Mahatma of the tribals

Destiny took away Brahma Dev Sharma (B.D. Sharma) from us on December 6, the Mahaparinirvan Din of Babasaheb Ambedkar. While Ambedkar remains the original icon of the oppressed classes, mainly Dalits in Hindu society, Sharma will be remembered for his contribution to the emancipation of the tribals.

Beginning his career as a civil servant, Sharma spent a lifetime in the cause of the marginalised sections. At times acting like a Gandhian or reasoning like a communist, and occasionally positioning himself in a manner that attracted the tag of Maoist, Sharma transcended all isms. He was an original thinker and activist par excellence.

Born in an orthodox Brahmin family on June 19, 1931 at Shahjahanpur, UP, Sharma studied mathematics at the Benares Hindu University and worked at BITS, Pilani as a lecturer. Subsequently, he sat for the civil services examination and entered the IAS in 1956. He understood the calculus of the government machinery and its unholy alliance with big industry. When a scheme to replace the primordial Bastar forests with a pine plantation was proposed during his tenure as district collector (1964-68), he shot it down. He thought the pine plantation, meant to service a matchbox manufacturing MNC, would deprive poor tribals of their natural food resources and jeopardise their very survival. A lesson from an experiment in a Bastar village guided him throughout his life. He had built an “ideal village” with facilities like school and hospital. But no tribal would shift there. He realised it was best to ask the tribals what they needed and make plans accordingly rather than thrust one’s own ideas upon them. While on deputation at the Centre, he helped devise the concept of the tribal sub-plan (TSP), which became a source of dedicated funding for schemes in tribal areas. He took voluntary retirement from government in 1981. Later, the government appointed him vice chancellor of the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU). In 1986, he was invited to head the SC/ST Commission.

Sharma was part of an informal group, Sahayog, which included many social activists. He was associated with the anti-Narmada dam movement and in 1992, set up the Bharat Jan Andolan (BJA). The BJA had three basic objectives — peasants’ rights, wage entitlement and mainstreaming of the Schedule V of the Constitution to bring tribal areas into the panchayati raj fold. He would recall how farmers were forced to repay loans at over 14 per cent when the original British laws of 1884 provided for 4 per cent interest with a repayment span of 35 years. The BJA organised the famous wage entitlement battle, Zenda Hajeri, in Madhya Pradesh for jobs under the “demand-driven” EGS scheme. The officials found it too demanding. Then chief minister Digvijaya Singh wrote to then prime minister P.V.

Narasimha Rao that the scheme had become a “law and order problem”. Sharma’s greatest contribution was in bringing Schedule V areas under the Panchayat Raj (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act of 1996 (PESA). The PESA gave an impetus to the tribal self-rule movement and led to the path-breaking Forest Rights Act.

Vested interests were hostile to Sharma’s dogged fight against the usurpation of tribal resources by the government and private entities. While being part of a tribal agitation against setting up private iron-ore extraction units, he was accosted by goons who stripped him naked, put a garland of chappals round his neck and paraded him on a donkey in Mavlibhata village. The gross exhibition of intolerance took place when the BJP was in office in MP. The Sundarlal Patwa government showed no remorse. The exception was RSS ideologue Govindacharya, who apologised to Sharma.

A natural consequence of working in tribal areas was that Sharma had to engage with the Maoists. The intelligence machinery, eager to brand all those working for tribal rights as Maoists or their sympathisers, marked out Sharma as well as a suspect.

However, Sharma’s moral stature helped in securing the release of Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon and two Italian tourists whom the Maoists had taken hostage.

Sharma lived the life of an ascetic. He grieved that state governments were not framing rules to implement the PESA act in letter and spirit. He was unhappy that he couldn’t contribute to furthering the cause of prohibition. In his last days, he lapsed into a state of dementia. Sharma was, as health activist Abhay Bang described, “the Mahatma of the tribals”.

The writer, a journalist, was an associate of B.D. Sharma for over four decades .

Source: Indian Express, 29-12-2015

Big victory for activist group as Lavasa told to return 191 acres to tribals

Alka Dhupkar alka dhupkar TWEET @alka_MIRROR





The state government's decision to take back 191 acres from Lavasa Corporation Ltd.has come a major victory for Medha Patkar's National Alliance for People's Movement (NAPM).
According to an order by a sub-divisional magistrate on September 8, the hill city has to return the land to 13 tribal families as it had been acquired with fraudulent means.
For the last five years, NAPM and the tribals have been fighting to get the land deal of Lavasa struck down.In 2011, ten tribal families had approached the authorities, demanding return of their land. While two of them got relief, the other complaints were rejected on technical grounds.
Undeterred, the protesters submitted more documents to buttress their claim, prompting the government rule in their favour .
Suniti SR, an activist with NAPM, said it was just the beginning. “Lavasa has contravened much legal process including environmental clearances.Water and land do not belong to Lavasa. We will now fight for those, after this landmark success.“ Vishwambhar Chaudhary, another activist who is opposed to the project, said they plan to approach the chief minister with a request to set up a commission to probe into the land deals done by the hill city. “It is now proved that land was acquired with forgery and bogus documents.“
Lavasa, owned by Ajit Gulab chand-led Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd, said that all land deals were legal, but they won't go in for an appeal. The PR agency, representing Lavasa, said: “In any case being unbuildable hilly areas, these lands are neither under development nor earmarked for any future development in the Lavasa's planning proposal Development plan. Loss of these lands therefore is not going to affect the Lavasa;s immediate or future development.“
The order passed by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Subhash Borkar says that the state now owns the land and it will be transferred to the tribals.

