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Focus on tribals to win anti-Maoist battle: Ramesh

Hyderabad-Opposing mining, power and irrigation projects that cause mass displacement of tribals, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the battle against Maoists cannot be won without addressing issues like resettlement and rehabilitation of those affected.

“Our approach to mining is causing serious ecological and social havoc across the country. Over 20 million tribals have been displaced across the country in the last 50 years because of various projects.

“We have been totally insensitive to the tribals’ problems and unless we are serious about resettlement and rehabilitation which accompany industrialisation, I am afraid we are not going to win this battle,” he said while addressing a programme organised by MV Foundation (MVF) here.

Mr. Ramesh noted that the battle against Maoists was not that of guns, drones, planes and helicopters.

“This is a battle for the minds… a psychological warfare we are involved in. Unless we change the way our forest administration and tribal administration work…unless our approach to mining, which is causing such serious ecological and social havoc across the country, is changed, we are not going to win this battle.”

One of the emerging features of Maoist ideology was the progressively reducing age of the recruits, he said. “This is a matter of grave concern for us that Naxal cadres are comprising young boys and girls in age group of 12-15 years.”

“If in the long run we are going to make a dent on the attractiveness of Maoist ideology for young boys and girls who, because of the force of economic circumstances, are forced to join the cadres, it’s only through the involvement of groups like MVF (fighting against child labour),” he said.

Mr. Ramesh said his Ministry was focusing on transforming the way development programmes were implemented so that “people begin to see the difference”.Courtesy:PTI

Adivasis to launch movement

Guwahati, Jan. 21: The All Adivasi Students Association of Assam (AASAA) today decided to launch a yearlong movement from next month to secure the rights of the community, including demand for ST status and a better deal for tea garden workers.

Talking to reporter  from Doomni in Baksa district, the venue of the ongoing Adivasi Mahasabha, the association’s president, Raphael Kujur, said they were also planning to move the United Nations in this regard as the government’s approach towards their community was still more or less colonial in nature.

“The government woos the tea community during elections but looks the other way when it comes to meeting its genuine demands. But we Adivasis are one on our demands,” Kujur said, adding the movement would include mass gatherings, dharnas and road blockades from the block to state level.

Kujur reasoned that if the government could spend Rs 130 a day per person under the NREGA scheme, which hardly gave “any returns”, why were a tea labourer’s productive efforts rewarded with a meagre Rs 71? “Moreover, a tea garden worker goes to work at 7.30am, while others go between 9 and 10am. Is it justified? If the government does not come up with concrete steps before the budget session, we will intensify our protests, including dharnas in Delhi,” Kujur said.

There are around 70 lakh Adivasis/tea community members who play a decisive role in the state’s politics.

Around 20 Adivasi groups are participating in the Mahasabha, which is being organised by the AASAA. Among the five Adivasi rebel groups laying down arms on January 24 at the Sarusajai Stadium in presence of Union home minister P. Chidambaram and chief minister Tarun Gogoi, only the Birsa Commando Force’s top brass participated in the event.

During the Mahasabha, which will conclude tomorrow, it has been decided that 10 committees would be formed to look into the problems plaguing the community and to work on solving these.

“The committees will look after 10 different issues, including education, health, socio-economic conditions, langu-age, culture and sports status, among others. A framework has been created to bring the community on the development path by 2020 as part of the Assam Adivasi Vision 2020, which will publicly declared tomorrow. Laxmi Oraon, who was stripped during the 2008 Adivasi rally in Guwahati, will lead a procession,” Kujur said. Courtesy:TheTelegraph.

 

DMs to scan contours of plains mouzas

- Morcha cites adivasi support to argue against demographic profiling of plains pockets

VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Jan. 18: The Justice Shyamal Sen Committee today decided to ask the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri to prepare a map to see if the mouzas the Gorkha Janmutki Morcha wanted as part of the hill set-up were contiguous.

“This would be a first step,” said Shankar Adhikari, the Morcha’s convener of the Terai unit who is on the committee.

“Then would follow the more complex task of verifying whether they (the mouzas) are Gorkha dominated or not. Unless these areas are contiguous it would be difficult to include them in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. So we shall first study this aspect and then move forward. The district magistrates will be given 10 days to complete the map,” he added.

The committee’s decision comes a day after Morcha chief Bimal Gurung threatened to re-start the statehood agitation unless the GTA was implemented by March 27.

Sources in the state government doubted whether the committee could achieve the task of verifying if the mouzas were Gorkha-dominated before that. The government had initially given the committee a deadline of six months to submit its report. As the deadline will expire in February, the committee is expected to ask the government for more time.

