People's
Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 50
December 22,2002
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVI No. 50 December 22,2002 |
Declaration of the All India Tribal Convention
Following
is
the
full
text
of
the
declaration
adopted
at
the
All
India
Tribal
Convention,
which
was
held
in
Ranchi
on
November
18-19,
2002.
The
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
sponsored
this
Convention.
The
declaration
includes
the
charter
of
demands
for
the
better
life
of
the
tribal
people.
THE
problems
and
struggles
of
the
tribal
population
of
India,
numbering
more
than
8
crore,
are
an
integral
part
of
the
democratic
movement
in
the
country.
The
tribal
peoples
have
a
glorious
record
of
rising
in
revolt
against
British
rule.
The
pre-Independence
tribal
revolts
were
mainly
directed
against
the
zamindars,
moneylenders
and
British
rule.
At
the
centre
of
these
struggles
were
questions
of
land,
forest,
forced
eviction,
forced
migration
and
tribal
identity.
More
than
five
decades
after
Independence,
the
plight
of
the
tribal
people
has
actually
worsened.
Capitalist
development
under
bourgeois-landlord
rule
has
led
to
their
lands
being
snatched
away;
their
access
to
forests
obstructed;
villages
were
displaced
to
make
way
for
developmental
and
industrial
projects.
Tribal
areas
are
the
most
backward,
deprived
of
the
fruits
of
development.
With
the
policies
of
liberalisation,
hunger
stalks
the
tribal
areas
with
the
collapse
of
the
public
distribution
system.
As
a
result,
tribals
have
been
pauperised
and
uprooted
from
their
habitats.
A
major
section
of
the
tribal
people
is
comprised
of
the
landless
rural
poor
and
the
most
exploited
cheap
labour
in
mines,
plantations,
brick
kilns
and
construction
work.
Large-scale
transfers
and
illegal
occupation
of
tribal
lands
have
taken
place
through
fraudulent
means
and
taking
advantage
of
the
loopholes
in
the
laws
in
various
parts
of
the
country.
Such
transfers
and
occupations
have
taken
place,
and
are
continuing,
despite
the
Fifth
and
Sixth
Schedules
of
the
Constitution,
the
Scheduled
Areas
Regulation
and
several
land
acts
like
Chotanagpur
and
Santhal
Pargana
Tenancy
Acts.
The
commonly
used
methods
to
usurp
tribal
lands
include
mortgages,
lease
agreements,
benami
transfers,
false
title
deeds
in
collusion
with
revenue
officials,
marriage
to
tribal
women,
holding
land
in
the
name
of
(bonded)
tribal
agricultural
labourers,
etc.
Our
basic
demands,
therefore,
are
restoration
of
tribal
lands,
plugging
legal
loopholes,
firm
action
against
and
check
on
fraudulent
land
transfers.
In
addition,
demands
for
credit
facilities,
access
to
technological
and
scientific
development
in
agriculture,
gradual
rehabilitation
and
adjustment
to
settle
cultivation
from
jhum
cultivation
of
the
tribals
should
be
pursued.
To
meet
the
demand
of
land
for
the
tribal
people,
the
central
question
is
effective
implementation
of
land
reforms
and
to
ensure
distribution
of
surplus
land
to
the
landless
adivasi
families.
In
West
Bengal,
a
total
of
11
lakh
acres
of
surplus
land
has
been
distributed
to
25
lakh
families
by
the
Left
Front
government
–
in
these,
five
lakh
were
tribal
families.
In
Tripura,
7,000
acres
of
land
was
restored
to
land-alienated
tribals
under
the
Left
Front
government.
In
addition
more
tribal
families
have
benefited
due
to
land
reform
measures.
In
these
struggles
the
unity
of
the
tribal
and
non-tribal
poor
is
essential.
Small
non-tribal
peasant
settlers
in
tribal
lands
should
be
given
equivalent
land
elsewhere
or
adequate
compensation
and
differentiation
should
be
made
between
small
and
big
landholders
in
this
regard.
Forest and access to it
The
tribal
people
and
adivasis
have
close
and
natural
bonds
with
the
forest
and
its
produce.
The
Forest
Act
and
its
successive
versions
treat
the
adivasis
as
encroachers
and
interlopers
in
the
forest
instead
of
being
an
integral
part
of
it.
The
disappearance
of
the
forest
and
the
degeneration
of
the
green
cover
are
not
due
to
the
tribals.
