EVENTS & ISSUES

New Delhi, 20 May 2009

Agenda For New Govt

DO A REALITY CHECK ON VAN GUJJARS

By Radhakrishna Rao

The much-talked about and widely discussed Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, which the UPA-led Government had described as a “progressive piece of legislation” was aimed at undoing the injustice meted out to the forest dwelling indigenous groups. It was used by the Congress in its campaign this Lok Sabha election. However, the ground reality is something else.

Reports from various parts of the country clearly highlight that the “so-called beneficiaries “of this Act are at the receiving end of the forest authorities, who are in no mood to give a practical shape to this law. Worse, in response to a barrage of writ petitions filed by various organizations challenging the constitutional validity of this act of the State, the Supreme Court has said that any distribution of “title deeds” by the State would be subject to its final order.

The callousness of the forest bureaucracy, steeped in the British colonial tradition, is clearly at full display at the Rajaji National Park (RNP) spread over more than 800-sq. km and across Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Here the Van Gujjar nomadic forest dwellers are being intimidated to move out of their forest homes of centuries to the claustrophobic resettlement colonies, near the famous pilgrim town of Hardwar. Incidentally, RNP, the notification for the creation of which was issued in 1983 by the then undivided Uttar Pradesh is yet to attain the status of a national park.

The Van Gujjar herdsmen residing in the forest stretches of RNP, which forms a part of the Shivalik eco system have come up against ”hurdles and barriers” with the forest authorities of Uttarakhand preventing their free movement across various eco zones lying in the lap of the Himalayas. Over the past couple of months, a number of Van Gujjar families with their herds of mountain buffaloes are stranded en route to their annual summer grounds in the upper Himalayan reaches.

In particular, they have been denied entry to the Gobind Pashu Vihar sanctuary in the Uttar Kashi district of Uttarakhand. In fact, the denial of entry to Van Gujjar nomads to the traditional highland pastures locally called “bugyals” has once again raised the issue of the harassment of an underprivileged nomadic indigenous group.

Dehra Dun-based Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, which has made significant contributions to the drafting of the Forest Dwellers Act has stated in unequivocal terms that the forest bureaucracy of Uttarakhand is bent upon evicting Van Gujjars from their traditional  dwellings. It says: “In spite of the clear constitutional mandate under Article 19, which gives Right to Freedom of Movement, and the rights conferred under the Scheduled Tribes and Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, which entitles forest dwellers to access forests and its resources, the State forest authorities are harassing the Van Gujjars”.

Sadly, the intimidation of the “guileless and helpless Van Gujjars”, a minority group without any political clout is nothing short of the “serious infringement of their basic human rights”. Cut off from the mainstream and living in isolation of the thick evergreen forests, Van Gujjars are not sure as to what the future holds for them. The eco-friendly Gujjars who perceive the forests, in which they live as the veil that prevents them from being exposed to the evils of modern life, are ill-equipped to live outside of the forest environs.

A Van Gujjar out of a forest stretch is like a fish out of water. This community, which has a sound insight into the intricacies of the nature, can best be described as barefoot botanists since they know each plant and herb in and around their dwellings in great detail. Undoubtedly, the Van Gujjars are excellent silviculturists and over generations have built up a rich bank of knowledge about their environment. To walk through a forest stretch with a Van Gujjar guide is a veritable lesson in bio-diversity: each species of tree is known and their potential as fodder and medicine as well as the timing of its fall.

The compulsion for the annual migration of Van Gujjars from the forest stretches of Shivaliks in north-west India to the alpine grasslands of upper Himalayas is the herd of tough mountain buffaloes they rear and on which they depend for their survival. Nomadism is the very life-blood of the social life of this community, for whom a settled mode of life is unthinkable. The pastoralist Van Gujjars share an intricate relationship with their buffalo herds, which are considered as the extended family members. The cattle share their living space inside their semi-circular dwelling called dera, which is normally located deep inside the forests close to water sources.