“The verification (if the mouzas are Gorkha dominated) would be time-consuming process and we have not even started it yet. In fact, it is the verification process that is becoming one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the formation of the GTA,” another Morcha leader who is on the committee said. “What is good, however, is that a start has been made and we can only go forward from here.”

The Morcha has asked for the inclusion of 196 mouzas in the Dooars and an equal number in the Terai in the GTA. The hill party has maintained that it would not accept the new administrative arrangement unless the territorial status was firmed up.

The committee is headed by retired judge Shyamal Sen and consists of four Morcha representatives, the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, a representative of the state home department, the director of census (representing the Centre) and the administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

Adhikari said the Morcha representatives argued today that it was not necessary to get the demographic profile of these mouzas as most of the adivasi leaders of the Dooars and the Terai had said they were willing to be part of the GTA.

“They have even signed a pact with the Morcha on this,” Adhikari said. “After this, getting a democratic profile of the mouzas is a futile exercise.”

Adhikari said after the committee was formed, the government had invited submissions from people to know if they wanted the areas to be brought under the GTA.

“Of the 719 public submissions made before the committee, 696 applications were in favour of being part of the GTA. Although the rest of the applications were against the merger of the mouzas with the GTA, eight of them were from various political parties,” said Adhikari.

Government sources said only 392 mouzas initially demanded by the Morcha would be considered and not the entire Dooars and the Terai that was subsequently demanded by the hill party.

The next meeting of the committee is likely to be held in February, though the date has not been fixed.Courtesy:TheTelegraph.

Inter-caste offspring’s can’t be denied quota benefits: SC

Off-springs of inter-caste marriages cannot be denied the benefits of reservation on the mere ground that one of the parents belonged to upper caste, the Supreme Court has ruled.

A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai passed the ruling upholding an appeal filed by Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika challenging a Gujarat Government’s decision to strip him of reservation benefits under ST quota as his father belonged to the upper caste Kshatriya community.

“In an inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal the determination of the caste of the offspring is essentially a question of fact to be decided on the basis of the facts adduced in each case.”

“The determination of caste of a person born of an inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal cannot be determined in complete disregard of attending facts of the case,” Justice Alam writing the judgement said.

The court said ‘in an inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal there may be a presumption that the child has the caste of the father.’

“This presumption may be stronger in the case where in the inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal the husband belongs to a forward caste.

“But by no means the presumption is conclusive or irrebuttable and it is open to the child of such marriage to lead evidence to show that he/she was brought up by the mother who belonged to the scheduled caste/scheduled tribe,” the court said.

मानव तस्करी रोकने के लिए 330 जिलों में खुलेंगे विशेष केंद्र

नई दिल्ली : सीबीआइ के बाद अब गृह मंत्रालय भी मानव तस्करी पर लगाम लगाने की तैयारियों में जुट गया है। सीबीआइ ने इसके लिए 24 घंटे की हेल्पलाइन शुरू करने और मानव तस्करों की सूचना देने वालों को दो लाख रुपये इनाम देने की घोषणा की है। इसके साथ ही गृह मंत्रालय 330 जिलों में विशेष मानव तस्कर रोधी केंद्र खोलने की तैयारी में है। इन केंद्रों पर तैनात होने वाले पुलिस कर्मियों को विशेष प्रशिक्षण दिया जाएगा। मानव तस्करी रोकने से जुड़े देशभर के नोडल अधिकारियों की तीन दिन की कार्यशाला के बाद गृह मंत्रालय में अतिरिक्त सचिव बी. भामथी ने कहा कि मानव तस्करी रोधी केंद्र खोलने के लिए राज्यों को केंद्रीय सहायता दी जा रही है। अब तक इस तरह के 101 केंद्र शुरू किए जा चुके हैं। जबकि अगले वित्तीय वर्ष में 110 नए केंद्र शुरू करने की तैयारी है। उन्होंने कहा कि इन केंद्रों पर तैनात होने वाले पुलिस अधिकारियों को विशेष प्रशिक्षण देने की व्यस्था की गई है। इस सिलसिले में इंदिरा गांधी मुक्त विश्वविद्यालय (इग्नू) ने छह माह का विशेष कोर्स तैयार किया है। मानव तस्करी मामलों से जुड़े सभी पुलिस अधिकारियों के लिए इस कोर्स को अनिवार्य बना दिया गया है और इस संबंध में सभी राज्यों एवं केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को निर्देश भेज दिया गया है। उल्लेखनीय है कि उत्तर बंगाल मानव तस्करी के लिए खासतौर पर जाना जाता है। इस इलाके के चाय बागानों और पहाड़ी क्षेत्रों की लड़कियों को देश-विदेश में शादी तथा नौकरी का झांसा देकर बेच दिया जाता है। हाल ही में दार्जिलिंग की एक लड़की को गृह विभाग की पहल पर साउदी अरब से वापस लाया गया है।

