(This piece authored by Fr Stan Swamy was originally published on Sept 15, 2017. It is being re-published today in his memory.)

“There are people who cannot take bail. There is nobody for them,” observed SC and ordered prisoners to be freed over trial delays.If a trial takes place, most would be acquitted… the trial deliberately delayed so they remain behind bars for years…                                                                    
 
The news was in the local print media recently. The startling news that after Jharkhand became a separate State, the highest number of arrests of alleged ‘naxals’ have taken place . It went on to say they are languishing in jails because they do not have the money to hire lawyers so they can come out on bail. Nor does the government’s ‘free legal aid’ ever reaches them. They are deliberately kept  in jail for years without trial because if speedy trial takes place, most of them would  be acquitted. The convenient tool the police use is to label them ‘naxals’, add more fake charges and prolong the trial process.

The Supreme Court, in its September 4, 2014 order mobilised judicial officers across the country to visit every prison in their district for the next two months to identify and release undertrial prisoners who have already underwent detention for half the maximum period of imprisonment their offence prescribes under law.

The media has however reported on September 21, 2015, that more than nine months after the Supreme Court deadline expired on the release of undertrial prisoners –all those who had completed half the prison term for the offence they were charged with should be released—the government still did not have any data (or was not releasing it, anyway) on how many such prisoners had actually been released.

Arrests and ‘Surrenders’ during 2015-16:  We get a glimpse of the arrests, the ‘surrenders’ as they appear in local print/electronic media: 1307 Jharkhandis have been arrested and 88 of them are supposed to have surrendered. (Source: Prabhat Khabar, Ranchi ed., 1 Sept. 2017).   

Some independent studies indicate that 27 persons [22 in 2016 and 5 in 2017) were killed in so-called ‘encounters’ by the police. (Bagaicha, Ranchi, documentation)

The assumption that all under-trial prisoners are guilty of alleged crimes is wrong. A serious question that emerges is, about the norm laid by the court that undertrial prisoners who had completed half the prison term for the offence they were charged with should be released. On what basis has the court prescribed this directive is not clear. The underlying assumption that all the under-trials are actually guilty of accused crimes. The reality is that it is not true. Most under-trial adivasi prisoners are not guilty of any crime but simple village folk who are falsely implicated by the police. So there should be no question of serving half their jail-term for crimes they never committed.

A just solution would be to release all under-trial prisoners immediately and speed up their trial process within a specified period. And if the govt fails to do that, they all should be acquitted without any conditions.

A dangerous de-humanising process is on:Practically every day, as we open the news paper or watch local TV channels, we see one or more young men are standing with their faces covered standing behind seated police officers in front of whom there is a table with weapons that are supposed to have been captured along with the ‘naxals’. A write-up describing where and how these ‘naxals’ are apprehended. Rare are the days when this type of pictures are not printed or such descriptions not reported.                  
                                
Is the general public being taken for a ride ?  The sad thing is that the educated general public takes it to be true! But the fact is most of it is not true. Innocent villagers are just rounded up, taken to police station, put in jails, cooked up charges foisted on them.

‘Surrenders’ proven fake.  Fake surrenders is another plot by para-military & police forces to rob the poor Adivasis & Moolvasis and make money out of them.

A staggering 514 innocent tribal youths were made to ‘surrender as Naxalites’ in Jharkhand between 2012 to 1014. A report of the NHRC affirms that some senior Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers conniving with some Jharkhand police officers have been organising these ‘fake surrenders’ to take advantage of the attractive ‘Naxalite Surrender’ policy. This opens up possibilities of getting awards and even getting promotions for playing this fraud on the poor tribal youths. Some middle men were also roped in who contacted the simple innocent tribals, lured them with promise of jobs and in return took big sums of money from them. Many of the surrendered youths had sold off their family land to arrange for the money to secure the promised jobs that never came. This money was shared with CRPF and police officers. These tribal youths were then lodged in the old central jail of Ranchi who then discovered that there were many many more tribals like them were also cheated and trapped. A senior Officer who discovered this anomaly wrote to the Director General of Police pointing out the seriousness of what was happening. But no action was taken until NHRC brought to light this disgusting affair.

Such is the tale of anguish the 4000 Adivasis languishing in the jails of Jharkhand are trying to tell the rest of the world.

But, is anyone listening ?

The post 4,000 Adivasis, Charged as ‘Naxals in Jails of Jharkand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

(This piece authored by Fr Stan Swamy was originally published on Sept 01, 2016. It is being re-published today in his memory.)

The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgment , declared  “…A blinkered vision of development, complete apathy towards those who are highly adversely affected by the development process and a cynical unconcern for the enforcement of the laws lead to a situation where the rights and benefits promised and guaranteed under the constitution hardly ever reach the most marginalized citizens.” “…to millions of Indians, development is a dreadful and hateful word that is aimed at denying them even the source of their sustenance…  on the path of ‘maldevelopment’ almost every step that we take seems to give rise to insurgency and political extremism”
[SC Special Leave Petition (C) NO.6933 OF 2007, sections 9,7]
 
Tragically the Cabinet Committee for Security (CCS) has given its nod to recruit 12 tribal battalions for so called ‘Maoist-hit states’ as reported by the media on July 25, 2016

It must be made loud and clear the government’s decision to set up
 
‘Anti-Maoist Tribal Battalions’ all over the country
‘Anti-Maoist Paharia Battalions’  in Jharkhand
‘Anti-Maoist Bastar Battalions’ in Chattisgarh
 
is unjust and unwarranted.
 
The Government is creating a ‘police state’ rather than meeting people’s needs: Instead of doing some re-thinking about  of its developmental model and work towards bringing greater equity among its citizens, it is determined to add more guns against the poorest of the poor.

This is in addition to the already deployed 5,00,000 police and para-military forces in the 88 ‘naxal affected’ districts with the financial investment of Rs.30 crores per district per year under the ‘Integrated Action Plan’ for infrastructure development. Now this addition of 12 battalions is to be composed of mostly (75%) ‘local youths’. This raises the following questions:

• Question No 1: Who are the “local youths” to be recruited for the Reserve Battalions?

Answer: the ‘local youths’ are Adivasi youths

• Question No 2: who are the Maoists they should fight under the label of ‘Left Wing Extremism’?