Source: Mumbai Mirror, 8-10-2015

A PROMISE WELL KEPT - Miners to Pay 10% Royalty for Tribal Welfare

Nidhi Sharma

New Delhi





Each district where mining activity is initiated will have to set up a District Mineral Foundation

The Centre will on Wednesday notify the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana, which would make it mandatory for all mining companies to contribute 10%-30% of royalty for welfare of tribals and other affected persons in mining areas. The move comes within a month of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of Rs 6,000 crore for development of tribals in mining-affected areas in his Independence Day speech.Each district where mining activ ity is initiated will have to set up a District Mineral Foundation (DMF) ict magistrate or dis under the district magistrate or district collector. This foundation would identify people affected by mining activities and works that should be undertaken for their welfare.
Under the scheme, in case of all mining leases executed before January 12, 2015, miners would have to contribute an amount equal to 30% of the royalty payable to the DMFs. Where mining leases are granted after January 12, 2015, the rate of contribution would be 10% of the royalty . The scheme would be implemented by DMFs.
Mines secretary Balvinder Kumar told ET: “ Almost all states have set up DMFs. They were waiting for clarity from the Centre on the percentage payable to DMFs. Now the scheme is finalised and after the notification, the states would frame their rules.“
Guidelines being notified by the Ministry of Mines have specifically laid down the heads under which the funds need to be utilised to ensure the affected tribals get the benefit of the schemes. At least 60% of the funds under PMKKKY have to be used for high priority areas such as schools, primary health care centres, women and child development, drinking water supply , environment preservation and pollution control measures. Up to 40% funds can be used for infrastructure projects such as physical infrastructure, irrigation, energy and watershed development and any other measures for enhancing environment quality in mining districts.
The ministry expects to get Rs 6,000 crore under PMKKKY. Kumar said, “the total royalty for major minerals is Rs 20,000 crore.

Source: Economic Times, 16-09-2015

Old problems mar a new solution

District Mineral Foundations were set up to protect the interests of Adivasi communities who have borne the costs of mining. But they are flawed in their current form

Through 2011-13, dogged investigators from the Justice M. B. Shah Commission on illegal mining toured the rust-red villages, forests and rivers of northern Odisha, and trawled through reams of official records including from the environment, minerals, railways, and revenue departments. They met with underpaid mineworkers and affected communities. They questioned mining companies, who were mostly represented by well-heeled lawyers, including Pinaki Mishra, the State’s richest Member of Parliament, and representative of the Biju Janata Dal, the party ruling Odisha since 2000.

The stark conclusion of the commission’s 1,619-page report confirmed what Odisha, in particular its Adivasi citizens, has long known: “...there is no rule of law, but the law is what the mighty mining companies decide, with the connivance of the concerned department.”

Faced with the scrutiny of Justice Shah’s team, the State government’s belated admission that there were many illegal miners in Odisha took the form of 146 recovery notices. Issued in March 2013 to miners for illegally extracted ore, the notices added up to a whopping Rs. 59,203 crore, equalling a quarter of the State’s annual GDP. This is a sum large enough to pay Rs. 16 lakh to every single Adivasi family in Keonjhar and Sundergarh, the two districts hit by the scam.

Lessons to be learnt

Two years on, not a single rupee of this money has been recovered. The notices, and the larger issues of lawless mining, ecological damage and abuses borne by local communities remain buried under litigation and neglect.

The commission’s findings demonstrated that, left to themselves, the State-miners combine cannot be trusted to uphold public interest, and that decision-making in mining projects must yield to greater public scrutiny, in particular of local communities. But ongoing policy changes suggest that few lessons have been learnt.

Through an August 18 notification, Odisha has become the first State in the country to issue rules for the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) — an institution created by a March 2015 amendment through which the Narendra Modi government brought far-reaching changes to India’s mining regulations. The amendments primarily aimed at giving the State the power to auction vast tracts of mineral-rich forests and farmlands to mining corporations, and were not preceded by any inter-ministerial consultation with other relevant departments, such as the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MTA).

DMFs are defined in the amendment as bodies that will work ‘for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations’. They are the State’s belated response to clinching evidence that citizens of India’s ore-rich areas, primarily Adivasi communities, endure degraded livelihoods and bear the social, environmental and health costs of mining, but get few benefits. In their current form, the DMFs are also flawed.

Five months after the amendment, there is no clarity on what percentage of revenues miners must contribute to the DMF. A 2011 bill drafted by the United Progressive Alliance government had mandated that mining companies pay to the DMF an amount equivalent to the royalty (currently fixed at 15 per cent of the value for a mineral like iron ore). The National Democratic Alliance government diluted this provision. The amended law now states that new lease-holders will contribute an amount “not exceeding a third of the royalty” to the DMF; existing lease holders will contribute an amount “not exceeding the royalty”. Effectively, the law specifies ceilings, but no floors.

Ore-rich States such as Karnataka and Odisha have since argued that new lease holders, to be decided through auctions, should contribute an amount equalling one-third of the royalty; existing leaseholders’ contributions should equal the royalty, given the “super profits” they earned through a decade-long mining boom. (To give an indication of their earnings, the Shah Commission had calculated that if the value of ore mined in just a single year, e.g. 2009, had accrued to locals, it would amount to a cash benefit of Rs. 4.5 lakh for every single family in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts.) However officials at the Union Ministry of Mines have told the States these terms are unlikely.

Where the Centre draws the lines will determine whether a DMF in Keonjhar annually gets, say, Rs. 600 crore (going by a Centre for Science and Environment estimate, built on 2012-13 iron ore production figures). Or, simply, Rs. 200 crore. While mining associations lobby the Centre on keeping their contributions to the DMF to a minimum, there is no similar platform for other stakeholders outside government to voice their concerns. In fact, there is absolutely no transparency or disclosure from the Centre on how it is carrying out the decision-making process on this crucial issue.

Similarly, the Odisha government’s August 18 DMF notification was neither preceded by any public consultation exercise, especially in ore-rich districts, nor was a draft version of the rules issued to incorporate public feedback and review. Unsurprisingly, this opaque process has resulted in a DMF that centralises powers in the bureaucracy, and is cast as an executor of official-driven programmes. For example, the District Collector features on the DMF’s Board of Trustees, as well as its Executive Committee. This creates conflict of interest between the overseeing and implementing functions.

Worse, government officials dominate the DMF’s Board of Trustees, and constitute the entirety of its Executive Committee. Officials have the powers to prepare plans and budgets, sanction funds, award contracts, and if they deem appropriate, even use DMF funds for projects at the block and district level, thus bypassing remote Adivasi villages in the forests and mountains witnessing mining.

It is alarming how, despite local communities being the hardest hit by mining projects, the institutional framework created by these rules entirely sidelines public participation and local knowledge as elements crucial to building an effective DMF. The only allowance the rules make is the provision of gram sabha approval for decisions of the DMF in scheduled areas. However, officials have prepared the ground for reducing this to a token by not detailing what the approval process will entail.

In this overly centralised structure, communities can neither plan nor authorise tasks, which they believe the DMF should undertake. They cannot even conduct social audits of projects carried out in their name — in fact, the only audit the notification specifies is an internal one.

