This is another incident of violence and humiliation by upper castes against tribal people. On September 18, Bhoma Singh, a 60-year-old individual, was involved in a fatal accident while riding his motorcycle. The accident occurred when his bike collided with a pickup truck, and it led to his death. Barnu Singh Marawi, aged 57 on the other hand was the passenger on the bike riding with the now deceased Bhoma Singh, survived the accident only to become the target of an assault by the accused. He was beaten viciously with slippers as he tried to recover from the accident. The accused is identified as Jaiganesh Dixit, who held the position of Anuppur (rural) Mandal president within the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

According to a senior police officer, a crowd had gathered at the accident site, and they began questioning the injured Marawi, who, in his state of shock, was unable to provide coherent responses. Jaiganesh Singh, accompanied by another individual named Jitendra Kushwaha, allegedly confronted Marawi and, in light of his inability to answer their inquiries, reportedly resorted to physical assault. The accused individuals have subsequently been detained, and legal proceedings are underway.

The incident gained significant attention after a video of the altercation went viral. It led to Jaiganesh Dixit’s removal from his position. In a formal communication addressed to the accused, Ravindra Rathore, the district BJP Yuva Morcha president, stated that Dixit’s actions constituted “gross indiscipline.”

“The said act done by you, which has gone viral on social media (and) due to which the image of the party has been tarnished, comes in the category of gross indiscipline. Therefore, you are relieved from responsibility of the party’s board president with immediate effect,” Rathore’s letter declared.

The incident has triggered vehement condemnation from the opposition, which has accused the ruling BJP government of fostering an “anti-tribal” environment. Taking to social media, Congress leader Kamal Nath directed a pointed message at Chief Minister Chouhan, declaring, “You cannot ignore this gruesome video. Next to the dead body of a tribal man in Anuppur district, a BJP leader is seen beating another tribal man with a slipper. When you cannot stop atrocities on tribals, at least resign from the post of CM. The hypocrisy of washing feet cannot atone for your cruel rule. You have not only made Madhya Pradesh number one in atrocities against tribals but have also made the state number one in the level of cruelty in such incidents.”

Nath continued, “Have you given a licence to BJP workers to commit atrocities against tribals? A tribal daughter and five family members are buried alive in Nemawar. In Neemuch, a tribal youth was tied to a vehicle and dragged to death. A tribal youth in Sidhi was urinated upon. And every time, the person committing atrocities against tribals is either a leader of BJP or someone associated with it.”

शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी आप यह वीभत्स वीडियो देखकर अनदेखा नहीं कर सकते। अनूपपुर जिले में एक आदिवासी व्यक्ति के शव के बगल में भारतीय जनता पार्टी का नेता दूसरे आदिवासी व्यक्ति को चप्पल से पीट रहा है। मध्य प्रदेश में भारतीय जनता पार्टी, आदिवासी अत्याचार पार्टी बनती जा रही है।

आखिर आप… pic.twitter.com/tb9PENDuNr

— Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) September 20, 2023

The All India Trinamool Congress to spoke on the event, asking if the BJP government has given a licence to BJP workers to assault a tribal.

Jaiganesh Dixit, a @BJP4MP leader, brutally assaulted a 57-year-old tribal man with slippers in Madhya Pradesh. The victim was severely injured & is currently undergoing treatment.

CM @ChouhanShivraj, have you given license to BJP workers to commit atrocities on tribals?

From…

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) September 20, 2023

Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, specifically in Shahdol, a young tribal girl was beaten violently at the hands of a group of assailants while she was on her way to college. In the video that was posted on social media on September 16th, one can see the assailants repeatedly come to try and beat her again despite there being others present with a camera recording going on.

Madhya Pradesh – Shahdol, tribal girl beaten badly by gang members while going to college.

Keep in mind that Madhya Pradesh is a BJP ruled state.pic.twitter.com/CZN6l8aa7c

— Mohmmad Zubair (@zoo_bear123) September 16, 2023

Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh

Once again in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol a horrifying incident occurred where a 55-year-old elderly tribal woman was brutally assaulted at the hands of three women. This attack was reportedly fuelled by suspicions of witchcraft against the victim. Incidents of violence against tribal women have seen increasingly less coverage except by alternate media.

