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Amulya |
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Profile
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During the 10 years (1985-’95) of his work with SSS, he expanded the scope and area of the organisation’s work. During these years he worked with tribals of about 60 villages on mainly health and education. Amulya worked as a trainer as well as mobiliser, in the organisation. He rose within ranks to become the chief functionary of the organization. But in the year 1995 he left the organization after having repeated clash of values with the board members of SSS. Adivasi Chetana Sangathan was formed in 1997 in Parjung block of Dhenkanal district. SRUTI is supporting ACS from 1997 onwards.
Area Profile
Dhenkanal occupies the central position with Keonjhar to its north and Angul to its west. All the three districts are placed more or less in the same geo – political region. Covered by long range of lofty mountains and dense forests, these regions are abundant in natural resources. Inhabitants of these regions are mostly the weak community rich in natural resources. The economy of the districts is predominantly agrarian. A larger section of the rural population (mostly tribals) depends on agriculture. But the agricultural land is in the hand of particular class. Most of the tribals hold very little or no agricultural land. They work as agricultural labourers and depend on daily wages. The non-tribals control the economy and the tribals remain only on the receiving end of their exploitative tactics. The same class controls the economic system and social system as well as state governing system.
Adivasi Chetana Sangathan
Adivasi Chetana Sangathan (ACS) was formed in October 1997, with 209 tribal families of 10 villages in Dhenkanal district under the leadership of Amulya Kumar Nayak. At its inception, it was decided that the main objectives of ACS would be to safeguard the rights and dignity of the tribals along with bringing about all-round development of these people through struggle as well as constructive work.
Completing 10 years of hard struggle, ACS is now working in more than 50 villages situated as far as 90 kms away from the district headquarter. The area is located near the Dadraghati Irrigation Project. Although these villages are very near to the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) plant in Angul and Talcher Thermal power plant, the residents have never seen electricity in their villages. Talcher is the nearest town, which is 22 km. away.
The work of the sangathan during the course of time has spreaded to nearby areas and has also inspired people of more than 150 villages in nearby Angul district to form Malyagiri Adivasi Sangharsh Manch (MASM). ACS and MASM jointly have got 13 full time karyakartas including Amulya.
Other than Santal, Ho and Munda, there are Kolha, Matia and Majhi tribes group residing there. Most of the tribals in this region migrated from Mayurbhanj district in the 1950s. Being simple by nature they are always exploited by the local high caste Hindus. The tribals mainly depend upon daily wages in most of the time during the year. They get engaged into stone cutting, dry-wood cutting, agricultural work, soil digging etc. in lieu of daily wages.
Malyagiri Adivasi Sangharsh Manch
Tribal Festival was the ACS core-team’s idea to revive indigenous culture of the tribals of the area. The festival that goes on for 2 days both day and night, not only help the people feel proud of their culture but also a great place to bring tribals of the nearby areas together. It so happened that in the year 2002, a young tribal from nearby Pallahara block of Angul district came to meet the ACS team to explore the possibility of expanding ACS or forming a new sangathan in Pallahara region. He along with few other youths of the said region was sent to Lok Mukti Sangathan in Jharsuguda for training and exposure. It is important to understand here that as opposed to ACS area, where tribals form a minority of the population, in the Pallahara region tribals are the majority. The same tribal groups (as in ACS area) namely; Santal, Ho and Munda also live there. Regular visit by Amulya, Ghasiram and team started from March 2002 and a new sangathan, Malyagiri Adivasi Sangharsh Mancha (MASM) was formed on 16th June 2002. MASM is a sister organization of ACS and at present working in more than 150 villages. ACS and MASM together have also formed a theatre group under the movement named “Theatre of the Oppressed” for the furtherance of both the movements.
ACS remained limited to only about 16 villages in Parjung block till 2002 due to various reasons. One of these was that the tribal villages in Parjung block came in contact with a left reactionary political party. The party cadres misappropriated funds and thus created an environment of suspicion. It took ACS more than five years to make an entry to these villages. Meanwhile Amulya himself developed as an ideologue and a master trainer. He helped other SRUTI fellows, in Orissa as well as in other states in perspective building. A boon came in the year 2002. Soon after helping formation of MASM, ACS itself expanded in more than 50 villages in Dhenkanal district.
MAIN ISSUES TAKEN UP BY ACS & MASM OVER THE YEARS
Land Struggle
As has been mentioned before, the tribals in this area are migrant settlers and thus before formation of ACS, the local brokers, mafias and corrupted govt. official were collecting huge amount of money from poor tribals for giving homestead land patta. The tribals were regularly harassed by non- tribals. ACS demanded for providing homestead land and other govt. facilities to fulfill the basic needs of the people. The organization fought tooth and nail against the vested -interest group. With sheer determination and devotion to the purpose ACS could write many success stories.
The Adivasi Chetna Sangathan (ACS), since its inception continuously put pressure on the government officials to provide homestead land to the tribals in the area. During one of the major land struggles at Mohanpasi the Revenue Inspector also demarcated the land, made plots of 4 decimals per family and distributed to 157 tribal families in Jambunalia GP. The SCs protested against this act of the government. However, they agreed to negotiate with the tribals in the presence of the Sarpanch, ward members, and other people. They demanded monetary compensation from the tribals and threatened ACS activists. Soon afterwards the SCs started constructing sheds on this land, which led to a lot of tension in the area. There could have been a serious confrontation on this issue. There was no support from the local police because of pressure from local politicians. In the first week of June, the tribals decided to gather in large numbers at Raijhara and build temporary thatched houses. However, 50 harijans came to the area and tried to prevent the tribals from building their houses. Then the ACS again approached the Sub- Collector and the Tehsildar for help. The SCs filed petitions to the higher government officials and ministers falsely alleging that the tehsildar is being partial to the tribals and giving their land to tribals who have migrated from outside. An inquiry conducted by the government reached the conclusion that the allegations made by the SCs were false and the allotment of the homestead land to the tribals was legal. Finally, the local MLA in the presence of the Tehsildar and BDO of Parjang distributed homestead land pattas to 132 families.
