Messages In This Digest (6
Messages)
Messages
- 1.
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Mon Feb 2, 2009 8:59 am (PST)
cg net padhkar achcha lagta hai
aur dil se awaz aati hai ki 'unka jo kaam hai woh ahle siyasat jaane
mera kaam muhabbat hai jise pahuncha raha
hun main'
regards
- 2.
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Posted by: "Shubhranshu Choudhary"
s...@cgnet.in
Tue Feb 3, 2009 1:36 am (PST)
*Raman optimistic but cautious over peace talks with Maoists
*Pioneer 2/2/09
Raipur: After decades of violence, the Maoists have offered to hold peace
talks with the Chhattisgarh Government. While Chief Minister Raman Singh has
expressed his desire to hold discussions with the outlawed Maoists if the
proposal came from the 'right' quarters, the police bosses have advised
caution and said it could be a diversionary ploy by the Leftist.
Reacting to the peace talk offer by the Maoists, Raman Singh said any
proposal in this regard should come from higher level, responsible for
taking decision not from a zonal committee level. "We are ready for talks,"
the CM said. "What is their agenda and what are the issues they want to
discuss with the Government, these should be given in detail for a serious
dialogue on the issue," he added.
The Maoists' overture came a week after the Chief Minister told The Pioneer
that he was ready to hold dialogue with the Maoists. "I am ready for
discussion with them and can go anywhere they call me for talks but it
should be on an open forum," he had said. The outlawed Maoists on Saturday
"in the interest of people" offered peace talks with the State Government
authorities in a statement appearing in the newspapers. "The State
Government should create a conducive atmosphere for mutual trust for the
peace-talk," Dandkaranya zonal committee spokesman of the Maoists was quoted
as having said. Skeptical about the intent of the Maoists, State's Director
General of Police Vishwaranjan said, "Any talk on the issue has to be on
wider level. "It should not be restricted to Chhattisgarh alone which shares
boarder with the other Maoist-affected States like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa,
Maharashtra and others". Top police officials suspect that the peace talk
offer may be part of Maoists' strategy to buy time to reorganise themselves
as they were losing grounds in their area of operation. "As precondition for
talks, we might ask them to lay down arms, surrender areas control, and
prepare for joining the social main stream through a democratic process," a
top Home department source told The Pioneer. The police also believe the
peace talk offer is the result of consistent and continuous action against
the Maoists. The talk offer also assumes added significance in view of the
recent State Assembly election in which BJP won 11 of the 12 seats in the
Bastar region, most affected by the Maoist activities. Despite the Maoists'
poll boycott call, the polling went up to 79 per cent of voting in certain
Maoist pockets like Kondagaon.
*
*
- 3.
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Posted by: "Shubhranshu Choudhary"
s...@cgnet.in
Tue Feb 3, 2009 1:36 am (PST)
*Female Naxals responsible for rise in violence in Gadchiroli
*Hindustan Times
Nagpur, February 02, 2009: The sudden spurt in naxalite violence in
Gadchiroli district is largely attributed to the active involvement of women
cadres in subversive activities. If sources are to be believed it is the
militant female brigade that caused a rise of naxalite violence in the
tribal-dominated district of Gadchiroli in recent past!
The CPI (Maoist) had appointed one Narmada, a 44-year-old militant lady
Maoist as the secretary of Gadchiroli division, a strategic location for the
ultra-leftists, bordering Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa few months
ago. Narmada, a senior naxalite leader is the wife of CPI (Maoist)
ideologue Sudhakar allias Kiran, who works for its publication division. She
was entrusted with leading the naxal offensive in Gadchiroli a few months
back after the death of Shivanna, who was allegedly killed in a police
encounter in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh last year.
According to available information, Narmada belongs to neighbouring Andhra
Pradesh and a college dropped out. After taking the rein of the Gadchiroli
unit, she has decided to set up five different platoons --- an aggressive
military force --- in her territory with modern arms, ammunition and latest
communication network to counter the state machinery.
The intelligence sources have information that the Sunday attack was a joint
operation of North Bastar and Gadchiroli unit of CPI (Maoist), led by
Narmada that attacked the police personnel and killed 15 policemen on the
spot. Her deputy is also a lady, Tarakka allias Vimalaa, resident of
Kisthapur, near Aheri in Gadchiroli district. Tarakka has been in the
naxalite movement since 1985 and involved in several violent naxalite
missions. She is the wife of very senior naxalite leader, Bhupathi,
presently a central committee member of CPI (Maoist) and the predecessor of
Narmada. During his stint in Gadchiroli, Bhupathi, impressed with this
tribal girl, who never did her schooling, but has impressive organisational
skills.