Adivasi dies in police custody in Chhattisgarh

Aman Sethi

On the day Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh addressed a public gathering to mark the creation of Sukma district, carved out of Maoist-affected Dantewada, a custodial death in the Sukma police station underlines the difficulty in winning over a disaffected tribal populace in the backdrop of a violent counterinsurgency campaign.

Podiyam Mara of Kondre village died in the police station on the night of January 13, just hours after he was presented before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. “Mara hanged himself in the police lock-up using a bedsheet. Four constables have been suspended,” said a police spokesperson, “He was to be transferred to Dantewada jail, but he was held in the police station overnight as it was too late to travel on the night of the 13th.”

“[Mara] was picked up on January 12 during a CRPF operation and handed over the police the following morning,” said Inspector-General Pankaj Mishra of the Central Reserve Police Force, “If we encounter a suspect during an operation, the CRPF hands him over to the local police.”

However, policemen and party leaders from across the political spectrum say the CRPF picked up Mr. Mara several days earlier, and brutally tortured before turning him over to the local police. The police and the CRPF have denied these allegations.

“The CRPF caught Mara on January 9, just outside Sukma town. He had come to town to cash a cheque for money earned by collecting tendu leaves,” said Kowasi Lakma, vice-president of the Chhattisgarh Congress Committee and Member of Parliament from Konta, of which Sukma is a part. “I personally called everyone from the thana in-charge upwards to get him released. He was tortured to death… the CRPF electrocuted his genitals and poured petrol up his anus.”

“The police story of suicide is completely false. Mara was brutally assaulted in the CRPF camp in Sukma. There has to be a probe and the guilty must be brought to book,” said Manish Kunjam of the Communist Party of India and former MLA from Konta, over telephone.

As per a January 16 report in the Indian Express, post mortem confirmed that Mr. Mara had “swelling over the penis and lateral part of the anus.” The Indian Express also quoted a policeman who said Mr. Mara’s genitals had been doused with petrol and set on fire.

Sources in the Intelligence agencies confirmed that the CRPF had played a role in Mr. Mara’s death. “He was picked up as it was suspected that he was a Naxalite. He was subjected to harsh interrogation and may have died of internal haemorrhage,” said the source, seeking anonymity. The source stopped short of commenting on Mr. Mara’s innocence. “The fact that there were no follow-up operations suggests that he did not provide any information of value,” said the source.

In September last year, The Hindu reported a similar instance in which Madkam Jogarao, a tribal, died of brain haemorrhage soon after he was arrested and interrogated by the CRPF and district police.

“The new district of Sukma was created to bring the administration and the justice system closer to Adivasis of Bastar. This will be possible only when the ordinary citizen feels free and secure,” said Nandkumar Sai, a senior tribal leader and BJP Rajya Sabha MP. “The medical report confirms that Mara was tortured. Suspending constables is not enough, a free and fair investigation must affix responsibility and punish the guilty.”Courtesy:TheHindu.

लुप्त हो रही है आदिवासी संस्कृति

  अरविंद जयतिलक

संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ की द स्टेट आफ द व‌र्ल्ड्स इंडीजीनस पीपुल्स नामक रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि मूलवंशी और आदिम जनजातिया पूरे विश्व में अपनी संपदा, संसाधन और जमीन से वंचित व विस्थापित होकर विलुप्त होने के कगार पर हैं।

रिपोर्ट में भारत के झारखंड राज्य की चर्चा करते हुए कहा गया है कि यहा चल रहे खनन कार्य के कारण विस्थापित हुए संथाल जनजाति के हजारों परिवारों को आज तक मुआवजा तक हासिल नहीं हो सका है। गरीबी, बीमारी, बेरोजगारी और अशिक्षा के कारण आज आदिवासी समाज अपनी संस्कृति से दूर होता जा रहा है। परसंस्कृति ग्रहण की समस्या ने आदिवासी समाज को एक ऐसे दोराहे पर खड़ा कर दिया है, जहा वे न तो अपनी संस्कृति बचा पा रहे हैं और न ही आधुनिकता से लैस होकर राष्ट्र की मुख्यधारा में ही शामिल हो पा रहे हैं। बीच की स्थिति के कारण ही उनके जीवन और संस्कृति पर संकट मंडराने लगा है। यह सब कुछ उनके जीवन में बाहरी हस्तक्षेप के कारण ही हुआ है।

