6th Foundation Meeting of JYS on 24th Nov 2007

JYS was formed on 24th Nov. 2002. 9 member committee was selected at the foundation day.It was reformed time to time by the leading committee to continue the work and activities.The last leading committee was elected in the first conference of JYS.The committee was functioning well but some of the leading committee members were not following the discipline established by JYS principles and experiences.So the activities of youth organisation was continuous but quality was lowering.Same time the leading team was facing acute economic problems which was effecting the nature of work also.Hence the leading team decided to celebrate 6th foundation day programme as "Conference for review and reorganisation".The selected members and the activists were invited for discussion and decision.

All the participants discussed all the weaknesses and capacities of themselves as well as the leading committees.They decided to strengthen the organisation for further struggle.They also decided to reorganise the Tehsil (block level ) committee and local (Panchayat level) committees.The delegates allow to the two most important leaders to join any job for earnings,Three were sent back to their respective units to more strengthen the local organisation,One was freed because of his recent appointment in government job.Rest three remain in tehsil committee.Three leading members from different area were promoted to tehsil level work.Hence,After whole day discussion a six member team was elected for Tehsil committee.The size of committee is also reduced from 9 to 6 for some time.

New leading team decided to start the membership renewal campaign from next week.The tehsil committee also decided to start camps and classes for political education and awareness of issues.

APEAL AGAIN

An Apeal to the friends and sympathysers

Dear Friends,
Development in the third world is becoming increasingly more complicated as we embark on overly glorified journey of economic reforms. The impact of reform has been uniformly lopsided in that they have been invariably unhelpful to the historically marginalized communities. While some governments have claimed to have made some efforts to lend a human face to the reforms, it has not translated into any benefits for the marginalized, to say the least. While governments celebrate their swelling foreign exchange reserves, the marginalized are getting increasingly more marginalized.
In this light, it is largely agreed that political mobilization of the communities in order to enable them to demand their fundamental rights and to help them act collectively towards their shared goals is the only way out. However, it is not easy to undertake this kind of work amongst the poor communities not least because of the unsupportive attitude of the state agencies, mainstream media, and the mainstream political parties. Some groups of self motivated citizens have nevertheless continued working on this difficult agenda of strengthening local capacities and holding the state accountable for its actions or a complete lack thereof. Such groups have however, refused to chase institutionalized funding which often comes with strings attached to it. I seriously believe that it is the duty of the conscientious global citizens to support such groups by mobilizing both intellectual and material resources. This will have to be a purely personal effort even if that means that our contribution is small. In the years to come I hope that we will be able to bring together a big group of such conscientious citizens that could then mobilize resources for several such groups working in the remote nooks and corners of the developing countries. However, with this letter I request you to mobilize resources for one such group working in the tribal areas of Rajasthan in Western India.
The group concerned is called Jagruk Yuwa Sangathan actively working with the tribal communities of Kherwara block of Udaipur district. Most of the youth members of the group are local tribal youths. They have so far survived by collecting monthly or occasional issue based funds from the local friends and supporters. Local peasants, workers, youth, and women, though poor, have supported the group as far as possible by contributing in kind (wheat, vegetables and other daily necessities). The youth in turn, have sacrificed the comforts of their homes, and have worked relentlessly to build communities capacities in dealing with the state, police, media, and local politicians. There work has been effective in checking corruption in government offices, and the demeaning treatment that the local police meted out to the tribals. I was told that a policeman returned the bribe amount back to a poor tribal after he came to know of the person’s association with the Sangathan. The group is bringing out a local NewsViews Paper, pamphlets and booklets on issues of local concern as opposed to the projects work done at very operational costs by NGOs that we are usually familiar with.
However, as we all realize this very challenging work can get even more challenging because of the personal constraints that the young tribals working full time with the group face. At this point in time, Jagruk Yuwa Sangathan is also going through a sort of crisis:
(1) Most of the youths working for the group are about to get married. While they want to continue this work, they will need to fend for their families. This means that they can no longer continue working purely as volunteers, which has been the case so far.
(2) As the group expands its geographical coverage, it has to bear increasing costs of local transportation and other related expenses.
(3) At the same time, local political leaders and corrupt bureaucracy, whose vested interests are at stake, have seriously started plotting conspiracies against the group leadership by implanting false police cases etc.
(4) It also happens to be a critical juncture for the group, as it is in the process of establishing firmly in the region. While it has made concrete impact, organization itself has been operating with such thin resources that its material basis is insignificant.
(5) Overall, it is a crucial time for the organization where it needs all kinds of support.
Please consider what kind of support you may be able to extend to Jagruk Yuva Sangathan and the people working with them. Small amounts of financial contributions at individual level will go a long way in helping continue this work in an area which badly needs a group that can stand independently and work for voicing the concerns of the marginalized.
Prakash Kashwan
kashwan@gmail.com
Ph.D. Student (Public Policy)
School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA),
Indiana University, Bloomington

Adivasis and the Freedom Movement

Adivasis and the Freedom Movement

As soon as the British took over Eastern India tribal revolts broke out to challenge alien rule. In the early years of colonization, no other community in India offered such heroic resistance to British rule or faced such tragic consequences as did the numerous Adivasi communities of now Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Orissa and Bengal. In 1772, the Paharia revolt broke out which was followed by a five year uprising led by Tilka Manjhi who was hanged in Bhagalpur in 1785. The Tamar and Munda revolts followed. In the next two decades, revolts took place in Singhbhum, Gumla, Birbhum, Bankura, Manbhoom and Palamau, followed by the great Kol Risings of 1832 and the Khewar and Bhumij revolts (1832-34). In 1855, the Santhals waged war against the permanent settlement of Lord Cornwallis, and a year later, numerous adivasi leaders played key roles in the 1857 war of independence.

