The Hindu : Orissa tribals up in arms against corruption

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Sunday, Apr 14, 2002

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Orissa tribals up in arms against corruption

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR APRIL 13. The tribals of Nawrangpur district in Orissa's interiors, who have been the victims of administrative neglect for long, have now decided to fight corruption to prevent plundering of public money and ensure implementation of various development schemes.

``We want to put an end to corruption so that funds coming for development work could be utilised properly,'' said Jagabandhu Majhi, president of the Dalit Samaj, in a recent exclusive interview to The Hindu.

Mr. Majhi, who is wanted by police and has been on the run since October last year for leading a tribal uprising in Raighar block of Nawrangpur, is hopeful that fighting corruption in the construction of roads and implementation of Government schemes would be easy as the Samaj activists have been elected to the local panchayat bodies in the recent panchayat polls.

In the 24 village panchayats of Raighar, the Samaj activists have won 17 sarpanch posts and 18 posts of panchayat samiti members. Bhanumati Majhi, a girl who won as a samiti member from jail, has been elected chairperson of the Raighar block. Out of the four zilla parishad seats in Raighar, the Samaj has won three.

The Dalit Samaj movement gained strength after two tribals were killed at Jamdora village of Raighar in a clash with the land grabbers on June 24 last year. Enraged by their gradual alienation, the tribals were protesting encroachment of their community land by outside settlers, predominantly Bengalis.

Mr. Majhi, who claims that he had committed no crime by organising the tribals, alleged that police were harassing the tribals and the Scheduled Castes. ``Police is our main enemy.

They are siding with the Bengali settlers, instead of taking an independent stand.'' Although seven tribal and Scheduled Caste persons had been killed last year, the local police were ``selectively harassing'' the Samaj activists, Mr. Majhi charged. Of the seven, five were killed in two incidents of police firing.

He demanded that a large number of landless tribal families be provided land and the tribal land that had been encroached by the Bengalis be restored to their original owners.

Backwardness is written all over Raighar. There were several gram panchayats under the block without even a Middle English School. There were Government health centres in the area, but hardly does any doctor stay there, the young tribal leader rued.

With genuine issues being vented forcibly in recent months, Mr. Majhi has caught the imagination of the tribals and is held in high esteem.

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Orissa tribals up in arms against corruption