Tag: TRIBALS

Tribals from different states gather to demand Bhil Pradesh

Tribal minister Babulal Kharadi said a state cannot be formed on the basis of caste. If this happens, other people will also make demands. We will not send a proposal to the Centre…reports Asian Lite News

The Rajasthan tribal community has demanded the creation of a new state called ‘Bhil Pradesh’, a demand which the state government has already rejected.

The tribal society has demanded the formation of the new state by combining 49 districts of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. There is also a demand to include 12 districts out of the old 33 districts of Rajasthan in the new state.

Thirty five organizations including Adivasi Parivar, the largest organization of Bhil society, had called a mega rally on Thursday. Maneka Damor, founder member of the Adivasi Parivar Sanstha, said at the rally that tribal women should not follow the instructions of the Pandits. Tribal families do not apply sindoor, do not wear mangalsutra. Women and girls of the tribal society should focus on education. From now on, everyone should stop fasting. We are not Hindus, she said.

The Adivasi Parivar Sanstha is spread across the four states. Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) MP Rajkumar Roat from Banswara said “the demand for Bhil Pradesh is not new. The BAP is raising this demand strongly. After the mega rally, a delegation will meet the President and the Prime Minister with the proposal.”

Apart from Rajasthan, tribal people from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra gathered for the meeting held at Mangarh Dham in Banswara. The security agencies of the state were on alert over the meeting and the internet was also shut down in the area of the mega rally.

The demand for Bhil Pradesh includes 12 districts of Rajasthan and 13 districts of MP

Tribal minister Babulal Kharadi said a state cannot be formed on the basis of caste. If this happens, other people will also make demands. We will not send a proposal to the Centre.

Kharadi added that those who changed their religion should not get the benefit of tribal reservation.

Sources said that the tribals staged a show of strength before the start of the monsoon session of Parliament.

Meanwhile state minister Madan Dilawar on Thursday apologised for his DNA remark on tribals’ genealogy.

He said, “Hindus are the best part of the society. If my speech has caused any pain to the opposition or to my tribal brothers, I apologise, ”Dilawar said in the Assembly amid a ruckus by the Opposition.

On June 21, Dilawar while responding to a question on the tribal leaders’ remarks that they and their supporters were not Hindus said: “We will ask his ancestors whether he is a Hindu or not … and if he says that he is not a Hindu, then we’ll get his DNA tested whether he is his father’s son or not.”

ALSO READ-Himachal tribals gung ho over casting votes

July 18, 2024
Himachal tribals gung ho over casting votes

The world’s highest polling station Tashigang, located at a height of 15,256 feet above sea level, in the Spiti Valley, which is part of the Mandi parliamentary constituency, has 52 registered voters, reports Vishal Gulati

Braving rarefied air and cold temperatures, when plains in northern India are reeling under a debilitating heatwave, voters in high-altitude Himalayan hamlets of Himachal Pradesh are gung ho about exercising their franchise on June 1.

A testament to the dedication to keep democracy alive, the world’s highest polling station Tashigang, located at a height of 15,256 feet above sea level, in the Spiti Valley, which is part of the Mandi parliamentary constituency, has 52 registered voters, comprising 30 men and 22 women.

“We are excited to cast our vote for a better future and a better life for generations to come,” remarked Tashigang resident Tenzin Lundup.

“Like the last elections (2022 Assembly polls), the polling station in Tashigang would again record 100 per cent polling,” added first-time voter, Kalzang Rinchen, a postgraduate preparing for exams for a government job.

The Lahaul-Spiti District has the lowest number of electorate — 25,273 — in the state, while Kinnaur has 59,943 voters.

The climatic conditions in these districts are harsh as much of the land falls under a cold desert.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has set up 92 polling stations in Lahaul-Spiti, while in Kinnaur there will be 128 polling stations.

“Polling is a difficult exercise in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba as one-third of the polling booths are located at altitudes above 13,000 feet.

“The polling material has reached almost all polling stations. In some stations, staff will be airlifted from district headquarters a day before polling,” an election officer told IANS.

He said a majority of polling stations in Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur are connected by road.

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines for Kaza, some 320 kms from state capital Shimla, were dropped by a helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 27.