Warning: mind distracting visuals

In MP’s Shahdol, a 55-year-old elderly tribal woman was brutally thrashed by three women on suspicion of witchcraft.

Our progress is meaningless if we are still practicing casteist & atrocious beliefs. pic.twitter.com/X80rZUquwt

— Mission Ambedkar (@MissionAmbedkar) September 16, 2023

These horrifying incidents against tribals come from the BJP-ruled state even as top BJP leaders visit the state every now and then. Just in July this year in fact, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state and held special sessions with tribal women in Shahdol itself.

According to an analysis by CJP, the surge in anti-tribal violence has become an alarming concern. There is also a significant backlog of cases that are awaiting investigation. As of the year 2021, there were a staggering 70,818 reported cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes and 12,159 cases against Scheduled Tribes pending investigation. According to data sourced from the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2021, a total of 2,63,512 cases involving SCs and 42,512 cases involving STs had been brought before the courts for trial.

Furthermore in in 2020, the Citizens for Justice and Peace initiated action by approaching the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in response to the injustice faced by members of the nomadic Van Gujjar tribe within the jurisdiction of Rajaji National Park in Dehradun. Starting from June 16, 2020, forest officials had reportedly been subjecting the community residing in the Asharodi Forest of Rajaji National Park to continuous harassment. This relentless persecution culminated in the arrest of several members of a particular family, as well as injuries sustained by others who were subsequently admitted to hospitals. Tribals in India suffer from increasing marginalisation and violence. There is a dire need for these issues to be addressed robustly in order to ensure violence against the marginalised group stops.

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Madhya Pradesh: Two tribal men assaulted and beaten

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The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in August 2022 shed light on troubling data which revealed a disturbing increase in crimes against tribal people by 6.4% respectively in 2021 compared to the previous year, with tribal communities seeing the largest rise. These statistics help us see that violence against tribals is not an exception but has become a normal state that needs to be tackled with immediacy by the government. In this context, it is essential to examine two recent incidents of violent attacks against tribal men in Madhya Pradesh, bringing into focus the urgent need for addressing these issues at a systemic and preventive level.

Barahbariari, Chhindwara District

In a remote corner of Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, a video uploaded on social media has thrust the village of Barahbariari into the spotlight after villagers were caught forcibly thrashing and torturing a young tribal man in public. The mob’s actions were nothing short of barbaric: they poured urine on his chest and face, delivered relentless slaps to his head and face, and made him parade around the village with a garland woven of shoes and slippers. This grotesque spectacle was all captured in harrowing detail by a video that was rapidly shared across social media platforms on Sunday.

In Chhindwara, MP, people accused a tribal man that cattle were dying due to his witchcraft. So they garlanded him with slippers, thrashed and paraded him.

We are now on the Mars and Moon now but but the hypocrisy in India is appalling.pic.twitter.com/YZELicoLnG

— Mission Ambedkar (@MissionAmbedkar) September 10, 2023

The incident unfolded on September 4th after young man had just returned to his home after celebrating the Raksha Bandhan festival at his in-laws’ residence when villagers brutally assaulted and humiliated him on his return to the village. The villagers believed that the young man might be linked to the alleged thefts that had targeted clothing items belonging to women and children within the community. A day prior to the incident, the villagers had visited the house of the victim and surrounded it, demanding the family to tell the whereabouts of their son.

The victim’s father, a helpless witness to the brutality narrated his futile attempts to intervene and reason with the agitated villagers. But despite his attempts and those of village leaders, the mob persisted in their merciless assault until they eventually handed over the battered young man to the local police.

The victim is married with two daughters and shares a home with his parents and elder brother on their six-acre farmland which they use to survive and make ends meet. The incident has left not only physical scars but also raised grave questions about the treatment of the accused and the circumstances that led to this shocking instance of mob violence. As of now reports suggest that say that one accused has been arrested by the police in this case.

