Textbook Strike

By Gladson Dungdung
TEHELKA.COM
8 August, 2008

In a Bokaro school, children demanding textbooks make themselves heard by organising a sit-in and refusing entry to grown-ups

Free and compulsory education is one of the constitutional rights of children and the State is duty-bound to realise it. The Centre and State governments provide free textbooks, uniforms, midday meals, scholarships and other facilities to the poor children who cannot afford it. For this very reason, when the children of Utkramit Madhya Vidhyalaya in Chandipur of Bokaro district (Jharkhand) were denied these rights, they started relentless resistance against the authorities. Subsequently, they managed to get themselves heard.

The problem of unavailability of the textbooks began with the introduction of the CBSE curriculum in 2002. The state government’s promise to provide free textbooks to the children up to class eight was never fulfilled. The children did not get the books in 2003. While in 2004, the books reached the schools in the month of November, the session passed away without books in 2005. A copyright dispute between the state government and the NCERT meant the children got their books just in time for their annual exams of 2006. It is August 2008 and the last time the children got a fresh set of books was in October 2007. No wonder children of Chandipur School were anxious.

A child rights organization “Dhara” organized “Bal Sansad” (children’s parliament) in the district on June 13, 2008 where the children discussed the issues of unavailability of textbooks, midday meals, scholarships and bicycles. Then a delegation of 15 children in led by Vinod Kumar (12), Kartik Kumar (13) and Raju Kumar (10) of Chandipur School met Alku Das the Block Education Officer (BEO) of Kasmar on June 20. Das assured them that the books would be distributed on July 15 as per the directions of Bandhu Tirkey, the Education Minister of Jharkhand. But when he failed to meet the deadline, the delegation again met the BEO in his office on July 16. In an alarming development, an upset BEO threatened to have the children put behind bars. ‘Stop politics and get back to school. Otherwise I’ll throw you behind the bars,’ is what the BEO told the children. Adding fuel to the children’s anger, the incident pushed them to a strike till they get the books.

Mobilising their classmates, they locked the main gate of the school. They started shouting slogans “Bhikh Nahi, Adhikar Chahiye” (we demand our rights, not charity) and “Khichdi Nahi, Kitab Chakiye” (we need books, not mixed-rice). The children’s agitation continued for four days. Durga Das Mahto, the head teacher of the school got into the act threatening to expel them from the school.

Bhagwat Mahto the chairperson of the ‘Village Education Committee’, who oversaw midday meals in school, put pressure on children and convinced their parents to get their children to call off the agitation. Most of the parents succumbed to the pressure but fortunately, the members of ‘Mahila Samiti’ recognised the children’s concerns were genuine and backed them. The chairperson of the Samiti, Basanti Devi said, ‘Shame on us because we did not support our children’s demand. We cannot even understand the fact that the children cannot study without books.’

Finally, the matter caught the attention of the District Superintendent of Education (DSE) Shivnarayan Shah. On a July 22 visit to the school, after his request to unlock the gates was heard, he conducted a meeting in its premises with children, parents and teachers. Representing the students, Vinod Kumar complained about the BEO’s response when they approached him. He was informed that the scholarship has not been offered for the last three years, that the girl children are not given bicycles and the mid day meals are also not being served properly.

Furious about the state of affairs, Shah had the head teacher Durga Das Mahto transferred. He dissolved the Village Education Committee and ordered the constitution of a new committee within a week. Books were to be provided immediately, five sets of them to the children of class 8. He also ordered an investigation into the matter of scholarship and distribution of bicycle to girl children. ‘The officers will be punished if found guilty,’ he said. BEO Alku Das apologised to the children in the presence of the DSE. Blaming the inaction of the BEO and the head teacher of the school for the debacle, he said, ‘They did not do their job and also failed to report to me.’

The children were inspired to assume the mantle of the elders by the activists of ‘Dhara’ through various training programmes, where they are being taught about their rights recognised by the United Nation Convention on Rights of the Child 1989, ratified by the Government of India on 12 November 1992. Vinod Kumar explains, ‘Here, we learn about our rights – rights to development including right to education, participation and protection”.

According to Jeevan Jagarnath the director of Dhara, the children in every village form ‘Bal Akhra’ (children group); organise various training camps, ‘Bal Sansad’, cultural programmes and they go on field trips, where they learn about their rights, issues and redressal mechanisms. ‘We are committed to making sure that the children enjoy their rights, to the extent promised by the government of India,’ he said, adding, they had approached the parents first but it was the children who set about exercising their rights—a good sign of things to come.

