TRIBAL ACTIVISM

For Tribal Human Rights Support

Some authors have dedicated their lives for the much deserving and over all support of the Tribal; social, cultural, linguistic, forest, material, artistic, literary, educational, economic and many other types of human right support in the country. Prominent among these writers are: Thakar Bappa, Dr. Nemichand Jain, Gopinath Mohanty, Phaneeshwar Nath Renu, Range Raghava, Mahasweta Devi, Mama Baleshwar Dayal, Nirmal Minj,etc. One among such writers whose name should be added in the recent times is Shachi Arya whose ideas and approach to the protection of tribal rights together with important literary Hindi writers protesting through their writings in favour of the tribals are summed up in her book, ' TRIBAL ACTIVISM : Voices of Protest' . Among many similar books this volume is with difference. It re-defines the relationship between literature and life,. It presents the voices of protests in an eminently authentic manner. The novelty of the approach and the attempt lies in the matching the social events, phenomena and their reflection in literature in a two way manner, that is from literature to life and from life to literature.

Although the focus in the book is on Mahasweta Devi's works which have for the first time brought the tribal protests under mainstream gaze, it seeks to push ahead the frontiers of exploitation and evaluation. It is not incidental, therefore, that the book brings to the focus such facts about tribal consciousness and action as they were kept away from history books. Coupled to this is the emanative thrust on usually unnoticed or ignored facts which compels the reader to sit up and rid himself of the misconceptions about the tribals.

The book offers not only the first full scale study of Mahasweta Devi's works, but also of the tribal voices of protest: not as a mere documentation of certain actions that took place during the course the last two hundred and odd years, but one throbbing and pulsating with life, with larger-than-life portrayals of the fighting tribals of Middle India.

The books, at the same time, evaluate the role of a great writer who cannot but to be a blend of an observer, a creator and an activist. Rawat Publications (Jaipur and New Delhi, 1998) specially deserves our appreciation to promote such volume of high ranking in social sciences.

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HUMAN RIGHTS FOR INDIGENOUS FESTIVALS

India is the land of multi religions, castes, ethnic groups, cultures and festivals. But as we see, in individual and public life, only one group's culture, religion, languages and specially festivals are giving prominence all through the year. The other indigenous cultural festivals particularly are conveniently neglected thus causing massive folkloric erosion at the grass root level of the indigenous populations of the country. Where as the Brahmins, Rajputs and other prominent castes and ethnic groups put all together are less than 20% in the country. On the contrary the indigenous populations of the country who are Scheduled Castes(SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Communities(OBC) are nearly 80% in the country and these very peoples are who are the majority in the country are forced directly or indirectly to flow all the cultural ways of the minority. A huge breach of human rights in the country.

There are many indigenous people’s festivals which should be highlighted and put on the national map of the festivals of India are being systematically ignored and only the festivals of one community and religion are being given importance in India. One such great festival is ignored and interfered a times is Bhagoria of the Bhils of India. Should this continue to happen...?
Some of the important indigenous peoples or tribal / Adivasi festivals of India are:

Phagu(Oraon)
Bhagoria( Bhil)
Gal(Bhil)
Gad(Gad)
Sarhul(Santhal)
Garia(Tripura tribes)
Mahua Flower(Gond)
Joom and Navana(Tripura)
Akha Teej (Bhil)
Manga (Gond)
Dhanboni (Chhotanagpur)
Kharci Puja (Tripura)
Rath Mela (Chhotanagpur)
Manga and Cucumber festival (Gond)
Dhurti Rath (Chhotanagpur)
Jitia ( Chhotanagpur)
Navai (Bhil)
Karma (Oraon)
Ker Puja ( Tripura)
Ropa (Planting of Chhotanagpur)
Moi Muri (Santhal)
Ghotal (Gonds and Oraon)
Gai Gohari (Bhil)
Juwara ( Bhil)
Millet Festival (Gonds)
Garba (Bhil)
Ghanshyam Dev festival (Gond)
Shad Nonglrem (Khasi)
Nayakhani (New grain arrival, Chhotanagpur)
Sohrai (Santhal)
Tusu Mela ( Chhotanagpur)
and many others which are of high importance are ignored and not given place in the national society and culture.

Another fact which is more important is that the original tribal culture and basis of the festivals are being polluted and perverted due to external influence and pressures from various sources. The originality and purity of the tribal festivals together with the tribal festivals forms, traditional festivity, indigenous nature, local structure, traditional organisers, and if need be tribal priest must be maintained to respect their culture. In the case of Bhagoria the administration has very less respect for the great tribal fest of not only India but of the world where there is so much of interference, beating those celebrating, chasing before the time is over one can easily see in the Bhil land.

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TRIBAL HUMAN RIGHTS SUPPORT

Rajiv Gandhi Chair for the contemporary studies situated at Barkatullah University, Bhopal (MP) India, has successfully organised three consecutive seminars for the human rights support of tribal or Adivasi communities of India, dealing with their social, cultural, economic and developmental rights, under the efficient chairmanship of Professor S.N. Chaudhary. These three national seminars of high standing are:

1. Tribes and Their Indigenous Knowledge ((2006)
2. Tribal Development (2008)
3. Tribal Economy: Status and Possibilities (2009)

All the three seminars dealing with the overall human rights of the tribal communities in India in which at least not less than three dozen senior and reputed social scientists from all major universities of India have participated for serious consultation with keen interest in shaping the future policies and programmes of the Central Government of India dealing with the tribes in the country. The scholars so far dealing with the subjects were found to be having highly sympathetic attitudes towards the overall development of the tribal communities. The papers presented in these seminars are edited and published regularly by Prof. S.N. Chaudhary the head of the Rajiv Gandhi Chair for the contemporary studies. Prof. Chaudhary has genuine interest in development of the tribal communities of India. It is likely that such studies and consultations will eventually through new lights on the shaping of the tribal developmental policies and programmes in India.

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