People's Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No.
24
June 13, 2010
|
Vol. XXXIV
No.
24 June 13, 2010 |
On June 12 and 13, around 230
delegates from States
across the country will participate in a National
Convention on Tribal Rights
to share their experiences of resistance and struggle and to work out a
plan
for future actions on the urgent issues and demands of tribal
communities. The convention
will also discuss the steps required for expansion and consolidation of
organised work among tribal communities. On the agenda of the
convention is the
formation of an Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch — a national platform
for
tribal rights — which should help to build a coordinated and effective
nationwide movement and intervention in defence of and for the
advancement of
the rights of tribal citizens of
The concerns of tribal
communities for justice surely
do hold an equally importance place for other organised
anti-capitalist,
anti-landlord movements like those of the kisans and the trade unions.
Further,
in most spheres such as employment, health, education, and in basic
socio-economic indicators, tribal citizens among students, women and
youth
share the lowest rung of the hierarchy with the SCs. This convention
will also
include delegates from the major organisations representing these
different
sections which will provide an opportunity to understand the
multi-dimensional
character of the present offensive faced by tribal citizens.
The policies of the UPA
government led by the Congress
party, and an intensification of the policies followed by the earlier
NDA government
as far as forcible land evictions, takeover of tribal land for
corporates in
violation of constitutional provisions, its policies leading to further
food
insecurity and widespread malnutrition among adivasi communities, make
a mockery
of its claims of inclusive growth. The convention is slated to discuss
the
importance of intensifying the struggles against the present central
government
and its policies.
No movement for justice can hope
to advance if it does
not address in specific terms the oppressions and exploitations of
different
social groups in our country, be they the scheduled castes, the
scheduled
Tribes, women who suffer particular discrimination and oppression on
the basis
of gender or those like the minority Muslim community who suffer
discrimination
on the basis of their religion.
Tribal communities face both
social and economic
discrimination and exploitation. The large majority of tribals belong
to the
exploited classes and thus form a most important contingent, in class
terms, in
the struggle for revolutionary social change.
AS MARGINAL
PEASANTS
As many as 70 per cent of the tribal people
are small
and marginal farmers owning small plots of land with very low levels of
productivity. Over 30 per cent of the tribals are landless. It is
estimated
that between 15-20 per cent of tribals are without even homestead land
and
houses. Ironically, the most deprived in our society, the tribals, live
on the
most sought after mineral-rich land and are the victims of predatory
policies
intensified under both the NDA and the UPA regimes, which give license
to
corporate houses to grab the land, to evict the tribals while giving
them
meagre or no compensation.
The issue of land rights, of land reforms, of
the
struggle against displacement, of the struggle against land alienation
will no
doubt be a central issue in the convention. Since 2002, 4 million
hectares of
forestland has been diverted for projects for SEZs, mining, irrigation,
dams
etc, displacing lakhs of tribal and other poor families. In this period
many
important and militant struggles for land led by Left led organisations
of the
tribals have taken place such as those in Vishakha and Pollavaram in
Andhra
Pradesh, in Sundargarh, Jejpur and Jagjitsighnagar in Orissa, in
Ranchi,
Kundahit and Dumka in Jharkhand, in Thane, Nanded and Nasik in
Maharashtra, in
Satna and Shadol in Madhya Pradesh. Many participants in these
struggles will
attend the convention and the delegates will have an opportunity to
hear first
hand accounts of the struggles. Experience shows that it is not a blanket
opposition to all projects in tribal areas. The position taken depends
upon the
displacement and environmental damage which it would cause and the
negative
impact it may have on tribal livelihoods. The procedures and processes
of
consent of gram sabhas in the Fifth Schedule areas or compact tribal
areas are
also crucial and no clearances can be given without such consent. In
some areas
alternative sites have been suggested. There are also cases where
alternative
irrigation projects and dams have been suggested which would have been
less
displacing but have been refused by the Governments concerned leading
to
intensified struggles. At the same time, the poor implementation of the
Forest
Rights Act and the unwarranted interventions of the forest department
in
several states to sabotage the process of giving pattas
to adivasis on forest land is a matter of deep concern. Official statistics point to an alarming
number of
claimants to land which have been rejected. As per the information on
the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs website, till March 31, 2010, more than
27.44 lakh
claims have been filed but only one-fourth, 7.82 lakh titles have been
distributed.