This successful campaign of children for books has inspired the children of other schools in the district. The children of Baraikala and Baraikhurd middle schools have also started agitations demanding books and other facilities. Bablu Kumar (10) of Utkramit Madhya Vidhyalaya, Baraikhurd sounded a warning. ‘We will also resort to an agitation if the books do not reach us by the end of July’.

There are 44058 government and government-aided schools in Jharkhand, 1740 schools in Bokaro district alone but not one of them has received the textbooks four months into the new academic year. Neither are textbooks available in the market. Herein lies the question mark on the children’s right to education.

Gladson Dungdung is a Human Rights Activist associated with the "Child Rights and You". He can be contacted at: gladsonhrights@gmail.com

Killing Christians to stop Tribals and Dalits from developing and achieving dignity

By P. Augustine Kanjamala, Svd
An expert sociologist talks about the motives behind the ongoing waves of violence against Christians—conversion to Christianity, education and emancipation allow Tribals and Dalits to escape slave-like conditions. Hindu fundamentalism is against the search for greater justice and wants to stop ongoing social transformations.

On 24 December 2007, while the Christians were getting ready to celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a member of a Hindu fundamentalist organization (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) and his supporters attacked and destroyed many churches and prayer centres. A large number of Christians were injured and made homeless in the communally sensitive district of Kandhmal, in Orissa state, eastern India.

Exactly eight months later, on 23 August 2008 when the same seer and the Hindu community were preparing to celebrate the birthday of Lord Krishna (Janmashtami) in Jalespata ashram (monastery), he and four of his disciples were gunned down by tribal revolutionary Maoists.

That it was a premeditated attack is evident from the fact that he was warned in advance and that government authorities were aware of it. A local TV Channel reported that the murderers left a note on the spot of the murder that this was a revenge killing for the last December attack on the Christians.

Hindus were quick to accuse the Church of masterminding the murder of their revered religious leader, who was in his 80s, rather than accept the government’s view that the attack had a Maoist colour.

A meeting of Hindu leaders took place on the following day in Rourkela, also known as Steel City, where a decision for an immediate and violent retaliation was taken. The total success of the dawn to dusk strike in Orissa on 25 August is clear evidence of the shocking reaction. The simultaneous unleashing of violent attacks on 35 Christian centres in Orissa on the evening of 25 August further confirms that the plan was organized.

All bomb attacks were directed at Christians and their institutions. The rampaging mob, seeking revenge for the Guru’s murder, destroyed the pastoral centre of the archdiocese of Bhuvaneshwar with a bomb. A priest and a nun working there were beaten up, stripped and paraded naked in order to humiliate them. Four other priests were severely beaten—one suffered severe burns and is now in critical conditions in Burla Medical College, in the district of Sambalpur.

The mob also ransacked a church-run orphanage near Burgarh, and the caretaker, Ms Rajni Maji, was set ablaze and burned to death.

A large number of churches, prayer centres, convents, hospitals, dispensaries and vehicles were attacked and torched. Some nuns received warned by mobile phone and either ran into the jungle or escaped by jeep to the neighbouring state of Chattisgarh.

A few lay people lost their lives while thousands ran for theirs into the forests; more than 200 houses were set on fire.

The radical Hindu mobs defied the curfew and forced everyone and everything to shut down, bringing life to a stand still and the state virtually to its knees. The official death toll of 20 reported by the controlled media is totally false.

With 40 per cent of the population made up of Tribals and Dalits (outcasts) Orissa is one of the most underdeveloped states in the country.

The Kandhamal district, which has seen high levels of anti-Christian violence in the last decade, is also where a significant number of Christian conversions have taken place in the same period. As Dalits who embrace Christianity achieve socio-economic progress, many Tribals have followed them in that path in recent times. Thus while Orissa's Christian population is less than 2 per cent, the Christian population in the district doubled in the last decade to reach the 5 per cent mark.

In January 1999, the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were burned to death by a mob led by one Dara Singh (convicted in 2003).

Objecting to missionary activities, the murdered Hindu sage recently said: “The sooner Christians return to the Hindu fold the better it would be for the country.”

Orissa was the first state in the country that passed legislation against religious conversion in 1967, followed later by other states.

