Rasheeda Bhagat

"Orissa's tribals have been displaced multiple times by industries, power projects... the so-called development processes. The people have lost their land and resource base several times... People are being thrown out of their homes and land, and when they demand their basic rights you call it social fuss." — MS K. BHANUMATHI, DIRECTOR OF SAMATHA

When the tribals protest at being displaced from their land, which is then given to mining companies, they are accused of stalling development through "social fuss." This is ridiculous, says Ms K. Bhanumathi, Director of Samatha, an NGO that works with tribal communities, in an interview to Business Line.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the reason for the backwardness of Orissa, particularly the tribal areas of Kashipur, Kalahandi, etc? I saw a lot of depression and unrest there.

Orissa has been ravaged by different industries, tribals have been displaced multiple times by industries, power projects... the so-called development processes.

The people have lost their land and resource base several times. With their livelihood threatened, many of them have migrated to Andhra Pradesh in search of land and, here too, they feel insecure.

The kind of development desirable for that area has not got attention and everything is projected as though it is good for the economy of the tribal belt. This is the main reason.

I see a dilemma here: The rest of India is progressing and industrial development has played a big role in this.

But in these areas where the land of the tribals is taken away, mining industries bring so much misery. But one cannot deny that industrial development has a role to play in alleviating poverty...

That is the way economics is presented. How is costing done? When you talk of GDP or inflation, from which angle are you looking at the statistics and who benefits? When the majority of people are forced to migrate to the cities, they do not have food security, no three meals a day, nor basic education, then, we can't talk of development. You might have brought in investment and, maybe, a minuscule section is benefiting. We are not saying there should be a blanket ban on industrialisation or that resources should not be tapped. But how do we do it... in an environmentally-viable and socially-just way?

Somebody in Rayagada was saying why bring in joint ventures for mining, why not gradually allow NALCO, a PSU, to go ahead in this rich bauxite area. Would you agree with that?

The basic purpose of the public sector was supposed to be for a larger, rather than private, good. But, today, the PSUs themselves are exploitative; they don't follow environmental regulations, or rehabilitate the displaced people and give compensation. They say that is not profitable. So, how do you expect an MNC to be socially responsible?

So, the tribals are obviously caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Who is going to come to their rescue?

We have all the pillars of democracy; but, today, the bureaucracy is sold out and the judicial system is not consistent, and many areas are outside its domain.

Do you think there is no alternative to the tribals becoming aware and fighting their own battles?

They are waking up, are aware and fighting their own battles. Today, they are stronger in their conviction of what they need and don't need. But when they protest, they are being ruthlessly suppressed. The other day, I read that the industrialisation process is being hindered because of the social fuss. This term is so ridiculous because people are being thrown out of their homes and land, and when they demand their basic rights, you call it social fuss. It is time the mainstream world understood what is sustainable and what is not.

So what is the remedy... the opportunity?

Tourism and pharma industries hold great potential in this area; agro opportunities are there too. In the urban areas, organic produce is sold at such high prices and tribals are the ones who grow things only the organic way. Why can't they benefit? They have indigenous knowledge systems. Minerals are an exhaustive resource which can be taken only if everything else is destroyed.

What about education?

There is a high drop-out rate among tribal children because of the lack of quality education, and no support for higher studies. They fail in subjects not for lack of knowledge. For instance, an eight-year-old child will tell you the names of animals, birds and plants, which none of us knows. They have grown up with these and can explain the habitat. But our education system does not recognise this knowledge. They fail because they cannot reproduce their knowledge in the package we want. And children who have not lived with animals or plants get 95 per cent!

Are tribals keen on higher education?

They're willing to study, but the government is not meeting their needs. Many tribal children are being sent away from residential schools (known as Ashram schools) as they have no capacity to absorb them and there is no inclination to increase the number of seats. For the government to say that it would provide for a school only after a mining company comes, etc., is ridiculous. Your job as a government is to provide all that. Today, in the bauxite mining area, the government trains the tribal youth for two-three months. Are they going to become mining engineers with that? It is only to tell the outside world: ``Look we're giving them training.'

What is the response from corporates which have set up shops in these areas?

They have the corporate social responsibility slogan that is an attempt to convince the outside world about social justice.

The fact is they are snatching away the basic resources of the tribals, mainly their land. Companies say "we'll be self-regulatory and our own watchdogs."

They make minimum investment in CSR but look at the publicity they get from it!

Anguish of the tribals

Mr Ravi Rebbapragada (in the picture), Executive Director of Samata, quotes the Kalahari Bushman, Roy Sesana, who, while receiving the `Alternative Nobel Prize' in December 2005, told the world how his people were dying without their land.

"They said we had to go because of diamonds. Then they said we were killing too many animals: but that's not true. They say many things which aren't true. What kind of development is it when the people live shorter lives than before? They catch HIV/AIDS. Our children are beaten in school and won't go there. Some become prostitutes. They are not allowed to hunt. They fight because they are bored and get drunk... They are starting to commit suicide. We never saw that before. It hurts to say this. Is this `development'?"

Roy Sesana concluded his speech thus: "If anyone has read a lot of books and thinks I am primitive because I have not read even one, then he should throw away those books and get one which says we are all brothers and sisters under God and we too have a right to live."

Expressing anguish at the plight of tribals in Andhra and Orissa, Mr Rebbapragada said in that North Andhra Pradesh itself "I see 10 lakh people being displaced in five years for the 2020 Vision... for irrigation, mining, tourism, ports, roads, canals, etc. Except for people like us, who have the buying power and who can surf the Net... it is like catching the wind... the poor of this country will be affected and the gap between the rich and the poor will only widen."

Mr Rebbapragada fears that the displaced indigenous people are potential recruits for the Naxalites and Maoists.

"What is their future and what other options do they have? And all that our government can think of is formation of tribal battalions to fight the Naxals."

He quotes a tribal man from Nimmalapadu village, about 96 km from Visakhapatnam, who told a Collector: "You say all these companies will be good for us but Babu, show me one company that makes land, we'll adore that company."

He then went on to add that instead of depending on one company to build his house, another to build his child's school and the third to `teach me how to grow macademia nuts and the fourth to sell them in Australia — I don't know where it is — just leave us alone. We don't trouble the government, none of the 45 families in my village takes your ration because we grow own food."

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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