UPSC Handwritten Notes Tribal Development and Adivasi Resistance in Post-Colonial Orissa (1947-2010)

Table of Contents

Notes By-

Sachin Gupta

Cleared UPSC 2017 with AIR-3

ABSTRACT
This paper highlights the matters on various issues relating to the Tribal’s struggle and their forest rights in Orissa; Problems & Prospects, Forest Policies & Social Protest against it, Forest based Livelihoods, Forest Acts & Management Strategies, Area under forest, Wildlife & Bio-diversity Conservation, Diversion of Forests Land, Livelihood Development, Forest Resources, Rehabilitation and displacement, Tribal & Forest interface and Development of Alternate Livelihood in Orissa after independence. Industrialization through foreign investors inducing displacement of local people may be an issue with which people may not reconcile
easily. The offer needs to be made attractive and make the people willing to accept it. Attachment to hearths and homes, community assets and local resources forms a natural bond among the people in a locality. It is a social reality which is woven with the threads of the psycho-social behavior of the individual and community in a locality for a number of generations. In all matters of development induced mass displacement State
intervention may be desirable with utmost care.
Introduction
The Scheduled Tribes communities in India as well as in Orissa are characterized by economic and social marginalization, primitive existence, geographical isolation and educational
backwardness. Tribal population is the aboriginal inhabitants of India who have been living a life based on the natural environment and have cultural
patterns congenial to their physical and social environment. They have been neglected in
different sectors of the society and to protect that they started resistance movement over the years.
The major tribes of Orissa, in terms of their numerical strength, are the Kondh, Gond, Santhal,
Saora, Bhuiyan, Paraja, Koya, Oraon, Gadaba, Juanga and Munda. There are also several smaller
Tribal Development and Adivasi Resistance in Post-Colonial Orissa (1947-2010) Dr. Naresh Rout
ABSTRACT
This paper highlights the matters on various issues relating to the Tribal’s struggle and their forest rights in Orissa; Problems & Prospects, Forest Policies & Social Protest against it, Forest based Livelihoods, Forest Acts & Management Strategies, Area under forest, Wildlife & Bio-diversity Conservation, Diversion of Forests Land, Livelihood Development, Forest Resources, Rehabilitation and displacement, Tribal & Forest interface and Development of Alternate Livelihood in Orissa after independence. Industrialization through foreign investors inducing displacement of local people may be an issue with which people may not reconcile easily. The offer needs to be made attractive and make the people willing to accept it. Attachment to hearths and homes, community assets and local resources forms a natural bond among the people in a locality. It is a social reality which is woven with the threads of the psycho-social behavior of the individual and community in a locality for a number of generations. In all matters of development induced mass displacement State intervention may be desirable with utmost care. tribal communities living in the State. They are
the Chenchus, Mankiridia Kharia, Baiga, Birhor and Ghara. Tribal communities such as the
Santhal, Gond, Munda, Ho, Birhor, Koya, Lodha, Kondha, Bhumija, Kharia and Oraons cut across
state boundaries and are found in the neighbouring states of Jharkhand. Tribal resistance in the anti colonial movement is accentuated as offensive by the Britishers, it is perhaps shocking as that label still perpetuates in the post-colonial India. This is intended to examine the history of Tribal resistance in Britishers reign, and shifts to focusing on their
resistance in the contemporary India in relation to globalization, also concerning questions of
identity and nation, power politics in criminalizing them, narratives of forgotten history of past and present.1
Odisha Review January – 2015
Tribals have resisted the Britisher’s authority and local power confiscators like the
Zamindars, Thakhedars, Christian missionaries, and other exploiters.2
For many centuries, tribals were isolated, scattered in forests. Each tribe has
established its own socio cultural diversity. They were distinguished from this nation. They launched movements against their oppressors in their respective regions. Their agitations against the outsiders could be called anti-colonial. They revolted against them because of their exploitation in the form of encroachment on their land, eviction
from their land, annulment of the traditional legal and social rights and customs, against
enhancement of rent, for transfer of land to the tiller, abolition of feudal and semi-feudal form of ownership. On the whole, these movements had social and religious overtone. But they were
directed against the issues related to their existence.