While Christian missionaries firmly assert that serving the poor and the marginalized is their missionary vocation, the anti-conversion law is based on the view that these services are inducements and fraudulent means to abet conversions.

Another factor also generates opposition to Christians. It is becoming increasingly clear that where Christian missionaries operate, important social changes take place. People develop, acting and living with greater dignity. Thus, as a result of education, even basic education, Tribals and Dalits are no longer willing to be used as cheap labour in farming. Their sense of dignity and their education have given them the courage to protest against their exploitation and oppression.

In addition to such changes over the past two generations, Tribals are now moving in great numbers to the big cities. In Mumbai alone there are some 100,000 young Tribals or Adivasi from Orissa, all working in domestic service or small industrial plants. It is obvious that these changes are transforming Orissa’s socio-economic structure.

Soren takes oath as Jharkhand chief minister

Ranchi : As he starts to rule the Tribal State again, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren will hope he does not land into trouble - as it has happened whenever he became minister or chief minister.

Soren became a minister in the Manmohan Singh government in May 2004, but had to quit two months later as a warrant against him surfaced. The warrant related to the killing of 11 people, including nine Muslims, at Chirudih in 1975. Soren went into hiding but had to surrender in the Jamtara district court following a Jharkhand government directive. He remained in jail for two months.

Guruji, as he is known among his supporters, was again given a berth in the central ministry in October 2004 but he quit in March 2005 to become chief minister of Jharkhand. However, his luck ran out soon and he was forced to step down within 10 days as he failed to prove majority in the assembly.

Soren returned to the central cabinet in 2006. He also became chairperson of Jharkhand UPA when Madhu Koda became chief minister in September 2006. However, he did not last long in the central government and was forced to resign in October 2006 after he was convicted and awarded life term for the murder of his personal secretary Shashinath Jha.

The Delhi High Court acquitted him in the Jha murder case in 2007. He also stands acquitted in the Chirudih massacre case. But there is one more murder case pending against him in the Giridih district court.

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reshuffled the cabinet earlier this year, JMM supporters wanted to see Soren back in the ministry but he was not inducted. Soren's next opportunity came when the Left parties withdrew support to the central government, reducing it to minority and necessitating a trust vote. In the confidence motion of July 22, JMM supported the Manmohan Singh government and soon Soren expressed his wish to become Jharkhand chief minister again.

With the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) backing him and independent legislators making up the necessary number for majority, Soren should not have any trouble in completing the term till 2010.

But given his track record, his supporters will be keeping their fingers crossed. And ofcourse, we Tribals will also be doing the same for the welfare of Jharkhand.

5 more seats for tribals in Meghalaya med college

Shillong: After threatening to discontinue the MBBS course at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) in Meghalaya if the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) continued to pressurise the Union Health Ministry for 30 per cent seat-reservation for tribals, Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal agreed to grant five more seats to placate the students’ body.

NEIGRIHMS has 50 MBBS seats of which 24 seats will be reserved for students from other northeastern states which do not have medical colleges.

In a meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday, Dayal reportedly told Meghalaya Chief Secretary Ranjan Chatterjee that the Centre was willing to discontinue the MBBS course in NEIGRIHMS if the KSU tried to armtwist the Government into conceding to its demand of 30 per cent seat reservation for tribals.

The KSU had earlier stalled the MBBS entrance examination that was to be held in Shillong on August 3 to pressurise the Ministry into conceding to its demand. The Ministry then decided to hold the entrance examination in Guwahati but the KSU had protested.

Is Scheduled Caste = Scheduled Tribe?

By Samir Bhagat

We all know that the answer is big NO. However people from mainstream do not think so. For them both SCs and STs are same.

After India achieved independence and formal constitution was adopted, they(ruling class) inadverdently clubbed both SCs and STs toghether. This has generally led to dilution of our (STs) identities as well as giving rise to lots of misconceptions among the mainstream society. Foremost among these are/were untouchability, STs belonging to the lowest strata of the society, general feeling of despise etc.

Somewhere down the line we, as a homogeneous groUp, could not assert our identities. We could not carve out our separate identities. Maybe we failed to understand our own culture. Therefore we could not popularize our indegenious culture, which is infact separate from the towering image of SCs.

We need to assert ourselves and tell the mainstream media that SCs and STs are two separate group. Why don't we ask mainstream newspapers to have a separate matrimonial column for TRIBALS and not to club them with SCHEDULED CASTES??