भारत में ब्रिटिश शासन के समय सबसे पहले जनजातियों के सांस्कृतिक जीवन में हस्तक्षेप की प्रक्रिया प्रारंभ हुई। जनजातियों की निर्धनता का लाभ उठाकर ईसाई मिशनरियों ने उनके बीच अनाज, कपड़े और औषधिया बांटनी शुरू की। लिहाजा, जनजातियों का उनकी ओर आकृष्ट होना स्वाभाविक था। लिहाजा, बड़े पैमाने पर जनजातियों का धर्म परिवर्तन हुआ, लेकिन सच कहा जाए तो जनजातियों के जीवन में कोई खास सुधार नहीं हुआ। ईसाइयत न तो उनकी गरीबी, बेरोजगारी को कम कर पाई और न ही उन्हें इतना शिक्षित ही बना पाई कि वे स्वावलंबी होकर अपने समाज का भला कर सके।

विवाह और सामाजिक संपर्क के क्षेत्र में उन्हें अब भी एक पृथक समूह के रूप में देखा जा रहा है। आज भारत के उत्तर-पूर्वी तथा दक्षिणी भागों की जनजातियों में कितने ही व्यक्ति अंग्रेजी को अपनी मातृभाषा के रूप में स्वीकार करने लगे हैं। उन्होंने धीरे-धीरे अपनी मूल भाषा-बोली का ही परित्याग कर दिया है।

सच तो यह है कि प्रत्येक समूह की भाषा में उसके प्रतीकों को व्यक्त करने की क्षमता होती है और यदि भाषा में परिवर्तन हो जाए तो समूहों के मूल्यों और उपयोगी व्यवहारों में भी परिवर्तन होने लगता है। सांस्कृतिक मूल्यों और आदर्श नियमों का क्षरण होने से आदिवासी समाज संक्रमण के दौर से गुजरने लगा है।

जनजातियों की संस्कृति पर दूसरा हमला कारपोरेट जगत और सरकार की मिलीभगत के कारण भी होने लगा है। जंगल को अपनी मातृभूमि समझने वाले जनजातियों के इस आशियाने को उजाड़ने का जिम्मा खुद सरकारों द्वारा उठा लिया गया है। जंगलों को काटकर और जलाकर उस भूमि को जिस प्रायोजित तरीके से उद्योग समूहों को सौंपा जा रहा है, उसका भी प्रभाव संस्कृति पर साफ देखा जा रहा है।

मूलवासी जनसमूह व्यावसायिक और एक फसल के कारण आजीविका के संकट से तो जूझ ही रहे ही हैं, साथ ही वे कई तरह की बीमारियों से भी लड़ रहे हैं। अगर विकसित देश अमेरिका की ही बात की जाए तो आम आदमी की तुलना में आदिवासी समूह के लोगों को तपेदिक हाने की आशंका 600 गुना अधिक है। उनके आत्महत्या करने की आशंका भी 62 फीसदी ज्यादा है।

आस्ट्रेलिया में आदिवासी समुदाय का कोई बच्चा किसी अन्य समूह के बच्चे की तुलना में 20 साल पहले मर जाता है। नेपाल में अन्य समुदाय के बच्चे की तुलना में आदिवासी समुदाय के बच्चे की आयु का अंतर 20 साल, ग्वाटेमाला में 13 साल और न्यूजीलैंड में 11 साल है।

विश्व स्तर पर देखें तो आदिवासी समुदाय के कुल 50 फीसदी लोग टाइप-2 मधुमेह से पीड़ित हैं। आशंका तो यह भी जताई जा रही है कि इस सदी के अंत तक जनजातीय समाज की 90 फीसदी भाषाएं विलुप्त हो सकती हैं। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि भारत में दलितों के खिलाफ जाति आधारित भेदभाव के कारण अन्य लोगों के बनिस्पत अनुसूचित जातियों में गरीबों की तादाद ज्यादा है।

