India’s Adivasi Problem

TROUBLED TIMES IN THE ADIVASI
HOMELANDS.
Sept 11, 2014Mohan Guruswamy
1
India’s War on India!.

The original inhabitants of India are described as being the Negrito
people.
The next wave was of the Dravidians, a Mediterranean race who
established the Indus Valley civilization. Finno-Ugric language group.
Between 3000-1500 BCE Aryans speaking Sanskrit, an Indo-European
language, with origins in Central Europe, began migrating.
The origins of the caste delineation are at this point in history, when the
fair skinned Aryans defeated the darker skinned Dravidians and other
non Aryans, and evolved a new hierarchy. The word used to describe
this classification is 'Varna', Sanskrit for 'color’. Prior to that, it was just
a social-class-based structure. Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Shudra and
those outside the pale of the caste system – Mlechha or Chandala.
This view of Indian has been validated by archeologists, linguists and
geneticists.
Sept 11, 2014Mohan Guruswamy 2
How today’s India came to be.

A very diverse country.
3
India has more than two thousand ethnic
groups, and every major religion is represented,
as are four major families of languages (Indo-
European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and
Tibeto-Burman languages) as well as a language
isolate (the Nihali language spoken in parts
of Maharashtra).

Geneticists and linguists pronounce.
According to a view put forward by geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza in the
book The History and Geography of Human Genes, the Dravidians were
preceded in the subcontinent by an Austro-Asiatic people, and followed
by Indo-European-speaking migrants sometime later.
The original inhabitants may be identified with the speakers of the Munda
languages, which are unrelated to either Indo-Aryan or Dravidian languages.
Some linguists believe that Dravidian-speaking people were spread throughout
the Indian subcontinent before a series of Indo-Aryan migrations.
In this view, the early Indus Valley civilization (Harappa and Mohenjo Daro) is
often identified as having been Dravidian.
Cultural and linguistic similarities have been cited by researchers such as
Finnish Indologist, Asko Parpola, as being strong evidence for a proto-
Dravidian origin of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.

The late Professor Nihar Ranjan Ray, one of India’s
most distinguished historians, described the
central Indian Adivasis as “the original
autochthonous people of India” meaning that their
presence in India pre-dated by far the Dravidians,
the Aryans and whoever else settled in this country.
“These are the real swadeshi products of India, in
whose presence all others are foreign. These are
ancient people with moral rights and claims
thousands of years old. They were here first and
should come first in our regard.” Verrier Elwin
The original people of India.
5

Ādivāsi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic
and tribal groups believed to be the aboriginal people of India.
The term Adivasi carries the specific meaning of being the
original and autochthonous inhabitants of a given region and
was specifically coined in the 1930’s. In officialese they are
known as Scheduled Tribes or ST’s.
Over a period of time the word Adivasi has developed a
connotation of past autonomy which was disrupted during the
British colonial period and has not been restored.
The Constitution of India, Article 366 (25) defines Scheduled
Tribes as "such tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups
within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under
Article 342 to the scheduled Tribes (ST’s) for the purposes of this
Constitution"
The meaning of “Adivasi”.

Diversity of the tribals.
There are some 573 communities recognized by the
government as Scheduled Tribes and therefore eligible
to receive special benefits and to compete for reserved
seats in legislatures and schools.
The biggest tribal group, the Gonds, number about 7.4
million; followed by the Santhals with about 4.2
million.
The smallest tribal community are the Chaimals of the
Andaman Islands who number just eighteen.
Central India is home to the country's largest tribes,
and, taken as a whole, roughly 75 percent of the total
tribal population live there.

The 2001 census classified 84.33 million persons as Scheduled Tribes,
corresponding to 8.2% of the total population.
The majority of the indigenous peoples live in an almost contiguous belt
stretching from Gujarat in the west to the seven states in the north-east,
with the highest concentration in the central region, where more than
50% of the tribal people live.
India's tribal people are among the poorest in the country. They have the
highest poverty rate of the three population groups. In some states it is as
high as 72%.
Most of India's indigenous peoples have been forest dwellers for
centuries. A long process of turning forest areas into a source of revenue
and timber, and exploitation of the mineral resources, has led to
deforestation, loss of livelihood and displacement of peoples.
Since tribal communities have been forced off most of the fertile plains
they previously inhabited, the majority of tribal farmers now cultivate
marginal land, using rather extensive methods.
The status of India’s tribal people.