Clearly, the traditional migratory pattern of Van Gujjars involving two distinct eco zones of Himalayas has been severely disturbed by the hurdles put by the forest authorities. As if these woes are not enough, Van Gujjars residing in the forest stretches of the Shivaliks find the going tough on account of the rapidly disappearing green cover. For their buffalo herds used to be fed on the nutritious leaves of certain trees lopped by Van Gujjars. Declining availability of the natural feed means dependence on concentrate cattle feed purchased from the market for a price. This implies a decreased return for the community from buffalo rearing.

For more than 1,000 Van Gujjar families rehabilitated in the resettlement colonies at Pathri and Gaindikatha, struggle for survival has become acute. To begin with, these resettlement colonies have no grasslands wherein their cattle can graze in a carefree manner. Moreover, the tough mountain buffaloes, which are stall fed in their new location, are not only falling ill frequently but also are yielding lesser milk. Thus, leaving both man and animal ill at ease in the new settlement colonies.

Though each of the nomadic families have been allotted two acres of farmland, the community has not been able to benefit from it. They lack expertise in farming. This has resulted in the land being leased out for contract farming for a ridiculously low compensation. Left with no option, many Van Gujjar adults have been forced to take up odd jobs to make both ends meet. The young have become a part of the mainstream society with their love for Hindi movies. All these “not so pleasant developments” have set in motion a process of “cultural atrophy” of the community which seems to have been resigned to its fate. Will the new government ensure the Forest Dwellers Act does justice? Or will the Van Gujjars continue to languish? –INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)

Sunday Reading

New Delhi, 18 May 2009

Tribal Art

HERITAGE UNDER GRAVE THREAT

By Suraj Saraf

(Tribal art is vibrant primordial bonanza developed over millennia amid virgin nature. It has often enriched and reoriented classical art when in doubt, or having run its course is in search of new currents beyond monotonous repetition and rococo exhaustion)

Tribal art is, indeed, primordial treasure trove of aesthetics and culture accumulated over millennia imbibing new elements and motifs from generation to generation. Classical rhythms draw upon this gold mine, whenever they had reached a stage of exhaustion and had started depending upon merely re-moulding or ornamenting the old motifs to conceal its sterility.

When European artistic taste began to doubt the established canons of art in the 19^th century the westerners started looking to Africa and Asia. In the Indian sub-continent, the post-colonial identity crisis directed a horde of artists to return to the native traditions and several of them sought inspiration from tribal art.

Expatiating on the influence of Red Indian art on the modern American art, an art chronicler underpins: “Richness and diversity of art works being produced today is more than ample evidence of the innate ability of traditions to withstand erosion and their extraordinary power to inspire new currents of creativity and diversity.

A strong supporter of the tribal cause and a Jnanpith and Magsaysay awards winner for her forceful tribal activism, Mahasweta Devi, points out, “it is not new for my literature to spring from a fight for the right of the tribals, who are oppressed and downtrodden…. My social activism is the driving force of all my literary activities…. Perhaps their stories impart a narrative immediacy to my language.”

Adivasis and denotified tribes, she adds were civilized in their own way and instead of looking down upon them, we must try and understand them. Sadly, “Mainstream India had continually refused to recognize them and denied them their right to a dignified living even though they have had a very vibrant culture in the past.”

It is our biased and blinkered outlook that all our cultural studies have either discarded or marginalized the tribal or folk aspect of society. We simply bifurcate the culture of a given society as higher and lower according to the hegemonic notions. Consequently,  something which is raw and organic is considered as natural and something which is in order or disciplined as culture.

We recognize only sophisticated and technically perfect human activities as significant parameters in the studies on culture. That means culture has always been considered as that of a limited but sophisticated set of human beings. What we have been losing by taking such a perspective is a comprehensive view of the vastness and vividness of the society and its peculiarities.

Actually the innumerable human activities that shape and mould every culture or the entire cultural process are more important than the result of it in realizing the character and structure of a society. Unlike the polished and well-structured objects created and used by higher strata of society, the ordinary people have got directness in their conceptions and creations. Every such object signifies an urgent need or belief. There is, therefore, an active social participation in the emergence of each image.

