The
Marxist
Volume: 18, No. 03-04
July-December 2002
CPI(M)
Policy
Document
on
Tribal
Question
(Adopted
by
the
Central
Committee
in
its
meeting
held
on
March
2-3,
2002)
An
important
question
for
the
democratic
movement
is
the
position
of
the
tribal
people
in
our
society
and
the
problems
that
they
face.
According
to
the
1991
census,
8.08%
of
the
total
population
in
India
are
tribal
and
they
are
76.8
million
(this
figure
would
have
gone
up
in
the
2001
census).
These
eight
crore
adivasis
consist
of
some
of
the
most
oppressed
and
exploited
sections
of
our
society.
A
large
number
of
them
are
part
of
the
proletariat
working
in
mines,
plantations
and
as
contract
labour.
They
also
constitute
an
important
section
of
the
landless
rural
poor.
The
updated
Programme
of
the
CPI(M)
talking
about
the
tribal
people
states:
"The
Adivasi
and
tribal
people
who
constitute
seven
crores
of
the
population,
are
victims
of
brutal
capitalist
and
semi-feudal
exploitation.
Their
lands
are
alienated
from
them,
the
right
to
forests
denied
and
they
are
a
source
of
cheap
and
bonded
labour
for
the
contractors
and
landlords.
In
some
states
there
are
compact
areas
inhabited
by
tribal
people
who
have
their
own
distinct
languages
and
culture.
The
tribal
people
have
been
roused
to
new
consciousness
to
defend
their
rights
for
advancement
while
preserving
their
identity
and
culture.
Due
to
the
threat
to
their
identity
and
very
existence
and
the
callous
policies
of
the
bourgeois-landlord
rulers,
separatist
tendencies
have
grown
among
some
sections
of
the
tribal
people.
Regional
autonomy
for
protecting
their
rights
in
the
areas
which
are
contiguous
and
where
they
are
in
a
majority
is
a
democratic
and
just
demand.
The
capitalist-landlord-contractor
nexus
constantly
seeks
to
disrupt
their
traditional
solidarity
with
some
concessions
to
their
leadership,
denies
their
legitimate
rights
and
suppresses
them
with
brutal
force"
(Para
5.6)
It
is
with
this
perspective
that
we
must
look
at
the
tribal
question.
The
main
problems
affecting
the
tribal
people
are:
1.
Land
and
their
alienation
from
it
2.
Forests
and
their
access
to
it
3.
Largescale
displacement
due
to
development
projects
4.
Status
of
women
5.
Social
Oppression
6.
Lack
of
Educational
Facilities
7.
Language
and
culture
8.
Autonomy
and
Constitutional
safeguards
The
Indian
State,
since
independence,
adopted
a
flawed
approach
to
the
tribal
people.
The
Nehruvian
notion
being
that
the
tribal
people
have
a
unique
culture
which
should
be
preserved
while
bringing
about
the
economic
modernisation
of
tribal
societies.
Economy
and
culture
were
seen
as
two
separate
and
different
realms.
Therefore,
it
was
not
understood
that
changes
in
the
material
life
would
necessarily
bring
about
changes
in
the
cultural
life
of
the
tribal
people.
From
the
colonial
period,
the
productive
capacities
of
the
tribal
economy
were
destroyed
because
of
the
land
and
forest
policies
and
their
knowledge
base
was
marginalised
and
destroyed.
Most
of
the
tribal
people
had
thus
to
resort
to
unskilled
labour
for
a
livelihood
and
as
they
could
not
survive
on
this,
they
were
made
dependent
on
the
welfarism
of
the
State.
The
industrialisation
in
the
post-independent
period
has
heightened
the
pattern
of
industrial
use
of
national
resources
of
the
tribal
areas
which
results
in
an
unequal
exchange
between
the
tribal
and
other
areas.
Since
successive
governments
refused
to
recognise
this
process
which
began
under
colonial
rule,
they
concentrated
more
on
welfare
measures
rather
than
on
building
up
constructive
and
productive
economic
activity
in
the
tribal
areas.
The
bourgeois-landlord
policies
have
resulted
in
a
system
where
tribal
people
just
provide
cheap
labour
and
raw
materials
to
the
rest
of
society.