आदिवासी जन समुदाय की दीन-दशा पर ध्यान खींचते हुए कहा गया है कि इनकी आबादी विश्व की जनसंख्या की महज 5 फीसदी है, लेकिन दुनिया के 90 करोड़ गरीब लोगों में मूलवासी लोगों की संख्या एक तिहाई है। विकसित और विकासशील दोनों ही देशों में कुपोषण, गरीबी और सेहत को बनाए रखने के लिए जरूरी संसाधनों के अभाव और प्राकृतिक संसाधनों के दोहन के कारण आदिवासी जनसमूह विश्वव्यापी स्तर पर अमानवीय दशा में रह रहे हैं।

आज जरूरत है जनजातियों की संस्कृति और उनके जीवन को बचाने की है। अन्यथा संस्कृति और समाज की टूटन जनजातियों को राष्ट्र की मुख्य धारा से तो अलग करेगी ही, उन्हें हिंसक घटनाओं की ओर भी जाने के लिए उकसाएगी और वे दंतेवाड़ा जैसी घटनाओं को अंजाम देने से तनिक भी नहीं हिचकेंगे। साभार-दैनिक जागरण

बीमार चाय श्रमिकों का होगा इलाज

जलपाईगुड़ी: बरसों से बंद डुवार्स के ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान में हुई मौत की हालिया घटनाओं के बाद जिला प्रशासन हरकत में आ गया है। जिलाधिकारी स्मारकी महापात्र ने शुक्रवार को बताया कि ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान के बीमार श्रमिकों को अस्पताल में भर्ती कराकर उनका इलाज कराया जाएगा। गुरुवार को आत्महत्या की चेतावनी देने वाली सुमित्रा राई को वीरपाड़ा-मदारीहाट थाना की पुलिस ने तलाश की लेकिन उनका सुराग नहीं मिल पाया है। इस बीच यह महिला बंद बागान के श्रमिकों की बदहाली दूर करने में प्रशासनिक नाकामी के खिलाफ आत्महत्या की चेतावनी से पीछे हट गई है। जानकारी अनुसार दार्जिलिंग की शॉल बिक्रेता सुमित्रा राई ने गुरुवार को बताया कि उन्होंने अपनी साम‌र्थ्य अनुसार बेरोजगार एवं भूखमरी के शिकार श्रमिकों की मदद की है। लेकिन उनकी साम‌र्थ्य की भी सीमा है। इसलिए प्रशासन को इन असहाय श्रमिकों की मदद को सामने आना चाहिए। जानकारी अनुसार सुमित्रा राई ने दिसंबर में सात बोरी चावल, दो बोरी दाल और उसके बाद चार बोरी चावल और दो बोरी दाल श्रमिकों को दी थी। इसके बाद सुमित्रा ने प्रशासन को चेतावनी देते हुए कहा था कि यदि जिला प्रशासन ने कोई ठोस कदम नहीं उठाया तो वे आत्महत्या कर लेंगी। वहीं, जिलाधिकारी ने ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान में भुखमरी एवं कुपोषण के चलते होने वाली मौत की घटनाओं से इंकार किया है। उधर, उत्तर बंगाल उन्नयन मंत्री गौतम देव ने बताया कि ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान को खुलवाने की कोशिश जारी है। जिलाधिकारी स्मारकी महापात्र ने कहा कि सरकारी एम्बुलेंस से बीमार श्रमिकों को अस्पताल ले जाया जाएगा। इसके अलावा उन्हें अंत्योदय व अन्नपूर्णा योजना के अंतर्गत खाद्यान्न दिलाया जाएगा। मदारीहाट के बीडीओ हीरक मंडल ने शुक्रवार को ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान की श्रमिक लाइन का दौरा किया। उन्होंने बेरोजगार श्रमिकों के साथ बात कर उन्हें आश्र्वस्त किया। इस रोज इलाके में जिला प्रशासन से भेजी गई मेडिकल टीम भी पहुंची। महिला को आत्मदाह से रोका : वीरपाड़ा, संवादसूत्र अनुसार: बरसों से बंद पड़े ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान को खुलवाने की मांग को लेकर शुक्रवार को एक अनहोनी होते होते बच गई। इस रोज शॉल व्यवसाई और दार्जिलिंग निवासी सुमित्रा राई जो भावनात्मक रूप से ढेकलापाड़ा चाय बागान के बेरोजगार व बीमार श्रमिकों के साथ जुड़ी हुई हैं ने कारखाने के सामने ही आत्मदाह करने जा रही थीं। सुबह 10.50 पर जब वह आत्मदाह करने जा रही थीं उस समय बागान के हजारों श्रमिक वहां उपस्थित थे। तभी वहां श्रमिक पहुंच गए और उन्होंने रोते बिलखते हुए सुमित्रा राई से आत्मदाह का इरादा छोड़ने का अनुरोध किया।साभार-दैनिकजागरण

Junior tribal official found owning assets worth Rs 10 crore

INDORE: A raid by the Lokayukta’s police team on the home of an assistant engineer with the Tribal Development Department on Saturday pointed to where a big chunk of the state’s spending on its acutely poverty-stricken tribals might be going.