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are: i) To trace an overview of tribal population in Odisha. ii) To evaluate the tribal development programmes and the role played by the state government. iii) To analyse the socio-economic profile of tribal community in Odisha with special reference to their forest rights. iv) To assess the magnitude of displacement and role of the state government in the process of industrialisation. v) To examine the nature of tribal resistance and its outcomes. vi) To make comparison between the tribals and the mainstream population on the basis of human development indices. vii) To identify the role of non-governmental organizations in the tribal development. Methodology This research is based on descriptive and analytical methods. In order to measure the socioeconomic development of tribals in Orissa, both primary and secondary data are used in the study. Available sources are obtained from Census of India Publications; Tribal Welfare Department, Odisha, Planning Board, Odisha and the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), National Archives and Library, New Delhi; Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi; Indian Council of Social Sciences Research, New Delhi; National Library, Calcutta; Orissa State Archives and Library, Bhubaneswar; State Museum, Bhubaneswar; SC/ST Training Institute of Bhubaneswar; Kanika Library of Ravenshaw University; Parija Library of Utkal University; Indira Gandhi Memorial Library of Hyderabad Central University(HCU). Publications of NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) are also used in the research. Since the available secondary data are found to be inadequate to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the objectives of the study, primary data are also collected from archival records, records of government gazetteers, State Museum, reports of Planning Commission, Newspapers and so on. Research Problem The tribal development measures adopted during the second half of this century are found to be insufficient in improving the economic conditions of the tribals. Even after the introduction of several welfare measures, the tribals are still facing several economic and social constraints. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the various issues related to the tribal development, welfare programmes and their resistance for many reasons i.e. livelihoods, displacement, 73 January – 2015 Odisha Review rehabilitation, Forest policies, tribal rights issues, dissatisfaction on Govt. policies and implementations and socio-economic instability in Orissa. Moreover, an analysis of the socioeconomic development of tribals in Orissa and the extent of the humandevelopment they achieved are also imperative. Review of Literature A number of research oriented books, journals, Research Reports and number of project works have been reviewed on “Tribal Development and Adivasi Resistance in PostColonial Orissa 1947-2010” In exploring the literature on these emerging issues we found several books and magazines. One of the books is Tribals of Orissa: The Changing Socio Economic Profile (Ed.) by B.C. Ray, Gyan Books, 2009 states that Orissa is the home of 62 scheduled tribes but comparatively very little research has been done on the socio-economic life of the tribals. His attempt is related to combine the studies and analyses by historians, anthropologists, psychologists, economists and literary critics on the changing Society of the tribals. From the historical perspective, the author moves from Mutual interactions of non-tribal and tribal and tribal culture, absorption of Gods and Goddesses from the tribal fold to Hindu pantheon to the abandoned ritual of human sacrifice. The modern processes put up before the tribals by westernurban-industrial-democratic-model, heralding unprecedented change in tribal lifestyle have come in for Academic scrutiny. As a combined effort of many academicians the book gives a wide coverage on the Study of Orissan tribals, to make it worthwhile addition to the available material on the subject. Social Ecology of Forest Resources by Bibhuti Bhusan Malik, Kalpaz Publication, 74 Odisha Review January – 2015 the modern state, with the need to balance the interests of the majority while protecting the rights of the minority. In India, informal estimates of involuntary resettlement are estimated to be around 50 million people over the last five decades, and three-fourths of those displaced still face an uncertain future. Growing public concern over the long-term consequences of this has led to greater scrutiny of the rehabilitation and resettlement process, particularly for large development projects. This book examines a number of new policy formulations put in place at both the central and state levels, looking at land acquisition procedures and norms for rehabilitation and resettlement of communities. It brings together contributory analysis by some of the country’s most engaged administrators, academics, and activists in the field, and is a useful contribution to Development Studies. Local Forest Management: The Impacts of Devolution Policies, Edited By David Edmunds, Eva Wollenberg, Kamden High Street, London, 2004 reflects some ideas on the criteria for evaluating the impact of devolution policies on local decision-making space reflect our understanding