Rather than art objects, these objects give us a clear idea about the culture and sensibilities of the community at large. Considering them low only reveals the degradation of our own sensibilities. Tribal art is a spontaneous response to nature and natural events. Ritual plays a major role, yet it is closely linked to food security, health and survival.

The lack of codified rules makes it colorful, vibrant and evocative, the natural expression of people that had resulted in some most wonderful works of art. Little wonder that even the greatest artists like Henry Moore and Picasso had made use of the tribal idioms. Musician celebrities like Mozart, Richard Straus or Mahler had also used tribal musical instruments in their classical performances.

For the past few years some private and official agencies are organizing exhibitions of the tribal art in Delhi and these objects d’ art are eliciting increasingly encouraging response. In some States, even museums have also been set up showcasing the tribal arts and crafts.

These display a riot of colours and relate tales of a distinct culture that celebrates a community’s proximity to nature.

However, as emphasized by Mahasweta Devi it is essential to understand the life and culture of the tribals, who are being forgotten in the mad-race for progress. She strongly recommends orientation programmes in colleges and universities. However, with the exposure of tribal arts and their getting increasing acceptance and demand from society, there is a down side. It is getting doubly threatened. There is exploitation by the middle-men who buy these tribal creations at throwaway prices and make a fast buck by selling them in cities at high costs. Worse, their designs and motifs are now being pilfered and replicated, the benefit of which goes to the unscrupulous pilferers leaving the tribals high and dry.  

Recently, at a workshop by the Action Forum for Manav Adhikar to educate, empower and create awareness of the rights of tribal artisans the need for a comprehensive legislation, both by way of the Copyright Act and the intellectual property rights was stressed. This would safeguard the tribal heritage and enable them to combat illegal imitation and adaptation of their work and also to allow them a stronger bargaining position to harness the economic potential of their talents.

Importantly, due to widespread plagiarism the economic exploitation of the tribal artisans have reduced them to starvation and forced many to go to cities to work as unskilled labour merely to survive. In the face of liberalization and coming in of foreign apparel companies if our tribal artisans and weavers are not well-versed with their legal rights, there is a serious threat that they may even be divested of their cultural heritage.

To properly compensate the tribal artisans for their productions, it is important that attempts should be made to encourage contemporary use of their arts and crafts to increase their market on the one hand and provide them their rightful recognition and remuneration on the other.

Sad, but its true--the tribals are treated as invisible identity, ignoring the directive principles of the Constitution of due recognition. Worse, the process of patenting of traditional Indian motifs by foreign companies has already begun under liberalization yet nothing is being done practically to protect the tribal heritage other than big talk by the concerned ministry.  

However, we should take a cue from what is being done in Australia. According to a report, the aboriginal tribes are accorded a special place in Australia and myths, legends and lifestyles that have remained over the millennia are considered national treasure. Everything is being done by the government to preserve the ethnic culture in its unadulterated form. Why can’t we? ----INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Political Diary

New Delhi, 17 May 2009

Singh Is King

VOTER HOOTS FOR STABILITY

By Poonam I Kaushish

Three cheers for the Indian voter, Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi. Election 2009 belongs to them. A watershed poll wherein the aam aadmi has shown his profound wisdom and maturity and voted for stability . A victory serenading the end of politics of cynicism and negativism to usher in a new dawn of constructive politics of change and rising aspirations. Underscoring as never before that jo jeeta wohi sikandar.

Indeed, Singh is King. Today, Manmohan Singh stands numero uno amidst a motley crowd of pompous Made in India Johnny-come-lately netas. The voter plummed for his decency and clean image and reposed faith in him to be the harbinger of change as he did in 1991. In one fell stroke he has silenced his critics and metaphorised from a ‘weak’ Prime Minister to a strong leader who is no push-over. Wherein the sniggers of ‘the power behind the throne’, read Sonia Gandhi have been given a burial once and for all.  