The Spiti Valley has 29 polling stations. Thirteen gram panchayats fall in the Spiti Valley, mainly populated by tribals, who are largely Buddhist farmers.

The gram panchayats are Losar, Kibber, Kaza, Langcha, Demul, Lalung, Dhankar, Tabo, Gue, Hal, Khurik, Kungri and Saganam.

Another remote place in the state is the landlocked Pangi Valley in Chamba District. The Saach Pass is the gateway to the picturesque Pangi Valley.

Located at an altitude of 14,500 feet in Chamba District, it’s still closed for motorists after the winter snowfall.

Resident Commissioner Ritika Jindal, the first woman officer to opt for the Pangi posting, told IANS the material for 39 polling stations has reached Killar, the subdivisional headquarters of Pangi, located in the Pir-Panjal range of the Himalayas, via an IAF helicopter.

The Saach Pass, the shortest road link between Chamba town, some 450 km from the state capital, and Killar is expected to reopen in the first week of July.

The Chask Bhatori and Kulal polling stations are the remotest in the Pangi Valley, where election officials will have to walk a distance of at least 14 km to conduct the poll. The valley last saw snowfall on May 2.

Lahaul-Spiti, along with other remote areas of Kinnaur District and Pangi and Bharmour subdivisions of Chamba District, are part of the sprawling Mandi constituency that covers almost two-thirds of the state.

In Mandi, Congress legislator Vikramaditya Singh, the scion of the erstwhile royal family, challenges actress Kangana Ranaut of the BJP.

A majority of the booths are scattered over rugged, cold and inhospitable terrain and poll officials have to trek hours to reach there.

Locals are largely Buddhist farmers who grow barley, potatoes, wheat and black peas.

Before 2019, the highest polling station was Hikkim (14,400 feet) located close to Tashigang. But in 2019, Tashigang was made a polling station.

The state Election Commission has also decided to set up one of the state’s remotest polling stations at Bara Bhangal in Kangra District at an altitude of over 2,800 metres not accessible by road. It falls in the Baijnath Assembly constituency that is part of the Kangra parliamentary seat.

Situated between the mighty Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges of the Himalayas, Bara Bhangal is considered to be the remotest village with 469 electorates.

An official with the Election Commission told IANS the polling station of Bara Bhangal has been set up in Bir, where now 310 voters will exercise their franchise.

Owing to the difficult geographical conditions of the area, an auxiliary polling station will also be set up in Bara Bhangal where the remaining 159 voters will cast their votes.

The election official said since most trekking routes leading to Bara Bhangal are blocked by winter snow, helicopter is the only mode of transportation to reach there. However, Bara Bhangal is accessible on foot through the Thamsar Pass, located at an altitude of 4,700 metres.

The state ruling Congress has fielded its veteran and four-time Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma in his new battleground Kangra, the largest Lok Sabha constituency in terms of voters, against Rajiv Bhardwaj of the BJP, which ignored the sitting MP, Kishan Kapoor.

The Swar polling station in Mandi’s Chuhar Valley is located at a distance of 12 km from the road. The valley is infamous for cultivation of opium.

Polling for the four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh — Shimla (Reserved), Kangra, Mandi and Hamirpur — is scheduled for June 1.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)

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May 30, 2024
Tribals struggle to keep traditional irrigation system alive

In the past two decades and more, the tribal community has made use of both nullahs and ponds to irrigate their farms using the “paat” technique…reports Mohammad Asif Siddiqui

For the tribal population of most parts of Paati block in Barwani district, nestled in the Satpura Range of Madhya Pradesh, electricity continues to be a luxury.

Connectivity to the grid is erratic, if at all. Hence, residents of this drought-prone region – where rain-fed agriculture is a common means of livelihood for most – prefer to avoid depending on electricity to run tubewells for irrigation.

However, centuries ago, with considerable ingenuity, the tribal community devised an eco-friendly “paat” system of irrigation – it facilitates the transport of water over long distances to farms at high altitudes, without the need for electricity or any form of fuel.

The “paat” system not only leaves the groundwater level undisturbed, but is also reliable and inexpensive. Thus, it is a boon for the marginal farmer, who must keep his expenses in check when operating in a region where groundwater can be struck only at 1,000 ft and lower, and it’s expensive to install borewells.

