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A Saga of Tribal Women of India A Saga of Tribal Women of India Alma Grace Barla Copenhagen 2015 Published by DEDICATION International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) Classensgade 11 E DK 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark Phone no. (+45) 35 27 05 00 Fax no. (+45) 35 27 05 07 This book is dedicated to all the indigenous tribal women and E-mail: [email protected] men of India who have sacrificed their lives to protect 'Mother Copyright © Author and IWGIA Earth', indigenous identity and culture; to martyrs of the freedom movement; to the thousands of innocent women, All Rights Reserved men and children who are victims of violence in the conflict First Published in 2015 areas of the Northeastern and Central East Indian states; and ISBN: 978-87-92786-61-6 to those who continue to work to safeguard the fundamental human rights of indigenous peoples by upholding democratic Cover Design: Alma Grace Barla values in line with traditional knowledge systems and best Typesetting: Tatwaa, Bangalore practices. Printed by: Ravi Graphics, 53/8, 2nd Main Road, Industrial Town, Rajajinagar, Bangalore - 560 044 www.ravigraphics.com The reproduction and distribution of information contained in this book for non-commercial use is welcome as long as the source is cited. However, the translation of this book or its parts, as well as the reproduction of the book, is not allowed without the consent of the copyright holders. The book reflects the author's own views and opinions and not necessarily those of the publisher. CONTENTS FOREWORD..........................................................xi INTRODUCTION .....................................................xv PART-I TRIBAL WOMEN CHAMPIONS IN NATION BUILDING PART-II FREEDOM FIGHTERS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY LEADERS RANI GAIDINLIU A Tribute on her Birth Centenary.................................19 HELEN LEPCHA......................................................35 PUTALIMAYA TAMANG..........................................43 DASHRIBEN CHAUDHARI Gandhi's Foot Soldier...............................................47 PART-III CONTEMPORARY HEROINES DR. TULASI MUNDA An Agent of Change.................................................61 GAURA DEVI Mother of the Chipko Movement..................................71 PROLOGUE Rich Lands, Poor Tribals: Mining Boom and Displacement in India..............................................................85 DAYAMANI BARLA GLOSSARY The Iron Lady of Jharkhand......................................89 AAP: Aam Aadmi Party PROLOGUE: The Adivasis of Kerala.............................103 AGMS: Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha Ahimsa: Non-violence (Gandhian principle) CHEKOT KARIAN JANU AI: Amnesty International APSWREIS: Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational And The Promised Land...........................................107 Intuitions Society Arjuna Award: The 2nd highest sports awards given by the Govt. of India PROLOGUE AVS: Adivasi Vikas Samiti (Society for Tribal Development) India’s Silent War on Adivasis: The Naxalite Struggle.......122 BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party CBI: Central Bureau of Investigation SONI SORI Charkha: Spinning wheel Chhotanagpur/Chota Nagpur: It is a plateau in eastern India, which The Prisoner of Conscience......................................127 covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. It is a home to large number of tribal PROLOGUE communities. The Magnificent Todas of the Nilgiris............................144 CM: Chief Minister CPI-Maoist: Communist Party of India (Maoist) CSPSA: Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act VASAMALLI KURDTOZN Darshan/ Darshana: To see with reverence or devotion Daughter of the Nilgiris and Guardian of Toda Culture........151 DC: District Collector FRA: Forest Rights Act GOI: Government of India PART-IV Gram Panchayat: Council of Villages, a local self-government organization SPORTS HEROINES HI: Hockey India HMI: Himalayan Mountaineering Institute PROLOGUE HRLN: Human Rights Law and Network Adivasis of Chhotanagpur in Hockey India......................162 Hul: Popularly referred to Santal Hul (1855-57 Santal Tribal Revolt) meaning movement of liberation IIM: Indian Institutes of Management SUMRAI TETE, ASUNTA LAKRA, JYOTI SUNITA KULLU IIT: Indian Institutes of Information Technology The Real Chak De India Girls.....................................169 ILO: International Labour Organization INC: Indian National Congress POORNA MALAVATH IPC: Indian Penal Code The Youngest Everest Conqueror................................189 IR: Indian Railways Jani Shikar: Hunting by women JM: Judicial Magistrate AUTHOR'S NOTE...................................................199 JPC: Zeliangrong People's Convention Khadi: Handspun and