Naga tribes indulge in merry-making during Moatsu festival

Kohima: Nagaland is a land of festivals where all sixteen of its tribes have their own culture and way of life. It is this cultural harmony that makes it a unique State.

Recently, the Ao tribe celebrated the Moatsu Festival. Held annually in May, the festival is celebrated in anticipation of a good and bountiful crop from "Lichaba".

The Ao's believe Lichaba is the source of blessings and the one who protects nature and the crops.

"During Moatsu, we pray to God and take blessings to sow our seeds for the blessings of cultivation," said Yongtsanglemba, a villager.

Originally, the festival lasted for six days, but is now compressed to three days.

"For young people like us, we get to see new cultures and learn a lot of things. It is also the time when we meet people from far and distant places. We call people and enjoy together," said Chubakumla, a student. "It helps the youth specially who have forgotten their culture. It brings back the past. It is very good that they are doing this. From here, we learn what our heritage is all about. We learn the rich heritage of our culture. I think it is very good that they are doing it," said Katimenla Imchen, another student.

The Moatsu festival is marked by the peppy songs and dances, all full of fun and merry-making.

One of the major attractions of this festival is Sangpangtu. During the programme, a fire is lit and men and women sit around it. They wear their best attire, and the women serve meat and wine.

The main purpose of this wonderful festival is to provide recreation and amusement to the tribe in the post-harvesting period.

All the festivals are linked to the harvest.

Adivasi women fall prey to sexual exploitation

Malappuram, Kerala: Sexual exploitation of Adivasis living in different colonies at Thazhekode panchayat near Perinthalmanna has increased recently with grim stories of unwed mothers and their children sending shock waves through the district administration.

A team of officials that visited the colonies on Thursday was confounded to hear abashing stories of rape, adultery, lechery and incest. The Adivasi women, who were victims of rape and their men’s lust for money, posed a big question before the team led by District Collector M.C. Mohandas.

The district officials immediately drew up a comprehensive plan to save the 45-odd Adivasi families of Thazhekode from the ill reputation they have fallen into.

“What we plan is an integrated approach involving all departments concerned… so that we can give them a lift with the help of the local populace,” said Mr. Mohandas, briefing newspersons at Thazhekkode Village Office.

Specific plan

Accordingly, a comprehensive survey would soon be conducted at Aramkunnu, Melechery, Mullummada, and Panambi colonies in the panchayat.

A specific plan would be put to work on the basis of the survey results, said the officials.
The team, which included Superintendent of Police P. Vijayan and Dy.SP M.R. Maniyan, took statements from the Adivasi victims of sexual abuse. Although their attempt to find a woman who had been pushed into abuse by her father did not succeed, the officials listened to her mother.

Easy money

The woman got pregnant twice and gave birth to a child once. But none knows the fate of that child.

She got Rs.25,000 on two occasions of pregnancy as compensation for rape from the government. And her family found that easy money.

Several other young women in the colony too have got the ‘rape money’ of Rs.25,000 from the government. Local people pointed out that it was the compensation that often drove them into sexual consent.

The plight of a speech-impaired woman in the Melechery colony appeared pathetic. She was in her advanced stage of pregnancy, but did not know the father of her child. She was exploited by a few.

Another woman from the same colony wanted a father for her child. With the help of social worker K.R. Ravi, she asked the Collector for a DNA test to establish her child’s father. She had got Rs.25,000 from the government.

A woman from Aramkunnu colony looked too young for marriage. But she said she was married to a man from Nemmara two years ago.

Thazhekkode Village Officer Harees Kappoor said those cases were just the tip of the iceberg.

Source: The Hindu

Land alienation is a serious threat to Tribals of Jharkhand

Tribals land alienation is one of the major issues of Jharkhand. The tribal community is under the threat due to illegal land alienation today. Though the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908 and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act 1949 prevent the transfer and sale of tribal land to a non-tribal but these laws were not enacted honestly caused tribals deprivation of land said the Mr Kumar Chand Mardi, convenor of CREJ (Campaign for right to education Jharkhand ) Jan Mukti Andolan; an state level alliance fight for people's right' while addressing in Mahadharna organized by the Crej Jan Mukti Andolan in front of Raj Bhawan on May 17.He said that during 1951 to 1991 about 22 lakh acres of land has been alienated from them .This was done for setting up industries, mines, large dams, sanctuaries, highway and also illegal transfer of land to non – tribals and the practices of the moneylenders system too snatched land from the tribals. The restoration of illegally alienated land has been one of the important mandates of the Bihar Scheduled Area Regulation Act 1969. According to government records, up to 2001-02, 60,464 cases for restoration involving 85,777.22 acres of land were filed out of which 34,608 cases were upheld involving 46,797.36 acres of land and rest were rejected.

