Adivasis keep vigil to 'resist' police action

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 9. It is a spartan existence for the tribal activists who huddle day and night inside the small make- shift sheds erected on stilts of reed and thatched with dried reed leaves in front of the Secretariat.

The agitation for food and land spearheaded by the Adivasi-Dalit Action Council in the wake of the starvation deaths in the tribal areas of Wayanad has entered the second month even as the Government is threatening police action to remove the tribal `huts' erected by activists in front of the Secretariat and near the Chief Minister's residence.

The 100-odd activists, who have been joined by members of human rights and non-governmental organisations, are bracing up for the impending police action. The activists keep vigil at night by singing tribal songs and thumping on plastic buckets. Occasionally, there are popular Tamil or Malayalam songs to break the monotony. During day, most of the activists are in the street with buckets waiting for the charity of pedestrians, who would care to contribute their mite to the tribal cause.

Community kitchens have been set up near the Cliff House refugee camp and on the pavement in front of the Secretariat. The activists are surviving on a frugal diet of rice and curry cooked in the open. However, there has been widespread resentment among a large section of urbanites, who despite being sympathetic to the Adivasi cause, resent the fact that the heart of the city is being dirtied. Large pools of dish water have collected in front of the pavement before the Secretariat.

Scores of mediapersons and camera teams are also staking out in front of the Secretariat and near the Cliff House anticipating a police action to remove the `huts'.

The tribal leader, Ms. C.K. Janu, had earlier told mediapersons that her people would ``peacefully'' resist any effort on the part of the Government to remove the huts and refugee camp near the Cliff House, without addressing the issues raised by the Adivasis. However, the resistance would be in a manner that would not jeopardise the Adivasi cause or turn public opinion against the Council. The Council has been able to drum up support from human rights activists, social workers, NGOs, writers and intellectuals. Many of them have made an open gesture of support for Ms. Janu by forming a human chain in front of the huts last week.

Meanwhile, the police are waiting for a nod from the political executive to remove the tribal `huts' in what officials term as a ``swift'' operation. The police top brass want the removal of sheds to be incident-free and are not willing to make martyrs of the Adivasi activists.

However, a highly placed police official said the force was anticipating some ``desperate'' measure of protest from volatile elements, particularly women, among the activists. Police are also apprehensive that ``extreme elements with an anti-national tilt'' might infiltrate the Adivasi cadre and cause trouble to force the hand of the police.

Police are of the opinion that the numbers in the Adivasi camp were fast dwindling with many having returned home after a month of stay in the city. But the Council has been quick to deny the assumption of the police.

The agitation was launched with the Council opening a ``refugee camp''' near the Cliff House on August 30. On September 3, the Council activists opened a similar camp in front of the Government Secretariat.

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Section  : Southern States
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