Answer: they are also Adivasis labelled as ‘maoists’

• Question No 3: why should Adivasis be made to fight/kill Adivasis?

Answer: so Adivasi communities can be weakened and their unity can be replaced by distrust.
 
This is a plot to divide Adivasi Community and force Adivasis to fight/kill fellow Adivasis
 
Traditionally, the Adivasi Community, as we well know, is characterised by a sense of equality, mutual cooperation, communitarianness, consensus decision making, and closeness to nature. The so-called ‘modern’ society, on the other hand, stands for values which are just the opposite. Renowned scholars affirm that if nature and earth are going to be saved (from the rapacious greed of the developmental model that destroys land, water and natural resources) it will be only by the indigenous Adivasi peoples.
 
Currently,  the dominant capitalist society, supported by mighty state power, is waging a war against the  economically weakened Adivasi community.  Once it is weakened, its social and cultural values will disappear automatically. This process of weakening their economic base is being furthered by foisting one Adivasi against another.   
 
The Government is spreading a false picture: The Indian Government is spreading a serious misconception that Adivasis have come under the sway of Maoists, that they shelter and feed Maoists, they have become by and large supporters of Maoists and many of them have become Maoists themselves.  This is far from the truth. The reality is that Most Maoists are Adivasis but most Adivasis are not Maoists.
 
True, some of them have joined the militant forces mostly because of their rights over jal, jangal, jamin are being snatched away by the government in collusion with big business with hardly any rehabilitation or any alternate means of livelihood. But that does not entitle a government to blame the whole Adivasi community as being extremist.
 
Wherein lies the solution?  Certainly not through amassing more and more troops, supported by helicopters. Central Indian states have already become ‘police states’ with more than half a million para-military and police personnel stationed there.  Practically every village has a police post and people cannot even move around on a day to day basis, without being stopped, questioned, searched because all the people have become ‘suspects’.  This cannot go on indefinitely.
 
If the government wants to end its self-created extremism, the only way is to honestly acknowledge the traditional rights that Adivasi Communities have enjoyed over their natural resources. There are clear constitutional provisions, parliament enactments, Supreme Court verdicts meant to protect their rights.
 
To spell out just the most significant of these:

• Abide by the Vth Schedule of the Constitution which empowers the Tribes Advisory Council  (TAC) to approve or disapprove any project meant for the tribal people. It directs the Governors of the ‘Scheduled Areas’ states to seek the advice of the TAC and instruct the government of the respective states to act as per the advice of TAC. Unfortunately no governor has ever  acted as per the provisions of the Vth Schedule. It is time they do so.
• Implement the Scheduled Tribes/Scheduled Caste [ST/SC] (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 by which any non-tribal person/officer infringes on the economic, social rights of tribals must be punished. With recent amendments, late this law has been more stringent. It only needs rigorous implementation.
• Empower the Gram Sabhas through the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 2006 which authorizes  Gram Sabhas as the custodians of their tradition, culture and as consultants when displacement , rehabilitation  measures are to be worked out and whose consent is necessary when their land and natural resources are to be alienated from them for specific projects. Tragically these legal provisions are neatly ignored by the governments, state and central.
• The Supreme Court’s Samata Judgment 2007 should be carried out in letter and spirit because it clearly mandates that coal mining in Scheduled Areas cannot be undertaken by any private company  nor even by the government, but it can only be handled by tribal cooperatives and it is the government’s responsibility to functionalize this process. Sadly nobody even thinks of this significant judgment of the SC, let alone apply its fundamentals.
• The Forest Rights Act 2006 is an important legislation passed by the Indian parliament in the history of tribal empowerment especially relating to tenure security on forests and forest land. It is a legislation created with the intent to recognize, vest and record forest rights of the forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests  for generations and whose rights could not be recorded, due to which they underwent a serious historical injustice.  But sadly the injustice continues to be done. At an all India level, only about half of applications under the Act have been granted rights. Even those who get their patta, receive only a small portion of what they have actually claimed.  To make matters worse, a recent amendment to the Act does away with the power of Gram Sabhas insofar as their consent is not required to give forest land to companies.  Through an executive decision this power has now been given to the District Collector. So where will poor forest-dwelling Adivasis go?
• ‘Owner of the land is also the owner of sub-soil minerals’ The 2013 SC judgment makes it clear that the State/government is not the owner of sub-soil minerals. If the government wants that particular mineral, it must buy it from the land owner. That means that a Gram Sabha can say yes or no to selling its minerals. It also means that it is the Gram Sabhas have the power to excavate and market the minerals to companies whether public or private. This way rural communities can acquire legitimate wealth and become economically independent and well to do. This will lead them to social and political development and enable them to assume their due place within society.                                                                                       Very understandably, the government, the industrial and business class has chosen to neatly ignore this order of the judiciary. For obvious reasons. Gram Sabhas have to take the initiative and assert their natural right over natural resources.

 
Given the above considerations. . .
 
The Government’s decision to create Tribal Battalions is unjust and unwarranted. They are meant to weaken tribal communities by making Adivasis fight/kill one another. The ultimate aim is to make them leave their land with all its mineral resources so that this rich resource can be handed over to corporate houses.  This trickery of the government must be resisted at all costs.
 

The post Who is responsible for Extremism or Naxalism? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The press meet addressed by NSS leaders – Dodi Pusika, activists Jagili Pusika, Kuni Sikaka, Dama Pushika, Dasuru’s mother Sitari Kadraka, Saiba’s sister Palenge Pusika and others.

On the May 1, the police raided village Gorata at midnight and abducted 20-year-old Kuni Sikkaka, who happens to be the daughter in law of Dodi Pushika, the village headman as well as a highly respected leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti. Dasuru Kadraka (Village – Gorata, PS – Muniguda District – Rayagada) has been languishing in jail for more than a year now charged with several false cases. Saiba Pushika, a 17-year-old boy, also from Gorata village was similarly picked up from the market in February 2017, tortured and is now imprisoned in the Berhampur juvenile jail. In February 2016, Manda Kadraka, from village Dangamati, again a Dongria Kondh PVTG settlement, was shot dead by CRPF soldiers and was presented to the media as hardcore Maoist from Chattisgarh.

The statement states that:
“This is to bring to your attention that the Adivasi-Dalit members of the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti have been made a victim of a conspiracy between the Govt. and mining company Vedanta. We are being constantly intimidated and pressurized to succumb to the private company’s machinations, and the Police has been made an instrument to suppress us.

