mohana tehsildar Bipin Chandra Mohapatra and the local Block Development Officer helddiscussions with these tribals and their leaders at block office. (The Hindu 21/6/07)Jharkhand backwards up in arms against return of ST Bill (6)Ranchi : Backward communities in Jharkhand are up in arms against Union Govern-ment'sdecision to return the Bill to include them in Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. The social Welfareand Schedule Tribe Ministry of Central Government this month returned the Bill which hadrecommended to include six backward communities in ST category. According to sources inJharkhand Government the Ministry returned the Bill asking the State Government first to do athorough study on these castes through Tribal Research Institute (TRI) Ranchi. The Arjun MundaHovernment had sent the Bill after passage in the State Assembly in December 2004 just beforethe 2005 Assembly elections. The six castes were Kurmi, Biar, Teli, Mahto, Khatori and Ghatwar.These castes were demanding inclusion of their names in ST category for a long time and thedemand got momentum after the State was carved out from Bihar in 2000. These castes claimthat they were in the ST list in 1913 but their caste names were deleted from the ST list in 1950.The Central Government decision to return the Bill has invited sharp reaction from backwardcommunities. "The Central Government's motive is not clear. If the Government wanted to clearthe Bill then it could have passed it in the Parliament instead of sending back for research work,"said Jaleshwar Mahto, a Janata Dal(U) legislator and State party president. Echoing his viewformer Home Minister and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) chief Sudesh Mahto said, "TheState Government should expedite the research work and send the report to the centre so thatthese castes could be included in ST category. There is proof that Kurmi and Mahto were in STlist before 1950." "Congress is playing politics over the issue. The Central Government kept theBill pending for three years and now it has sent it back. We will soon convene a meeting of Kurmileaders and decide the future course of action and how to put pressure on both the State andCentral Government to push the Bill," said. (Pioneer 23/6/07)Dantewada: Naxals abduct 13 tribals, release three (6)RAIPUR, JUNE 24 : Maoist cadres today abducted 13 civilians, including six women and threechildren, from Maraiguda village in Dantewada district. The tribals were abducted when they werereturning from a marriage ceremony at a village along the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border.Sources in the police said while two women and a child have been released, 10 people are still inthe custody of Maoists. “Those abducted were returning from Bangagudem village of Khammamdistrict in Andhra Pradesh after attending a wedding,” IG (Bastar) R K Vij said. The abductedpersons were all living in the government-run relief camp at Maraiguda in the Naxal-infestedDantewada district. “A combing operation has been launched and police parties have beenrushed to help track down the abducted people,” said Vij. This is not the first time that Naxaliteshave targeted civilians. On June 10, Left-wing extremists had kidnapped 12 people fromDantewada and Narayanpur districts. Two of these tribals were later killed and their bodiesdumped near the roadside. According to sources in the police, Maoists have started targeting thecivilian population in a bid to gather intelligence inputs regarding Salwa Judum operations in thearea. “Over the past few weeks we have seen an increase in such incidents and believe thatNaxalites are trying to seek information regarding security deployment around Salwa Judumcamps, movement of the force and other local intelligence,” a senior police officer said.

Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Police is on high alert to foil the Maoist plan of an economicblockade of Bastar and Sarguja during the forthcoming week. Fearing violence during theblockade, additional security personnel have been deployed in various districts. (Indian Express25/6/07)CPI demands end to tribals' problems (6)Bhubaneswar : The CPI's Koraput committee on Wednesday staged a dharna in front of the StateAssembly and demanded immediate Government intervention to put an end to the problems ofthe poor tribal people. They alleged that even though their home district is full of naturalresources like land, water and forests, political leaders and corrupt officers have exploited itstribal population over the years. The members demanded a CBI inquiry into the group clash thatoccurred at Kerkenda under Borigumma block, in which a poor tribal Trilochan Ganda was killedin April. According to them, Jeypore Sub-Collector had directed 50 beneficiaries to takepossession and get benefit from the cashew fencing that borders Kerkenda village as per theOrissa Scheduled Area Transfer of Immovable Property case No-8/2006. His direction was alsoupheld by the High Court while disposing of the writ petition (civil) No-7022/2006. Although it wasgiven to the beneficiaries by duly constituting the village committee on December 9, 2006,surprisingly it was given to all the villagers on April 8, 2007 in the presence of the Sub-Collector,Borigumma Tehsildar and Circle Inspector of Borigumma, which resulted in a group clash leadingto Trilochan's death. They demanded immediate resettlement and rehabilitation of the tribalpeople in the forest land. Moreover, they demanded that the Dorua community residing inKoraput be declared tribal with immediate effect. (Pioneer 28/6/07)C’garh tribals still beyond growth loop: Report (6)Raipur, June 28 : The Chhattisgarh Human Development report, recently awarded the prestigiousHuman Development Award of the United Nations, has revealed that little has changed for theinhabitants of the state’s tribal districts who continue to be engaged in traditional employment.The report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme and published in2005, said there was urgent need to address the economic situation as an overwhelming majorityof the population of tribal dominated districts continued to be engaged in traditional employment.The report revealed that 78 per cent of the rural households were farmers. Of them, only 1.5 percent were familiar with modern agricultural practices like use equipment, chemical fertilisers andHYV seeds. It was suggested that modern methods of cultivation should be introduced whilethere should be public-private partnership to develop irrigation resources in such areas as thebulk of land under cultivation in the districts remained dependent on monsoons. This dependencealso led to forced migration as a part of the population living in these villages relocated every yearin search of work. The report revealed that despite the presence of companies and public sectorundertakings like the National Mining Development Corporation, which carried out mining andquarrying activity in tribals areas, the income generated did not go to the rural population. “Theper capita income of many districts seems to be high, but it may not necessarily reflect thesituation on the ground,” the report said. Giving an example the report said after subtracting theincome from mining and quarrying, the per capita income in Korba district dropped to nearly half,from Rs 33,763 to Rs 17,116, effectively bringing Korba down to fifth position from the firstposition on the per capita income list. The same was the case with Dantewara district where theper capita income drops from Rs 12,060 to Rs 9,133 per annum if income from mining andquarrying was removed. The first ever Human Development Report prepared by the state alsorevealed that the tribal districts of the state also witnessed an alarmingly high number of infantmortalities. While the state infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births was recorded at 73 in 2003,the scenario was grim in the tribal-dominated districts of Bastar (104), Korea (103), Rajnandgaon(112), Kabirdham (96) and Kanker (86). “The high infant mortality rate indicates poor healthservices and facilities which warrant immediate Government intervention in the health sector,” thereport concluded. (Indian Express 29/6/07)VHP looking, tribal facing cow slaughter charges shot by MP cops (6)BHOPAL, JULY 3: A tribal, accused of suppressing information about an incident of cowslaughter, was shot dead by a police constable in Jhabua district on Monday evening. Thirty-year-

old Ramesh Vasunia, a resident of Jhapda village, was returning home with his family memberswhen his bike was stopped by two constables, who were accompanied by VHP leader KamleshJain, at Piplipada Road. Vasunia’s explanation that he was returning home after purchasing somematerial for his farm did not cut ice with Jain and the constables, and an altercation ensued.Vasunia’s family members, who were present at the spot, said Vasunia was dragged away andshot following the exchange of words. Jhabua SP Umesh Joga told The Indian Express onTuesday that Jain and other VHP activists had insisted on the policemen accompanying them tofollow up a lead about cow slaughter. The constables initially refused saying there was no staff toman the chowky but gave in when the VHP men warned that they would complain to senior policeofficials that the police were hand in glove with those involved in cow slaughter. Joga confirmedthat neither cows nor beef was found in the area. Immediately after the shooting, the VHP leadersfled from the spot leaving the policemen to defend themselves in front of angry tribals who soongathered in large numbers. The situation took a turn for the worse when the tribals insisted thatthey would cremate the body inside the police chowky in keeping with a local custom. A murdervictim is cremated in the hut of the person accused of killing him. The tribals accused the police ofmurder in cold blood and demanded that the two constables be punished immediately. DistrictCollector Rajkumar Pathak said the administration had a tough time convincing the angry tribalsto hold the cremation elsewhere. He said a magisterial inquiry had been ordered and the culpritswould be penalised after the inquiry committee submitted its report. Joga claimed that the victimhad a criminal record and four cases had been registered against him. Jhabua Congress chiefKalavati Bhuria alleged that Vasunia was shot dead because VHP leaders instigated thepolicemen to do so. “Where are the cows and where is the beef?” she asked, demanding thatJain, who is absconding, be arrested immediately. Bhuria said the police had failed to register anFIR even 24 hours after the incident. She added that the police forced the victim’s family to agreefor a hasty post mortem in order to suppress facts. (Indian Express 4/7/07)Tribal groups caught in armed conflicts (6)NEW DELHI: More and more indigenous groups and tribal peoples in mainland India are findingthemselves caught in armed conflicts between Maoists and various State governments since2004 following the formation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). A report on the ‘State ofIndia’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples 2007,’ brought out by the Asian Indigenous and TribalPeople’s Network — an alliance of indigenous and tribal people organisations that seeks topromote and protect these groups — has pointed out that while the adivasis or the indigenousgroups do not share the dreams of the Maoists of establishing a proletariat state in India, thenaxalites speak the language to which the indigenous peoples’ plight can be related to. “Thenaxalite movement is neither an adivasi movement nor is it led by them, but the indigenousgroups do form the majority of the cadres of the naxalites,” the report points out while adding thatsince June 2006, the Chhattisgarh Government has directly involved the adivasi civilians in theconflict with the Naxalites through the anti-naxalite Salwa Judum — the so-called peacecampaign. At present, 21 of the 28 States are affected by armed conflicts. Apart from Jammu andKashmir, the seven northeastern States are facing armed conflict over the demand for autonomyand 13 other States, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka,Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand andWest Bengal, are witnessing the naxalite ideological war, according to the report. With theexception of Jammu and Kashmir, conflicts in all other States or areas involve indigenous people.(The Hindu 8/7/07)Tribal’s death: Cops seek to blame victim (6)BHOPAL I JULY 7: In a travesty of justice, the police are busy looking for the criminal records of atribal who was shot dead in Jhabua after being accused of suppressing information about anincident of cow slaughter, which never took place. Ramesh Basunia, 30, was shot dead inPiplipada village on July 2 when he was on his way home in Zayda village. Four days after theincident, the police have registered only a case under Section 304 of culpable homicide againstan unknown police constable. Jhabua SP Umesh Joga said the police had followed guidelinesissued by NHRC by recording the post mortem and by instituting an inquiry by a senior officerfrom another district. Trouble began when VHP activists led by Kamlesh Jain forced constables

Ratan and Dhirendra from Antarvelia police chowky to accompany them to a place they saidcows had either been slaughtered or being taken for slaughter. Jain threatened even theconstables that he would complain against them if they failed to accompany him. According to thepolice, the victim had a criminal background and even those accompanying him on July 2 wereinvolved in some crime or the other. The police are trying to make a case that since Ramesh hada criminal background he got scared on seeing the constables and attacked them in desperation.In his FIR, Ramesh’s brother Teetu, however, said the police tried to give a chase and fired in theair. Ramesh who was standing on an elevated stretch of road was hit and died on the spot.Meanwhile, MPCC chief Subhash Yadav met the Governor and the CM on Saturday anddemanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. (Indian Express 8/7/07)Sangh is ill-treating adivasis: Congress (6)Bhopal, July 8: The Madhya Pradesh Congress on Saturday reiterated its old charge that theRSS and its subsidiaries like the VHP and the Sewa Bharti were calling the shots in tribaldominatedJhabua district and subjecting poor adivasis to considerable torture. MPCC presidentSubhash Yadav told newspersons after a visiting the district that those opposed to the Sangh’sedicts risked being decimated. The recent incident involving the killing of an adivasi of Raydavillage, Ramesh Basuniya, was an eye-opener on the goings-on at Jhabua. On July 2 Rameshand his wife were cornered by cops of the Meghnagar PS, with the former pummelled to death onthe basis of a "false" oral complaint by two VHP activists that he was carting beef. Three bulletswere fired. It was only after the anger of locals was aroused that the police registered a caseagainst unknown assassins. The post-mortem was conducted at 11 pm against all norms, and thebody delivered to his kin at 9 am the next day. What was reprehensible, said Mr Yadav, was thatthe police fired tear gas shells at the crowds during his funeral procession. "Both the collector andthe SP seemed openly biased." Such was the Sangh’s clout. The Congress, he said, would file aprivate complaint in case Ramesh’s killers were not immediately arrested. The matter would alsobe raised in the state Assembly during its coming Monsoon Session beginning on the 18th ofJuly. Mr Yadav also accused the state administration of complete inaction against the continuedinjustices meted out to the Christian community in MP. There have been 81 attacks on Christianrunschools and places of worship by militant Hindu outfits since the BJP came to power. Noefforts, however, were made to initiate action against thewrong doers anywhere. The BJPgovernment was not even making a pretence of justice, said the MPCC chief. (Asian Age 9/7/07)Gujarat pre-poll games: Cong tells tribals to claim forest land rights, Act will follow (6)NEW DELHI, JULY 9: Months before Assembly elections are slated to be held in Gujarat, theCongress has started distributing application forms among the state’s tribals, exhorting them toclaim their right on forest land. The party is expanding its reach among the tribals in anticipationthat the draft rules to implement the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, will be finalised and enforced shortly by the UPAgovernment. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs sought public comment on the draft rules last month.According to sources in the Congress, the government will consider public suggestions and bringthe rules into force some time next month. Elections are likely to be held in Gujarat towards theend of this year. The Congress has launched the exercise to get tribals to claim their rights (overland, minor forest produce, etc) as provided in the said Act. For instance, in Sabarkantha district,30,000 application forms drafted by the party have been sent to tribal families so far. “About13,000 families have already filled up the forms and sent them to our office. In these forms, theyhave given details of the land they cultivate and live on and on which they have rights,”Sabarkantha MP Madhusudan Mistry told The Indian Express on phone. “Once the exercise iscomplete, we will send the forms to the state government for action.” Scheduled Tribes play adecisive role in electing one-fourth of the 182-member state Assembly. Of the total, 26 seats arereserved for STs. Tribals and OBCs together dominate 21 other seats, said a Congress source.Of the 25 revenue districts, 11 are dominated by tribals, he said. Gujarat’s tribal areas areemerging as the busy arena for pre-poll political games between Chief Minister Narendra Modi’sgovernment and the Congress. “After Sonia Gandhi’s January rally at Devgadh Baria drew amassive response, Modi announced a package worth Rs 15,000 crore for tribals. But he has notexplained where the money will come from and how it will be spent,” said B K Hari Prasad, AICC

general secretary in charge of Gujarat. The Congress also launched a 13-day tribal “awakening”rally covering 10 districts, where the forest rights Act was the central theme. The party now plansto intensify its programmes from the next month to mobilise tribals around this theme. (IndianExpress 10/7/07)Moments of glory in life of tribals (6)KORAPUT: Dasi Nayak, a tribal head in his fifties from Rangabali Kumbha village near Koraputtown, is the happiest man these days. And why not. He would be God-king of Koraput onMonday. He would perform the rituals on the divine chariot of the three Lords at Sabara Srikhetrathat the King Purusottamdev does in Srikhetra of Puri by performing Cherapahanra , the holysweeping on the chariot on the occasion of car festival . Even for one day he is the king , DanaiNayak, his wife said with pride. Dasi, a landlord in his village, works as chief mason for quite along time . However since the time he took charge to perform the divine work on the chariot, hehas dedicated all his work in Jagannath temple premises for giving a divine touch to constructionwork , Dasi said. Now it was time for agriculture and a lot of work had to be done in his 50 acresof land back in the village . But it was a call from the divine and especially when the three Lordswere resting in the inner most house of the temple for the last fortnight, he had to be in thetemple. He had to visit the temple at least twice a day to offer prayer as no one else except himwas allowed to go in while the Lords were taking rest in the temple. This was one of the momentsof pride that has been offered to the tribals at Sabara Srikhetra . Starting from preparing the foodfor the Lords in the temple to offering the first fruits on the chariot , tribals are given top priority, headded. Tribals from Upper Kondapalli are a part of the temple and also perform rituals in thetemple on a regular basis , Krushna Chandra Panigrahy, secretary of the temple said . With thiskind of importance being offered to the tribals , devotees from far and wide get attracted to takepart in the car festival at Koraput every year. The heads of tribal villages around Koraput wouldbe honoured on the day at the chariot with scarf by the District Collector while their fellowvillagers continue dancing dressed in their traditional dress and costumes. With the wheels of thechariot rolling on the highway carrying the Lords, the event in the annual cycle of festivals andrituals on Monday will be unique, he added. (The Hindu 14/7/07)Workshop for tribals ends (6)BERHAMPUR: Over 300 tribals from R. Udaygiri block participated in a three-day workshop heldto sensitise them about their rights and steps for emancipation at Sialalati village under Cheligadapanchyat. Gender issues and processes for emancipation of women was a major point ofdiscussion at the workshop which concluded on Monday. (The Hindu 17/7/07)Tribal women take centre stage at Sabara Srikhetra (6)KORAPUT: With balloons in hands and large plastic flowers on their head, tribal women attendedthe car festival in thousands at Sabara Srikhetra, Koraput, on Monday. Clad in beautiful sarees,they accompanied their family men and children from far and wide from different parts of thedistrict . Rituals as per the tradition began from the early hours in the temple, while the divinechariot was made ready standing on the National Highway at a distance of at least 400 metersfrom the temple. The three Lords were taken out of the temple for Pahandi by 1 p.m.and werecarried by devotees. The Lords were swinging like dolls in the crowd while they were carriedcollectively by devotees to the chariot one by one. The journey to the chariot was filled with joyfuldance and music by the tribals. Various dance troupes from the district and outside reached thedistrict headquarters to exhibit their love for the Lords. Heavy rain too could not hamper theinterest in people from being a part of the celebration. Dasi Nayak, a tribal headman fromRangabali Kumbha, performed the divine sweeping, Cherapahanra, on the chariot. BalakrushnaSahu, district Collector and U.R. Rao, SP of Koraput, followed him all along tribal village headsand volunteers of the temple were felicitated on the chariot by the district Collector. Tribals fromUpper Kondapali village were the first to offer fruits and flowers before the Lords on the chariot.Sanjib Hota, Election Commissioner, C.T.M. Suguna, RDC, Southern Division, PyarimohanMahapatro, MP, and Arabindo Padhee , Director, Department of Agriculture were among the toplevel dignitaries arrived from the State capital to attend the celebration. While the chariot carryingthe three Lords reached Mousima temple by 5 p.m. after two-hour journey, the impression of the

festival was carried to numerous number of tiny villages in the district through flutes and whistlesthat the children had purchased from the fair. Similarly, the chariots of the three Lords weredrawn by devotees at Sunabeda and Damanjodi amidst heavy rain while the chariots would moveat Jeypore and Kotia on Tuesday. (The Hindu 17/7/07)Tribals' Rath Yatra at Sabar Srikshetra (6)Jeypore : The famous Rath Yatra at Koraput town known as Sabar Srikshetra, which is totallymanaged by Sabar tribals, was observed with great enthusiasm and religious fervour. The festivalhere has come to occupy the second important position after the Rath Yatra at Puri. The chariothere is built only by the Sabars, and the rituals, including the Chhera Panhara (the sacredsweeping of the chariot), are also managed by them. This year the sweeping of the chariot wasdone by Disari Nayak. The Pahandi Bije of Lord Jagannath was completed by 1 pm. There was acongregation of 40,000 devotees on the Grand Road to have a look at the Lord of theUniverse.The dignitaries, including the founder of Sabar Srikhetra and Rajya Sabha memberPyari Mohan Mohapatra, Jeypore MLA Rabi Narayan Nanda, Koraput MLA Tara PrasadBahinipati, State Election Commissioner Sanjeeb Hota, Agriculture Director Arvind Kumar Padhy,RDC (Southern) CTM Suguna, Koraput Collector Balakrishna Sahu dragged the chariot andencouraged the devotees. Koraput being a Maoist-infested area and always under the threat ofthe militants' attack, the police managed the festival with great care and caution without any lawand order situation. The temple and its tradition began way back in 1980 at the initiative of PyariMohan Mohapatra, who was then the Chief Administrator of the Dandakaranya Project. Hestarted the construction of the temple, which has now turned quite famous and carved a specialtourist destination in south Orissa in the name of Sabar Srikhetra. Mohapatra comes here everyyear on the occasion of the Rath Yatra. (Pioneer 20/7/07)MP can’t explain tribal death (6)Bhopal, July 24: The state government was put to considerable embarrassment in the stateAssembly on Tuesday following its abject failure to come up with a credible explanation behindthe circumstances which led to the killing of an innocent tribal (Ramesh Vasuniya), on July 2 atthe hands of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) men near Meghnagar, Jhabua district. The mattercame up for discussion after Congress MLA Satyadev Katare sought the Chair’s permission onthe admissibility of an adjournment motion on the subject. Citing the bare facts, he said, the victimand his wife were held up on the road by VHP men, while they were on their way to Jhaida villagefrom Meghnagar on a motorbike. Among the hoodlums was the VHP district chief, Kamlesh Jain,who demanded to see Ramesh’s licence. When he failed to produce it, he was first abused androughed up by the self-appointed guardians of the law, and then in unison with the police from theAtarwalia police station who made a timely appearance. When he tried running for his life,Ramesh was shot by the police and died instantly. To cover up, the victim was brought to thehospital and a hasty post-mortem conducted with the help of "cooperative" doctors. What’s worseis that when the victim’s wife sought to register an FIR, not only was her version not recorded,she was also forced to give her thumb impression on a blank piece of paper. Predictably enough,conspicuously missing in her complaint were the names of the VHP men as well as witnesses tothe killing, whose identities had been furnished by her. The police even tried compelling the localvillagers to organise a quick cremation. (Asian Age 25/7/07)Protest against hydel projects in Sikkim (6)NEW DELHI: Members of the Lepcha tribe of Sikkim are up in arms against the Centre’s proposalto build a series of mega hydro power projects in the Dzongu region that has been declared aprotected area and its indigenous people a primitive tribe. The youth of the tribe have cometogether under the banner of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) and have been on an indefinitefast or ‘satyagraha’ for the past 35 days demanding immediate scrapping of at least six of theseven proposed projects that, they feel, would “devastate the region from head to toe.” On theone hand, the Lepchas have been declared a primitive tribe by the State Government, and on theother, they are assisting capitalist companies to bulldoze, plunder and devastate in the name ofdevelopment of the land that had been protected for decades, according to Dawa Lepcha, ACTgeneral secretary, who is also on fast. The Union Environment and Forests Ministry had laid

down a condition while clearing the Teesta stage V project stating that “no projects in Sikkim shallbe considered for environment clearance until the Carrying Capacity of the Teesta basin iscompleted.” The study is yet to be completed but several projects have been granted clearance,the ACT points out. More than half of Dzongu, especially the upper region, is inside theKanchenjunga National Park (KNP) and the Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve. The dam site ofone of the projects is within a kilometre of the Park while 4,005 hectares of Biosphere Reserveare being offered to the company in the guise of catchment area, including portions of the corezone in the Park, Mr. Lepcha told The Hindu from the dharna site in Sikkim. The Hindu 25/7/07)Walk-out over killing of tribal in police firing (6)BHOPAL: The Congress and other opposition MLAs, barring those belonging to the BahujanSamaj Party, walked out of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday at the end of a debate onadmissibility of an adjournment motion over a recent incident in which a tribal man was killed inpolice firing in Jhabua district. Through the adjournment motion, moved by the Congress party’sSatyadev Katare and others, it was alleged that Ramesh Vasunia of Jhaida village in Jhabuadistrict was gunned down by policemen, who were accompanied by one Kamlesh Jain and hisfour accomplices. Ramesh was returning to his village from Meghnagar along with his wife onJuly 2. It was pointed out that Ramesh’s post-mortem was conducted hurriedly at night and thepolice cremated him the same night. Further, it was stated that the victim’s wife was forced tosign on an FIR allegedly fabricated by the police. The Hindu 25/7/07)OBCs reap fruit of growth, STs lag behind: Survey (6)New Delhi : If access to better healthcare and reaping fruits of development are the indication ofsocio-economic well-being, then the other backward classes (OBCs) have fared well in the pastdecade, but the system has failed to uplift tribals. Latest health statistics show that OBCs are fastcatching up with the upper castes in socio-economic indicators like children's immunisation,mothers' nutrition and decline in number of children each family. While the Scheduled Tribescontinue to lag behind in access to healthcare and nutrition.National Family Health Surveyconducted across the country during 2005-06 shows marked improvement in overall healthindicators of the OBCs. For instance, fertility rate (number of children each women) among OBCshas dropped from about three children each women in 1998-99 to 2.75 children in 2005, muchbetter in comparison to the SCs and the STs where each family has around three children. Therest of the population, which include upper castes, have brought down the family size to twochildren.Nutrition among OBC women has also bettered in the past decade. In 2005-06, 32 percent of OBC women were below the normal body-mass index (BMI) compared to 26 per centamong general population. Among the Scheduled Tribes, a staggering 46 per cent of womenreported low BMI during 2005-06, while that for the Scheduled Castes was 39.5 per cent.Contraceptive use among both the OBCs and the SCs reached 55 per cent while the nationalaverage is 61.8 per cent. In comparison, only 46 per cent of them used any from of moderncontraceptive as against 53.5 per cent in rest of the population. However, half of the tribalpopulation has access to contraceptives, while it was 39 per cent in 1998-99. Access to betterhealthcare is best indicated by trained medical help at the time of delivery. Almost half of OBCwomen were attended to by a doctor at the time of delivery during 2005-06 compared with 59.2per cent of rest of the population and 42.3 per cent of those belonging to the Scheduled Castes.Tribal women are most disadvantaged when it comes to healthcare during the crucial time withonly a third of them availing of trained medical help during delivery. Social and economicbackwardness were prime criteria for notifying a caste as backward, besides their educationalstatus. The health and family survey shows that OBC are more able to access healthcare facilityin comparison to SCs and STs. However, there are variations at the State level. In States wherepace of development is faster, OBC has reaped the fruits of growth. (Pioneer 25/7/07)Gujjars seek ST status (6)NEW DELHI: Gujjar leaders from across the country demanded Scheduled Tribe status for thecommunity in Rajasthan, severe punishment for those responsible for the killing of nearly 30community members during police firing in the State earlier this year, and establishment of aGujjar Regiment in the Indian Army at the Akhil Bharatiya Gujjar Sammelan held here.

