An Unstoppable Journey

The Beginning...

Story Coming soon....

Realizing Rights of Rural Women under the International Convention CEDAW

I was quite amazed to know that November 25 is observed as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women; over time, I started reflecting on this call. The origin of this day goes back to 1960, when the three Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic were violently assassinated for their political activism. The sisters, known as the “Unforgettable Butterflies”, became a symbol of the crisis of violence against women throughout the world. To commemorate their lives and to promote global recognition of gender violence, in December 1999 the United Nations General Assembly called for November 25 to be observed with this significance.

Every day as I turn the pages of newspapers in any language or turn on the news channel, often I come across a story of terrorizing and dehumanizing violence on women and children taking place in some part of India! The terror of rape and violence against women on a land known for its rich culture and tradition has indeed brought India to limelight for the wrong reasons, to say the least.

Our Constitution guarantees fundamental freedom and equal protection of laws to all its citizens, recognizing the Right to Non-discrimination and Equality for women by law. However, the enforcement laws have constantly failed to provide even the basic protection to women, especially the dalit, tribal and other marginalized women. We have seen major protests which had broken out across the country over brutal rape of a 23-year-old medical student in New Delhi, commonly referred to as the Nirbhaya Case, forced the government to look into these issues deep rooted misogyny and come out with the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013.

News that come out each day of aggravated sexual assaults or brutal murder of girls and women or rape of minor school children reiterates that despite the Amendments which broadened the definition of sexual assault and recognized the gradation in seriousness in crimes of sexual assault, the resistance to the new laws and the continued subjugation of women through class, caste dominance is only getting stronger by the day. This is dangerous and can pose serious threat to the Rule of Law and peace in society.

The adivasi and rural community, who once lived peacefully in harmony with the nature, also have been largely affected by this terror in recent past. Though the status of tribal women in India has been acknowledged as being better than that of their non-tribal counterparts today they are facing various types of discrimination and violence due to their distinct identities, sex, gender, ethnicities, culture, traditions, practices and customary laws.

During the colonization and building of the new nation states, the particularities of indigenous/tribal identity and culture have often been negatively emphasized to facilitate a single “national identity.”(Realizing Indigenous Women’s Rights: A Handbook on the CEDAW, 2013). The Indian nation state united the pre-British Hindu dominated nations on the basis of their common aspirations and forced ‘others’, who were in minority, to be part of if it on the basis of the principle of ‘unity in diversity’ not the ‘union in diversities’. (RD Munda & S Bosu Mullick, 2003). Thus the aspect of unity always remained dominant over that of diversity and the indigenous/tribal people became part of these ‘others’. Further, the advent of capitalism, and exploration of mineral resources & establishment of industries, mines, dams, river valley projects have uprooted thousands of tribal villages and families; millions have been deprived of their subsistence with denudation of forest, land and water resources. In the conflict zones like in North East and Green Hunt Operation belt of Central India, tribal women have been additionally victimized through physical violence, rape and sexual harassment as tools of war or to suppress the people’s resistance.

Milestones have been achieved in the development of human rights instruments and standards designed to address these issues, at national and international levels including special instrument of treaty bodies for women and human rights bodies setting standards for indigenous tribal peoples. However, these have yet to be realized on the ground. The challenge for us is to translate these documents and instruments to name the International Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and examine it in the context of rights of adivasi/tribal and women. CEDAW, which contain no reference to indigenous/tribal women must be interpreted in conformity with the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), to enable the lives of people affected by multiple forms of discrimination to have avenues available to them where multiple instruments and bodies can work together to address their concerns.

In spite of the existence of Prevention of Atrocity against SC-ST Act (POA), violence against dalit and adivasi women is rarely prosecuted under this law, or treated seriously. The criminal justice system has failed to bring justice to Indigenous/tribal women survivors. There is very weak access to the justice system of the country by women. Likewise, most adivasi/tribal women are not aware of their rights including to due process, and have little access to competent lawyers. Further many women in custody of the police or other authorities end up being raped or sexually abused (Case of Soni Sori, Chhattisgarh).

The Indian government must examine its relationship with the tribal customary system and how they are strengthening their self-governing system by recognizing legal pluralism. The tribal people’s positive customary laws consistent with the respect for human rights and upholding the dignity of indigenous peoples can provide an alternative and more sustainable model for achieving justice and peace.

There is large scale trafficking of adivasi girls and women for exploiting labour. Migration induced by non-inclusive development/large projects/extractive industries, loss of traditional livelihoods, lack of quality education, lack of sustainable income opportunities, have led thousands of tribal women to migrate to cities in search of jobs. Many have become victims of trafficking by false inducements and placement agencies. Thousands of the domestic workers are controlled by unregulated placement agencies that induce traffic and control their wages. In spite of the existence of various laws and developmental programmes, no visible improvement has taken place. Trafficking in Delhi and neighbouring states has increased manifold in last 10 years (Times of India, Sep. 10, 2014).

The government run Ujjwala programme report states that rehabilitation centres were set up, 10,000 police personnel were trained to handle trafficking. The report however doesn’t give any account of its impact & outcomes.

Impunity for witch hunting created by lack of awareness, law enforcement and weak governance in backward areas cause innocent women to be persecuted for personal and material jealousies. In rural villages, widows and single women in particular are branded as “witches” and are thus subjected to inhuman acts such as stoning and severe torture even death. While the practice of “witch hunting” is not part of the beliefs of adivasis, it was introduced as a form of providing “explanation” to unexpected illness or bad luck for members of the village. As most adivasi are animist and have low literacy, they have “adopted” this belief, which is now being used as an excuse by opportunists to take away the properties of old widows and single women in most cases. In spite of reports filed by women to police and other authorities on those involved, many of the cases remain unresolved.