The acute crisis in agriculture
in tribal compact
areas with little or no irrigation as well as the massive displacement
taking
place in tribal areas and the relentless process of land alienation
even in
areas protected under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, is
forcing
tribals to join the ranks of the rural and urban proletariat and as
workers in
the unorganised sector.
For example, a large number of
tribal men and women
are joining the construction industry. Trade unions of construction
workers,
organised by the CITU with a large membership of tribals, can play an
important
role in organising tribals in rural areas because of the close links
with the
tribals living in tribal compact areas.
Large numbers of tribals are
also employed as coal
workers or in iron ore mines, quarries though mostly as contract or
casual
workers with very few rights, as brick kiln workers and so on, and
women are
migrating to become domestic workers in cities. Thus there is a growing
potential for tribals workers to join the common trade unions of
workers provided
there is sensitivity to their specific social and economic position. It
has
been seen in States like Andhra Pradesh where the Girijan Sangham has
made
specific attempts, how tribal anganwadi workers have taken the lead in
organising other less organised sections of the rural poor tribals.
These
inspiring examples of the leading role of tribal employees and working
class
members to organise the less organised can show the way for others.
The aggressive spread of
capitalist relations in the
agrarian sector and its impact on tribal communities has its reflection
on not
only the economic and social sphere but on the cultural frameworks
within which
tribal communities live and work. The languages and cultures of tribal
people are
under severe attack. Capitalist values and consumerism have their own
impact
even on marriage practices in tribal communities with hitherto unheard
of
practices like dowry demands making an appearance. Dominant casteist
Hindutva
cultures are also sought to be imposed.
The National Convention is being
held at a time of
twin assaults on tribal cultures and identities. On the one hand are
those
forces who seek to divide tribals in the name of religion led by
fundamentalists. Many of these are front organisations working under
the aegis
of the RSS. We have seen the dreadful
face of these forces in the violence for example in Kandhamal in Orissa
where
divisions and rifts created by RSS organisations in the name of ethnic
and
caste identities among communities equally poor led to terrible
consequences of
loss of lives, livelihoods and fraternal relations. On the other hand
are
certain NGOs funded by imperialist forces and other political forces
who are
promoting different variants of identity politics. In doing so they
seek to
fragment and separate the identity of tribal communities from their
proletarian
character, isolating them from the joint struggles of workers and
peasants.
These trends do great damage to the democratic requirement to protect
tribal cultures
languages and identities, while building unity in the struggles of all
working
people for justice and for the defence and advancement of the rights of
tribal
peoples.
In this context the convention
will have the
opportunity to hear the experience of the delegates from many states,
particularly of those from the states where there are Left led
governments.
Although Jharkhand is a Fifth Schedule area with a large population of
Santhals, the Santhals of Jharkhand do not have the same rights as
their counterparts
across the border in West Bengal, where the Left Front government has
set up as
many as 1500 schools with the Ol Chiki language (spoken by Santhals) as
the
medium of instruction to ensure that the right of education in one’s
own
language is ensured to tribal communities. In Jharkhand there are not
even one
third of such schools. Similiarly, in Tripura, it is the Left Front
Government
which has recognised and developed Kok Borok as the language of
instruction
demanding its inclusion in the eighth schedule of the constitution.
In this period, in many states,
tribal communities
have become victim to the violent activities of Maoists whose savage
and
indiscriminate violence against all those who dare oppose them has
victimised
tribals many of whom have been brutally killed for opposing the
Maoists. In
some states like Chhattisgarh the state has unleashed repression in
tribal
areas in the name of fighting Maoists. We strongly condemn such
repression.