Moreover, the Paati block is a hilly region prone to very high temperatures in summer, with 95 per cent of its area comprising undulating hills and just 5 per cent composed of scattered flat land. The name “Paati”, too, is derived from this distinctive “paat” irrigation technique, which gave it a unique identity and is currently practised in only the Barwani, Dhar and Alirajpur districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Notwithstanding its limited practice, the irrigation technique is so effective that farmers here have been successfully using it to grow wheat and other crops during the rabi (dry) season with adequate water.

The “paat” irrigation technique

For centuries, “paat” has been the mainstay of Adivasi farmers in these central parts of India. It was a means of making the best of nature’s bounty, without interfering with or undermining it.

The technique involves building a temporary structure – a “paal” (earthen wall) – on a flowing nullah (mountain stream), or any resource that has running water till February. It’s essential that the stream is at a level higher than the farms.

The paal diverts this water to the fields over long distances, which may range up to 4 km, with a single nullah irrigating nearly 65 farms or 100 acres of land at a time. Being at a greater height, the water flows into the fields at full speed and force.

The technique was rejuvenated in these parts of India between 1985 and 2000, when the region was severely affected by drought – like many other parts of the country. The drought also affected “paat” irrigation, since sources of water dried up, which in turn affected standing crops in the farms. This was when the Adivasis, with the help of the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sanghatan, built 14 bunds across nullahs in nine villages – Borkhedi, Limbi, Bana, Gudi, Piparkund, Kalakhet, Kandara, Aavali and Swariyapani – and dug several ponds to ease their problem.

Recalling the initiative, Manthan Adhyayan Kendra in-charge M Rahmat said, “These hard-working Adivasis built the earthen bunds and ponds through shramdaan [voluntary labour], without any help from the government.”

In the past two decades and more, the tribal community has made use of both nullahs and ponds to irrigate their farms using the “paat” technique.

Betting on a revival

Although this method of irrigation has been around and effective for centuries, the arrival of electricity in neighbouring villages is prompting younger farmers to move away from the “paat” technique.

Anja Gathia of Aavli village says: “One can tap into groundwater any time through the year. Electricity has reduced the hard work farmers needed to put in for ‘paat’ irrigation. This accounts for the gradual disappearance of ‘paat’ irrigation.”

He believes that “if ‘paat’ survives in the neighbouring district of Dhar, it’s mainly because it’s backward, and that several other villages are too remote or poor to avail of grid connectivity”.

“Therefore, farmers continue to fall back on ‘paat’ to irrigate their farms,” he adds.

But Adivasi elders Pandit Maita, Dhama Anja, Natadiya, Subala and Bahadariya have not forgotten the drought-induced catastrophe they had suffered decades ago, and how it was this “paat” technique that had aided their survival.

Putting her faith into action is Kumtibai Maita Barela. She had acquired this irrigation skill from her husband and is now transferring her knowledge to her children. Aavali village, 4 km from the tehsil headquarters in Paati, is a typical tribal village inhabited by the Barela people, who use the “paat” technique extensively to irrigate their farms.

Kumtibai and her family here have been bringing water to their farm, over 2 km from a nullah from Sawariyapani, using “paat” for decades. The water irrigates their land till February every year.

However, transporting water using the “paat” system can be a difficult and tedious process. Since it involves building temporary structures on the nullah, farmers may often be faced with the breaking down of the paals erected. They also need to keep an eye out for any obstruction, lest it affect the flow of water into their farms.

Moreover, it can get difficult to keep up the hard work involved in maintaining the “paals”, but the generational practice in a drought-prone region is still being carried forward. The Manthan in-charge emphasises that “to balance the groundwater table, this traditional irrigation method must be continued”.

“The government should include the construction and maintenance of the ‘paat’ system under MGNREGA. That would generate livelihood for the farmers here as well as conserve groundwater. Even the younger generations would carry it forward then,” he concluded.