On 17th May 2013, in Jharkhand a family of seven members was shot at home while having dinner. Father was killed on the spot while mother was hit on her thigh, dragged into the forest and killed. A 7-year-old adivasi girl studying in Sewashram residential school in Keonjhar District of Odisha was refused by the teacher to keep in the hostel saying that she is a witch, as she turns into a cat by

the nights and sucks blood of others, and was sent back home.

While there is a law to prevent the practice of witch hunting, it is not properly implemented; likewise penalty for offenders is minimal and does not provide justice. According to reports during 1991-2002, there were 733 cases reported of witch killings. In the year 2011, 34 witch killings and 196 cases of witch blaming were reported in Jharkhand itself.

Militarization/State Violence:

The Central Indian states and North East India have been sites of intense violence from where killings, abductions, illegal detentions, torture and sexual assault by the security forces are commonly reported. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, India’s most draconian anti insurgency law, provides sweeping powers to armed forces personnel to search and destroy habitations and houses, to detain people on suspicion and to kill with impunity. Similar tactics are being used in Central India in the areas where the armed Maoist guerilla organizations operate. In the State of Chhattisgarh, for instance, the National Crime Records Bureau reported that 138 people lost their lives in fake encounters. Moreover, the ‘salwa judum’ militia Dantewada has driven more than 4 lacs people from their homes since 2005 and emptied 644 villages, most of those affected being tribals including women and children.

An adivasi school teacher Soni Sori, who was accused a Maoist supporter, was tortured and sexually assaulted multiple times in custody. Even though recently granted bail, she awaits trial and justice. Ankit Garg, the Superintendent of Police, who was responsible for the custodial violence on Sori was awarded a gallantry award from the President of the India by ignoring the heinous crime he has done to an Adivasi woman. In a way it was to encourage the police officer to continue this kind of act.

Mrs. Leishiwon Mashangva (36), mother of 8 children, along with two men from New Canaan village of Senapati District in Manipur were picked up by state forces on 19th August, 2011 while collecting pig’s feed. They were blindfolded, kicked with their boots and beaten by policemen till they lost consciousness. Mrs Leishi won suffered multiple injuries due to which she could not breastfeed her 5 months old baby. In this connection memoranda were submitted to the Hon’ble Home Minister and to the National Human Right Commission of India on September 5th 2011. But no actions were taken.

To conclude with, the Govt of India and its obligations in implementing the provisions of international treaty on women need to be reflected in all the relevant agencies and bodies at all levels especially those relating to rural women. Further, there is a need to establish effective monitoring mechanisms on how these agencies are functioning in addressing the gender equality and take necessary steps with regard to the implementation of the Concluding Observations/recommendations made during IV & V Periodic Report of India on 58th Session of CEDAW held in July, 2014 at the United Nations, Geneva.

[The article is the summary of the Shadow Report on status of adivasi/tribal women in India, prepared in response to the Country Report submitted to the 58th Session of the Committee on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), where India was examined on 2nd July, 2014 at the UN, Geneva. For the first time the adivasi women leaders from across the country came together to make their concerns heard at international level.]

First Published in Indian Currents, 01- 07 December 2014, pgs. 11-14

A Tribute to the Unsung Tribal Heroines of India

On the occasion of International Women's Day (8 March, 2015), a tribute to the brave tribal women who enormously contributed to the success of freedom struggle and laboured hard towards the nation building...

By Alma Grace Barla

India’s history of freedom movement is a saga of bravery, sacrifice, and political shrewdness of thousands of men and women of our country. The movement saw mass participation of women in unprecedented scale, but unfortunately several of them remain invisible, unknown and unsung. Few women freedom fighters like Rani Lakshmi Bai (Jhansi), Awadh Begum Hazrat Mahal (U.P.), Rani Durgawati (M. P.), Sarojini Naidu, Madam Bhikaji Cama, Annie Besant, Aruna Asaf Ali, Usha Mehta, Kasturba Gandhi, Kamala Nehru, Vijaya Lakshmi Pundit etc. made it into history books and literature, who mostly came from either royal descent or elite, educated and middle class families.

On contrast there were innumerable ordinary women who without any literacy, or less literacy, from poverty stricken families got involved in the struggle with great commitment and unfathomed spirit. Tribal women and men of India have a long history of heroic struggles against the East India Company and British colonial rule and the comprador-feudal rulers of post-British India. [From 1774-1779 : Helba tribes uprising in Bastar of Chhattisgarh, Pahariya tribes of Chhotanagpur, Koli Tribes in Maharashthra, Tamars of Chhotanagpur etc.; From 1800-1895: tribal uprising of Chotanagpur region, Santal, Munda of Bihar, Gond of Bastar, Bhil & Koli in western India, Synteng of Jaintia Hills, Mishi, Khasi, Dafla, Lushai, Singpoetc of North East India; Juang, Koya & Kond of Odisha, From 1911-1945: tribal revolt of Bastar, Tana Bhagat movement of Bihar, Koya, Naga, Gond, Naik, tribes of Andaman Nicobar etc. to name a few.] The significant roles played by tribal women were no lesser than that of men but their stories are seldom mentioned in the history books or literature.