“We have been spearheading a movement to safeguard our life, livelihood and environment under the banner of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti for more than 12 years. We have opposed the mining of our sacred mountain, Niyam Dongar and the construction of the refinery by forcefully grabbing land. The sacred mountain Niyam Dongar is our tribe’s God and worshipped by millions of people. Our opposition and petitions to the apex environmental court, the National Green Tribunal, led to several investigative commissions as well as a historic referendum in the year 2013 as per the Supreme Court of India’s directives, where 12 villages in the Niyamgiri hills held Gram Sabhas that unanimously rejected the mining proposal. The Gram Sabha’s decision was further validated by the Supreme Court in its final verdict on the matter, mining has been banned in the Niyamgiri hills.

“Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, the company and State Govt. have colluded to intimidate the same people who had earlier unanimously rejected the mining proposal. As a result many of our people are being branded as Left Wing Extremists and members of the CPI-Maoist, which is a blatant falsehood. Vested interests supporting the company in the ruling party have influenced the local police to frame us and our organization, Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, as a CPI-Maoist front. This has led to random detention, torture and incarceration of our people. Being members of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, the Dongria Kondh, the people of Niyamgiri are guaranteed the highest form of protection by the Govt., but instead we are seeing even minors are not being spared from this heinous conspiracy.

“Dasuru Kadraka (Village – Gorata, PS – Muniguda District – Rayagada) has been languishing in jail for more than a year now charged with several false cases. He was the sole breadwinner of his family comprising of three small children, wife and an old mother. He was picked up from the Muniguda town market in March 2016 and later presented to the media as a hardened Maoist guerilla, which is a complete lie. He has been made to undergo extreme third degree physical torture as well as being subjected to electric shocks in custody.

“Saiba Pushika, a 17-year-old boy, also from Gorata village was similarly picked up from the market in February 2017, tortured and is now imprisoned in the Berhampur juvenile jail.

“On the May 1, the police raided village Gorata at midnight and abducted 20-year-old Kuni Sikkaka, who happens to be the daughter in law of Dodi Pushika, the village headman as well as a highly respected leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti. Later when Kuni’s family went to secure the release of Kuni Sikkaka, all of them were blackmailed by the SP and DIG to sign statements that they are surrendered Maoists. They were also forced to make false statements in front of the media. When they protested and told the truth to the media, the police manhandled and muffled them.

“We have already seen how a young student Manda Kadraka, from village Dangamati, again a Dongria Kondh PVTG settlement, was shot dead in February 2016 by CRPF soldiers and was presented to the media as hardcore Maoist from Chattisgarh. Only when pictures of his dead body published in the media reached his teachers it was revealed that they had killed the boy in a fake encounter and then tried to cover up by presenting him as a Maoist cadre from Chattisgarh. Drika Kadraka of Dhamanpanga village (PS – Muniguda) committed suicide in 2015 after he was tortured and threatened by the Police.

“This never-ending assault by the Odisha Govt and state’s  plice at the behest of the mining company Vedanta has destroyed the lives of many Adivasi Dalit people in Niyamgiri, where we no longer live fearlessly as we have for centuries in our homeland. Our life and livelihood has been disrupted by this concerted campaign to drive us away from our sacred ancestral land so that the mining company can take over. Today, we cannot go to the markets to sell our produce as the Police randomly picks our people and then slaps all sorts of cases against them, tortures them to make fake submissions, and then they languish in jail.

“While we were travelling to Bhubaneswar on the June 4 to submit this petition to the NCST, our Adivasi friends from nearby villages who were accompanying us were intimidated by the Muniguda Police Station and they had to turn back. Earlier the Muniguda police intimidated those who tried to help us in writing and lodging FIRs against the Police for abduction of Kuni Sikkaka, and other cases. The Police has also threatened us for going to Berhampur city to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister via the RDC.

“Is Niyamgiri an occupied territory where democracy and Indian constitution have ceased to exist? Are the Adivasi people of Niyamgiri prisoners of Odisha police who cannot even step out of the area? Why is the Muniguda police not allowing the people to have access to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the other legal recourses available to us? Is it a crime to raise matters of injustice?

“Instead of providing health facilities that can stop dozens of our tribe members dying from epidemics every year or education in Mother Tongue, the sole purpose of the Govt. in our area is to terrorize us.

“Therefore, we have demanded an inquiry by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to investigate the matter, punish the culprits responsible for terrorizing us, direct the Govt. to free our people languishing in jail as well as take measures to protect us from such political violence.

“We have also urged the NCST to look into the reasons why several resolutions and demands made during the 2013 Gram Sabhas have not been accepted. We demand that the entire Niyamgiri hills be rightfully declared as Dongria Kondh habitat area as per the Forest Rights Act 2006. We would also like the Govt to recognize the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti as per the Forest Rights Act as the official organization that is protecting Niyamgiri forest. Unless such action is taken, we fear the already marginalized population of around 8,000 Dongria Kondh people living in Niyamgiri, will get wiped out totally as a tribe.

“We would also like to emphasise that this conspiracy by the Govt and Vedanta has also endangered the lives of our leaders like Dodi Pushika (Village – Gorata), and Lado Sikakka (Village – Lakhpadar), who were also petitioners in the case against Vedanta. We have demanded that the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes should advise the concerned authorities to safeguard the life of our leaders.

“Today on June 5 when the whole world is observing World Environment Day, we the people engaged in protecting the environment are facing intimidation, torture, abduction, and wrongful incarceration by our Govt. itself. Even then Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti will continue to campaign for the protection of the Niyamgiri hills that are home to hundreds of endangered flora and fauna species, as well as the source of rivers Vansadhara and Nagabali that sustain life for hundreds of square kilometers in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The Govt. needs to function like a democracy, we are fighting peacefully and using legal measures for our Constitutional rights. The Govt. has to stop this witch hunting of Adivasi Dalit leaders who are opposed to the nexus between the Govt and Vedanta.

English Translation of Press note and picture courtesy – Surya Dash. 