Importantly, this poll will be remembered as the coming of age of Rahul Gandhi and personal victory. His clean image appealed not only to the youth but all age groups jaded by the corrupt political culture of I-me-myself syndrome. True, he may lack the experience of more seasoned politicians but his gamble of going it alone in UP and Bihar resulting in Congress gaining 19 seats shows him as a lambi race ka godha and one rooted to the ground. By refusing to join the Cabinet, the fifth generation Nehru-Gandhi scion has shown his eyes are on building India future by imploring the youth to join the political mainstream.

Not only that. The Congress’ resounding victory is also partly due to the BJP’s repressive politics and negative campaign. Instead of offering the people a viable alternate model of governance, Advani and his cohorts banked on the Congress-led UPA’s inability to fight terrorism and economic recession. Besides running a relentless personal vilification campaign against Manmohan Singh. Forgetting in the process, that it was not Singh per se but the office of the Prime Minister of India they were denigrating.

Significantly, election 2009 underscores the political pendulum has swung back to a mature two-party system instead of a fractured polity. Borne out by the Congress-BJP combine cornering over 300 seats. Wherein the electorate has resoundly rejected the regional satraps, their mohalla mentality of parochialism and naked personal ambition of aggrandisment. Both the Third and Fourth Front failed to provide policy alternatives to the national parties.

Two the janata has given an unequivocal thumbs down to opportunists netagan who revel in playing spoilers by resting their politics on bargaining power, blackmailing and switching stands and sides sans any electoral strategy. Illustrated by LJP Paswan’s first ever defeat. The Dalit leader has adorned the Treasury benches for over a decade changing loyalties at a drop of a hat.

Three, the voter has been equally unforgiving of pompous leaders with less than 40 seats who strutted the political kaleidoscope by announcing themselves as the ‘next’ Prime Minister. The likes of Pawar, Lalu, Mayawati, Chandrababu Naidu and Jayalalitha.  Four, the election is a good omen to the end of criminalization and mafia raj. The defeat of warlords in Bihar and UP stands testimony to this.

Five, if the results in the cow-belt States of UP and Bihar is an indication the era of vote-bank politics, the raison d’ atre of regional parties, is nearing its fast demise. The ‘underdog Congress’ surprising victory in UP has shown that the people are fed up of caste-creed politics and rooted for development. Ditto the case in Bihar wherein JD(U) Nitish Kumar rode the crest of victory on his record of restoring law and order and giving a push-up to infrastructure.  The same holds true of the results in Andhra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu which understate that development, pro-poor policies and not the anti-incumbency factor is all important.

What next? Undoubtedly, power is a heady mixture and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Already the Congress sycophancy brigade is busy chanting ‘We want Rahul.’ It remains to be seen whether he can withstand the pressure and put an end to the culture of sycophancy in his Party.

For the BJP, the moment of reckoning has arrived. True, it has shown a good result in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh but as Advani steps into history the Saffron Sangh needs to do some honest soul-searching. To regain its stature as a ‘party with a difference’ it has to desist from playing the Hindutva card and appeal to a larger spectrum of people of different religion and different regions. The pink chaddi campaign against the Ram Sena led to the urban youth turning its back on the Party.

More. It has to grapple with the inherent contradictions of its Gen next ambitious leaders who are busy under-cutting each other. Towards that end it has to immediately get rid of President Rajnath Singh who is widely viewed as being behind the intra-party politics. (Remember the fracas with Arun Jaitely over power-broker Suddhanshu Mittal.) Also, he has surrounded himself with a motley crowd of petty mofussil leaders instead of relying on the selfless party cadres. All eyes will now be on the RSS. Will it be able to show a new disha?

The writing is also on the wall for BSP’s Mayawati whose power in UP stands dented by the way she has sort to redefine the State in her own image by perpetuating herself in sandstone in every kasba and mohallas. Cocooned in the narcissism that she can do no wrong, Mayawati failed to realize that by taking the Dalit vote for granted and not delivering on her promises was seen as personal aggrandizement only directed at herself, not for the people of the State.