Addressing the gathering, prominent Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla accused the RajasthanGovernment of not paying the promised compensation to those killed in police firing and ofignoring the community at large. He charged that on the other hand hundreds of Gujjarcommunity members were still being victimised as they have been wrongly implicated innumerous cases that were filed when the community was protesting. Mr Bainsla also sought theformation of a Gujjar Regiment in the Indian Army and said the community that is known for itsvalour has always remained patriotic towards the country. Member of Delhi Legislative AssemblyRamvir Singh Bidhuri, who was the chief guest at the conclave, said the community has nowdecided to convene a Gujjar rally at Ramlila Maidan here on October 31 to press for its demands.The rally would see participation of members from all over the country. And to mobilise supportfor the event, Gujjar Samman Raths would be flagged off for Delhi from Jammu and Hardwar onAugust 16. Gujjar leaders would travel to the interiors of all North Indian States in these raths andhold district and village level meetings. They would tell people how their rights are beingoverlooked by the Rajasthan Government, Mr. Bidhuri said. Stating that the community nowwants Scheduled Tribes status in Rajasthan, he urged senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders AtalBihari Vajpayee and Rajnath Singh to intervene in the matter. Regretting that the promisedcompensation of Rs. 5 lakh for the dead and Rs. 1 lakh for the seriously injured has not been paidby the Rajasthan Government, Mr. Bidhuri warned the State Government of serious repercussionif the interest of the community were ignored.(The Hindu 3/8/07)Tribals bring out handwritten newspaper (6)Ranchi : Rural people, particularly tribals, have got handwritten newspaper as a medium to airtheir grievances and take their voice to the right people. Handwritten newspapers are published insome parts of Latehar district of Jharkhand, 120 km from Ranchi. Latehar is one of the mostbackward districts of the State, where Maoists also run parallel to Government. Gyan VigyanSamitee (GVS), a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) of Jharkhand, took the initiative toencourage people to bring out these newspapers. "The idea is to highlight the problems of thePanchayats and villages of the district. Through these newspapers we try to create awarenessamong the people and teach them about the Government programmes," said Pramod Dubey,secretary of GVS of Latehar district. He said, "Villagers contribute in content and help us inwriting news. Before scripting the news we verify the facts and only then the news are written".The newspaper is brought out on cardboard and written with sketch pen. It is a weeklynewspaper. People in different Panchayats decide the name of the newspaper. "We have formedclusters and one cluster constitutes five Panchayats. At present, three clusters are bringing outnewspapers with different names," said Dubey. In one cluster it is known as Deewar Akhbar, inanother two clusters it is known as Tori Times and Samay Chakra. The first newspaper waspublished on June 14 of this year. It was pasted on the walls of the village panchayat. Thesenewspapers highlight issues like road, electricity, Public Distribution System (PDS) in a particularvillage and panchayat. One newspaper also raised the issue of admission of children inNavodaya School. The newspaper alleged that children from outside the State were admitted inthe school whereas those from villages were denied admission. GVS is planning to bring outhandwritten newspapers at block level where Block Development Officer (BDO) looks after thedevelopment works and sanction development fund. "For block level newspapers we will selectnews from cluster newspapers which needs to be highlighted at block levels," said Dubey. So farthe response is good among the people. "We have got our voice in the form of handwrittennewspapers. We raise the basic issues that are overlooked by major newspapers. No newspaperreaches our village. Radio is the only medium of information," said Ganesh Baitha, a resident ofChakla Panchayat of Latehar district. Ramatahal Manjhi of Allaudia Panchayat said, " we areactively participating in bringing out the newspaper. We love to work as village reporters". GVSsometimes faces hostility from people who dislike the concept. "We are compared with Maoist.People say that we bring out pamphlets during the day and Maoists do the same thing duringnight. But we are trying to associate people and make it newspapers of local people," saidanother member of GVS. (Pioneer 6/8/07)

The making of India’s first potential tribal university (6)BHUBANESWAR: Five thousand tribal children, a sprawling campus, free food, housing andeducation —formal and vocational — and a hi-tech deemed University next door. This is India’sfirst tribal University in the making, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) to be precise, avision realised in Bhubaneswar, a dream nurtured by philanthropist Achyutananda Samanta.Plucked out of the neglected, inaccessible and remote tribal backyard of Orissa, the boys andgirls are part of a project launched with only 100 children on April 1, 1993. A sister concern of theKalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), KISS is a working dream that trained the tribalchildren to be self-reliant, resourceful and empowered to tackle the challenges of life. For thevisiting media team from Bangalore, KISS was an education in looking beyond urban-centricdevelopment. From the well-stocked library, hostel and computer centre to a medical facility thatinsured every child, KISS is also a home away from home. The institute ensures that the childrenhave enough exposure to their tribal culture, heritage and tradition. Music, meditation andmentoring merged with sports, picnics and festivals to round off an invigorating mix of learningand fun. For the once deprived tribal children, the road from KG to PG is meticulously laid. TheKISS curriculum takes them up from primary to higher secondary, Plus Two to Bachelor ofBusiness Administration and beyond, to post-graduation. If ITI diploma courses are for averagestudents, high school pass outs can opt for driving, TV repairing, mobile phone repair or tailoringVaried careers. The KISS Polyvalent Vocational Training Centre ensures they could even findtheir place in food preservation or canning. From poultry, sheep and goat rearing to pisciculture,dairy farm and agriculture, livelihood projects await them too. For Dr. Samanta, the man behind itall, their happy faces are proof of a dream realised. “After 60 years of Independence, the tribalpeople were still living in forests. It was my dream to change that in a small way. Today, there arechildren here from most of the 52 tribes of Orissa, including 13 primitive tribes. This year, weadded 700 more tribal children to reach the strength of 5,000,” he informed. Dr. Samanta’s faith intheir abilities was fully reinforced when every KISS student who took the State Board examinationpassed. Ninety per cent cleared the Plus Two examinations, a performance far ahead of the Stateaverage of 59 per cent. “Even the dropout rate is zero. Every summer vacation they go home,and everyone returns.”…….. (The Hindu 8/8/07)“ST workers have lowest average years of schooling” (6)NEW DELHI: Low level of education and poor access to land denies workers access to ``goodjobs” in the organised sector. Those with poorest access to education and land are confinedmostly to casual/manual labour with socio-religious identity adding to their vulnerability, accordingto the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector. The Commission in areport on “Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector,” saysamong the workers in the unorganised sector, the Scheduled Tribes have the lowest averageyears of schooling at 2.8 years, followed by Muslims Other Backward Classes (OBCs) at 3.8years, Hindu Scheduled Castes at 4.1 years and Hindu OBCs. The upper caste Hindu workers at8.4 years, fared the best, The ST and SC people are predominantly represented in wage labour,the Muslims are overwhelmingly concentrated in self-employment. The report has also found thatwomen workers, especially those with lower social and educational status, faced inherentdisadvantages and systematic discrimination in the labour market. Women in the unorganisedsector have poor earnings and poor working conditions. About 54 per cent of the regular workersamong women are domestic workers. The other segment of disadvantaged workers dealt with inthe report are migrant, child and bonded labourers. About 8-10 per cent of the total workers areseasonal migrants, who are poor and take recourse to migration as a strategy for survival. Thelimited social networks of these migrants further increase their vulnerability in the labour market.The incidence of child labour has been on the decline in the country. However, a largeperspective of considering all out-of-the-school children brings out the continuing nature of childdeprivation. On the issue of bonded labour, the report says that since the problem is defined bythe definition of bonded labour adopted, there was no credible estimate of the magnitude ofbonded labour yet available. Yet, the Commission views the problem as huge in view of theoverwhelming empirical evidence arising from a number of studies and surveys. Agriculturalworkers who are largely in the unorganised sector are an extremely impoverished and vulnerablegroup. Within this group, agricultural labourers are worse off than farmers as they are

characterised by extreme poverty levels. Farmers are slightly better off than the labourers as theyhave some capital base in land. But marginal and small cultivators have very little resource andalso have to supplement their incomes through wage labour. Their income levels are below theirconsumption level which leads to high indebtedness among them. The problems of farmers arecompounded by the slow down in the agriculture sector. Farmer needs credit to meet bothconsumption needs as well as for production purposes. Increased indebtedness is noted as areason for a spurt in farmers’ suicides during recent times across a number of States in thereport. (The Hindu 12/8/07)Khasi group wants Govt to follow SC order on tribal status (6)Shillong, August 14 : The Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) has dubbed theCongress-led state Government’s decision to ignore the Supreme Court judgment of strippingchildren born of non-tribal fathers and tribal mothers of their Scheduled Tribe (ST) status as“hasty”. The FKJGP said the Cabinet’s decision was unacceptable as the state Government didnot get it clarified from the Supreme Court. It felt such a decision, unless endorsed by the apexcourt, would amount to contempt of court. In February, 2007, a two-judge bench comprisingJustices H K Sema and A R Lakshmanan ruled that children of a tribal mother and a non-tribalfather cannot enjoy ST status (Ajan Kumar Vs Union of India and others). However, ChiefMinister DD Lapang said that after consultation between the Law Department and the AdvocateGeneral, the state Government came to the conclusion that the Supreme Court judgment was notapplicable in Meghalaya. He said the case of matrilineal society was clearly distinguishable fromthat of patriarchal society, where the children derive their identities from their father. Lapang saidthe Supreme Court judgment was in respect to a person whose father was a non-tribal andmother a tribal in Madhya Pradesh. FKJGP, however, said that the organisation fully supportedthe Supreme Court ruling, saying it was a “protective shield against the menace of intermarriage”.It pointed out that the ruling would deter non-tribals from taking advantage of intermarriagefor business and economic purposes. (Indian Express 15/8/07)Supreme Court pulls up EC (6)NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has pulled up the Election Commission for increasing the seatsof the Scheduled Tribes in the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly from two to three in violation ofthe provisions of Article 332 (3) of the Constitution (reservation of seats for SC/STs in StateAssemblies). “The mandate of the Constitution is supreme and the Election Commission has noscope to go beyond the Constitution,” said a Bench of Justice A.K. Mathur and JusticeMarkandey Katju. The Bench said: “It should be made clear that the mandate of Article 332 (3) ofthe Constitution should always be kept in mind. Article 332 (3) mandates that the reservationmust be made in proportion to the population of the SCs and STs of the State. This should be theparamount consideration of the Election Commission and not any other consideration.” In theinstant case, Anand Singh Kunwar and others filed a writ petition in the Uttarakhand High Courtchallenging the Commission’s notification increasing the ST seats from two to three. It wasargued that three per cent of 70 seats worked out to 2.1 and instead of fixing the ST seats to two,the Commission increased it to three seats. The petition was transferred to the apex court at theinstance of the Union of India. In its counter, the Commission said that the order of delimitationdated November 5, 2000 was passed by the Election Commission keeping in view the specialrequirements of the development of tribal areas, particularly in the areas adjoining theinternational border with the two neighbouring countries and the aspirations of the local people tobe part of the mainstream process. There was a strong demand for the increase forrepresentation of tribals from the associate members and from the public. The Commission saidthat it had rectified the mistake and in the delimitation order dated December 28, 2006, only twoseats had been reserved for STs. Disposing of the petition, the Bench said: “Though now theissue is purely academic because the Election Commission having realised its mistake hasreduced the number of seats of STs from three to two and the notification to this effect hasalready been issued, in order to justify the order dated November 5, 2001, the ElectionCommission has made certain observations which need not be repeated again.” It said: “Now thatthe 2007 elections have already taken place, we are not disturbing the elections on this groundbut in future STs’ vacancy should be treated as two only. We hope and trust that when any

notification is issued, the Election Commission shall confine itself to the mandate of the provisionsof the Constitution and will not be swayed by any other consideration.” (The Hindu 15/8/07)AHADS project uplifts tribal people (6)THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Eco Restoration Project that began in Attappady in Palakkaddistrict in 1996 has helped rejuvenate quite a large number of dried-up water sources of theregion, thereby improving the livelihood status of the tribal people domiciled there, according to arecent study of the project’s impact done by the State Government. Enthused by the success, theGovernment has now decided to continue the initiatives under the project till 2010. In thebeginning, the focus of the project was solely on eco-restoration measures such as forest and soilconservation in the barren hills of the region. The Attappady Hill Area Development Society(AHADS), which coordinated the project, had also encouraged the tribal people to take up simpleventures such as processing pulses and other products gathered by them from the forests forbeing marketed in the nearby towns. Subsequently AHADS also concentrated on social activitiesamong the tribal people, trying to wean them away from alcohol and the hold of ganja cultivatorswho exploited their labour. Houses are also being built for the tribal families now. According toproject director V.K. Unniyal, the benefits of various initiatives under the project have alreadyreached the families of 122 of the 187 tribal hamlets in the region. The Government has nowdecided to extend the activities under the project to the remaining hamlets also. The Hindu16/8/07)Tribal land rights: Modi demands Central nod (6)MEHSANA: Asking the UPA Government to allow Gujarat to allot land to tribals by GandhiJayanti, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday warned that any further delay on the longpendingissue would not be tolerated. “Gujarat is the only state which has allowed tribals tocultivate forest land and has given land rights to them,” he said at the Independence Day functionat the Police Parade Ground at Mehsana. “The proposal of issuing land rights to 4,000 tribals hasbeen pending with the Central Government for the last three years. If no decision is taken in thisregard by October 2, the Gujarat Government will provide land rights to them and break the law,”Modi said, adding that he was “prepared to face the legal consequences”. Attacking theOpposition Congress for “creating hurdles” in the economic progress of the state, Modi expressedconcern over “pseudo-secularism” which, according to him, was damaging the social fabric of thecountry. “It is dangerous to promote religion-based reservation and conversion. Equal importanceshould be given to all religions,” he demanded, highlighting the need to enforce a common civilcode. For the past few years, the official functions to mark the Independence and Republic Dayare being held in different district headquarters. (Indian Express 16/8/07)Tribal youth gets justice at last (6)CUTTACK: In a historic judgment, the Orissa High Court on Monday awarded a compensation ofRs. 8 lakh to a tribal boy who was illegally detained in jail for more than eight years. Pratap Naikof Boudh district languished in jail till January 2003 though he was cleared of murder charge inOctober 1994. A lower court employee, committed the goof-up, failing to place the acquittal orderof the High Court before the district court of Phulbani for eight years two months and 21 days.Terming the erring court staff a State government employee, the court observed that the Statecouldn’t escape its responsibility of paying the compensation. Senior lawyers said this was ahistoric ruling as never before a compensation of such a big amount was awarded in any PILcase. The lawyers also pointed out that this was a rare case where a lower court came in for flakin the High Court. The Bench of Chief Justice A. K. Ganguly and Justice Indrajit Mohanty askedthe Government to deposit the amount with the HC Registrar who in turn would put it in anationalised bank as a fixed deposit for 10 years. “During this period the victim would be allowedto withdraw 75 per cent of the monthly interest. He would be at liberty to withdraw the wholeamount after maturity,” the Bench said. Pratap was arrested in February 1989 when he was only14 years old. He was convicted by the district court in December the same year and wassentenced for life. By the time he was released after 13 years and ten months of confinement,including the illegal detention period, he became severely ill, suffering from acute mental disorder.Pratap did not seek any relief for the illegal detention of his own but a social activist Prabir Kumar

Development Commissioner, Revenue Secretary, Forest Secretary, RDC (Central) and RDC(Southern) attended the meeting. (Pioneer 21/8/07)Police 'rape' of tribal women rocks Andhra (6)Hyderabad: An alleged incident in which the members of the anti-Maoist Police forces abducting11 tribal women and gang-raping them in the remote forest area of Visakhapatnam has rockedthe State with angry activists of women's organisations coming out on the streets and holdingdemonstrations in Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Visakhapatnam and other major cities. After thewomen, accompanied by a local legislator, lodged a complaint with the local authorities onMonday, the officials sent the women to King George Hospital in Visakahapatnam for clinicaltests to gather medical evidence and to confirm their complaint. State Home Minister K JanaReddy has assured that stern action would be taken against anybody found guilty, but DirectorGeneral of Police MA Basit dismissed the allegations as an attempt to demoralise and discouragethe anti-Maoist force Greyhound from undertaking combing operations in the tribal areas. TheMember of Legislative Assembly from Paderu constituency L Raja Rao, who belongs to theBahujan Samaj Party, presented the women before the Paderu Sub Collector. He alleged thatthat the police took women from Vakapalli village of G Madugula Mandal to a remote place in theforest, saying they were suspected of having links with Maoists. The women told the SubCollector that after raping them, the policemen threatened them that if they revealed anythingthey would arrest them as Maoists. The women said that in all 21 policemen were involved in thisoutrage. The legislator has demanded removal of all the policemen involved in the incident and acompensation of Rs 10 lakh to each victim. Visakhapatnam rural SP Akun Sabharwal dismissedthe allegations as baseless and said that this was an attempt to tarnish the image of the police."When I sent Stalin, the DSP of Chintapalli to the village, no woman gave a statement to thiseffect," he said. The State Director General of Police, even while denying the allegations againstthe police, said that a case would be registered under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act anda senior officer of the rank of Additional SP would investigate the case. The incident has causedmuch tension in the tribal areas of Visakhapatnam where Maoists have been active despite policepressure. The issue also came up at the State Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The InformationMinister said that the Government was serious about the matter and it was waiting for the resultsof the clinical tests. "They have also sent the material for further examination at the AP ForensicSciences Laboratory in Hyderabad," he said. "The Government will certainly take action againstthose found guilty," he added. Pioneer 22/8/07)Jharkhand tribals' strike evokes mixed response (6)Ranchi: The dawn to dusk strike enforced by tribal organisations in Jharkhand on Tuesday inprotest against the recommendation of the Delimitation Commission of India (DCI) to reduce thenumber of reserved seats for tribals in the State Assembly and Lok Sabha evoked a mixresponse. Shops were closed, roads wore a deserted look, majority of schools and collegesremained closed and Government offices registered thin attendance. The strike enforcers hit thestreet in the morning and forced shopkeepers to close their establishments. At many placesATMs were also closed down by banks as a precautionary measure. The supporters of the strikeblocked National Highways and disrupted railway services in many parts of the State. Six tribalorganisations in the State have called the strike. The other organisations that supported the strikewere Jharkhand Janadhikar Manch, Praha Raja Association, Manjhi Parganaet Association,Dokol Sohor Mahasamittee, Adivasi Moolvasi Janadhikar Manch and others. The strike was alsosupported by the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). "Our party supported the strike as weare against the DCI recommendation," said Sudhir Mahto, Deputy ChiefMinister and JMM leader.Reacting on the issue Chief Minister Madhu Koda said, "DCI has just made a recommendationand the Central Government is yet to take a decision on the issue. We have conveyed thesentiments of the people to the Central Government".As per the recommendation of the DCI thetotal number of reserved tribal seats in the Assembly will be reduced to 21 from the current 28and the number of Lok Sabha seats from six to five. The DCI recommendation issue is gainingmomentum in the State. A strike on the issue was called in June but it was cancelled as the DCImembers had cancelled their visit to the State at the request of Chief Minister Madhu Koda.Pioneer 22/8/07)

of paper from us first as evidence, which is exactly what they have always denied." Forestdwellers are opposed to rules of the act which stipulate that the gram sabha will only be anrecommendatory body and will not have any powers over forest resources and other decisions.On this, former SC/ST commissioner and Bharat Jan Andolan leader B.D. Sharma said, "Thegovernment has to recognise the true democracy is when the gram sabha decides. Until the gramsabha is given its due powers, this act will be rendered a weapon against the people." Theconvention was also addressed by the All-India Kisan Sabha’s Noorul Huda; All-India AgriculturalWorkers Union general secretary Suneet Chopra; senior socialist leader Surendra Mohan and DrK.B. Saxena, former chief secretary of Bihar. All the speakers stressed the need to fight themoves by the government, not only in the rules or in the act, but on the ground in the face ofbrutal and illegal repression. (Asian Age 23/8/07)Forest Rights Act a 'non-starter': Digvijay (6)New Delhi: Tribals should get rights over forest produce not land, says former MP ChiefMinisterSenior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh dropped a bombshellwhen he disassociated himself from the controversial Forest Rights Act passed by the UPAGovernment last December. Singh told The Pioneer: "The Act was a non-starter." Making astatement that is bound to create ripples in party circles, he said that he was not a supporter ofthe Forest Rights Act. He added that he did not believe that tribals and forest dwellers should bedoled out forest land, as is envisaged by the Act. At the heart of this stand is the belief that theAct is inconsistent with tribal culture and that such a move will have a devastating impact onforests. Whether the tribals will benefit is also doubtful. Singh stressed, however, that he firmlybelieved that the forest dwellers and tribals had been deprived of their rights and must be madestakeholders in the forest. This should be done, Singh said, by giving them ownership rights overforest produce. By making them stakeholders, lay our only hope in conserving forests, he said.Giving rights over land was not the answer, but to ensure that the traditional peoples haveownership rights over forest produce so that their livelihoods are ensured and that they have astake in preserving the forest. The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 essentially transfers forestland to private ownership. The'beneficiaries' include all forest dwellers, giving title to those who were occupying forestlands forthree generations as on December 5, 2005. It also allows for development within forests andprotected areas and overrules The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and The Forest ConservationAct, 1980, two Acts which have played a pivotal role in conserving forests. The Act was passedamid much controversy and bitter opposition. Conservationists have argued that this was a'dangerous' Act since it would throw open miles of rich, pristine forestland to private ownership,thus destroying India's last remaining forests. It would also spell the death knell of the tiger andother wildlife. If the forests went, so would our river catchments areas, and our water security.The Act, it has been argued, was an ecological disaster. Whether it would actually benefit tribalswas also doubtful since it provides for a nuclear family unit, and may thus only serve to destroythe egalitarian nature of tribal society. The Act was, therefore, not in sync with tribal cultures. TheForest Rights Act has been seen as a political move to garner tribal votes and in fact during UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhi's visit to Devgadh Barai in Gujarat in January 2007 while addressingthe tribals, she had asked them to support the Congress on the strength of the Bill. Singhreiterated his belief that forest dwellers were stakeholders in the forest when he later took stageat a climate change event organised by a magazine on August 22, 2007. Addressing theaudience, he stressed on the urgent need to use cleaner technologies, cleaner fuels and said thatthe Kyoto Protocol "does not provide for the lungs of the forests, which are our carbon sink, as itdoes not still accept existing forests in accounting for carbon credits. "Do we want to wait for thenext Kyoto Protocol, or do we want to check deforestation now? Conserving eco-systems andforests was one significant mechanism to mitigate climate change, and forests, he argued, couldnot be seen in isolation with people. The 1927 Indian Forest Act took away the forest rights of thepeople, which needed to be restored. "Unless we attach livelihood of the tribals and the forestdwellers to forests, we cannot conserve forests." The rules of the Act have been drafted and nowawait to be tabled in Parliament. With a senior leader of the Congress expressing grave concernsover this controversial Act, what will be its fate? (Pioneer 24/8/07)

Tribal varsity Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha (6)NEW DELHI: The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Bill to set up a tribal university inMadhya Pradesh was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday by Union Human ResourceDevelopment Minister Arjun Singh. To be set up an estimated cost of Rs. 60 crore during theEleventh Five-Year Plan, the university will have its headquarters in Amarkantak and will be aCentral university. Though headquartered in Amarkantak, it will have a number of regionalcentres and campuses in the tribal areas, particularly in the Indian heartland. According to the‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ attached to the Bill, Amarkantak was chosen because therewas no Central university specifically catering to the population in the tribal concentrated areas ofMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthanand Gujarat. This is in contrast to the other area of high tribal concentration — the North-East .While the proposed university is aimed at facilitating and promoting avenues of higher educationand research facilities for the tribal population of the country, it will take in students from othersections of society also. Like all Central universities, it will be open to students from across thecountry and every reservation law in existence will be applicable. Besides providing access tohigher education to the tribals of Central India in particular, it will promote research in tribal art,culture, tradition, language, medicinal systems, customs, and forest-based economic activities.(The Hindu 24/8/07)Gujjars pledge to continue struggle (6)Jhalawar : A mammoth Gujjar Mahapanchayat here on Sunday pledged to continue its struggletill the community was accorded the status of Schedule Tribe, which it said, was a legitimatedemand. A huge pandal was set up in the local Ramlila Maidan, which was almost packed evenbefore the meet started around noon. The mahapanchayat in this area, which is the Assemblyconstituency of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Lok Sabha seat of her son Dushayant Singh,assumed a political significance, as it was organised by the expelled BJP MLA Prahlad Gunjal. Itwas virtually a show of strength by Gunjal, who first, was suspended for supporting the Gujjaragitation in June and subsequently was expelled from the party last week, for his defying theparty line on this issue. Sachin Pilot, the Congress MP from Rajasthan and Col Kirori SinghBhainsla, president of Gujjar Sangharash Samiti were the main speakers at the mahapanchayat,which was part of series of mahapanchayats, being organised to press for the demand. Pilot andBhainsla said that the demand of Gujjars for the inclusion of the community in the ST categorywas just and genuine and no force could stop the community from attaining this goal. Bhainslasaid the community would decide its future course of action on September 13 in themahapanchyat to be held at Dhaulpur. He said that the Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti, under whoseaegis the community has started its struggle, has submitted all the relevant records pertaining tothe community's claims before the high power committee, headed by Justice Jasraj Chopraappointed by the by the Government to look into the demand of Gujjars. He hoped that thecommittee would strongly recommend the case of Gujjars for their inclusion in the ST categoryand the State Government would forward these recommendations to the Centre. The term of thecommittee is ending on September12. Talking to newsmen, Gunjal said the Government and theruling party had put every possible hurdle in organising the mahapanchayat. The licences of 200trucks and buses, which were to transport the people to the venue, were issued at the lastmoment. The Government had made elaborate security arrangements. Though large contingentsof police were deployed here, they were kept at bay from the venue to avoid any directconfrontation with the delegates. (Pioneer 27/8/07)Tribals learn to live with disease (6)KASHIPUR (RAYAGADA DIST): Long indifference of government and administration towardstheir underdevelopment has made people of Kashipur block stoic towards pains of suffering anddeath. Faces of scores of tribal and dalits who are at the medical centers at Kashipur block eitheras gastro patients or attendants bear no mark of panic or pain. They are facing an epidemic yettheir eyes say they have become stubborn to such situations, which get repeated at regularintervals. Death does not seem to be a big deal for them. Tears are a rarity in the midst ofsuffering for these people. Acceptance of unchanging situation has made them immune to pains.At the Dongasil Primary Health Centre (PHC), a person who has already lost his son in recent

epidemic and has got his mother admitted, seemed to be least bothered about his own losses.Getting the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) nearby, he asked, "Can a small bridge be built ona mountain stream within three days which can make his village accessible to Dongasili".At theTikiri PHC Abhiram Majhi an attendant of a gastro patient admitted for the last four days wasmore excited about the good free meal packets and drinking water pouches they were gettingfrom the administration rather than the improving condition of his patient. For Govind Hial fromDikaral village, whose sister in law has almost recovered from the gastro infection, had acomplaint that doctors did not give any injection to his patient. For these ignorant tribal injectionsare the best remedies for any ailment. He hinted that due to nonavailabilty of doctors, quacksmake rounds of their inaccessible villages administering injections for any ailment for a goodprice. Most of them had a major worry, how to get back to their road less villages after patientsget cured as the patients and their attendants had been transported by vehicles of administrationto the medical centres. The scantily-clad, ill-fed children scampering around pigs and sanitationless tiny inaccessible hamlets are proof that despite the much claimed KBK project and publicizedactivities of NGOs in this area little has changed in this area in last two decades. The irony is thatalthough official records show Kashipur is the experimenting ground for NGOs no NGO activitycould be seen during the recent gastro epidemic although the administrative officials are workinground-the-clock for the past 10 days to check it……. (The Hindu 28/8/07)27 tribal groups dwindle in numbers (6)BHUBANESWAR: It may sound strange, but it’s true. When population growth remains a majorconcern in the country, population of as many as 27 tribal communities in Orissa has shownnegative growth rate. Population of 13 major tribes has gone down below 3,100. The stunningaspect of tribal population came to the light when Directorate of Census Operation (DCO) andSCs and STs Research Training Institute (SSRTI) released community-wise status based on the2001 census of these two backward classes here on Wednesday. Some of the prominent tribalcommunities whose population growth rate decreased included Desia Bhumij, Mankidi, Chenchu,Ghara, Baiga and Tharua, said ‘Status of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in Orissa(Community Wise): Census 2001’ here. According to the report, population growth rate of DesiaBhumij had gone down by 90.58 per cent while Mankidi tribes suffered 88.70 per cent declinecompared to the 1991 census. Similarly, the 13 tribes whose population was less than 3100included Chenchu (28), Mankidi (130), Desia Bhumij (177), Ghara (275), Thaurua (453), Baiga(539), Birhor (702) and Mankirdia (2803). Orissa has a sizable tribal population with 22.13 percent of its total population. The State houses 62 types of tribes, of which 13 are primitive. TheState has one of the richest diverse tribal populations in the country. The status report, however,said population of 10 tribal communities had shown positive growth rate in 2001 compared to theprevious census. Some of the communities have been identified as Kol (137.20 per cent),Parenga (116.43 per cent), Madia (109.66 per cent) and Kondadora (77.59 per cent). However,good news is that the tribal population has maintained a good sex ratio. Compared 972 of overallsex ratio of the State, the tribal population is having a healthy sex ratio of as high as 1003. Whenit comes to the rural area, the sex ratio goes up to 1006, but urban tribal population seems to betoeing the general trend with the sex ratio going down below 1,000. The analysis by SSRTI saidthe State’s tribal population is having more widows than widowers. (The Hindu 30/8/07)Encroachment on forest land to be verified (6)MUMBAI: The Adivasis’ struggle for land rights has received a boost after Maharashtra ForestMinister Babanrao Pachpute ordered that the survey of “encroached” forest land be completed inSakhri taluk of Dhule district. People there have been protesting against diversion of forest landfor wind energy projects. Kishore Dhamale of the Satyashodhak Grameen Kashtakari Sabha,who has been spearheading the forest communities’ struggle for land, told The Hindu that theMinister also stayed construction of wind towers on forest land. Ever s ince two large tracts offorest land were leased to Suzlon Energy Limited some time ago, the Adivasis have beenprotesting that their rights are ignored. In January, 127.94 hectares in the villages of Vitave,Vatve, Pangan, Panchmauli and Raikot was leased by the Forest Department. Another 212hectares has also been leased to the company for wind energy projects. The new ScheduledTribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act passed in December