of what local forest users consider meaningful, based on past field experience and readings. It focuses on the careful and illuminating case studies of the effects of devolution policies on the management of forests in several Asian countries, the studies demonstrate that, contrary to the aim of such policies, they increased. The book “Changing Tribal Life in British Orissa by K. Majumdar” traces the British Government’s Policy towards the aboriginal people of Orissa, particularly the Kandhs, and the reaction it caused in the people. The British effort to “tame” the tribals by armed measures was followed by their effort to “civilise the savages” by education and widen the scope and scale of their acculturation with “civilised” people in the neighboring tracts. This caused a great change in tribal life, society and polity. Tribal reaction to this externally-induced change is varied between stubborn resistance and grudging acquiescence, depending on the pace and extent of the change. Forestry Debate and Draft Forest Act: Who Wins, Who Loses: Ramachandra Guha: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 34 (Aug. 20, 1994) attempted on a careful study of the government’s draft new forest act, to replace the Indian Forest Act of 1927, shows that its real aims (i) to restrict people’s rights in reserved forests, which are owned and managed by the state; and (ii) to sharply limit. the area or extent of village forests in which local communities could exercise more effective and independent control. Social-Ecological Research in India: A ‘Status’ Report, Ramachandra Guha, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 32, No. 7 (Feb. 15-21, 1997), pp. 345-352 tells about focusing on the disciplines of sociology and social anthropology, but noting contributions by economists and historians and by socially sensitive scientists as well, this essay studies the contributions of social science to the environmental debate in India. The emergence and consolidation of social scientific work on the natural environment, its strengths and its silences, are explained with reference to broader political and intellectual processes in the history of independent India. People and Forests: Communities, Institutions, and Governance, Clark C. Gibson, Margaret A. McKean, and Elinor Ostrom (ed),The MIT Press, 2000 describes about unplanned deforestation, which is occurring at unsustainable rates in many parts of the world, can cause significant hardships for rural communities by destroying critical stocks of fuel, fodder, food, and building materials. It 75 January – 2015 Odisha Review can also have profound regional and global consequences by contributing to bio-diversity loss, erosion, floods, lowered water tables, and climate change. Within the academic and policymaking environment, the subject of how to manage forests is addressed
at a number of levels. Important issues that are examined in this book include growth parameters, optional harvest and are decisions based on species compositions, time horizons, timber and non-timber values, dominant or multiple use features, opportunity cost of land and so on. The book also tells how a remarkable component like friends and trees and living beings brought about a change in Orissa. Nature and Character of tribal resistance visa vis colonial state and indigenous exploiters It deals with the history and genesis of issues and events of tribal development and their resistance in the state during the colonial period. According to an estimate there were more than 70 tribal revolts over a period of 70 years (1878 to 1948). These revolts were anticolonial in varying degrees.3 The main anti-colonial tribal movements and revolts were: The tribal revolts in Chotanagpur region – Tamar revolt (1789-1832), The Uprising of the Bhils (1818- 1831), The Kol Uprising (1831-1832), The Mappila Uprisings (1836-1854), Jaintia and Garo Rebellion (1860-1870), Kherwar movement of Santhals (1833), Santhal revolt of 1855, Bokta risings, Sardari Larai or Mukti Larai movement of 1858-95, Birsa Munda’s movement (1895-1901), Devi movement in Gujarat (1922- 23), Tribal movement in Midnapur (1918-1924), Jitu Santhal’s movement in Malda (1924-32), Tribals and National Movement in Orissa (1921- .36) and Tribal movements in Assam in the late nineteenth century. Each tribal community maintained its own socio-religious and cultural life and its political and economic organisations. During the arrival of the British in the tribal areas, the main means of production and subsistence of the tribals were land and forests. The forests were of great significance for the tribals all over India. They had customary rights to use the minor forest products. Firewood, flowers, fruits, leaves, honey, housing material, edible nuts, medical herbs etc. formed the essential items of the daily requirements of tribals. But the forest policy of 1884 of the British curtailed the tribal rights to use the forest produce. The British also introduced Zamindars, contractors (Thekedars) traders, money-lenders, and government officials in the tribal areas. The Zamindars and Thekedars introduced the land rent in the tribal areas. Following the introduction of market economy, a class of traders also developed in the tribal areas. Tribal Resistance Movement was an integral part of Freedom movement of Odisha. In this historic