Innocent tribals are caught between the Maoist and official repression
in this state,
leading to the condemnable displacement and terrible suffering of
thousands of
tribal families, particularly tribal women who have also been brutally
assaulted by security forces in several instances, including sexual
assault.
The claim of the Maoists that
they represent the
interests of tribals will no doubt be challenged by the experiences of
many of
the delegations. In Orissa, when the loved and respected trade union
leader of
the iron ore mine workers Comrade Thomas Munda was brutally killed by
Maoists,
the question is who benefited except the management and labour
contractors of
the mines who wanted to retrench the workers but were prevented from
doing so
by the courageous leadership provided by Thomas Munda. 3000 adivasis
were
displaced by Maoist violence in this area of Sundargarh for six months.
Their
land was taken over by the Maoists. These families have now gone back
to their
village determined to till their own land and face the Maoists. In
Jharkhand in
a similar deal between Maoists and industrialists, large amounts of
land have
been forcibly taken over by a well known steel company in the
In the North-East, policies of
successive governments
leading to underdevelopment and grave disparities have fanned ethnic
violence
of one tribe against the other as in
OTHER ISSUES
OF
IMPORTANCE
The major issues are certainly
those of land rights
and livelihood, jobs and ensuring that thousands of vacancies in
government ST
reserved posts are filled. At the same time the impact of neo-liberal
policies
in tribal compact areas is seen in the official statistics that show
that in all
major social sector areas, the status of tribal communities is way
below the
national average in terms of education, access to health facilities,
drinking
water, sanitation, electricity, roads, infrastructure. The specific
experiences
of tribal women, students and youth and the impact of current economic
polices
on them will no doubt form an important part of the charter of demands
that the
convention is expected to discuss and finalise.
While the hard work and labour
of tribals contributes considerably to
the country’s GDP, it is tribals who are the most deprived of the
fruits of the
current growth rates that
This is reflected in the central government
budgetary
allocations. Although in monetary terms the allocations are higher, in
terms of
the percentage of allocations for the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) which it is
mandated must be in proportion to the tribal population, the
allocations are
far less. The proportion of total plan outlay of the central government
earmarked for STs has in fact decreased from 4.77 percent in 2007-08
(budget
estimate) to 4.45 percent in 2008-09 (BE). The allocation for the TSP
as a
percentage of the annual plan expenditure in 2010-2011 should be around
Rs 23,
311 crore, but it is less than half of that.
ALTERNATIVE POLICIES
OF LEFT LED GOVERNMENTS
In contrast, Left
led governments have tried to implement pro-tribal policies. To give a
few
examples: In West Bengal, tribals constitute 5.5 per cent of the
population but
they constitute 19 per cent of the beneficiaries of land distribution.
As far
as the prices for minor forest produce are concerned,
With a tribal population
of around 30 percent Tripura under the Left front Government has set an
example not only the best among NE states,
but has a high ranking in the whole country with the central government
also
noting in several reports its record in ensuring that the benefits of
existing
schemes reach the tribal communities. Tripura has the best record in
implementation of the Sixth Schedule, the guarantee of regular
elections, the
strengthening of democratic structures through the formation of elected
village
committees. Tripura has the best record in implementation of the Forest
Rights
Act and granting of pattas to the tribal
beneficiaries.
In Kerala, where there is a 1.26
percent of tribal
population, the LDF government has taken a major step in distribution
of
homestead land to the tribal people. Thousands of families have been
given such
land. Importantly, the government did not allow police to intervene in
the just
land struggle of the tribals and 3000 families could occupy land. The
LDF government
withdrew false cases which had been registered by the previous Congress
government
against the tribals. Many other important schemes like old age pension,
widow
pensions and other social security measures have been taken by the
government
for the tribal people.
Just as the earlier