He further said that the tribal land alienation is on the rise in the state. A total of 2,608 cases of tribal land alienation were registered under the Special Area Regulation Court in 2003-04, 2,657 cases in 2004-05 and 3,230 cases in 2005-2006. According to the 2004-05 Annual Report of Ministry of Rural Development of the Government of India, the Jharkhand topped the list of tribal land alienation in India with 86,291 cases involving 10,48,93 acres of land. Therefore we demand that the tribal land alienation should be stopped and the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908 and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act 1949 must be enforced with the true spirit. Therefore today we are publicly announcing that we shall not give even one inch of land for the Industries, Dam, Mining, Power Plant or any other development project. The member of NAFRE (national Allaince for right to equity and education)Jan Andoland, is a national alliance workingfor people's right's Lakhi Das said that we are in a serious threat because the state government has signed 65 MoU and they need huge land for it.

The first Chief Minister of Jharkhand Babulal Marandi has started signing of MoU and brought the industrial policy in the state. He also advocated for the amendment of CNT Act to sale the tribal land. His successor Arjun Munda went much further and singed MoU with 43 companies, which created upheaval in Jharkhand. UPA came to the power and we were hopping that these MoUs would be revised and rejected but our demands of rejection of MoU was accepted and they are also promoting the same thing which NDA government did. We oppose the corporate development model which induces displacement.

The members of CREJ ( Campaign for Right to Education ) Jan Mukti Andolan; an state level alliance working in Jharkhand on people's right, Arun Anand, Subhan, Jerom Jerald Kujur, Kaleshwar, Pravin Kumar, Roselina Kishku, Gladson Dungdung also addressed the Mahadharna. A memorandum was also submitted to the governor of Jharkhand with 10 points demand. There were hundreds of people participated in the Mahadharna protesting fro their rights.

Source: Gladson Dundung ( social Activist) writer of Mynews.in

Manipur tribals want dam work to be stopped

Imphal, 20th May: Tribals in Ukhrul district of Manipur have been demanding the government to abandon the construction of the multi-crore Mapithel dam. Yesterday, they staged a protest which was organised by the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights and some students and civil organisations.

The protesters wanted the government to pay compensation for the land acquired for the project and then go ahead with the construction. The recent statement by Deputy Speaker Thounaojam Shyamkumar revealed that a 30-metre crack was noticed in the dam which created a terrific storm in many adjoining areas.

Several anti-dam groups have been demanding the government to abandon the construction. Police and Assam Rifles personnel have been posted near the dam site.

Chhattisgarh to open 100 boarding schools for tribals

Raipur: Chhattisgarh on Friday announced that it would open 100 boarding schools in 2008-09 for tribal children to improve the state's literacy levels.

The government will spend Rs.57 million to set up such schools in tribal hamlets of 13 of the state's 16 districts, it said.

Each school will enrol 50 students for primary classes and they will be provided free food apart from all educational facilities. Called 'ashram schools', they will be funded by the state's tribal department.

The concept of ashram schools has been in practise in Chhattisgarh for quite a few years and it aims at encouraging poor tribals to send their children to schools without investing a single rupee and help the government improve the literacy level.

Water scarcity forces Oriya tribals to dig riverbeds

Kalahandi (Orissa) : Intense heat wave conditions and declining water levels are spelling a hard time for Oriya tribals. The state's Kalahandi district is reeling from water scarcity, so much so that tribals have been digging up the riverbed to access water to meet their daily requirements.

Residents call this process of digging up a hole in the dry riverbed as 'Chahala'. It has become common in the district that faces acute water shortage during the summer every year.

A small river passes through the region surrounded by hills and forests. Residents say they are wholly dependent on it to fulfill their water requirements, and during the summers, when the river dries up, they are left with no other option but to dig up the riverbed.

"This is the only source of water we are dependent on. It takes two hours to fetch water once. We are suffering from disease due to the drinking of unsafe water. We come here to get water four or five times in a day," said Ujala Guria, a villager.