The Samajwadi has been issued a stern warning by the Muslims. Mulayam will have to do a lot to redeem himself in their eyes as they view his association with Kalyan Singh, the man they hold responsible for Babri demolition with revulsion. The RJD’s Lalu brand of jiski laathi uski bhains politics has been outrightly rejected and he will now have to re-invent his politics to regain his foothold in Bihar.

For the Left, hurting from its worst performance in decades – from a high of 65 seats in 2004 to 24 in 2009 – the knives are out for Prakash Karat. His arrogance, fatal error of judgment and rigid politics led to the downfall of the Party. True, Nandigram, Singur and the in-fighting in the Kerala State unit added to its woes.

But these were not insurmountable problems. Instead of taking decisions looking at the ground reality, the central leadership pronounced judgments sitting in air-conditioned ivory towers. A coarse correction is badly needed before the 2011 Assembly poll in Bengal if the CPM has to regain power. Failing which it may find itself reduced to only Tripura.

The Congress needs to cushion itself against the unpredictable Mamata and her retrograde economic baggage. She could act as a speed breaker for economic reforms. The UPA Government would have to straddle two worlds --- meeting the expectations of the aam aadmi without sacrificing the interest of the corporate world.

On his part, Rahul knows only to well that his father Rajiv fritted away a 400-plus mandate in five years. He has to avoid being complacent, arrogant and abuse the trust reposed in him. Rise to the expectations of the aam aadmi with humility and honesty.

In sum, Manmohan Singh has to remember that the real meaning of politics is not power but service. Today, the Congress is once again on the threshold of a great future. A future of a billion strong people and one nation. With great power comes greater responsibility. Of providing good governance based on greater transparency and pubic accountability of a better tomorrow. The Congress needs to remember Lord Buddha’s wise words: To dream about a better future is possible only by doing good in the present. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 14 May 2009

Counting Of Votes Today

ALL EYES ON GRAND FINALE

By Insaf

 The curtains finally came down on the month-and-a-half-long election for the 15^th Lok Sabha with the final, fifth-phase of voting ending on Wednesday last. In all, 86 constituencies across nine States and two Union Territories went to the polls. The voter turnout in this last leg was by far the best—62%, with West Bengal recording the highest turnout of 80 per cent. However, the overall polling percentage is expected to be no different from 2004’s 58 per cent. And the results too may not be very different, although some veterans expect lots of surprises. Even as all eyes are now set on the grand finale today, Saturday, in the counting of votes, nearly all exit polls project the expected--a fractured verdict and a khichri sarkar. By the evening the counting exercise, involving 12 lakh electronic voting machines, should be over giving the final push to the unrivalled electoral process.

Unlike the past the States are attracting special attention, thanks to the regional parties and the clout that their leaders will be able to exercise in the numbers game. Heading upfront are Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Will AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha be able to sweep all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and extract her pound of flesh from either the Congress or the BJP? Mayawati’s BSP in UP is predicted to get lesser number of seats, but is yet to decide in whole tally these would be added. The Left Front is said to be in for a major loss of not only seats but face in both West Bengal and Kerala, and may rethink its loud procrastination of doing any business with the Congress. If Andhra Pradesh’s TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is expecting to see a drop, will he have much of a choice which way to go. The coming week will see as much action, if not more.  

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Cong-Led Govt In Meghalaya

Unable to get Parliament to ratify President’s Rule in Meghalaya, the UPA-led centre propped up a Congress-led Government in the State with the help of the United Democratic Party (UDP) on Wednesday last. In place since March 18, the President’s rule was revoked on Friday last after the Union Cabinet was told by the Home Ministry that there “was no option” of getting both the Houses to ratify the Rule expire on May 18. Congress leader and former Chief Minister DD Lapang was thus sworn in as Chief Minister for the second time in just over a year. Six others were administered the oath of office. Lapang has been asked to prove his majority in the 61-member Assembly within 15 days. In the Assembly elections March last year, Lapang had been sworn in as CM but could not prove his majority, paving the way for the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance, an NCP-UDP led coalition government. However, the MPA couldn’t complete a year as the Congress poached on its legislators, resulting in imposition of President Rule. The State has the distinction of having had four governments in just over a year!    