In the oral history of tribal movement of Chhotanagpur in Central East India, spirited women fighters like Phoolo, Janoo, Champi, Sali, Sinagi Dai (princess of Rohtas garh Fort), Kaili Dai etc. are fondly remembered for their bravery. During the Santhal Hul fight against the British colonial authority and upper caste zamindari system, Santhali women formed a chunk of 30,000 women and marched towards the Capital-Calcutta; many were arrested and killed [Santhal Rebellion, 1885]. Khadia tribal women claimed to have fought in the famous Kalinga War [in around 260 BCE], which changed Ashoka’s war expeditions and led him to pledge never to wage a war of conquest. As symbol of their victory over an encounter with Ashoka’s army, Kadia women continue to tattoo on their forehead numbering 111. Gond queen Durgawati of Garh-Mandal in Madhya Pradesh ruled Gondwana Kingdom with her wisdom and ability, bravely defended her territory from Muslim Conqueror in 1564. Down in the southern India, Kurichiyas of Kerala under the leadership of Nilli and her separate army of women fought against British army to the last drop of their blood [Gupta, Ramanika, 2007]. After the death of her husband, Kittur Rani Chennamma confronted British for safeguarding the rights of her adopted son, which was the first battle against the British in Karnataka. She was born 33 years [1778] before the famous queen of Jhansi Rani Laxmi Bai, yet she is unknown to many of us.

In the Northeast, after the death of her husband, Ropuiliani [1894] became the first woman Mizo Chief in the recorded history of Mizoram who refused to acknowledge the British authority. As a result she was imprisoned [1893] in Lunglei and was later shifted to a jail in Rangamati, now in present Bangladesh where she died [1894] and her body was taken home by her son, who was also imprisoned along with her. Even though Mizo is a patriarchal society, Ropuiliani had established her hegemony over nine villages in south Mizoram. The administration of the village never came under Ropuiliani or her descendants again.

Dashriben Chaudhari (1918-2013), from Chaudhari tribal community of Gujarat had a long association with Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba and adopted the Gandhian way of life. From the age of eight, she followed Gandhian principle of Swadeshi and started spinning and wearing Khadi clothes. Being part of the Civil Disobedience Movement she and her friends were jailed for agitating to close a foreign textile shop in Surat. From Sabarmati jail they were transferred to Yerawada, Pune, where Gandhi and Kasturba were already imprisoned (1933), where she taught Kasturba the alphabets, how to read and write which Gandhi himself failed to teach her while living in South Africa [Interview to Jyotirmaya Sharma, The Hindu]. After coming out of jail when the Quit India Movement was declared [1942], in Bardoli town she led a rally of five thousand strong mass holding the tri-colour aloft with the intention of planting it in front of the Police Station and was imprisoned again. After release, as a school teacher she taught thousands of Adivasi children and youth and raised awareness among them. After retiring in 1976, she once again became active in the social movement as the president of the Gujarat Khadi Gramod yog Board and Adivasi Ekta Parishad. She died on 2nd September, 2013 at the age of 95.

Fearless Naga (Zeliangrong) freedom fighter and indigenous spiritual leader Gaidinliu [1915-1993] had joined the agitation at the age of 13 and headed the movement against the British in Manipur and Naga belts of North East India. In 1932, at the age of 16 she was arrested and put behind bars for life and was freed from the jail only after India’s independence [1947]. She set up a resistance agitation against the Naga National Council (NNC)-led insurgents [1966] and led the movement from underground. She also promoted indigenous culture and spirituality which was in peril due to the coming of Christian missionaries. Gaidinliu was respected by everybody for her role. She was named as a Rani by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who came to learn about her during freedom movement. In 1993, Govt. of India honored her with the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award and also issued a postal stamp in her remembrance. She is also known as “Queen of Nagas”.

Gaura Devi (1925-91), one of the pioneers of Chipko movement of Himalaya region which practiced the Gandhian methods of satyagraha and non-violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled. Born in a tribal Marchha family in Chamoli district of Uttara khand, Gaura Devi was illiterate and was only trained in her family’s traditional wool trade. In keeping with the tradition of those days, she was married off at a young age. Unfortunately at the young age of 22, she became a widow with a two-and-a-half year old child to bring up. She took over the family’s wool trade and brought up her son alone. She was aware of the poverty of the region and how it affected women; her own experiences of survival had taught her a lot. She was actively involved in the community endeavours. Hence, in the wake of the Chipko Movement [1972], she became president of the Women’s Welfare Group in her region. She and 27 other women marched towards the forests and hugged trees and prevented it from being cut down by the government and the outsiders. Eventually it spread across the region and became one of the biggest movements for ecological conservation.

Dayamani Barla, better known as the Iron Lady of Jharkhand has been a powerful voice of the voiceless adivasis of Jharkhand and global indigenous community. A self-made woman, who once worked as a domestic help to meet her school fees, is the recipient of many national and international awards and recognition for her incredible role in rural journalism and activism. In 2013, she was honoured with the Ellen L. Lutz Indigenous Rights Award by Cultural Survival at New York for her “outstanding human rights work, dedicated leadership for Indigenous Peoples rights, and a deep life commitment to protecting, sustaining, and revitalizing Indigenous cultures, lands, and languages”. In 2001, she won the Counter Media Award instituted by eminent journalist P. Sainath for rural journalists who work to uplift the downtrodden and National Foundation for India Fellowship in 2004 followed by many others awards.

Her other accomplishments are - prevention of multi-billion worth Keol Karo dam construction which would have displaced 2.5 lakhs people, destroyed 55,000 hectares of agricultural land, and 27,000 hectares of forests; Arcelor Mittal, a global mining giant’s proposed steel plant, a $9 billion planned investment, which would have seized 12,000 acres of land and displaced 70,000 people of 40 villages and their generations, additionally harming the surrounding ecosystems and by extension the livelihoods and survival of tribal communities. She was even imprisoned for leading the Nagri movement to save fertile agricultural land from govt. land acquisition of 227 acre near Ranchi. As state coordinator, she works for the Aam Aadmi Party and contested Lok Sabha election in 2014.