2006 gives rights to those who had been cultivating forest land till December, 2005. The rules ofthe Act are yet to come into force but governments in the country have already issuednotifications changing the date of regularisation of “encroachments.” In Maharashtra, theRevenue and Forest departments issued a government resolution (GR) on April 23, 2007 sayingthe cut-off date was October 25, 1980. Various organisations protested this GR and last week thegovernment agreed to withdraw it. In June, Suzlon, in a letter to the Deputy Conservator ofForests, Dhule, said that in the event that some of the land falling within the leased tract is legallyallotted to the Adivasis for cultivation, both wind mills on the leased land and the Adivasis could“coexist.” The Activists have taken exception to such proposals, saying they must first be givenrights to the forest land. The Dhule Forest Department has acknowledged that the land leased tothe company does have “encroachment” in places. Earlier in May, the district administration, afteran agitation, did agree to set up local committees to verify the rights of the Adivasis on the leasedland. A process was set in motion on May 12 and in 1,600 cases enquiries were conducted, Mr.Dhamale said. However this exercise was stopped on May 22. Now the Minister has said theremaining cases of “encroachment” must be verified by September 11. There should be 300-450cases in which enquiry remained to be held, Mr. Dhamale said. While the new Act was passed toredress a historical injustice, the Maharashtra government, despite having so many laws andnotifications to give the Adivasis their rights over forest land, has chosen to favour companies,says Anand Teltumbde, writer and activist, who was part of a fact-finding team which recentlyvisited Dhule to examine repression of the protestors. The team, on behalf of the Committee forProtection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), also investigated lathi charge at Pangan andMograpada, 70 km from Dhule, where the police beat up villagers and arrested 18 persons. It wasat Mograpada that a huge pit was dug up for a wind tower, drawing resistance by the villagers.There have been repeated agitations for granting land rights to the Adivasis first before land isleased to companies. As a result, notices have been issued to Mr. Dhamale and two othersseeking their externment from the district. The CPDR report also said large scale deforestationwas taking place in the area. (The Hindu 2/9/07)People continue to suffer in tribal areas (6)Bhubaneswar : A whopping Rs 250 crore has been spent over a period of 20 years in the tribalsdominatedblock of Kashipur in Rayagada district. But nothing has been changed. Peoplecontinue to become victims of the wrath of the nature. The outbreak of cholera has not happenedthis year only which already claimed 178 lives in the tribal-dominated area of KBK so far. Asmany as 52 people alone from Kashipur block became victims of this killer disease. Earlier, it hadtaken away the lives of hundreds. The first cholera outbreak reportedly occurred in the recenthistory way back in 1987 in the Kashipur block. More than 200 people died of cholera at that time.They all died just because they were unable to get the proper food stuff and safe drinking water.All were the victims of adulterated foods and polluted water. The tragic incident at that timecompelled the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to made a whirlwind tour to Kashipur. His touropened the floodgate of financial assistance for the development of Kashipur and other backwardregions of the KBK areas. Later, the Centre gave an assistance of Rs 10 crore for thedevelopment of Kashipur. Under the International Far-mer's Development Fund, Rs 106 crorewas released for the overall development of Kashi-pur. A new scheme Orissa Tribal DevelopmentProject was initiated for this purpose. Official sources said, in 1995, Rs 12 crore was providedunder the special assistance scheme of the UNICEF. In 1998 watershed mission programme wasinitiated with the assistance from Germany in 1998. A programme was initiated under the bannerTDH with an assistance of Rs 15 crore. Under the much-hyped KBK and Biju KBK scheme, Rs 40crore has already been spent over the years. But noting has been changed. People have not yetget the minimum needs to fulfil their requirements. In the last five years, many programmes underPradhan Mantri Grama Sadak Yojana, National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme(NREGP), many works have been taken up. But it has not been able to change the lives of thepeople of Kashipur. Kashipur boasts of 1.35 lakh population. Out of it, 62.50 per cent belongs totribal and 19.94 per cent belongs to SC categories. The Kashipur block comprises 20 panchayatsand 498 villages. Out of the 1014 tubewells in the blocks 550 tubewells have been lying defunctover the last several years. This has compelled the tribals to fetch water from the nearby rivulets.The block has only one community health centre and five primary health centres. The sanctioned

strength of doctors for these hospitals is 12. But only two doctors are working in the areas on apermanent basis. Official sources said, the block officials have not been able to reach 70 per centof the remotest part of this block. Sources further said that most of the rice under several schemenever reaches to the beneficiaries but later it reaches to the rice-miller for the recycling purposes.Planning and Co-ordination Minister Padmanava Behera said, "Certain development has beenmade in the KBK areas. But more things have to be done particularly in the field of creating publicawareness." He further informed that Rs 1300 crore has already been spent for the overalldevelopment of KBK areas. Official sources claimed as most of the NGOs working in these areasstress on the welfare of their organisations, people continue to suffer. Similarly is the case of theGovernment officials working in KBK areas. Vigilance officials maintained that the officialsworking in KBK areas , try to siphoned off the money as much as they can from differentGovernment programmes implementing in the area. (Pioneer 4/9/07)Tribals attack forest officials (6)AHMEDABAD: At least 20 policemen and forest officials were said to be injured when about1,500 tribal people attacked a security party with bows and arrows near Umarpada in Suratdistrict in south Gujarat on Thursday. The forest staff along with the police went to Haripura andKajipura to evacuate the tribals cultivating forest land.The police claimed that the tribal people ofthe two villages had already been allocated alternative land near Ukai in lieu of forest land, butthey refused to shift. They insisted that they would cultivate the forest land they claimed to beholding for generations.Trouble had been brewing for the last few days and on Thursday whenthe forest department employees went to Umarpada the officials were attacked. (The Hindu7/9/07)DD Kashir accused of ignoring tribal languages (6)SRINAGAR: Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir have accused Doordarshan’s Kashir Channel ofignoring the State’s tribal languages, especially Gojri, in its programmes and described it as a“cultural aggression” against the community. “The Doordarshan channel for Jammu and Kashmir,DD Kashir, launched by the Government of India with the objective of countering Pakistani mediapropaganda from across the border, has failed to serve its purpose in the tribal language Gojrispoken by nomad Gujjars of the State,” said Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the TribalResearch and Cultural Foundation, an organisation working for the overall development of thetribes of India. “I call it cultural aggression against the Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir as thechannel does not telecast even a five-minute programme in Gojri, the language of about 25 percent of the State’s population, in its 24X7 telecasts and does not cover remote villages and tribalpopulation of the State in their own mother-tongue which is most affected by militancy. It,therefore, fails to counter the massive anti-India propaganda launched by Pakistan Televisionthrough its powerful transmitters in Gojri along the border,” said Dr. Rahi. This is the only regionalTV channel for which the Centre has allocated more than Rs. 299.87 crore for this year, he said,adding, “we are demanding a 10-minute Gojri news bulletin from Doordarshan Kendra Srinagarand Jammu.” Dr. Rahi said the local television networks of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,especially Muzaffarabad Television, have lately stepped up their propaganda programmes,especially news and current affairs programmes, in Gojri language to influence the Gujjars. “Thisneeds to be countered at the earliest so that they may not exploit and misguide the Gujjar tribalpopulation of the State in the name of region or religion,” Dr. Rahi said. He said threememorandums signed by Gojri writers were submitted to President Pratibha Patil, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister P.R. Dasmunsi and a strongprotest was lodged against the Channel, but in vain. (The Hindu 7/9/07)Tribals to rally for their rights (6)SURAT/BHARUCH: To raise the issue of farm land for tribals of Umarpada, Lok SangharshMorcha (LSM) will organise a rally in Rajpipla on September 17. Ambrish Rai, national presidentof LSM, announced the future movement for tribal rights here on Saturday. Along with the issueof land in Umarpada taluka, other tribal-related issues will also be raised at the rally.Simultaneously, Pratibha Shinde of LSM addressed media in Bharuch on Saturday to announcethe rally on September 17. "We will protest with the help of thousands of tribals to show

government that the action against tribals was unjustified," she said. On Saturday evening whenLSM leaders were addressing the issue of injustice to tribal oustees of Umarpada taluka, policeattack on few tribals on Khotrampura crossroads were reported. Amarnath Gupta of LSM said,"Police were beating up few tribals sitting near Khotrampura crossroads without any reason.Police personnel are from nearby police stations and hence the tribals have no option to evenlodge a complaint." Surat district superintendent of police BK Jha denied any such action by localpolice in Khotrampura village. "This issue was not between police and tribals. Tribal haveproblems with forest department so why would police attack tribals in such a delicate situation.Complaint has been lodged against 57 people and actions will be taken against them but we arecautious enough that any action by us should not create tension in the area," said Jha. Thesituation is likely to remain tense in the area as Van Bandhu Rath is set to take off fromKhotrampura on Sunday. (Times of India 9/9/07)Shah gets Forest for smooth implementation of Tribal Act (6)Bhopal : Forest officers in the State see a definite reason behind Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan's decision to place both the Forest and Tribal Welfare departments under the charge ofMinister Kunwar Vijay Shah. The controversial Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act would soon be implemented throughout the country and forestofficers feel that if the State Government ensures smooth implementation of the Act, it couldderive substantial political mileage in the next Assembly elections. The Act, known better as theTribal Act is being opposed tooth and nail by forest officers throughout the country. At theGovernment of India level, the Act was a cause of friction between the MoEF and the TribalAffairs Ministry, which piloted it. However, by placing the charge of both the Forest and TribalWelfare ministries in the State with the same Minister, the Government aims to attempt a smoothimplementation of the Act. The Act with its seemingly populist agenda could be a vote grabberand the Government would not like to miss the opportunity. Although the Act has been framed bythe Union Government, smooth implementation would earn the State Government brownie pointswith the beneficiaries. Conversely, hitches in the implementation of the Act could adversely affectthe chances of the ruling party in the State Government at the hustings. The Congress would notlet go of an opportunity to blame the State Government for tardy implementation. Forest andTribal Welfare Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah at a recently held meeting with forest officers made itvery clear that he aims at synergising operations between the two departments under his charge.The message at the meeting was clear; the cash rich Tribal Welfare ministry and thecomparatively well-staffed forest department could work together. Thanks to the politicoadministrativemove, Forest officers who had been opposing what the Act stood for may soonbecome its unwilling implementers. (Pioneer 10/9/07)‘Review Salwa Judum’s activities’ (6)HYDERABAD: Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said here on Sunday thatthe activities of Salwa Judum, which is fighting the CPI (Maoist) in Chhattisgarh, should bereviewed in the wake of migration of tribals to Andhra Pradesh. “Tribals in Chhattisgarh arecaught between the Salwa Judum and Maoists and are paying the price,” he said at a pressconference. “The Salwa Judum was formed as an outfit aimed at people’s participation. But theiractivities are something different for the past few months,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding that becauseof them, the Guthi Koya tribals were fleeing their hamlets and taking shelter in Warangal andKhammam districts of Andhra Pradesh. “People are running away from the Salwa Judum,” hesaid. The former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi, was also against the role of Salwa Judum,started by Congress leader Mahendra Karma to fight Maoists. On the landmine attack on theformer Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Janardhana Reddy, Mr. Ramesh said he still felt theactivities of Maoists had come down drastically in Andhra Pradesh. “But, the situation hasdeteriorated in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and parts of Orissa.” (The Hindu 10/9/07)Nomadic tribes ignored by Sachar panel: Tribal body (6)SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 9 : In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the Tribal Researchand Cultural Foundation, an organisation working for the tribal and nomadic communities of India,has sought amendments in the Sachar Committee report. The foundation, in its letter, has stated

that the problems faced by the nomadic tribes be included in the report. “The Committee,constituted by the Prime Minister to assess the social, educational and economical status ofMuslims in India, has not addressed the concerns of nomadic Muslim tribes,” spokesman of thefoundation said. “The report mainly focuses on the issues of settled Muslims and ignores theMuslim nomadic tribes, the Gurjjars of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, who fallunder Scheduled Tribes,” the letter states. National Secretary of the foundation Javaid Rahi saidit is surprising that the 404-page report does not incorporate even the word “nomadic Muslims” or“Muslim tribes” in it. “The report has not addressed the concerns of tribal community. Issues likeright to vote, recognition of traditional judiciary system popular among Muslim tribes, politicalempowerment of Muslim STs, safeguarding their socio-economic rights and issue related to theirethnic, cultural and lingual identity have not been addressed,” Rahi said. (Indian Express 10/9/07)Karat writes to PM on delay in Forest Bill notification (6)New Delhi, September 12 : CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday sought the“urgent” intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in notifying the Scheduled Tribes andother Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill 2006. In a letter to the PrimeMinister, Karat said that the “delay is inexplicable” and requested Mammohan Singh to “urgentlyintervene on the issue to ensure that an important achievement of the UPA Government is notweakened or even subverted by the non-notification of the Act.” The Bill was passed in both theHouses of Parliament in December 2006. “The Committee for Drafting Rules was formed inMarch 2007 and submitted the Draft Rules in May 2007,” Karat said. “The rules were posted onthe website for public comments on June 19, 2007 and the last date decided by the Ministry wasJuly 31, 2007. It was expected that the rules would be finalised and the Act notified,” he said.Karat held the delay in notification responsible for the grim situation of tribal community in manyareas. “Forest officials, who have been responsible for denial of tribal rights, have takenadvantage of the situation and evicted the tribals from many areas. Land cultivated by tribals fordecades is being dug up for plantations by the Forest Department in some states in an obviousattempt to preempt the recognition of the tribal rights on that land. At the same time, there arereports of connivance between land mafia and officials to take illegal possession of land. This is amost untenable situation,” he said. (Indian Express 13/9/07)Quota for Rajasthan tribals in Govt. jobs (6)JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Cabinet has decided to provide 45 per cent reservation in subordinateGovernment services to the Scheduled Tribes people living in the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) area,comprising six districts in the State, and 5 per cent to those from the Scheduled Castes residingin the same area. The decision will benefit the tribals living in Dungarpur, Banswara, Sirohi,Udaipur, Pratapgarh and Chittaurgarh districts in the direct recruitment to Government services.Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who also holds the Finance portfolio, had said in her Budgetspeech that the reservation for tribals in direct recruitment would be extended to all subordinateservices except the State services. The State Cabinet has taken the decision in accordance withthe announcement. An official release stated here on Thursday the State Cabinet also approved25 per cent reservation to the Saharia tribals belonging to Kishanganj and Shahbad teshils ofBaran district. (The Hindu 14/9/07)Tribals reiterate demand for restoration of land to them (6)Keonjhar : Tribals reiterated their demands for jal, jami, jungle at a congregation recentlyorganised at Bhagamunda Haat by the local unit of Chhasi Mulia Sanghars Samiti. The JanAdhikar Sabha was attended by around 1,500 people, mostly tribals, from nearby villages inwhich leaders of Visthapan Virodhi Manch of Kalinga Nagar demanded for restoration of triballands acquired for setting up factories of Tata, Facor, Jindal and other establishments in Jajpurand Keonjhar districts. State convenor of JAS Chakradhar Haiburu, Rabindra Nath Jarika andother VVM leaders of Kalinga Nagar brought around 200 tribal people to the meeting from Jajpur.Bhimsen Munda, Dalit Adivasi Ekta Manch, Keonjhar, Jitrai Marandi, Sushil Saian, BhimsenChhatar, Ramchandra Tudu and local ZP member Mangal Murmu called on Adivasis to be unitedfor their birth right as bestowed upon by nature. Noteworthy is Chakradhar Alda was granted bailin last month by local court of Keonjhar Garh due to failure on the part of prosecuting agency.

Rabindra Nath Jarika,VVM leader, Sukinda did not attended in the meeting in spite of earlierannouncements as per information received. Leaf lets were distributed prior to the meeting.Harichandanpur police was totally ignorant about the meeting. Observers say this is second tribalcongregation in the district within a span of three months and first one attended by VVM leadersin the district. (Pioneer 17/9/07)Communal trouble brewing up in Kandhmal dist. (6)BERHAMPUR: A volatile tension is brewing between Kui tribals and Pana harijans in Kandhmaldistrict. The recent tension is because of the demand by a section of Pana harijans to beidentified as Kui tribals in official records as they speak Kui language and obey some tribal rituals.The Kandhmal district Kui Samaj Coordination Committee has vehemently opposed this attemptby Pana harijans. Secretary of this organisation, Lambodar Kanhar, says if the Governmentaccepted Pana harijans as tribals then it would lead to violent clashes between the twocommunities in Kandhamal district like what had happened in 1994. The recent tension hasstarted due to activities of an NGO named Phulbani Kui Jankalyan Sangh formed inBhubaneswar. The Kui tribals of Kandhamal district allege that members of the NGO are fromPana community. The NGO filed a case in the Orissa High Court demanding they be consideredas Kui tribals in official records as they have similar culture and tradition like Kui tribals. TheOrissa High Court in July this year directed the administration to investigate into the matter. Butas per the Kui leaders of Kandhmal district, the Pana harijans have started claiming themselvesas Kui tribals at villages in Kandhamal district, which is leading to tense situation in villages. Adelegation of Kui tribals of Kandhamal district held discussions with Revenue DivisionalCommissioner (RDC), southern range, Satyabrata Sahu over the issue on Wednesday.According to leaders of Kui organisations of Kandhamal district like Janmejaya Mallik, DullabhaPradhan, Subhas Kanhar the Kui tribals who are called Kandh in Oriya are the original inhabitantsof Kandhamal district. As per tribal legend, Pana community migrated to Kandhamal region fromGhumusar area when King of Ghumusar estate punished them for their criminal activity duringBritish era. The Kui leaders alleged that State Minister Padmanabh Behera was behind the recentattempt by Pana community for political gains. Meanwhile, Mr. Behera has also come out with adeclaration on September 1 claiming that he has no relationship with the NGO, Phulbani KuiJankalyan Sangh of Bhubaneswar, which is at crux of the issue. (The Hindu 22/9/07)Bid to dilute Forest Act: NGO (6)NEW DELHI: The Campaign for Survival and Dignity, a network of voluntary organisationsworking for forest dwellers, on Monday said the government was drafting rules that would renderimpossible implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forests Rights) Act, 2006. Addressing a press conference here to announce a‘court arrest’ programme on October 2 to demand notification of the Rules and the Act, activistsfrom across the country said thousands of families had been evicted from forest areas in thename of the Act even though the rules were yet to be notified. Eviction in Rajasthan was beingdone in the name of seizing forest land for biodiesel plantation; the Chhattisgarh government wasusing the ‘State-sponsored militia’ to “cleanse” the forest of people, and the armed police inOrissa continued their stand-off with villagers fighting eviction by Posco. The situation was worsein Jharkhand, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, where evictions had started but no compensationwas being given, the activists said. (The Hindu 25/9/07)Legal literacy drive for Rajasthan tribal areas launched (6)JAIPUR: A comprehensive legal literacy drive for tribal areas was launched at the historicHaldighati in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan over the weekend with a call to protect the rights ofthe tribal population and bring them to the mainstream of social, economic and educationaldevelopment. Union Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj, inaugurating the campaign, called upon thetribals to resolve small disputes through lok adalats or out-of-court settlement. “The tribal peoplehave a great tradition of forbearance. They should not waste their time and money in fightingprolonged legal battles,” he said. The Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority, which hassponsored the special campaign for tribals, has also provided a mobile van for spreadingawareness about legal rights in the remote tribal-dominated regions in southern Rajasthan. Mr.

Bharadwaj inaugurated a Legal Advice Centre at the Haldighati Museum on the occasion.Supreme Court Judges, Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice A.K. Mathur, said the knowledge ofConstitutional rights was essential for tribals as this would empower them to make intervention onbehalf of local communities to demand justice. Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice J. M. Panchalsaid the legal services would ensure speedy justice to poor sections of society. State LegalService Authority’s Member-Secretary H. R. Kuri said nearly 25-lakh cases had been disposed ofby holding 42,000 legal service camps across the State. (The Hindu 25/9/07)NCERT move to check low literacy levels among girls (6)NEW DELHI: Keen to tackle the high school dropout rate and low literacy levels among girls fromthe Scheduled Tribes, the National Council of Educational Research and Training is organising atraining programme for teachers to focus on empowerment of these girl children. The programmefor “Teacher Educators from Rural Areas on Action Research Related to Gender Issues withFocus on Upliftment of ST Girls” is being organised by the Department of Women’s Studies atNCERT to sensitise educationists on issues concerning education and status of girls from the STcategories. Thirty-two teacher educators of the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET)from the States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand are currentlyundergoing training in the Capital since September 5 that will continue till October 1. “For the pastthree years we have been organising training programmes focussing on girls from ScheduledCaste categories. This is the first time that the emphasis is on ST girls. The ST girls faceproblems like cultural alienation and language barrier. In a milieu like this, teachers have to serveas change agents,” said Mona Yadav, senior lecturer at the Department who is also theprogramme coordinator. These teacher educators who are involved in further training otherteachers, preparation of study material and planning out education policy in the district will alsopromote awareness on the schemes, programmes and incentives launched by the Governmentfor the benefit of ST girls. The teacher educators will also be trained on how to carry out research,analyse and interpret data. Apart from the internal faculty at NCERT, officials from the UnionMinistry of Tribal Affairs and resource persons from various national bodies have been roped infor the workshop.As a follow up measure, after the execution of their action plan in theirrespective work places in different districts, the participants will present their research findings ata five-day workshop in March next year. (The Hindu 25/9/07)Oct. 2 protest to fight for forest rights (6)New Delhi, Sept. 25: The Campaign for Survival and Dignity, a federation of tribal and forestdwellers’ organisations, said that the government is holding up the Forest Rights Act whileengaging in manipulation meant to sabotage the entire process, harming forests, wildlife andforest communities. To protest this across India, tens of thousands will court arrest on October 2in response to this violation of their historic and fundamental rights. This sabotage will not beallowed to pass unanswered, said forest dwellers. Speaking to the media, ShankerGopalkrishnan from Campaign for Survival and Dignity said, so far most of this information hasnot been made public by the government but documents seen by the campaign indicate that thegovernment is pushing for "critical wildlife habitats", a special provision under this Act, to bedeclared with such haste that any proper scientific investigation and decision-making will beimpossible. He said, "A relocation package consisting essentially of cash compensation will thenbe ‘provided’ to those being resettled from these habitats, allowing for large-scale corruption andleaving people stranded with no livelihood. Vested interests are pushing for this to be done beforethe Forest Rights Act is brought into force." This is exactly what environmentalists havecondemned time and again as a failed model of conservation, yet more than Rs 1,000 croreshave been allocated for this process for 2008. We suspect that accessing these enormous fundsis a key motivation for these moves. Meanwhile, the rules to the Act are being undermined tomake it easier for vested interests to misuse the Act, while genuine forest dwelling communitiesare denied their rights through various mechanisms, said Campaign for Survival and Dignity.(Asian Age 26/9/07)Govt rejects Panas' claim as ST in Kandhamal (6)