He finally married her in early 90s. After taking the charge, Narmada
sidelined male guerrillas from the key positions in dalams (squads) and
entrusted females with the key posts, like squad commanders which surprised
many. Most of her local organisational squads (LOS) --- a military set up---
are headed by women naxalites. One LOS consists 10-15 armed naxalites. The
chief of Chatgaon LOS is Raneeta, Kasansur LOS head is Ranjita while
Surajagarh LOS is Dhanni. In Gatta LOS, Ramko was appointed as commander
while Kurkheda, Rajoli, Jimalgatta and Khobramendha chiefs are Sunita,
Sujata, Saroja and Rajita respectively. Moreover, the personal security
guards of Narmada are also women. They are Prabhawati, 24, and 21-year-old
Rupa. Similarly, her deputy Tarakka kept one Shevanti as her personal
security woman.
*Naxal attack attempt to regain lost ground?
*
Hindustan Times
February 03, 2009: The killing of 15 policemen at Markegaon village in
Gadchiroli district on Sunday — reports said many had their eyes gouged out
and limbs cut off — is clearly an attempt by the Naxalites of the region to
regain lost ground.
"The needless savagery was purely intended to terrorise," said a senior
local policeman. "It was a message to the locals, specially the informers,
warning them of the fate that awaits if they are ever caught helping the
state against the Naxalites in any way." The Naxalite movement in this
region, though persisting for the past two-and-a-half decades, has seen
repeated setbacks in the last two years.
The roughly 40 square km of 'liberated area' on the
Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border where the Naxalite writ alone
ran two years ago, has shrunk to less than half. And a host of senior
leaders of the movement in Maharashtra have been arrested or killed. It
started with the arrest of two top leaders, Murali Satya Reddy and Arun
Ferriera in Nagpur in 2006. This in turn led to the capture of two other top
ideologues from Mumbai — Vernon Gonsalves and Sridhar Srinivas. With
Naxalite camps in the region being pinpointed and raided, following the
arrest of these key activists, around 250 Naxalite workers, including some
dalam (squad) commanders, surrendered to the police last year. Another major
setback followed last Friday when 15 Naxalites, including two dalam
commanders, were captured near Bhamragarh in South Gadchiroli.
Despite the Markegaon attack, the scale of Naxalite violence in Gadchiroli
and surrounding districts has been comparatively less than in other Naxal
affected states like Chhattisgarh, Orissa or Jharkhand. But the ruthlessness
and stunning success of this attack shows that the Naxalites are still far
from beaten. Besides the conditions of backwardness and poverty that drew
Naxalites to the region in the first place, remain. The Madia Gond tribals,
who form the bulk of the population in this forested area, still eke out a
primitive existence through subsistence farming or tendu leaf (used for
making bidis) collection. While they do inspire terror among the locals too,
there is no doubt that the Naxalites have indeed forced the tendu leaf
contractors, for instance, to pay better wages. (They also pay substantial
sums as protection money to the Naxalites.)
Even a report submitted by a Planning Commission appointed group in March
last year acknowledged the Naxalite contribution to helping the marginalized
sections secure a better deal. It noted how Naxalites had implemented land
reforms, and forced the rich and powerful to observe at least the existing
laws, which they otherwise ignored. It noted how the policy changes in the
name of economic reform of the past two decades had actually worsened the
conditions of the bulk of tribals and landless. The Naxalites, who believe
in violent overthrow of the state and have absolutely no compunctions about
the means they use have to be neutralized, but the conditions that enable
them to flourish need to be eradicated as well. (Hindustan Times 3/2/09)
- 4.
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Tue Feb 3, 2009 2:14 am (PST)
Kendu-Leave collection makes Odisha rich and tribals poorer
Panchayati Raj governance and Forest Rights Act can help the tribals to revive their economic status, writes Pravin Patel, director, Tribal Welfare Society and Public Eye Swiss Award 2008 nominee
More than 10 lakh (1 Million) tribals and other forest dwellers are engaged in the Kendu Leaves (KL) collection in the state of Odisha. Kendu leaves trade in Odisha was done by few private contractors who made huge money in this lucrative trade. Those private contractors were so powerful that they successfully managed to interfere in state politics but also got the ministers of their choice. The interferences were tolerated in exchange of huge donations to political parties to buy favours. The instability of the Odisha governments during 1960s is largely attributed to the powerful Kendu Leaves lobby.
Immediately on coming of the late Indira Gandhi to the centre stage of National Politics; through the then chief minister late Nandini Satpathy nationalized the trade in the year 1973 to get rid of the private contractors. Big claims were made that KL contractors are exploiting poor tribals, as such to save them from being exploited, the trade will be conducted by the state Forest department which was assigned the duty to collect KL from the tribals and process the same and hand over to the Odisha State Forest Development Corporation for marketing.
