Minister pokes stuffy
nose in tribal matter
Shailesh Shekhar
| Friday, October 31, 2003
 If
Union Tribal Welfare Minister Jual Oram has his way, by 2009,
tribals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will no longer be
part of the Primitive Tribe Groups.
Since 2002, his ministry has been working steadfastly on
a seven-year plan to "reform the tribals and assimilate
them with the mainstream." This is despite a court order,
stopping all attempts to interfere either with the tribals
or their ways of life and living.
Minus the Nicobarese, the Jarawas, the Sentinalese, the Shompens,
the Onges and the Great Andamanese are currently classified
under the Primitive Tribe Group (PTG) by the tribal affairs
ministry. (Indeed, this is the first time the Government of
India has a separate ministry on Tribal Affairs and a Cabinet
rank minister to head it.)
The minister says the PTG development has been a focus area
for the ministry. In 2002, the ministry drafted a seven-year
plan to take the category tribes out of the group. Currently,
75 tribes in India are part of the PTG.
Samir
Acharya of Society for Andaman & Nicobar Society (SANE),
which has been working overtime for the tribals' cause,
says the ministry's plan need to be shelved immediately.
"It is the worst possible plan. They will never get
away with it. They have almost finished the Andamanese
and the Onges under the guise of ameliorating their living
conditions. This plan should not be touched with a 20-feet-long
pole." |
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The minister says earlier efforts "proved disastrous"
because of the gap between the plans and their implementation
at every level - economically, culturally and socially. "This
time, we are engaging with NGOs such as Ramakrishna Mission,
and our Project Officers are going to be in constant touch
with the tribes to take care in every possible manner."
The minister, of course, has assured himself that his plan
neither violates court orders and nor interferes with tribal
life. "…we just want to know about them. It is not
right to leave them as is. They should realise their surroundings
- that a human race exists around them.
…we will deal with them anthropologically. People only
offer suggestions, we want solutions."
On whether the Government of India has formulated any guidelines
for the local administration vis-à-vis the handling
of the tribals, he says, "we have asked them not to make
the life of tribals difficult."
 Mr
Oram is also certain that the Tourism Ministry plans for Andaman
and Nicobar Islands must be implemented. "Tourism should
happen. It will not disturb the tribals. They are a little
away. Moreover, we will have restrictions."
Incidentally, the minister is not part of the nodal group
which has drafted the grand plan for tourism in the Bay of
Bengal archipelago.
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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.