“As a jungli, as an Adivasi, I am not expected to understand the legal
intricacies of the Resolution. But my common sense tells me that every one of
us should march in that road to freedom and fight together. Sir, if there is any
group of Indian people that has been shabbily treated it is my people. They
have been disgracefully treated, neglected for the last 6,000 years. The
history of the Indus Valley civilization, a child of which I am, shows quite
clearly that it is the newcomers — most of you here are intruders as far as I
am concerned — it is the new comers who have driven away my people from
the Indus Valley to the jungle fastness...
The whole history of my people is one of continuous exploitation and
dispossession by the non-aboriginals of India punctuated by rebellions and
disorder, and yet I take Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru at his word.
I take you all at your word that now we are going to start a new chapter, a
new chapter of independent India where there is equality of opportunity,
where no one would be neglected.”
The Resolution, to Jaipal Singh , was simply a modern restatement of his
own people’s point of view. In Adivasi society, there was no discrimination by
caste and gender. Thus “you cannot teach democracy to the tribal people; you
have to learn democratic ways from them.”

The central Indian tribal homeland, located between 18 and 25 degrees
north of the equator across the Indian subcontinent, operationally cover
nearly 100 districts in eight states of the country. These district together
account for about 55 million tribal people (roughly 70 per cent of India’s
tribal population) spread over 68 million hectares of geographic area.
They form about 7% of Indian population, however their share is very high
among the vulnerable groups like poor, hungry and small and marginal
farmers. An FAO study indicates a declining role of agriculture in
household food security which lasts for 2 to 6 months of the year for the
majority of tribal farming households. As per the study an average
household in upland systems is only able to meet 20 to 40% of their food
requirements; those in the middle system 30 to 40% and those in lowland
systems between 50 to 70% of their needs.
In the past, most tribals were able to cover most of the shortfall with foods
gathered from the forests. Forest degradation and curtailed forest access
has reduced the availability of natural foods, compelling these
communities, to depend more on purchased foods to meet their minimum
survival needs.
The plight of India’s tribal people.

Why so much discontent?
11
Clearly there are two distinct reasons for the
present unrest in the Adivasi homelands of
India. One very clearly is the economic reason.
But the first and probably the more important
one is the struggle for identity against the
creeping Hinduization or de-culturisation of
Adivasi society. Adivasi society was built on a
foundation of equality.

Creeping Hinduization and other factors.
Tribal societies came under stress due to several other factors. Over the centuries
the extension of commerce, military incursions on tribal land, and the resettling
of caste Hindus amidst tribal populations had an impact, as did ideological
coercion or persuasion to attract key members of the tribe into "mainstream"
Hindu society. This only led to many tribal communities becoming integrated into
Hindu society as lower jatis (or castes).
Quite clearly Hindu ways with their emphasis on stratification did not and still do
not provide for any improvement in the status of the Adivasis.
This and the failure of the government to provide even a modicum of
development and improvement on the physical quality of life has left in its wake
room for newer kinds of proselytism’s. Marxism-Leninism/Maoism is one of
them.
The other creeping encroachment is that of the Christian missionaries who with
their deep pockets and pocketbook conversions promise an exit from the material
drudgery of life.

5th & 6th Schedules of Constitution.
The Fifth and Sixth Schedules under Article 244 of the Indian
Constitution in 1950 provided for self-governance in specified
tribal majority areas.
In 1999 the Government of India even issued a draft National
Policy on Tribals to address the developmental needs of tribal
people. The NDA government even established a Ministry of
Tribal Affairs. Little has happened since. The draft policy is
still a draft, which means there is no policy.
Not to be left behind the UPA government drafted the
Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill in 2005
but did not act upon it due to pressure mounted by self-styled
wildlife activists and the wildlife tourism lobby.