struggle, the heroic role played by some distinguished tribal leaders like Laxman Naik of Koraput, Ratan Naik of Keonjhar, Dora Bisoyee and Chakra Bisoyee of Ghumsur and Veer Surendra Sai of Sambalpur. This is to highlight the role of tribal leaders of Odisha in the Freedom Movement against the British Imperialism. But nothing could be more inspiring and edifying than saga of heroic struggle and sacrifice of galaxy of tribal personalities mentioned above.4 The most dominant characteristic of the tribal resistance movement was that it was essentially an uprising against the foreign rulers and in that sense could be constructed to be the precursor of the national liberation movement which took a definite shape and gathered momentum under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi nearly one century later. Naxalism and Maoism are also another significant resistance movement since 76 Odisha Review January – 2015 independence in Orissa. They have increased their presence in the northern and southern regions of the State, where tribal people form the majority. Naxalite violence has also begun to be reported from parts of western Orissa and from the coastal belt. Their social, political and cultural condition made them naxalites and maoist. Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Nabarangpur and other tribal districts are the Naxal stronghold in Orissa. Despite its fragmented nature a continuing thread with some variations can be seen in the ideological thrust, strategy and tactics of mobilization of different groups within its fold. Tribals formed most neglected part of the social groups during the colonial period. Before the annexation and subsequent incorporation of tribal areas in the British territories, they had their social and economic systems. This isolation, however, was not absolute. Having occupied the tribal territories, the British introduced policies which aimed at surviving the colonial interests. As a result, those policies were detrimental to the interests of the tribals. Constitutional Provisions for the Welfare of Tribals and Their Socio- Economic Conditions in Orissa The Indian Constitution specifically provided certain Articles in the Constitution for the upliftment of tribals and also to protect them from the oppressions caused by the other people in the society. The protective rights granted by the Indian Constitution, 1950 to the tribal people can be classified under the following heads. It discusses that Indian Constitution has accepted the ideas of equality and justice both in the Social and Political fields. Accordingly it abolishes any discrimination to any class of persons on the ground of religion, race 77 January – 2015 Odisha Review Under the powers vested under the Fifth Schedule, the following regulations have been promulgated in the State of Orissa to protect the interest of the tribals in the State ó The Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (by Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956, (as Amended in 1993). ó The Orissa Scheduled Areas Money Lender’s Regulation 1967 ó The Orissa Debt Relief Act, 1980 provides relief to ST debtors ó The Bonded labour System Abolition Act, 1976 aims at liberating and rehabilitating bonded labourers among the ST by the Government of Orissa. ó The Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 (section 22 and 23) apply to the ST population living outside the Scheduled Areas and protect them from land alienation ó The Orissa Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for and ST) Act, 1975 makes provision of reservation of posts. The percentage of reservation for SCs and STs in initial appointment and promotions for all categories of posts subject to a few exceptions is 22.50 per cent and 16.25 per cent respectively. ó Development Programmes in Five Year Plan Periods And Other Planned Development Interventions For The Tribals Of Orissa The Scheduled Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The Forest Rights Act 2006 is a historic legislation in relation to forests and the tribal people of India. The Act aims at legitimizing the land occupied by the tribal people for generations, and by so doing, it provides security of tenure to them and ensures their livelihoods. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 This act defines the procedure to be followed for declaring an area to be a Reserved Forest, a Protected Forest, or a Village Forest. The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 This act confers the ownership and decision-making rights over non timber forest products (NTFPs) to local institutions. It emphasizes a more decentralised system of governance to Panchayats and Gram Sabhas in Scheduled Areas. National Forest Policy, 1988 & JFM India is one of the few countries with a National Forest Policy, which has been in place since 1894. It was revised in 1952 and again in 1988. The main plank of the forest policy is protection, conservation, and development of forests. The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 Amendment This 2002 amendment of this Act, originally made into law in 1972, called for two new categories of Protected Areas: Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves. Biological Diversity Act, 2002 This act emphasizes the participation of local communities in the conservation and use of bio-diversity.