The raid yielded yielded documents showing that the junior official, earning a salary of no more than Rs 32,000, owned assets that had no bearing on his income worth Rs 10 crore.

The assistant engineer, Ram Lakhan Yadav, posted to work in Chhindwara, has been involved in his department’s work in Balaghat, Khandwa, Betul and Chhindwara districts. He has been employed for the last 24 years.

Talking to TOI, the SP (Lokayukta) Ashok Solanki confirmed that the seized documents related to property disproportionate to Yadav’s income worth at least Rs 10 crore. ,

The SP said these showed Yadav owned a plush 3-storied and fully furnished building on 2800 square feet of land in Scheme 54, in his own name. Another was a duplex flat in scheme 78 and a prime plot measuring 1,000 square feet .

He added that Yadav also had a 10000 square feet farm house in Nepania and a plot in Omax City. These, the SP said, were in addition to bank accounts in the name of his wife, daughter and a son in Bank of India, Axis Bank, Malwa Gramin Bank and others showing deposits worth at least Rs 7 lakh.

DSP (Lokayukta) Ashok Solanki said apart from immovable assets, the sleuths have come across cash, jewellery, and other expensive articles worth Rs 10 lakh. He also owned two 4 wheelers-a Tavera and an Indica, and a two-wheeler.

In a month’s time, this was the third Lokayukta raid in the region. In earlier raids, one in Ujjain and another in Indore, the sleuths had stumbled upon documents of properties worth crore of rupees and seized a large quantity of gold from the possession of the raided officials.Courtesy:TheTimesofIndia.

Barla U-turn after catcall

 Tribal leader says growth, not GATA, is his priority

ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY

Kalchini (Alipurduar), Dec. 18: Tribal leader John Barla today said his priority was to work for the development of the adivasis after a section of community leaders cut short his speech in a meeting and demanded that he should spell out concrete proposals.

Barla said working for the tribals now preceded his pursuing the formation of the Gorkha Adivasi Territorial Administration (GATA), a set-up that seeks to include the Dooars-Terai region in an arrangement for the hills.

The dissident leader’s announcement comes a day after he was expelled from Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad for batting for GATA without the state committee’s approval. Local leaders of the Parishad today confronted Barla at a meeting here and wanted to know what his priorities were.

A commotion among the 150 odd Parishad and tribal trade union members could be heard from outside the Kalchini Athletic hall club soon after Barla began to speak. The media had not been allowed inside. Barla was forced to stop. The sound system was then switched off and the meeting progressed till 4.20pm.

Sources in the meeting said angry Parishad members wanted to hear from Barla about a movement that would benefit the tribals. “We have to chalk out our priorities. What is the aim of the Parishad? Is it GATA? Or is it the Sixth Schedule? We have been fleeting from one issue to the other. The Gorkhas have struggled for years. Why should we give up our struggle so soon,” said a member of the Progressive Tea Workers’ Union, an affiliate of the Parishad.

After the meeting, Barla, told the media there was some confusion among the audience about the way the movement was going.

“I will now work solely for the development of the adivasis living in the Terai and the Dooars and not concentrate on GATA. On December 21, we will have a meeting at Banarhat where we will discuss how the PTWU would proceed.”

Asked why Barla was called to a Parishad meeting when he has been expelled, trade union leader Basant Bhagwar said it had been planned much earlier. “Besides, he is a trade union leader as well. He is the chairperson of the joint action committee of the trade union of the Parishad and the Morcha.”

“We had convened the meeting to discuss the manner in which the other trade unions (Citu, Intuc) are causing confusion among the garden workers and eroding our support base,” he said.

Earlier during the day Barla had told that he was “not bothered” about his expulsion. “I am feeling relaxed. I have no immediate plans to form a new organisation. I plan to go to Delhi in the first week of January and meet Somji Bhai Damor, the president of the Parishad’s central committee. I will apprise him of the ground reality in the Terai and the Dooars,” he said.

On Friday, some adivasi leaders of the Dooars had threatened to form a new wing of the Parishad if Barla was expelled. It would be named the North Bengal Adivasi Vikas Parishad, they had said.