With change in the players, Private traders' monopoly has been replaced by the Forest Department monopoly. Since 1973, a long period of thirty five years has passed. It can be safely assumed that the plight of the tribals must have changed within this period in the KL trade that generates annually about Rs 500 crore (INR 50 million) from average production of five lakh quintals. We were shocked to see that the plight of the tribals has on the contrary worsened. Poor tribals have become pauper. The very fact that almost half of the population of Odisha lives Below Poverty Line (BPL), which must be 80% or more amongst the KL pluckers. Besides acute poverty, lack of quality education, corruption in Public Distribution System (PDS) and lack of health care has resulted in malnutrition that has pushed them to their premature death.
Despite change in policy that promised them to bail out of exploitation, despite spending huge money on several developmental heads, if this is the reality, Questions are raised why? Whom to blame? What can be done? To find answers we need to look at reasons one by one.
The first reason is the dictatorial attitude of the forest officials who have replaced private traders. KL activities have been a milking cow particularly for field staff like for rangers and forest guards. Fictitious purchases; under counting of leaves and various tricks played in quality gradation of the processed leaves are some of the sources of eating away the money.
The other reason is the overall neglect of the tribals by the state in practicing anti-tribal policies for the comforts of Biri manufacturers, Industrial and Mining Corporations. It is shocking to know that while Iron Ore, Bauxite and other natural mineral wealth are allowed to be virtually looted at laughably low rate of royalty, for example Iron ore, it is only Rs. 4/- at the lowest and Rs. 27/- per MT (International market rate is about Rs. 10,000/-)
Bamboo is another example. Under management of OFDC, Bamboos were supplied at a highly subsidized rate to paper mills. When the paper mills can be supplied bamboo at only 49 Paise each piece, why tribals needs are ignored? Why tribals are harassed on false cases despite those tribals need Bamboos to weave baskets and make other products for livelihood. Even the artisans' needs are ignored
Games played in Kendu Leaves trade
State share of earnings in shape of royalty and taxes is more than 40%, where as 10 lakh pluckers gets only about 25%. Forest department with a staff of 12,000 spends about 15% towards establishment cost, research and in the name of other over heads. What research they have done at the cost of spending crores of rupees is any body's guess.
The above facts makes it amply clear that the state policies are drafted to help those who can buy favours where as the poor tribals are denied their legitimate rights. State must accept the fact that its wrongly cultivated policies have failed to save tribals from being exploited or improve their economic and social conditions. The result of thirty five years of failed policy has pushed them to absolute poverty.
Newspapers have reported of selling children and wives at Bolangir district, where KL of best quality is collected that fetches highest rates in the country. Exporters compete with each other to buy those leaves at the highest rate in the country, those who collect the leaves are extremely poor.
The story is not limited to Bolangir only. We find in newspapers reports about protesting tribals from many areas of the state that even after months payments to the KL pluckers are not made. KL pluckers mortgage their cards to the money lenders, who collect the money on behalf of the pluckers. Delay causes further losses of high rate of interest charged by the money lenders.
It is painful to note that the Kendu Leaves Coordination Committee chaired by Chief Secretary, finds it difficult to even increase a paisa or two per bundle of 20 Kendu leaves by stating that any increase in purchase price will make the KL business less lucrative. Even when the decisions are taken with great difficulty, it is publicized as if great favours done on KL pluckers. This exposes the mentality of the state who exploit tribals as a tool to earn Rs 500 crore but even a token increase in KL purchase prices, their eyebrows are raised. From the air conditioned comforts they expect tribals to defy scorching summer sun with mercury touching 48 degree to collect KL.
>From the above facts, we can conclude that monopoly of the state, dictatorial attitude of the forest officials at the field level, inept police to crack on illegally operating money lenders and lack of accountability at all level by the concerned officials is the root cause of misery to the tribals. The very purpose to save the tribals from being exploited at the hands of private contractors for which the trade was nationalized stands defeated.
The present policy practiced from last 35 years has failed. When there is a need to completely change the policy, tribals are lured by playing cheap vote bank politics by promising to give them shoes / chappals for free. Nationalization of Kendu Leaves is a glaring example to demonstrate how blindly a failed policy can be pursued so long for political games and satisfying Biri industries. Where the tribals should go?
After a long struggle to get justice by the tribals and civil society organization, it took 60 years to the Indian parliament to admit the 'historic injustice' done to the Scheduled Tribes and forest dwellers to get rid of the corrupt forest and revenue department officials. "The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006" finally recognized their rights, but the rules were framed much later i.e. w.e.f. January 1. 2008. The delay in implementation of the act is largely due to the strong opposition by a certain group of people who desperately tried their best to see that the tribals are not given their rights.