Bhubaneswar : The tribals of backward Kandhamal district have accused Collector GangadharSingh of discrimination against them. A leading tribal organisation has dubbed him as a 'stooge'of the Minister from the district. But keeping in mind the tribal votes, Singh was shifted from thedistrict on Monday. The ST & SC Development Department has issued a clarification over thecontentious issue, which has threatened a repetition of the 1994 agitation. Tribals are up in armsagainst the claim of the Kui language-speaking Panas to recognise them as tribals. Panas belongto the Scheduled Caste (SC) and they are now demanding inclusion of Kui-speakers as theScheduled Tribe (ST). Commissioner -cum- Secretary, ST & SC Development Department DrTaradatt has outright rejected the idea, saying, "It will not be permissible to include or specify allthe Kui language speakers as ST." The issue cropped up following a writ petition filed by thePhulbani Kui Janakalyan Sangh (PKJS) in the Orissa High Court pleading for correction of theRecords of Right (RORs) to show them as Kui (ST) in place of Pana (SC) as they are speakingthe Kui language. The High Court, while disposing of the petition, has asked the StateGovernment to look into the matter and make necessary correction of the RORs in accordancewith the Presidential Order 2002. The Presidential Order 2002 reads as follows: "In Entry 31, atthe end, insert Kondh, Kui, Buda Kondh, Bura Kondh, Desia Kondh, Dungria Kondh, Kutia Kondh,Kondh Gauda, Muli Kondh, Maula Kondh, Pengo Kondh, Raja Kondh and Raj Kondh." Before theamendment under reference, the Presidential Order 2002 specified "Kondh, Kond, Kandha,Manguli Kandha, Sitha Kandha" as ST for the State of Orissa. It is quite clear from thecommunities mentioned in the Entry 31 that there is no scope to read Pana as ST. Dr Taradatt'sclarification states, "It is a well-known fact that Kondh, Kond and Kandha tribes in Orissa speakKui language. There are other communities and castes including Pana /Pano who live in theirneighbourhood and speak the same language." In view of the High Court's order, the claim of anindividual to be noted in the ROR as a Kui tribe may be considered for correction of ROR only ifsuch claims are supported by authentic documents, field verification reports and proof to thesatisfaction of competent authority that their caste has been wrongly indicated in ROR as Pano,though in fact their caste is Kondh/Kond/Kandha/ Kui, reads the Govt order. Now it is quiteapparent that the State Govt is in no mood to oblige the Kui-speaking Panas to allow them as STin RORs. (Pioneer 26/9/07)Tribals vs wildlife: Govt to mark ‘inviolate areas’ in tiger reserves (6)NEW DELHI, September 26: There is a reason why the implementation of the controversial TribalAct has been held up. Before the government comes up with final rules to enforce the law, itwants to complete another mammoth exercise — preparing guidelines for declaring large tracts offorest land as “critical wildlife habitats”. This will restrict the area where the Tribal Act isapplicable. The Act recognises the rights of tribals over forest land they have been occupying forgenerations. The Bill was passed by the Parliament in December 2006 after sharp differencesbetween tribal activists and wildlife enthusiasts who believed that the Act would sound the deathknell for several wildlife species on the brink. To protect tigers, the government is planning todeclare an “inviolate area” of at least 800-1200 square kilometers in every tiger reserve. Each ofthese reserves may have 1000 sq km of buffer. An estimated Rs 10 lakh will be paid to each tribalfamily in this area for relocation. “This exercise is under the provision of the Act,” said RajeshGopal, director, Project Tiger. According to officials at the Ministry of Environment and Forests,this is on the basis of the Tiger Estimation exercise undertaken by the Wildlife Institute of India. Itis the “bare minimum area” for any forest to support even 60-70 tigers. Tribal activists disagree.“This is not scientific and is being done in haste. These boundaries are to be mapped in all thetiger reserves in 30 days. How can a site-specific process, meant to be based on real ecologicalsituation be completed within 30 days?” said Shankar Gopalakrishnan of the Campaign forSurvival and Dignity. Tribal activists plan a jail bharo andolan from October 2. (Indian Express27/9/07)Tribal girl raped in Patna (6)PATNA: Pushpa (name changed), a tribal girl, was raped by unidentified youths at Patna Junctionon Friday. Police said the 15-year-old tribal girl, along with her friend Priti (name changed) fromJharkhand, fled from the hostel of Prayas Bharti late on Thursday night to catch a train to herhome state. She was staying at the hostel for about two months and was desperate to meet her

parents. The girl arrived at Patna Junction to catch a train to her native place. But, she was takenfor a ride by some unidentified youths who promised to help her in the journey back to home.This, however, never happened and the girl was raped. Later, Pushpa narrated her tale of woesto a correspondent of an electronic channel. After this, police swung into action and a case ofrape against unidentified person was lodged with the Kotwali police station late on Fridayevening.(Times of India 29/9/07)Up to 6 husbands, superstitions: For ST status, Gurjjars list their primitive traits (6)New Delhi September 29: Did you know that Gurjjars get their children’s nappies engaged or thatthey sometimes marry children in the womb? Or that they worship the neem tree, don’t sell milkon special days dedicated to their deity Devnarayan and live up to the phrase “Dantli main myannahin, gurjjar main gyan nahin” (A sickle has no cover and a Gurjjar has no knowledge). Thesequaint rituals and common phrases have become part of crucial documentation by the communityto prove their tribal status. The otherwise reticent Gurjjar is now talking endlessly. AcrossRajasthan, they are discussing their degree of backwardness, chiding each other for “behavinglike a Gurjjar” and telling the world about their “absurd” habits. For the last three months, Gurjjarshave presented affidavits and made representation to the three-member committee headed byretired Justice Jasraj Chopra. In all of them, they have explained at length how backward theyare. The committee was set up after the May-June violence in the state. The state governmenthas asked the committee to examine the norms laid down for Gujjars in their current status in theOBC category and consider their representation for inclusion in the ST list. “Earlier the craze wasto move forward,” says Justice Chopra. “Now it is the opposite. Everybody wants to becomebackward and prove that they are primitive.” Affidavits filed before the committee have sectionsdedicated to social backwardness in which local phrases are highlighted to prove they aretraditionally dullards. The community is underlining polyandry, illogical belief in superstition andthe custom of child marriage. Women representatives have told the committee that their future iscontrolled by the Panchayat and that they have half-a-dozen husbands. “We have no choice. Toget what we want we have to highlight the negative aspects of our community,” says RamSwaroop, a school teacher in Sikar. In one representation, a Gurjjar told the committee how 30years ago his ancestor jumped into a well when a tehsildar came to ask him for some documents.“It shows how scared and isolated we are from the rest of the world,” argues Swaroop. So far,14,000 representations and 32,000 affidavits have been filed before the committee. JusticeChopra, sociologist Yogesh Atal (a member) and special secretary T Srinivasan have betweenthem surveyed 107 villages so far, mainly in Alwar and Ajmer. Their target is 300 villages acrossthe state. While the Gurjjars have given researched articles and documented writings to provetheir tribal origins, the Meenas have vociferously argued against the Gurjjars. The committee,which was to finish its work in three months, has now been given an extension. “We aresimultaneously taking the assistance of experts to analyse the documents we are being given.Also, all data is being computerised and we should be able to wind up by December 15,” saysChopra. …….. (Indian Express 30/9/07)GUJJAR AGITATIONPressure on Gujjars to postpone Dhaulpur meet (6)Jaipur : Efforts are on to persuade leaders of the Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti to postpone itsproposed Mahapanchayat on September 13 at Dhaulpur, which is expected to decide its futurecourse of action with regard to its demand for inclusion of the community in the ST category. TheHome Minister Gulab Chand Katraia on Thursday night held a meeting with the leaders of theSamiti and apprised them of the progress made by the three-member committee, headed byJustice Jasraj Chopra, appointed by the Government in June last to look into the case of Gujjarcommunity.Leaders of the Samiti said that if Chopra committee failed to submit its report withinthree months, the agitation of Gujjars would be revived. This was the main agenda of theMahapanchayat. (Pioneer 8/9/07)HC order on Gujjars a relief to Raje Govt (6)

Jaipur : An interim order of the Rajasthan High Court, directing the State Government not torecommend the inclusion of Gujjars in the list of Scheduled Tribes to the Central Government in ahurry, has come as a big relief. The court also directed the Collector of Dhaulpur not to allow anyrallies in the area. If some one seeks permission to hold a rally or Mahapanchayat, the Collectorshould decide as per the rules. In such a situation, the Collector would be responsible formaintaining law and order. If such a rally caused damage to Government property, the Collectorwould be accountable for the same. These two directives of the High Court came on Mondayduring the hearing on a petition filed by Lakham Singh and Srinaryan Kaimla before a singlebench comprising Justice Prem Shankar Asopa. The petitioners had challenged the appointmentof the Jasraj Chopra Committee to look into the demands of the Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti forlisting of the community as a Scheduled Tribe. The petitioners also sought that the GujjarMahapanchayat at Dhaulpur on September 13 not be allowed. The Government, after anagreement with the Gujjar Sangharash Samiti, had given three months time to the ChopraCommittee to submit its report. The three-month period is ending on September 12 but JusticeChopra sought an extension of three months. The Government had urged the Sanghrash Samitito wait for another three months but the Samiti disagreed and said it would decide its next courseof action at the proposed Mahapanchayat. (Pioneer 12/9/07)Gujjar Mahapanchayat to relaunch stir demanding ST status (6)Badi (Dhaulpur) : Rejecting the Government's decision to give more time to the three-memberhigh powered Chopra Committee, the Gujjar Mahapanchayat on Thursday announced plans tolaunch a non-violent agitation from October 2, to press their demand for inclusion of thecommunity in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Though the sober elements of Gujjar Sanghrash Samiti(GSS), spearheading the agitation to get the ST status, were in the mood to give some more timeto the Government and the Chopra Committee, the crowd, estimated about a lakh, refused tolisten to them. When GSS president Col Kirori Singh Bainsla said that there was no harm ingiving one more month to the committee to complete its work, the crowd loudly said no andBainsla and other leaders were virtually forced to announce the re-launch of the agitation fromOctober 2. Last night, the Government had extended the term of the Jasraj Chopra Committee,looking into the case of Gujjars. The Government said that the term of the committee was beingextended after consultations with GSS. But its leaders said that at no stage they agreed to givemore time to the committee, which was appointed on June 12 and was given three months timeto submit its report. Talking to mediapersons, Col Bainsla said that the Government has theprerogative to extend the term of the committee and GSS has nothing to do with it. But at thesame time GSS is free to reject the decision of the Government, which had promised that thecommittee would submit its report within the stipulated time. The GSS selected the day andvenue of Thursday's Mahapanchayat very carefully. The annual Babu Maharaj Mela, onThursday, was held near the temple. Thousands of people from the Gujjar community came toparticipate in the Mela, which is one of the major attraction in the area. People from the adjoiningareas started reaching here since Wednesday evening. Most of them spent their time in attendingthe Mahapachayat after performing the puja at the temple. The district administration had madeelaborate police arrangements. (Pioneer 14/9/07)Gujjars plan “jail bharo” from October 2 (6)JAIPUR: The Gujjar community’s ‘mahapanchayat’ in Dholpur district on Thursday refused tocondone the Rajasthan Government’s act of extending the term of the Justice Jasraj ChopraCommittee by another three months. The Committee was appointed to look into the Gujjars’demand for Scheduled Tribe status . The mahapanchayat, which went on for seven hours from10 a.m. amidst minor skirmishes and flare-ups amongst the jostling crowd, finally resolved tocommence a “jail bharo”(courting arrest) agitation from October 2, the Gandhi Jayanti day. A dayafter the deadline set by the community leaders for a positive response to their demand from theGovernment expired, the Gujjar leaders on the dais at Pabuji Ki Than, a religious place some 37km from Dholpur town in Bari tehsil, were visibly floundering but those assembled there fromseveral States — Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat andMaharashtra — were firm on not granting any more time to the State Government. (The Hindu14/9/07)

Meenas plan meets to counter Gujjar agitation (6)Jaipur : Ahead of the proposed Jail Bharo agitation by Gujjars for the inclusion of the communityin Schedule Tribe from October 2, Meenas, the dominant ST community in the State, would holda series of Meena Mahasammelans to oppose the demand of Gujjars. The Action Committee ofthe Rashtriya Janjatia Arkashan Bachao Samiti, had decided to have the first such meet atThanagazi in Alwar on September 30. This would be followed by Sammelans at Khatu Shayamjion October 7 and Karauli on October 14. According to Bhanwar Lal Meena, convener of theaction committee, the Gujjars are unnecessarily pressing for ST status for the community.Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons at Alwar on Sunday, Col Kirori Singh Bainsla, president ofthe Gujjar Sangharash Samiti (GSS) spearheading the agitation, said that at least five lakhGujjars across the State, would participate in the Jail Bharo agitation. The district levelcoordination committees have been formed to mobilise the support for the agitation, he said. ColBainsla said that the Justice Chopra Committee, looking into the demands of the Gujjars, is doingits work satisfactorily. He hoped that the committee would recommend ST status for Gujjars.Keeping in view of the Jail Bharo agitation, the Government has started identifying buildingswhere arrested agitators could be kept. This was necessary because of the limitedaccommodation available in different jails in the State. The total capacity of the jails in the State isabout 17,000 and currently about 14,000 prisoners are lodged in them. According to sources, theGovernment is persuading the GSS to keep its Jail Bharo agitation as symbolic one and not tocovert it into a mass agitation. (Pioneer 25/9/07)Five lakh Gujjars to court arrest on Oct 2 (6)Jaipur : Over five lakh Gujjars will court arrest in Rajasthan on Gandhi Jayanti Day over thecommunity's demand for SC status, the Gujjar Mahasabha announced here on Wenesday. TheMahasabha's core group led by two BJP rebel MLAs Atar Singh Bhadana and Prahalad Gunjalalso warned the Raje Government that if a recommendation letter with its Cabinet approval wasnot sent to the Centre by October 10, women and children of the community would also courtarrest from October 11, according to a spokesman. The group rejected a three-month extensionto the Justice Chopra committee on the Gujjars' status in Rajastan, alleging it was ridiculous togive it more time, the spokesman said. Retired Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsala, who was the mainsignatory of the Gujjar-Government accord of June 4 after an agitation on the issue, was notpresent at Wednesday's meeting, the spokesman said. (Pioneer 27/9/07)Modi hands over forest land rights to tribals (6)Ahmedabad : Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi challenged the UPA ruled Centre to takeaction against him for handing over ownership rights of forest lands to the tribals in defiance ofthe Central law. The Chief Minister used the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti day here on Tuesday toflag off his 'civil disobedience 'movement from the open air theatre in the heart of newAhmedabad with a token gesture of handing over ownership rights to 30 tribals selected fromdifferent talukas in the tribal belt. "The titles to the remaining 2,204 tribals would be dispatched totheir addresses," he announced at the function held under the aegis of the State ForestDepartment. The function was a sequel to the warning held out by the Chief Minister during theflag hoisting on Independence Day wherein he had said that if the Centre failed to give itsapproval by this date, he would go ahead by handing over the papers for the rights to forest landfor the remaining tribals. According to the Chief Minister, the Centre had failed to clear theproposals of the State Government for giving over land ownership rights to 3,355 tribals under the1980 Forest Act."All formalities of 2,204 applicants for ownership rights of 1,122 hectares offorest land stands cleared and yet the assent is not forthcoming," he added. The Chief Ministerheld the Centre responsible for neglecting them as well as hurting their sentiments as was visiblefrom the Ram setu episode. While attributing motives to the Government of deliberatelyneglecting the tribals, he said the Centre had failed to form rules for the implementation of therevised Forest Land Act adopted in 2005. Meanwhile, a new tribal district, Tapi with headquartersat Vyara and comprising five tribal tehsils carved out of rural areas of Surat district, came intobeing on Tuesday. The 26th district is the Chief Minister's Gandhi Jayanti gift to the State.(Pioneer 3/10/07)

Forest dwellers court arrest (6)New Delhi, Oct. 3: Hundreds of tribals and forest dwellers marched and courted arrest in variousparts of the country on Tuesday on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi to protest against thegovernment’s move to "sabotage" the Forest Rights Act. The protests will continue in the comingweeks. The central demands of the tribals and forest dwellers are: no more attacks on theirpeople, no more destruction of their homelands and no more sabotage of their rights. Theprotesters oppose the moves to "sabotage" the Forest Rights Act by undermining the rules andengaging in sabotage of rights through sham efforts at tiger conservation. The protesters alsocondemn the repeated moves of the government to use police forces and violence to seize theresources of tribals and forest dwellers, while sabotaging all laws that provide for democraticcontrol over forests and resources. On Tuesday, people joined protests across Rajasthan,Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and elsewhere to show theirprotest. Tens of thousands faced arrest and detention by the police. In the following weeks,protests will continue in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh andTamil Nadu. The groups made the following demands with the slogan: "Jangal ko azad karo (givefreedom to the forests)." They demanded that the government recognise all genuine forestdependent people and exclude contractors, traders, and exploiters and stop the militarisation andseizure of their lands. (Asian Age 4/10/07)Judges help create legal awareness among tribals (6)Koraput : A district-level Legal Awareness Camp was organised by the District Legal Aid ServicesAuthority, Jeypore, on Sunday in the premises of Educational Complex at Minarabali inBoipariguda block. The camp was inaugurated by Jeypore Special Vigilance Court MagistrateBhikari Charan Rout and presided over by Legal Aid Services Registrar and Secretary RL Panda."We have to create awareness among the people, particularly the tribals, regarding their legalrights and it is proposed to hold legal awareness camps at the grass-root level," said AdditionalDistrict Judge GC Panigrahi. Jeypore district Sub-Judge PK Panigrahi, the district AdditionalTehsildar and BDO of Boipariguda were among the others who addressed the camp. "We thankthe District Legal Aid authorities for taking the initiative to inform us about our legal rights andmaking us aware of the different laws. We are proud that the judges, whom we could have neverseen except in courts, came to our doorsteps. We, being tribals, fear the judicial department andpolice but we got an opportunity of interacting with them today," said a tribal woman. The campwas followed by a tribal folk dance that was performed by the students of the complex. Theprogramme ended with a vote of thanks by Swarnaprava Behera, the coordinator of the Institute.(Pioneer 4/10/07)Ownership ‘pattas’ for forest dwellers likely, says Minister (6)HYDERABAD: Tribal Welfare Minister D.S. Redya Naik said that the Government wasconsidering issuance of ownership ‘pattas’ to people, who had been tilling forest land for severaldecades once the Scheduled Tribes, Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act comes into force.“Ownership for close to five lakh acres of forest land can be given to tribals and non-tribals, whohave been cultivating the forest lands for years,” Mr. Redya Naik said at a press conference hereon Wednesday. The State Government is gearing up to bring legislation on the lines of theCentral Act so that the land could be given to eligible tribals and non-tribals, he observed. “Theearlier legislations prevented Government from issuing pattas to the tiller but the new Act will be aboon for the forest dwellers,” he said, adding that the Government was hopeful that the Statelegislation would be ready by the year-end. Mr. Redya Naik said that to tackle the land disputes inthe agency area, 18 vacancies of forest settlement officers would be filled shortly. There are 986reserved forest blocks in which 12.34 lakh hectares forest land is under dispute. A survey is on toidentify such lands and make efforts to settle the disputes, he remarked. Highlighting theachievements of the Remote and Interior Areas Development Department in the last three years,the Minister said Rs. 900 crore would be spent in the next two years to lay black-topped roads inthe remote areas. He said the RIAD covered 5,622 villages in 332 mandals in 18 districts of theState. The emphasis was on providing infrastructure facilities in the rural areas. Besides this,employment opportunities for the educated tribals, improvement in educational institutions,

edressal of land disputes, laying of roads in all villages, provision for safe drinking water andelectrification of the villages was the priority under RIAD. Principal Secretary, RIAD, A.K. Tigdi,was present. (The Hindu 4/10/07)Land for tribals: court restrains Gujarat (6)New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday restrained the Gujarat government from issuing new“pattas” or possession letters, vesting ownership rights over forest land in tribals. Those alreadygiven will be subject to further orders. A “Forest Bench,” comprising Chief Justice K.G.Balakrishnan and Justices Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia, passed the order after amicus curiaeHarish Salve (acting on a report published by The Hindu on October 3) filed an application thatownership rights over forest land were handed over to 30 tribals by Chief Minister Narendra Modion October 2. The Bench issued notice to the Gujarat government seeking its response to theapplication. Quoting the report, Mr. Salve said the Central Empowered Committee wrote to theState government in this regard. Possession letters were issued without the Centre’s permissionor clearance. The application said that similar documents in favour of 2,200 persons were to bedespatched soon and the total forest land involved was reported to be over 34,000 hectares. TheState government’s action would be in violation of the apex court orders. (The Hindu 6/10/07)Tribals campaign for protecting wildlife (6)Bhubaneswar: Here is a good news for the State Government and non-governmentalorganisations, which have been incessantly organising a number of awareness programmes toraise the level of consciousness among people on conserving forests and its ecosystem on theeve of Wildlife Week Celebrations, as the people living inside two sanctuaries in the State actuallymade a unique beginning this year. Hundreds of villagers residing inside the Sunabeda WildlifeSanctuary in Nuapada district and Badrama Wildlife Sanctuary in Sambalpur district celebratedNuakhai, one of the most important festivals of western Orissa, deep inside the forest and offeredspecial pujas to the wild animals. Nuakhai is one of the occasions when communities get togetherand celebrate the harvest in their respective houses and villages. “However, this time wecelebrated the festival inside the forest. We thought since we depend on forest resources for ourlivelihood and wildlife is an integral part of the forest, people should realise their roles inconservation efforts,” says secretary of Sunabeda Sangharsh Vahini, Duryodhan Majhi. Peoplefrom six gram panchayats such as Sunabeda, Soseng, Sialati, Kermeli, Bharuamunda, andChulabhat congregated at Kermeli to worship nature and symbolically observed Nuakhai,considering the forest and wildlife as their family members. The celebration of Nuakhai wasstarted in September and continued for one month across western Orissa. Similarly, villagersdepending on Badrama forest also assembled at Kureibahal village and participated in thecelebration. Elderly people talked about necessity of conserving forest and wildlife for future.About 30,000 people living in the sanctuaries depend on the forest resources. Earlier policieswere centered on the principle of shifting the people in the fringe areas of forests had alienatedpeople from conservation, said Tushar Das, a researcher working with an NGO Vasundhara.“The gesture on part of villagers is a good beginning. Integration of conservation models with thepopular festivals would go a long way in addressing conservation goals,” Mr. Das said. (TheHindu 6/10/07)Cancel pattas given to tribals: SC to Modi (6)NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 5: When gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi decided to throw thegauntlet at the Central Government, he probably did not know that it was the Supreme Court thathe was defying. In his “civil disobedience movement” on Gandhi Jayanti, Modi handed overownership rights of forest land to 30 tribals. He promised to dispatch documents to the remaining2,204 encroachers soon. On Friday, responding to an interim application filed by Amicus CuriaeHarish Salve, the Supreme Court directed the Gujarat Government to immediately cancel thepattas. They reminded the state that it would be a violation of Supreme Court orders until theGovernment notifies the Tribal Act passed by Parliament in December 2006. The application saidthat there is a procedure laid down for state governments to request regularisation of forest landby applying to the Ministry of Forests and Environment. States like Orissa and Chhatisgarh havefollowed it in the past. Regularisation of encroachments is the biggest reason for reduction in

forest cover, it said. The matter was brought to the attention of the court by the CentralEmpowered Committee (CEC), the Supreme-Court-appointed panel on forest-related issues. Aday after Modi’s public announcement, they had written a strongly-worded letter to the GujaratChief Secretary asking him to cancel all the pattas and file an Action Taken Report at the earliest.They had also written to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests to conduct an‘immediate inquiry” and issue “directions” to cancel these allotments. They had pointed out thatModi’s largesse violates the Supreme Court order of November 2001 that had granted stayagainst regularisation of the encroachments on forest land prior to October 1980. In addition, thesame writ petition had also stayed grants of land titles or regularisation of encroachments tillDecember 1993. “Both the above orders granting stay by the Supreme Court are still continuing.In view of this, grant of titles of forest land to any person will be in violation of the orders of theSC,” said the letter. On October 2, Modi claimed he had forwarded 3,355 applications of tribals forapproval under the 1980 Forest Act, but the Central Government failed to give its assent. In hisspeech, the CM went on to claim that Gujarat was the only state which had handed overownership rights of over 34,000 hectares of forest land to 45,000 families. The Act in question,recognises the rights of tribals over forest land which they have been occupying for generations.The Bill was passed by the Parliament in December 2006 after sharp differences between thetribal activists on the one side and wildlife enthusiasts on the other. Under pressure, the Centre isyet to notify the rules. (Indian Express 6/10/07)Tribal chiefs in Meghalaya to honour Al Gore (6)Shillong : The tribal chiefs in Meghalaya will honour five eminent Indians along with former USvice president Al Gore for their extraordinary work in promoting global peace, democracy andenvironment at the second People's Parliament convened on Saturday. While Al Gore has beenchosen as the recipient of the global award for his highly acclaimed environmental documentary'An Inconvenient Truth' that earned him three Academy Awards, the chiefs selected notedGandhian and peace-maker Nirmala Deshpande as one of the five prominent Indians for thenational award. The other four recipients are famed economist Arjun Sen Gupta, Major Ahluwalia,a war victim who has single-handedly built a top hospital for the disabled, E Sreedharan,Chairman and Managing Director, Delhi Metro, Lok Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi of TrinamulCongress from West Bengal and Bhushan Raina, editor, Business Economics. Besides the chiefsalso will honour 13 State achievers, including Dr Milton Sangma, advisor of the Garo Council ofNokma, renowned educationists and folk musician Helen Giri and Dr Balajied Sing Syiem, thechief of Khyrim. The awards which include a citation and traditional gifts, said Robert Kharshiing,chairman of the Rajya Sabha Grassroots Democracy Advisory Council. The second PeoplesParliament -- Dorbar Ri, as it is called by the Khasi tribe -- has been convened to demandprotection of the traditional grassroots institutions and preservation of ancient environmentalknowledge. "We are hosting the second People's Parliament at Mawphlang to draw the attentionof the global community to this sacred forest site, which has been protected and preserved by ourancestors for centuries," said NK Lyngdoh, the chief of the Mawphlang Elaka (traditional territory)."The sacred forest is the abode of the Ryngkew Basa (the forest spirit), which is a treasure troveof rare plants, medicinal herbs and orchids," he said. However, with the changing climate,degradation of environment and globalisation, the rich greeneries and biodiversity are facingthreat of extinction. "We need to protect and preserve them for the posterity," he said.Over3,00,000 people, including traditional chiefs representing the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo tribes areexpected to attend this unique people's conclave near an ancient sacred grove at Mawphlang,about 20 km from Shillong, Lyngdoh said. he chiefs will also observe two minutes silence inmemory of the Buddhists monks who died in the ongoing movement for democracy in Burma.The day coincides with the observance of the Global Day of Action for Free Burma.(Pioneer6/10/07)M.P. to give ‘pattas’ to tribals (6)BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has said that “pattas” (landownership rights) would be given to the tribals occupying forest land keeping December 13, 2005,as the cut-off date. The Central Government is framing rules for this purpose, he said, adding thatin case the rules are not finalised within a month, the Madhya Pradesh government would start

distributing pattas. Addressing a function organised as part of Janadesh-2007 SatyagrahaPadyatra organised by Ekta Parishad here over the weekend, the Chief Minister announced opensupport to any non-violent movement in the interest of the common people. The Chief Ministersaid influential persons illegally occupying forest land allotted to the tribals would be evicted andpossession of land would be given to the rightful owners. He said Janadesh was enhancingawareness and educating the poor about their rights. (The Hindu 7/10/07)Communal tension in Kandhamal (6)BERHAMPUR: Tension mounts up in Kandhamal district as Kui tribals are continuing their publicmeetings and awareness campaign among tribals against the Pana harijans of the district. ThreeKui tribal organisations of the district -- Nikhil Utkal Kui Samaj of G. Udaygiri, Kui Kula Samiti ofBaliguda and Kui Samaj Seva Samiti -- have joined hands to form Kandhmal Zilla Kui Samajcoordination committee. They are opposed to recent demand by a section of Pana harijans to beidentified as Kui tribals in official records as they speak Kui language and obey some tribal rituals.The recent tension started due to activities of an NGO named Phulbani Kui Jankalyan Sangh ofBhubaneswar which has approached Orissa high court with the demand that Panas ofKandhamal should be treated as tribals. The secretary of the coordination committee, LambodarKanhar, has alleged that State Minister Padmanabh Behera is behind the effort. According to Mr.Kanhar, the committee has already sent letters to the State Government demanding removal ofMr. Behera from the Cabinet as he is involved in fanning communal tension for political gains.Since last month the coordination committee of Kui tribals has held a series of meetings indifferent parts, where they have openly come out against Mr. Behera. (The Hindu 9/10/07)Social activists to meet Sonia (6)NEW DELHI: Led by Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy, a delegation of social activists willmeet United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on land-for-landless issue. In thisregard, they will remind her on Monday about the importance of land redistribution legislation aspledged for in the National Common Minimum Programme. Working on the premise that thecountry will not achieve a structural end to rural poverty without land reforms, includingredistributive measures, and security of tenure and ownership, the delegation will also submit adraft National Land Reform Policy prepared by the Ekta Parishad for the government’s perusal. Acopy of the draft policy has already been submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office. The meetingwith Ms. Gandhi takes place in the backdrop of a people’s march to Delhi that began fromGwalior on Gandhi Jayanti. Landless people and tribals from a dozen States are scheduled toreach the Capital by October 28 after walking 350 km to up the demand for land redistributionlegislation. The draft policy submitted to the PMO envisages a scenario where land reformsbecome central to public policy measures of all state governments. Some salient features of thepolicy suggested by the Ekta Parishad include reduced statutory ceilings on agricultural landholdings in the light of enhanced land productivity, particularly where assured irrigation isavailable; strict enforcement of ceiling laws by plugging all loopholes, including benamitransactions; and an end to exemptions on land given to religious, charitable, educational andindustrial organisations/units. Also, according to the social activists, government revenue landshould be allotted to the landless poor with highest priority to those belonging to the ScheduledCastes/Scheduled Tribes who constitute the largest number of landless agricultural labour; andwomen’s rights of inheritance to agricultural and homestead lands ensured. Besides, singlewoman-headed households and SCs/STs should be given “tree pattas” over non-cultivable andforest wastelands. (The Hindu 15/10/07)Kui tribals up in arms in Kandhamal district (6)BERHAMPUR: Despite promises from the Chief Minister and officials, Kui tribals of Kandhamaldistrict are continuing their agitation, seeking action against persons who instigated dalits of thedistrict to categorise them as tribals. On Sunday, the district Kui Samaj Coordination Committeeorganised a tribals’ meeting on the issue at Sarangada of Nuapada block. On Saturday, a similarmeeting was organised at Linepada of the Chakapada block. The meetings were part of a seriesbeing organised since last month to mobilise tribals throughout the district. The tribals met ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik on Friday in Bhubaneswar with a list of four demands. The Chief