It
is
due
to
the
corrupt
nexus
of
the
contractor-mafia-forest
officials-bourgeois
politicians
and
is
an
inexorable
feature
of
capitalist
development.
The
deprivation
of
access
to
the
forest
and
its
produce,
the
tyrannical
rule
of
the
forest
bureaucratic-contractor
nexus
has
deprived
the
tribals
of
their
food,
habitat,
and
traditional
way
of
life
with
serious
social
and
cultural
consequences.
Restoring to tribals access to forest and its produce, tribal co-operative marketing for forest produce with governmental help, protection of tribal knowledge of plants and their usage are important issues.
Large scale displacement due to developmental projects
It
is
estimated
that
about
15
per
cent
of
the
tribals
have
been
evicted
from
their
land
due
to
industrial
and
developmental
projects
in
the
post-Independence
period.
Their
proper
rehabilitation,
compensation
and
jobs
remain
unfulfilled.
Various
unscrupulous
methods
were
adopted
to
deprive
them.
In
case
of
essential
developmental
projects,
full
and
comprehensive
rehabilitation
package
inclusive
of
their
economic,
social
and
cultural
needs,
with
their
agreement
should
be
implemented
before
the
project
actually
begins.
By
and
large
the
status
of
tribal
women
is
better
than
in
caste-dominated
Hindu
society.
In
many
tribal
communities,
women
have
equal
status
and
rights
to
property.
But
in
many
tribes
women
do
not
have
rights
on
land
and
its
cultivation.
Women
work
hard
contributing
to
earning,
family
needs
and
cultural
life.
Bourgeois
and
semi-feudal
values
of
the
dominant
society
have
led
to
degradation
of
the
status
of
women.
They
are
subjected
to
sexual
harassment
at
workplaces
by
landlords,
mafias,
contractors
and
sections
of
the
forest
department
staff.
Trafficking
of
adivasi
women
by
organised
gangs
is
a
serious
problem.
They
are
taken
to
far
away
places
and
treated
as
bonded
labour
and
victims
of
sexual
exploitation.
While
preserving
and
encouraging
equal
status
to
women,
sexual
harassment
of
women
must
be
resisted;
discrimination
in
property
and
cultivation
rights
should
be
removed;
retrograde
practices
of
ostracising
and
branding
women
as
witches
must
be
opposed.
Old
collective
forms
of
tribal
life
with
egalitarian
features
have
broken
down
in
face
of
feudal
and
capitalist
onslaughts.
Today
tribals
are
the
most
economically
deprived
and
socially
oppressed
section
of
our
people.
They
are
at
the
lowest
rung
in
human
social
development.
They
are
under
ruthless
exploitation
of
landlords
and
land
mafias,
money-lenders,
contractors,
corrupt
police
and
officials,
and
ruling
class
politicians.
Large
numbers
of
adivasis
with
their
entire
families
migrate
from
homes
to
other
areas
and
states
to
eke
out
a
meagre
livelihood.
They
are
deprived
of
minimum
wages
and
protection
of
labour
laws
and
various
SC/ST
measures
as
they
remain
unorganised
and
at
some
places
remain
as
bonded
labourers.
Further,
the
cuts
in
State’s
funding
in
health
and
education
and
their
privatisation
have
deprived
large
number
of
tribals
of
health
and
education.
Forced
realisation
of
bank
loans
have
wreaked
havoc
on
the
land,
properties
and
livelihood
of
many
adivasis.
1
Lack
of
education
Today
Adivasis
and
dalits,
except
in
North
Eastern
states,
have
the
highest
percentage
of
illiterates,
as
successive
governments
did
not
make
any
serious
attempt
to
impart
education
to
these
sections
of
our
people.
The
literacy
level
of
female
adivasi
population
is
the
lowest
in
any
category.
Tribal
peoples
are
faced
with
the
threat
of
losing
their
identity
as
their
languages
and
cultures
are
endangered.
Successive
central
governments
ignored
tribal
languages.
Bureaucratic
controlled
tribal
cultural
programmes
were
presented
as
folk
cultures.
Each
tribal
language
should
be
given
recognition
and
developed
including
imparting
of
primary
education.
Major
tribal
languages
such
as
Santhali
should
be
recognised
under
the
Eighth
Schedule
of
the
Constitution.
Alchiki
script
is
recognised
by
the
Left
Front
government
of
West
Bengal.
The
Tripura
government
has
recognised
the
Kokborok
language
as
the
second
language
of
the
state.