Related Articles:

1.  SC Rejects Odisha Govt Plea for Mining in Niyamgiri: Watch 6 videos on Save Niyamgiri Struggle
2.  Boycott Vedanta’s London festival and bid to seek legitimacy: Writers

The post Intimidation & Illegal Incarcerations of Adivasis: Odisha Police Acting at the Behest of Vedanta? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Representation Image

A new ‘’back door’ has been opened. To divide Adivasis and distance themselves from  each  other.  India’s prime minister on his official visit to Santal Pargana in Jharkhand on March 6, 2017 laid the foundation stone of a bridge over the Ganga that will join Jharkhand and Bihar. At the same time he also inaugurated the “Special Primitive Tribe Police Battalion’,  exclusively composed of men and women from the primitive tribes.

Reports now reveal that this Battalion had already been constituted and has been functional from before this date, but it was lined up again to make a show of the PM himself inaugurating it. As many as 956 persons, including 252 women, of different primitive tribes have been selected to form part of it. The women will be posted as constables. The men will form the Special Primitive Tribe Police Battalion which will be patterned after the Central Para-military Force. What exactly will be the nature of the task it will perform has not been disclosed yet. The important thing is they will be employed by the governments (Central and State) with a stable income whereas the youth from the general tribes will still be hunting for jobs.

Strategy: Break Adivasi Unity
There are 32 tribes in Jharkhand and nine have been tagged  as Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). These tribal groups are Asur, Birhor, Hill Kharia, Birajia, Korwa, Parahiya (Baiga), Sabar, Mal Pahariya and Souriya Pahariya constituting a population of 2.23 lakh out of the total 70.87 lakh tribal population

The differentiating factor is a matter of concern insofar as the Adivasi Community will be now divided from within, making it more difficult for them to struggle together for their  economic, social, cultural and political rights. This is precisely what the ruling class wants to see happen.

A pertinent example of this divide and rule policy, is how two Paharia persons who had registered themselves as independent candidates in the by-poll for a vacant Assembly seat in Jharkhand have formally announced their support to the ruling party. This is just one day after the prime minister announced the formation of Special Primitive Tribe Police Battalion. So the government can go on throwing freebies at the marginalised people and they will continue to fall for it.

 
Who are the ‘Primitive Tribals’?                        
First of all, the very labelling is wrong. Whether they come under general Adivasi or Primitive Adivasi, they all are Adivasis.  So they are one people. The Primitive Tribal Groups are the most neglected section of the population. Being basically landless, they depend on forest produce for a living with very low educational levels and subject to endemic diseases.

It is a clever but cruel to not only segregate them from one another but also place them against each other to serve the political convenience of the ruling class. Seeing the present plight of the primitive tribes, the government should be forthcoming with meaningful and effective efforts to lift them out of their dire  economic poverty  and social weaknesses.

A speedy implementation of Forest Rights Act, 2006 whereby each family will have at least 2 hectares (5 acres) of patta land will go a long way towards a self-sustaining economy. The community as a whole cannot develop just by recruiting a few of them (956  out of a total of 2.23 lakh) into the police force. The move will only create economic disparity within the community.

Put differently, their well-being as a community be brought about only through agricultural  development. And for that to happen, each family should have a viable amount of land boosted with irrigation facilities. The education of their children should take place in their mother-tongue. Their young women should be trained in basic health service using their traditional knowledge and practice of herbs and roots.  

The traditional Adivasi egalitarian community is disappearing. The traditional Adivasi Community was characterised by equality, cooperation, community-sense, consensus decision-making. It  is being broken into non-caring individuals by the capitalist order. The traditional Adivasi value system  holds the  community as supreme . Then comes the family and only then  the individual person.

In other words the individual Adivasi has his/her identity only as a member of the community.  And the Adivasi Community is predominantly an agrarian community and jal, jangal, jamin are their life-source.

But what the government is doing is taking away their life-source and opens the way for a few of them to find employment  outside  their village and outside the agrarian economy. These individuals become urbanised and are then alienated from their community and very few extend solidarity to the struggles their own people are waging against displacement and land alienation. This division has reached a stage wherein affected Adivasis have taken it upon themselves to struggle for their rights and not count on their kith and kin who have been co-opted into the  capitalist mainstream.  

Is it any wonder then that the Adivasis in rural areas are no more prepared to go on suffering the exploitation and oppression by the ruling capitalist class which is using the government as a convenient tool to usurp the mineral-and-forest-rich land to reap immense profit ? The corporates, the business class, the urban middle class, the government bureaucracy from top to bottom, the police and para-military forces, most of the print and electronic media, and most political parties have all come to represent forces inmical to the Adivasi.

What task will be given to the newly recruited PVTG para-military force? We hope against hope that they will not be forced into the so-called ‘anit-maoist’ operation which in effect would mean they will fight other adivasis and Moolvasis. That will be the unkindest cut of all.
 

The post ‘Special Primitive Tribe Police Battalion’: Sinister Moves in Jharkhand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

CPIM(M) Polit Bureau Member, Brinda Karat has, in a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi demanded the speedy withdrawal of  the order issued by the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF) which undermines the legal provisions for the protection of forest dwelling tribal communities and other forest dwellers.

The Order is question was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (National Tiger Conservation Authority) March 28, 2017 which is a gross violation of the legal rights of tribals and forest dwellers in "critical tiger habitats."
 
Brinda Karat was a member of the Select Committee of Parliament on the Forest Rights Act, besides being deeply involved in moving crucial amendments which became part of the Wild Life Protection Amendment Act 2006 which are of direct relevance to the matter at hand.

The immediate issue is a directive  from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), to all Chief Wildlife Wardens of all Tiger Range States dated March 28, 2017.  Shockingly, this Order which has wide ranging consequences has not been put up on the website of the Ministry.

Sabrangindia has a copy of the controversial order that may be read here.

Brinda Karat has termed it as “a surreptitious move behind the backs of those who will be affected.” The Order has been enclosed with the letter. There are apprehensions that this order is a prelude to the reported intention of the Government to bring amendments to the Act which will dilute the rights of tribals.

The letter points out that:

1. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the NCTA have no jurisdiction over the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. The nodal agency for the implementation of the Act is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, but even its directives have to be in consonance with the Act and the Rules. Thus the  MOEFCC has no right to issue such a circular in the first instance.

2. Under Section 38(O) of The Wild Life Protection Amendment Act 2006 in which the powers and functions of the NTCA are defined it is specifically stated " but no such directions shall interfere with or affect the rights of local people particularly the Scheduled Tribes." Since the said order directly violates this provision it is illegal.