Gunnor, Panna District

Another horrifying case of assault against tribal people surfaced from Madhya Pradesh. A tribal youth who was employed as a cleaner on a private inter-state bus service endured a horrifying ordeal. He was forcibly stripped and brutally beaten by a passengers along with the bus conductor, in Gunnor, Panna district of Madhya Pradesh.

According to The Week, Superintendent of Police Sai Krishna Thota of Panna announced that a case, invoking non-bailable sections, was swiftly registered after the incident. Additionally, the primary suspect has been apprehended and subsequently incarcerated.

Speaking to The Week, Edwin Carr, the Sub-divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) in Gunnor, confirmed that a case has been filed against seven individuals for assault and property damage. During the incident, the bus’s windshield and windows were shattered by the assailants. Sajul Singh Parmar who is the principal suspect has been detained and the search for the remaining culprits is ongoing.

The horrifying event unfolded in the early hours of last Monday, September 4, 2023. The footage depicted the harrowing ordeal, involving the stripping and physical assault of Rinku Kol, bus conductor Umesh Tiwari, and two other passengers.

The MP Congress also shared a CCTV footage of the incident on the social media site X.

आदिवासी युवक को नग्न कर पीटा,
— पन्ना जिले के गुन्नौर में हुई घटना में बस में यात्रा कर रहे आदिवासी युवक को दर्जन भर लोगों ने बेरहमी से पीटा;

शिवराज जी,
अब आदिवासी कहाँ जायें
आप क्यों नकारा और निकम्मे बन गये

“शिवराज हटाओ, आदिवासी बचाओ” pic.twitter.com/izq5ahZYyv

— MP Congress (@INCMP) September 4, 2023

According to sources, Sajul Singh Parmar, the accused, had purchased a ticket for a bus journey from Bharuch in Gujarat to Shankargarh in Gunnor, Panna. This bus service is operated by a Panna-based private agency.

Tensions escalated when Parmar reportedly insisted on a separate seat, a demand that the conductor, Tiwari, refused to accommodate. This initial dispute escalated into a heated argument.

Upon reaching Shankargarh at approximately 3 am on Monday, Parmar summoned associates to the scene, allegedly demanding money from Tiwari to purchase alcohol. When denied, they subjected Tiwari to physical violence, alongside Kol, who was also subjected to humiliation. Two passengers who attempted to intervene also faced brutal beatings, while the driver was threatened for trying to prevent further damage to the bus.

The incident triggered an immediate response from the Madhya Pradesh Congress, which shared the CCTV footage on social media platforms, condemning the brutal attack on the tribal youth.

The X page of MP Congress also shared a statement by Rinku Kol, the victim asserting that he was unjustly stripped and assaulted without provocation. He maintains in his statement that he was merely carrying out his duties and had not engaged with the accused passenger in any altercation, when he and his manager had been assaulted.

मप्र के इस आदिवासी युवक को सुनिये,
—पन्ना जिले के गुन्नौर में इस आदिवासी युवक को दर्जन भर लोगों ने नग्न कर पीटा, पिटाई का वीडियो भी हो रहा वायरल;

शिवराज जी,
आख़िर आदिवासी कहाँ जायें,
क्या बीजेपी अब आदिवासी मुक्त भारत की दिशा में आगे बढ़ रही है

“बीजेपी हटाओ, आदिवासी बचाओ” pic.twitter.com/heYGoIdJDz

— MP Congress (@INCMP) September 5, 2023

The MP Congress Chief and former Chief Minister of the state Kamal Nath also criticised the BJP government and also highlighted a long list of atrocities against tribal communities in the state. He also questioned the government’s lack of actions for the increasing incidents of tribal abuse and urged them to take swift and decisive action and also sought an apology for the Panna victim.