Dr. Tulasi Munda (68) who never went to school has been providing education to hundreds of tribal children particularly girls in Keonjhar district of Odisha. She herself being a child labourer, at the age of 12, she earned Rs 2/- from cutting stones and sifting iron from the waste in mines. But in her free time, she tried and taught herself the alphabets and learnt to read and write from her brother’s text book who was studying in a school. Inspired by the vision of Vinoba Bhave during the Bhoodan Andolan padayatra in Odisha [1963], she visited house to house in the night and with great difficulty collected children of mine workers and started teaching under a tree. She released hundreds of children from exploitation as child labourers by setting up a school in mining area. In more than four decades of her activism, Tulasi Munda established 17 schools and succeeded in educating 20,000 boys and girls. She has been awarded with Civilian Padma Shri Award in 2001 by India government.

Soni Sori (36), a tribal school teacher turned political activist from Koya tribe of Sameli village in south Bastar, Chhattisgarh, was arrested by the police [2011] on charges of acting as a conduit for Maoists. During her imprisonment, she was brutally tortured and sexually assaulted by police men. She also saw young girls whose nipples had been chopped and given electric shocks in jail. While trying to recover from the trauma, she came to know that her alleged torturer - the Police Officer was given a bravery award by the government. She dared to speak up the truth and fight back not only for herself but for the thousands of tribals who have been languished in different jails. Though the Supreme Court of India granted her bail [Feb. 2014], Soni Sori continues to stand for truth and justice and continues to fight for her people. She has been named “Prisoner of Conscience” by Amnesty International.

Chekot Karian Janu, a social activist and leader of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, a socio-political-ecological movement that has been agitating since 2001 for re- distribution of land to the landless tribals and their rehabilitation in Kerala who lost their traditional land and forest to British for cash crops plantation, followed by large number of outsiders. The tribals were compelled to work in plantations as slaves, as they were illiterate and did not have any documentary proof to claim their land. From young age, illiterate Janu was influenced by the socialist ideology and became a political activist. She led Muthunga agitation demanding land for landless tribals and other poor people from the Govt. which ended with police firing, imprisonment and imposition of criminal cases against her. Janu is described as the first ‘organic’ leader of tribals and holds status among notable women political leaders. She spearheads the campaigns of Kerala’s 3.50 lakh adivasis. She has attended UN Conferences, and given speeches in 120 places in various countries on behalf of People’s Action Group. An autobiography, ‘Janu: The Life Story of C K Janu, was published in Malayalam language in 2003, which was later translated into English under the name “Mother Forest: The Unfinished Story of C.K. Janu”.

M. C. Mary Kom (32), the famous Indian boxer, five-time World Amateur Boxing champion, the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships; the only Indian woman boxer to have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics, and won bronze medal. She became the first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. Born in to a poor landless agricultural labourer parents in Manipur, Mary’s life story is one of relentless struggle and unflagging passion for the sports of Boxing. Her willpower and aggression carried her through the minefield of politics in Indian sports. Her autobiography, “Unbreakable” was launched in Dec 2013 and a biopic film “Mary Kom” was released in Sept. 2014.

Some of the other noted tribal women in the field of sports are Binita Soren – scaled the Mt. Everest at the age of 19, [May, 2013], Purna Malavath – world’s youngest woman to climb Mt. Everest at the age of 13 [May, 2014], Jhanu Hansda – International Boxing Champion, Laxmi Padiya – International Archer, Samurai Tete, Asunta Lakra (29) and Jyoti Sunita Kullu (35) former Captains of the Women’s Hockey India. Asunta played Jr. World Cup [2005], Sr. World Cup and Commonwealth Games twice, and participated in the Asia Cup twice and has captained 110 national and international matches. Born in the Simdega village of Jharkhand to farmer parents, she left no stone unturned to be a national player. She is known as “Daughter of the Soil”, and “Symbol of Tribal Hope”. In 22 years of her career, Sunita has been four times World Qualifier and Olympic Qualifier. A prolific scorer and most accomplished international hockey player in 2007 she was given the “Arjun Award” by the Government of India.

Shanti Tigga (35), from Siliguri, West Bengal outperformed her male colleagues in physical test to earned unique distinction and became the only woman combatant in India’s 1.3 million strong defence forces [Territorial Army’s first female jawan]. She was felicitated by then President Smt Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. Unfortunately, while on duty at the Chalsa, Shanti was kidnapped by a group of unidentified persons. She was later found tied to a post at the Deopani village railway track. Three days later, in May 2013 she died in a mysterious circumstance in a hospital.

Sangita Bauri became a real hero and was honoured by Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patel in Rashrapati Bhawan [2011] for being a crusader against the child marriage practice and alcoholism in rural villages of Purulia district in West Bengal. After saying ‘NO’ to her own marriage, 16-year-old Sangita has stopped several child marriages although she had to face the ire of the locals for standing up against them and asking other girls to join her in her mission. 

Today, many more women have shown excellence in the field of science, technology, media, education, art, literature and politics. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we are obliged to acknowledge and salute these brave women who enormously contributed to the success of India’s freedom struggle, contributed in nation building and brought glory to our country.

[This article was first published in Indian Currents, 16-22 March, 2015, pgs 8-11. This article is a summary and part of the research work by the author, who has attempted to gather the life sketches of such extra-ordinary women and published a book, see here: 

http://www.almabarla.com/unsung-indigenous-heroines-of-india/]

9 August, World Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Celebration of Life, Culture and Survival

"It is no longer acceptable to describe any people as ‘primitive’, a racist term which has been used to refer to tribal indigenous peoples since the colonial era"

By Alma Grace Barla

Every year, 9 August is commemorated as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples with the purpose to promote and protect the rights of indigenous population. And also to recognize their unique identity, lifestyle, culture, their achievements and contributions in environmental protection throughout the world. The date also marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The day is celebrated with special events, including at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Who are Indigenous Peoples?