This could be the starting point and only a very small step towards a long journey for regaining our own identities.

Tusgo/Navakhani Festival

Tusgo in Oraon and Navakhani in Sadri language would mean the taste of New Crops. The festival of Navakhani is widely celebrated among tribals not only in Jharkhand but in the whole of India. It is the Festival of the family members coming together, thanking Dharmesh(God) and eating the first produce of the year. It is celebrated widely with seasonal folk songs with certain rituals. The corn seeds are tenderly grown in the covered vessel or in the dark so to gain its yellowish look a week or two before the festival. As a part of the ritualistic celebration, people share their joy in putting the corn plants buy the side of the one anothor's ears and women on their hair. It is celebrated in the months of September - October.

In Solidarity with Chengara Land Struggle

A historical land struggle has been unfolding at Chegara in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, involving about 7500 families, which includes all sections of landless people, the majority of them being Dalits and Adivasis. Landless people have claimed land in the Chengara estate, a rubber plantation, which had been leased to the Harrison Malayalam Plantation by the government of Kerala. At present, the lease is invalid and the property has lapsed back to the government. The landless people who have flocked there from all parts of Kerala demand that this government land be redistributed to them. These marginalized people have thereby demanded a say in what must be done with government land in Kerala: given the present political and economic climate, the likelihood is that this land will be taken over by the state only to be assigned unconditionally, or with minimum conditions, to the multinationals. The struggle is now over a year old; it began on 3 August 2007, and was led by Laaha Gopalan, a leader of the Dalit organization, the Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi.

Throughout the past one year, the struggle has been conducted in a peaceful way. Also, its political gravity has been widely recognized, both in the national and international pro-democracy, pro-equity circles. This was probably why the Kerala High Court ordered the government, in March 2008, not to evict the people forcibly from Chengara. The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala however has failed to address the issues raised by the struggle in any serious way. Indeed, it has continued to espouse the position that no land remains in Kerala that may be redistributed. This, however, is a position that has been contested since long.

The present scene, however, appears more ominous. Tensions had started building earlier this month. On the first anniversary of the land struggle, which was observed on 4 August 2008, workers of the Harrison Malayalam Plantation began a road blockade that cut off food and medical supplies to people inside the plantation. In the subsequent days, unlawful detention and violence upon male and female activists by goondas have become frequent. Men going out of the plantation seeking work have been increasingly attacked and beaten up. Women have been threatened with sexual violence in overt and covert ways. Human rights’ activists were violently prevented from entering the area by the ‘goondas’ pretending as workers, in the full view of police and government officials. This incident was widely reported in the press in Kerala and revealed the complicity of state authorities with the vested interests seeking to break the back of the land struggle through unlawful means.

Starvation and illness has been reported from inside the plantation but activists have been forcibly prevented from entering. Indian Vision, a Malayalam TV Channel, reported the abduction and rape of four women activists. However, no one from outside has been allowed in to investigate. Following the reports, a protest was organized at Pathanamthitta, on 11 August by Dalit activists, Dalit women and other human rights activists, but not a single activist was allowed to proceed. The media, too, is eerily silent. The day after the protest, two women who went out for some provisions were attacked, who were rescued from abduction by the police. Importantly, this attempt to abduct happened in the full view of the police. This certainly reveals of the determination of the ‘goondas’ to make the point that police presence does not deter them.

The relative absence of outright violence, until now, is no consolation. The recent ‘goonda’ tactics are according to a blueprint of violence now familiar in Kerala-of the land mafia, which creates an atmosphere of terror instead of outright violence and brings the local community to its knees. Clearly a variant of the same is being experimented with in Chengara.

We are afraid that another kind of “Nandigram” is awaiting us at Chengara, and in the near future. This appeal comes from those who have been engaged in anti-caste and anti-patriarchal struggles in Kerala, which have grown outside formal institutions of the state. We feel that these two axes of exclusion and violence have conjoined at Chengara, both in the blockade and in the intermittent violence there.

The Current Situation:
The current situation is almost warlike leading to the starvation and severe health crisis of the people. The health situation of people at the site under these circumstances is taking a dangerous turn since the complete blockade of food, medicines and other essentials to the area have led to many, including children and aged, falling ill in the last ten days.

