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Tourism
to hasten tribals' doom
 Tourism
Minister Jagmohan's plan to bring the Andamans on India's
tourist circuit could wipe out all tribals of the region.The
archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, which has been home
to six tribal groups for about 20,000 years, is proposed
to become a "selective" tourist destination
as per the tourism policy envisaged for the Islands. |
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Tourism
not at cost of tribals: Jagmohan
 The
Tourism Ministry’s plan to open up the Islands and
Lakshadweep for tourism is awaiting Cabinet’s consent.
Tourism Minister Jagmohan says the plan was worked out
after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit
to the archipelago. “A research was done keeping
all considerations in mind before we arrived at the plan.
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Keep
off me, says Jarawa icon
 It
has not taken Enmei, 21, too long to change his view of
the settlers on Jarawa land. Four years after he became
the first Jarawa to meet and mix with them, Enmei now
calls them: “Eenen Piti Piti” (Bad men.) In
seven years he has seen the settlers systematically take
over his lands and wrest from his people the zest for
life. |
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Massacre
of the innocents
 India's
independence in 1947 changed nothing for the aboriginals
of the Islands. They continue to be subjugated and fight
an unequal war of survival.Two of the tribal groups -
the Great Andamanese and the Onges - had almost been finished
when the Government of India assumed control of the archipelago
in the Bay of Bengal. |
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Minister
pokes stuffy nose in tribal matter
 If
Union Tribal Welfare Minister Jual Oram has his way, by
2009, tribals of the Islands will no longer be part of
the Primitive Tribe Groups. Since 2002, his ministry has
been working steadfastly on a plan to "reform the
tribals and assimilate them with the mainstream."
This is despite a court order... |
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Paan,
beedi, migrant culture draw out Jarawas
 The
Andaman tribals are down to 10 per cent of their strength
at the end of years of government efforts to civilize
them. Experts give two reasons for the fall:
Rise in the cases of acquired diseases among tribals and
Cultural and social changes |
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46
left of Great Andamanese population
 The
first of the tribal groups to fall prey to the might of
the colonisers were the Great Andamanese. The impact was
so devastating that from a 5,000-strong community, they
were reduced to 16. Today, the population of the tribe
is 46. |
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Onges'
home may vanish with tourist inflow
 The
downfall of the Onges started in 1887 when they finally
fell to "friendly" overtures. They were taken
from their habitation in Little Andaman Islands to Port
Blair and given gifts before being sent back. (Before
this, in 1867, 70 people of the community were killed
in a reprisal after they killed the captain of a ship
and seven of his crew.) |
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Jarawa
contacts may not end with court order: Experts
 Though
the High Court restricts contacts with the Jarawas till
a policy on them is in place, experts feel the 'cycle
of mainstreaming' cannot be reversed. "They are already
…in touch with the settlers. They like our food and
they have got addicted to tobacco and paan. They can't
be kept away now?" a tribal welfare officer says.
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Hepatitis
B strikes down Jarawas
 Almost
half of the surviving Jarawa people are "healthy
carriers" of the deadly Hepatitis B virus. And, it
is being transmitted vertically, that is, from mother
to child. Forty four per cent of those afflicted by the
virus are below 14 years. |
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Primitive
tribals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are dying of disease and
infection brought by waves of colonizers from the mainlands. In a
five-part series, Shailesh Shekhar, the editor
of HindustanTimes.com, brings out grim stories of the
tribals pushed to accept a destiny that has been put beyond their
control.