Minister promised them to look into the demands and urged them to maintain peace. He alsoadded that no non-tribal would be identified as tribal in the district. But the tribal leadersdemanded the resignation of State Minister Padmanabh Behera, action against an NGO ofBhubaneswar, and action against MP R.K. Nayak. Recently, there was tension following apetition filed by an NGO of Bhubaneswar Phulbani Kui Jankalyan Sangh in the Orissa High Courtwith a plea to identify Pana dalits of Kandhanmal district as Kui tribals in the official records asthey speak Kui and perform some tribal rituals. The Kandhamal district Kui Samaj CoordinationCommittee alleged that Mr. Behera and Mr. Nayak were behind the attempt. Lambodar Kanhar,secretary of the committee, said that the attempt of vested interests would have led to violentclashes between the two communities in Kandhamal district like what happened in 1994. “So, wewant strict action against these persons,” he said. Recently, State Revenue Secretary G.V.Sharma and State Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Commissioner TaraDutt visited the district to bring the situation under control. They said that the there was no effortby any agency to declare Pana dalits of the district as tribals. (The Hindu 15/10/07)Tribal farmers in Andhra to get forest land (6)Hyderabad : Scheduled tribe farmers in Andhra Pradesh would be given about one millionhectares of forestland under a special law, State Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddyannounced today. The land will be distributed to the Schedule Tribe farmers under the ScheduledTribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Reorganisation of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.Reviewing the tribal welfare measures being taken up in the State with Special Secretary here,Reddy said the rules for this purpose are being formulated and forestland would be brought undercultivation in a phased manner as this process of conversion of land to cultivable takes time. Alarge number of tribal families were dependent on agriculture and land-based activities, he said,adding his Government had initiated various programmes for development of Schedule Tribefarmers like distribution of land. Of the total tribal population in Andhra Pradesh, 43.21 percentare cultivators, 43.72 per cent agricultural labourers and the remaining 13.07 per cent in differentoccupations. In the last three years, 30,262 acres of government land had been assigned to16,127 Schedule Tribe farmers in the state, Chief Minister said. The CM also said that hisGovernment was also committed to improving the lot of Schedule Castes, Backward Castes andother weaker sections by way of land distribution and development schemes so that they come atpar with the society. (Pioneer 15/10/07)Over 2.79 lakh tribal girls benefit from Govt scheme (6)Bhopal : More than 2.79 lakh tribal girls have benefited from the literacy scheme launched forpromoting education among tribal students. The State Government has spent nearly Rs 20.25crore for implementing the scheme. In accordance with the scheme, 2,10,633 girls of Class VIand 68,666 girls of Class IX and XI have been benefited. Besides, scholarship of Rs 500 to ClassVI girls , Rs 1,000 to Class IX girls, Rs 2,000 to Class XI girls are given under this scheme.During the last few years a lot girls were given scholarship under this scheme. As in the year2003-04, 45,000 girls of Class VIII were given scholarship of Rs 1 crore 95 lakh and 8 thousand.In the year 2004-05, 50,546 girls were provided with scholarship of Rs 2 crore 47 lakh and 93thousand. (Pioneer 17/10/07)Delay in notifying Forest Act annoying people: Raja (6)New Delhi : Urging the Centre to immediately notify the Forest Act, CPI leader D Raja onWednesday alleged it was being held up by some 'vested' interests for the last 10 months sinceits rules were drafted. "The continued failure of the Government to notify the Scheduled Tribesand Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 is a betrayal of thepeople," Raja, national Secretary of CPI said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Alleging that 'vested' interests have been trying to undermine the Act to the extent thatamendments were later made to weaken it, the Left leader said, "the delay in notifying it wascausing unrest among people facing repression and brutal violence in various parts of thecountry". (Pioneer 18/10/07)Cong poll plank hit as Law Ministry delays Tribal Act (6)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 18: The Union Law Ministry has put a dampener on the Congressparty’s plan to cash in on the Tribal Act that recognised Adivasis’ rights over forest land in theforthcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat. Official sources said though the draft rules toimplement the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of ForestRights) Act, 2006, had been sent to the Law Ministry over two weeks back, those concernedcontinued to sit over it despite repeated reminders from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Tribal AffairsMinister P R Kyndiah was learnt to have telephoned Law Minister HR Bhardwaj to expedite theprocess given the “political sensitivity” of the issue. The Law Ministry, however, expressedhelplessness as it was tied up with too many urgent matters, said sources. According to sources,the Law Ministry was likely to clear the rules early next week, but the final notification would takeat least ten days because it would have to be translated into Hindi. The notification would notviolate the model code of conduct in the state as the Act was for the entire country, arguedofficials. Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi tried to be one up on the Congress,giving pattas to 30 tribals on Gandhi Jayanti day. He promised to dispatch the documents to theremaining encroachers soon. The Supreme Court subsequently directed the State Government tocancel the pattas because they were illegal in the absence of the notification of the Act by theCentre. But, with his “brazen act” Modi had managed to snatch the initiative from the Congress,conceded Congressmen adding that the Centre’s delay in notifying the rules and the Act couldcreate confusion among illiterate tribals about the authorship of the Act that gave them ownershiprights over forestland. “By the time the Centre notifies the Act, we will not have enough time totranslate it into votes,” said a senior Congress leader from Gujarat. After the Act was passed inParliament last December, Congress leaders like Sabarkantha MP Madhusudan Mistry hadstarted distributing application forms among tribals in Gujarat to claim their right on forest land.The filled forms were obtained with the promise that once the Act was notified, tribals would getownership rights. The undue delay, which was exploited by Modi, has taken the sting out of theCongress campaign. Scheduled Tribes play a decisive role in electing one-fourth of the 182-member state Assembly. Of the total, 26 seats are reserved for STs. Tribals and OBCs togetherdominate 21 other seats, said a Congress source. Of the 25 revenue districts, 11 are dominatedby tribals. (Indian Express 19/10/07)Orchids a major source of income for tribals during Dussehra (6)Bhubaneswar : The Koraput valley, known for its dense forests and is also a haven to a numberof orchids are a major source of income for the tribals during the Dussehra celebrations. Thetribals venture into the forests during the wee hours in the morning to pluck the flowers in order todeck their goddesses in garlands made of them. The flowers, which are locally called Kunda,Bati, Manda, Maricha Mandar are used to prepare these beautiful garlands. The flowers areweaved onto creepers with a few leaves in order to make the garland more decorative. On beingasked the reason behind their interest in selling flowers, pat comes the reply, Jatara dekha andphool bika, which means "We want to see the festival, the goddess and serve her with flowerswhile earning some money to spend during the fest." Selling flowers and making garlands is a jobdone exclusively by the women-folk of the community. Hundreds of women with head-loads offlower trek miles to reach the palace town of Jeypore for selling them. The competition may beneck-to-neck, but they say it is the pleasure that drives them to the palace gate. The tribalcommunities from Bhumia, Paraja, Mali and Gouda are seen mostly on the jobs; selling theseflowers to a variety of customers ranging from devotees to shopkeepers, vehicle owners tocommercial complexes who decorate their premises during Dussehra. (Pioneer 23/10/07)Tribal Act rules to be notified next week (6)New Delhi, October 25: The UPA Government is set to notify rules to implement the ScheduledTribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 early nextweek. The Law Ministry, which had sent the draft rules to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs early thisweek, is learnt to have got a green signal from the latter. “We are in the process of translating therules in Hindi now. They are likely to be completed early next week,” said ministry sources. Thenotification was earlier being delayed under pressure from the wildlife lobby supported by asection of the Congress, who argued that giving pattas to tribals and other occupants of theforests before relocating them would have serious implication for national parks and sanctuaries.

Law Ministry officials, however, noted that there were provisions in the Act to notify “inviolate”areas for wildlife conservation. Ministry of Environment & Forests has to do it after consultationswith an expert committee. “Since the Act itself provides for Critical Wildlife Habitats, there was noneed to incorporate them in the rules. Wherever the Act is explicit, the rules remain silent,” saidofficials, adding that rules were “ready for notification” and the Congress leadership had to take acall now. Congress sources said Sonia Gandhi had given a go ahead to Minister for Tribal AffairsP R Kyndiah when he sought her opinion recently about notifying the rules. Tribal Affairs Ministryconcurred with the Ministry of Environment & Forests that tribals staying in national parks andsanctuaries should “not be touched” until steps for their relocation and rehabilitation were inplace. (Indian Express 26/10/07)NHRC worried for tribal workers (6)New Delhi, Oct. 23: The National Human Rights Commission has expressed deep concern at thedeath of tribals from Madhya Pradesh who worked as labourers in the quartz crushing factories inGodhra due to silicosis. The commission, taking cognisance of reports that about 200 tribals havedied in the quartz factories of Godhra and Balasinor in Gujarat due to silicosis, has sent notices tothe state governments of both Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, according to a release from theNHRC here on Tuesday. As per the news report, the tribals were exposed to silica dust and noprotection was given to them at their work place. The report said about 200 tribals have died inthe last four years and the labourers who returned to their villages in Jhabua, Madhya Pradeshand died of silicotuberculosis there were not getting any compensation. After going through thereport, the commission directed that the same be forwarded to the chief secretaries of Gujaratand Madhya Pradesh and also to the district collectors of Panchamahal and Jhabua for a factualreport within four weeks. (Asian Age 26/10/07)GUJJAR AGITATIONMeenas launch move against Gujjar stir (6)Jaipur : With the stage set for Jail Bharo agitation by Gujjars from October 2 to get ScheduledTribe status, Meenas, the largest ST community in the State, on Sunday launched a countermove to oppose the demands of Gujjars. A Meena Mahapanchayat was held under the banner ofJan Jati Arkshan Bachao Samiti at Naryani in Alwar on Sunday. The response to theMahapnachayat was considerably good. The speaker at the Mahapanchayat pledged that theywould not allow the Gujjars to be included in ST, as they did not deserve this status. AnotherMeena Conference is being organised by the Rajasthan Adivasi Parishad on Monday, whichwould be addressed by Union Minister of State for Environment Namoranyan Meena and someother prominent leaders of the community. Raghuvir Meena, a Congress MLA and president ofthe parishad (council), claimed that many BJP leaders of Meena community would also attend theconference. On Saturday, Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria raised the issue of giving STstatus to the Gujjars in the meeting of Rashtriya Ekta Parishad in Delhi. He said that since thisdemand was not being raised only in Rajasthan but in many other States, this should be includedin the agenda for the next meeting of the parishad. Meanwhile, the ruling BJP leaders are tryingto peruse leaders of the Gujjar Sangharash Samiti (GSS) to postpone its proposed Jail Bharoagitation as the Government was sincerely looking into their demands. Last evening State BJPpresident Mahesh Sharma had a long meeting with Col Kirori Singh Bainsala, president of GSS.Some other Gujjar leaders were also present in this meeting. But the Gujjar leaders refused tobudge from their stand and insisted that the agitation would continue till the State Governmentrecommended their case to the Centre. These efforts continued till late on Sunday evening butcould not yield much results. Meanwhile, elaborate police and administrative arrangements havebeen made to tackle the Gujjar agitation. The GSS has announced that in the first phase theywould court arrests at five division headquarters. At least five lakh people would participate in thisleg of the agitation. About 40 companies of police have been deployment in about 12 districts. Anumber of Magistrates have also been appointed in these districts. Since there is not muchaccommodation available in the State jails, the Government had notified some schools and otherGovernment buildings as jails, where arrested agitators would be kept. The Government hasrequisitioned a large number of State Roadways and private buses to transport the agitators to

the jails. But the private bus operators on Sunday resorted to a strike to oppose the requisition ofthe their buses for the purpose. (Pioneer 1/10/07)“Wrong policies behind caste unrest” (6)JAIPUR: Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot has expressed concern over the growingdiscord among caste groups in Rajasthan in the wake of the Gujjar community’s demand forScheduled Tribe status. He blamed the “wrong” policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ledgovernment in the State for the caste unrest. Speaking to newspersons here on the eve of theGujjar community’s “jail bharo” (fill the jails) agitation to be held in the five divisional headquartertowns of the State on Gandhi Jayanti, Mr. Gehlot said the “false promises” made by the BJP toGujjars during the Assembly elections had led to the present predicament in which the communitywas out on the streets. “Every community or group has a right under the Constitution to put forthits demand in a peaceful manner,” Mr. Gehlot said referring to the agitation. “However, thepresent tension is also due to the government trying to play up one community against the other,”he said referring the Gujjar-Meena stand-off on the ST status to the former. “I hope everyonewould keep it in mind that tomorrow is Gandhi Jayanti,” he observed. The State Government,grappling with the agitations had very little time to provide any governance here during the pasttwo years, Mr. Gehlot said. “The Chief Minister, busy handling protests and agitations anddissidence within her party, is left with no time to give any time for governance,” he charged.Referring to the recent changes in the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC), Mr.Gehlot said the appointments were not on the basis of caste. “PCC changes are a regularprocess and the leadership is not decided on caste lines,” he said. He hoped that the new Statepresident, C.P. Joshi, would bring together all sections of people. Volunteering to comment on thecharges from certain caste leaders that he was against the Jat community, Mr. Gehlot said henever practised caste politics. Dr. Joshi’s appointment had come, as a disappointment to asection of Jats as Harendra Mirdha, son of veteran Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha, too wasone of the contenders. (The Hindu 2/10/07)No more talks, Gurjjars set out to court arrest (6)JAIPUR, OCTOBER 1: Shouting slogans of “jail bharo”, thousands of Gurjjars across Rajasthanare marching towards their destinations where they will court arrest on Tuesday. With the JusticeChopra Committee, failing to submit its report within three months, Gurjjars announced that morethan two lakh members from the community would court arrests on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti.The committee was formed by the Raje Government to look into the Gurjjars’s demand for tribalstatus. “The mood is upbeat and our determination is strong. No one here is ready for talks. Weare all eager to get arrested and mark our protest. It does not matter how long we have to staybehind bars, we want reservation,” said Gurjjar leader Roop Singh. Meanwhile, Gurjjar leaderKirori Singh Bainsla refused to go to Jaipur for talks with the Rajasthan Government and will courtarrest at Rajsamand. Dausa MP Sachin Pilot is expected to court arrest in Jaipur. “We begin thismovement in Rajasthan but if we do not get reservation within the next four days, the movementwill spread to the rest of the country, as Gujjars from others states will also court arrests,” saidPilot. Members of the community will court arrests at Jaipur, Bharatpur, Kota, Rajsamand, andAjmer. As many as 259 make-shift jails have been constructed across the state and at certainplaces, temporary jails have been constructed on a playgrounds. The Chief Minister has directedher ministers and MLAs to monitor the arrangements made by the district and policedepartments, said sources. Police and administrative officials have been deployed in sensitiveareas of the state and Section 144 has been imposed in 18 districts of the state. Gurjjars courtingarrests would be treated like prisoners and they will be arrested under Section 151 of the IPC,added sources. “We have been asked to maintain a record of details, thumb impressions andphotographs of those arrested. The prisoners will not be allowed to carry any of their belongingsand will be given food served in jails. They will be allowed to meet visitors once in seven days,”said a senior administrator (Indian Express 2/10/07)Gujjars court arrest over quota (6)Jaipur, Oct. 2: Thousands of Gujjars demanding Scheduled Tribe status for their communitycourted arrest in Rajasthan on Tuesday. The Gujjars protested in several cities across Rajasthan

and offered themselves for arrest. Police sources said over 70,000 Gujjars come out to protest.Meanwhile, tribal leaders from all over India blamed politics for the movement. Shouting slogans,the Gujjars took out processions in Kota, Ajmer, Bharatpur, Rajsamand, Jaipur and Pali amidheavy security. "We came here to get ST status, our womenfolk will resume the agitation fromOctober 11," said Dr Vikram Singh, a Gujjar leader. Those who arrested included Congress MPSachin Pilot and rebel BJP MLAs Prahald Gunjal and Attar Singh Bhadana. "AT least 65,000people came to protest and half of them offered themselves for arrest. We are making lists. Weare making lists of those willing to stay in jail," said state home minister Gulabchand Kataria. Butthe Gujjar leaders quoted higher numbers of protesters. The government shifted Gujjars to 250temporary jails in the state. The police also hired a large number of vehicles to carry the arrestedGujjars. "No untoward incident has been reported so far," said Mr Kataria. "They should wait forthe Chopra Commission’s report, it is difficult to recommend Gujjars for ST status without thecommission’s report," the home minister said. (Asian Age 3/10/07)Gujjar stir losing steam as top leaders are in jail (6)Jaipur : The three-day-long Jail Bharo agitation by Gujjars on Thursday appeared to be slowlylosing its steam as only a few hundred came forward to court arrest on Thursday. The leaders ofGujjar Sangharash Samiti (GSS) had on Wednesday announced that it would gheraoGovernment officials at the tehsil headquarters in protest against the alleged maltreatment metedout to the arrested Gujjars. Reports reaching here suggest that only at a few places the agitatorsreached the Government offices and left after submitting a memorandum. Reports also said thatsome agitators tried to block the National Highway at Sikandara and Mahua in Dausa. Theypelted stones at passing buses. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje reviewed thesituation and said the agitation was loosing its steam. But at the same time she cautioned thedistrict administrations to remain alert. (Pioneer 5/10/07)Raje Govt. can’t handle Gujjar issue: CPI(M) (6)JAIPUR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has expressed concern over the internalsituation in Rajasthan in the wake of the Gujjar community’s agitation for classification as aScheduled Tribe. The BJP-led Government seemingly is not in a position to handle the situationeven when the issue itself was the party’s own creation, it said. “Communal and casteist forceshave created an unprecedented situation in Rajasthan in which the people are feeling insecure,”said Hannan Mollah, MP in charge of the party’s Rajasthan affairs, after a meeting of the CPI (M)State Committee here on Friday. “The BJP only instigated the Gujjars and now they are finding itdifficult to manage the situation. Some Congress leaders from the Gujjar community joining theissue has only aggravated the situation further,” he said. “The prevailing atmosphere in the Stateis such that even small personal quarrels can turn into a communal flare-up,” Mr. Mollah saidreferring to the recent violence in Shastri Nagar area of Jaipur. “This is due to the spread ofmutual distrust and lack of harmony. The atmosphere remains surcharged,” he noted. The StateCommittee also termed the Rajasthan Police Act, 2007, cleared by the State Assembly inSeptember, an anti-people law. Mr. Mollah said the Government had a corrupt image with eight tonine Ministers facing corruption charges. “A good number of MLAs are also found to be takingmoney for getting transfers of teachers and other State Government employees,” he charged(The Hindu 6/10/07)Gujjars damage tracks, disrupt railway traffic (6)Jaipur, Oct. 7: Agitating Gujjars on Sunday disrupted rail traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai route bydamaging tracks near Bayana under Bharatpur district. Senior police and railway officials rushedto the spot. The mob removed fish plates and damaged tracks, said a senior Railway Protectionofficer. According to railway sources, a mob of 2,000 Gujjars gathered near the Fatehsinghpurarailway station and removed fish plates. This resulted in the disruption of trains. "We are trying topush the crowds away to pave way for the restoration of rail tracks," says Mr M.C. Deshmukh, arailway police officer. The Gujjars also blocked roads in the area. (Asian Age 8/10/07)Tribal Act further delayed as panel set up to look into its impact on wildlife (6)

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 1: The discussion at the National Board of Wildlife meeting today,chaired by the Prime Minister, took barely five minutes but its decision is all set to further stall thenotification of the much-awaited Tribal Act passed by Parliament last December. The boarddecided to set up a sub-committee to look into the adverse impact of the Act on wildlife andsuggest ways to mitigate it. Earlier, the Ministry of Environment and Forests had begun work onanother mammoth exercise — preparing guidelines for declaring large tracts of forest land as“critical wildlife habitats”. Tribal activists have already been protesting, saying this will severelyrestrict the area where the Tribal Act is applicable. With an aim to protect tigers, the governmentwas mapping out “inviolate area” of at least 800-1200 square km in every tiger reserve. Each ofthese reserves may have 1000 sq km of buffer. An estimated Rs 10 lakh will be paid to each tribalfamily in this area for relocation. This Act is politically sensitive and has already ruffled the Leftwhich has written letters to the Prime Minister to intervene and hasten the implementation. (IndianExpress 2/11/07)Tribals protest against industry plans in Chhattisgarh (6)RAIPUR: More than 75,000 tribal people armed with bows and arrows took to the streets onMonday in mineral-rich state to protest over plans to encourage industrial development in theregion, police said. India has planned hundreds of special economic zones (SEZs) - tax-freeindustrial enclaves - to boost manufacturing and export growth and provide jobs. But the issue ofland acquisition has met stiff resistance from villagers. Monday's rally was called one of thebiggest protest marches of tribal villagers in Chhattisgarh state. "Indigenous tribals ... will bedriven out from their native lands if the blind industrialisation plan and other schemes of the stategovernment are carried out," tribal leader Manish Kunjam told protesters in Jagdalpur. India'slargest steel maker Tata Steel, as well as Essar Steel, both plan investments in the region. In theworst violence over attempts to compulsorily buy farmland for special economic zones, 14 peoplewere killed in March when police fired on protesters. The proposed chemicals project atNandigram in communist-run West Bengal was shelved and developers have now found analternative site. Villagers said they had not been properly compensated for their losses. (Times ofIndia 5/11/07)Brinda Karat’s plea to Manmohan (6)NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’sintervention to ensure that the will of Parliament is not subverted by delaying the notification ofthe Rules of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of ForestRights) Act, 2006. Referring to the government’s stance that the Rules would be notified after theMinistry of Environment and Forests identifies “the critical wildlife habitat,” Ms. Karat said thelinkage did not have any logic. While pointing out that the Ministry had written to Stategovernments to identify such habitats as mandated under the Section 2(b) of the Act, she saidthis was clearly illegal as “even though the Rules have not been identified, the Ministry hasstarted implementing one section of the Act.” As there are nearly 600 protected areas in thecountry, the exercise would take at least a year if the processes mandated by the Act werefollowed. But with the Ministry being under pressure to hasten the process, her fear was that theidentification process itself will not be in conformity with the Act and, “therefore will be illegal onthis core also.” Stating that Section 4.1 of the Act recognised and vested forest rights in forestdwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers on forest land, the CPI(M) PolitBureau member said the process of recognition and vesting of rights, including issue of pattas toforest dwellers, was not dependent on identification of critical wildlife habitats. Drawing the PrimeMinister’s attention to the fact that some States had decided to implement the Act and distributepattas to tribals, Ms. Karat said it would be “unfortunate if the very government which brought theAct in the first place should be seen to be weakening on the issue of tribal rights.” (The Hindu7/11/07)Raman Govt to settle tribals living in Salwa Judum camps (6)Raipur, November 8: The Chhattisgarh Government has decided to permanently settle about57,000 tribals living in 23 Salwa Judum camps. The Government is finalising a proposal topermanently relocate about 640 villages that have been vacated by tribals since the launch of

