They live with nature. For ages they are living far away from the plains, where the so called 'civilization' grows. Their needs are limited to the demands of their stomachs. They are not for a 27 storey steel and concrete bungalow. They hunt- not to grow rich: but to stay alive. They burn- not to build residential complexes: but to cook their own food. They dig-not to take out coal or iron ore: but to draw drinking water. They live along with nature not away from nature. Don't drive them out to drive your cars. Don't darken their lives to brighten your homes and lawns. Don't steal their steel to cool your heels. Don't treat them as sub-humans and specimens of biology. Don't force them out of jungles to your concrete jungles.
Just a year's occupation of a residential building and the tenant refuses to vacate and the court case is on for centuries. The tenant claims the building. A farmer who has cultivated a farm for a single crop claims the land belonging to a temple. These are about the city tribes' credentials. The indigenous people were there even before the hills arrived. How can we take their lands and claim ownership? Paper ownership came just centuries back. The real owners are the people who smell the earth- breathe the earth during and after their lives. The people whose feet have never-ever touched a single grain of soil have no right to claim any right of their lands.
JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION , THINK NOT YOU ARE SUPERIOR TO THEM. THE EDUCATION YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE GATHERED HAS GIVEN NOTHING TO THIS HUMANITY FOR ITS PEACEFUL SURVIVAL.
If you can't give, it's o.k. Don't take away their right to live and survive.
RETTAVAYAL S KRISHNASWAMY
By Kantilal Bhuria
Recently, we were witness to a noisy spat between economists Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati. Some commentators linked this to a Congress-versus-BJP fight over development models. Sen, the advocate of investment in education, health and nutrition as necessary for economic growth, was presumed to speak for the Congress. Bhagwati, the proponent of growthfirst model, was seen to be batting for the BJP. Indeed, Bhagwati has cited Gujarat as a model state with allround prosperity for citizens. But if growth-first schemes were to have a trickledown effect on the living standards of all Indians, why are our scheduled tribes left so far behind in the great growth story?
Right of Growth Reserved
. Through his polemic and dogged pursuit of big business, he has convinced some that Gujarat is an engine of growth. Then, what explains the poor human development indicators of Gujarat's tribals? According to India's Human Development Report, 2011, "Gujarat, one of the industrial and advanced states, has performed very badly with respect to adult women's malnutrition among the socially marginalised groups." Tribal women, whose body mass index (BMI) was less than 18.5, comprised 61% in Gujarat compared to 46.6% nationally. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR), a key measure of healthcare and nutrition, was 115 per 1,000 among tribals, compared to the state's average of 60. About 84% tribals in rural Gujarat have no access to latrines and, thus, defecate openly. Only 15% have access to treated drinking water. Surely, tribals cannot have much to say about the "Modi model".
Like Modi, Like Chouhan
Next door to Gujarat is Madhya Pradesh, led by another BJP chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Chouhan lacks Modi's polemical flair, but has also been talked up as a "model" reformer. Madhya Pradesh is home to the largest number of tribals in the country: with 20% of its population, or 15 million people, belong to the scheduled tribes. Madhya Pradesh, like Gujarat, has one of the highest growth rates among the states. But what is the condition of its tribals? They continue to be deprived of basic facilities such as sanitation, drinking water, education and crucial healthcare services. This has led to a high rate of malnutrition, mortality and economic misery.
Government numbers show that in Madhya Pradesh, about 91% of the tribal population defecates in the open. This number is even higher in the five districts where the tribal population is in a majority: nearly 96%.
Only 5% of the tribal population has access to treated drinking water. The U5MR among tribals is 140 per 1,000; the national average is 95. Tribal infants aged 0-5 are likely to be underweight: 71% already are. The national average is 42%. Half the tribal women in the state have BMI less than 18.5 and are undernourished. At a little more than 33%, Madhya Pradesh also has India's highest conviction rate in cases related to crimes against tribals. Clearly, the blessings of growth have not trickled down to where tribals and other marginalised communities are.