3. In Clause 38V (5) in reference to tribals and other forest dwellers living in such areas it is specifically stated no such conservation areas can be so designated "unless the process of recognition of the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers is complete." On the other hand in clear violation, the said order stands this clause on its head and puts notification of critical wildlife habitats before the recognition of rights.

4. Under Sections 3(1)  of the Forest Rights Act where the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers are defined it is stated that these rights are applicable "to all forest areas." There are no exceptions. The said order on the other hand illegally wants to make an exception of tribal rights in areas which are designated as critical tiger habitats.

5. In areas declared as critical wildlife habitats there is a specific provision under Sec 4 (2) in the FRA. It is stated that conditional to various provisions detailed in the clause the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers may be " modified or resettled" but only after (a) " the process of recognition and vesting of rights"  is complete. However the said order wants to 'modify" the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers without the process of recognising them in the first place, it is thus not "modification" of rights but denial of rights.

The full text of the letter may be read below:
 

“Dear Shri Narendra Modi ji,

I write to you to express my deep dismay at recent developments which grossly undermine the legal provisions for the protection of forest dwelling tribal communities and other forest dwellers. I was a member of the Select Committee of Parliament on the Forest Rights Act. I was also directly involved in moving crucial amendments which became part of the Wild Life Protection Amendment Act 2006 which are of direct relevance to the matter at hand, which is why I am constrained to write to you.

The immediate issue is a directive  from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), to all Chief Wildlife Wardens of all Tiger Range States dated March 28th, 2017. You may be surprised to know that this order which has wide ranging consequences has not been put up on the website of the Ministry and is a surreptitious move behind the backs of those who will be affected. I enclose a copy for your reference. There are apprehensions that this order is a prelude to the reported intention of the Government to bring amendments to the Act which will dilute the rights of tribals.

The subject matter of the order is given as  'Conferring Rights under Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers ( Recognition of Rights) 2006, in Critical Tiger Habitats. It states: "in absence [sic] guidelines for notification of critical wildlife habitats, no rights shall be conferred in Critical Tiger Habitats… under the [Forest Rights Act.]. "

Please consider the following:

1. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the NCTA have no jurisdiction over the implementation of the Forest Rights Act. The nodal agency for the implementation of the Act is the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, but even its directives have to be in consonance with the Act and the Rules. Thus the  MOEFCC has no right to issue such a circular in the first instance.

2. Under Section 38(O) of The Wild Life Protection Amendment Act 2006 in which the powers and functions of the NTCA are defined it is specifically stated " but no such directions shall interfere with or affect the rights of local people particularly the Scheduled Tribes." Since the said order directly violates this provision it is illegal.

3. In Clause 38V (5) in reference to tribals and other forest dwellers living in such areas it is specifically stated no such conservation areas can be so designated "unless the process of recognition of the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers is complete." On the other hand in clear violation, the said order stands this clause on its head and puts notification of critical wildlife habitats before the recognition of rights.

4. Under Sections 3(1)  of the Forest Rights Act where the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers are defined it is stated that these rights are applicable "to all forest areas." There are no exceptions. The said order on the other hand illegally wants to make an exception of tribal rights in areas which are designated as critical tiger habitats.

5. In areas declared as critical wildlife habitats there is a specific provision under Sec 4 (2) in the FRA. It is stated that conditional to various provisions detailed in the clause the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers may be " modified or resettled" but only after (a) " the process of recognition and vesting of rights"  is complete. However the said order wants to 'modify" the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers without the process of recognising them in the first place, it is thus not "modification" of rights but denial of rights.

6.In fact guidelines for notification of critical wildlife habitats have nothing to do with forest rights. Whether the area is notified as a critical wildlife habitat or not, rights must be recognised in all areas designated as forest areas under the law.

7. I would also request you to review the actual process of the way that the critical wildlife/tiger habitats have been identified. Even in 2007 when the process started there were strong objections from a wide range of experts who opined correctly that the provisions of Section 4 of the Wild Life Act which details the identification process to be followed were violated. I request you to give directions that the identification of critical wildlife/tiger habitats are done as per the provisions of law.

In sum, the NTCA's order is grossly illegal. Any officer of the State or Central government who obstructs the recognition of forest rights in this manner is committing a criminal offence under the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Forest Rights Act and should be prosecuted.

I have previously written to you in regard to the illegal Village Forest Rules adopted by BJP-ruled Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, as well as the CAMPA Act that was passed despite the strong concerns of tribal organisations. This open contempt for laws that provide some protection for the rights of millions of tribals and forest dwellers is unprecedented.

I request you to ensure speedy withdrawal of this illegal order and action against the officials responsible. I also request you to ensure the full implementation of the rights guaranteed by the FRA.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

Brinda Karat

The post Modi Govt Undermining Rights of Adivasis & Forest Dwellers: Brinda Karat to PM appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It was lunch break at the New Amtipani bauxite mine, operated by the Aditya Birla Group subsidiary Hindalco, in the flat-topped plateaus of Jharkhand’s Gumla district. Several Asur Adivasi men who worked there waited in a line outside the supervisor’s office, instead of heading home to their village in the nearby forest for their afternoon meal as they usually did.

Three months ago, the supervisor had installed a fingerprint scanning machine in the office and instructed the miners to mark their attendance on it.

The biometric-based system, increasingly common in offices in cities across the country, had arrived in remote Amtipani deep inside Gumla’s Netarhat forests as well. But while office-goers mark their attendance when they reach their workplace in the morning or leave for home in the evening, the Amtipani miners had to get their fingerprints scanned on the little black machine four times every day, or they would lose the day’s wage.
 

Budhna Asur, a middle-aged miner, said he woke up at 4 am every morning to work on his small plot of paddy. He then reached the mine at 7.45 am to mark his attendance. “Then at 12.45 pm, before we go for lunch, we have to scan our fingerprints on the device, and then do it again at 2 pm, and then at 6 pm,” he said.

Jeevan Asur said the mine management had installed the biometric system after all 170 employees had struck work for a month last August to negotiate an increase in their wages. “We told the management, we have worked in the mine for eight years, increase our pay from the unskilled work grade of Rs 247 per day to at least Rs 500,” said the miner. “They increased it to Rs 307, a semi-skilled grade and just half of our demand. On top of that, we were told that if you don’t put your thumb into the new machine four times a day, be prepared to be paid the old rate.”
 