Salwa Judum. Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam said the Government was planning topermanently relocate these villages as the state police would not be able to provide them securityif they return to their native villages. “We have made all provisions for providing housing, food andother basic amenities in these camps where adequate security has also been deployed,” headded. He said about Rs 100 crore, from the Plan and non-Plan funds, was being spent annuallyfor running these 23 relief camps in Dantewara and Bijapur districts of South Bastar region in thestate.”The Government would seek additional funds from the Centre to improve conditions anddevelop proper infrastructure in these camps,” he added. According to top Government sources,the plan was initiated after Chief Minister Raman Singh gave his approval to the proposal todevelop these camps as permanent settlements. “It was felt that the Government should developthese camps as permanent settlements as it would be much easier for the police to providesecurity cover to the population residing here,” sources added. The Government step wasprompted after Naxalites attempted a reversal of Salwa Judum’s affects in the Bastar area byannouncing a pardon for tribal villagers who return to abandoned villages, a U-turn from theearlier Maoist diktat, which had called for punishing people who were residing in such camps.Police sources said posters and Maoist literature seized by Bacheli police in Bastar appeal topeople to break away from the Salwa Judum movement. “The literature states that tribals whoreturn to their abandoned villages from the Salwa Judum camps will be pardoned,” police sourcesadded. However, former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has charged that the Government’s step wouldrob the tribals of their culture and unique lifestyle. “The step to permanently settle the tribalpopulation in relief camps will end up destroying the social fabric of the Bastar region. The BJPGovernment is doing this to completely saffronise the tribal area of the state,” the former ChiefMinister said. (Indian Express 9/11/07)Tribals girdle up against bauxite mining (6)VISAKHAPATNAM: The protest against bauxite mining and alumina refinery in the district isgaining fresh momentum with tribals and the political parties undertaking padayatra , even as theAndhra Pradesh government is continuing with its land acquisition for both the projects.Abandoned for nearly two months, the protest got a shot in the arm with the Left parties beingstrongly in favour of supporting the tribals. The protesters will reach Makavanipalem in Rachapallimandal where the alumina refinery is set to come up on November 11. Tribals armed with bowsand arrows are taking out rallies against the projects, saying that the movement is necessitatedfollowing a lull for over two months. Stating that the Left parties will not rest till the governmentbacks out of the projects, CPI district secretary J V Satyanarayana Murthy told 'TOI' that they willcreate awareness among the tribals to thwart the designs of the developers of the projects."During the public meeting to be held at Makavanipalem, we will plan strategies to intensify ourmovement against the projects," he said. Charging the Telugu Desam Party with withdrawingsupport to the stir, he said: "The TDP move has rankled us as we were not consulted before ittook the decision." Senior TDP leader Ch Ayyanapatrudu, however, denied that the party hadwithdrawn support to the movement. "There is no question of withdrawing from the protestagainst bauxite mining. In fact, we will actively participate in the protest," he said. Sources saidthe Left parties are out to gain the sympathy of the tribals by championing the cause and byboosting the flagging morale of the people in the agency areas. Interestingly, bauxite mining andthe setting up of alumina refinery have thus far had remained separate issues with protesters.With the padayatra , the Left parties are trying to link the two issues, the sources said.Meanwhile, the revenue department officials are going ahead with the first phase of landacquisition for the construction of an aluminium smelter by Dubai-based Ras-al-Khaima inNarsipatnam. About 52 acres have been identified for this phase of acquisition, and notices havebeen served on 139 farmers who own the lands. The lands come under Tamaram andChinaboinapalem villages in Makavanipalem of Narsipatnam mandal . (Times of India 11/11/07)Tribals no strangers to female foeticide (6)NEW DELHI: Even as education and technology reach the far-off tribal belts of the country, thepractice of female foeticide is also fast making inroads there. Tribal youth are now going to citiesor making use of portable ultrasound machines that provide sex determination ‘services’ at anominal price. The practice of sex determination and female foeticide was alien to these

communities till recently. Now elders in tribal villages fear that urbanisation will hit tribal villagesas youngsters will fall prey to this “style” very soon, says a study conducted by the Pune-basedCentre for Youth Development and Activities (CYDA), with support from the United NationsPopulation Fund. This fear was expressed by villagers of Badi in Rajasthan, who said that as theeducational level went up among their youngsters they tended to adopt certain lifestyles followedby city dwellers. Quoting a social worker intervening in this area, the study says: “It is beingincreasingly felt that the issue of female foeticide is entering into the village settings dominated bytribals. Although in the programme area where we work there exist no ultrasound labs, our tribalyouth are seen indulging in sex selective practices by going to the cities.” There are alsoindications that in rural and tribal areas, where the sex determination technology is not locallyaccessible, people seek the help of quacks and dais (midwives) who prescribe herbs/medicinesclaiming that these will change the sex of the child. Quoting another social worker in the area, theCYDA study says, “People also use traditional herbs and other medicine to have a male child orto change the sex of the foetus from female to male.” India’s 10 best performing districts, wherethe ratio of girls is higher than boys, are mostly dominated by tribal communities, while the 10worst performing districts are in Punjab and Haryana. The best performing districts are SouthSikkim, Upper Siang and East Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh; Bastar and Dantewada inChhattisgarh; Pulwama, Kupwara and Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir; Senapati in Manipur andMokukchung in Nagaland. The access to information, means and technology, and the impact ofthe pro-sex determination perspective of the urban educated economically well-off sections haveinfluenced some migrant populations of rural India also, a chunk of which are tribal. Technologyinroads into semi-urban/rural areas have resulted in an increasing number of people there goingin for sex selection. In Maharashtra’s Akluj gram panchayat, a well developed semi-urban areawith a population of 40,000, many unqualified people are using portable machines and travellingto interior villages to offer sex determination services on the doorstep for a nominal fee.According to a Tamil Nadu organisation, Rural Rehabilitation Centre, access to technology hasled certain communities such as the Kallars in Madurai district, who were traditionally practisingfemale infanticide, to gradually shift to sex determination tests and sex-selective abortions. (TheHindu 11/11/07)Recommend ST status for Gujjars, Rajasthan Govt. told (6)NEW DELHI: The chief patron of the All-India Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti, Delhi MLA Ramvir SinghBidhuri, on Saturday described the Rajasthan Government’s decision to concede five of the sixdemands put forth at the November 3 Gujjar rally in Ramlila Grounds here as a “major victory forthe community”. In a statement here, Mr. Bidhuri claimed that the show of strength and unity putup by the community and its leaders during the massive rally in Delhi were the primary reasonwhy the BJP Government in Rajasthan had yielded their demands. Mr. Bidhuri said five of themajor demands conceded by the Government include payment of Rs.5 lakh each to the familiesof the 30 people who had died during the Gujjar agitation; a government job for one person fromthe family of each of those killed; compensation between Rs.10,000 to Rs.1 lakh to those injuredin the agitation and footing of their treatment expenses by the Vasundra Raje ScindiaGovernment; withdrawal of cases against the Gujjar leaders and their community membersregistered during and after the agitation; and a judicial inquiry to look into the police firing that leftaround two dozen people dead. The Rajasthan Government, he said, had informed the Gujjarleaders that on the demand for Scheduled Tribe status to the Gujjar leaders the one-mancommittee headed by Justice Jasraj Chopra was doing its job and the report was expected ontime. However, Mr. Bidhuri warned the Rajasthan Government that it should send therecommendation for granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Gujjars to the Union Governmentbefore December 15. Failing this, he said, the community would be forced to launch a nation-wideagitation once again. He hoped that the State Government would avoid any further confrontationon the issue and send its recommendation before the deadline. (The Hindu 11/11/07)“74 p.c. Gujjar kids engaged in child labour” (6)Jammu: As the country celebrated Children’s Day on Wednesday, an independent survey pointedout that 74 per cent of a Himalayan tribe between the ages of 7 to 15 were engaged in physicallabour and were being exploited because of limited sources of family income. Lack of human

esources hindered them from securing proper education and health facilities at an early age. Thesurvey was conducted by the Tribal Research and Cultural foundation, a national organisationworking on Indian tribes. Extreme poverty, child labour, early marriage and nomadic way of lifewas leading to the bleak future of lakhs of nomadic Gujjar children residing in the Himalayanrange of Jammu & Kashmir, said Dr. Javaid Rahi, national secretary of the foundation.Summarising the concluded survey, he said that out of 100 nomad houses of Gujjar andBakerwal tribe surveyed in Poonch, Rajouri, Baramulla and Kupwara districts, a total of 74 percent Gujjar children between the age of 7 to 15 were engaged in physical labour. According to thesurvey the worst condition was of the children belonging to Ajjhari Gujjar (Shepherd) and ManjhiiGujjar (Buffalo keeper) tribes, 83 per cent of whom had not been to school and only 17 per centwere getting education at religious institutes. Atleast 17 per cent Gujjar children whoseforefathers were bonded labourers called Ajhrais among the Bakerwal tribe were doing the same.It was unfortunate that no governmental or NGO had brought the situation into light till date. Thenational literacy mission launched by the government in 1988 with the objective of all-rounddevelopment of poor children in India had failed to touch the Gujjar tribe, it said. (The Hindu15/11/07)From mountains to plains, Orissa tribals journey to protest against mining (6)NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 16: Representatives of the Dongria Kondhs, a primitive communitywith a total population of 12,000 residing on Niyamgiri mountains in Orissa, have come to Delhiwith a mission. They want to ensure that the Government does not give permission to VedantaResources to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills. They have met a few parliamentarians andrepresentatives from the President’s office. They are awaiting appointments from the PrimeMinister and Sonia Gandhi’s office. The Supreme Court that has been hearing the case since2004, has decided to reserve the judgment for now. The SC bench comprising CJI K GBalakrishnan and Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia had concluded the hearings of thecase by asking the company to give a written undertaking within a week that it would set aside5% of its net profits for tribal welfare. “These mountains are our life . We don’t know where to goonce the mining starts,” says Jeetu, one of the handful of those tribals who is educated and canspeak a few English words. “We cannot understand why our arguments were not heard in the lasthearing in the Supreme Court,” he added. They consider the mountains to be sacred. Theclearnace, if granted, will negate the findings of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC),appointed by the Court. They had pointed out that the forest land was cleared in violation of theForest Conservation Act for the Vedanta refinery. The hills were also repository of richbiodiversity and should not be destroyed for mining. Alternative sources could have been foundfor the refinery, they had contended. Based on the CEC report, last week, Norway Pension Funddecided to withdraw investments in the UK-listed Vedanta for alleged environmental and humanrights violations. Rallying under the banner of Kashipur Solidarity Group, the representatives ofthe tribals said in Delhi, “Allowing Vedanta Alumina Ltd to mine Niyamgiri hills would open thefloodgates for several mining projects and reinforce the view that adivasis can be sacrificed forprojects whose gains for the people at large will be minimum or even non-existent.” (IndianExpress 17/11/07)Death stalks tribals as drugs prove ineffective (6)GADIGUDA (ADILABAD DT.): Only providence can put people at so much disadvantage as in thecase of tribals of Narnoor mandal that accounted for a majority of the over 130 deaths have takenplace due to seasonal diseases over the last five months. People of this area, mostly children, arestruck with fevers including the malarial kind, their condition made worse by many other factorsthat should have been taken care of right at the beginning of the epidemic season. Though thereis some effort by the Health department to provide treatment at the ’door step’, deaths areoccurring at regular intervals. Medical teams that have been deployed in this remote area havefound the potency of the drugs going begging as children were found to be pale and moreimportantly famished. “How can a child bear the rather severe effect of drugs like chloroquine onempty stomach”, questioned a member of a medical team deputed to the villages. The case ofGadiguda where children and others have continued to die of fevers since June can serve as anexample of what went wrong and how it could be rectified. Mesram Dev Rao, the local Mandal

Parishad Territorial Constituency member, who suffering from ‘fever and cold’ said hediscontinued the medication because after the first dose of chloroquine he felt nausea . Hisneighbour Atram Sakrubai was unable to talk because of weakness. While Kanaka Jangubaisuffered since one month, her younger sister Anasuya could not return to her hostel post Diwalibecause of fever. Five children of Kanaka Maruthi are passing through the same hell. The listseems to be endless. The Medical Officer at Gadiguda Primary Health Centre (PHC) actuallyholds its additional charge that means he has to divide his time between the PHCs of his postingand of his charge. The medicine kit that special teams going around incorporate standard drugslike paracetamol, chloroquine used to cure fevers. There are no energisers that can take care ofthe ‘empty stomach’ for the time being. Food packets can be of much use under suchcircumstances. Besides, there has to be a mobile facility for carrying out diagnostic tests on thespot so that the treatment can be selective and not the present blanket kind. Communication hasto be improved. Consider the services of the EMRI’s 108 ambulance going waste just becausethe village does not have phone facility of any kind. (The Hindu 19/11/07)Ecologists “baffled” at Forest Act rules delay (6)NEW DELHI: Members of the Technical Support Group (TSG) have written to the Union TribalAffairs Minister to ensure speedy notification of the rules of the Scheduled Tribes And OtherTraditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 so that the legislation couldbe implemented. “As members of the TSG formed by your Ministry to draft the rules tooperationalise the Act, we are deeply disturbed by the baffling delay in the notification.” The Actwas passed unanimously by both Houses of Parliament 11 months ago and received Presidentialassent 10 days later. After the rules were drafted by the TSG (comprising ecologists,environmentalists, social scientists, government officials and social activists,) in May 2007, thegovernment held internal discussions and put out the MoTA Draft Rules for public scrutiny andcomment. The deadline for public comments was August 3. “The Act should not be seen as goingagainst the interests of conservation. It contains adequate safeguards for protecting flora/fauna inProtected Areas, going to the extent of permitting modification of the rights of forest dwellers(including physical relocation) in those areas within national parks and wildlife sanctuaries thatneed to be kept inviolate. However, this involves two steps, the prior and complete recognitionand vesting of rights, so that the residents of these areas are able to get full compensation incase they are subsequently displaced, followed by a case-by-case scientific and objectiveassessment including public consultation that human activity is harmful.” The longer the timelapse between the cut-off date of December 2005 and the notification, the more blurred theground situation would become. “There are already several reports of massive eviction of poorforest dwellers from areas occupied by them for generations, taking advantage of the delay in thenotification.” Signatories to the letter are Dr. S.R. Sankaran, chairperson, TSG on Rules, B.D.Sharma, Kumar Shiralkar, Madhav Gadgil, Madhu Sarin, Nandini Sundar, Pradip Prabhu, RamDayal Munda and Smita Gupta. (The Hindu 20/11/07)Chhattisgarh to nominate tribals to Assembly (6)Raipur: After having announced State language status for Chhattisgarhi, the Government is tryingto appoint a representative in the Assembly on the pattern of Anglo-Indians, on rotation from oneof the extremely backward tribal communities, sources said. The Tribal Advisory Council will senda proposal in this regard to the Central Government. This was decided at a meeting of the TribalAdvisory Council. The Chief Minister Raman Singh, sources said, strongly felt that a memberfrom the Baiga, Kamar, Birhore, Abujmadiya and Pahari Korba tribes should be appointed onrotation basis to the State Assembly. "The council will send its proposal but the final decision willbe taken by the Central Government," an official said. But we have initiated the process, headded. On November 1 the Government had announced official language status to Chhattisgarhiin the State. In fact with an eye on the Assembly polls the State Government is making an all outeffort to woo tribal voters accounting 32 per cent of the electorate. Besides, the tribal communityespecially from the remote areas had given massive support to the BJP in the previous Assemblypolls in 2003.(Pioneer 21/11/07)Adivasis, locals clash in Guwahati (6)

Guwahati: One person was killed and about 250 were injured, 10 critically, when violent clashesbroke out between participants of a rally taken out by the All-Adivasi Students’ Association,Assam (AASAA) and local residents of the city on Saturday afternoon. Indefinite curfew has beenclamped over the entire road from Dispur Last Gate to Beltola Chariali following the violence. TheState government has sounded a red alert and directed all Deputy Commissioners to beef upsecurity measures to prevent backlashes. The Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, ordered a one-manprobe to be headed by Additional Chief secretary P.P. Verma to inquire into the incidents. Therally was taken out by the Adivasi student body to press for inclusion of Santal Adivasis and thetea tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes(ST). Adivasis, including tea tribe communities, are notScheduled Tribes in Assam and they have been demanding such status for a long time. PrincipalSecretary Home Subhas Das told The Hindu that the clashes occurred as the rallyists, numberingabout 3,000 to 4,000, broke security cordons and went on the rampage vandalising shops andbusiness establishments and damaging vehicles along the stretch from Beltola Chariali to BeltolaSurvey area. When police lathi-charged and dispersed them, irate local residents attacked thefleeing rallyists. Mr. Das said the police had tried to prevent the rallyists from coming out of theirmeeting venue at Dakhingaon, Beltola but a large number of them sneaked out in small groupsand marched towards the capital complex. He said there was no permission to hold the rally.Adivasis who took out a rally in Guwahati on Saturday, demanding Scheduled Tribe status, wereset upon by locals after they went on the rampage. One person was killed and 250 were injured inthe clashes. Of the injured, 210 were admitted in the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital and30 in the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital. Beltola presented a gory sight with bleedingAdivasis lying unconscious at several locations along the road. City buses and private vehicleswith window panes broken were stranded on the road, strewn with broken glass. In one locationseven critically injured were lying unattended for a long time. Eyewitnesses said that localresidents attacked the rallyists with rods and sticks and used heavy stones. (The Hindu 25/11/07)1 killed, 200 injured as Assam rally turns violent (6)Guwahati, November 24: One person was killed and nearly 200 were injured in violence on thestreets of Dispur and nearby areas on Saturday. Trouble began when the number of participantsin a sit-in demonstration, called by the Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA) swelledfrom around 500 to more than 3,000, and demonstrators tried to march into the State Secretariatand Assembly Complex. Police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the crowd as the agitatingstudents vandalised shops, torched several buses and vehicles. A section of the demonstratorsalso attacked the magistrate on duty. Soon, local residents and shop-owners retaliated and theviolence spread to other localities in the Beltola area. An indefinite curfew was imposed in thearea and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced an inquiry into the incident. The inquiry team willbe head by Additional Chief Secretary P P Verma. The AASAA has been demanding ScheduledTribe status for the Adivasis, including the tea tribes. The injured were admitted to the GMCHospital. (Indian Express 25/11/07)BJP asks for inquiry on tribal assault (6)Guwahati, Nov. 25: Former chief minister and veteran BJP leader Arjun Munda said here onSunday that the party would raise the inhuman and barbaric incident of Guwahati in theParliament. Demanding a judicial probe to investigate the failure of the state administration andinvolvement of the anti-social elements into the incident, Mr Munda told reporters that no civilisedsociety can tolerate such inhuman acts. "I am shocked to see the photographs of stripped adivasiwoman fleeing for shelter on the street of Guwahati," he said after visiting the hospital wheremore than 200 injured adivasi villagers are admitted. He said: "This has also exposed the rulingCongress government which completely failed in containing the situation that too close to fortifiedDispur capital complex areas." However, he made an appeal to all adivasi leaders to pacify thesituation. "There is reason to be angry but all protest should be registered peacefully," he said. MrMunda, who claimed that more than 20 people are still traceless, said: "The Assam governmenthas also failed in giving proper treatment to those injured. I myself found people being loaded inbuses without any treatment." He expressed surprise over the response of Assam health ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma who told him that they are going to shift those injured lying in the corridorsof the Guwahati Medical College Hospital to private nursing homes. "I wanted to ask him why had

they not been shifted on Saturday itself," he said, adding that this reflected the casual approachof the Assam government. (Asian Age 26/11/07)Jharkhand condemns Assam violence (6)Ranchi : The Jharkhand Government has condemned the killing and violence executed againstSanthali tribals in Assam and sought security for the tribal people. Condemning the incident,Chief Minister Madhu Koda said, "Assam Government should provide security to tribals residingthere." The State Government officials are in regular touch with their Assam counterparts andsought security for the tribal people." Jharkhand Government has constituted a team headed byShibu Soren, who will visit Guwahati to take stock of the situation and console the affectedpeople. According to local media reports around 20 Santhali tribals of Jharkhand, were killed in aclash in Guwahati on Saturday. Former Central Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)chief, Shibu Soren has also condemned the killing. "We condemn the killing in strong words anddemand from the Assam Government to ensure security and safety of the Santhali tribals," saidJMM chief. Former Chief Minister and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arjun Munda, hasrushed to Guwahati to take stock of the situation. "The Assam Government must ensure safety oftribal people residing there. People of Assam should not forget the contribution of Santhali tribal,who work in the tea garden. The Assam Government has failed to curb the killing," said Munda,while condemning the killing. Different tribal organisations on Sunday took out processions anddemanded action against the local residents, involved in the violence. (Pioneer 26/11/07)Sporadic violence mars Assam bandh (6)Guwahati: One person was killed and several vehicles were torched in different parts of the State,as sporadic violence marred the All-Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam -sponsored 36-hourState wide bandh, which began on Monday. One person was killed, 260 were injured and shopsand vehicles destroyed during Saturday’s clashes involving AASAA protesters and locals . Thebandh call was issued by the AASAA and the All-Assam Tea Tribe Students Association (AATSA)to protest against the brutalities inflicted on Adivasi protesters and to press for ST status. Thebandh affected life in most of the districts, its impact being total in areas dominated by Adivasisand the tea tribes. There was no impact in the city. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced theconstitution of a Cabinet committee to study the creation of a development council for theAdivasis and two other communities — Moran and Matak. Mr. Gogoi said allocations for tea tribecommunities, minorities, the Scheduled Tribes and castes and other backward communitieswould be increased. The Asom Gana Parishad and the former Jharkhand Chief Minister, BabulalMarandi, alleged that Saturday’s violence was a “planned conspiracy of the ruling Congress. Inan unrelated incident, a tea garden sardar belonging to the tea tribe community was killed whentroops of the Army’s 316 Field Regiment fired on him and two others riding a motorcycle atDisangpani-Banamali Tiniali in Upper Assam Sivasagar district in the early hours of Monday.Principal Secretary Home Subhas Das told The Hindu that the Army version was the trio ignoreda signal to stop. (The Hindu 27/11/07)3 held for assault on Adivasi girl (6)Guwahati: Horrific pictures in local dailies of a naked young girl being chased and assaulted in fullview of the public during Saturday’s retaliatory attack on Adivasi protesters by some residents inthe city prompted the police on Monday to arrest three youths. Senior Superintendent of PoliceSurendra Kumar told The Hindu that a case was registered against the three on charges ofattempt to rape, attempt to murder and outraging the modesty of the girl. He said the photographsand video footage of the perpetrators involved in the incident matched with the accused. Otherphotographs showed the girl, who was disrobed by the attackers, pleading for mercy with foldedhands. Some onlookers came to the rescue of the traumatised girl, who was running to save herlife, and gave her clothes. Another person helped her hide herself inside an empty bus vandalisedby the Adivasi protesters. Police also arrested five senior leaders of the All-Adivasi StudentsAssociation of Assam (AASAA) and they were sent to jail on charges of causing communalviolence and damage to public property, among others. The student body took out a rally onSaturday to press for inclusion of Santal Adivasis and tea tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Locals clashed with the rallyists when they broke security cordons and went on the rampage.(The Hindu 27/11/07)Call to improve life of tribals (6)JAIPUR: Rajasthan Governor S.K. Singh on Monday called for intensive efforts to improve thetribal’s standard of life by protecting their rights, conserving their natural environment andproviding them with proper health care and education facilities. Mr. Singh, who was on a visit toSirohi district, said at a function in Moonghala village that he would connect directly with the tribalcommunities to resolve their difficulties. He asked the citizens’ elected representatives to play aneffective role in their welfare. He instructed the administrative, police and forest officials to ensureprotection of tribal’s rights. He said he would soon visit the tribal-dominated Dungarpur, Banswaraand Udaipur districts for a “direct dialogue” with the tribal population. (The Hindu 27/11/07)Forest activists’ dharna in 4th day (6)New Delhi, Nov. 26: Hundreds of adivasis and forest-dwellers are staging a dharna in the city,which has entered its fourth day, in protest against the government’s delay in notifying the ForestRights Act which was passed 11 months ago. Several politicians have also supported theirprotests and are trying to pressurise the government to notify the act which will benefit millions offorest dwellers and adivasis. Speaking at the dharna, CPI(M) politburo member and MP BrindaKarat said, "The rules for every act should be notified within six months of the act being passed,but almost one year has now gone by and the rules for this act are yet to be notified." She said,"While this law is being delayed by a lack of rules on one hand, on the other the forestdepartment is evicting people. I have seen how trenches are being dug on people’s lands for thesake of planting trees. Their aim is that by the time this law is implemented, neither adivasis northeir rights will remain." She attacked the people who are opposing the act, saying: "This actcame on the back of struggles by all of us. But there are some who value the lives of animalsmore than they do those of people. They care nothing when adivasis die of starvation." She saidthat there was no reason for the government to delay the notification of the act since the ruleswere ready, according to law minister H.R. Bhardwaj. "Those who have opposed this law from thebeginning have now gone to the very top and have got this law illegally stopped, so as to finishthis act and to finish off adivasi rights," she added. BJP MP Faggan Singh Khulaste attacked thegovernment for its failure to address the problem. He said, "Those in power do not want this lawin the name of wildlife and the environment. Lakhs of acres of lands are lying fallow without treesand are being protected and used by adivasis. But this land is now being taken away from themas well. Those against this law, those opposed to adivasi rights, have been building a false notionthat this law will lead to destruction of forests." The ongoing forest rights dharna at Jantar Mantarwas also addressed by Ashok Bharati (National Coordination of Dalit Organisations), Dhananjay(Students’ Federation of India) and adivasi leaders from across the country. The dharna enteredits fourth day on Monday, with additional delegates from Chhattisgarh joining. More than 140adivasis have joined the dharna .(Asian Age 27/11/07)One killed, over 200 injured in Adivasi bandh violence (6)Guwahati, November 27: The 36-hour bandh called by the All Adivasi Students’ Association ofAssam (AASAA) to protest against the atrocities that the participants of its rally faced in Guwahatiafter they indulged in violence, ended on Tuesday amid numerous incidents of violence acrossthe state. A large number of vehicles, both Government as well as private were damaged asbandh supporters pelted stones and bricks on National Highways. The state Government failed toimplement the Supreme Court’s directive on bandhs. At least one person was killed and over 200— including women and children — were injured in different districts as bandh supportersprevented plying of vehicles and opening of shops and establishments. Schools and othereducational institutions remained shut, while daily-wage earners remained jobless for twoconsecutive days. Meanwhile, most of the 260 Adivasis injured in Saturday’s mayhem inGuwahati have been released from hospitals. Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma saidonly 107 persons were still in hospitals, of which 67 were in the GMC Hospital and 37 in the MMCHospital. One of them, with head injury, was in a critical state, the minister said. Meanwhile, theArmy on Tuesday claimed that the death of Sadananda Tantabai, a sardar of a tea estate in