There is no rigid definition of what makes a group Indigenous, but the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank have outlined a few characteristics and political rights in accordance with international law. The United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has set out guidelines for the member state’s national policies to include collective rights of indigenous peoples – such as culture, identity, language, and access to employment, health, education and natural resources. Practicing unique traditions, they retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Indigenous peoples according to a common definition are of those, who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived. The new arrivals later became dominant through conquest, occupation, settlement or other means.

The term “indigenous” has prevailed as a generic term for many years. In some countries, they are referred as tribes, first peoples/nations, aboriginals, ethnic groups, adivasi, janajati. Occupational and geographical terms like hunter-gatherers, nomads, peasants, hill people, etc., also exist and for all practical purposes can be used interchangeably with “indigenous peoples”.

A US based organization report states that, over 370 million Indigenous people worldwide make up more than 5,000 distinct tribes. Together they are one of the largest minority groups in the world, spanning over 90 countries. While Indigenous Peoples total only about 6% of the world’s population, they represent 90% of the cultural diversity. They hold 20% of the earth’s land mass that land harbors 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. Each indigenous group is unique and speaks different languages, and their traditions are as diverse as their lands. However, there are some basic principles common in all Indigenous communities, that their economies and societies are equitable, balanced, and sustainable. (www.firstpeoplesworldwide.org)

"Artwork by Rebang Dewan, a Chakma boy from Bangladesh, was chosen as the visual identifier of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It has also been seen on material to promote the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. It features two ears of green leaves facing each other and cradling a globe resembling planet earth. Within the globe is a picture of a handshake (two different hands) in the middle and above the handshake is a landscape background. The handshake and the landscape background are encapsulated by blue at the top and bottom within the globe."

India has ratified the International Labour Organization’s Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Populations, 1957 (No.107) in 1958, and voted in favour of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007, which sets out the individual and collective rights of the world’s over 370 million indigenous peoples, calls for the preservation and strengthening of their cultural identities, and emphasizes their right to pursue development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations with free, prior and informed consent. India has the largest indigenous and tribal population in Asia, comprising over 600 distinct communities, with over 80 million people speaking a number of different languages. As a legally recognized social group, they are referred to as Scheduled Tribes (STs) by the Constitution on account of their deprivation and centuries of exclusion. While the government avoids the terminology ‘indigenous’ to refer to these communities, they are popularly known as adivasis (meaning original inhabitants) and tribals.

History has become part of Indian culture, blended with misconception on adivasi indigenous peoples’ ethos and identities. Often we fail to acknowledge that, in many aspects, they are modern in distinct ways, though they might appear ancient from other considerations. However, they are not “primitive but proud”. They are not “backward” but they chose to live in their own ways. As G. Thenadikulam of Wayanad, Kerala says, “Our colour is good, our language is good, our art is good, and our way of living is good. If we can respect your religion and your practices, why can’t you respect ours?”

Rich Lands Poor People

This year’s theme puts a spotlight on the issue of indigenous peoples’ access to health care services, as improving indigenous peoples’ health which remains a critical challenge for indigenous peoples, countries, and the United Nations. A close look, into the health status of tribal communities of India and throughout the world presents a dismal scenario due to their isolation and inadequate health infrastructure doubled with poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, excessive alcoholism, absence of safe drinking water and sanitary conditions, poor maternal and child health services, ineffective coverage of national health and nutritional services, etc.

However, the community has blamed the government for unsafe mining impacts causing pollution, water contamination, radiation, destruction of local ecology, and displacements and uprooting them from their ancestral land and forest where they once farmed and consumed different types of food grains, vegetables, and through traditional medicine could save themselves from many diseases.

To name a few facts, Jadugoda mining, milling and tailing-dam by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited, have deposited radioactive waste into the rice fields owned by the Adivasi people of the Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. The Adivasi have unknowingly utilized the water and land in these areas for more than thirty years of radiation resulting in disabilities, congenital defects in new born, cancer and other dreaded diseases.

Incidence of forceful sterilization of tribal women in Chhattisgarh, and other parts of the country shows deliberate plan and actions by the government, health care departments and the authorities for control of tribal and rural population in the country.

There has been utter negligence in healthcare services resulting in child malnutrition and maternal deaths. The statistics from Attapadi district, in Kerala having nearly 88 tribal hamlets shows forty-seven infant deaths in 2013, 22 infant and 37 unborn infant deaths in 2014, and 9 more so far this year….the statistics  from Attapadi are disturbing, even alarming. Malnutrition, defunct Anganwadi, inadequate healthcare for pregnant women and extreme poverty due to alienation of tribals from their land for plantations, declaring national parks, wild life sanctuaries and cash crops by the government are some of the reasons attributed for this dire situation. As per a survey conducted in 1982, 64% of the tribal’s farmland had come under the control of others, and the government has failed to recover the lost land rights to them. The loss of land to others, the waning of the indigenous farming methods and the de-certification of the area pushed them to depend on Public Distribution System for survival. The influx of settlers or non-indigenous groups coupled with government policies from colonial period completely absorbed the little land their forefathers had prepared by clearing forest.

With the introduction of land reform Bills and Acts, specifically meant for providing land to the landless, benefited a few, but a large majority were allotted three or four cents in the so-called “colonies” designed for tribal re-settlement. The community which freely lived in the forest was confined to government colonies, leading disintegrated community to acute tensions, deprivation, suicides, starvation and malnutrition deaths.