Deprived
of
modern
education,
they
are
unable
to
have
access
to
better
jobs
as
compared
with
the
other
sections
of
society.
The
CPI(M)
views
the
development
of
the
tribal
people
as
a
process
not
separate
from,
but
inter-dependent
with
that
of
the
non-tribal
people.
The
productive
capacities
of
the
tribal
people
must
be
developed
and
tribal
knowledge
and
skills
must
be
upgraded
in
order
to
enhance
their
social
and
economic
status.
1.
Land
&
Their
Alienation
Traditionally
in
tribal
society,
land
was
not
a
commodity
for
sale.
There
was
no
concept
of
private
property
in
land
in
most
tribal
communities.
The
process
of
separating
the
tribal
people
from
their
land
originated
in
colonial
times
and
their
right
to
ownership
of
the
forests
they
lived
in
was
never
recognised.
The
introduction
of
the
land
revenue
and
money
economy
began
this
process.
The
first
tribal
revolts
took
place
against
this
colonial
exploitation.
The
first
laws
to
protect
the
tribal
land
were
passed
after
this
unrest,
such
as
the
Chotanagpur
Tenancy
Act.
However,
with
capitalist
development
being
stepped
up,
a
continuous
process
of
land
alienation
of
the
tribals
has
taken
place.
Laws
have
been
ineffective.
Through
legal
manipulation
and
other
fraudulent
means
largescale
transfer
of
tribal
land
has
taken
place
to
non-tribal
people.
This
is
a
problem
common
to
all
tribal
areas
except
some
states
in
the
North-East.
The
laws
enacted
for
protection
of
the
tribal
lands
in
the
scheduled
areas
under
the
Fifth
schedule
of
the
constitution
have
not
prevented
alienation
of
tribal
lands
and
largescale
transfers.
The
loopholes
in
the
laws,
the
connivance
of
the
bureaucracy
and
the
political
authorities
have
subverted
whatever
legal
safeguards
existing.
Non-tribals
are
taking
over
tribal
lands
through
methods
such
as
mortgages,
lease
agreements,
benami
transfers,
false
title
deeds
in
collusion
with
revenue
officials,
by
marriage
to
tribal
women
or
holding
land
in
the
name
of
their
(bonded)
tribal
agricultural
labourers.
Our
basic
demand
is
for
restoration
of
the
land
so
alienated,
to
the
tribal
people.
They
should
have
access
to
credit
and
technology.
Science
and
technology
should
be
used
to
develop
a
sustainable
model
of
agriculture
in
tribal
areas.
In
this
connection
also
comes
the
problem
of
jhum
cultivation
(slash
and
burn)
which
is
undertaken
by
the
tribal
people.
One
quarter
of
the
tribal
people
in
the
country
have
been
doing
this
form
of
cultivation.
The
steps
to
shift
them
away
from
the
jhum
cultivation
must
be
done
in
such
a
manner
as
to
help
them
adjust
to
settled
cultivation
or
sufficient
rehabilitation
in
other
occupations.
Land
Reforms
To
meet
the
demand
for
land,
a
central
question
is
to
implement
land
reforms
and
ensure
the
distribution
of
surplus
lands
to
the
landless
adivasi
families.
In
West
Bengal
under
the
Left
Front
government,
distribution
of
surplus
land
to
the
extent
of
11
lakh
acres
had
taken
place
to
25
lakh
families.
Of
this,
nearly
5
lakh
families
are
from
the
tribal
people.
In
Tripura
too,
landless
tribal
households
have
benefitted
from
land
reform.
Further
7000
acres
of
land
alienated
from
tribals
were
restored
to
them
by
the
Left
Front
government.
Since
then,
there
has
been
no
alienation
of
tribal
land.
The
struggle
to
restore
land
alienated
from
the
tribal
people
by
illegal
means
must
be
pursued.
The
existing
laws
to
protect
tribal
lands
from
alienation
must
be
modified
to
plug
loopholes.
Firm
action
should
be
taken
to
check
fraudulent
means
of
transferring
land
with
the
collusion
of
the
bureaucracy.
While
conducting
such
a
struggle
both
to
tighten
laws
and
to
ensure
their
implications,
we
should
also
work
out
concrete
measures
to
maintain
the
unity
of
the
tribal-non-tribal
peasants
wherever
conflicts
arise.