Ancient metallurgists

The Asur Adivasis draw their lineage from the buffalo demon Mahishasur, and were portrayed as demons and enemies of gods in prominent Hindu texts. They are also credited with being the country’s first community of iron smelters. Today, they are one of India’s dwindling Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, and one of the smallest Adivasi groups in Jharhand. Asuri, their language, is on the verge of extinction, with less than 8,000 people speaking it.

New mining technologies, and forest laws that restrict the forest-dwelling Asur from burning wood to produce the charcoal used in their smelting work have slowly made their traditional means of livelihood redundant. For the last eight years, the 200-odd Asur Adivasi families living in the villages of Ghorapahad, Sekuapani and Amtipani in Gumla have worked at Hindalco’s bauxite mines. The Asur inventors, the kings of the forest kingdom, have become daily-wage workers in their ancestral land.
 

In Ghorapahad, nearly all the men work at the mine. The women and children spend several hours a day carrying water from three kilometers away, and tend to what remains of their agricultural land, covered under layers of excavated red mine dust. Phaguni Mundain, one of the women, said the produce has dropped by a third over the years.

Pusa Asur, who works at the New Amtipani mine, still remembers watching his forefathers “smelt iron out of stone”.

“We made our own tools – khulaarhi, paal, pharsa, teer (axe, plough, spade, arrow) – for hunting and farming,” he said. “There are still two to three men in Ramdharia hamlet who know how to smelt stone and extract metal. Any tool you can think of, they could make.”

But now, the manual process would be too slow and its results too small compared to the current rate of production, he added.

Fellow miner Budhna Asur, who worked at construction sites in cities for a few months some years ago, said he had seen the tools Pusa spoke of. “The tools the Asur and Birhor [a nomadic group] made are displayed at the Ranchi museum,” he said. “I saw them in 1995 on a trip to the city.”

Lunch break over, it was soon time for the men to head back to the mine and line up to mark their biometric attendance, again.

All images by Anumeha Yadav

This article was first published on Scroll.in

The post The Asur Adivasis, India’s first metallurgists, now struggle for daily wages in Jharkhand’s mines appeared first on SabrangIndia.

We spoke to Soni Sori on the situation in Bastar afte she delivered a speech late into the night at Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has faced violence at the hands of the Chhattisgarh police. Inspite of that, she has resisted every effort to silence her and is determined to stay in Bastar despite threats to her life. She speaks to us about the law and order situation in Bastar, the consequences of violence on women and its impact on adivasi culture. The interview is in two parts. Watch the first part here:

Watch the second part here:

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

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Analysis from the perspectives of SC/ST, Fisherfolks, Handloom Weavers, OBC – Riddles and Knots

 
The budget has not only failed to give due share to the Dalits, Adivasis, working class, Women and Children but has also failed to take concrete steps to resolve the economic crisis prevalent in the primary sector of the economy, i.e., Agriculture. Instead of providing the farmers with substantial financial relief, they have been left in a world of false hopes and promises. Also, education and health have not been provided with the kind of attention they badly need.
 
Facts, beyond opinions, shouldbe understood to understand the budget and its importance. Few things are important: If a government fails to secure majority vote on the budget, then ruling party loses the confidence it enjoys and fresh general election are to be called. Second, the performance and regulatory audit reports gets tabled in the house before the Public Accounts Committee chaired by leader of opposition. This helps the main opposition party and members of other parties to have knowledge of the functioning of the government. Under this situation, if a budget is debated, as it should be, then several flaws, if exist, will be available for public. If one party fulfils its constitutional and parliamentary obligations then other party will be bound to do it in subsequent tenure. But, the way ruling and opposition party debate on budget is known to everyone – no debate in parliament on budget or to that matter on anything.
 
Following this ritual, Government of India presented its budget with much fanfare, claiming it to be pro-poor, but the larger question that looms is whether it will really change the lives of the marginalized sections of the society. For a country like India which is ‘democratic, socialist, sovereign, republic’ working towards the ‘welfare’ of its citizens, one, either out of innocence or honest belief,tend to assume that the key areas ofpriority for the government will be social sector, health, education and livelihood. 
 
One might also assume that a substantial proportion of the budget shall be allocated to the aforementioned sectors. However, on a close analysis of budget presented by the Finance Minister on February 1, 2017, despite rushing the budget presentation to February for reasons they only know, one cannot help but be disappointed in the way the wealth of this country is being put to use.
 
The budget has not only failed to give due share to the Dalits, Adivasis, working class, Women and Children but has also failed to take concrete steps to resolve the economic crisis prevalent in the primary sector of the economy, i.e., Agriculture. Instead of providing the farmers with substantial financial relief, they have been left in a world of false hopes and promises. Also, education and health have not been provided with the kind of attention they badly need.
 
For a common person looking at the budget, it is very important to warn beforehand that the absolute increase in the amount of money allocated cannot be taken as the metric for analysis. This increase must be compared with the allocations made in the previous few years and should also evaluated in comparison to the total GDP growth that has been recorded.
 
What must also be kept in mind is that whether the government has been able to utilize the budget of the previous year that was at its disposal. Presence of unutilized budget, especially in the categories of social sectors like rural development, health, education, etc. signals towards government’s failure to channelize the money into these sectors even after huge promises of implementing thousands of schemes are made in the Parliament during the  budget presentation.
 
To understand this further, we shall have a small tour of the Economic Survey and the budget presented on 1^st Feb 2017 in the Parliament. A detailed report on Budget will be produced in the days coming


Economic Survey of India 2016-17

This document, presented in the Parliament on 31^st January, has several changes made. Some of the terms / concepts are as follows:

1. In the Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in the Parliament, the terms Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been removed. It clearly points to the priorities of the present ruling dispensation which perhaps want to convey that indicators of development of SC and ST communitiesare no more the indicators for national development, all the while claiming that their budget is pro-poor budget.

2.      Universal Basic Income: Paragraph 9.1 states that “……….. ‘wiping every tear from every eye’ is about a lot more than being able to imbibe a few calories. And the Mahatma understood that better, deeper, and earlier than all the Marxists, market messiahs, materialists and behaviouralists. He intuited that it is also about dignity, invulnerability, self-control and freedom, and mental and psychological unburdening. ……..” Para 9.2 states that“…… UBI has three components: universality, unconditionality, and agency (by providing support in the form of cash transfers to respect, not dictate, recipients’ choices).” 