पन्ना जिले के गुन्नौर में एक दर्जन लोगों ने एक बस में आदिवासी युवक को निर्वस्त्र कर बुरी तरह पीटा।

शिवराज के शर्मनाक राज में 18 साल में एक ऐसा भाजपाई तंत्र खड़ा किया है जो “आदिवासियों का दुश्मन” है।

म.प्र “अत्याचारी शिवराज” सेजबाब माँगता है:

1⃣आखिर क्या वजह है कि मध्य प्रदेश…

— Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) September 5, 2023

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The victims can be seen tied up to a post. One of them lying helplessly on the ground, unable to even sit. The attackers, one of them even wielding a wooden bat, repeatedly rained blows upon the defenceless men, further exacerbating their injuries.

Location: Magurmari, Kokrajhar, Assam

An extremist mob tied up a Muslim and a tribal man with ropes before subjecting them to a brutal assault over suspicion of stealing cows.

This incident took place earlier this week.

Warning: Graphic Video pic.twitter.com/9ovLiU41tx

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) August 6, 2023

Despite the graphic nature of the video and the serious implications of the incident, media attention has been limited, raising concerns about the broader issue of normalisation of hate crimes. Further, a lack of updates regarding the actions taken by authorities is even concerning.

This incident is not an anomaly but comes on the heels of another disturbing video that recently went viral, showing an upper caste man, reportedly an aide of a BJP MP, urinating on a tribal man in Madhya Pradesh. These successive acts of violence raise alarming questions about the state of social harmony and the rise of hate-driven crimes in various parts of the country.

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The post Assam mob brutally tortures tribal and Muslim men appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) have filed a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) seeking protection for the family of the 46-year-old Tribal man, Kishnaram Bheel from Rajasthan who was lynched by a group of people over drawing water from a tube well. CJP’s complaint also seeks stringent action against the alleged perpetrators, who are still not all behind the bars, fair investigation and monitoring of the prosecution. 

In the petition, CJP has highlighted the plight of the Tribal community living in India. While giving the detailed account of the offence, CJP has further emphasised on the need for providing further protection under the existing law to the victim’s family to ensure that the accused upper caste do not further harass the family into withdrawing their complaint. 

The complaint urges the Commission, to “closely monitor the case through the investigation and prosecution to ensure that substantive and exemplary justice is delivered. The tragic life lost must be reasonably compensated for by justice and full reparation. Often after the first flush of media attention when the furore dies down, the investigation falters and when evidence is not properly collected, the prosecution fails. It would be in the fitness of things that the NCST Commission takes an interest in deliverance of justice in this case till justice is delivered.”

CJP’s complaint further says, “We are aware that an offence has already been registered and are simply urging that further protection under the existing law is also provided to the victim’s family.” The complaint lists provisions under Section 15 A of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 that provide for “protection of victims, their dependents, and witnesses against any kind of intimidation or coercion or inducement or violence or threats of violence” as well as right of the victim’s family “to be heard at any proceeding under this Act in respect of bail, discharge, release, parole, conviction or sentence of an accused or any connected proceedings or arguments and file written submission on conviction, acquittal or sentencing.”

Brief Facts of the Case

On November 7, a 45-year-old tribal man from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district died as he was assaulted by a group of people over drawing water from a tube well. As per the police, the family of the deceased alleged that the accused also abused the deceased man Kishanlal Bheel (46), from Bhomiyaji ki Ghati, with casteist slurs. The incident took place on November 6 in Soorsagar.

Ashok, the deceased’s brother, claimed that the accused prevented the victim’s family from taking him to the hospital. The critically hurt man wasn’t taken to a hospital until after police arrived, according to the brother; there, he died from his wounds.

The police have so far arrested three people — Shakeel, Nasir, and Bablu — and booked them under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The search for the other perpetrators is still ongoing.  

Pattern of abuse against tribals and previous complaints by CJP

The anti-tribal violence is a menace that has been on the rise. There are a total of 70,818 cases of atrocities against SCs and 12,159 against STs pending for investigation at the end of the year 2021. A total of 2,63,512 cases of SCs and 42,512 cases of STs were placed for trial in the courts, according to the data provided by the NCRB report of 2021. 