Small
non-tribal
peasant
settlers
on
tribal
lands
should
be
given
equivalent
land
elsewhere,
or
differentiation
can
be
made
between
the
bigger
and
smaller
land
holdings
illegally
acquired.
But
the
principle
that
the
tribal
people
must
be
restored
the
lands
illegally
transferred
must
be
upheld.
2.
Forests
and
their
access
to
it
A
big
section
of
the
tribal
people
have
been
traditionally
living
in
the
forests
and
their
life
and
work
is
intimately
connected
with
the
forest.
The
forest
laws
have
ruptured
the
organic
link
between
the
forest
and
the
life
of
the
adivasis.
One
of
the
tragic
aspects
of
tribal
life
has
been
the
alienation
of
the
tribal
people
from
their
traditional
habitat.
Forests
no
longer
belong
to
them
but
to
the
forest
officials
and
contractors.
The
disappearance
of
the
forests
and
the
degeneration
of
green
cover
is
not
because
of
the
tribal
people
but
because
of
the
rapacious
nexus
of
contractors-forest
officials
and
ruling
class
politicians.
The
plunder
of
the
forests
and
the
cutting
down
of
trees
has
been
one
of
the
inexorable
features
of
capitalist
development.
The
Forest
Act
and
its
latest
version,
the
Forest
Conservation
(Amendment)
Act
of
1988
treats
the
adivasis
as
interlopers
and
encroachers
in
the
forests,
rather
than
as
an
integral
part
of
the
forest
environment.
The
degraded
forest
land
is
also
not
accessible
to
the
tribal
people.
The
deprivation
of
access
to
the
forest
and
the
tyrannical
rule
of
the
forest
guards-bureaucratic
nexus
has
led
to
tribal
people
not
getting
nutritious
food
which
is
their
traditional
diet
and
the
sundering
of
their
traditional
way
of
life
with
all
its
social
and
cultural
consequences.
Restoring
the
tribals
access
to
forests
is
an
important
issue
which
we
must
fight
for.
Further,
the
minor
forest
produce
which
provide
livelihood
for
the
tribal
people
must
be
available
for
the
tribals
and
they
must
own
it.
Cooperatives
for
marketing
such
produce
have
to
be
run
by
the
government
in
cooperation
with
the
tribals.
Steps
must
be
taken
to
protect
the
indigenous
tribal
knowledge
of
plants
and
their
uses.
3.
Largescale
displacement
due
to
development
projects
According
to
an
estimate,
15%
of
the
tribal
population
have
been
displaced
or
affected
by
development
projects.
The
uprooting
of
the
tribal
people
from
their
homes
and
habitat
for
building
dams
and
other
industrial
development
projects
has
been
one
of
the
shocking
scandals
of
post-independent
India.
It
is
a
fact
that
we
have
not
paid
sufficient
attention
to
this
problem.
Providing
monetary
compensation
has
not
been
of
much
use.
Not
only
was
it
inadequate,
but
the
tribal
people
given
lumpsum
amounts
of
money
could
not
use
it
properly.
They
were
left
with
nothing
in
a
short
period
of
time.
Even
to
make
claims
for
alternative
land
they
had
no
records
of
their
ownership
or
titles
in
many
cases.
The
rehabilitation
projects
were
flawed
as
the
tribal
people
were
put
in
areas
which
had
no
similarity
with
the
habitat
they
were
used
to.
They
were
given
often
rocky
or
barren
land.
Displacement
has
meant
that
the
evacuated
tribal
people
are
driven
to
take
up
back-breaking
jobs
as
construction
labour
working
in
brick
kilns
and
other
forms
of
labour
in
the
unorganised
sector.
Our
Party
must
insist
that
in
every
case
of
displacement
which
cannot
be
avoided
for
essential
development,
a
full
and
comprehensive
rehabilitation
package
must
be
put
in
place
with
their
agreement
and
implemented
before
the
project
actually
begins.
The
norms
for
such
a
package
would
need
not
just
monetary
compensation
but
an
approach
which
takes
into
account
all
the
needs
of
the
displaced
tribal
people
including
their
cultural
requirements.
4.
Status
of
women
By
and
large
in
tribal
communities
the
status
of
women
has
been
better
than
in
caste
Hindu
society.