•Net irrigated area (NIA) to Net sown area (NSA) is 14.98% in tribal
area against 33.59% in Rest of India.
•Net area irrigated by major irrigation systems is 3.66% against 9.89%
in Rest of India.
•Net area irrigated by minor irrigation is 16.83% against 42.28% in
Rest of India.
•Groundwater is 11.32% in tribal areas against 24.28% in Rest of India.
• Surface lift irrigation is 5.51% in tribal areas against 18.00% in Rest of
India.
• Population below poverty line is 42.67% in tribal areas against
26.00% in Rest of India.
• Value of agricultural output (In Rs/ha) is Rs. 2697.55 in tribal areas
against Rs. 8578 /ha. in Rest of India
Comparison of Irrigated areas in Tribal & non-tribal areas.

A Tradition of Revolt.
15
The Adivasi revolts predate the advent of the Naxalites by more
than a couple of centuries. Displaced from their homes, alienated
from their lands and deprived of their resources, the tribal people
have often taken to armed revolt in the past. There were over forty
major insurrections recorded during the colonial period.
As soon as the British took over Eastern India, tribal revolts broke
out to challenge alien rule. In the early years of colonization, no
other community in India offered such heroic resistance to British
rule or faced such tragic consequences, as did the numerous
Adivasi communities of present day Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,
Orissa and Bengal.
The Hindu and Muslim elites, by and large, collaborated with the
British.

“India's mineral wealth obtained by
violating tribal rights”
An International Labour Organisation ( ILO)- funded report on
India's indigenous population states that more than half the
country's mineral wealth is obtained by violating the rights of
tribals.
In 1991, out of the 4,175 mines in the country, 3,500 were in
tribal areas.
Another estimate states that between 1950 and 1991 at least
2,600,000 people were displaced by mining projects of which
only 25 per cent received any resettlement.
Among those displaced 52 per cent belonged to the Scheduled
Tribes, the report notes: “In the case of private lands,
proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act 1894 are initiated in
order to acquire the land. The legislation also allows the
government to acquire lands upon payment of cash
compensation for any public purpose, including mining.”

Mineral
Belt
Location Minerals found
North Eastern
Peninsular
Belt
Chota Nagpur plateau and
the Orissa plateau
covering the states of
Jharkhand, West Bengal
and Orissa.
Coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite,
copper, kyanite, chromite, beryl, apatite etc. This
region is the mineral heartland of India and
further cites studies to state that: 'this region
possesses India's 100 percent Kyanite, 93 percent
iron ore, 84 percent coal, 70 percent chromite, 70
percent mica, 50 percent fire clay, 45
percent asbestos, 45 percent china clay, 20
percent limestone and 10 percent manganese.'
Central Belt
Chhattisgarh, Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra.
Manganese, bauxite, limestone, marble, coal, gems,
mica, graphite etc. exist in large quantities and the
net extent of the minerals of the region is yet to be
assessed. This is the second largest belt of minerals
in the country.
Southern Belt
Karnataka plateau and Tamil
Nadu.
Ferrous minerals and bauxite. Low diversity.
South Western
Belt
Karnataka and Goa. Iron ore, garnet and clay.
North Western
Belt
Rajasthan and Gujarat along
the Aravali Range.
Non-ferrous minerals, uranium,
mica, beryllium, aquamarine, petroleum, gypsum a
nd emerald. Sept 11, 2014Mohan Guruswamy 22
India’s Mineral Wealth.

Whose minerals are they, anyway?
Till recently the royalty paid on Iron Orewas Rs.270 per metric ton. The
cost of extraction is estimated to be not more than Rs.250 per ton. In
February 2012 the landed price per ton of Indian iron ore in China was
over Rs.6000 per ton.
The Government has now considering raising the royalty rate by 5%, The
State is likely to earn Rs 4,629 crores ($1bn.) after changes in the royalty
structure. But how much of it will trickle down?
In 2007 the Andhra Pradesh government, reneging on pre-election
promises, signed agreements with Jindal South West and Anrak to mine
Bauxite near Vizagapatam. This is estimated to displace over 100,000
tribal’s while creating jobs for a mere four hundred.
The state government expects to receive a royalty of Rs. 64.5 crores while
the two companies are slated to rake in Rs. 1260 crores and Rs. 2350
crores respectively each year.
According to a recent Citigroup report, tribal’s are the biggest victims of
displacement. Although they comprise nine per cent of the population,
their land is 40 per cent of the land acquired till date.