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No Re-Poll In Arunachal

Can voting be more than 100 per cent in some booths and the election still be termed as free and fair? In Arunachal Pradesh it appears to be so, if one goes by the Election Commission’s explanation. On Friday last, it rubbished the complaint of BJP MP from Arunachal West, Kiren Rijiju and rejected the demand for a re-poll in 65 booths. In the second phase of polling, Rijiju had alleged there was total capturing of booths in 3-Mukto and 18-Palin constituencies by the Congress and the voters list was doubtful in the latter constituency as the total votes cast jumped from 7,334 in 2004 to 11,096 this election. Besides, in 13-Itanagar constituency there was bogus voting, wherein of the 518 voters 499 votes were cast even though 90 per cent of the voters in the constituency were government employees, who were on election duty outside the district. 

The MP’s allegation that there was over 100 per cent voting too was termed as “false” and baseless by the Commission after a probe. The explanation offered was: “In a small State like Arunachal percentage is not important. Absolute number is. Allegation of 108 per cent voting looks scandalous.” As per its probe, the polling station had 37 voters and all of them voted. This apart, as per EC rules four poll officers also voted, as the staff is given election duty certificate to cast their vote at the booth they are stationed. Expectedly, the BJP had threatened to a launch a strike in the State if its demand was not fulfilled. Will it? Time and tide wait for no one.

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Ladakh Impacts NC-Cong Ties?

The National Conference-Congress alliance in Jammu and Kashmir may well get its first jolt, thanks to the Lok Sabha election. “Unhappy” over the Ladakh seat going to the Congress in the seat-sharing formula, both Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and father Farooq Abdullah, were seen using some pretext or the other to avoid campaigning in the constituency. A Congress leader has made a note of the excuses: “While Farooq told us he has pain in his leg, he was busy attending other functions. Omar said he had been requested to campaign in Uttar Pradesh…However, we kept a helicopter ready to take the NC leaders. But no one showed up for three days…A minister did take the helicopter after much fuss. But he went to Kargil instead, spoke to some people and left after an hour!” The Congress is still confident of retaining the seat as Ladakh is a party stronghold. However, the NC leaders’ conduct has introduced a sour note.

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Anti-Ragging Panels In States

There is encouraging news for students and parents. The Supreme Court on Friday last directed all the State Governments to set-up anti-ragging committees in educational institutions to prevent recurring incidents. To ensure compliance of its orders, the apex court has asked the States to give an undertaking about steps taken and importantly made the heads of educational institutions and the local police liable for disciplinary action if any such incident takes place under their jurisdiction. The detailed directive follows a two-member committee’s probe into the death of Aman Kachroo in a government medical college in Himachal Pradesh this March due to ragging, which triggered a public outcry. At the national level too, the court has asked for the setting up of a panel to suggest remedial steps in school curriculum to check the ragging menace. If not complete eradication, at least a beginning has been made to check the shocking menace of ragging.        

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109 Year-Old Votes In Ludhiana

Ludhiana seems to have made Punjab proud of having the oldest voter and perhaps setting an example for others to follow. In spite of his age and illness Pashora Singh, 109 years-old went and voted at Lalton near Ludhiana on Wednesday last. Pashora has seven children, the eldest being an 80-year-old son and the youngest 50 years. The man clearly looked excited as he reached the polling booth and was even ecstatic after casting his vote at the push of a button instead of using a stamp. Pashora said that “ever since the Britishers left, I have been casting my vote. Every responsible citizen should do so.”  A message which should make those who didn’t vote think twice next time. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)