This
is
reflected
in
the
higher
ratio
of
women
to
men
in
the
population.
Women
in
many
tribal
communities
have
equal
status
and
rights
in
property.
Women
in
many
tribal
communities
are
active
in
economic
and
social
life.
But
these
positive
aspects
have
also
got
eroded
with
the
penetration
of
bourgeois
and
semi-feudal
values
of
the
dominant
society.
The
impact
of
these
values
and
the
media
is
now
marked
among
the
younger
generation
too.
Dowry
instead
of
bride
price
and
fall
in
the
status
of
women
is
a
result
of
these
trends.
With
the
increasing
proletarianisation
and
divorce
from
their
natural
habitat,
women
are
subjected
to
much
more
hard
work
such
as
fetching
water
or
collecting
firewood
from
great
distances.
Adivasi
women
who
go
into
the
forests
to
gather
firewood
and
forest
produce
are
constantly
subject
to
sexual
harassment
by
forest
guards.
A
serious
problem
faced
by
tribal
women
is
the
sexual
exploitation
by
contractors,
landlords,
bureaucrats
and
those
who
hold
power
in
mainstream
society.
We
must
be
able
to
address
all
these
issues.
We
must
stand
for
preservation
and
encouragement
of
equal
status
of
women
which
exist
in
various
spheres.
We
must
oppose
any
retrograde
practices
against
women
which
are
either
traditional,
or,
which
have
crept
in.
Against
sexual
exploitation
of
women
also
we
must
be
able
to
build
organised
resistance.
5.
Social
Oppression
One
of
the
worst
features
of
socio-economic
development
under
capitalism
in
India
is
the
brutal
exploitation
of
the
tribal
people.
The
traditional
social
forms
of
tribal
life
have
broken
down
in
the
relentless
march
of
capitalism,
the
cash
nexus
and
the
impact
of
the
policies
of
bourgeois-landlord
State.
The
old
collective
forms
of
tribal
life
with
egalitarian
features
has
been
smashed
by
the
capitalist
and
feudal
onslaught.
With
no
means
of
production,
without
the
social
and
educational
skills
to
face
modern
society,
with
the
uprooting
of
their
tribal
social
system,
the
tribal
people
have
been
subjected
to
ruthless
exploitation
by
landlords,
contractors
and
petty
bureaucrats.
In
many
cases,
the
adivasis
work
in
serf
like
conditions.
Large
number
of
adivasis
migrate
from
their
homes
to
other
areas
and
states
to
eke
out
a
meagre
livelihood.
During
this
seasonal
migration,
they
are
bereft
of
any
protection
or
benefits
of
minimum
wages
and
labour
laws.
Bonded
labour
also
prevails
in
many
parts
involving
tribal
labour.
Protection
given
to
scheduled
castes
and
scheduled
tribes
under
various
laws
are
generally
unavailable
to
the
tribal
people
in
the
remote
areas
and
they
have
no
voice
because
they
are
not
organised.
Impact
of
Liberalisation
Policies
In
the
past
one
decade,
the
impact
of
liberalisation
policies
has
been
particularly
severe
on
the
tribal
people.
Firstly,
the
curtailment
of
the
public
distribution
system
and
cutting
of
state
of
State
funds
for
social
sector
have
badly
hit
the
tribal
people.
In
the
tribal
areas
in
remote
hilly
and
forest
regions,
the
vulnerability
of
tribal
people
to
hunger
and
starvation
has
tremendously
increased
with
the
collapse
of
the
PDS.
Most
tribal
people
deprived
of
their
traditional
means
of
livelihood,
land
and
forests,
were
totally
dependent
on
cheap
food
through
the
PDS
schemes.
Reports
of
deaths
due
to
hunger
and
malnutrition
emanate
mainly
from
the
tribal
areas,
whether
it
be
in
Orissa,
Maharashtra,
Chattisgarh
or
Rajasthan.
Secondly,
the
deregulation
and
privatisation
of
mining
and
mineral
sector
is
leading
to
the
corporate
sector
both
Indian
and
foreign
entering
this
area
which
is
mainly
in
the
tribal
regions.
Already
in
Orissa,
Jharkhand
and
Chattisgarh,
the
setting
up
of
new
projects
to
mine
bauxite
and
other
minerals
has
led
to
tribal
people
losing
their
lands.
