Network Past Issues

Of Human bondage 
For years have the denotified and nomadic tribes suffered neglect at the hands of the Government and stakeholders. The time has now come to all that.

No sooner had we turned the corner into a narrow lane than thwack! A whip catching us amidships toppled my motorcycle causing us to land on the ground in an ungainly heap. We looked up to behold the agent of the acerbic goad. Our bewildered eyes took in the presence of a muscular man, bare-bodied and physically fit. We also saw a young woman bearing a child on her hip and playing a staccato rhythm on her drum. Without realizing it, we had had our first brush with the Kadaklaxmi tribe. Essentially nomadic these tribesmen earn their living by wielding their fearsome whips on their bare backs, accompanied by the women who play the drum, while they beg and entertain in unison.

India has seen 65 years of independence during which period it has taken giant strides in various sectors of development. The Indian economy has been growing at the robust rate of 7-8 percent, despite doomsayers’ predictions, with educational and health indicators of the various sections of society having shown significant improvement since the 1950s, which includes the disadvantaged communities like the Scheduled Castes. Yet there is one section that has managed to escape the attention of the Government, media, policy makers, and even the NGOs. This section comprises the de-notified and nomadic tribes (D/NT).

A report submitted by the National Commission for Denotified, Notified, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNSNT) which was set up under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment by the Government of India to study the various developmental aspects of denotified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes of India has been put into cold storage. Neither the Government of India nor its wings like the Planning Commission and the National Advisory Council seem to have taken cognizance of it.

Data depicting authentic figures is missing there having been no caste-based Census in place since 1931. The Renake Commission, constituted in 2006, has been the first major effort at some kind of projection of these communities as a distinct social group.

Several independent inquiries have, however, thrown light on the terrible plight of these communities. These “missing, lost and forgotten children of India” do not possess ration cards, voter identity cards, proofs of residence, bank accounts, permanent housing and hence addresses of residence. They have been invariably missed by the successive Census operations as well as the NSSO surveys. Not finding their names on the Below Poverty Lists they are unable to access any government scheme aimed at (their) development. While, on the one hand, community members continue to suffer from appallingly low levels of socio-economic development indicators (education/health/income, etc.), on the other there is gross ignorance in most sections of society including the media, policymakers, and government functionaries about their very existence, let alone their population size and the duration and extent of their problems. Thanks to the government-promulgated anti-laws these communities are becoming even more alienated. In this LPG (liberalization, privatization, and globalization) era the marginalized sections happen to be the worst affected. Photo—Of human bondage

A few instances will clarify how these communities are getting excluded and remain vulnerable even in the second decade of the 21st century which had promised positive development for all. On 9th May 2012, three youths belonging to the Bahurupi community were stoned to death in Abha colony, near the Kalamna police station in Nagpur. Their crime? They were held “guilty” of engaging in their traditional occupation of disguising themselves as policemen, gods, and god men to entertain people and earning their livelihood thereby. In the present case they had been suspected of being involved in a spate of thefts and house-breakings in the colony. The three men were apprehended by a mob, lynched and stoned to death. Does anybody care about what happened to these ‘bahurupiyas’ or the fact that they never got justice in “free” India. Will members of the elite class mob that killed them ever be brought to justice? These questions, uncomfortable as they are, need to be asked of the police, judiciary, and the media.

On 10th December 2012, a temporary settlement was engulfed in flames in the Shirdhoncha block of the Aurangabad district in Maharashtra displacing about a hundred families of the Pardhi community. It was later revealed that the fire was set alight deliberately to drive out the residents to make way for builders. That the tragedy coincided with the International Human Rights’ Day did not seem to matter. The current mood among denotified communities is one of restiveness and anger. They feel betrayed, taken for granted, and let down. Reports indicate they have started to organize and mobilize themselves to network with their friends, supporters, and like-minded people from the mainstream and other sections of society. How long will these communities continue to tolerate the atrocities heaped on them? How long will they go without basic needs? How long will they continue to be witnesses of “development” without becoming participants? These are fundamental issues that need to be addressed with immediate effect. The business of the Government is to take decisions. If it has reservations about the RC Report it can seek clarifications. If it wants additional information it can demand for it. If it has objections it can file, document or proclaim them. If there is need for debate and discussion, Parliament is the right forum to do so. But unfortunately, this report has not been tabled in Parliament. If the Government wants public consultations, public hearings/jan sunwais can be organized. What the Government cannot do is to ignore a report commissioned by it, sit on it, file it and forget it. The current mood among the D/NT communities is one of restiveness and anger. They feel betrayed, taken for granted, and let down. Reports indicate that they have started to organize and mobilize themselves to network with their friends, supporters, and like-minded people from the mainstream and other sections of society.

It is about time that we, the educated people of India came forward with some creative and workable solutions that these suppressed tribes have been facing for centuries. “Inclusive development” needs to be top priority for their trust and faith to be restored in the Government and society. As for the Government, it can no longer afford to "play the fiddle, like Nero, while Rome is burning". Here are some practical suggestions: The Government can implement the Renake Commission Report in toto and make provisions in terms of finance while allowing it to be budgeted. What the DNTs do not need is yet another commission. Time bound development, which is inclusive at the same time, is the need of the hour. The subalterns are striving to make an impression on our collective conscience. Will the stakeholders listen, for once?

By: Meher Gadekar (PRM5) is an independent researcher & expert on rural development, Email: meher.gadekar@gmail.com
Chandrakant Puri is Chair Professor , Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Contemporary Studies, University of Mumbai, Email: chandrakant.puri@gmail.com