According to various sources, 90 percent of India’s coal and 80 percent of its other minerals are found in the tribal areas. Given that their lands contain so much of the world’s natural assets, why are they not the wealthiest, healthiest people on earth? The answer is, they are not simply losing control of their assets, and their assets are being stripped from them. At the same time, they are systematically denied access to the legal and political tools to secure their basic human rights. This is the single most unifying for all indigenous peoples worldwide.

It is no longer acceptable to describe any people as ‘primitive’, a racist term which has been used to refer to tribal indigenous peoples since the colonial era. We must understand and acknowledge their cultural diversity, their struggle for survival and recognition as equal citizens of the country. On the world of the UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, “The interests of the indigenous peoples must be part of the new development agenda in order for it to succeed. […] Together, let us recognize and celebrate the valuable and distinctive identities of indigenous peoples around the world. Let us work even harder to empower them and support their aspirations.”

First Published in Indian Currents, 10 - 16 August 2015, pgs. 18-21

Remembering Chipko: An Unfinished Mission

“Save Forest, Save Earth”

By Alma Grace Barla

The end of winter and beginning of spring is a sign of thanksgiving, new life, hope and aspiration which is celebrated in many cultures throughout the world. In India, several calendars begin around the start of spring, with celebration of various festivals like, Holi, Ugadi (South India), Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra), Maha Vishuba Sankranti (Odisha), Pohela Boishaki or Bengali New Year, Punjabi Vaishakhi, Navroz the Persian New Year etc. The Santal tribes celebrate Baha Porob – festival of flowers and the tribals across Jharkhand celebrate the most popular “Sarhul”, when the ‘sal’ trees get new branches leaves and flowers, marking the beginning of New Year. Besides these seasonal festivals, the international celebrations like Water Day (March 22) and Forest Day (March 23) also are connected with the nature and the cycle of life.

The month of March also reminds us of the ‘Chipko Andolan’, one of the significant efforts to preserve nature. March 26 is observed as ‘Chipko Diwas’ (Chipko Day). On this very day of 1974, under the leadership of Gaura Devi, women and children of a small village of Reni in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand resisted the destruction of forests through Gandhian method of non-violent resistance through an act of hugging the trees – known as ‘Chipko’ Movement. For decades it became a role-model movement for thousands of eco-groups across the world.

Gaura Devi [1925-1991]

Gaura Devi, born into a Bhotiya (Marchha) tribal family of Lata village in 1925, often accompanied her mother to the forest for collecting firewood, tending their sheep and goats. She often wondered why her mother walked miles to collect dried broken branches and twigs instead of cutting big trees nearer home. But her mother would often teach her the importance of nature in their life and for the community; that the forest is like a mother which provide beautiful flowers, nice fruits, roots, medical herbs, fire wood and fodder for their animals. This left a deep impact on Gaura’s mind.

In keeping with tradition of those days, Gaura was married off at the age of 12 to Reni village. She became a widow at a very young age and had to take over her family’s wool trade to make both ends meet and raise her two and a half-year-old only son Chander Singh. With great difficulty, she run her family with the support of small scale farming and forest produces. Gradually, she got involved in the community activities and became the head of the Mahila Mandal.

On 26th March, 1974, the forest department announced an auction of 2500 trees in the Reni Forest overlooking the Alaknanda River which saw disastrous floods in 1894 and 1970. On a day when all men of the village had gone to Chamoli district headquarters for collecting compensation for agricultural land acquired by the army during the Indo-China War, contractors and their axe-men entered the forest for felling trees.

A small girl, who spotted some men marching towards the forest with luggage and equipment, informed Gaura Devi. Being leader, and in the absence of village men, she quickly gathered the women. They pleaded with the loggers to go back, who instead abused the women and threatened them with guns. When all talks failed, the women resorted to hugging the trees and Gaura Devi dared the loggers, “If you cut the trees down, first you will have to hit us with your axes.” Seeing the women’s determination, the officials and labourers went away. In fact, the women shepherded them down to the main road below. They continued to be vigilant for three days and nights to prevent felling of the trees.

The Original Tree Huggers (1730): 

The original Chipko movement dates back to 1730 AD and the Bishnoi community of Rajasthan. As cutting of trees was prohibited in Bishnoi religion, there was a lot of greenery even in the middle of Thar Desert. The Maharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur ordered his men to get the woods to burn lime for the construction of his new palace. A Bishnoi woman, Amrita Devi, and her three young daughters tried to save the trees by hugging them, but the soldiers struck them with axe. Knowing this, a large group of Bishnois from 84 villages protested and 363 people, including women and children laid down their lives. Commemorating the martyrs, a Bishnoi Temple and Cenotaph (monument of empty tomb) has been built at Khejarli Kalan village of Luni Tahsil in Jodhpur. Thus Khejarli village became site of a forebear of the Chipko movement.

Chipko Andolan 1973 Inspired by the Gandhian principles of Sarvodaya (progress for all), in 1964, Chandi Prasad Bhatt from Gopeshwar in today’s Uttarakhand formed the Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh (Society for Village Self-Rule), with a purpose to generate local employment through sustainable use of forest produces. The cooperative gave employment to about 1000 persons between 1969 and 1972. But they had to face restrictive forest policies.

The Forest Department refused to allot trees even for domestic purpose to the villagers, but the same trees were auctioned to outsiders. The villagers’ legitimate rights to trees and forest products were curtailed to favour outside commercial interests. In 1973, Bhatt mobilized the forest-wise society members and villagers into the collective Chipko Andolan (Hug the Trees Movement) to force revision of forest policies dating from 1917. Women, who regularly walk three to five miles to the forest to gather and carry home fuel and fodder on their backs, took the lead.