Forest rights act besides recognizing ownership of occupied land in the forests and provides rightful access to collect 'minor forest produce', including Kendu leaves, Bamboo, Honey besides other minor forest produces. FRA provides unrestricted collection of minor forest produces by tribals and other forest dwelling communities. It also allows one time processing and sales to whomsoever they wish. However, in absence of clear rules, some confusion remains on how to transport the material from the forest to the customer's destination.
Forest officials and traders who exploit tribals are under fear to get out of business if the tribals use their rights. Few retired Forest Department officials of Odisha have filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Hon'ble High Court of Odisha demanding to stay the implementation of the act by labeling tribals as "Encroachers" and feared that they will destroy the remaining forests. On the contrary, in many areas tribals themselves have come forward to protect forests. The fact remains that without forests tribals can not survive and without tribals forests can not be safe.
As per a report, Odisha has lost more than 25% of its forest cover during the period 1972 to 1999, which is much before the Forest Rights Act has come in to force. This further exposes the hollow charges of the officials who have not only failed in their duties to protect the forests. Is it a secret that timber and forest mafias have eaten away most of the forests including the Simlipal reserve forest! The so called plantations done by the forest department has largely remained on paper only. Money is spent but trees are not seen in itself; complains of corruption in the department. Where has the money gone that has been spent in the name of plantations?
Government policies and institutions have failed to raise the economic condition of the tribals all these years. Panchayati Raj governance and Forest Rights Act are two legal provisions that empower tribals to shape their future and improve socio economic conditions. A beginning has been made but lot more needs to be done. There is an urgent need to spread awareness amongst tribals about their rights on forest produces including Kendu Leaves; Bamboo; Sal Seed and other forest produces so that they can demand justice and start using those rights for their speedy economic recovery.
Pravin Patel
- 5.
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Tue Feb 3, 2009 2:16 am (PST)
Wild elephants enter Chhattisgarh village
2 Feb 2009, 1502 hrs IST, IANS
RAIPUR: A herd of wild elephants entered a forested village in Chhattisgarh early Monday and frightened
tribals have now sought urgent help from
forest department officials to drive the animals away before they cause any
harm, officials said.
The nine elephants that have entered Labji village, some 400 km from here,
have demolished dozens of houses in the past week in different villages of
the state's northern Surguja district, a forest official said.
A forest official said his department would provide full cooperation to the
villagers. The tribals say they will migrate to safer areas if immediate
assistance is not offered to them.
Dozens of villages in Surguja, Jashpur, Koria, Korba and Raigarh districts
in northern Chhattisgarh have been affected by elephant attacks for more
than a decade.
Attacks on humans by elephants have increased since 2005 and dozens of
people have been killed. Officials said encroachment by people into the
elephant habitat has caused more conflicts.
- 6.
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Tue Feb 3, 2009 3:18 am (PST)
32 Congress legislators suspended from Chhattisgarh assembly
Raipur, Feb 3 (IANS) Thirty-two legislators of Chhattisgarh's opposition
Congress party were suspended for a day from the state assembly Tuesday
after they trooped towards the speaker's podium protesting the alleged
killing of tribals by the police.Speaker Dharamlal Kaushik suspended the
Congress members as they marched towards his chair, demanding that either a
house panel or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe the Jan 8
killing of 17 tribals allegedly by the police in Dantewada district.
The Congress has a strength of 38 in the 90-member house. Six members of the
party were absent.
The suspension was made under Rule-250 of the assembly. Those suspended
include leader of opposition Ravindra Choubey, deputy leader of opposition
Rampukar Singh, former chief minister Ajit Jogi and his wife Renu Jogi.
The Congress had moved an adjournment motion wanting to discuss the issue
but there was uproar when state Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar said the
police had "killed Naxalites (Maoists) in a gun battle and not civilians".
He added that the House could not debate the killing as the matter was
before the high court and, therefore, sub-judice.
Kanwar said that the police had taken photographs of the bodies of those
killed and those saying that civilians were killed in the operation want to
"bring down the morale of the police force".
The minister said the government had ordered a magisterial inquiry and that
the sub-divisional magistrate of Dantewada was conducting the probe.
While opposition members shouted slogans against the BJP continuing in
power, Kanwar said: "It (the allegations) is part of the nefarious campaign
to term the encounter as killing of civilians just to check the police
offensive against Maoists."
Angry Congress members asked how the government could say that civilians
were not killed in the operation, especially when an inquiry ordered by the
government was underway.
"The government must order a CBI probe or by a committee of the state
assembly to ascertain the truth behind the Jan 8 killings," Congress member
and former home minister Nandkumar Patel told the assembly amid much
slogan-shouting.
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