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May 16, 2022
Kerala teacher walks 14 km to teach tribal students

It was in January 1, 2001, that Sukumaran was given the task to teach tribal students within the forest area of Chekkady in Wayanad in a single-teacher environment…reports Arun Lakshman

Sukumaran TC is an ordinary man with a steely determination and a golden heart for the tribals. While people think twice to take up a job trekking through dense forests to reach a tribal hamlet and to teach dirty, shabby tribal children of “Kattunaykar” community in Pulpally of Wayanad district, Sukumaran took up the mission and is continuing for the fourteenth year straight.

It was in January 1, 2001, that Sukumaran was given the task to teach tribal students within the forest area of Chekkady in Wayanad in a single-teacher environment. It can’t be called school as there was nothing there in the tribal colony.

When Sukumaran reached the place, people in the colony ran inside their thatched huts, dilapidated and unclean, as the Kattunaykar community which lives deep in the forest does not have any contact with the outside world and it was an initiative of the then District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) in Kerala which made the teacher reach the tribal settlement.

Braving wild elephants and harsh weather, Kerala teacher walks 14 km to teach tribal students.

Sukumaran said, “It was a long wait in the colony, men, children, and women went inside and I could see them looking from inside their huts through small holes but they were not coming out. I was determined and waited and waited, finally, a woman Kali, came out and befriended me. I told her my mission- it was to start a single-teacher school within the colony for tribal children and she readily agreed.”

The frail woman that she was, Kali was determined that both her children be taught at the school. However, there was no school and Sukumaran tilled the soil, cut some bamboos, thatched with palm leaves and started a shanty, and converted it into a school. The year was 2001 and there were 2 students.

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Sukumaran who lives in ward no 3 of Pulpally panchayat has to walk 7 km to reach the school and in some stretches there were no roads and the forest was dense and inhabited by wild animals including elephants, tigers, and wild boar and pythons. It was a walk of 7 km one way and 7 km back – 14 km a day and salary when he was posted was Rs 750 a month and payment was erratic, maybe once in three or four months.

The teacher says, “One day as I was walking towards the school, I spotted a wild tusker on the side road and I had to cross him, I could spot him hardly 20 meters from me and there was no question of turning back and running and I continued to walk beside him with heart pounding and by God’s will, I luckily crossed him and even now a chill goes down my spine when I think of that incident. Another day a calf and a mother elephant were on the side road but they were inside the forest and had not forayed onto the road. Wild elephants with their calves around are generally violent but luckily for me I somehow managed.”

Braving wild elephants and harsh weather, Kerala teacher walks 14 km to teach tribal students.

Sukumaran used to bathe his students, cut their nails, hair and also cook food for them. The tribals of that area were averse to taking baths those days and they never used to cut their hair and nails.

He said, “While I used to bathe them and cut their nails a special bonding developed between the colony people and me and I decided that I will continue with my life here.”

Sukumaran was the first who proposed the idea to provide breakfast to children as most of them don’t have anything to eat. A social worker provided the necessary materials from a shop and the teacher had to carry the groceries and cook them and feed the children. It was generally gruel with green grams – a common breakfast in Kerala villages.

When the DPEP programme officers visited the school premises they found that the children were much healthier and this proposal was then implemented in the whole of Wayanad district to start with and later spread across the state with most of the gram panchayats and local legislators taking the initiative to provide breakfast to children. Mid-day meals were popular in all the general schools of Kerala and it was extended to the single-teacher school in the tribal hamlets.

Now the shanty has been converted into a concrete building with facilities including television sets for the children and the apprehensions are gone. Sukumaran even gave the date of birth of these children asking their parents an approximate period of the birth of their child and calculating the age and finally giving a date of birth. This date of birth is now in the official records of these children and even the Kattunaykar community living in Chekkadi ward received their ration cards because of this teacher.

He says, “The children sometimes call me and remind me that it was their birthday and a smile suddenly comes to my lips as it was I who had given them a date but really it is cherishing to be part of something and giving an address to somebody. I find a twinkle in the eyes of the children as well as the elders.”

Sukumaran and several teachers like him who teach in single schools across the state in tribal settlement colonies in deep forests are temporary staff and have already given several representations to make them permanent staff under the Kerala government.

The teacher said, “I have my mother, wife, and three children to look after and I am now getting 18,500 rupees and that too once in three or four months. Since March 2021, I have not received my salary and this is how people like me live. If only the state government could make us permanent under the education department, we could get some pension after our tenure. Hoping that this LDF government would open their eyes and bring solace to people like me.”