We urge the National Commission for Scheduled Caste to:

1.Make a spot visit by the commission at Chengara to find out the actual situation of the scheduled caste population at the plantation.

2.Recommend the Government of Kerala to conduct an impartial judicial inquiry into the allegations of rape, sexual harassment and other forms of physical violence used to intimidate the protestors.

3.Based on the recommendations, initiate necessary legal proceedings and ensure penalization of all involved in the rape of the four women and others who were kidnapped and sexually assaulted.

4.Take immediate steps to ensure the basic rights and dignity of all those who are part of the peaceful protest in Chengara.

5.Intervene and take immediate action against those responsible for the blockade and immediately restore the right to peaceful life for all the people in Chengara.

6.Ensure the immediate lifting of the blockade and sufficient supply of food, medicines and adequate health care to the protest camps

7.Initiate transparent discussions with the protestors for an amiable solution to their demands.

8.Uphold the right of people to Dalit- Adivasi and other landless families to cultivable land.

9.Take action against erring officials where there has been willful negligence on their part under section 4 of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

10.Take effective protective measures for the victims and their families.

For Support Groups for Justice for Chengara Struggle in Delhi

Tribal youth rejoice Indigenous Day

By Gladson Dungdung
9 August, 2008

Inclement weather and bandh call could do little to dampen the spirit of tribal youths that celebrated World Indigenous Day in Jharkhand on August 9. Jharkhand Indigenous People’s Forum, an organization working for tribals’ rights in Jharkhand organized a programme to celebrate and discuss the United Nations declaration on rights of indigenous people. A noted Human Rights Activist Stan Swami, Journalist Sunil Minz, Xavier Kujur and Roseline Kishku jointly inaugurated the event by beating traditional drum.

In his introductory speech, Xavier Kujur, a tribal activist explained the concept of recognizing indigenous people by the United Nations. Kujur said indigenous people world over are granted special privileges and protection. The rights of tribals cannot be restrained or curtailed in any manner Kujur stressed. “Though the rights of tribals are recognized by the international community the condition of the scheduled tribe in the state and for that matter in the country is pathetic. The government has done little for the betterment of the tribals in Jharkhand,” Kujur said.

In his key address, activist Gladson Dungdung said that though the tribals had settled down in the vicinity for 3500 BC before Aryans arrival to the land but their indigenous identity was deliberately denied by the government of India because it was mostly dominated by the Aryans. Ironically, when the international pressure was created, the India government accepted in 2007 by singing the UN declaration on rights of Indigenous People, where the government accepts that tribals are the indigenous people of India and their rights will be protected.

He said that the tribals’ religion “Sarna” was not even recognized though the other religions, which came behind Sarna are recognized by the government. Thousand of religious groves of tribals were destroyed by the development projects but these never became the matter of religions sentiments. A development project like the Ram Setu becomes the matter of religious sentiments but not the tribals’ sacred groves. Their religions sentiments are bulldozed by the state and so-called people of the mainstream of the society.

He said that when the tribals cultivate on forest land for their survival they are being called as ‘encroachers’ of forest and threat to wildlife and thrown behind the bars but at the same time 100 acres of forest land is given to the religious institution and a nation wide protests are done in the support of government illegal act, which clearly shows how the tribals are being discriminated by the state and the society as well.

He said that we tribals have already given more than 22 lakh acres of land for the development projects, more than 15 lakhs people are displaced and our culture has been destroyed in the development process but we have not yet tested the development. Our children go to bed with empty stomach, they are illiterate and with bare back but today when we claim our rights over land, forest and water, we are coined as anti-development, anti-national and naxalites. Why? We are denied our rights by the state and society as well though we are the first citizens of this country. We do not belong to caste but we are discriminated because of our race. Tribals were treated like beasts for last 60 years of independence. Tribals are facing racial discrimination which the government denies. We must have to fights against injustice, inequality and exploitation. “We shall not give one inch of land for the development even they give us gold,” he added.

Activist Sirat Khchap said that Domicile is one of the most important issues for tribals because they are the most venerable in Jharkhand though the state is created in their names. Tribals have been given special domicile rights through the constitution of India under Article 19 (5), which clearly says that non-tribals masses can not be allowed to settle down in 5th and 6th scheduled areas. Tribals also have special domicile under the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1980 which must be enforced and realized.