The concept of UBI might have been derived from the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi. However, the ‘tear’ mentioned in the survey report does not distinguish between tears of RohithVemula and tears of Vijay Malya; the former’s scholarship was stopped and then forced to commit suicide whereas the latter was awarded by exonerating him of the corporate crime of willful defaulting, by the way of loan waiver. There are tears of other people that don’t count to the present ruling dispensation such as the tears of the people related to those killed and injured in arbitrary firing at Hazaribagh recently.

3.      Section 2: One India: Paragraph 11.37 states that “The GST was justly touted as leading to the creation of One Tax, One Market, One India. But it is worth reflecting how far India is from that ideal. Indian states have levied any number of charges on goods that hinder free trade in India—octroi duties, entry taxes, Central Sales Tax (CST) to name a few. The most egregious example of levying charges of services coming from other states is the cross-state power surcharge that raises the cost of manufacturing, fragments the Indian power market and sustains inefficient cross-subsidization of power within states……..” Several Constitutional references have been cited. However, nowhere the documents mentions, let alone explain, about mechanisms to tackle the heavily underplayed problem- Revenue Foregone to corporate sector, tax exemption to Stock Exchanges, etc.

4.      In the chapter 11 named “One Economic India: For Goods and in the Eyes of the Constitution” there are some interesting facts. It starts with the quotation of Ravindranth Tagore, “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.” Thereafter, paragraph 11.1 states,“When, several decades ago, an earnest Raj Kapoor famously sang “Phirbhidilhai Hindustani,” (“Still, my heart is Indian”), he was expressing what in hindsight appears to be a deep insight on comparative national development. ……..”

Paragraph 11.51 states that“But there is a third and much weaker standard by which Indian rules should be assessed: the WTO. The WTO has a membership of 164 countries with widely varying income levels and political systems: for example, the ratio of per capita GDP of the richest countries is more than 60 times that of the poorest, while the corresponding ratio within India is less than 5. ……….” Paragraph 11.52 states that “If that is reasonable, then the comparison between WTO rules and the provisions of the Constitution is not inappropriate. ……” The language used in Economic Survey of India can be better judged by the readers themselves.

The Economic Survey has gone beyond principles of Democracy, Economics, Assyriology (principle and theory of language), Constitution, and everything is interpreted in connivance with corporate world and according to the will and wishes of Corporate World.Industries are necessary, but industrializing cannot mean cultivating human values for the industrialists to be exploited for profits. Industries are for the collective development of mankind and mankind can’t be forced to sacrifice their lives for industrialists. The current dispensation’s will and wish reflected in the Economic Survey of India 2016-17 clearly indicates appropriation of principles in favor of corporate world and throwing public interest to winds.

 
Budget Analysis, 2017-2018                              

1. SC and ST Allocations:  Deviating from the established norm of presenting Plan and Non-Plan components separately, they are merged in the Budget of 2017-18. This will affect allocation for SC/ST meaning, allocation for them is also to be merged or mingled and reflected in the expenditure of establishments. In previous budgets, allocations for SC/ST was mandated for programs covered for plan period only and expenditure of establishments after the expiry of plan period were booked under Non-Plan heads. 

 
Thereby, in the figures given in the budget 2017-18, population proportionate allocation for SC/ST is applicable in total budget of Union of India. It is also important to note the purpose for which notions assigned to the term “Plan” and “Non-Plan”, in the context of SC/ST is abandoned henceforth from this budget. Such being the underhand mathematical jugglery, we shall see the allocations made under Scheduled Caste Sub- Plan to and Tribal Sub-Plan.
 
Total Budget Size – Rs. 21, 47,000 Cr
           
Population of SC- 16.6% (Census 2011)
 
Allocation made under Special Component Plan- Rs. 52,393 Cr
           
In the previous year 2016- 17allocation was Rs. 38,338 Cr in the plan budget only.
           
Due Share of SC in total budget including all sorts of expenditure: Rs. 3, 56,402 Cr.
           
Shortage of allocation for SC in the budgetary allocation: Rs. 3, 04,009 Cr.
 
So, a government that had named its digital payment application as BHIM (BHARAT INTERFACE FOR MONEY). This whatsoever BHIM has no link with Dr.Ambedkar; a mere camouflage allocates 14.7%of what it is mandated to allocate. Not even 16.6% of the actual 16.6% (Rs.3, 56,402 Cr) it did allocate.  Modi might have shed crocodile tears on the perpetrating killing on RohithVemula but no pretence of even shedding tears for such abysmal allocation.
 
 
Population of ST:  8.6% (Census 2011)
 
Allocation made under Tribal Sub-Plan: Rs. 31,920 Cr
 
In previous year 2016-17 allocation for ST was Rs. 24,000 Cr in Plan budget.
 
Due Share of ST in total budget including all sorts of expenditure: Rs. 1, 84,642 Cr
 
Shortage of allocation for ST in the budgetary allocation: Rs. 1, 52,722 Cr
 
A government whose parent organisation (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-RSS) runs schools for Vanvaasis (RSS version of pronouncement of ST) with unknown funds cannot even allocate the meager 8.6% of the funds it is supposed to. The allocation made is mere 17.3% of the actual allocation it is mandated to allocate (1, 84, 642 Cr). One question that forcefully comes to our mind is – does such meager allocations have anything to do with successful running of unaccountedVanvaasi Kalyan Asharams?
 
So, the total amount denied to SC and ST communities is Rs. 4, 56,731 Cr.
 

Merging contents and redefining them in Economic survey of India and Budget is another game plan to complicate and make people difficult to understand the riddles of budget. The Jumla of Demonetization, Skill India, Startup India, Shining India, Make in India, and many more proved noting but waste of human capital of the country. Now these Jumla have been well incorporated into the Economy and Budget terminologies. 
 