Five Year Plans for Tribal Development Since the beginning of the concept of the Community Development Programme in April 78 Odisha Review January – 2015 1951 and later the Community Development Blocks during the Second Five Year Plan period, planners have given special thought to the advancement of the tribal communities. The Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) formed in Orissa on 24 June 1950 has been advising the GoO from time to time on matters of the welfare of tribal communities in the state. Exploring the nature of State and Government with reference to Tribal Development, Livelihood, and Strategies in Orissa. The tribals are the poorest of the entire Indian Population. Out of its total population, 52.6 per cent of tribals are below the poverty line as compared to 44.7 per cent of the Scheduled Castes and 33.4 per cent of the general population. Most of the tribals (92.60 per cent) live in rural areas. It is overwhelming to discern that only 23.63 per cent of them are literate which is about half of the national average (52.21 per cent) as per the last census. Hence, in order to combat such a situation, there is a need to evolve development approach where people are the subject and not the object of development. The tribal people are unable to access their age-old livelihood sources. Since they are deprived of entitlements over land, they are not eligible for certain state programmes and welfare measures intended for them. Despite the various attempts made by the state government, the MOEF, Government of India and the Tribes Advisory Council of Orissa to expedite the process of land settlement as per the Orissa Forest Act, little progress has been made in 2000. There has been controversy over the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest rights) Bill, 2005, which specifies 13 rights for the Adivasis, including access to and ownership of minor forest products, grazing rights, habitat and habitations for primitive tribes, settlement for old habitations and unsurveyed villages, and community rights to intellectual and traditional knowledge relating to forests and cultural diversity. Entitlement over land will be given to those Adivasis who have been cultivating forest land since 1980, up to 2.5 hectares per nuclear family. The Bill aims to look at the rights of Adivasis along with their responsibilities for conserving the forests and protecting wildlife, while seeking to end the inefficient and monopolistic exploitative hold of the Forest Department over the Adivasis by nominating the Gram Sabha (village council) as the authority to recognise and verify their claims. But the fact remains that the rights of the Gram Sabha seem vague. The Bill has not properly reflected the principles of the Panchayat Establishment of Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act. It seems that the Bill has made tribal people dependent appendages of the state, instead of making them free citizens, on a secured livelihood basis. In addition, misconceptions with regard to land distribution, old rights vs new rights, rights of non-tribal forest dwellers, etc. have multiplied the confusions over the new Bill. For Forest administration, a uniform legal governance system was only achieved in 1972 with the passage of Orissa Forest Act, 1972. The process included the incorporation of ex-princely state forests, Zamindary forests and forests under the Madras Forest Act, 1882. The whole process was done in fits and starts, and problems and shortcomings in forest administration consolidation have major consequences for both forests and tribals as discussed later in Section II (4) of the report.