How do the
Rich get
richer?
By selling mineral
rights cheap and
not giving back
anything to the
people from whose
land it was taken.
The new
government’s first
big largesse.
24

Bauxite mountain at Niyamgiri, Orissa.
25

NMDC Iron Ore excavations in Kirandul, Bastar.
26

Overlap of forest and mineral areas.

Overlap of tribal homelands and mineral rich areas.

Overlap of tribal homelands and illiteracy concentrations.

Overlap with the “Red Corridor”.

How large is the Red Corridor?
31
Q: How much of ‘Indian territory’ is under Maoist
control? The Prime Minister once said 160 out of 604
districts. Was it an exaggeration?
A: We are indeed flattered by such statistics. But one
thing we can understand from the Prime Minister’s
statement, i.e. how much of a nightmare we have
become to the reactionary ruling classes of India. It is
an exaggeration to say that Maoists control that many
districts, but our influence goes beyond that.”
M. Ganapathi, General Secretary, CPI (Maoist), in interview
to an internet magazine.

The Naxalites or Naxals are a Maoist communist group in India. The
Naxal name came from the small tribal village of Naxalbari in West
Bengal where in 1967 a group of renegade communists attacked a
police station. The Naxals are radical, far left communists and are
inspired by Mao Zedong.
However, the Andhra communist inspired insurrection predates
Independence.
The movement originated in states where the Communist Party of
India had a base, and has spread to neighboring states with similar
tribal populations..
All the radical left factions have now united to become the
Communist Party of India (Maoist) and are viscerally opposed to the
two major Communist parties. The CPI (Maoist) is committed to the
overthrow of the Indian State.
Who are the Naxalites?

There have been 5800 Naxal related violent incidents in the past
three years.
Left-wing extremists have killed about 2,670 people -- about 1,680
civilians and nearly 990 security personnel -- since 2005, equaling
three deaths every two days. About 1,440 Maoists have been killed in
the past five years
In 2009, about 1,000 deaths were reported from Maoist-related
violence. Of them 392 were civilians, 312 were security personnel
and 294 were Naxals.
Interestingly, the statistics reveal that the ratio of government
fatalities from Maoist-related violence is more than those recorded
during the peak of Kashmir insurgency.
Extraction and export of minerals continues unaffected suggesting a
major income stream for the Maoists.
The Growing Cost of Maoist Extremism.

Taking on the Indian State.
34

35

36

Women at war.
37

Paramilitary protecting democracy!
38

The reaction of the national elite!
39

“Salwa Judum” Government auxiliaries.
40

“Salwa Judum” auxiliaries.

Police brass inspecting locally manufactured grenades.
42

What has fanned the spread of Maoism?

The Indian Prime Minister speaks:
44
“There has been a systemic failure in giving the
tribal’s a stake in the modern economic processes
that inexorably intrude into their living spaces. The
alienation built over decades is now taking a
dangerous turn in some parts of our country. The
systematic exploitation and social and economic
abuse of our tribal communities can no longer be
tolerated.”
The Prime Minister also said the country’s
authorities “must change our ways of dealing with
tribal’s” and give them a “healing touch.” It is
“highly important,” declared Singh, to integrate the
tribal peoples “into the development processes…

How must the Government respond?
45
Clearly the Government needs to think its way
through this more carefully and with far greater
intelligence than it has shown itself capable of so
far.
It must be able to distinguish Adivasi aspirations
from Maoist intentions.
The former needs to be nurtured while the later
needs to be defeated.
But the problem is that this is beyond the capability
of the public administration apparatus we have in
place now.

What is to be done?
46

You may write me down in historywith
your bitter, twisted lies,you may trod me in
the very dirt.But still, like dust, I rise. I
rise. I rise....

Thank you!

India’s Adivasi Problem

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India’s Adivasi Problem