They accuse that the local administration of being indifferent, but the State Government says measures are being taken to provide drinking water."Due to this extreme heat, we are facing an acute scarcity of drinking water. The Government has decided that drinking water should be provided to the people at any cost. We have directed all collectors to calculate how much water is to be provided to each village. They have been directed to send water tankers wherever required and to hire more water tankers," said Biswa Bhushan Harichandan, Orissa's Rural Development Minister.

According to reports, climate change and global warming has added to the woes of the people.

Sarna - The Original Tribal Religion

Strictly speaking Adivasis, who are not Hindus, Christians or Muslims, have no name for their religion. Some western authors and Indian sociologists called them animists and spirit worshipers. In central India like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Orissa their religion is called Sarna, a name given from the Sacred Grove which functions as a place of worship.

The tribals have their own way of conscience, faith and belief. Basically, they believe in the super natural spirit called the ‘Singbonga’. ‘According to the belief of the Santhal community, the world is inhabited by numerous spiritual beings of different kind; and the Santhals consider themselves as living and doing everything in close association with these supernatural beings.’ They perform rituals under the Sal trees at a place called ‘Jaher’ (sacred grove). Often the ‘Jaher’ can be found in the forests. They believe in Bonga’s appearance in Sal trees and have named their religion as ‘Sarna’.

The genesis of the ‘Sarna’ religion is interesting. According to the mythology of the Santhal community, the ‘Santhal tribals had gone to the forest for hunting and they started the discussion about their ‘Creator and Savior’ while they were taking rest under a tree. They questioned themselves that who is their God? Whether the Sun, the Wind or the Cloud? Finally, they came to a conclusion that they would leave an arrow in the sky and wherever the arrow would target that will be the God’s house. They left an arrow in the sky; it fell down under a Sal tree. Then, they started worshiping the Sal tree and named their religion as ‘Sarna’ because it is derived from a Sal tree. Thus, Sarna religion came into existence. There are priests and an assistant priests called "Naikey" and "Kudam Naike" in every Santhal village.

Source: Wikipedia

The Fight for the Right

The struggle for ST status by the Adivasis in Assam warrants an examination as it is the only state in India wherein, post Independence, their tribal status has been replaced by OBC (Other Backward Class).

The Government of India made special safeguards to protect Advisasis from exploitation and ensure social justice since the inception of Planning in 1951. This policy of ‘protective discrimination’ for oppressed communities includes reservation of posts in public services, guaranteed political representation, and seats in educational institutions. And while far from perfect, this policy has certainly seen positive signs over the decades for a lot of communities like, for example, the Dalits (falling under Schedule Caste status) whose education levels, human development indices and levels of franchise have steadily risen across the country, and particularly in states like Tamilnadu, which has historically been far ahead of most other states in India when it comes to safeguarding the interests of oppressed communities through a consistent policy of protective policy-making.

For Adivasis too, ST status in many other states of India has given them greater political representation and resulted in increasing presence in educational institutions and government jobs. This has resulted in some positives for the community with some sections slowly climbing up the socioeconomic ladder. However, despite this improvement, human development indicators still show Adivasis languishing at the bottom among all communities in India. It can be safely argued that, while hardly the only solution, protection through ST status for Adivasis needs to necessarily continue.

It is under this paradigm that the struggle for ST status by the Adivasis in Assam gains particular legitimacy. This struggle has faced a brick wall in the form of either the Assam government or opposition from other identity-based movements. Among the arguments against the granting of this status to Adivasis include pointing to the historic migration of the Adivasis into the state thereby arguing that they’re not tribals of the region per se. However this is a rather flawed argument to make as every community in India has a migratory history behind them, whether it’s the various Dravidian communities in South India, the numerous tribes in Northeast India, or any other community. Furthermore the migration was as indentured labour, and the Adivasis continue to carry the burden of their historical disenfranchisement even in Assam. Thus to deny the community what has been deemed as a fundamental right by the Indian Constitution is indeed a continuation of that historical injustice.

It must be strenuously added however that ST status alone, while important, will not be some kind of quick-fix panacea to cure all ills. This is evident in other parts of India, where political power via reservation often ends up in the hands of the political elite of that section of society, who themselves sometimes form an oppressive ruling class within the community. There are numerous other issues that the Adivasis face such as lack of economic franchise, serious labour exploitation and social problems such as alcoholism that will require strenuous social movements to tackle.

