By Sandeep Bhaskar
There are reasons to be worried about the tribals of Jharkhand facing extinction.
The death of over a dozen members belonging to primitive tribes, including three children, in a span of past one month, isn’t good news. The incident has kicked up a controversy with social workers attributing eight deaths in Jharkhand’s Chatra district to malnutrition, while the government cites food poisoning as the root-cause.
Now the state government has ordered a probe into the deaths.
Officially, while the death of eight Birhors (primitive tribal group) were registered from Hindiykala village of Chatra, three children died in Jharnakund Birhor Colony in Jhumari Tilaiya block of Koderma district in October. This apart, death of nine Baigas (another primitive tribal group) are reported from Bhitaha village of Chatra and one Birhor from Dumka district.
According to reports, while one Bhitor Birhor (48), a resident of Jhaluhotang village of Silli block, Ranchi district, died due to lack of medical care on October 27, a pregnant Rita Birhor of Lokai Birhor Colony was allegedly turned away from Sadar Hospital in Koderma recently.
However, if Balram —Jharkhand advisor to Supreme Court commissioner of food security N C Saxena — is to be believed, the death of eight Birhors in Hindiykala was due to chronic starvation. Balram has sent a report to the apex court urging it to direct the state government to control hunger deaths among these primitive tribes.
“During the ‘on the spot’ survey, all circumstantial evidences suggest that the deaths occurred due to malnutrition and starvation. Of the 27 Birhor families, in Hindiykala of Pratappur block, only four families had cards under the Anotyodaya Yojana in which foodgrains were shown distributed way back in 1998. While, the mid-day meal in schools and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) were found to be erratic, hardly any foodgrains were found in the households. Consequently, these people are living on makka (maize) and kanda-gethi (a kind of bitter root),” said Balram.
Dinesh Singh visited Hindiykala as a member of the team led by Jharkhand advisor to Supreme Court commissioner of food security. He observed that the villagers suffered from swelling and oedema. “This is a symptom of acute malnutrition. So, it is high time the government steps in and helps them,” said Singh.
However, trashing the social workers’ reports, Chatra deputy commissioner Abu Bakr Siddiqui said the deaths were due to food poisoning and that it had nothing to do with starvation.
Meanwhile, the state government has constituted a three-member committee to probe the cause of the deaths. The committee headed by the state welfare secretary U K Sangma is expected to submit the report shortly.
Whatever be the committee’s findings, the progressive decline in the population of primitive tribes — especially Birhors, Pahariya and Sauriya Pahariya — is reason for concern. Spread over 24 districts of the state, Jharkhand boasts of having eight groups of primitive tribes. But worse, despite a plethora of schemes, their population is staggeringly low.
While the 2001-census report put the primitive tribes tally at around 2.40 lakh, the population of the three groups Birhor, Pahariya and Sauriya Pahariya declined further from the 1991 census report. As against 8,038 Birhors in the 1991, their population dwindled to 7,514 in 2001, whereas the population of Pahariya and Sauriya Pahariya slipped from 29,256 to 20,786 and 47,826 to 31,050 respectively between 1991 and 2001.
But leading to a startling further revelation, a study conducted by state Tribal Research Institute (TRI) during 2002-03 found the strength of primitive tribes at about 1.90 lakh.
This despite a string of schemes for them in the state, which includes Primitive Tribe Housing (Birsa Awas Yojana), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, food support programme, direct jobs for educated youth, health and vocational training, Janashree Beema Yojana, Adim Janjati Pradikaran, Adim Janjati Bharat Darshan and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). The state government has also earmarked Rs 50 crore specifically for primitive tribes, from an annual outlay of Rs 300 crore for the welfare of all tribals.
Source: Deccan Herald
There are reasons to be worried about the tribals of Jharkhand facing extinction.
The death of over a dozen members belonging to primitive tribes, including three children, in a span of past one month, isn’t good news. The incident has kicked up a controversy with social workers attributing eight deaths in Jharkhand’s Chatra district to malnutrition, while the government cites food poisoning as the root-cause.
Now the state government has ordered a probe into the deaths.
Officially, while the death of eight Birhors (primitive tribal group) were registered from Hindiykala village of Chatra, three children died in Jharnakund Birhor Colony in Jhumari Tilaiya block of Koderma district in October. This apart, death of nine Baigas (another primitive tribal group) are reported from Bhitaha village of Chatra and one Birhor from Dumka district.
According to reports, while one Bhitor Birhor (48), a resident of Jhaluhotang village of Silli block, Ranchi district, died due to lack of medical care on October 27, a pregnant Rita Birhor of Lokai Birhor Colony was allegedly turned away from Sadar Hospital in Koderma recently.
However, if Balram —Jharkhand advisor to Supreme Court commissioner of food security N C Saxena — is to be believed, the death of eight Birhors in Hindiykala was due to chronic starvation. Balram has sent a report to the apex court urging it to direct the state government to control hunger deaths among these primitive tribes.
“During the ‘on the spot’ survey, all circumstantial evidences suggest that the deaths occurred due to malnutrition and starvation. Of the 27 Birhor families, in Hindiykala of Pratappur block, only four families had cards under the Anotyodaya Yojana in which foodgrains were shown distributed way back in 1998. While, the mid-day meal in schools and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) were found to be erratic, hardly any foodgrains were found in the households. Consequently, these people are living on makka (maize) and kanda-gethi (a kind of bitter root),” said Balram.
Dinesh Singh visited Hindiykala as a member of the team led by Jharkhand advisor to Supreme Court commissioner of food security. He observed that the villagers suffered from swelling and oedema. “This is a symptom of acute malnutrition. So, it is high time the government steps in and helps them,” said Singh.
However, trashing the social workers’ reports, Chatra deputy commissioner Abu Bakr Siddiqui said the deaths were due to food poisoning and that it had nothing to do with starvation.
Meanwhile, the state government has constituted a three-member committee to probe the cause of the deaths. The committee headed by the state welfare secretary U K Sangma is expected to submit the report shortly.
Whatever be the committee’s findings, the progressive decline in the population of primitive tribes — especially Birhors, Pahariya and Sauriya Pahariya — is reason for concern. Spread over 24 districts of the state, Jharkhand boasts of having eight groups of primitive tribes. But worse, despite a plethora of schemes, their population is staggeringly low.
While the 2001-census report put the primitive tribes tally at around 2.40 lakh, the population of the three groups Birhor, Pahariya and Sauriya Pahariya declined further from the 1991 census report. As against 8,038 Birhors in the 1991, their population dwindled to 7,514 in 2001, whereas the population of Pahariya and Sauriya Pahariya slipped from 29,256 to 20,786 and 47,826 to 31,050 respectively between 1991 and 2001.
But leading to a startling further revelation, a study conducted by state Tribal Research Institute (TRI) during 2002-03 found the strength of primitive tribes at about 1.90 lakh.
This despite a string of schemes for them in the state, which includes Primitive Tribe Housing (Birsa Awas Yojana), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, food support programme, direct jobs for educated youth, health and vocational training, Janashree Beema Yojana, Adim Janjati Pradikaran, Adim Janjati Bharat Darshan and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). The state government has also earmarked Rs 50 crore specifically for primitive tribes, from an annual outlay of Rs 300 crore for the welfare of all tribals.
Source: Deccan Herald
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