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June 4, 2021
Himachal tribals break vaccine hesitancy

The world’s highest post office, Hikkam, located 15,000 feet above sea level and its nearby village of Komik and Langche were among the worst hit in the first wave of the pandemic last year…reports Asian Lite News

Tribals, mainly Buddhists, settled in Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti valley spread over the Himalayan peaks, have set an example for others in the country by demonstrating that vaccination is the only route out of this pandemic.

Officials said that the entire elderly population — those above 60-years-old — in 13 panchayats of Kaza subdivision, a cold desert adjoining Tibet where there is shortage of health infrastructure, is now fully vaccinated. Those above 45-years-old have been provided the first vaccine dose.

The world’s highest post office, Hikkam, located 15,000 feet above sea level and its nearby village of Komik and Langche were among the worst hit in the first wave of the pandemic last year.

Himachal Minister visits patients, distributes isolation kits(IANS)

“The vaccine coverage for those above the age of 60 years in Hikkam, Komik and Langche is 100 per cent,” Block Medical Officer Tenzin Norbu said.

He said the people there were not hesitant to take the vaccine.

“Very soon we are going to start vaccination for those in the age group of 18 to 45,” he said.

Explaining the high trust in authorities, accredited social health activist (ASHA) Padma, who carried out the vaccination in Hikkam, said: “The drives to educate the locals encouraged them to support government efforts for boosting immunization.”

“The understanding that a delay could cause significant mortality helps to overcome vaccine hesitancy,” she said.

Kaza, the headquarters of Spiti that supports a population of nearly 12,000, was the first in the state to sanitise the entire block to prevent the spread of coronavirus last year.

Health authorities say 762 people above 60 years have got both doses of the vaccine in Kaza subdivision, which is 100 per cent of the total number, while 1,590 people between the age of 45 and 60 have been given the first dose.

As several recipients do not own smartphones or have no access to the Internet, about 80 per cent of the registration is being done offline, Additional District Magistrate Gian Sagar Negi said.

“One can get the slot booked by calling up the health department. We are getting 20 per cent registration online,” he said.

Unaware of registration process, Bishan Negi, a 65-year-old retired forest guard, said: “I do not own a smartphone. But I want to get myself vaccinated on priority as the emergence of new variants shows that until everyone is vaccinated no one is safe. So, I decided to opt for walk-in mode to get vaccinated.”

Local schoolteacher Dolma Negi said: “I do own a smartphone, but Internet rarely works here. So, I booked slots for myself and my husband by phone.”

Officials say internet connectivity in 10 of the 13 panchayats in the subdivision is not available. It is available in Kaza, Losar and Rangrik.

Additional District Magistrate Negi said there were many challenges when the first phase of the vaccine drive was launched on January 18.

Kibber Village, Spiti (Wikipedia)

“Our teams went from village to village to educate the locals about the life-saving vaccine doses, the only way to reduce severe disease and also to keep the pandemic at bay. At that time, we were not sure that we would be able to achieve 100 per cent vaccination of the most vulnerable age-group of 60 plus,” he said.

According to him, the locals were initially reluctant to go to hospitals owing to a belief they could get treated of the virus with the blessing of a local deity.

“We have managed to break that hesitancy,” Negi said.

According to the state health bulletin, a total of 708 tested positive till May 21. The active cases were 39. Four deaths have been reported so far.

This month, authorities at Kaza went one step ahead to ensure community protection from the pandemic by framing their own Covid-19 health protocols that include mandatory rapid test for all those entering the area, even from within the state. Notably, Kaza, some 320 km from the state capital, is a Schedule V area and the constitution empowers the local communities for self-governance.

The locals — largely Buddhists residing at an altitude between 3,000 m and 4,000 m — cultivate green peas, potatoes, barley and wheat on soil that is dry and lacks organic matter. These traditional cash crops are grown in summer and cultivated in August-September.

The picturesque Spiti Valley, the paradise that straddles both India and Tibet, comprising over two dozen small, scattered villages, remains cut off owing to heavy snow accumulation for at least six months in the year. It reopens once snow starts thawing after mid-April.

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May 25, 2021