In the year 2020, CJP approached the NCST against the injustice being done to members of nomadic tribe Van Gujjars in Rajaji National Park, Dehradun. Since June 16, 2020 forest officials had been harassing the community living in Asharodi Forest of the Rajaji National Park, which had ultimately resulted in many members of the community, of one particular family being arrested and few others being injured and ending up in the hospital.

In July 2020, the Tharu Adivasis of Kajaria Village in Dudhwa Tiger reserve, Lakhimpur Kheri, UP were assaulted by forest officials and local police who even fired shots in the air, molested women and beat up some youngsters. CJP and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP) immediately wrote to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which in turn sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from UP’s Forest Department.

CJP’s complaint may be read here:

Related:

Rajasthan: 46-yr-old Tribal man lynched for drawing water from tubewell

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CJP moves NHRC against police and forest officials in Dehradun for assaulting tribals

Forest Rights: Van Gujjar family released on bail, after custodial assault

Tharu women allege assault in Dudhwa, FIR registered

Adivasi women attacked in UP, CJP-AIUFWP move NHRC

The post 46-year-old tribal man lynched in Rajasthan, CJP files complaint in NCST appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A tribal man from Karnataka’s Mysuru district who was detained by the forest department on October 10 on the charges of hunting a deer and selling its meat, died Wednesday, October 12, the police has said. The family members of Kariyappa, 49, a resident of Hosahalli hamlet in N Beguru panchayat, suspect that he died of torture while in custody at the Range Forest Office in N Beguru. Forest officials, however, said the man was severely ill and rushed to a hospital two days later

Denying the allegations, forest officials have said the victim was severely ill and rushed to a hospital two days later. “We have detained him on October 10 in connection with the case of hunting of deer and selling its meat. He was not harmed by us. On Wednesday, he complained of uneasiness and was rushed to KR Hospital. He was declared dead in the hospital. There is no question of torture,” said a forest officer on condition of anonymity.

Family members, on the other hand, firmly reiterate that Kariyappa was subjected to custodial torture pointing to the injury marks on the body, reports The Indian Express. Last December, a tribal man suffered serious injuries after the forest department personnel opened fire at him in the Hunsur wildlife range of Nagarahole in Periyapatna, Mysuru.

“The injury marks on his body prove that he was tortured by the forest staff. Even in a case when an animal dies its natural death, the forest department accuses us of hunting and books false cases against us. On several occasions they have tortured us,” a relative said. Superintendent of Police R Chethan said, “I have not received any complaint, but will look into the matter.”

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Taking cognisance of the issue, the Alirajpur police on Thursday registered a case against the four persons and arrested one. “We’ve booked four men identified to be involved in the incident under Sections 341, 342, 323 and 34 of the IPC and one of the accused has been arrested,” said Alirajpur superintendent of police, Vipul Srivastava.

Alirajpur is a tribal-dominated district with 75 % tribal population is one of the most backward districts of the country, according to the various government and media reports. Situated in Western Madhya Pradesh, Alirajpur is 410 km away from the state capital and share its borders with Gujarat.

The Incident
The incident was reported on June 16 in Mind village under Ambua police station area of Alirajpur district. However, the matter came to light on Wednesday after a video and photos of the ‘kangaroo justice’ went viral on social media.

As per report, the kangaroo court raised its ugly head at Khud village when a village girl was spotted with a boy from the neighbouring Indersingh ki Chowki village. Annoyed over their relationship, the girl’s cousin, nephew and other villagers accosted the couple and tied them to separate poles meant for tying animals.

The alleged barbarity continued for around two hours, during which the couple was subjected to abuse, slapping, thrashing and flogging with wooden sticks. All this took place in full public glare with at least four men beating the duo and pulling the girl’s hair before villagers, who were reportedly smiling and filming the atrocities, instead of informing the police. The girl’s family and other residents of Kund village subsequently are said to have called the boy’s family seeking a compromise.