Ironically, the Union Ministry of Mines’ own 2011 document on ‘Sustainable Mining’ conceptualised the DMFs as bodies with project-affected, community and civil society representation, and a more expansive public role. This included building the capacities of Adivasi co-operatives in line with the Samata judgement on mining in scheduled areas, providing affected communities with monitoring powers on existing mines, enabling informed participation in consent processes, and holding periodic district-level consultations on the impacts of mining, with the involvement of key policymakers like the MTA and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

As the Shah Commission’s reports outlined, mineral-rich areas are afflicted by a severe asymmetry of power between local communities and the State-miner combine. Ongoing policies are widening this inequity, and reinforcing the harmful approach that Adivasi lands are, first and foremost, a site for resource extraction.

(Chitrangada Choudhury is an Odisha-based multimedia journalist and researcher, and a Fellow with the Open Society Institute. Email: suarukh@gmail.com)

MODI GOVT TO RESURRECT UPA INITIATIVE - Centre to Revive Tribal Council

Nidhi Sharma

New Delhi:





The Narendra Modi-led NDA government is all set to revive yet another initiative of its predecessor UPA. It is resurrecting the National Council for Tribal Welfare, an advisory and planning body similar to the erstwhile Planning Commission, after five years to give an impetus to tribal welfare programmes.NCTW was set up in 2010 by the Congress-led UPA government but the initiative never took off. The council remained only on paper. But now, with the Modi government's emphasis on tribal welfare programmes at both national and state levels, the council is being revived. Officials said the tribal affairs ministry has already prepared a note for reviving the council, as per which it will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and have as its members tribal affairs minister Jual Oram and chief ministers of all Schedule V and Schedule VI states that have sizeable tribal populations.
These states include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. “The council is a mechanism needed for better monitoring and planning of tribal welfare schemes,“ said Arun Jha, secretary (tribal affairs).
With Modi heading the council, the ministry hopes that there will be better coordination with states to iron out issues on implementation of Forest Rights Act. One of the biggest challenges before the Centre has been implementation of the tribal sub-plan. Central ministries and states keep aside a certain percentage of total outlay under the sub-plan. This money has to be spent on targeted tribal welfare schemes.However, the ministry has found that year after year either this fund remains unutilised or is used under general schemes. For instance, tribal sub-plan money is spent on mid-day meal schemes but the exact number of tribal beneficiaries is never known. This does not serve the purpose of the sub-plan.

Aug 13 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

FOREST RIGHTS ACT - Don't Rush On Tribal Land Rights: Centre

Nidhi Sharma

New Delhi:





Taking No Chances: Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand told to follow law in letter and spirit

The Centre has sent a stern directive to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh governments to follow proper procedure for settling land rights claims of tribal people under the Forest Rights Act.The directive has come after the state governments issued circulars to hold gram sabhas and get certificates from the tribals that their rights had been settled by a certain deadline.While Chhattisgarh had issued a circular on July 27 asking all district collectors to wrap up the process on August 15 by calling special gram sabha meetings, Jharkhand government set a deadline of October 2. The tribal affairs ministry intervened, asking the two states not to settle the land rights claims in a hurry .
“While this ministry appreciates the efforts of the government towards taking pro-active measures for implementation of the Forest Rights Act, it is also important to draw attention to the fact that the vesting and recognition of forest rights under the said Act requires careful consideration by the gram sabha,“ the ministry said in letters to chief secretaries of the two states.
The ministry has also asked Chhattisgarh not to settle the claims in the special gram sabha meetings called on August 15. Pointing out specific rules under the Forest Rights Act, the ministry said, “As these meetings have multiple agenda items, it is apprehended that the sabhas will not be able to consider the question of whether rights recognition process under Forest Rights Act is complete in the area under their jurisdiction with the requisite attention and application of mind.

Constitutional conversations on Adivasi rights

A little used provision in the Constitution may hold the key to protecting the interests of Scheduled Tribes as they fight to hold on to their traditional lands

Even 67 years after Independence, the problems of Adivasi communities are about access to basic needs. These include, but are not restricted to, elementary education, community healthcare, sustainable livelihood support, the public distribution system, food security, drinking water and sanitation, debt, and infrastructure. For them, equality of opportunity remains largely unfulfilled. In this context, it is important to stress that the values of tribal culture are transmitted in a manner that protects the right of the bearers of knowledge to determine the terms of the transmission without exploitation or commodification. Nor can the Adivasis’ unhindered access to land and forests, including full access to the commons, especially in scheduled areas, be understated. Tribal communities have, over the decades, witnessed the fragmentation of their habitats and homelands and the disruption of their cultures through predatory tourism. All this has left them shattered and impoverished. Entire communities across States have been dispossessed systematically through state action, and have been reduced from owners of resources and well-knit, largely self-sufficient communities to wage earners in agriculture and urban agglomerates with uncertain futures. Yet, we can scarcely forget that the rights of tribal communities in India are protected by the Constitution and special legislations.

Rights enumerated

While most of these protections are available to groups named in The Constitution (Schedule Tribes) Order 1950, there are some tribal communities that fall within the categories of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) and some that don’t fall into any of these categories. Within the category of Scheduled Tribes (ST), there are over 500 groups listed of whom roughly 70 are part of the sub-classification Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, a small cluster of groups that include the Jarawas of the Andaman Islands, the Chenchus of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the Baigas of Chhattisgarh. These groups face an acute crisis of survival, evident in their rapidly dwindling numbers. Therefore, they are in need of special protection even within the larger ST category, protections in relation to non-tribal communities as well as in relation to other tribal communities. Notwithstanding these complex intersections and overlaps (and exclusions in some instances), tribal communities, especially the STs, are the subject of special constitutional attention.

The right of tribal peoples to development through pathways that affirm their autonomy and dignity, as set out in Article 21 and under Schedules V and VI of the Indian Constitution, is often seen as the core of Adivasi rights. And indeed, they are. The oft-quoted Samata judgment of 1997, rich in its defence of the rights of Adivasi communities to their homelands, posits an inter-reading of Articles 14 (equality), 15 (non-discrimination), 16 (equality of opportunity), 17 (abolition of untouchability), 21 (life and liberty), 23 (right against exploitation) from the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Constitution and Articles 38 (securing a just social order), 39 (guiding principles of policy) and 46 (promotion of educational and economic interests of SCs, STs, and other weaker sections) from the Directive Principles of State Policy.