Chipko Women, friends of Gaura Devi

True to the movement’s non-violent philosophy, these women embraced the trees to restrict their felling. Over the years the movement spread throughout the country and ban was imposed in other states like Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka (Appiki Movement), Rajasthan, Bihar, Western Ghats and Vindhyas. More than 1,00,000 trees were saved from felling and by 1981, over a million trees were planted by the Chipko workers. A study by S. N. Prasad of the Indian Institute of Science showed that the survival rate of saplings in DGSS plantations was in excess of 70 per cent, where as the figure for Forest Department plantations lay between 20 per cent and 50 per cent. In late 1980s, another Gandhian leader and peace worker, Sundarlal Bahuguna and his wife Vimla led a unique campaign by taking a 5,000-kilometre foot march spreading the Chipko message in trans-Himalaya region and series of hunger strikes to draw political attention to stop the Tehri dam (8th highest dam in the world), which would submerge a number of towns having nearly half a million population. Bahuguna’s appeal to Indira Gandhi resulted in a 15-year ban on tree felling in the Himalayas forests. But finally the Dam was constructed in 2006.

Gaura Devi quietly died in her village on July 4, 1991 at the age of 66. Often she said, “Cutting the forests will result in floods and wash away our homes.” Gaura Devi’s caution became a reality in June 2013 when floods claimed nearly 5,000 lives and left thousands homeless in the Himalayan region. The government had to spend on relief much more than the revenues collected from timber extraction. When we take part in the spring festivals or plan summer holidays to some hill stations, let’s not forget the lessons from the Chipko,

"माटू हमरू, पाणी हमरू, हमरा ही छन यी बौण भी... पितरों न लगाई बौण, हमुनही त बचौण भी ।" Soil is ours, water ours, ours are these forests. Our fore fathers raised them. It’s we who must protect them (Old Chipko Song in Garhwali).

First Published in Indian Currents, 30 March - 05 April, 2015, pgs. 3-99

Save Mother Earth

By Alma Grace Barla
On September 21, 2014 the world witnessed a large-scale activist event “People’s Climate March” to advocate action against climate change which took place in New York City followed by many countries including India. Some 400,000 participants from across the globe together with environmental justice organizations, celebrities, unions, schools and indigenous communities proclaimed their support of New York Declaration on Forest, to do their parts to halving deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030. Forest took centre stage at the UN Climate Summit when dozens of global leaders announced huge reductions to global warming pollution – by unveiling the first global timeline to slow and end deforestation. More than 30 countries, governments, civil society groups, corporates like Unilever, Philips, Axe Body Spray, L’Oreal, Dove Soap, Golden Agri-resources, Big Palm Oiler Producer Cargill, Asia Pulp & Paper, McDonals, Nestle, Kellog’s etc. were among those pledged to combat deforestation. This new pledge was the first time in history that a critical mass of developed and developing country leaders partnered around such a goal.

Meeting these goals would cut between 4.5 billion and 8.8 billion tons of carbon pollution every year. The Declaration also includes a commitment to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of forest land. Although many environmental organizations like Green Peace International welcomes the move, it states that the Declaration is missing ambitious targets and tangible actions, therefore it’s important to hold those involved in the declaration accountable and ensure actions are taken. Certainly it’s a good move that after long five years, once again the world leaders came together to renew the momentum. Even though we have seen many declarations, conferences, meetings in the past, what really matters now is the action followed from it.

In the same week another high-level plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly’s 69th Session, known as World Conference of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP 2014, took place on 22-23 Sept.) which brought together over a thousand of indigenous and government delegates from across the globe to discuss the realization of their rights including pursuing the objectives of the UN Declaration on Right of Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2007. This was also followed by Equator Prize 2014 Award ceremony hosted by UNDP to honour indigenous and local communities for creating bold and creative pathways to save the mother earth through conservation and sustainable use of nature.

Among the 25 prize winners was the Chhattisgarh Traditional Healer Association, which empowers traditional healers “village botanists” to serve as agents of positive community-level change by showing them how to use traditional medicinal plants to meet modern medical needs like treating fever, colds, arthritis, malaria, gastro-intestinal diseases, and a range of public health concerns.

Thus, the WCIP and a week-long side events concluded with a prime focus on Mother Earth and the future of the Planet which is a sign of hope towards a “full life and not just survival” of 370 million world’s indigenous peoples.

In 2007, while addressing a conference, UN General Secretary Mr Banki Moon once said that even though the effects of climate change are being felt around the world, they are being felt most by vulnerable communities. The terrible irony for many developing countries is that, though they have contributed the least to the process of climate change, they are the ones most at risk from its consequences. While not being specific, his statement could very well have been made about indigenous and forest dwellers because they are the ones who will bear the brunt of the consequences of climate change even though they have contributed the least to climate change.

On the one hand the rich or city people are better equipped to handle climate effects – as their life is more technology- based, they do not directly depend on natural resources or agriculture for subsistence or employment; but on the other hand, the rural people face the direct consequences of climate change, due to their dependency and close relationship with the environment. For many indigenous communities, climate change is already a reality.

In the high altitude regions of the Himalayas, glacial melts affecting hundreds of millions of rural dwellers who depend on the seasonal flow of water is resulting in more water in the short term, but less in the long run as glaciers and snow cover shrink. In the Amazon, deforestation and forest fragmentation, more carbon is released into the atmosphere intensifying and creating further changes. Indigenous peoples in the Arctic region depend on hunting for polar bears, walrus, seals and caribou, herding reindeer, fishing and gathering, not only for food to support the local economy, but also as the basis for their cultural and social identity. Their major challenges include the change in species and availability of traditional food sources, perceived reduction in weather predictions and the safety of travelling in changing ice and weather conditions, posing serious challenges to human health and food security. In Finland, Norway and Sweden, rain and mild weather during the winter season often prevents reindeer from accessing lichen, which is a vital food source.