Subsequently, the tribal elders made the two families reach a compromise, with the boy’s family agreeing on paper to pay Rs 90,000 and provide two male goats as ‘love penalty’, to pave the passage for their wedlock. Half of the sum and one goat was to go to the girl’s family, as per reports.

With the girl and her family not willing to lodge a complaint in the matter, it was the Ambua police station officers who took cognisance and registered a case against the accused on Thursday.

The police also claimed to have recovered a paper on which the boy’s family agreed to pay its 90,000 and two goats to the tribal elders of Kund village as  a ‘compromise’.

Past Wild Diktats
This is not the only case where a tribal panchayat has given such a diktat. On April 13, 2019, a patliya tribe woman was forced to parade around her village with her husband on her shoulders amid drumbeats and teasing sounds from villagers as punishment from her clan for allegedly eloping with a Bhil tribal man in Jhabua district.

On January 2015, a 25-year-old married woman was forced to breastfeed her lover (with whom she had eloped) on the diktat of a Bhil tribal panchayat in Alirajpur district.

In October 2013, 20 tribal men were arrested for allegedly stripping a married woman and her lover and forcing them to parade through the village amid drumbeats for allegedly eloping a few days earlier in Dhar district of West MP.

First published in Newsclick.

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Representation Image                                   Courtesy: Indian Express     

The name of the game is Land Bank!  About a year ago, during the much publicised ‘Momentum Jharkhand’ held in Ranchi, where about 4000 industrialists from within and without the country had been invited and treated as state-guests at enormous public expense a formal announcement was made: the state government had then proclaimed that getting land to set up industries and mines would not be a problem because the Jharkhand government had set up a Land Bank in which about 20 lakh acres have been ear-marked for seizure. Of this about 10 lakh acres, the government assured, was ‘ready for acquisition’ by corporate houses.

People across the State are now becoming aware of the implications of this disturbing move of the government. They have started protesting this policy move through their Gram Sabhas. They are even appealing to the Governor of Jharkand to stop this reprehensible move of the government. In case the ‘constitutional custodian’ of Adivasi people of the state does not act decisively to stand by the people on their rights over their natural resources, the Adivasi people of Koel-Karo Jan Sangatan will fight this out, even as they successfully fought against the proposed Koel-Karo dam. If constructed, this dam would have submerged 132 villages and inundated about 50,000 acres of their cultivable & forest land. The sacrifices this struggle paid were high. The success of stopping a disastrous dam from taking shape, was at the cost of the people of  Koel-Karo Jan Sangatan making a heart-breaking sacrifice: eight of their colleagues being killed in police firing, 35 of them being seriously wounded, five of whom have become handicapped for life. Their present struggle is being inspired by this truth” the blood of our martyrs will not go in vain.
 

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Birsa Munda died a martyr in the Ranchi jail on June 9, 1900 at the young age of 25. He had been arrested on March 3 that year by the British police while he slept with the tribal guerrilla army he had formed, in Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur. Like Bhagat Singh the revolutionary who died so young, Birsa Munda’s fiery band of activism has inspired generations. He is the stuff of what folk legends are made omnipresent in popular and folk literature, academia, and mass media.
 
But today on his 142^nd birth anniversary let’s ask is the state that as formed on his 125^th birth anniversary actually protecting the dignity and rights of tribals?
 

Incarceration
Prabhat Khabar reported that 4,000 Adivasis of Jharkand falsely charged as ‘Naxals’ languish in the jails of Jharkand. 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)
 

A quick look at a timeline of the state’s repression of agitations over the past years tells a grim story.

Malnutrition

In early November 2017, a rickshaw-puller reportedly died of hunger at his house in Jharia last Friday evening. His wife claimed that he had not eaten anything for the past two days. However the district administration rubbished the allegation arguing that 45-year-old Baijnath Ravidas, a resident of Bhalgora Tarabank in the coal mines rich district, was suffering from a disease.