Their
protests
are
met
with
brutal
police
repression.
The
trend
of
displacing
the
adivasi
people
for
industrial
projects
is
getting
heightened.
The
State
and
the
bureaucracy
is
not
willing
to
adhere
to
the
Samata
judgement
of
the
Supreme
Court
which
has
declared
that
in
the
scheduled
areas
(under
Fifth
Schedule),
private
industries
or
industrial
enterprises
cannot
be
set
up
without
the
consent
of
the
adivasi
people
and
such
projects
must
be
undertaken
through
cooperatives
of
tribal
people.
Thirdly,
the
health
and
educational
facilities
provided
by
the
State
has
deteriorated
with
the
cutbacks
in
State
expenditure
and
drive
for
privatisation.
Unlike,
other
sectors,
ordinary
tribal
people
cannot
avail
of
the
more
costly
private
education
and
medical
facilities.
One
of
the
major
problems
for
the
tribal
people
is
the
exploitation
by
money
lenders.
Once
they
get
into
the
bondage
of
usury
they
are
reduced
to
the
plight
of
serfs.
This
bondage
is
the
most
degrading
aspect
of
adivasi
life
today.
Going
against
the
whole
trend
of
liberalisation
we
must
fight
for
sufficient
credit
to
be
provided
to
adivasis
through
cooperatives
and
bank
loans
so
that
the
scourge
of
usury
can
be
contained.
The
State
cannot
abandon
its
responsibility
towards
development
of
infrastructure
and
fulfilling
basic
needs
such
as
education
and
health
in
the
tribal
areas.
The
State's
role
is
especially
important
as
the
tribal
areas
have
the
least
number
of
roads
and
public
transport,
higher
illiteracy
and
special
problems
of
mortality
and
endemic
diseases
exist
than
in
other
areas.
Thus,
the
policies
pursued
by
successive
bourgeois-landlord
governments
and
their
all-round
exploitation
has
led
to
a
total
alienation
and
a
crisis
in
their
identity.
It
is
this
threat
to
their
identity
which
has
a
political
dimension
and
at
the
root
of
the
demand
for
a
separate
set
up
and
protection.
The
Communists
should
be
able
to
see
the
deeper
socio-economic
phenomenon
by
which
these
most
vulnerable
communities
are
driven
to
demand
a
separate
and
distinctive
position
as
against
the
dominant
Hindu-caste
society.
6.
Lack
of
Education
Facilities
During
British
rule
there
was
no
systematic
plan
to
provide
for
education
to
the
tribal
communities
except
the
work
undertaken
by
the
Christian
missionary
organisations.
In
independent
India,
despite
various
plans
for
imparting
education,
the
reality
is
that
the
bulk
of
the
adivasi
community
except
in
certain
North
Eastern
states
are
outside
the
ambit
of
the
formal
education
system.
Even
today
in
some
areas
whatever
little
educational
facilities
exist
are
provided
by
Christian
organisations.
Such
neglect
of
education
has
led
to
the
highest
percentage
of
illiterates
among
the
Adivasis
and
scheduled
tribes.
7.
Language
and
culture
The
threat
to
the
identity
of
the
tribal
communities
has
brought
the
question
of
their
linguistic
and
cultural
identity
to
the
fore.
The
bourgeois-landlord
State
in
India
has
paid
no
attention
whatsoever
to
fostering
their
distinctive
identity,
culture
and
traditions
except
for
bureaucratic
exercises
in
promoting
what
is
called
as
tribal
folk
culture.
There
are
major
languages
of
the
tribal
people
like
Santhali
and
Bodo.
Such
languages
must
be
given
proper
recognition
including
listing
in
the
eight
schedule
of
the
Constitution.
The
Alchiki
script
is
recognised
by
the
West
Bengal
government.
The
Kokborok
language
is
officially
recognised
by
the
Tripura
state
government.
Similarly,
efforts
by
tribal
communities
to
develop
their
languages
must
be
supported
even
when
their
numbers
are
small.
As
far
as
the
cultural
aspect
is
concerned,
the
positive
aspects
of
the
traditional
tribal
culture
particularly
their
egalitarian
and
collective
ethos
must
be
protected
and
encouraged.
