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Magazine
In the wild woods
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Talking of progress, there are certain regions in Chhattisgarh where development is an alien word. Community programmes, family-oriented schemes and revenue surveys are some measures initiated by the Government to offer a better future to the tribals, writes AARTI DHAR.
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A tribal family at a weekly haat bazaar in Bastar district.
IT is not totally wrong when people say Chhattisgarh lives several centuries simultaneously. If the Government is talking in terms of developing the State as the most happening place in the country in the coming years, there is no denying the fact that there are regions like Abhujmad where the most primitive tribal population is still struggling to adopt the concept of clothing.
This is what years of isolation have done to this extremely backward tribal belt. The older generation of the tribals here refuses to accept the civilised way of life and prefer to live in a world of their own in perfect harmony with nature — where development is an alien word. The Abhujmadia, the Muria, the Halba, the Maria and the Gond tribals are dependent on farming, growing paddy, and some cash crops like tobacco, maize and some local vegetables.
The name "Abhujmad" itself means an unknown or a rather unresolved habitat where animals live. Described as "museum pieces", the tribals of this region have been isolated and thoroughly exploited in the name of preservation of their culture and identity. Officially it is said that Abhujmad is restricted for the visitors because the revenue and forest survey is yet to be carried out due to its difficult terrain, but it is an open secret that "outsiders" have minted money by "selling" the poverty, backwardness and culture of these tribals. Little wonder then that the people here have either sheer contempt for outsiders or know how to extract money to get themselves photographed.
The site of a car scares away children, and women shut themselves in the bamboo houses on seeing an outsider. It is the younger generation that is slightly forthcoming, more so because they can understand Hindi and have been exposed to the rural environment. They have this newfound love for Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, thanks to the television in the residential schools, and are crazy about Bermudas, jeans and caps. Girls go ga-ga over lipsticks, talcum powder and fancy hairbands with intricate tattooing taking a backseat. The single knee-length saree draped around by women is now being complemented by a blouse. Transistors are the most sought-after luxury items that keep them updated about the latest Hindi film songs.
Neglect on the part of the Government has also resulted in the Abhujmadias getting exploited by the Naxalites who find this breathtakingly beautiful region a safe haven to operate. Aware that the Government machinery is as good as non-functional here, followers of the Naxalite ideology, primarily the People's War Group (PWG), are ruling the roost and any attempt on the part of the administration towards development is thwarted with utmost ease. The result, while the tribals here do not receive much from the administration, whatever comes their way, is also taken away by the naxalites.
A Begha woman... resisting change.
Spread over 4,000 sq.km. area in Bastar and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh, Abhujmad has for long kept itself away from the outside world resulting in under-development. This thinly populated area has 237 villages of which 205 have settlements and the remaining are abandoned due to shifting cultivation habit among the tribals. There are, in all, 436 clusters with a population of 27,000, including the Abhujmadias, the most primitive inhabitants of the place. The majority comprises the Marias with some 3,300 individuals.
Only 21 villages close to Narainpur and the block headquarters, Orchha, have electricity. The development has partly been hampered by several Central Government Acts like the Forest Act that prohibits any kind of digging or developmental activities in the reserved forest area. The area is now being developed under the Centre's Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) being implemented by the State Government. Started in 1978 in the tribal areas of India, the Programme envisages provision of infrastructure for family-oriented schemes, community development programmes, electrification, education and health.
The State Government runs 97 residential schools to impart education to the tribal children here under the Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, while Ramakrishna Mission Ashram runs five and Rukmini Ashram three similar schools. Minor irrigation schemes under the Rajiv Gandhi Watershed Mission are being implemented to encourage the tribals to adopt a more stable lifestyle. An Abhujmadia might be growing vegetables and pulses, but he still feels comfortable hunting with his bow and arrow. "Things have changed over the years but it is a slow process," says Galla Ram, Sarpanch of a village.
Now more aware of their needs, the villagers want hand-pumps for drinking water and better medical facilities but refuse to live in concrete houses that the State Government built for them. Even as these are now lying abandoned, the administration has moved on to another scheme of providing Rs.20,000 to the most needy villager for building a house of his choice.
With the State Government now considering carrying out the forest and revenue surveys in Abhujmad that could ultimately bring its people into the mainstream, the tribals can look forward to a better future.
Opening up the region and providing facilities could at least give them the option of changing their lives, instead of keeping them in isolation for the sake of preserving their culture and identity.
"We can provide them an alternative and allow them to decide whether they want the change or prefer to continue with their way of living," says Bastar Collector Richa Sharma.
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