This has caused massive loss of reindeer, which are vital to the culture, subsistence and economy of Saami communities. In African countries rising temperatures, increased wind speeds, and loss of vegetation are negatively impacting traditional pastoralists to maintain their livestock, largely affecting their economy and making their survival tough. (www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday)

In Asian countries which is a home to around 260-300 million indigenous population is most culturally diverse region in the world where cyclones, hailstorms, sea level rise, floods and prolonged droughts are occurring more often severely impacting the lives of indigenous peoples. Further, the economy, social organization, identity, and cultural and spiritual values of the indigenous peoples are closely linked to their biological diversity. Therefore, climatic uncertainties cause specific effects such as demographic changes, loss of livelihoods and food security; land and natural resource degradation; water shortages, health problems, loss of traditional knowledge, housing, forest and natural resource management; and human rights etc.

In addition to these direct impacts, change in government’s development policies such as land & forest policies, climate change policies and measures relating to mitigation and adaptation have serious adverse implications to indigenous peoples. For instance, in India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand etc there are many cases of forced evictions or displacement of indigenous peoples from their homelands as a result of mitigation measures such as construction of large dams, bio-fuel plantations and creation of Protected Areas in their territories without their (community) consent. Several Asian countries have legislations that to some extent protect the rights of indigenous peoples, but these rights are, however, systematically watered down, often simply ignored or overruled.

While many argue that there is no scientific proof for climate change caused by greenhouse gas emission and climate change is natural for many reasons, for the indigenous peoples “issues related to territory, land, forest and natural resources, seas, rivers, are today the soul of indigenous rights,” says Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ms Rigoberta Menchú Thump, an indigenous Guatemalan woman activist.

Ms Rigoberta Menchú

However, indigenous peoples should not be looked upon as just ‘vulnerable people’ to climate change. What is being missed out is that Indigenous peoples are ecosystem peoples who have sound knowledge and intimate relationship with their environment. Indigenous knowledge is unique to a given culture and environment as they are acquired through generations of empirical experiences to improve the anticipated adverse consequences associated with climate change. These rich knowledge systems and practices can be tapped to provide solution to many mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change.

Many indigenous peoples are taking their own initiatives in coping with climate change in the form of identifying the changes that are occurring in climatic patterns and the ensuing challenges. In some cases, indigenous communities have developed specific coping strategies to extreme variations of weather, such as crop diversification to minimize risk of harvest failures – such as shifting to river bank, high mountains or close to higher forest; improving food preservation methods and techniques, maintenance of food and seed banking with the network of different communities, change of food habits – such as gathering more forest produces during bad harvest, introduction of multi-cropping system, conservation of forest, water shed and restoration of eco-systems, awareness raising, designing culturally appropriate adaptation and mitigation development plans as required and defined by the communities etc.

Both the New York Declaration on Forests and the Outcome Document of the WCIP 2014 acknowledges several of the problems referred to indigenous population and their rights over land forest and resources. In particular, the draft Outcome Document acknowledges (a) the right to free, prior and informed consent on legal and administrative measures and the acknowledgment, advancement and adjudication of our land rights; (b) indigenous peoples knowledge, innovations, technologies and practices on sustainable livelihoods and occupations, eco system management and biodiversity; (c) IPs justice systems; and (d) inclusion of IPs rights, priorities and strategies in the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda process (article 32). Finally at the international level, several other corresponding measures are needed, including (a) an effective UN monitoring mechanism to review the progress of the Outcome Document; (b) implementation of UN system resolutions and policies, including the indigenous peoples mandated mechanisms; and (c) monitoring of multilateral and bilateral treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements. Equally important, countries need to review their constitutional, treaty-based, legal, policy and implementation mechanisms and processes, in a respectful and effective partnership with Indigenous Peoples. 

Chhattisgarh Traditional Healer Association • The association empowers “village botanists” to serve as agents of positive community-level change by showing them how to use traditional medicinal plants to meet modern medical needs. Work also focuses on getting formal scientific certification to traditional medicines that are proving effective in treating fever, colds, arthritis, malaria, gastro-intestinal diseases, and a range of public health concerns. Health services are provided to more than 50,000 families across 500 villages in 12 districts, and the average medical costs in communities served has been reduced by 70%. More than one million trees and half a million medicinal seedlings have been planted in 100 villages, restoring rare and threatened flora and fauna and improving local health and livelihoods in the process. (Courtesy:www.equatorinitiative.org) • Winner of 2014 Equator Prize by UNDP for taking an inventive approach reducing infant mortality, improving maternal health, and facilitating local access to medical care in a region characterized by hunger and malnutrition, poor water and hygiene, and high communicable disease rates.

[Note: There is a continuing debate on the appropriateness and use of term “indigenous peoples” because it is politically problematic to identify indigenous peoples in India. “adivasis” which literally means “original inhabitants’ is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups believed to be the original or indigenous population in India. In some countries, they are called tribes, first peoples/nations aboriginals (Canada, New Zealand), ethnic groups, adivasi (Bangladesh,India), janajati (Nepal), Native or Indians (Americas). Occupational and geographical terms like hunter-gatherers, nomads, peasants, hill people, etc., also exist and for all practical purposes can be used interchangeably with “indigenous peoples”]

First Published in Indian Currents, 13 - 19 October, 2014, pgs. 38-41