There
are,
ofcourse,
certain
regressive
social
practices
in
some
parts
which
cannot
be
upheld
as
protection
of
tribal
culture.
Whether
it
is
witch-hunting,
or
polygamy
or
depriving
women
of
certain
rights
or
superstitious
practices
and
so
on
--
in
all
such
cases,
our
work
among
the
tribal
people
should
inculcate
consciousness
to
fight
such
practices
from
within
the
community.
8.
Autonomy
and
Constitutional
safeguards
The
question
of
protection
of
identity
and
the
interests
of
tribal
people
has
led
to
various
movements
in
the
last
two-three
decades.
This
has
assumed
the
demand
for
separate
states
such
as
Jharkhand
or
Bodoland.
Our
Party
stand
has
been
that
where
tribal
people
live
in
contiguous
areas
and
constitute
the
majority
or
the
substantial
section
of
the
population,
there
should
be
regional
autonomy
provided.
The
CPI(M)
pioneered
the
development
of
the
Tripura
Tribal
Autonomous
District
Council
in
this
regard.
The
present
powers
given
to
the
autonomous
councils
under
the
Sixth
Schedule
of
the
Constitution
should
be
amended
so
that
adequate
powers
may
be
devolved
to
them
for
the
development
of
the
autonomous
areas.
The
question
of
providing
for
regional
autonomy
structures
has
to
be
popularised
in
all
areas
where
found
necessary
to
counter
the
separatist
demands
which
break
the
bonds
between
the
tribal
and
non-tribal
people.
North-Eastern
Region
The
tribal
peoples
who
inhabit
the
north-eastern
region
have
a
social,
economic
and
cultural
environment
distinct
from
that
of
the
adivasis
in
the
rest
of
India.
In
all
the
north-eastern
hill
states
(except
Tripura
and
Manipur),
the
tribal
people
are
in
a
majority.
In
states
like
Nagaland,
Mizoram
and
Meghalaya,
Christians
constitute
the
dominant
population.
Unlike
the
tribal
people
in
Central
India,
they
are
not
subject
to
the
ruthless
exploitation
of
contractors,
landlords
and
capitalists.
The
problems
in
the
North-east
are
different.
It
is
also
more
complex.
There
are
a
large
number
of
tribal
communities
with
distinct
ethnic
and
social
features.
In
some
areas,
there
are
inter-tribal
conflicts.
The
entire
tribal
people
suffer
from
the
effects
of
the
bourgeois-landlord
rule
from
Delhi.
Some
of
the
common
problems
are
the
policy
of
neglect,
failure
to
develop
the
region
economically
and
insensitivity
to
the
aspirations
of
the
peoples
of
the
region.
An
entrenched
system
has
developed
whereby
a
narrow
elite
section
has
profitted
from
the
Central
financial
assistance
and
the
diversion
of
development
funds.
Such
a
corrupt
ruling
class,
which
is
highly
opportunist,
has
been
nurtured
from
among
the
tribal
people
also
over
the
decades.
In
this
background
of
discontent
and
thwarted
aspirations,
separatist
feelings
have
grown
and
strengthened.
The
efforts
to
suppress
separatism
and
insurgencies,
devoid
of
a
democratic
perspective
to
effect
all-round
development
of
the
region
and
failure
to
give
due
recognition
to
the
nationality
and
cultural
diversities
have
led
to
a
situation
of
stalemate.
The
imperialist
agencies
have
been
using
such
a
situation
to
fan
separatist
demands
and
ethnic-based
conflicts.
The
tribal
people's
problems
are
therefore
integrally
connected
with
resolving
the
problems
of
political
economy
of
the
entire
north-east.
Only
by
fashioning
of
a
federal,
decentralised
set-up
with
genuine
autonomy
for
minority
groups
can
the
diverse
aspirations
connected
with
identity,
language
and
culture
be
met.
The
RSS
&
Hindutva
Gameplan
In
the
recent
years,
the
RSS
has
stepped
up
its
work
in
the
tribal
areas.
It
seeks
to
counter
the
influence
of
the
Church
and
Christian
institutions.
Through
its
front,
the
Vanavasi
Kalyan
Parishad,
the
RSS
seeks
to
"hinduise"
the
tribal
people
who
have
their
own
religious
beliefs
and
practices
including
native
worship
and
animistic
beliefs.