The constitutional arguments in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh resisting the Polavaram dam centred on whether the state could alter (diminish) the boundaries of a scheduled area without presidential assent. Submergence, in fact, alters boundaries, causes disappearance of villages and village institutions, and renders people from these communities vulnerable through dispossession by displacement — all of which are the subject of special protections for the STs. The largest volume of litigation in scheduled areas has to do with non-tribal occupation of tribal land and the blatant derogation of land transfer regulation laws. Financial inclusion poses the third major problem: despite policy commitments to financial inclusion of vulnerable communities as a measure to lift them out of debt bondage and predatory money lending and usury, moneylenders continue to thrive in tribal areas.

“An important part of Article 19 protections have to do specifically with protection of interests of STs.”

Hidden provision

It is in this overall context that I flag an unused constitutional provision as perhaps holding a key to the justiciable, mandatory protection of the interests of the STs as distinct from other marginalised groups.

Article 19 of the Constitution is commonly understood, through text and case law, as a provision that protects freedom of speech, expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and calling. The first clause of Article 19 reads as follows: 19(1) All citizens shall have the right (a) To freedom of speech and expression; (b) To assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) To form associations or unions; (d) To move freely throughout the territory of India; (e) To reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and (f) omitted (g) To practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. Clauses 19 (2) to (4) set out the reasonable restrictions to speech, assembly and association in the interests of public morality, decency and integrity and sovereignty of the state — these aspects and their restrictions are what figure most often in animated fashion in debates around Article 19.

Clause 5 of Article 19 reads as follows: 19 (5) Nothing in sub clauses (d) and (e) of the said clause shall affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it imposes, or prevent the State from making any law imposing, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by the said sub clauseseither in the interests of the general public or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Tribe (emphasis added).

In other words, an important part of Article 19 protections have to do specifically with protection of interests of STs (Clause 5) as distinct from other marginalised groups through limitations on right to freedom of movement [sub-cause 1(d)] and right to freedom of residence [sub-clause 1(d)]. This, I would argue, when read with existing protections (for instance as set out in Samata or similar cases) offers a core and express fundamental right protection to Adivasis (as distinct from legal/ statutory protection) from a range of state and non-state intrusions in scheduled areas as well as from the perennial threat of eviction of Adivasis from their homelands.

It is the interests of STs that are paramount in this fundamental right provision, which is presented importantly as a restriction on an enumerated right that is clear and specific — not a restriction of a general nature, namely, the “sovereignty and integrity of India” or “public order,” “decency” or “morality,” as is the case with the other constituent freedoms in Article 19.

Understanding the situation of tribal communities is key to understanding the Constitution, its framework and its possibilities in the fullest sense. Perhaps it is time to reinvigorate our reading of the Constitution in the troubled times we live in. We may find answers to other questions as well around an idea of justice that we grapple with every day.

(Kalpana Kannabiran is Professor and Director, Council for Social Development)

Keywords: Adivasi communities, Adivasi rights, The Constitution (Schedule Tribes) Order 1950, Scheduled Tribes

Develop Through Consent, Not Coercion





Media reports say that the environment ministry , under orders from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), wants to dilute rules that require the consent of tribals, to take away their land for industry or mining. Existing forest laws require tribal gram sabhas -the village-level unit of Indian democracy -to agree to the takeover of their land for private or state-sponsored operations. These include so-called `linear' projects: railway lines, roads, digital or power cables, as well as operations like mining. The environment ministry wants to scrap these consent clauses, presumably to make it easier for industry to expand into these areas, with some grudging safeguards for so-called Schedule V tribes: those who reside in a contigu ous area, including parts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal's Santhal pargan as, Orissa and Telangana.The ministry of tribal affairs is not amused. It has written to the environme nt and law ministries that the dilution to consent clauses would be extralegal, in vite censure from the judiciary as well as legal challenges. We agree. One of the main reasons why the UPA regime enacted the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was to protect the vulnerable indigenous tribes, who are marginalised by mainstream society as well as state administrations. Training and skilling tribal people into mainstream occupations is the way to go, to make change voluntary .
Heavy-handed intervention could also escalate Naxalite activity, undermining the powers of state and central governments further. Probably because of their marginalisation from the mainstream, India's tribal areas, whether in central or northeastern India, have been epicentres of movements directed against the state. Progress must happen, but only by consent, not by sneakily chipping away at tribal rights.

Tribal Youth attending the Seventh Tribal Youth Exchange Programme call on the President

New Delhi: A group of young participants attending 7th Tribal Youth Exchange Programme (TYEP) organized by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (March 28, 2015). 

Speaking on the occasion, the President welcomed the participants of 7th Tribal Youth Exchange Programme to Rashtrapati Bhavan. He stated that there is a lot to learn from the tribal societies. The gender behaviour and relations in tribal communities and the respect and honour accorded to tribal women in their societies holds significant lessons for us. We must also learn from the manner in which the tribal societies have retained, nurtured and developed their contact with nature. 

The President said that the notion of tribal welfare is not just about development of tribal communities through economic progress but a larger concept of lifestyle that fosters holistic living. The philosophy for tribal welfare enunciated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was human development with conservation of their rich and diverse cultural heritage. The challenge in preparing any policy for tribal upliftment exists even now as the policymakers have to strike the right balance between preservation of tribal identity with their distinct culture and values, while ensuring their access to mainstream education, healthcare and income generating opportunities. 

The President said that the seventy third amendment to the Constitution bestowed special powers to the Gram Sabha in tribal villages and hamlets in decision-making and self-governance. This has provided an impetus for protection of rights and enhancement of welfare of the tribals. At this point of time, when the country is marching forward in unity, it is absolutely essential that we ensure all segments of society to participate in and benefit from inclusive and equitable growth. The Government has taken several measures for the development of the tribal population. It has emphasized on rapid educational development to bring tribals into the mainstream of the population. It has allocated considerable resources to provide infrastructure and other incentives such as scholarships, free boarding and lodging, free distribution of clothes, books and stationery for better educational attainment by the tribals. The President said that education and capacity building can open a window of opportunity for the tribal youth. The educated youth from tribal societies, can usher in progress and bridge the development gap. He called upon them to be the torchbearers of a young and resurgent India. He stated that they must join hands with the youth from the rest of the country to build the India of our dreams. They must engage with the affairs of the nation whole-heartedly. They represent a potent force in the fight against criminality, poverty, deprivation, backwardness, domestic violence, caste discrimination, gender discrimination and exploitation. They also must give voice to the voiceless and become the strength of the weak. He called upon them to make the struggle of the needy and deprived their own. 