Conclusion

Without serious examination of the vast gamut of issues that form the oppressive existence that the Adivasis have to contend with, mere political representation will not do. A worrying feature of a group like AASAA is the single-point nature of their campaigns, without vigorously examining deeper issues such as the conditions of Adivasi workers and women, as well as struggling against internal exploitation.

A far clearer analysis of labour and gender by the numerous Adivasi organisations, looking beyond just identity, and the building of movements based on that analysis would serve the community tremendously. The Adivasis have a long history of valiant struggle behind them, with one of the first rebellions against the British Empire being the Santhal Rebellion of 1855 as well as a history of egalitarian living. This legacy can certainly be a guiding force in taking on the oppression that the Adivasis face today in a truly fruitful manner.

Tracing identities through mother tongue: Oraon tribe

By Santosh K Kiro

Alarmed by their offsprings’ unfamiliarity about their own mother tongue, high placed government officials, professors, doctors, engineers and politicians belonging to Oraon tribe, have rushed to socially impose ‘mother tongue code’ in their society.

They have asked the parents to ‘teach’ their kids ‘Kuruk’, the mother tongue of the Oraons, the most upwardly mobile among the 32 tribes of Jharkhand. As the problem of not knowing one’s own mother tongue is more among the higher educated group among Oraons, they fears that they will have an ‘identity crisis’ in future if the Kuruk language is not revived at this stage.

“The State Government has initiated teaching of mother tongues (tribal languages) in schools. But mother tongue could be learnt best at mother’s lap—at home,” emphasised Rameshwar Oraon, MP.

“It is matter of concern as our children are not speaking their own mother tongue any more,” said REV Kujur, a retired IPS officer, talking to HT. Kujur, like several other officers—retired or serving, is a member of the Kuruk Unnati Samaj, Jharkhand. “We are advising parents to take this issue seriously and teach their wards the mother tongue,” he added.

The Oraon tribe in Jharkhand is the largest among 80-lakh tribal populations. Its members man crucial posts both in the Government and the Church. Luminaries from the tribe include Cardinal Telesphore P Toppo, a figure in the Roman Catholic Church, Bandhu Tirkey, Enos Ekka--both Ministers in the Jharkhand Government, Members of Parliament Rameshwar Oraon, MLA Niel Tirkey among others.

In some cases, Oraon children who receive education in posh schools, choose to converse with their parents in English, rather than the ‘traditional’ mother tongue.

In other States too, similar move by high Government officials like that of Jharkhand, is being made. “In Chattisgarh, Sunil Kujur, State Welfare Secretary and S. Minz, Principal Secretary, Forest along other their tribal colleagues, are busy reviving Kuruk language,” said Dr Karma Oraon, professor of Anthropology, Ranchi University. He said there are well over 35 IAS and IPS officers belonging the tribe. Interestingly, it is the children of the well-placed Government officers who have poor Kuruk literacy rate.

Adivasi participation in the migrant labour market

A good part of the infrastructure for the new economy is built by migrant labourers, a large number of them adivasis. But they themselves are still vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous employers.

The second half of the last decade has seen exponential and unprecedented growth in adivasi participation in the migrant labour market. While there is evidence of adivasi participation in migrant labour markets over the last four decades, from the nineties onwards the phenomena has risen to levels that can only be termed as a crisis of enormous proportions. With no means of survival other than marginal land holdings, which provide food for four to six months in a year, more than 80% of the tribal people are forced to migrate in search of work.

Surrounded on all sides by rapidly industrializing and urbanizing areas, the migrant tribal labourers are absorbed in employment involving hard physical labour under harsh conditions in stone quarries, brick kilns, sand excavation sites, salt pans, fishing boats, construction sites, as hamals on trucks, and as casual labour in industries performing the most arduous tasks often involving health hazards for extremely low wages.

It is this cheap labour that has been subsidizing India's march to modernization, whose availability is continued through an annual cycle of starvation and bondage. Estimates made by organizations working with adivasi populations range from 55% to 70% as the number of adivasis migrating out of their villages looking for employment.

Many of these adivasis are paid less than 50% of the prescribed minimum wage. It is also seen that the working conditions of the tribal migrant salt workers are excessive. It is difficult to ascertain the working hours of the day and the owners, conductors and lease holders never provide safety equipments. The employers do not maintain any records and workers are often denied payment of earned wages; under conditions of migrant labour it is difficult to prosecute and recover any wages.