Positive
aspects
of
tribal
culture,
particularly
their
collective
and
egalitarian
ethos,
should
be
protected
and
encouraged.
However,
there
should
be
fight
from
within
the
community
against
retrograde
practices
like
witch
hunting,
depriving
women
of
land
and
cultivation,
polygamy,
etc.
Economic
and
social
movements
led
to
awakening
amongst
tribals
demanding
economic,
social
and
political
equity.
The
demands,
under
vested
interests,
sometimes
were
directed
to
divisive
channels.
Tribal
people
living
in
contiguous
areas
constituting
majority
or
substantial
section
of
the
population
should
be
provided
regional
autonomy.
The
Left
Front
government
of
Tripura
pioneered
the
development
of
the
Tripura
Tribal
Autonomous
District
Council
in
this
regard.
The
Sixth
Schedule
should
be
amended
so
as
to
provide
adequate
powers
to
them
for
development
in
the
autonomous
areas.
In
North-Eastern
hill
states
(except
Tripura
and
Manipur)
tribal
people
are
in
majority.
There
are
a
large
number
of
tribal
communities
with
distinct
ethnic
and
social
features.
Their
problems
are
different.
In
some
areas
there
are
inter-tribal
conflicts.
They
suffer
the
consequences
of
bourgeois-landlord
rule
from
the
Centre
–
the
policy
of
neglect,
failure
to
develop
the
region
economically
and
insensitivity
to
their
aspirations.
An
opportunistic
narrow
elite
section
profited
from
the
Central
financial
assistance
and
by
diversion
of
development
funds.
The
growing
discontent
and
thwarted
aspirations
of
tribals
gave
rise
to
separatist
feelings.
However,
the
suppression
of
separatism
and
insurgencies
in
the
absence
of
a
democratic
perspective
for
all-round
development
of
the
region,
and
a
failure
to
give
due
recognition
to
the
nationality
and
cultural
diversities
has
led
to
a
stalemate.
The
imperialists
are
taking
advantage
of
the
present
situation
to
foment
separatist
demands
and
ethnic-based
conflicts.
Only
by
strengthening
the
federal
decentralised
set-up
with
genuine
autonomy
for
minority
groups
can
the
diverse
aspirations
connected
with
identity,
language
and
culture
of
the
tribal
population
of
the
region
be
fulfilled.
The
RSS
and
its
several
outfits
have
stepped
up
their
activities
in
tribal
areas.
They
are
targeting
the
Christian
minorities.
They
are
trying
to
divide
the
tribals
between
Christians
and
non-Christians.
They
are
trying
to
impose
Brahmanical
caste-divided
Hindutva
on
the
tribals.
They
do
not
recognise
the
tribals
as
adivasis.
For
them
they
are
‘Vanvasis’
which
confines
the
tribal
people
solely
to
the
forests
and
negates
history.
The
RSS
and
its
outfits
are
challenging
the
secular
democratic
forces.
We
have
to
preserve
the
unity
of
all
tribals
and
forge
unity
amongst
the
tribal
and
non-tribal
toiling
sections.
The demands of the tribal people and other socially oppressed sections are part of the democratic movement, the movements of the working class, peasantry, agricultural workers and other toiling sections. In certain areas, particularly in the north-east, some of the Church groups are fostering separatist tendencies with the narrow aim of consolidating their religious influence. The exploitation of the tribals by the landlord and bourgeois classes can be fought back successfully only with the broad unity of the oppressed of the tribal and non-tribal sections.
The
Convention
calls
upon
the
tribal
people
throughout
India
to
organise
themselves
to
fight
for
the
above
demands.
They
can
go
forward
to
achieve
these
demands
if
they
link
their
struggles
with
the
democratic
movement,
with
the
struggles
of
the
working
class,
peasantry
and
other
toiling
sections.
A
tribal
person
is
oppressed
as
a
worker,
a
poor
peasant,
a
landless
agricultural
worker,
an
ill-paid
working
woman,
and
for
being
at
the
bottom
of
the
hierarchical
social
ladder.
The
tribal
people
are
victims
of
the
worst
forms
of
social
and
class
oppression.
The
Convention
appeals
to
all
the
organisations
of
the
working
class,
peasantry,
agricultural
workers,
women,
youth,
students
and
cultural
activists
to
take
up
the
basic
demands
of
the
tribal
people.
Let
us
build
up
a
strong
movement
for
emancipation
of
the
tribal
people
as
an
integral
part
of
the
democratic
movement.