Poor Disenfranchised

A month earlier, news of Jharkand’s poor been struck of the ration card and pensioners list made the news. 11,64,000 ration cards cancelled as ‘fake’: 2,71,000 old-age pensioners have been declared ‘fake’; pruning of MGNREGA applicants as ‘fake’. The Jharkhand government published  a full page advertisement on September 22, enumerating its achievements during the 1000 days it has been in power.  Among the ‘achievements’ there is one item in the list that details of how it has cancelled 11,64,000 ‘fake ration cards’ leading to saving Rs.225 crores. Similarly, the state government has also ‘cancelled; 2,71,000 old-age pension documents and saved Rs.86 crores. Again, the state government claimed that it has saved Rs.203 crores by pruning MGNREGA ‘fake applicants’.  This is peddled like and appears to be a huge achievement of the govt. What this has meant is that large numbers of poor have been disenfranchised and left out the meagre social welfare schemes.
 

State Leadership Contemptuous of Adivasis and Dalits

In September 2017, the state government put out a controversial advertisement describing Tribals and Dalits are described as “simple and mute as cows”. The Chief Minister, allowed an advertisement with his photo and that of “Bappu” reducing the Tribals and Dalits to the level of cows.

Social Welfare Schemes on Paper

Social welfare schemes for STs and SCs in Jharkand remain on paper: Perusing the long list of developmental and welfare schemes meant for SCs and STs in Jharkand is like stepping into a dream-world. There are 49 schemes jointly undertaken by the central & state governments. This is apart from about 40 other schemes meant for the general population under the banner of rural development. The state bureaucracy iself violates the PESA Act which says “Gram Sabha shall be responsible for the identification and selection of persons as beneficiaries under the poverty alleviation and other programmes” [PESA 4.e.(ii)]. So the whole selection process of those chosen as beneficiaries is both illegal and ultra vires.

The much The much spoken about SC Sub Plan [SCSP]and Tribal Sub Plan [TSP] are implemented half heartedly, the irony being big sums from these schemes are diverted for general schemes such as road construction, panchayat building, stadiums etc with the justification that SCs and STs also use these facilities!

Worst Offender the Jharkand State Created in Name of Adivasis

Jharkand government has been accused of the ‘loot of adivasi land’, and it has taken place in the following manner: (i)  land alienation and consequent displacement. From the time of independenceup to now a staggering 24 lakh acres of land has been forcibly acquired all in the name of development. Consequently, 17 lakh adivasis have been displaced. The sad fact is not a single adivasi person or community has ever been rehabilitated because it involves not only resettlement in another place of their choice but also social and cultural bonds preserved intact. Only a minimal cash compensation was thrust upon them and after that they were neatly forgotten.

Repressive Laws in Jharkand
(ii) CNT/SPT Acts amendments being forcibly enforced in Jharkhand is yet another blow to the Adivasi people insofar as it aims to transfer agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. This implicitly means non-adivasis from within or without the country can acquire adivasi land for setting up commercial and business enterprises and govt can take agricultural land for infrastructural purposes. This is as good as finishing off this protective legislation. Happily there is wholesale resistance to this deceptive action of the govt and even the Governor has returned the bill asking the govt to re-consider this proposed legislation.

(iii) Land Bank is the most recent innovation to rob adivasi land from the back door. The govt proudly announced during the investors meeting in February this year that it has put together 21 lakh acres of land in Land Bank and therefore the investors will not have to face the problem of how to acquire land in Scheduled Areas.  It has now come to light the govt stealthily ear-marked the ‘Commons’, namely the common facilities of the village community such as ponds, cattle-grazing grounds, roads, places of religious worship, burial grounds, rivulets and even rivers as part of land bank! There is also private family land that is not cultivated but used for other needs that has also been included in land bank. And all this has been done without even informing and getting the consent of concerned families and communities. This action of the govt goes against constitutional and legal provisions.
 