Member of Adivasi Yuva Chetna Manch, Anju Kujur said that we must fight against displacement, which has been destroying our identity, livelihood resources and culture. All tribal youths should join hands to rights for our rights, autonomy and identity. Since our identity is based on land and forest therefore we must have to protect these.

Journalist Sunil Minz, Rakesh Roshan Kiro, Dr. Shanti Xalxo, Gyanmani Ekka and Amrit Tirkey also addressed the event. Jerom Jerold Kujur a member of Jharkhand Indigenous People’s Forum facilitated the programme. The programme was divided in a variety. A small dramas and skits laced with songs. The cultural aspect was designed and staged by the Adivasi Yuva Chetna Manch and Tarunoday. Artists displayed the life of tribals in the state. The drama portrayed the plight of the tribal masses, who were displaced, land were illegally taken away and got inadequate rehabilitation packages from the government. A booklet on the declaration of rights of Indigenous people was released by Stan Swami and Dr. Santi Xalxo. Thousands of tribal youths participated in the celebration.

Tribal Festivals in Jharkhand

SARHUL: Sarhul is celebrated during the spring season when the Shaal trees get new leaves. It is a worship of the village deity who is considered to be the protector of the tribes. People sing and dance a lot during the sprouting time. The deities are worshipped with shaal flowers. These shaal flowers represent brotherhood and friendship among villagers. Pahan, the priest, distributes shaal flowers to every villager after which the Prasad is given. The Prasad is a rice made wine called Handia.

KARAM: This festival is a worship of KARAM devta, the god of power, youth and youthfulness. Karam festival is held on the 11th day of the phases of moon in Bhadra month. The groups of young villagers go to the jungle and collect wood, fruits and flowers. These are required during the Puja of KARAM God. During this entire period, people sing and dance in groups. The entire valley seems to be dancing with the drumbeats. This is one of the rare examples of such a vital and vibrant youth festival in Jharkhand’s Tribal area. At the same time, the unmarried young tribal girls celebrate the Jawa festival, which has its own kind of songs and dance. This is held mainly for the expectation of good fertility and better household. The unmarried girls decorate a small basket with germinating seeds. It is believed that the worship for good germination of the grains would increase the fertility. The girls offer green melons to the Karam deity as a symbol of ‘son’ which reveals the primitive expectation of human being, i.e grains and children. The entire tribal area of Jaharkhand becomes tipsy during this time.

TUSU PARAB OR MAKAR: This festival is mostly seen in the areas between Bundu, Tamar and Raidih of jharkhand. This belt has a great history during India’s independence movement. TUSU is a harvest festival held during the winter in the last day of Poush month. It is also for the unmarried girls. Girls decorate a wooden/ bamboo frame with coloured paper and then gift it to the nearby hilly river. Although there is no documented history available on this festival but it has huge collection of scintillating songs full of life and taste. These songs reflect the simplicity and innocence of tribal people.

HAL PUNHYA: It is a festival which begins with the fall of winter. The first day of Magh month, known as “Akhain Jatra” or “Hal Punhya”, considered as the beginning of ploughing. The farmers, to symbolize this auspicious morning, plough two and half circles of their agricultural land. This day is also considered as the symbol of good fortune.

BHAGTA PARAB: This festival comes between the period of spring and summer. Among the tribal people of Jharkhand this festival is best known as the worship of Budha Baba. People fast during the day and carry the bathing Pahan, the priest, to the tribal mandir called Sarana Mandir. The Pahan, sometimes called Laya, when gets out of the pond, the devotees make a chain, locking their thighs with each other and come forward to offer their bare chest to Laya for a walk over. After worship in the evening, devotees take part in dynamic and vigorous Chhau Dance with lots of gymnastic actions and masks. The next day is full of primitive sports of bravery. The devotees pierce hooks on skin and get tied at one end of a long horizontal wooden pole, which is hanging on the top of a vertical Shal wood pole. The height goes up to 40 feet. The other end of the pole, which is connected with a rope, is pulled around the pole by the people and the tied devotee displays the breath-taking dance in the sky. This festivals is more popular in the Tamar region of Jharkhand.

ROHIN: This festival is perhaps the first festival of Jharkhand. It is a festival of sowing seeds in the field. Farmers starts sowing seeds from this day but there is no dance or song like other tribal festivals. Just a few rituals are usually done. There are some other festivals like Rajsawala, Ambavati and Chitgomha which are also celebrated with Rohin.