Under the Vasundhara scheme launched by the Orissa government, 140 applications were submitted to the Tehsildar to provide 2-4 acres of agricultural land to each family out of which 22 families have got 3 acres each. 110 applications were submitted for homestead land. 85 people have got homestead land patta.
Issue of Environment Protection
Rapid deforestation and environmental degradation was going on in Dadraghati area since the construction of the Dadraghati MIP in 1980. ACS helped spread the message regarding protection the forest and environment. 20 villages of ACS have been protecting about 400 acres of forest near their villages since inception of the sangathan. Tulukpatia and Verobania forests, which had been destroyed by outsiders has now been afforested. ACS has fought a number of times when local mafia brought false orders of stone quarry and tried to destroy village forests.
The people of Mohanpasi and Kendumunda jointly protected a small mountain aptly named ‘CHETANA MUNDIA’ by ACS, as it is situated in the middle of both the villages. The hillock has got dense forest. In the month of November 1999 a group of stone mafias got a lease order to have stone quarry at Mohanpasi and started drilling in the mountain by compressor machine for blasting of stone. When the people of Mohanpasi and Kendumunda protested it, the mafias showed the lease order and threatened the people to file case for loss of government revenue but the people seized the compressor machine and stopped the work. On the next day ACS people conducted an agitation at Parjang Tahasil office and demanded the Tahasildar to cancel the lease as it destroyed environment. On 20th November the Tahasildar with Revenue Inspector visited the spot and found the stone quarry lease has been given for another spot and not for that particular mountain. Then the mountain blasting procedure stopped and by the demand of ACS the lease order for the entire Mohanpasi area was cancelled. The ACS members (local villagers) took it upon themselves to protect as well as regenerate the forest saved from the mafia. The sangathan is also continuing to protest other illegal stone quarries in nearby areas.
The growing man-elephant conflict is also widespread in this area. The wild elephants getting alienated from their habitats are raging rampant destruction in the villages and forest fringe areas. Near about 200 villages in the sangathan area are bearing the brunt of elephant attack. There has been massive crop destruction amounting to lakhs of rupees. With the arrival of harvesting period, the farmers have to spend sleepless nights guarding their paddy fields. Besides it 11 people have died during the last three years. The sangathan on this issue has attempted a two way process to address this issue. First is the compensation for the loss of life and livelihood. The family of the deceased have been compensated with Rs.1 lakh each. As per the state government the compensation amount for the damage of crops is Rs.2500 per acre of agricultural land while a farmer spends more than Rs. 5000 per acre. So the sangathan is taking up this issue of raising the compensation amount. Secondly, protecting the habitat of the elephants i.e. forests. ACS and MASM have jointly formed 44 forest protection committees and have saved more than 4400 acres of forests
Panchayati Raj
ACS members go through continuous training regarding politics of the state as well as rights and duties of every citizen. They therefore are able to exercise their rights. They have fought against high caste members of the society who tried to grab the power given to the Panchayat by curtailing the right to information of these tribals. They have successfully involved the administration in correcting the wrong done to them in the name of passing resolutions (false) in gramsabhas.
During the panchayat elections, both the sangathan organise voter’s awareness campaign by organising padayatras and village level meetings stressing on fair election. In the last Panchayat elections (2007) the Sangathan supported 40 candidates who stood in the election of which 18 won (8 women) as naib sarpanchs and ward members. They have been sensitising people on panchayati raj and their role in such a system. Issues from the people are discussed during the gram sabhas also.
Education
Till 1996 there was no school in the villages. ACS took up the issue, encouraged the villagers to start schools and asked the educated tribal youths to come forward to teach. Each student contributed in cash or kind towards teacher’s remuneration. Till date ACS has been able to pressurize the Govt. to start as many as 60 schools under District Primary Education Programme and Education Guarantee Scheme. More than 1200 tribal children are getting education, due to the intervention.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)
The sangathan has distributed around 800 leaflets and conducted village shivirs for disseminating detailed information on NREGS. A monitoring group of the sangathan is ensuring proper implementation of the scheme at the village and the gram panchayat level. With the continuous pressure from the sangathan, 860 families got registered and have also got job cards. More than 2000 families have also got employment for 10 - 35 days.
Public Distribution System
Ensuring proper implementation of public distribution system has been an ongoing work of the sangathan. Before the sangathan’s intervention the ration card used to be with the dealer. After much pressure, the cards are now with the people. The sangathan is now demanding tribal dealership in tribal hamlets to end the non-trbal domination. People and the members of the sangathan are continuously approaching the Supply department and also at the block office. The village committee is monitoring the PDS.
Preserving the Tribal Culture
ACS successfully organizes tribal festival at Kendumunda every year where about 1000 tribal men, women and children along with 1500 non tribals participate. Events like long jump, high jump, arrow shooting, stick pulling, rope pulling, leaf plate stitching are organised along with tribal music competition where tribal musical instruments are played and songs are sung both individually and in groups. The festival is attended by several administrative officers of the Block and the district. ACS utilizes the time in contact building.
A drama festival is also held by ACS. More than 12 tribal drama teams from the area of ACS and other villages perform short plays in Santali language which is highly appreciated by the largely Santali speaking audience. All the plays are educative and raise contemporary issues faced by tribal society. The need for revival and importance of tribal culture and language of the tribals is stressed by both these annual features. All the programmes are hosted by people and managed by people’s contribution.