OVER 300 FARMER GROUPS IDENTIFIED - Tribal Farmers to Form Co-ops to Roll out `Farm to Fork' Scheme

Deepshikha Sikarwar

New Delhi:





Over 2,000 farmer organisations in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana will be incubated to grow into cooperative society, trusts and ultimately company as part of NABARD's plan

Farmers in tribal states are joining hands to form corporate structures as the Narendra Modi government's `Farm to Fork' programme begins a quiet rollout even as the much-criticised APMC law is yet to be exorcised.Over 2,000 farmer organisations in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be incubated to grow into a cooperative society, trust and ultimately, a company, as part of the plan being implemented by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the country's largest development lender. “We have already identified over 300 farmer groups...We will be hand-holding them, helping with registrations and business process re-engineering to facilitate their take off,“ Nabard chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala told ET.
These organisations will get help at each level -from sourcing of inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to machine requirements for management of farms, processing of produce, marketing and linking up with large value chains. The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act has been amended in some states to allow farmers to sell perishables directly to consumers to help farmers get better value for their harvest. However, even where the act has been amended, constraints on farmers and large customers remain, such as multiple registration requirements and limitations on sourcing of perishable fruits and vegetables.
` 200 crore fund set Nabard will use a .up by the government to provide initial-stage funding besides additional money through its NBFC arm.
The move is aimed at facilitating creation of structures that would take the country's farm sector to the next level by bringing in cost efficiencies.The government has identified agri reforms to enhance productivity and value as a key focus area.
“Land holdings in the country have come down from the 80s...Thus, farmers organisations can help in bringing costs down and making agriculture more efficient,“ Bhanwala said.
These structures permit pooling of land so that farmers can come togeth er and benefit from greater use of technology and reap the benefits of scale.Nabard has also launched a digitisation programme for self-help groups in rural India that can be expanded to offer multiple products, including government services and the sale of consumer goods.
“I don't mind if an FMCG company wants to use the platform to sell its products,“ he said.
The bank funded 44 lakh self-help groups through a programme called e-Shakti. The pilot digitisation project was started in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand.
This platform will allow members to receive transaction information through SMS, a facility that till now has been used only by banks.
It also uses the Aadhaar identity programme, which helps curb the practice of multiple loans.
“There are 74 lakh SHGs of which 44 lakh are bank fundImprint Line The Economic Times, Bangalore ed...We are now looking to digitise them by providing tablets which is on a platform hosted by Nabard,“ Bhanwala said, adding that the second pilot project is being launched in Dhule in Maharashtra.
The programme will be expanded to 10 districts before a countrywide rollout, he added.

In conversation

Let the adivasi voice lead

HISTORICALLY, adivasi communities have best flourished in their own domain, where they had ownership of land and forests, which they protected prudently. Sadly, when adivasis are displaced because of dams, industries or other infrastructure, often there is either no or inadequate rehabilitation, resettlement and compensation. In Odisha and Jharkhand where poverty among adivasis is highest, displacement has also been maximum. Weak governance is the main reason for poverty and chronic undernutrition among adivasi children.

Adivasis rely heavily on forests for their livelihood and close to half of their daily food intake comes from the forest. It follows that restricting their access to forests has a direct impact on their lives, nutrition status and therefore the overall quality of health.

In the past, when adivasis lived in the forest, a wide variety of foods ranging from vegetables, fruits, milk and animal products were available. But after moving out of their habitat, poor income has restricted their ability to buy a variety of foods and this has had an adverse implication on their lives. Families also find it difficult to adjust to the new food practices; unsurprisingly therefore, there is considerable deficiency in food intake.

The Constitution provides protection along with the provisions for development and implementation of welfare programmes and schemes for adivasis. However, though there has beena lot of concentration on the development part the protection part has not been taken care of. All the affirmative action programmes of education, health and employment get undermined by the dominant trend in the political economy that actually throws them out from their livelihood and where their voice unfortunately goes missing or unheard.

In order to make a difference to their lives, it is important that for some time, the larger trends in political economy of development are altered to ensure that adivasis are really able to develop. The constitutional guarantee to provide protection to tribals must be ensured along with the effective implementation of the different affirmative action programmes and schemes.

The larger questions relating to land and forests should be addressed by giving tribals their entitlements to land, forests and other kinds of resources. If they have their own voice, possibly a state of their own, and autonomy over their territory, they should be better able to articulate their needs more forcefully. Therefore, the real issue is to change the paternalistic mindset of the government that something good for the people is being done to ensure voice and space is provided to them. This will help them regain their right to a better and productive life.

Virginius Xaxa

Deputy Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati

Break the mould of penury

WHEN the Forest Rights Act (FRA) was passed during British rule in 1865, large tracts of forests, a community resource for adivasis, became state property, restricting adivasis access to their main source of livelihood. It is worth noting that colonial intervention in the systems of ownership and management of forests and land was minimal in the northeastern states as compared to those in the mainland like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Little surprise that in the North East, tribal communities can exercise a voice and are far more aware of their rights.

Traditional tribal habitats, particularly in mainland India, are rich in mineral and other resources and this has attracted mining, hydroelectric and infrastructure projects. The communities who live here have borne the brunt of displacement as resettlement efforts have been pathetic.

The loss of habitat and source of livelihood continues to be a major cause of misery, not merely because of chronic undernutrition in adults and children, but also because this has led to a loss of identity among adivasis.

Loss of forests and displacement has necessitated migration, in most cases as unskilled workers in brick kilns and construction sites. Migration tells most on little children. Their hurried and ‘forced integration into the mainstream’ has left them most vulnerable. While parents work, the older children look after their siblings, living in the most unhygienic conditions, often without food and water for long hours. At least in their earlier habitat, there was some likelihood that children could collect edible fruits, berries, roots and flowers, but all that is lost in the new settings.

Apart from the loss of livelihood, an indifferent administration and a suboptimal public service delivery add to the problem. Further, the prevalence of a wide range of illnesses, non-availability of safe drinking water and poor sanitation are key factors that contribute to undernutrition in children under two. In some cases, early marriage and early pregnancies in adolescent girls also result in chronically undernourished children. Since the young mother is undernourished, her baby is undernourished while in the womb and in a majority of cases, stunted after birth.