Sivasagar on Sunday night, was a case of ‘mistaken identity’ and that an inquiry has beenalready instituted to find out the details. A press note issued by the Army said the Army tried tostop a scooter with three riders on Sunday night, following inputs from the local police stationabout the movement of some ULFA militants in the area. “The Army authorities regret thisunfortunate incident leading to death of Sadananda Tantabai. It was a case of mistaken identity,”the press note said. (Indian Express 28/11/07)House adjourned as Assam violence triggers uproar (6)NEW DELHI: The November 24 violence in Guwahati during a protest demonstration by tribalstudents cast its shadow over the Lok Sabha proceedings on Tuesday, forcing its adjournment foran hour. A verbal duel broke out between Kiren Rijiju (BJP) and Minister of State forParliamentary Affairs B.K. Handique, who hails from Assam, in the wake of Home Minister ShivrajPatil’s suo motu statement. Even as uproar continued, Mr. Rijiju was protesting vociferouslyagainst certain sentences in the statement, alleging these were anti-tribal. Mr. Handique soughtto counter him. BJP deputy leader V.K. Malhotra also expressed his unhappiness over thestatement, saying several details about the incident were missing. As the noisy exchangescontinued and as Mr. Rijiju trooped into the well, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned theHouse. Earlier, when several members who had given notices wanted to speak on the subject,Mr. Chatterjee said he would allow a discussion depending on the availability of the HomeMinister. The Congress on Tuesday condemned the group clashes in Assam, in particular thestripping of an Adivasi woman protester. “It is most unfortunate that group clashes in Assam haveresulted in the death of one person and grievous injuries to several others,” Congress spokesmanAbhishek Singhvi told journalists. “In particular, the Congress condemns the unbelievable,shameful and barbaric incident of an Adivasi woman being stripped by miscreants,” he said.Asked if the party endorsed the government’s view, as revealed in a statement made inParliament that said the demand of the protesting Adivasis for Scheduled Tribe status could notbe met, Mr. Singhvi said the party’s stand could not be made public. “The issue is before aCommission. Our view has not been put out to the Commission. Till such time it is, it cannot bemade public.” On whether the condemnation of the incident amounted to admonishing theCongress government in the State, Mr. Singhvi said one should not see politics in everything.“The Chief Minister has given categorical instructions that such incidents will not be tolerated andsteps are being taken to bring the situation under control,” Mr. Singhvi added. (The Hindu28/11/07)Curfew in Assam town (6)Guwahati: Curfew was imposed in Rangapara on Wednesday as supporters of a bandh called bythe All-Assam Santhal Students’ Union went on the rampage in the Sonitpur district town andattacked a police station. An unruly mob from nearby tea gardens, which made attempts to enterthe town to enforce the bandh, dispersed only after the police resorted to blank firing. After adiscussion with editors of newspapers and the electronic media at a meeting convened by ChiefMinister Tarun Gogoi here, it was decided that the government would hold broad-baseddiscussions with the ethnic communities demanding ST status. He said the government wouldhelp the ethnic communities if they formed a committee, which could adduce reasons before theRegistrar-General of India why they should be included in the ST list. (The Hindu 29/11/07)Notify rules of Forest Act, says Brinda Karat (6)NEW DELHI: Terming the stripping and hounding of a woman by locals in Guwahati as“shameful,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Brinda Karat on Monday expressedshock at the failure of the United Progressive Alliance government to notify the rules pertaining tothe Forest Rights Act meant for protection, rights and security of the tribals. Raising the matterduring zero hour in the Rajya Sabha, Ms. Karat said it was shocking that even after the passageof the legislation almost a year ago, the rules have still not been notified. What was even moreshocking was that the Act was being implemented in portions. “The failure to notify the rulesamounts to subversion of the will of Parliament. The government is changing the sequencing ofthe Act. The government should not delay anymore and notify the rules and implement the Act inletter and spirit,” she said. Ms. Karat was joined by other members who expressed concern over

non-implementation of the Forest Rights Act which, they said, had led to eviction of tribals fromtheir homes and forests. On the beating up of tribals in Assam, she said several protestors werein hospital and the condition of many was serious. The kind of support and compensation theyshould have been given had not been forthcoming. “We want the Assam government to takeimmediate action in this regard,” she said. R. Chandrasekar Reddy (TDP) raised another issuepertaining to tribals and said the Andhra Pradesh government had failed to protect the lives oftribals. He demanded that the Centre send a medical team to tackle diarrhoea and fever amongthe tribals. Mr. Reddy ridiculed the State government for its suggestion that tribals should producemore children to compensate the death of the children. (The Hindu 28/11/07)Delay in bamboo cutting operation worries tribals (6)BERHAMPUR: Tribal bamboo cutters living inside jungles of the State are worried over the delayin the start of bamboo cutting operation this year. Around 65,000 tribals earn their living for sixmonths through bamboo cutting operations inside the forests in Orissa. Bamboo cutting takesplace at 325 units. Usually the bamboo cutting work begins on October 1. But this year it has notstarted till date. Two paper mills of the State manage this bamboo cutting work with the help ofthe Orissa Forest Development Corporation. But the paper mills signed their agreement with theState government only on November 20. Bamboo cutting work could have been started fromNovember 21 after signing of the agreement. But it could not be started due objections raised bythe Central Forest Department, said Dandapani Mohanty, general secretary of the Orissa ForestMazdoor Union (OFMU). According to him, the Central Government raised objection over nonutilisationof funds by Orissa’s forest department for re-plantation of bamboo. As per the normsthe State government should have utilised 20 per cent of the royalty that it received from bamboocutting from forests for plantation of new bamboo bushes. The State government has not investedany amount out of its royalty for planting bamboo in jungles, alleges Mr. Mohanty. The OFMU hasurged the State government to settle the disputes with centre as early as possible so that bamboocutting could be started in forests to provide the much-needed income source to tribals. (TheHindu 30/11/07)Brinda leads walkout over delay in Forest Act rules (6)NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha once again witnessed noisy scenes and a subsequent walkout byCommunist Party of India (Marxist) members led by Brinda Karat over the delay in notifying rulesfor the Forest Rights Act. The law was passed by Parliament more than a year ago. Reactingsharply to Minister of State for Environment and Forests S. Regupathy’s reply on the issue ofprotecting the rights of forest-dwellers, Ms. Karat pointed out that his Ministry was not competentto give a reply in the matter, which pertained to the Tribal Affairs Ministry. “How can thegovernment implement an Act without notification of the rules,” she asked. Chairman HamidAnsari asked her to raise a relevant supplementary and said she could seek a clarification onother issues through established norms. The point she raised was not associated with the listedquestion, he said. However, Ms. Karat stood her ground and said it was unfortunate that the ruleswere not notified even after the Law Ministry had vetted and sent them back to the Ministryconcerned. “I have been informed by the Law Minister that they have done their job. Thegovernment should come clean on the issue. This is subversion of the will of Parliament. TheForest and Environment Minister has no right to implement the Act without its rules beingnotified.” As the government did not respond, Ms. Karat led the walkout. In the Lok Sabha,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi assured the House that the government wasdoing its best to notify at the earliest the Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2007. After Ramji Lal Suman (Samajwadi Party) raised theissue of delay, the Minister said United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi was alsoconcerned at it. (The Hindu 30/11/07)Hunger, poverty claim lives of five Juangs in a month (6)Keonjhar : Death of five Juang tribals in Gayalamunda village has evoked much hue and cry inentire Keonjhar district. In a span of one month at least five Juangs died in Gayalamunda ofGhatgaon block only. Such deaths occur mainly due to hunger, diseases and poverty, which havearisen out of unemployment that persists even after the implementation of several welfare

schemes, alleged villagers and the Juang Jibika Sampark Committee, Keonjhar unit. More thantwo hundred Juangs, one of the primitive tribes of Orissa, live in these places like other areas ofHarichandanpur, Banspal and Telkoi blocks. They have not been able to practice their traditionalcultivation because of menace of wild elephants that have been pestering them for the past twoyears. While Kalia Juang (50), Malati Juang (25), Sunu Juang (15) and Kalandhei Juang died,Pedha Juang, Hari Juang, Ranga Juang, and Ganesh Juang are reportedly struggling for theirlives. Statutorily work is neither being carried out under the National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme (NREGS), Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY) nor is the compensatoryafforestation in Ghatagaon Block being done. Tangible work has not been taken up by theIntegrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) or the Juang Development Agency (JDA), allegesconvener of Juang Jibika Sampark Committee Ramesh Ch Juang. The Juang tribe is one out ofthe total 78 primitive tribes in the entire country and has been included in the fifth schedule of theConstitution, but reports on the decline of population due to low literacy rates, unsettlement oflands and per agricultural pattern of livelihood still continue to be news. (Pioneer 30/11/07)Tribals demand legal claim of forests (6)New Delhi, Dec. 2: Tribals and forest dwellers from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh andRajasthan recount tales of how the state governments are evicting them from their homes wherethey have lived for generations even when the Forest Rights Act has been passed 11 monthsago. An activist informed that on paper India has a lot more forest cover than it is in real terms.This is because the British and later even the Indian government declared many regions asprotected forest area though there were no forests there and people since then have beenfighting for their land. They say that the government is destroying their crops and instead plantingJatropa plants in order to take control of the land which they have tilted since decades. They arehere in the city to pressurise the Central government to notify the Forest Rights Act so that theevictions are stopped and they are given their rightful claims. Adivasi woman Premila Sharmafrom Mohla Tehsil in Rajnangaon district in Chhattisgarh said she and other women of hercommunity has formed a group called Jagriti in 1997 to fight the government so that their land isnot taken away. Since 10 years they have prevented forest officials from taking away their landsbut she feels that once the notification for the Forest Rights Act is done, she will have a legalclaim and not be harassed. Ms Sharma, (her last name is actually a caste name of Adivasis inChhattisgarh) said, "The forest officials keep on destroying the crops which we have planted onthe land my family has tilted through generations. The forest department is instead plantingJatropa trees on this land claiming that it is forest land. But we fight them even if it costs us ourlives." About the allegations of tribals destroying forests and animals, Ms Sharma said that forestare better preserved only where Adivasis live, in other places, the government has declaredplaces as forest area but there are no forests there. She said that wild animals are scared of themand they do not kill them but these false stories are spread by corrupt forest officials whothemselves are cutting forest trees and selling them to outsiders. Adivasi Gajanand Brahmane,from the Bhil community in Sedhwa Tehsil at Badwani district in MP, is one such person who livesin a place which the government declared as forest land though he said the land was tilted sincewell before he was born. He said the forest officials declared the land as protected forest area butthere are no forests there. He added, "If I and my family wants to see wild animals we travel tothe zoo in Indore to see them. At my home and farm I haven’t even seen rabbits, let alone biganimals." He said each year the forest department spends lakhs of rupees in the name of treeplanting but in Badwani even the office of the district forest officer, district magistrate, subdivisionalmagistrate and collector do not have trees though they are planted each year. He saidanimals either each the plants or they are not watered and therefore die. (Times of India 1/12/07)Adivasi, tea tribes organisations issue ultimatum (6)Guwahati: Adivasi and tea tribes organisations have issued an ultimatum that the Centre and theAssam government should clarify, within 15 days, their stand on including them in the list ofScheduled Tribes. The ultimatum was issued after a five-hour meeting of Adivasi and tea tribeorganisations and political leaders representing the communities. It was convened by the All-Assam Tea Tribe Students’ Association (AATTSA). The AATTSA and the All-Adivasi Students’Association of Assam (AASAA) also announced a ban on the entry of political parties in tea

gardens and Adivasi villages during the coming panchayat polls. The ban would be in force till thegovernment conceded their demand. The AASAA has called a road blockade on December 3,while the AATTSA has called for an economic blockade of oil and coal on the same day to presstheir demand. AATTSA president Prahlad Gowala and AASAA president Justin Lakra toldreporters after the meeting that the organisations would meet on December 16 to decide onfurther action. They warned of a vigorous movement if the governments did not concede theirdemand. They alleged that the Centre and the State government were making contradictorystatements on the issue. Ahead of the meeting, the AATTSA, the AASAA and the All-AssamStudents’ Union (AASU) issued an appeal to the people to stand united, and called for a halt toviolence. They also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the November24 mob violence in the city. The leaders clarified that their movement was only for ST status. Itwas not against any other ethnic group or community. Representatives of the Congress, AsomGana Parishad (AGP) and Bharatiya Janata Party, however, urged the student leaders towithdraw the ban on entry of political parties during the panchayat polls. Reacting to the Stategovernment’s announcement that an Adivasi development council would be constituted, AATTSAsaid it would be studied after the council was formed. The AASAA said that the announcementwas only intended to divert attention from the main issue. (The Hindu 1/12/07)Activists demand notification of Tribal Act (6)NEW DELHI: Civil society activists and representatives of non-governmental organisationschampioning the cause of indigenous people on Friday organised a human chain in the capital topress the government to notify the Rules for the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. In a memorandum to Union Tribal Affairs Minister P.R.Kyndiah, the activists condemned the continued ‘delay’ and ‘undermining’ of the Act passed byParliament last year. Drawing the Minister’s attention to the fact that the period for receivingpublic comments ended on August 3 and while the implementation of the Act was being delayed,evictions were taking place across the country in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa andRajasthan, the protestors accused the Ministry of Environment and Forests of beginning an“illegal process” of determining the critical wildlife habitats — a category created by this law, evenbefore the Act was notified or people’s rights recognised. This violated the letter and spirit of theAct and clearly an effort to ‘delay and undermine this law,’ the memorandum said. Moreover, this‘sabotage’ of the Act was leading to a situation where its real shortcomings were being ignored.The assurances given to the Rajya Sabha on December 18, 2006 about amendments to the lawand measures in the Rules – intended to address these shortcomings remained unimplemented.Rather than continuing to ‘undermine’ this law, surely it should be the government’s effort to fulfilthe assurances and implement the law at the earliest, the memorandum said. If the UnitedProgressive Alliance government’s claimed commitment to the country’s forest dwellingcommunities was not merely an empty promise, it was imperative that action be taken to ensurethe ‘just and effective’ recognition of forest rights, it said. Organised by the Campaign for Survivaland Dignity, the protesters demanded that the government empower the communities to defendand protect the forests against mafias, the government and companies and ensure the authorityand effectiveness of the real gram sabhas in determining rights. They also demanded an end to“militarisation” and corporate seizure of tribal land in the name of Special Economic Zones asalso bringing all Adivasi areas under the V Schedule. (The Hindu 1/12/07)Deadline for Bill: militant outfits join tribal fronts (6)Guwahati: The Birsa Commando Force (BCF) and the Adivasi Cobra Militants of Assam (ACMA)on Saturday joined the All-Adivasi Students Association of Assam (AASAA), the Disam Party ofJharkhand, the All-India Adivasi Students’ and the Youth Association and Adivasi MahilaParishad in setting December 7 as deadline to the Centre for tabling a Bill on including adivasisand tea tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Assam. AASAA chief organising secretary BoscoChermaco said the meeting decided to issue an appeal to Jharkhand people to launch aneconomic blockade from December 17 if the Union government failed to respond to theirdeadline. Coal and uranium mines in Jharkhand would be covered under the blockade. Themeeting took strong objection to Union Home Minister’s Shivraj Patil’s statement on the issue ofST status for the adivasis and tea tribes. (The Hindu 3/12/07)

Rajya Sabha passes tribal university Bill (6)NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Monday gave its nod to the Indira Gandhi National TribalUniversity Bill 2007 aimed at facilitating and promoting avenues of higher education and researchfacilities for tribal population. Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said the Billwould have a far-reaching effect on those who were ignored for generations. “The University willbe set up at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh on 300-acres of land,” he said. (The Hindu 4/12/07)10,000 dalits, adivasis protest (6)New Delhi, Dec. 5: Over 10,000 dalits, adivasis, Muslims and other marginalised people fromvarious parts of the country joined in the Dalit Dignity March, which began from the Ramlilagrounds and ended at Parliament Street here on Wednesday. The march was organised by theNational Conference of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR), which is working towards assertingdignity as a universal concern and demanding that the government implement their variousschemes in a better way so that the marginalised, dalits, adivasis and Muslims are not left behind.NACDOR national convenor Ashok Bharti said, "We have observed that the development trend ofthe SC/STs, minorities and the marginalised is getting from bad to worse. He said according tothe Arjun Sengupta report as many as 88 per cent of the population lives on less than Rs 20 perday per person. India has even slid five places in the Human Development Report." He said thisis because people are being marginalised, losing land and livelihood, and not getting educationopportunities and facilities for health treatment. He said the demands of NACDOR are thatParliament should discuss the issues of the marginalised often and to bring back the focus on thedisadvantaged people of the country. Speaking at the rally, CPI MP D. Raja said, "The CPI andother Left parties are supporting this cause and this issue was raised in Parliament today. Theissue is not just caste-based atrocities. It is also the economical exclusion of dalits, adivasis andminorities that is worrisome." He said the UPA government has promised to take affirmativeaction and also bring in legislation for reservation in the private sector. He urged the people tointensify their struggle and to unify themselves to be more effective. (Asian Age 6/12/07)Forest Act will be in force from January 1 (6)NEW DELHI: The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of ForestRights) Act, 2007, will become operational from January 1, 2008 and the rules will be notifiedimmediately, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday The announcement was madeby Tribal Affairs Minister P.R. Kyndiah soon after question hour. His statement was introducedinto the day’s business at the last minute, and was welcomed with a round of applause. The delayin notifying the Act was raised in both Houses earlier in the session and the government hadassured the members that efforts were on to notify it at the earliest. The Bill was passed last yearand it secured Presidential assent this January. The Act seeks to vest forest rights in ScheduledTribes and other traditional dwellers. The Scheduled Tribes and traditional dwellers will beentitled to four hectares of land. Those residing for three generations or 75 years are entitled toland rights and the right to collect and market forest produce. (The Hindu 8/12/07)Violence looms but better wages in tea gardens still lure Adivasis (6)Ranchi, December 7: A day after the Joint Adivasi Action Committee (JAAC), an umbrella body oftribals, called for an indefinite economic blockade in four states —Jharkhand, Assam, Orissa andWest Bengal — from December 17 to press for their demand for ST status to immigrant tribalswho had settled in Assam, around 250 odd tribals boarded the Assam-bound train AlipurduarExpress here on Thursday night. The prevailing tension in Assam has failed to deter these tribalsfrom flocking to the state, an annual phenomenon for the past several years. The reason issimple. They could hardly ignore the lure of the tea gardens in Assam where they manage to earnhandsome money as daily labourers, compared to what they get here. In fact, back home, noneof them were even ready to work under the much-hyped National Rural Employment Guaranteescheme. Even the stand of the Centre that it is not going to accord ST status to tribals living inAssam has failed to deter them. Take the case of three farmers who went to Assam on Thursday— Ramchandra, Dulari and Sukra Oraon. Each one of them who owns 4-5 acres of land inRanchi and its adjoining Gumla district. They have been in possession of job cards issued by the

state Government. But in the aftermath of the harvesting season, they were not ready to workunder NREG programme. Why? “It fetches us less than Rs 100 per day, whereas in tea gardenswe make anywhere between Rs 150 to Rs 200 per day,” said Ramchandra. ….. (Indian Express8/12/07)Jharkhand priests launch drive for prohibition of liquor (6)Ranchi : In a novel exercise, priests in Jharkhand have launched a campaign against countrymadeliquor, traditionally and religiously associated with the tribal community. In west Singhbhumdistrict, tribal priests have upped the ante and said they will not to perform prayers where hadia(rice beer) and meat are offered as prasad. Beside traditional pujas, the 'ban' is applicable tomarriages and other functions as well. The priests have also demanded a ban on the sale ofhadia. "Although hadia is a part of our culture, it has made a wrong influence on the people of ourcommunity. Tribals are wasting their hard-earned money on liquor," Ganpati Sohrai, a tribal priestof West Singhbhum district, said. "We have decided to boycott traditional functions andceremonies to send across the message to our people to stop consuming liquor." Echoing hisview, Gandura Munda of Dumka district said, "In past, many tribals lost their land tomoneylenders. Even today, tribals are leading a pitiable life much because of the their addictionto hadia. Hadia only makes them lazy and prevent from working hard to achieve anything in life.So we took the initiative and have launched this campaign to make them aware of the menace ofhadia." However, hadia is a main component of the tribal lives and the decision of the priests hasinvited sharp criticisms. "How can leave our tradition? Hadia is even offered to our Gods," KarmaOraon, a tribal, said. Echoing his view Neelkath Soren said, "we are against the priests' decision.We acknowledge that our men are addicted to hadia but we cannot completely do away with itsuse in prayers and functions." (Pioneer 11/12/07)'Silent' tribals set to boycott election (6)Surat : The "silent" tribals have become a cause of worry for both the BJP and the Congress inthe closely contested Gujarat polls. The Scheduled Tribes, who can successfully manage toswing the results in favour of any of the two parties in as many as 35-40 seats across Gujarat,have left worried the both about where they would finally go. Tribals are dominant in areasbordering Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, besides in a few pockets of central Gujarat. The silence isalso attributed to some campaigning in tribal areas wherein local leaders have pursuing peoplenot to vote. Ganesh Devi, a tribal activist, said, "We are asking our men not to vote either for theBJP nor the Congress. Both of them have befooled the Adivasis." Tribals had actively participatedin the post-Godhra violence in 2002 - an event described their outburst against the financial andsexual exploitation of ST men and women, respectively, by local Muslim moneylenders in Gujaratvillages. Subsequently figures got equally poised in 2002 elections and the BJP won 13 out of 26ST seats. This was for the first time that the BJP got such a massive support from the tribals, whohad been traditionally inclined towards the Congress. However, a discontent developed betweena section of the Adivasis and the BJP as a section of them believed the Government failed to bailout tribals from the riot cases. Tribals are being pursued to not vote for the Congress as it failedto come up with a law ensuring the right of STs on forest, land and water bodies in their areas.Also, they are being reminded that it was under Congress' rule that tribals were exploited themost by local Muslim moneylenders. BJP leaders, however, rebut the tribals were dissatisfiedwith their party. MB Patel, president of the Vadodra BJP president, told The Pioneer, "Theurbanisation of tribals under Narendra Modi has helped the community a lot and they would votefor the party." BJP's argument has been that it was the infrastructure development in tribal areasin the last five years that exposed them to the cities subsequently offering them the opportunity toget into jobs other than farming. According to an estimate, percentage of urbanised tribalpopulation in Gujarat is around nine per cent - much higher than many other States. (Pioneer11/12/07)Rabha tribals oppose panchayat polls (6)Guwahati:: Rabha tribals in Lower Assam, who are seeking an extension of the Sixth Schedulestatus granted to their area of habitation, are protesting against holding of panchayat elections inareas falling under the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council. On Sunday, agitated members of

the community under the All Rabha Students’ Union (ARSU) set on fire a vehicle belonging to aCongress leader. This sparked off trouble in Lakhipur in Goalpara district, prompting police to usetear gas and also resort to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. (Indian Express 11/12/07)J'khand, Assam tribals to blockade ore movement (6)Jamshedpur: Adivasis from Assam held a series of meetings with their Jharkhand counterpartson Tuesday to chart out a strategy for an effective 'indefinite economic blockade' in order toparalyse the movement of coal and iron ore out of the State from December 17. Last week, theJharkhand Disom Party(JDP) and four tribal outfits of Assam including the Adivasi Cobra Militaryand the Birsa Commando Force had given an ultimatum to the Central Government to giveScheduled Tribe status to the tribals living in the North-East by December 7. "The CentralGovernment has been informed about the economic blockade due to the non-fulfilment of longpending demand for Scheduled Tribe status to tribals living in Assam. It appears that theGovernment is not serious," said Salkhan Murmu, chairman of the JDP. The tribal outfits ofAssam and JDP have come together to make the economic blockade effective in Jharkhand. Themilitant outfit -- Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam- headed by Kanhu Murmu will be effective in theSanthal region. However, the All India Adivasi Youth and Student's Union (Assam StateCommittee) will be working with the local tribal outfits in the Singhbhum-Kolhan belt. "We havecharted out a strategy to paralyse the transportation of minerals from Jharkhand." said Murmu. Inthe tribal dominant Singhbhum-Kolhan, Junas Murmu, advisor of the All India Adivasi Youth andStudent's Union (Assam State Committee) addressed 200 tribals at Chaibasa, in WestSinghbhum urging them to participate in the indefinite economic blockade. A similar meeting washeld at the Adivasi Association Hall, Sitaramdera(East Singhbhum). The chairman of JDP pointedout that Parliament had not passed any bill related to the Scheduled Caste status of tribals livingin Assam and other States. "We have decided to opt for an indefinite economic blockade to haltmovement of iron and coal from Jharkhand. This time the movement is aimed to fulfil the longpending demands of the tribals, who are staying in the North East," Murmu said. Junas, advisorof the All India Adivasi Youth and Student's Union (Assam State Committee) said that tribals inthe North-East are looking to help pressurise the Union Government to award Scheduled Tribestatus to them.(Pioneer 12/12/07)CPI says tribals being ousted for Tata plant (6)RAIPUR, DECEMBER 11: The Communist Party of India has alleged that the ChhattisgarhGovernment was forcefully evicting tribals from Lohandiguda of Bastar region as part of landacquisitions for the proposed Tata steel plant. On Tuesday, former MLA and senior CPI leaderManish Kunjam alleged that over 100 tribals from the area affected by the acquisition processhad been detained by the Bastar police late on Monday night. "The tribals, on their way to Raipurto register their protest with the Governor, were forced to return to their respective villages,"alleged Kunjam. "The Government is acting undemocratically and is trying to muzzle theprotesting tribals. Anyone refusing to take the rehabilitation package is being threatened," headded. Another senior CPI leader, Chittaranjan Bakshi, alleged that the police have bookedseveral local tribals on false charges, accusing them of being involved in criminal activities. "Eventhough Lohandiguda is a tribal area where land acquisition can only be done after the consent oflocal elected bodies, the Government is trying to subvert the process by acting as an agent of theprivate company," Bakshi added. However, the Bastar SP G P Singh, said the 36 villagers hadbeen arrested on pending warrants. "The rest of the villagers have been sent back without anyuse of force," the SP added. Around 1784.22 hectares of private land and 278.84 hectares ofgovernment land spread over ten villages in iron ore rich Lohanigunda area of Bastar district havebeen sought for setting up the steel plant. Tata Steel had signed a deal with the ChhattisgarhGovernment in June 2005 to set up the Rs 100-billion plant. The CPI has been opposing the deal,claiming the administration was forcing locals to give up their farm land without offering adequatecompensation. The Raman Singh Government claims the villagers had passed a resolution in theGram Sabha for land acquisition. Government sources said the Sabha had unanimously passeda resolution mandatory under the Panchayat Raj Act. "The land acquisition process for theproposed Tata steel project in Bastar has already begun. Several hundred affected tribal villagers

have already claimed their rehabilitation package," said the Government sources. (Indian Express12/12/07)Assam: 6 adivasi rebels held (6)Guwahati, Dec. 12: The Assam police averted a major strike by the Adivasi National LiberationArmy (ANLA) when six of its members were arrested in Guwahati. The police feared that rebels ofthe adivasi separatist outfit had entered the city to avenge the attack on its community membersin mob violence last month. The arrests were made on Monday after a special commando teamintercepted a car in city in which two top ANLA leaders were travelling. The city police said: "Thetwo militants led us to a transit camp of ALNA on the outskirts of the city from where we managedto capture four other members of the group." The arrested militants include Raj Munda, thedeputy commander-in-chief of ALNA, a fledgling militant group fighting for a separate homelandfor the adivasis. ALNA is active in parts of eastern Assam’s Karbi Anglong and Golaghat districtswith the group often involved in the kidnapping of tea garden executives for ransom. The securityagencies believe that the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom was extending tacit supportto the outfit. The police admitted: "We had information that ALNA was planning to carry outcertain subversive activities in the city and hence we were on the maximum alert." The policeteam recovered cash and some documents from the six militants. The police said: "We may soonbe able to unearth arms and ammunition that these militants have smuggled in the city to executetheir plan." The adivasi militant group had earlier threatened to carry out violent attacks inretaliation against the mob violence on November 24 in Guwahati in which one person was killedand more than 200 injured. The incident took place when thousands of adivasis took out a protestmarch in Guwahati, demanding inclusion of the community as Scheduled Tribes. Clashes brokeout after a group of protesters turned violent and started damaging vehicles and shops. Locals ofthe area retaliated and in the ensuing clashes, the adivasis were outnumbered.(Asian Age13/12/07)Tribals assert their rights at Human Rights Day meet (6)Balangir: Adima Adhikari Surakshya Samiti member Sadhu Majhi addressed around 4,000 tribalsfrom 85 GPs of Lanjigarh block in Kalahandi district and Kalyansingpur blocks in Rayagadadistrict on the occasion of the Human Rights Day on December 10. Tribals are even ready tosacrifice their lives for protection of the Niyamgri mountains, said Majhi. The Dungarias, Jharniaa,Kutias and other tribals living in the Niyamgiri region should come forward to protect the mountainand oppose any effort industrial houses to exploit the precious minerals, as it would result in lossof their livelihood, besides displacing them, he said. Addressing the rally, organised by theNiyamgiri Surakshya Samiti, Siddharth Nayak said tribals are exploited since long as they areilliterate and helpless. Similar sentiments were also echoed by Katranag Majhi, Naath Majhi, TilaMajhi, Dhabali Majhi and Bhnumati Majhi. As tribals have been living in the area since hundredsof years ago, they cannot be deprived of basic facilities, observed Raghu Pujhari of NiyamgiriSurakshya Samiti. While Shivaji Majhi presided over the meet, Bhanumati Majhi proposed thevote of thanks. (Pioneer 14/12/07)Forest dwellers allege eviction (6)BHOPAL: Forest dwellers from Nepanagar in Burhanpur district alleged here on Friday that theywere treated as encroachers on forest land, beaten up and forcefully evicted from their villages bythe State Forest department authorities. Flanked by a small group of forest dwellers, Gopal Bhaiof Adivasi Ekta Sangathan released a report on alleged atrocities committed on the forestdwellers in Burhanpur district at a Press conference in the State Capital. He accused the CentralGovernment of playing into the hands of multinational companies and criticised the delay withregard to the notification of the Rules for the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Mr. Gopal Bhai said the State Forest department staffwas committing atrocities and force was being used to evict forest dwellers from the landoccupied and tilled by them for many years. Their standing crops have been damaged andhouses destroyed. One of the forest dwellers, Ratan Bhai, told media persons that the forestpersonnel were also involved in looting away their belongings. Even their hen and chicken thatcan be sold easily and used as liquid money have been taken away by the forest staff, they