The practice of migrating out for work among adivasis has various inflections to how it is constituted, in large part depending on the initial conditions that create the necessity to migrate out for work. For instance, among those adivasi communities where lack of local employment creates conditions where there is a cash shortage but where the families have not entirely run out of food stocks etc, the tendency is for individual members to migrate out for short periods so as to generate cash supplements to support their family. In sharp contrast, when adivasi families are reduced to abject poverty with no food stocks or other resources to even tide over the short term, the whole family tends to migrate looking for survival.

Often the levels of exploitation, non payment of wages, harassment and sexual violence forces them to migrate further to a new place, often abandoning the claims over earnings they may have had. Each such new place puts them in a more vulnerable situation producing a cycle of newer and sharper crises.

Any understanding of the causes for the continuation of such unyielding and hyper exploitative practices is impossible without an examination of the infrastructure that is in place to regulate and monitor employment and remunerative practices of employers. The said infrastructure is both by way of State institutions and laws that are meant to together constitute an apparatus of regulation.

Almost all labour in the brick kilns, salt pans, sand excavation and fishing boats is 'forced labour'. The law is clear on this point. The payment of wages is an absolute condition of employment. In the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) v. Union Of India, the Supreme Court has held that requiring workers to work for less than Minimum Wages is 'forced labour' as contemplated in Article 23 of the Constitution. 'Forced Labour' is a criminal offence and an atrocity under 3(1)(vi) of the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Act 1989 and the Sub Divisional Magistrate has been specifically empowered to prevent atrocities under the rules framed under the Act. However, the critical aspect of the criminal justice system's relation to adivasi migrant labour lies in the fact that criminal matters such as non payment of wages and sexual harassment are never treated as criminal offenses by the law enforcement mechanism.

In every tribal area the Integrated Tribal Development Project has been set up for the welfare needs and development of the tribal people. There is a need to empower the ITDP Department to protect the rights of migrant tribal workers. As the Revenue department is the license issuing authority for many rural industries, if suitably empowered, it can be effective in the recovery of the wages of unpaid workers. Non Payment of Minimum Wages should be made a cognizable offence and be brought under the purview of Section 374 of the Indian Penal Code as Unlawful Compulsory Labour. The redressal of complaints like non payment of wages and sexual exploitation should be done at a government office nearest to the place of residence of the worker and not necessarily the site of employment. There ought to be regulation of the unfair labour practices through the presence of a labour inspector at all 'nakas' from where casual labour is recruited with a display board of Minimum Wages for different employments and provision should be made for registration of migrant labour with the Gram Panchayats. There is also a need for Mobile Labour Courts or additional powers to be given to the Court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class to try labour matters.

The phenomena of adivasi migrant labour is positioned to grow rapidly over the next decade unless a series of corrective/preventive measures are taken. Such measures can be conceptualized at either end of the phenomena of migrant labour and the very creation of such a 'disaggregated' labour force that is fragmented, disempowered and highly marginalized is minimised. However, simultaneously efforts to create a new and aggressive regulation mechanism that seeks to discipline the ownership of said industries is needed.

A. L. Lakra of Jamshedpur qualifies for Beijing Olympics 2008

Jamshedpur: Anthresh Lalit Lakra of Tata Steel Boxing Training Centre has qualified in Boxing for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. A dedicated boxer who has been undergoing training in boxing since 1994 has now taken Tata Steel and Jamshedpur on the Global map of sports. His commitment to boxing and his sheer determination to reach new levels has made this achievement possible.

Anthresh has represented the state in many boxing championships. He has also won the Bihar State Boxing Championship under Senior Fly weight held in 2000. Not only has he won laurels at the state level but has also participated and won medals in National Boxing Championships. To name a few of his achievements, he has been the winner in the following - 13th Sub Jr. National Boxing Championship held in Bhillai in 97, All India Boxing Championship organized by Karnataka Amateur Boxing Association in January 2000 and Olympic Day Boxing in Kolkata in 1997.

A L Lakra has received training under Sri. E Lakra, who happens to be his father. This able coach is with Tata Steel Boxing Training Centre and is also the Chief Coach of Jharkhand State Boxing Team.

A L Lakra qualifying for the Beijing Olympics scheduled to be held in 2008 is an achievement to acknowledge by Tata Steel in its Centenary Year.