Currently, the quality of public services at the balwadis and anganwadis meant to cater to children below five is extremely poor. At least 75% of Primary Health Centres in these regions do not have a doctor or nurse. Further, most anganwadi workers are often not adivasis themselves and live far away. Consequently, they don’t have an empathetic attitude towards tribal children and often ignore their needs.

The government has failed our tribal communities in many ways. Apart from disenfranchising them ostensibly for industrialization, even earmarked budgets have been diverted. Even where the allocation is sufficient, the money is either not disbursed or programmes not implemented optimally because of administrative inefficiencies. There are also instances of the Tribal Sub Plan funds being diverted for projects of little direct benefit to adivasis. Under the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas or PESA, the management of forest land, local forests and water bodies should be handed over to adivasi communities but the number of instances where such transfer of power has happened is minuscule. The same goes for restoration of land to adivasis under FRA and roll out of MGNREGA, a key source of income, which is currently inadequate.

Tribals are an integral part of our society who live under and operate a unique system. They are unfamiliar with modern laws and find it difficult to cope with a forced move into modernization.

For change to occur, the need is for a more responsive administration. If the state governments were to ensure that services like provision of drinking water and proper sanitation as also public health services work well, it would make a huge difference. Anganwadi and balwadis must be made more functional and the tribal affairs ministry needs to be more proactive in addressing the rights of the adivasis. Clearly, a special mandate is needed for them; only then will adivasis be able to break out of poverty and discrimination and live fulfilling lives on their own terms.

Deep Joshi

Social activist; Magsaysay award winner, Delhi

The politics of disenfranchisement

GLOBALLY, India is ranked at 136 in the human development index, among the lowest in the world, and within the country, it is our adivasis who fare the worst. They face numerous challenges and deprivation is rampant across all communities. As a result, approximately 88% of all adivasis are impoverished.

Chronic undernutrition caused by poverty is one manifestation, particularly in children, whose life expectancy is far lower than those of children in other groups. However, those who struggle with undernutrition caused by poverty are unfortunately invisible.

Apart from hunger, displacement and land alienation there is another factor – bondage and semi-slavery – as adivasis are forced to borrow from moneylenders after losing their land, and are often unable to repay the loans.

The biggest casualty is household food security. Across the country, inadequate availability of food has had an adverse impact on the lives of adivasi children. Child deaths among adivasis because of lack of food have been reported from many states, with Maharashtra recording the largest number of child deaths due to undernourishment. Persistent hunger in adivasis continues to be a serious problem.

Even in Kerala, a state with far better social indicators, 40 child deaths were reported due to undernutrition. Here, too, land acquisition by non-adivasis has driven adivasis into nutrition deprivation.

The midday meal scheme, usually run by women’s self help groups, has in many instances been handed over to corporations, but centralizing the food basket has created a serious problems for adivasis since most of them do not eat rice and wheat. Their nutrition and sources of nutrition are linked to their dependence on forest and land, a situation which is marked differently from non-tribals.

Similarly, the adverse impact on health and nutrition due to indiscriminate mining without any safeguards has been severe. For instance, since the process of manufacturing aluminium is poisonous, the mortality is higher for those families who live in the vicinity of such projects.

If the status of adivasis has to be improved, not only their proclivity to be in debt, but also the restoration of land that has been lost due to debts and finally the protection of adivasi land, is imperative. The enforcement of laws governing access to forests for adivasis must be urgently implemented along with construction of roads that can be only used by adivasis so that they are able to reach markets and avail other services such as healthcare and education.

There are fortunately a few instances of good practices such as the Kudumbashree initiative in Kerala. With nearly four million members, this movement has empowered underprivileged women to address their basic needs such as food security through employment. Today, they live a dignified life on their own terms. However, in the rest of the country, especially in central and eastern India, even where the adivasis voices are demanding that their rights be restored, who is listening?

Palagummi Sainath

Journalist, Mumbai

Empower local bodies in tribal areas

IT is truly unfortunate that in almost all adivasi areas, children are highly undernourished and this has now become a generational problem. A prime cause is the mother’s inadequate nutrition and malnutrition – iron deficiency is very high and very often she survives on a single staple that does not provide enough micronutrients. This results in a low birth rate child (less than 2.5 kg) who obviously has a lot of problems. The mother is unable to feed her child well, because she is usually anaemic and as a consequence, so is the child. Another important cause is poor sanitation and inadequate drinking water. Even if a child has enough calories, it often has a diarrheal infection – what we call a leaky pot. Finally, there is the question of diversity in the diet. A child needs enough calories, proteins – (either daal or non vegetarian food or eggs or milk) and adequate micronutrients. What we refer – what is refer to as ‘hidden hunger’ is about micronutrient deficiency particularly iron, zinc, vitamin b12.

If you want to attack this problem, you have to start with the mother – a good diet for women affects the child both in the womb and outside. We call this very critical period a 1000 day opportunity (nine months in a mother’s womb and two years outside).

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) in the ’70s was designed not only to look at the problem of malnutrition but also healthcare and education. So the government delivery services and ICDS were tailored for the child in and out of the womb. This was a holistic, life cycle approach. You can’t reach a child below two in an anganwadi – you can only reach it through the mother.

In India, malnutrition is more acute in tribal areas. Here access to public services is poor; nutritional literacy is poor. The supporting services (malnutrition is not just about lack of food) like clean drinking water, sanitation, primary healthcare and immunisation also have to be in place. What is required is an integrated approach to what we now call nutrition security.

Tribal areas are rich in biodiversity and in minerals – mining has been a major cause for displacement and in the past they have been treated very shabbily. When displacement is envisaged, we must give a checklist. What were the original sources of food? Do they now have a balanced diet? Has it got the calorie, protein and micronutrient content? The human dimensions of displacement are very serious and seldom discussed. Once you start putting faces before figures and look at the problem in a more humanistic way, then things will fall in place.

We definitely require coordinated action among several ministries and they should deliver as one, there must be convergence. The lack of integration and coordination is undermining the utility of expenditure. Budgets for tribal areas are high there are many tribal area development programmes, but despite this poverty and malnutrition are high, education is poor, children development is poor. A very important element of governance is to understand that when you have a multidimensional problem, you can’t deal with it unidimensionally.