hand-woven cotton clothes promoted by Gandhi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................193 during the freedom struggle as symbol of nationalism, equality and self- reliance. KKJS: Koel Karo Jan Sangathan KSTA: Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction of Transfer of Land and Restoration of Alienated Land) Act LS: Lok Sabha LWE: Left-Wing Extremism. Government of India prefer this phrase for Naxal-related activities and violence MA: Master's of Arts MLA: Member of Legislative Assembly MNREGA: Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act MOTA: Ministry of Tribal Affairs NCST: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes NCW: National Commission for Women NDA: National Democratic Alliance (India) FOREWORD NHRC: National Human Rights Commission NNC: Naga National Council NUSRL: National University of Study and Research in Law I am indeed delighted to write a foreword for this book, which Pachho: Grandmother in Kurukh/Oraon language is an important contribution towards building of a tribal Padma Bhushan: Third highest civilian award given by the Govt. of India literature and history that have been going among tribes in Padmashree/Padma Shri: The fourth highest civilian award given by GOI PESA: Provision of Panchayats Extension in Scheduled Areas Act different parts of country. Ms Barla hails from a humble tribal PGAN: Peoples' Global Action Network family in Odisha and like the women of her book; she herself PM: Prime Minister has sailed through hurdles and constraints to be a journalist, RAF: Rapid Action Force writer and researcher. It is indeed a great feat. It is to the RTI: Right to Information Act Sarpanch: An elected head of a Gram Panchayat credit of Ms. Barla that she conceived this project, an aspect of Sarvodaya: Progress or welfare for all (Gandhian principle) tribal society and history that has escaped the imagination of Satyagraha: Non-violent resistance or civil disobedience movement those who have been thinking and writing on tribal society and adopted and promoted by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle history. It is heartening to find that in writing this book Ms. SC: Scheduled Castes SDPO: Sub-Divisional Police Officer Barla has not confined to comfort zone of her tribe and tribes SP: Superintendent of Police she is familiar with or region she hails from. Rather she has ST: Scheduled Tribes crossed this boundary by engaging with women across tribes, Swadeshi: Meaning self-sufficiency or self-governance, principles of region and history. home economy promoted by Gandhi during the freedom struggle Swaraj: Self-rule promoted by Gandhi during freedom struggle One of the traditional hallmarks of tribal societies had been Tamrapatra Award: An award conferred by the Government of India as a token of its appreciation for her contribution to the freedom movement the feature of homogeneity and fusion of different social Tehsil/Tahsil: An administrative division in Indian states comprised of institutions into one another. All members of the community multiple villages or small towns also referred as 'mandal' or 'taluka' resembled each other as everyone made livelihood from the UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural same occupation, held the similar belief and practice and Organization UNPFII: United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues shared the same knowledge, sentiments and feelings. In short, WAMIP: World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples unlike other societies tribal societies were marked by lack of Zeliangrong: Combined Naga tribes-Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei, Inpui social differentiation and specialization. And yet the division FOREWORD xi of labour has not altogether been absent. Of course they have valued in society and on the other suffer burden of field and been elementary as they were based mainly on age and sex. household work resulting in very little space for self and self Such forms of division of labour have been evident in tribal fulfilment. societies irrespective of the stage of their development. The incorporation of tribes into the colonial rule and As far as India is concerned hunting and food gathering, shifting administration had far reaching consequences on tribes. To agriculture and settled agriculture has been the main stages. begin with there was loss of autonomy and independence that Of course they have now been opened to wider world and they had enjoyed so far. There was in addition rampant economy and have been going through much transformation. In alienation of land from tribes to non-tribes through such means each of these dominant forms of making a living, division of as fraud, deceit, indebtedness etc. Restriction on access to labour in the form of men and women doing different kind of forest and forest resources introduced under the British rule work have been