Fake Land Deals

(iv) Fake land-deeds alienating thousands of acres of adivasi land are being reported in the print media recently. More than 1000 such fake deeds during the past 16 years have been unearthed.[Prabhat Khabar, 19 June 2017]. Those who are guilty of doing this are mostly non-adivasi-outsiders who are very adept in bribing govt functionaries and make out the needed fake documents. So there is a collusion of govt officials, politicians, contractors, land brokers, middle men most of whom are non-adivasi-outsiders have been working overtime to cheat the simple adivasi and deprive him of his cherished natural resources. Can there be a greater injustice than this cruel game?

Put briefly, the government’s developmental & welfare schemes have not made any difference in terms of betterment to most of SC / ST people. What is the use of decorating the tree’s branches with schemes that are either not responding to their real needs or they are not accessible to them?

Protests Against Amendments in Laws Repressively Put Down

Between July-October 2016,Jharkand erupted in conflict last year (July-November) as amendements in laws were pushed through to dilute the say of peoples and communities over what could or should be done with their lands.

 
Firing on NTPCs
In October 2016, in a gruesome incident, early morning on Saturday, the Jharkhand police is said to have left five persons dead and many injured as it opened fire on the villagers protesting “forcible land acquisition” for a thermal power plant being built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in district Hazaribagh, Chirdudih area. 

The firing, according to independent sources, has left five people dead, 12 critically injured and nearly 50 injured. There is a curfew in the area, and outsiders can’t go, and many missing are yet to be traced, these sources added.

While protests against the NTPC plant have been going on since 2010, when the project was announced, critics says, till date far acquired 8,056 acres of land acquired, most it “forcibly and fraudulently.”

This has happened despite the fact that, it is suggested, many issues even on the acquired land remains to be resolved, including higher compensation, employment and so on. 
 
Post Script
Jharkand has also seen the brute attack on minorities apart from Adivasis. The A Muslim Dairy Owner Thrashed. Believed Dead, House Set on Fire on ‘Suspicion’ of Cow Slaughter in June 2017.
 
Jharkand has seen a spate of brutal killings, lynchings since March 2016 when Mazlum Ansari and his nephew Imtiyaz were lynched and hung to die. Thereafter too there have been a series of attacks, assaults and killings. The last one was last friday after the Alvida Namaz on the Friday before Eid, on June 23 when 24 year old Mohammad Salman was allegedly shot dead by a posse of policeman. One arms guard is even under arrest after confessing to the crime. The National Commission of Minorities (NCM) even brought out a report on the deep rooted communal polarisation in Jharkand, even within the police force after the Latehar hangings.

In early April 2017, a Maulvi was brutally assaulted at Kodarma and thereafter in May 2017 rumours of child lifting had left many Muslims and some Hindus dead.

The post Birsa Munda’s Jharkhand slipping out of Adivasi hands appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Reuters image (for representational purpose only).

Now add adivasis to Muslims and Dalits in the hit list of self-styled ‘gau rakshaks’ on the rampage in state after state.

In the latest such incident, the Karnataka police has booked 13 gau rakshaks for allegedly thrashing three Koraga tribal community youths after accusing them of slaughtering a cow at Hosadu in Udupi district, the Indian Express reports.

The accused include Sunil Poojari, Chandrakanth Poojari, Gururaja Acharya and 10 others on the basis of a complaint filed by one Shakuntala, whose house was attacked.

They assailants have been booked under IPC sections 143, 147, 148, 448, 323, 506, 324, 504 and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

In her complaint Shakuntala has alleged that the gang led by Sunil Poojari entered her house around 12.30 am on Monday and assaulted her kin Harish, Mahesh and Srikanth at Ganadamakki Koragara Colony in Hosadu.

Meanwhile, the police have also charged Harish, Mahesh and Srikanth for allegedly slaughtering cows illegally at their home under the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Animals Act, 1964.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Udupi district) N Vishnuvardhan told the Indian Express that Mahesh, Harish and Srikanth were arrested and later released on bail. But the police was still looking for the attackers, who have reportedly gone underground.

The post ‘Gau rakshaks’ on the rampage, yet again: Three tribals attacked in Udupi over alleged cow slaughter appeared first on SabrangIndia.