I feel we should empower the local bodies in tribal areas. I am very encouraged by the opportunity we have to involve local bodies in tribal areas, making the community aware of what are the nutritional problems and what are the agricultural remedies – nutritional sensitive agriculture.

Last year the then finance minister provided Rs 200 crore for nutrifarms in tribal areas and where there is a high malnutrition burden in order to ascertain what kind of crops to grow. For every nutritional malady, there is an agricultural remedy. We must take a humanistic view, not merely administrative or financial. I hope with a new and growing awareness we learn to work together, have time-bound targets, and progress indicators – the birth weight of a child; the incidence of anaemia for instance. We must have the will and heart to ensure that there is nobody whose potential is wasted. That nobody misses out on the opportunity for a healthy and productive life because of malnutrition.

M.S. Swaminathan

Geneticist; Founder Chairman, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai

Bring livelihoods closer home

IN our region malnutrition has many causes. But now our land has been taken away to build highways and what we have is not good enough to cultivate, so we are able to do only a bit of farming and at a small scale. Earlier, we would have eggs, now we cannot afford them.

When the land was taken from us, we were told that we would stand to gain, but we ended up facing more losses. We got very little as compensation and mostly the money was insufficient and often misused. Though the law envisages rehabilitation and restoration for adivasis, it is rarely implemented correctly. Those who have some education save money, but a majority spend it on alcohol.

Those rehabilitated cannot cultivate vegetables and pulses in their new fields. They do not know what kind of diet is good for children and are unable to provide the right kind of food. Government schemes have brought some improvement in what children are being fed, but the scale is too small to make a difference. For us adivasis, the benefits and reach of government schemes is barely visible.

Women are malnourished and have many children in a short time span. These children are born undernourished and remain underweight. Mothers are often unable to breastfeed and give their children cow’s or processed milk. Denied the immunity that breast milk gives, these children then become prone to infections. Children here are very weak and severely undernourished.

Some parents are able to ensure that their children get proper nourishment, but in families where there is no support system in the form of grandparents or other family members, there are problems. It is hard for a mother to take care of children alone. At times poverty prevents children getting proper nutrition. Since there are no livelihood opportunities, many men stay at home and are without any income.

There are no anganwadis in our village. When we requested the panchayat to set up one, we were told that since there was a centre in the next village, we should take our children there. The distance is too much for children. So, very few go to the anganwadi because mothers don’t have time as they would rather earn some money to run their household. Besides, in the anganwadi, all the children get is khitchri which is inadequate for growing children.

The government needs to set up anganwadis in every village so that we are able to provide good quality food that children need. Children must be taken care of properly and not in the way things are happening now. Meals are only given to children under three. Those below two and above three are left out. Besides, the centre is open only till 12 pm. If it was run till 4 pm, mothers would be able to leave their children at the centre and work without any worry. Anganwadis should be strengthened so that pregnant women get more care and supplies such as iron and folic acid tablets and take home rations where children get at least two to three meals in a day along with an iron syrup so that malnutrition can be controlled. Only then can the lives of our children improve.

To fight undernutrition, families need work where they reside so that they don’t have to migrate. We also need to regain some of our land. We have approached the government, right up to the chief minister and asked him to shift the security forces from our area but no one listens. All our land has been taken. Now, we are left with just one pond where our cattle can get some water.

If only our land is restored, will we regain our lives once again.

Sanji Toppo

Field worker; from the Oraon tribe, Bhunda village, Ranchi

Bring back local wisdom

OUR lives were very different in the past – along with the main crops, we grew indigenous leafy vegetables that were nutritious and healthy. But everything changed with the introduction of new farming techniques. With an increased demand for hybrid cultivation, such nutritious plants are no longer grown and children no longer benefit from their nutrients. Hybrid cultivation has also destroyed seasonal vegetables that were grown earlier.

Another hazard is the use of urea which is sprayed by women who tie their little children on their backs while working in the fields. This is harmful and a cause of ill health among adivasi women and their children.

Hybrid cultivation was initially subsidized but later became so expensive that the adivasis were forced to look for other kinds of employment such as working on construction sites, leaving behind their basic skill – farming. Here, they face a lot of difficulties and because of their ignorance, are also exploited. When they return home after six months or so, they find their houses broken and in need of repair. So whatever money they earned is spent on repairs and for the treatment of those who are sick.

These are some causes that lead to poverty, hunger and undernutrition. Another health hazard is alcohol-ism; it leads to a deterioration in health and some even die before they turn 50. In such cases their children suffer the most, as the parents are sick and can neither treat their own illness nor educate and look after their young.

To really make a difference, the government must first increase the reach and improve the quality of anganwadis. Currently, the required quantity of ration is not distributed either because the villages are too far away or due to scarcity. Not just anganwadis, even government health facilities are either missing or defunct in adivasi areas.

Second, the use of local seeds and manure must increase and the use of fertilizers and pesticides should be prevented. Third, alcoholism stands as an obstacle to any development and this needs to be addressed. Fourth, the government should support day care centres that would look after children between six months to three years in terms of giving them appropriate food and education. This would allow parents to go out into the fields and work, and at the same time their children’s health would improve. Their daily struggle would end and they would get a new lease of life.

Dildaar Hussain

Field Facilitator, Action Against Malnutrition Public Health Resource Network, Bhunda, Ranchi

* The interviews were conducted by Mohuya Chaudhuri.

Beyond the tribal identity

That Jharkhand is to get its first non-tribal Chief Minister since its formation in 2000 is more a political accident than a seminal event. Raghuvar Das would not have been the automatic choice of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the top post in the State if former Chief Minister and tribal leader Arjun Munda had won from his Kharsawan constituency. But with Mr. Munda out of the race, and no other acceptable tribal face in the front line, the claims of Mr. Das, a five-time Member of the Legislative Assembly and former Deputy Chief Minister, proved too difficult to ignore for the national leadership of the BJP. But the victory of the BJP itself is in some ways a reflection of voter disenchantment with the tribal identity politics of the kind practised by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. For too long, the JMM leadership took its support base for granted, making and unmaking alliances without broad consultations with the rank and file. Some of the political instability in Jharkhand can actually be attributed to the readiness of the JMM to play the BJP and the Congress against each other and win the best bargain for itself. Also, Mr. Munda’s defeat in an election in which his party otherwise did reasonably well tells its own story. Clearly, the BJP was being favoured not for its tribal leaders, but for the hope of stability it held and the promise of good governance it made.