But the defeat of 1858 only intensified British exploitation of national wealth and resources. A forest regulation passed in 1865 empowered the British government to declare any land covered with trees or brushwood as government forest and to make rules to manage it under terms of it's own choosing. The act made no provision regarding the rights of the Adivasi users. A more comprehensive Indian Forest Act was passed in 1878, which imposed severe restrictions upon Adivasi rights over forest land and produce in the protected and reserved forests. The act radically changed the nature of the traditional common property of the Adivasi communities and made it state property.

As punishment for Adivasi resistance to British rule, "The Criminal Tribes Act" was passed by the British Government in 1871 arbitrarily stigmatizing groups such as the Adivasis (who were perceived as most hostile to British interests) as congenital criminals.

Adivasi uprisings in the Jharkhand belt were quelled by the British through massive deployment of troops across the region. The Kherwar uprising and the Birsa Munda movement were the most important of the late-18th century struggles against British rule and their local agents. The long struggle led by Birsa Munda was directed at British policies that allowed the zamindars (landowners) and money-lenders to harshly exploit the Adivasis. In 1914 Jatra Oraon started what is called the Tana Movement (which drew the participation of over 25,500 Adivasis). The Tana movement joined the nation-wide Satyagrah Movement in 1920 and stopped the payment of land-taxes to the colonial Government.

During British rule, several revolts also took place in Orissa which naturally drew participation from the Adivasis. The significant ones included the Paik Rebellion of 1817, the Ghumsar uprisings of 1836-1856, and the Sambhalpur revolt of 1857-1864.

In the hill tribal tracts of Andhra Pradesh a revolt broke out in August 1922. Led by Alluri Ramachandra Raju (better known as Sitarama Raju), the Adivasis of the Andhra hills succeeded in drawing the British into a full-scale guerrilla war. Unable to cope, the British brought in the Malabar Special Force to crush it and only prevailed when Alluri Raju died.

As the freedom movement widened, it drew Adivasis into all aspects of the struggle. Many landless and deeply oppressed Adivasis joined in with upper-caste freedom fighters expecting that the defeat of the British would usher in a new democratic era.

Unfortunately, even fifty years after independence, Dalits and Adivasis have benefited least from the advent of freedom. Although independence has brought widespread gains for the vast majority of the Indian population, Dalits and Adivasis have often been left out, and new problems have arisen for the nation's Adivasi populations. With the tripling of the population since 1947, pressures on land resources, especially demands on forested tracks, mines and water resources have played havoc on the lives of the Adivasis. A disproportionate number of Adivasis have been displaced from their traditional lands while many have seen access to traditional resources undercut by forest mafias and corrupt officials who have signed irregular commercial leases that conflict with rights granted to the Adivasis by the Indian constitution.

It remains to be seen if the the grant of statehood for Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh ameliorates the conditions for India's Adivasis. However, it is imperative that all Adivasi districts receive special attention from the Central government in terms of investment in schools, research institutes, participatory forest management and preservation schemes, non-polluting industries, and opportunities for the Adivasi communities to document and preserve their rich heritage. Adivasis must have special access to educational, cultural and economic opportunities so as to reverse the effects of colonization and earlier injustices experienced by the Adivasi communities.

At the same time, the country can learn much from the beauty of Adivasi social practices, their culture of sharing and respect for all - their deep humility and love of nature - and most of all - their deep devotion to social equality and civic harmony.

References:

1. What is Living and What is Dead in Indian Philosophy - Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya

1b. Stcherbasky: Buddhist Logic (New York, 1962), Papers of Stcherbasky - (Calcutta - 1969,71)

2. The Indian Historical Review, Vol. 16:1,2 Baidyanath Saraswati's review of P.K Maity, Folk-Rituals of Eastern India

3. Bulletins of the ICHR (Indian Council of Historical Research)

4. Studies in the History of Science in India (Edited by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya)

5. Adivasi: A symbiotic Bond - Mari and Stan Thekaekara (Hindu Folio, July 16, 2000)

Note: The term Adivasi has been used broadly to represent those classified as Scheduled Tribe under the Indian constitution. Roughly speaking, the term translates as aboriginal or native people (or native dwellers).

Some Dalit activists now prefer to also be characterized as Adivasis. Others seek to bring all of India's oppressed groupings under the 'Bahujan Samaj' umbrella. While the term Harijan is largely out of favour, there are some who simply identify with the government designated terms ST (scheduled tribe) and SC (scheduled caste).

Although, districts with large Adivasi populations are to be found almost throughout India, the majority of India's Adivasis hail from Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Orissa. Tripura, Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland also have large Adivasi populations. There are also districts in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra and Tamil Nadu with sizeable Adivasi populations.

A Note: The movements in Rajasthan are not covered in above article.This is the irony of the area that the historians,even The progressive and revolutionary Historians did not covered it well.We are collecting some facts of Aadiwasi i.e. indigenous peoples movements in southern Rajasthan and adjoining parts of it which is called Arawali Mountain. D.S.Paliwal )

Related Articles:

History of Social Relations in India

Key Landmarks in the Indian Freedom Struggle