Alot of this disparity in living standards is also attributable to the Chouhan regime's ineptitude in managing Centre's schemes at the local level. Recently, there have been reports of funds for post-matriculation scholarship for tribal schoolchildren being siphoned off. To stop such acts, it might be better to move to a cash transfer scheme. Madhya Pradesh's tribals, like their cousins in Gujarat, have no reason to be enamoured of the Chouhan model of growth.
The Discovery of Tribals
Just a year's occupation of a residential building and the tenant refuses to vacate and the court case is on for centuries. The tenant claims the building. A farmer who has cultivated a farm for a single crop claims the land belonging to a temple. These are about the city tribes' credentials. The indigenous people were there even before the hills arrived. How can we take their lands and claim ownership? Paper ownership came just centuries back. The real owners are the people who smell the earth- breathe the earth during and after their lives. The people whose feet have never-ever touched a single grain of soil have no right to claim any right of their lands.
JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION , THINK NOT YOU ARE SUPERIOR TO THEM. THE EDUCATION YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE GATHERED HAS GIVEN NOTHING TO THIS HUMANITY FOR ITS PEACEFUL SURVIVAL.
If you can't give, it's o.k. Don't take away their right to live and survive.
RETTAVAYAL S KRISHNASWAMY
By Kantilal Bhuria
Recently, we were witness to a noisy spat between economists Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati. Some commentators linked this to a Congress-versus-BJP fight over development models. Sen, the advocate of investment in education, health and nutrition as necessary for economic growth, was presumed to speak for the Congress. Bhagwati, the proponent of growthfirst model, was seen to be batting for the BJP. Indeed, Bhagwati has cited Gujarat as a model state with allround prosperity for citizens. But if growth-first schemes were to have a trickledown effect on the living standards of all Indians, why are our scheduled tribes left so far behind in the great growth story?
Right of Growth Reserved
. Through his polemic and dogged pursuit of big business, he has convinced some that Gujarat is an engine of growth. Then, what explains the poor human development indicators of Gujarat's tribals? According to India's Human Development Report, 2011, "Gujarat, one of the industrial and advanced states, has performed very badly with respect to adult women's malnutrition among the socially marginalised groups." Tribal women, whose body mass index (BMI) was less than 18.5, comprised 61% in Gujarat compared to 46.6% nationally. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR), a key measure of healthcare and nutrition, was 115 per 1,000 among tribals, compared to the state's average of 60. About 84% tribals in rural Gujarat have no access to latrines and, thus, defecate openly. Only 15% have access to treated drinking water. Surely, tribals cannot have much to say about the "Modi model".
Like Modi, Like Chouhan
Next door to Gujarat is Madhya Pradesh, led by another BJP chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Chouhan lacks Modi's polemical flair, but has also been talked up as a "model" reformer. Madhya Pradesh is home to the largest number of tribals in the country: with 20% of its population, or 15 million people, belong to the scheduled tribes. Madhya Pradesh, like Gujarat, has one of the highest growth rates among the states. But what is the condition of its tribals? They continue to be deprived of basic facilities such as sanitation, drinking water, education and crucial healthcare services. This has led to a high rate of malnutrition, mortality and economic misery.
Government numbers show that in Madhya Pradesh, about 91% of the tribal population defecates in the open. This number is even higher in the five districts where the tribal population is in a majority: nearly 96%.
Only 5% of the tribal population has access to treated drinking water. The U5MR among tribals is 140 per 1,000; the national average is 95. Tribal infants aged 0-5 are likely to be underweight: 71% already are. The national average is 42%. Half the tribal women in the state have BMI less than 18.5 and are undernourished. At a little more than 33%, Madhya Pradesh also has India's highest conviction rate in cases related to crimes against tribals. Clearly, the blessings of growth have not trickled down to where tribals and other marginalised communities are.
Alot of this disparity in living standards is also attributable to the Chouhan regime's ineptitude in managing Centre's schemes at the local level. Recently, there have been reports of funds for post-matriculation scholarship for tribal schoolchildren being siphoned off. To stop such acts, it might be better to move to a cash transfer scheme. Madhya Pradesh's tribals, like their cousins in Gujarat, have no reason to be enamoured of the Chouhan model of growth.
The Discovery of Tribals
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