alleged. Dayaram, a school master recruited by the forest dwellers for a community school builtby their own resources, said that even the makeshift school structure in their village has beendemolished during the “so-called anti-encroachment drive”. One of the tribals present at the Pressconference, Damadia, had one of his eyes bandaged. He said that he was hit and injured duringa firing incident. (The Hindu 15/12/07)Tribal outlaws kill four woodcutters (6)Guwahati: Tribal separatists on Friday killed four woodcutters and seriously wounded one more aday after they were kidnapped, officials said. A police official said the bodies were recovered froma thickly wooded area near village Lalangsu in North Cachar Hills district, about 290 km south ofAssam's main city of Guwahati. "There were five bodies lying in the forest and we found one ofthem alive but in a very critical condition. He has been shifted to a local hospital," a senior policeofficial said. The five woodcutters were abducted on Thursday with police suspecting militants ofthe Jewel Gorlosa faction of the outlawed Dima Halam Daoga (DHD), popularly known as theBlack Widow, to behind the brutal attack. The Black Widow is a rebel group fighting for anindependent homeland for the Dimasa tribe in the region. Assam is currently witnessing a wave ofviolence-five people were killed on Thursday in a powerful explosion on the Rajdhani Express,while a Bharatiya Janata Party leader was killed and a legislator of the main Opposition AsomGana Parishad, Padma Hazarika, was shot at and injured by unidentified militants.(Pioneer15/12/07)Adivasi outfit Assam’s latest headache (6)Samudra Gupta KashyapPosted online: Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 0000 hrs Print EmailGuwahati, December 14: Alarm bells have started ringing in Assam after Thursday’s explosion inthe Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, allegedly carried out by All Adivasi National Liberation Army,which has emerged as the latest terror outfit in the region. Five persons were killed and foursustained grievous injuries when AANLA extremists triggered off an explosion on the railwaytracks between Naojan and Chongajan stations on the main Dibrugarh-Guwahati broad-gaugeline on Thursday. “This group hardly has 80 members trained in handling of arms. But what it didon Thursday is definitely alarming,” said Khagen Sharma, IGP (Special Branch) Assam Police.According to police, the AANLA, formed in the latter half of 2006, has close links with NSCN(I-M).In fact, the police had arrested six AANLA cadres from a hideout in Guwahati on December 10following intelligence reports that the group was out to indulge in some sabotage in the statecapital as a reprisal to the incident of stripping of an Adivasi girl here on November 24. Thosearrested included Bikash Munda alias Raj Munda (25), believed to be the number two in the outfit.According to police, David Tirkey, the chief commander of the AANLA, has been running theorganisation from his base in Jharkhand. The other five arrested are: Sunil Xalxa (23), FrancisToppo (23), John Kerketta (29), Nicholas Lakra (30) and Bikram Toppo (23). Intelligenceagencies, however, do not rate the AANLA very high, with reports saying the number of cadresholding sophisticated firearms would not be more than 20. “But it is always more dangerous whena young boy gets an unauthorised weapon and when he is charged with emotions,” IGP Sharmasaid. The group does have some AK-series weapons, and was originally close to the ULFA too.While the group has been more active in Golaghat, Sibsagar and Karbi Anglong districts ofAssam — all bordering Nagaland — police have arrested about a dozen of its members in thepast three or four months in connection with cases of extortion and abduction. In September, agroup of AANLA members had kidnapped a schoolboy in Sonari, a town in Sibsagar districtbordering Nagaland, but released him within a few days. Police had in March gunned down twoAANLA cadres in an encounter near Sarupathar in Golaghat district. (Indian Express 15/12/07)Assam tribal bandh disrupts normal life (6)Guwahati, Dec. 17: The 12-hour Assam bandh called by the All-Adivasi Students’ Association ofAssam on Monday disrupted normal life in the adivasi-dominated districts and affected rail androad services across the state. Security sources said that the bandh, called to press for theirdemand to accord Scheduled Tribes status to adivasis, affected western Assam’s Kokrajhar,Chirang, Darrang, Bongaigaon and Goalpara districts. In Upper Assam, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur,Golaghat, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts were badly hit by the bandh on Monday. All schools,

educational institutions, markets and business establishments were closed and vehiclesremained off the roads. Several vehicles were also stranded along the highway while inter-districtmovement of buses was affected in Lower Assam. Government railway police SP SurendarKumar said that there were reports of over 1,200 to 1,500 bandh supporters blocking railwaytracks at Srirampur linking Assam and North Bengal. Reports of picketing were also receivedfrom Hashimara in North Bengal, he said. The spokesman of the Northeast Frontier Railway, MrTrikal Rabha, said that movement of trains was slow due to picketing and due to security pilotingof trains following the recent bomb blast in the Rajdhani Express, which killed five people. A truckand a press vehicle were damaged by bandh supporters at Darrang and Lakhimpur districts.(Asian Age 18/12/07)Report on Gujjars submitted to Raje (6)New Delhi : The Justice Jasraj Chopra committee on Gujjars' demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST)status in Rajasthan submitted its report to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Monday. The 150-page report, contents of which were not known, is likely to be discussed by the State Cabinet onTuesday. The report was to be submitted on last Saturday. The BJP will play safe, as it does notwant to allow the focus to be shifted from Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh poll to the problembrewing in Rajasthan. "It is a sensitive issue. The party will faces problem by either accepting orrejecting Gujjar's demand. The Meenas are completely opposed to ST status for Gujjars. Bothgroups are influential. We have to take time," senior BJP leaders in New Delhi said. Meanwhile,after a minister belonging the Meena community offered to quit on Sunday, another Rajasthanminister of the same community on Monday threatened to resign if the state government accededto Gujjars' demand. Interestingly, the wife of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kirori Lal Meenahanded his resignation to the Chief Minister. BJP leaders in Delhi said what was given to theChief Minister was not resignation but "suggestions for action" from the minister. State BJPpresident Mahesh Sharma, who also received the copy the 'resignation', declined to comment onthe contents of the letter. Meanwhile, the Janjati Arakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti has askedall the 31 Meena legislators, belonging to different political parties, to hand over their resignationto it so the same could be forward to the assembly speaker. Two BSP MLAs have forwarded theirresignation. However, leaders of Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti, which is spearheading the agitation infavour of the demand, are hopeful of a favourable report and subsequent action from theGovernment. (Pioneer 18/12/07)Tribal blockade disrupts movement of freight trains (6)Jamshedpur : The dawn-to-dusk economic blockade, declared by the Jharkhand DisomParty(JDP) and other tribal outfits, on Monday partially disrupted the movements of goods trainsand road traffic in Jharkhand. So far, no untoward incident has been reported barring smashing ofglasses of heavy trucks in Dumka during the blockade. JDP had called the blockade in a bid topressurise the Central Government to give the status of Scheduled Tribe(ST) to the tribals, whoare working in the tea gardeners for decades in Assam. The resentment against the Assam andthe Union Government by tribals suddenly brewed up in the State following the stripping andassault of a tribal girl and killing of tribals in Assam on November 24. Although the economicblockade was called for an indefinite period, however, it was reduced to a 12-hour blockadekeeping in view the inconvenience of the public. However, the JDP and other tribal outfits will gofor an indefinite economic blockade from January 27. The activists of JDP and other tribal outfitsassembled on the Howrah-Mumbai main line near Mahadevsal railway station(West Singhbhum)to block the movements of goods trains on Monday afternoon. They also detained the Howrah-Sambalpur Ispat Express at Lotapahar under the South Eastern Railway station for nearly halfhour.Senior division commercial manager(Chakradharpur division), JS Bindra, who is the actingin-charge of public relation, said that the movements of goods trains remained peaceful in theSinghbhum-Kolhan. "The tribal activists assembled along the railway tracks on Chakradharpur-Manoharpur-Mumbai line. But they did not stop the movements of iron loaded trains," Bindra said.(Pioneer 18/12/07)Language issue rocks Jharkhand Assembly (6)

Ranchi: Language issue on Tuesday rocked the Jharkhand Assembly as tribal MLAs demandedsecond language status to tribal languages soon after the Speaker directed the StateGovernment to consider giving “Bangla” the status. Speaker Alamgir Alam asked the Governmentto look into within 45 days the demand for recognition of Bangla as second language made byRJD MLA Anapurna Devi and BJP MLA C P Singh through call attention. The direction cameafter vociferous protests and sit-in by the opposition demanding Bangla as State’s secondlanguage. The Speaker’s direction sparked protests and sit-in by tribal MLAs, cutting across partylines, demanding the same status to Santhali and other regional languages. Perhaps for the firsttime, tribals MLAs from both ruling and opposition benches sat together on the floor of the House,demanding a similar directive by the Speaker in the interest of tribal welfare and progress. TheSpeaker asked protesting tribal MLAs to bring their demand through call attention or any othermode. The House came to order after Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi assured that hisGovernment would review all such demands and was waiting for the 2001 census report. Healleged that the NDA had failed to give Urdu the second language status despite it enjoyed thestatus during undivided Bihar period. It was the UPA Government which recently recognised Urduas the second language of the state, he added.- PTI (The Hindu 19/12/07)Panel rejects ST status for Gujjars (6)Jaipur : A day after the Chopra Committee submitted its report on the Gujjars, reportedly notfavouring Scheduled Tribe status for the community, the Rajasthan Government on Tuesdaydecided to forward the report to the Centre without any comments. However, notwithstanding theconclusion of the report, the Cabinet has constituted a ministerial panel, which would prepare awelfare package for the community, which is still very backward. The committee, headed byRamdas Agrawal, national treasurer of the party, would submit its report before the BudgetSession of the Assembly so that the package could be included in the budget announcementsThe Chopra Committee, it is learnt, in its report has said that the Gujjar community did not fulfil allthe five criterions, laid down by the Schedule Tribe Commission, to get the status of ST. But thereport concluded that there was a lack of education among the Gujjars and there number in theGovernment jobs was far less than the population proportion. Steps are required to be initiated forthe uplift of the community, the report stated. Reacting to the Chopra Committee report, RoopSingh, spokesperson of the Gujjar Sangharash Samiti, spearheading the agitation to get STstatus for the community, said that conclusion of the report has dejected the community leaderswho were hopeful that it would favour an ST status for the community. "Our struggle for STstatues for the community would continue," Roop Singh told The Pioneer. Col Kirori SinghBainsla, convener of the Sanghrash Samiti, called the meeting of it leaders and is expected toannounce next step of the Samiti. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was said to be intouch with the central leadership of the party, which has advised her to cautiously approach thesensitive issue. Raje, who would be in Delhi on Wednesday to attend the National Councilmeeting, would meet the party leaders in this regard. Before the Cabinet meeting, Raje alsodiscussed the report with party leaders. It was felt that party should play safe on the issue, asopponents would try to take political advantage with the coming Assembly elections. (Pioneer19/12/07)‘Baptised’ tribals re-embrace Hinduism (6)SURAT, DECEMBER 19: Around 2,000 tribal men and women from different villages in SouthGujarat, who had converted to Christianity, re-embraced Hinduism on Monday evening at areligious ceremony ( sammelan) at the Shivaji ground in Tapi district. They took an oath by thefire in the presence of Jagat Guru Acharya Narendra Maharaj and submitted affidavits that theywon’t convert to Christianity ever again in the future. The people had started gathering at thevenue since Sunday night listening to the Jagat Guru’s teaching before re-converting to Hinduismat the ceremony a day later. Narayan Solanki, a disciple of Narendra Maharaj in Tapi district,said, “There are many disciples of the Maharaj working in different villages of Vyara, Dharampur,Songadh, Mandvi, Ahwa-Dang, Vasda and so on. They visit these places and interact with thetribals who have been baptised earlier by various missionaries and convince them to return backto Hinduism.” According to Solanki, the Maharaj also runs an ashram at Naneej village inRatnagiri district of Maharashtra. It was after a visit to one such ashram that they became

motivated to become his disciples. “We visit different villages and persuade those, who havebeen baptised, to come back into the Hindu fold,” said Solanki. Giving details about thesammelan (ceremony), another disciple, Mahipal Thakur, said, “We have been working for thesammelan for the past few months and contacted tribals in various villages, who had become fedup with Christianity. These tribals gathered on Sunday night at Tapi district. They were providedwith food and accommodation, and later they met the Maharaj during the night. On Monday, theyassembled at the Shivaji ground where the Maharaj gave a religious sermon. Many of the tribalmen also cut off their hair and took oaths, while all of them gave thumb impressions on theaffidavits saying they have willingly returned to the folds of the Hindu religion.” Deputy Collector ofTapi district N S Halbe said, “The organisers had taken prior permission to hold the sammelan.The district officials visited the venue and have submitted their report about it to me.” (IndianExpress 20/12/07)79 per cent land oustees tribals(6)New Delhi, December 20, Over a million people have been ousted from their homes in the lastdecade, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, a survey done byNGOs has shown. Of the 1.4 million displaced, 79 per cent were found to be Scheduled Tribesfrom the four states, which are hotbeds of Naxalite activity. Though such a high percentage of thedisplaced are Scheduled Tribes, the community makes up only 8.2 per cent of India's population.The NGOs, ActionAid and Laya, as well as the Indian Social Institute conducted the survey thatquestioned the government's model of development, which is alienating an already vulnerablesection of society. The total area acquired for setting up industries in the four states was found tobe 10.2 million acres - roughly the area 28 times the size of Delhi. Projects for which land hasbeen acquired include mines, industrial plants and dams. The study pointed to a correlationbetween attempts to exploit minerals, forests and rivers on an industrial scale and the increasingimpoverishment and growing number of human rights violation cases among those displaced.The report also noted that all these states have seen a rise in both peaceful and violent protests,which are countered increasingly by an aggressive state hand. "Largescale displacement inducedby India's dogged pursuit of economic growth is ousting adivasis from land, livelihood, ancestralhomes and places of worship," said Bratindi Jena, who works for tribal rights with ActionAid. Sheadded that tribal communities are increasingly under attack in the name of development. TheNGOs also spoke to a number of tribals in these states. Gobindha Marin, who was displacedbecause of a refinery project in Orissa said his land was taken. "They took our farming land. Theyleft some houses. They took the cremation ground, temple, well and pond. How will we survive.''Kumthadi Vadaka, another tribal from Orissa, said: "We won't leave. We are mountain people, ifwe go somewhere else we will die. We will live here and die here." Prime Minister ManmohanSingh had said earlier this year that Maoist insurgency was the single most important threat to thecountry's internal security. And the four states worst affected by displacement of tribals seem tobe providing the most fertile ground for Naxalite insurgency. (Hindustan Times 20/12/07)Hill Council can’t cancel ST status: Kyndiah son (6)SHILLONG, DECEMBER 20: Waibha K Kyndiah, the Congress candidate for the NongkremAssembly seat and son of Union Tribal Minister P R Kyndiah, on Thursday said Khasi HillsAutonomous District Council (KHADC) Chief Executive Member H S Shylla’s threat of using theSocial Custom Lineage Act to deprive him of the Scheduled Tribe status for not using hismother’s surname was not applicable to him. Kyndiah said he uses his mother’s surname“Khyriem” as his middle name and added that the KHADC does not have the power to issue orcancel ST status. He said only the Deputy Commissioner has the power to do so. East Khasi HillsDeputy Commissioner B Dhar also clarified that the KHADC does not have the authority to issueor cancel somebody’s ST status. He said that even if the KHADC issues an ST certificate it willnot be recognised by the Government. Dhar clarified that only the Deputy Commissioner,Additional Deputy Commissioner and Sub Divisional Officer (Civil) have the power to either issueST certificate or cancel it. He, however, added that he would not be able to give comprehensivecomments unless the “papers” came to his table (Indian Express 21/12/07)GSS leaders urge Gujjar MLAs to resign en masse (6)

Jaipur: The leaders of Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti (GSS) have urged their legislators, belonging todifferent political parties, to resign from their posts en masse in order to build pressure on theState Government to recommend their demand for Schedule Tribe status to the Centre. Leaders,including GSS supremo Col Kirori Singh Bainsla and its convener Prahalad Gunjal, the expelledBJP MLA, on Friday took strong exception to the Government's decision to send the Chopracommittee report to the Centre without any recommendations. The State Government hadforwarded the near 300-page report of the Chopra committee to the Union Government onThursday evening. Clearly miffed with the decision of the State Government, GSS leaders alsosaid that a mahapanchayat of the community would be held at Bayana in Bharatpur on January13to announce the next phase of the Gujjar agitation. Gunjal, along with MLA Atar Singh Bhadana,was suspended from the BJP for openly supporting the Gujjar agitation. Later, Gunjal wasexpelled for defying the party on the issue. Bainsla said that after the Chopra committee report,which has disappointed the community, the Gujjar leadership was determined to fight for justicemore vigorously. He said the next agitation would be more extensive than the May-June stir,which had forced the Government to come to the negotiation table. Urging the Gujjar MLAs tolook beyond their respective parties, Gunjal said their next agitation would not only be against theState Government, but against the Centre to force it to amend criterions necessary for an STstatus. Pioneer 22/12/07)For millions, economic boom spells doom: report (6)New Delhi, December 19, 2007: So what if India is surging at a high economic growth rate? Insome of the richest states in the country this very fact, in terms of natural resources, has meantdoom for millions who are displaced from their homes, says a latest study. Released onWednesday by an international development agency ActionAid, India Social Institute and LAYA, avoluntary organisation in Andhra Pradesh working for tribal issues for the past 25 years, thereport "Resource Rich Tribal Poor" says that in the name of development a large number ofindigenous people are stripped of their basic identity and the right to live a fulfilling life. The studywas conducted in five districts of four resource-rich states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa andAndhra Pradesh. Joseph Marianus Kujur of the Indian Social Institute, who was the researchcoordinator for the study, said acceleration of economic reforms has led to exclusion of massesand has widened the gap between the rich and the poor. "This study looks at the latestgovernment data of the past 10 years in just these four states which unveils the fact that thenumber of people who have been displaced because of the various development projects is over1.6 million. "In the process of conducting the study, 92 percent of the respondents said that theyhave not received adequate compensation. All of this leads us to ask the question: Isdisplacement necessary for development?" Kujur told IANS. According to the report, 749,555people were displaced for various dam projects, 304,698 for industry, 539,351 for mining, 926people for electricity generation plants and 22,050 for defence establishments. Although landacquisition and displacement are two sides of the same coin, the report says that there are noresettlement and rehabilitation policies in place in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. In Orissa andAndhra Pradesh, many of those displaced don't have record of rights over the land that they havebeen using. Most of the displaced people haven't been rehabilitated despite records showingotherwise. However, those who have been, a majority being adivasis (tribal), are finding it difficultto cope with the new environment and usually tend to leave for forest cover. "Pushed to live in thepolluted slums, collective histories and indigenous knowledge about plants, medicine andecological symbiosis which the adivasis have are thus rendered useless. "Facing competitionfrom the educated lot in the metropolitan cities and towns, they fail to get any industrial job. Allthat they are left with is menial and unreliable labour under contractors," Kujur said. The reportrecords the sentiments of a 40-year-old man from Bandhaguda, Orissa, one on the villages underthreat from bauxite mining plans of Vedanta Plc., who said that he accepted cash compensationto leave his home under the threat from company touts. "We cannot eat money, and we know itwon't last long. We have lost our land and livelihood. While they make promises of better life forus, we are left only with problems," the report quoted him as saying. Some of those displacedwere not even aware of the rehabilitation policies. "What we found was that those who wererehabilitated couldn't have led a worse life. Plucked out of their homes, they don't have a job,can't cope with the sudden changes and to add to all of that, the resettlement sites lack basic

amenities," said Bratindi Jena of ActionAid said. The report recommends that there should bestrict adherence of the laws existing at the Central and the state level, which prohibits the transferof tribal land to non-tribal under the cover of land.Implement Forest Rights Act, PM urged (6)NEW DELHI: International environmental groups have appealed to Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi to implement theScheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forests Rights) Act,2006. In an appeal sent to the two leaders, as many as 15 organisations, working in the field ofenvironment, have said that the Act would become an important model for the world toimplement, with justice at the community level of indigenous forest life, the “internationalcommitments on sustainable use and management of forest diversity in relation to indigenousforest communities” and “protected forest areas.” The international bodies have asked thegovernment to ensure that India duly implemented the Forest Rights Act and through it the U.N.Convention on biological commitments on indigenous and local communities authority onsustainable use and conservation of biodiversity, according to which the governments shall“protect and encourage customary use of biological resources and knowledge, innovations andpractices of indigenous and local communities.” The Forest Rights Act needs to be implementedso that “it casts rights and authority on the forest dwelling tribal communities to protect forests.”This was because “the total indigenous forest communities are the most experienced in terms ofwhat kind of human activities can sustain regeneration and biodiversity.” They have lived in theforests for centuries and sustained the valuable ecosystems. The Act can crucially helpimplement the U.N. commitments and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) recommendationson conservation, which are not duly implemented by India’s earlier forest and biodiversity laws.The government’s report of the Task Force on Social and Economic Aspects of Conservation forthe Environment and Forests Sector noted this when it said: “Ecosystem services that Indianforests provide are essentially due to conservation efforts by the traditional communities, but stillhow prevailing laws and administration have treated indigenous forest communities life andpractices, causes ‘unfortunately, near-total delegitimisation and non-recognition of the wealth oflocal biodiversity knowledge which has been adapted to local ecosystem.” Some of thesignatories to the appeal are the Forest and Biodiversity Programme, Friends of the EarthInternational, World Rainforest Movement, New Wind, Finnish Association for NatureConservation, and Ecoforestry Union. (The Hindu 27/12/07)Joint Adivasi Action Committee calls for poll boycott (6)Guwahati: The Joint Adivasi Action Committee — an umbrella organisation of adivasi outfitsincluding the two militant outfits, Adivasi Cobra Militants of Assam (ACMA) and the BirsaCommando Force (BCF) — has called for a boycott of the panchayat elections in Assam and anindefinite economic blockade in Assam and “greater Jharkhand” areas from January 27 next,demanding that Scheduled Tribe status be accorded to adivasis and tea-tribe communities ofAssam. Leaders of the Action Committee also revealed their plan to float a new political party atthe national level. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Action Committee held onThursday. Apart from the two militant outfits the meeting was attended by other constituents ofthe Action Committee including the Jharkhand Disam Party, the All India Adivasi Students’ YouthUnion, the Adivasi Council of Assam, the Adivasi Mahila Samiti and the All Assam Tea TribeStudents’ Association (AATTSA). Although the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam(AASAA) is also constituent of the action committee it is not a party to panchayat poll boycott callbut has backed the economic blockade. Self styled Commander-in-Chief of the ACMA KanhuMurmoo and Chairman of the militant BCF Birsing Munda told reporters here on Friday that thecommittee would enforce indefinite road and railway blockade from January 27 onwards atBuxirhat and Srirampur along Assam-West Bengal border to stop goods movement to Assam andother northeastern states. Similar blockades would also enforced in uranium, coal and othermines of Jharkhand, he said. Both the ACMA and the BCF are currently under ceasefireagreement. The militant leader said that blockades would also be enforced along the Assam-Bhutan border. The call for boycott of the panchayat polls has also been given by theJanagosthya Aikyamancha — a coordination committee of organisations representing six

communities of Assam demanding Scheduled Tribe status. The Janagosthiya Aikyamanch hasalso called for a 36-hour Assam Bandh from December 30. The six communities are Koch-Rajbanshis, Tai-Ahoms, Tea-tribe and adivasis, Morans, Muttock and Chutias. The three-phasepanchayat elections in Assam are scheduled for December 31, January 4 and January 9. Ameeting of the Strategy Group of the Unified Command of the Army, police and paramilitaryforces convened by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reviewed the prevailing situation and ongoingcounter insurgency operations. Sources said that the meeting underlined the need for stepping uparea domination by security forces along Assam-Nagaland border and the districts in which themilitant All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA) is active, to thwart any attempt by the outfitto strike during the panchayat polls. The State government has been examining the scope ofbanning the AANLA. (The Hindu 29/12/07)Tribals lament erosion of age-old systems (6)KORAPUT: “We are considered underdeveloped by the government and other agencies workingin tribal districts like Koraput. But, we consider ourselves to have strayed from our originaldevelopment line because of improper intervention of developmental agencies, including thegovernment,” says Surendra Gantha, a tribal leader from Mahadeiput panchayat in Koraput block.He was speaking at a workshop organised by Agragamee, a leading NGO from Kashipur inRayagada district, here on Friday. “While the effort to develop the tribal community is bringing inhuge funds, it is the implementing agencies and officials who are benefiting the most than thecommon man at the grassroots level because people in rural areas have remained ignorant ofmost of the welfare schemes, he said. “Considering the indigenous people ignorant andbackward, many schemes have been launched incorporating modern practices and methods. Inthe process, the age-old systems of respective communities being passed on from onegeneration to the other have been dumped,” he lamented. “Such interventions have crippled thetribal society further, leaving the youth in the lurch,” Madan Kirsani, another tribal youth fromMachra village said. Palli sabha and gram sabha were a myth in major parts of the district in theabsence of involvement of villagers in the process, he added. “The village meetings conducted inthe traditional system were well attended as the scope of involving everyone in decision makingprocess is guaranteed,” K.C. Panigrahy, Director of Tribal Museum, said. Emphasising the needfor knowing the real needs and aspirations of the people for bringing development in the region,he said there was much to learn from the hill tribes than to teach. A retired economics professorJagabandhu Samal and a retired Oriya lecturer Kumarmani Sahu reviewed some of the bookspublished by the Agragamee, which were displayed at the book exhibition organised at thevenue. Coordinator of Agragamee Vidya Das presided over the meeting. (The Hindu 29/12/07)Maoists abduct seven tribals in Chhattisgarh (6)Raipur : Seven tribals were abducted by Maoists at Bijapur in Chhattisgarh, the police said onFriday. They had been living in a State Government-run relief camp for the last two years.Sources said a group of 10 people went to forest for cutting trees and bamboo from Bhairamgarhrelief camp. Seven of them were abducted and three other managed to scape. "They had gone toSurakhera forest to fetch bamboo and wood for pitching a hut," police sources said. The saidforest is situated some seven kms from the relief camp at Bhairamgarh. About 40 armed Maoistscame there and abducted seven people. Three managed to escape. (Pioneer 29/12/07)