BANDNA: Bandana is one of the most famous festivals celebrated during the black moon month of Kartik (Kartik Aamavashya). This festival is mainly for the animals. Tribals are very close with animals and pets. In this festival, people wash, clean, paint, decorate feed well and put ornaments to their cows and bulls. The song dedicated for this festival is called Ohira which is an acknowledgement for animal’s contribution in their day-to-day life. The belief behind this festival is that animals are integral part of life and have souls as human beings do. The most exciting day of the bandana week is the last day. Closured Bulls and buffalos are chained to a strong pole and they are attacked with a dry animal Hyde. The angry animals hit the dry skin with their horns and the crowd enjoys. Generally the colour used for decorating animals are natural colours and the artwork is of folk type.

Chamling seeks tribal status for Sikkim

Gangtok: Demanding tribal status to the Nepali communities in the state, Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling on Friday urged the Centre to declare Sikkim a tribal state.

"We urge the centre to bestow tribal status to all the Nepali communities as per the Constitution so as to make Sikkim a tribal state," Chamling said after unfurling the tricolour at Paljor stadium here.

Reflecting on the performance of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) government, which has been in power since 1994, Chamling said that the state has made rapid progress as a fast developing state even as measures have been taken to secure the political and economic rights of the people, including the women and downtrodden.

The empowerment of the rural people by devolution of powers through the panchayat system and that of the women by giving them 40 per cent reservation in rural panchayat bodies have been successfully accomplished by his government, he said.

Aiming to achieve cent percent literacy in the state, the government has provided free education to students up to college level, apart from distribution of text books, exercise books, uniforms, etc free of cost.

The government will give more emphasis on the tourism sector by promoting eco-tourism which "have huge potential to generate revenues".

Tribal girls would be flying high

Ranchi: Tribal girls of the state would soon be flying aircraft. Thanks to an initiative of the state welfare department, about 12 of them would hone their flying skills by taking part in the commercial pilot training programme at a Mumbai institute.

After completing their one-year training there, the girls would be able to join airline companies of their choice. Then they would have to adopt two girls of their respective villages and educate them up to the graduate level, as the state government wants the tribal girls becoming pilots to return something to the society after making it big.

So far, 20 tribal girls have applied for the training after the welfare department came out with a notification allowing the tribal girls to join the programme. Some girls, who had earlier applied for the airhostess course, are also expected to appear in the aptitude test for pilot training.

Till last year, the pilot training programme of the state welfare department included only tribal boys. The girls had the option of joining only the airhostess training course. Accordingly, the department had issued a notification inviting applications for both the programmes this year, too. However, after a long discussion within the department, the officials revised their decision and allowed the girls to be included in the pilot training as well.

Education Council of India, a Government of India body, would carry out a test to choose candidates for pilot training. The list of selected candidates is expected by September-end and the candidates would be sent for training in October. The state has selected Mumbai-based Institute of Aviation and Aviation Safety, Flight School, for the training.

Industry land demand to hit Jharkhand tribals

The demand for land in Jharkhand is increasingly, but this would mean more and more tribals in the near future as the drive to take over land intensifies following the notification of the state rehabilitation and resettlement policy (R&RP) and its rapid roll-out under the excuse of it being reportedly the “best” in the country.

Jharkhand had the fifth highest concentration of forest-dwellers and tribals in the country and these communities were expected to be the worst hit. It was estimated that 55 per cent of the people displaced due to mining in Jharkhand are tribals, according to the recent report released by the New Delhi-based organization Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

The report said, ”The very people for whom Jharkhand was ostensibly created are now being sacrificed in the name of their own state’s development.”

The CSE report alleged that in Jharkhand rampant mining had turned large tracts of forests into wasteland. The report said that according to the Union ministry of environment and forests, between 1985-2004, more than 9,000 hectare of forest land had been used up for mining in Jharkhand. This was approximately 10 per cent of the total forest land diverted for mining in India and this did not include the thousands of hectares diverted by the coal mining sector.
According to Sunita Narain, director of CSE, “Mining is being promoted in the country for the wrong reason- employment. All state governments justify mining arguing that the sector will provide employment, but this is a chimera. The formal mining industry in India employees just 5.6 people and this number is coming down.”

Investors however had launched a fresh drive to get land in Jharkhand after notification of the R&RP recently. In response, leading investors signed memorandum of understanding with the Jharkhand government were moving briskly to have their lands for setting up industries. Steel giant Arcelor-Mittal recently submitted its application for over 11,000 acres in Khunti and Gumla districts to set up its proposed steel plant, power plant and resettlement colony.