However, the elevation of Mr. Das is also a way for the BJP to be able to say it does not want to play the caste or tribal identity card like some of its main political rivals. In both Haryana and Maharashtra, the two States where it formed governments after the Lok Sabha election, the party chose Chief Ministers from communities that did not have a dominant presence. Unlike Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mr. Das is not known to have close links with the Sangh Parivar leadership. But what he shares with those two is the possibility of having an appeal that cuts across social barriers. With its stress on Hindu religious identity, the BJP is no doubt more than happy to undermine caste and tribal identities. The choice of Mr. Das is also indicative of the BJP’s own diverse support base that includes, but also goes well beyond, the tribal community. The challenge for the national party is to address the genuine grievances of the tribals in Jharkhand through an inclusive development agenda without necessarily mobilising them on the basis of their tribal identity. Surely, Mr. Das can be up to this challenge as well as Mr. Munda, and, in the process, prove a political point for the BJP. Indeed, Mr. Munda’s defeat could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the party.

Aug 20 2014 : Mirror (Pune)

Key to save nature hidden in tribal art

Mayuri.Phadnis @timesgroup.com TWEET @ThePuneMirror





A joint project by two environmental institutes is aiming to preserve biodiversity, cultural heritage of the state through workshops to be held by masters of tribal art

The growing pressures of globalisation and homogenisation is bringing into focus traditional culture, artwork, folk lore, and their links to biodiversity.A joint project by Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Environment Education and Research (BVIEER) and Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) is aiming to preserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of the state through workshops by masters of tribal art work who are commercially successful. The research was conducted by Dr Erach Bharucha, director of BVIEER and chairman of MSBB, Dr Rahul Mungikar, senior research consultant (MSBB), Dr Shamita Kumar, Vice Principal, Dr Kranti Yardi, Professor, and Pallavi Ganju, programme officer of BVIEER.
Folk culture is abundant in Maharashtra, with local tribes such as Gonds, Korkus, Warli, Katkaris, Mahadeo Koli, and Pardhis spread across the state. Each tribe has its own distinct cultural values and rituals, embedded in art, that revolve around biodiversity and its conservation.
“The art, craft, folklore and rituals of traditional communities need to be preserved.The knowledge of varied wildlife, trees, and sacred groves is integrated into our culture and are ideal examples of conservation strategies,“ said Bharucha.
Giving an example of the Warli community in the western regions of Maharashtra, Ganju said, “Warli paintings are aesthetically simple.Their analysis brought out the influence of nature. Out of 86 paintings that we analysed, 137 faunal and 315 floral elements were found.However, artists are dying out because of reduced monetary returns due to middlemen.“ She also spoke of Rann Bhoot (forest ghost), a well-known folktale. The ghost is a protector of jungles and scares children if they exploit and damage forests. They also worship the Umbar tree (Ficus Racemosa), as the roots have a lot of fresh groundwater around them.
Another tribe highlighted in the research is the Korku tribe dwelling in the Satpura ranges. This tribe is divided into clans associated with a tree or an animal. A particular clan has to protect the species it is named after.
“Another one is the Madia Gonds from Gadchiroli. They have their own artwork and metal artefacts called Dhokra art. In Maharashtra, there is only one artist named Suresh Pungati who practises this art at a commercial level. He too has left his native place and now runs Devrai Art Village in Panchgani,“ Ganju added.
“Most of our art draws inspiration from realities of nature. We have animals, birds and tree figures made from brass. I have also modified it into rock Dhokra art -a combination of brass and graphite. The art, however, is dying, since people in my tribe are not good at marketing, their financial conditions are not improving,“ added Pungati.
According to senior research consultant in MSBB, Dr Rahul Mungikar, this traditional knowledge can be used for sustainable development. “Cultural values have changed through generations and the current generation is ignoring the importance of biodiversity. Traditional intelligence and knowledge is important and sustainable development is possible if some traditional ways, in tandem with scientific steps, are revived,“ he said.

Jun 18 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)

Q & A - ‘Climbing Everest, i’ve proved a tribal girl can do something’





At just 13 years, Malavath Poorna from Telangana has become the youngest female climber in the world to scale Mount Everest. Speaking with Rohit E David, Poorna discussed how she has emerged from a family of agricultural labourers to become a mountaineer, the difficulties she faced while navigating Mount Everest, the one thought that kept her going ­ and how she wants to climb many more mountains now: Congratulations on your feat ­ please tell us about your family life?
I come from a very poor family . My father and mother are agricultural labourers who spend hours in the fields trying to make ends meet. Both of them together earn Rs 3,000 every month.Sending me and my siblings to school and looking after my family's needs is nothing but a challenge for them.
How were you selected for the Everest expedition?
I was hand-picked by the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools, a government organisation which provides free education to underprivileged groups in society .
The organisation took up the challenge to send tribal kids on this expedition. Can you tell us about the training you underwent? The training took place over eight months. I was sent to a mountaineering institute in Darjeeling for preparation.
While there, i climbed Mount Renock which is 17,000 feet high. I got accustomed to subzero temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius in Ladakh.
Seeing my high endurance level, i was sent on the Everest expedition. What were some of the difficulties you encountered on Mount Everest?
The winds were pretty harsh and it was also biting cold. Moreover, during the expedition, we had to eat packaged food which was not easy for me to digest. I was frequently throwing up whenever i was given food in those sealed bags as the smell was unbearable for me. I had to rely on soups which were served hot and didn't come in a packet.
It was also not an easy task for me to climb with the oxygen tank. I really didn't expect so many obstacles to come my way as i was mentally prepared to climb the highest peak in the world.
Moreover, i had climbed the Everest from the Tibetan side as the Nepalese government does not allow climbers below 16 years of age to go on the expedition.
Climbing the Everest was certainly more diffi cult than i thought ­ but my willpower to prove that a tribal girl can do something kept me going. What was the first thing that came to your mind when you reached Mount Everest's top?
The satisfaction of all the hard work i had done along with quietness and peace just filled me.
My head was held high when i raised India's flag on the world's highest peak.
At 13, you can start planning your career now ­ what do you aim to be?
I want to study and become an IPS officer.
But i also want to climb more mountains around the world.
After the expedition, you met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi ­ what did he say?
He was encouraging ­ he told me to keep doing what you are best in and never give up. He also encouraged me to complete my studies ­ and to always look ahead.