The
sinister
plan
is
to
inculcate
Hindu
chauvinist
ideas
including
the
caste
system.
This
is
motivated
by
the
aim
of
putting
Christian
and
non-Christian
adivasis
against
each
other.
Such
trends
have
been
seen
in
parts
of
Orissa,
Jharkhand
and
other
places.
The
RSS
wants
to
coopt
the
adivasis
into
its
brahmanical
Hindutva
fold.
It
refuses
to
recognise
the
tribal
people
as
"adivasis"
which
means
original
people
and
terms
them
as
"vanavasis"
which
confines
the
tribal
people
solely
to
the
forests.
By
this,
they
negate
history.
Many
of
the
adivasis
today
are
descendants
of
those
who
were
driven
out
of
the
fertile
plains
into
the
hills
and
forests
by
successive
wave
of
settlers
centuries
ago.
But
the
RSS
seeks
to
impose
the
upper-caste
Hindu
order
by
relegating
tribal
people
to
"vanavasis".
The
nature
of
institutions
run
by
the
RSS
outfits
poses
a
serious
challenge
to
the
secular
democratic
forces.
The
Party
should
take
steps
to
work
among
the
tribal
people
to
counter
the
RSS
influence
politically
and
ideologically.
The
CPI(M)
has
to
foster
the
unity
of
the
tribal
and
non-tribal
people
and
counter
the
divisive
forces.
In
certain
areas,
particularly
in
the
north-east,
some
of
the
Church
groups
are
fostering
separatist
tendencies
with
the
sectarian
aim
of
consolidating
their
religious
influence.
This
is
being
used
for
divisive
purposes
and
weakens
national
unity.
Unity
of
All
Toiling
Sections
The
CPI(M)
while
taking
up
the
special
problems
of
the
tribal
people,
will
also
work
for
forging
bonds
of
solidarity
between
the
tribal
and
non-tribal
working
people.
Within
tribal
communities
also
class
differentiation
is
taking
place.
The
CPI(M)
stands
firmly
for
the
cause
of
the
toiling
tribal
people
and
establishing
their
unity
with
the
rural
poor
of
the
non-tribal
sections.
The
exploitation
of
the
tribals
by
the
semi-feudal
and
bourgeois
classes
cannot
be
fought
back
successfully
without
the
broad
unity
of
the
oppressed
of
the
tribal
and
non-tribal
sections.
Conclusion
For
the
CPI(M),
the
tribal
question
is
not
just
a
question
of
protection
of
ethnic
identity
or
defending
the
rights
of
a
significant
minority.
It
is
also
a
class
question.
There
are
millions
of
tribal
people
who
are
the
landless
rural
poor,
the
semi-proletariat
or
the
working
class.
They
constitute
an
important
part
of
the
proletariat
in
India.
We
have
to
organise
them
to
fight
for
their
rights
as
workers,
agricultural
labour
and
poor
peasants.
This
can
be
done
successfully
by
building
the
common
movement
alongwith
the
working
people
of
the
non-tribal
sections.
At
the
same
time,
we
have
to
emphasise
their
special
problems
of
alienation
from
their
land,
of
their
access
to
forests
and
its
produce,
of
ending
the
brutal
exploitation
of
the
bourgeois-landlord
classes
and
the
contractors
and
protection
of
their
identity,
language
and
culture.
For
this,
wherever
necessary,
we
must
to
set
up
mass
organisations
of
the
tribal
people,
a
platform
which
can
voice
their
specific
demands
and
link
them
up
to
the
general
democratic
movement.
At
the
same
time,
we
must
ensure
their
participation
in
class
and
mass
movements.
A
Tribal
People's
Charter
The
charter
of
demands
for
a
better
life
for
the
tribal
people
should
consist
of
the
following:
1. Stop alienation of land belonging to the tribal people; plug loopholes in existing laws and take steps to restore land transferred from adivasis. Register land records for tribal lands. In scheduled areas under Fifth Schedule, adhere to the Samata judgement of Supreme Court regarding use of land for industrial and commercial purposes.
2.
Takeover
surplus
lands
above
ceiling
and
distribute
them
to
landless
adivasis
along
with
other
landless
families.
