Future uncertain

The flesh-trade has social sanction in this part of Madhya Pradesh. In the Banchada community - a denotified tribe - parents make their daughters Khilawdis. PRATIM RANJAN BOSE writes from Degaon Mali village in Mandsaur, giving the reasons behind the evolution of a custom that has severe repercussions.

KARU, Lachhiram and Shobhram, three brothers from the Banchada tribe and their families, were tired of escaping for decades. Notified as a criminal tribe in Indore, Dhar, Dewas (Senior) and Sitamau States in (today's) Madhya Pradesh sometime after 1871, their nomadic lifestyle made things difficult as they were being constantly hounded by the police. With independence in 1947 all they wanted was a piece of land to settle down on.

Their dream came true - at Degaon Mali, a quiet village near Mandsaur town with its historical background. The group of 15 including Geeta, Narangi and Rukman - the eldest Khilawdi daughters of the brothers - started life afresh. The Patel, the late Mohanlal Anjna, not only allowed them to put up chara-ka- mokan (makeshift huts made of grass) at Kund-ka-Magra, away from the main village but also gave them "agricultural land".

Within two years of their stay, in Samvat 2014 (1957), the brothers were sold 12 bighas of land by Mohanlal, Vijayram and four others. Of this, six bighas were sold to them directly while the remainder was reportedly through the government.

The Bancharas began farming with enthusiasm only to find that it was barren. Around them lay fertile black cotton soil. But it was within the main village.

"We did not know that it would be like this. They just took advantage of our ignorance," laments 65-year-old Narangi. "Humlog tho buddhu ban gaya (We were fooled)". She is the one who can narrate how the dream was shattered. For she, Geeta and Rukman had to bear the brunt of it. There were jobs in the village but most were unpaid - a small price to be paid in return for a life without trouble. Neither was it possible to find a job away from the village as it required "permission" from the Patel. Never mind even if it meant entering the flesh trade. "Before coming to Degaon, we were on the move through the princely states in the Malwa region to avoid arrest and harassment," says Narangi, the oldest Khilawdi alive. "Life was difficult as criminal tribes had to submit their permits periodically. Even the slightest provocation like taking away a grain from the fields, could mean five years in prison. Running away was the only option as no one was allowed to settle down. Yet, those days were different. There were the Bhat (bards or genealogists) among the Gujjars. The Bancharas could seek alms only from them."

"Humlog usi samay ayse khullam khulla dhandha nehi karte the (We were not a tribe of prostitutes those days)", she laments, pointing to a number of girls in the dera (settlement) waiting for customers.

So how are things now? Right from childhood, Narangi has seen one girl out of every 10 families being trained in the performing arts - dancing, singing - and being referred to as a Khilawdi, seldom married off. (The rest of the girls, or "Bhattekwadis", however, led a normal married live). On stop-overs, the Khilawdi, accompanied by men playing the dholok, used to entertain the Gujjars. "It was our duty to fulfil their wishes, if any," she says.

But this was not the complete story. The Khilawdi was often the sacrificial goat whenever the group got into trouble. Over the years, assistance from the Gujjars dried up. With increasing mouths to be fed, the only option apart from begging for food was to steal crops. The flesh-trade was a way out too, introduced as it was 40 years ago.

In Narangi's time, in one out of 10 families, the eldest daughter was made a Khilawdis. It meant more money as a whole day's work as a labourer, during the one-time agricultural season, could earn only 10 paise.

At Degaon-Mali, Geeta, Narangi and Rukman used to entertain people. The Gujjars were still considered the big brothers. But the "masters" in the village had to be kept in mind as it was they who had allowed the tribe to settle down. Those were the days when medieval India still allowed the practice of having concubines and when polygamy was (it still is) in vogue among the higher class.

Those were also the days when agriculture was not mechanised and the Banchadas were allowed to settle down as it meant cheap of free labour. Everything was smooth till the Patels and other villagers decided to recover some of the money spent on wages or women by selling them barren land. The Banchadas learnt their lesson the hard way.

In the Sixties, the tribe acquired 35-40 bighas of fertile government land at Laal-Magra, a few kilometres away from the village. The landed gentry did not take to this kindly. "They were happy till we were at their mercy, working on their farms without any or little wages. The moment we got our own land they became angry."

The Bancharas settled down at Kund-ka-Magra without any patta. Excess land was sown with groundnut, gram and maize during the monsoon to yield more for the granary. Earlier, they had had to stop farming a decade ago as they were attacked. Eventually the village panchayat was successful in acquiring 30 bighas for distribution of houses under the government's "Indira Awas Yojna" to those oppressed.

In four decades everything has changed at Degaon Mali. Now it is a semi-urban locality, a 15 minute drive on the busy Sitamau road to Mandsaur the district headquarters. The Banchadas no longer live in huts, but in pukka mokans. Narangi has a tube-well in her house. And, Ramsukh, Karu's grandson, purchased a motor recently. From just three families, in 1955, there are 25 families with a population of around 150. The rules of the community panchayat have been relaxed. But lost are identities, culture and language. The flesh-trade and AIDS thrives.

(Blood samples taken from the population of 5,500 in two districts, has found 15-16 per cent of them to be HIV positive. The results have not declared).

There is no "ceiling" on the number of Khilawdis in a family. Girls are made prostitutes by their parents when they are between 12 and 14 years old. Almost all of them, staying in the same village, have children, who may be called as illegitimate. The girls have a clientele that ranges from the rural rich to truck drivers.

"The birth of a girl is celebrated. The bride price, merely Rs. 900-1000 20 years ago, is now Rs. 70,000 due the economics of prostitution. This leaves 50 per cent of the population unmarried. "Hame Laalach Aa Giya (We have become greedy)," quips Narangi.

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