2. Allocation to Fisheries: We have seen the gross injustice in allocations to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Now, it is the turn of Fisheries. Before this we have to understand one crucial similarity between members of Scheduled Tribes and Fisher folk. Members of Scheduled Tribes and Fisher folk depend almost solely on Forest and Sea produce, respectively. We are seeing the continued attack on forests in the name of mining despite strong Constitutional and Legislative checks in place. The abysmal situation of granting Forest Rights coupled with utter dis-regard for PESA and Samata judgment is rendering the lives of Tribals much more vulnerable. Now, with the advent of ‘Ocean Grab’ the situation of fisher folk is taking the same trajectory. The grand ambitious plans such as Sagaramala, the proliferating Nuclear Power Plants, the Industrial Corridors that are crisscrossing mainland India, proposed Coastal Economic Zones, Coastal Corridors,  huge projects such as PCPIR will, if materialize, eventually displace millions of fisher folk. That being the precarious situation, one would expect the government to make alternate arrangements for the displaced to lead a dignified life. Alas! As the following numbers show that is not the case. Forget increasing the budget allocation, they have in fact decreased the allocation for Fisheries. The following is the comparison table for allocations to fisheries in last few years. The question that has to be asked is for who benefits from fisher folk’s loss? 

 
The above table tells us that in previous years even the meager amounts allotted were not spent. It is estimated that some 360 million people live in coastal areas. Though not everyone living in coastal area is dependent on fishing majority of them are dependent on fishing. As mentioned above with such massive threat of displacement looming over the inhabitants of coastal regions of India, one would earnestly expect increase in the allocations. What fisher community got in fact is reduction!
 

3. Handloom Sector: We have seen what happened with allocation to deprived sections. Another deprived section which generally goes unnoticed is the community of handloom weavers. We all like to romanticize the exoticness of the handloom products and well-off even find a sense of guilt reduction in purchasing exotic handloom products. However, what generally as a matter of fact escapes the view of many of urban well-off Handloom purchasers is the abysmal working conditions and the marginality of their existence owing to the cheap products produced by power looms. It is ironic that when we are talking about the contradiction between handloom and power loom we have an overarching ministry called Ministry of Textiles which supposedly takes care of both Handloom and Power Loom. An estimate of 4.3 million people are engaged in Handloom sector. The following table clearly explains the attention Handloom as a sector receives when we compare with the overarching ministry of Textiles.

 
The above table clearly shows the decreased funding to Handlooms all the while when the funding to Ministry of Textiles has increased. There is 35.5% increase in allocation to Textile ministry where as there is 15% decrease in allocation to handloom sector. Simple math tells us that Handloom is under-allocated by 37.2% or 358 Cr on proportionate basis.
 
We have seen the pattern where each and every sector we have touched by now is under-allocated. On the other hand the total budget has increased. Then the natural question is where is the increased amount going to? Looking into Revenue and Expenditure statement tells us a lot. The following is the table of Revenue and Expenditure for the past few years.
 

4. Trend in GDP, Budget, Expenditure and other liabilities: One can see the trends of indicators to justify the economic development and its impact observed in the society.

 
One thing that immediately catches our eyeballs in the above table is expenditure always outnumbering Revenue. The following natural question is why do we always lack in raising required Revenue? The answer to this question lies in the same table. A glance at Column 5 explains a lot. The revenue forgone, which includes Corporate tax incentives, Corporate tax waivers, Import Tax incentives and Waiver, Customs duty incentives and waivers, has been increasing along with the fiscal deficit. In fact, the vicious cycle is so visible here. The huge revenue forgone compels us to borrow and the interest payments over the borrowings along with revenue forgone further widen the fiscal deficit which again compels us to new borrowing. If this is to continue, what we will have is unending vicious debt cycle. ….. Who benefits from this debt?? The answer lies in who are siphoning off the benefits from Revenue Forgone. It is so clear that they are Corporates and Well-off sections…. Then glaring question is ….. if it is not privatizing public good and socializing private debt, what else it can be??
 

5. Allocation for Backward Classes and DNT / Nomadic Tribes by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment

 
There is no clear identifiable figures at this stage. The clear figure of allocation can be traced out from Detailed Demands for Grants. DNT and Nomadic Tribes are classified within Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. The allocation for SC/ST is available. For OBC it is not given in detail. Information on budget allocation available for the year 2017-18 are as follows:
 

1. National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes and Economically Backward Classes Rs. 40.00 Cr
2. Free Coaching for SC and OBC Students Rs. 25.00 Cr
3. National Overseas Scholarships for OBCs Rs. 4.30 Cr
4. National Commission for Backward Classes Rs. 5.50 Cr
5. National Commission for Denotified Tribes Rs. 2.50 Cr
6. Schemes for Backward Class Rs. 1193.00 Cr
7. Scheme for Development of Denotified Nomadic Tribes Rs. 6.00 Cr
8. Update with more insight will be made available within 2-3 days

 
(This delatiled analysis has been put forward by the Delhi Solidarty Group and this brief update is prepared by Umesh Babu, RohitGutta, AnirudhRajan) 
 

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Image: DNA

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that over 500 Scheduled Tribe girls have died under suspicious circumstances in the State run Ashram Schools of Maharashtra over the past decade. Reportedly, there have been instances of sexual abuse of the girl students by the teachers and staff of these schools.

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the Commission has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra calling for a detailed report in the matter within six weeks.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report are indicative of violation of right to life and dignity of the girl students studying in these schools and also highlight the negligence and apathy on the part of the authorities.

It has also observed that it seems the State Government has not taken any initiative to redress the grievance, which is a serious matter of concern because it has not submitted a report as yet to a notice issued on the October 10, 2016 on the similar allegations that 740 tribal students had died in ashramshalas in 10 years, despite a reminder on the November 26, 2016.

According to the media report, carried on the January 14, 2017, a probe has revealed that the authorities keep menstruation records of the girls and conduct urine tests on them to rule out pregnancy, whenever the girls miss their periods or come back from the vacations. The probe report has questioned the rationale behind this unethical practice which is being done on minor girls without consent of their parents.

Reportedly, a tribal girl, who returned home for the Diwali vacations, complained of pain in stomach. She was found to be a victim of sexual abuse at school. Another 12 year old girl also reportedly complained of sexual abuse by a sweeper of the same school, situated in Khamgaon taluka of Duldhana district in Maharashtra. The school hostel accommodates 70 girls and does not have a female superintendent.

It is further mentioned that there are nearly 1100 State run and aided tribal residential schools in the State of Maharashtra, catering about 1.6 lakh female and 2.3 lakh male students. Over, 1500 students including 700 girls have reportedly lost their lives in these schools in the past 15 years. The sexual abuse is also suspected to be a reason behind these deaths.

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