Provide
irrigation
facilities
in
remote
tribal
areas.
Allot
degraded
forest
land
to
tribal
people.
3.
Amend
the
Forest
Act
in
such
a
manner
as
to
recognise
the
rights
of
adivasi
forest
dwellers
to
access
and
use
of
forests.
People's
participation
in
forests
through
community
management
should
be
introduced.
4.
Forest
produce
must
be
accessible
to
forest
dwellers
and
neighbourhood
adivasi
communities.
The
tyranny
of
forest
guards
must
end.
For
marketing
forest
produce,
cooperative
efforts
which
are
not
bureaucratically
managed
but
of
the
adivasis
as
producers
of
forest
goods
should
be
set-up.
5.
No
project
industrial
or
developmental
can
be
undertaken
where
displacement
occurs
without
a
comprehensive
and
sustainable
rehabilitation
package.
Such
a
scheme
must
be
put
in
place
before
any
displacement
or
work
on
the
project
begins.
Provide
employment
and
rehabilitation
to
already
displaced
persons.
6.
Women
should
have
equal
rights
in
land
and
other
communal
resources.
Campaign
to
end
practices
degrading
women's
status
must
be
carried
out.
The
practice
of
dowry
infiltrating
tribal
society
must
be
countered.
Practices
such
as
witchcraft
must
be
combated.
7.
Provision
of
drinking
water
in
remote
hamlets
must
be
a
priority
for
ending
hardships
to
tribal
women
in
this
regard.
Sexual
harassment
of
adivasi
women
who
go
to
the
forests
for
gathering
produce
and
firewood
must
be
strictly
punished.
Tribal
developmental
schemes
should
pay
adequate
attention
for
employment
for
adivasi
women.
Protection
for
women
at
work
sites
from
sexual
exploitation.
8.
Enforce
protection
against
money-lending/usury
which
exploits
adivasis.
Bonded
labour
and
exploitation
of
adivasi
men
and
women
by
contravening
all
labour
laws
must
be
effectively
checked.
Strict
implementation
of
atrocities
on
adivasis
under
the
Prevention
of
Atrocities
on
SC
&
ST
Act.
9.
The
public
distribution
system
should
be
revamped
so
that
all
tribal
areas
are
covered
with
fair
price
shops
and
cooperatives.
All
tribal
areas
scheduled
and
non-scheduled
must
be
covered
by
a
universal
system
where
all
tribal
families
get
foodgrains
and
other
essential
commodities
at
subsidised
rates.
Expand
antyodaya
schemes.
10.
Special
composite
educational
programmes
for
tribal
students
should
be
promoted
by
the
Central
Government
and
all
the
state
governments.
Arrangements
for
setting
up
of
schools
in
the
tribal
dominated
areas
with
provision
of
vocational
training
and
hostel
facilities
for
the
tribal
youth
should
be
undertaken.
Special
schemes
for
education
of
tribal
girls.
Education
in
tribal
languages
from
primary
school
level.
11.
Implementation
of
reservation
of
ST
quotas
in
all
categories
of
employment
and
education.
Curb
issuance
of
false
ST
certificates
to
non-tribals.
Special
allocation
for
public
health
facilities
and
setting
up
of
primary
health
centres
in
the
remote
tribal
areas.
12.
All
tribal
languages
should
be
recognised.
Include
major
tribal
languages
such
as
Santhali
and
Bodo
in
the
Eighth
Schedule
of
the
Constitution.
Oppose
moves
to
eliminate
indigenous
cultural
traditions,
which
foster
collective
consciousness
and
egalitarianism.
Campaign
against
social
evils,
which
are
intensifying
among
the
youth
by
penetration
of
bourgeois
values
and
commercialisation.
Foster
cultural
expression
and
creative
folk
arts
based
on
the
rich
cultural
forms
of
tribal
communities.
13.
Strictly,
enforce
constitutional
safeguards
for
the
scheduled
tribes.
Provision
of
autonomy
under
the
Sixth
schedule
should
be
strengthened
by
amending
the
schedule.
Extend
provisions
of
Autonomous
District
Council
to
other
states
where
compact,
majority
tribal
areas
exist.
Constitute
elected
autonomous
councils
replacing
nominated
advisory
councils
in
Fifth
Schedule
areas.