The administrative provisions under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules give special powers to the State for the protection and governance of tribal areas and the reservation provisions ensure due representation of the STs 79 January – 2015 Odisha Review and SCs in legislative bodies and government jobs. S.T. & S.C. Department is the nodal Department of GoO for the welfare of the ST and SC communities. Various programmes have been undertaken for the development of STs in the State with assistance from Centre, fund allocation under State plan and Grants-in-Aid received from various agencies. Tribal People’s Struggle in Orissa with special reference to the Issues of Displacement, Rehabilitation, Forest Laws and Resistance The Industrialization including mining activities has received wide acceptance as a major strategy for development all over the world.
In the post-independence period, India embarked on a course of industrialization under the aegis of the public sector, which assumed “commanding heights”. The private sector also did not lag far behind under a system called ‘mixed economy.’ The past record of least satisfactory R&R policy and its implementation has developed a sense of betrayal among the displaced people of most of the projects in the country hence there is growing resistances. The incremental nature of R&R is not the solution to the growing problem of development induced displacement. There is the need of human touch. Let us consider them as ‘Great Sacrifices’ for nation building and be part of enjoying the fruit of development. The mechanical and economic aspects of development projects need transformation and should be looked from the angle of the sacrifices of development. Let the next generation be proud of parents’ sacrifices and equally enjoy the fruit of development. The colonial politicobureaucratic pattern of development should find an alternative mode of development i.e. to ameliorate the plight of teeming Indians through education, health. Displacement should be avoided or to be as minimum as possible. The fertile land and populated areas should be out of the industrial establishment. The displaced people should be provided land based rehabilitation along with replacement cost of land rather than market determined price for the acquired land. The State of Orissa, particularly the southern belt, i.e. undivided Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi districts, is endowed with 1733 million tones (70 per cent) of the total Bauxite resources of the country. In the post-liberalisation period this mineral resource has attracted foreign investment, which brought the state into the international arena. During 1992–97, Bauxite resources in Orissa have pulled in foreign investment to the tune of Rs 973 billion (US$20.5 billion) (Agreement signed by the State). Since 1986 several attempts have been made in western Orissa to explore Bauxite ores.
The deposits of Bauxite in different regions of these districts include 2.13 million tonnes in Gandhamardan in Balangir and Bargarh region, 195.73 million tonnes in the Baphalimali hill range, 81 million tonnes in Sasubohumali in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, 86 million tonnes in the Sijumali region, 40 million tonnes in the Kutrumali region of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts, and 91.4 million tonnes in Kodingamali in Laxmipur block of Koraput district (Government of Orissa, 2000). Owing to these minerals resources a number of memoranda of understandings have been signed by different industrialist to establish industry. Although, initially Orissa was not an industrialized state, now with the infrastructural development, it attracted the steel industries, hydral power plants sponge iron factories etc. there by it is now undergoing in a rapid pace of industrialization. A South-Korean Steel Plant in Orissa with a heavy investment of about Rs.51,000 Cores, the largest foreign direct investment in India so far. 80 Odisha Review January – 2015 Land in the command area of irrigation projects must be acquired to resettle and rehabilitate the displaced people of that project concerned. Vedanta Resources and the fight for Orissa’s Bauxite Malis, Tribal People’s Protest at Kalinga Nagar, Bauxite Mining in Sambalpur Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) movement in Sambalpur (Undivided) paved the secular processes of resistance by the Forest Dwellers to protect Forest Resources, J. K. Paper Mill of Rayagada, POSCO-India Steel Plant at Paradip, Steel project of the TISCO and so on and so forth have quenched the eyes of tribals problems and issues in different parts of Orissa. In order to bring about economic development, the government of late has launched a massive programme of industrialization. Against this background, the resistance movements of the local people against certain industrial units need to be probed deeply for the future of industrialization of the state. Voicing protests against industrialization by the people affected by it is not new in the state but the ongoing movements are different in that they have worked out an unprecedented unity among the tribal and backward masses against the industrial establishments, making all the major political parties watchful of the situation to derive political mileage.