Source: Business Standard

Dalit-Adivasi bodies plan joint agitation

KANNUR: Dalit and Adivasi organisations will launch a State-level agitation demanding waiver of bank loans taken by Dalits and Adivasis and in protest against ‘denial’ of caste certificates to them.

Over 30 organisations, including the Kerala Pulayar Mahasabha, Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha, Sambavar Society, Vettuva Mahasabha and Bharathiya Pattika Jana Samajam (BPJS) would jointly launch the agitation to press their demands, including withdrawal of the decision to extend validity of caste certificates to 10 years and suspension of ‘transfer’ of Aralam farm land to a company.

A State-level convention for forming an action committee of the agitation would be held in Kottayam on August 18. The validity of caste certificates had been extended to 10 years to protect those who joined government service using fake caste certificates.

The Organisations alleged enforcement of an informal restriction on issuing caste certificates to people belonging to the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe communities. It is learnt that Revenue authorities have decided to issue the certificate to the applicant only if two of his/her neighbours submitted affidavits. Nearly 200 Scheduled Caste students in the district were facing obstacles in their efforts to pursue higher education due to this restriction.

A district-level action committee would be constituted at a convention here on August 10. Protesters will stage a dharna in front of Taluk offices and the District Collectorate on August 19. Source: The Hindu

Demand for tribal language academy

Hyderabad: The Lambada Hakkula Porata Samiti and Jagathi Mahila Mandal on Sunday demanded that the state government fulfil its promise of setting up a special academy for development of tribal language.

This promise was made by the then minister for school education, N Rajyalakshmi, in 2004. She had promised that the academy would be set up with headquarters at Hyderabad and it would work to encourage tribal students to go to school. But since then there has not been much progress.

The tribals in Telangana have the capacity to tilt the balance of at least 45-50 assembly seats in the elections, according the Lamabada Hakkula Porta Samiti president Banoth Rukmini Naik. She said the samithi would meet the leaders of all political parties including Chiranjeevi after he launched his party, and urge them to support their cause.

She said there are 33 tribes and none of them has a script of their own and this is causing difficulties in coping up with the education. As a result, majority of them drop out at the primary level.

But now following a consistent effort for almost three decades, the first tribal script in Banjara language has been prepared with the help of English alphabets by Chilkuri Amar Varaprasad who is himself a Banjara. This script was examined by several experts from various universities and had been approved by experts, she added.

The reason for developing the script in English, she said was because Banjaras were spread across the country and this book would help all the Banjaras.

The script would have 50 letters including vowels and consonants. She said that the state government had allocated seven per cent of the budget for the backward classes for the tribals, and if it can open exclusive schools for tribals in the Telangana districts where the maximum number of tribals in the state belong to, it would help thousands of tribal students who were otherwise languishing.

Source: The Times Of India

Orissa tribals go to UK to protest mining in their sacred hills

A delegation of Orissa tribals has gone all the way to London to confront the owner of a company planning to mine bauxite from a hill considered sacred by them.
Members of the Dongriyha Kondh tribe barged their way into the annual general meeting of Vedanta Resources to describe how the company was destroying the environment even before the mining has begun.

The issue has caused a furore in both India and the UK and the matter is in the courts. A top UK charity has tried to highlight the plight of the tribals by adopting a tit-for-tat approach. It has sent an appeal for the destruction of the St Paul's cathedral in London in case the company goes ahead with the destruction of the hills.

Vedanta Resources of the UK got the permission to set up a plant in the protected forest area of Nyamgiri Hills of Orissa to mine bauxite. A factory has come up on the site, but mining operations are yet to start as it is a protected area and, under the Indian constitution, it cannot be handed over to private hands unless permitted by the resident tribals.

The problem for Vedanta began with the tribals saying the hills are sacred to them and protesting the setting up of the mine. Environmental groups backed them, saying the layer of bauxite on the hills acts as a sponge for the monsoon rains, releasing the water steadily throughout the year and ensuring fertility of the forests and crops.

Last year a three-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled that Vedanta could not mine the hills - but allowed its Indian subsidiary Sterlite to reapply on condition that it plough five per cent of its profits into conservation and tribal development. The Indian court's final verdict on the new application is expected later this week.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service