Merry Christmas! But not so merry for Christians of Orissa

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Right to Freedom of Religion
Article 25 of the Constitution: Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.-(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.
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25th December, 2007: A forgettable Christmas for the Christians of Orissa.
A note on the incredulous sequence of events leading to the carnage on Christmas day and the day after. Also, a lession for the subaltern.
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Even before the spectacular success of Narendra Modi in Gujrat had sunk in and even as the common man in various parts of the country was beginning to look forward to the BJP as an alternative for providing a clean and efficient government, disturbing reports of churches and convents being burnt in Orissa are coming in.

All the goodwill which the BJP appeared to have gained in the last five years has been undone, yet again, by this act of hooliganism. Thus reinforcing the belief that BJP and its more fundamentalist elements have only one agenda – that of spreading a politics of hatred.

For the benefit of those who have missed the episode, let me outline the sequence of events based on media reports. The striking feature of the chain of incidents is their immaculate timing and the clinical planning and execution.

December 24, 2007: Mysteriously, Swami Laxminanda Saraswati gets attacked on Christmas eve. Swami himself claims that the attack was engineered by the Congress MP since the attack occurred in his village.

But, for some reason, the VHP and other fundamentalist organizations decide that Christians must pay for the attack and hence as a response they instantaneously call a bandh on the Christmas Day!

They take care to appropriately time the bandh call from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon, knowing fully well that Church services are held for Christmas during those times. Then the carnage follows converting a day which is celebrated globally as a day of peace and joy into a day of horror and grief. In the course of the day several churches are torched, one life is lost and several people are injured.

As if the violence on Christmas day was not enough, passions are flared up on Wednesday, the day after Christmas, and more churches and houses succumb to the fundamentalist mobs amidst claims that temples were vandalized on Tuesday night.

To ensure that mob vandalism continues unabated, road blockades are installed and even telecommunication lines are snapped.


While I condemn such senseless acts of violence, what concerns me more is the profile of the people involved in such clashes.

Invariably, it is the ill educated, easily impressionable, and economically backward people who become a party as well as victim of such clashes. More often than not, majority of them would be from the Schedule Caste or Tribe or other subaltern sections, though the people instigating those clashes may be from upper classes / castes.

Therefore, the question that goes a begging is who are the people who get injured and killed in such clashes?

Obviously, it is the people belonging to the weaker sections of the society.

Whether the acts are being committed in the name of religion or ethnicity is immaterial. What should be realized is that the people belonging to the subaltern class are getting exploited and are by being misled by the upper castes/classes into committing heinous crimes on fellow subaltern brethren.

Therefore, next time you feel instigated to indulge in such violent behavior, watch out! Who is controlling your mind? And is such violence worth it? Even in God’s name?

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ - POLEMICS - Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse

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For the benefit of the uninitiated: BJP stands for Bhartya Janata Party and VHP stands for Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
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“Forgive them, Father! They don’t know what they are doing.”
– Luke 23: 32-34, The Bible.
Wish You a Happy & Peaceful 2008

Response to comments on my previous blog and this one

Having returned from a short vacation I feel rejuvenated to write more. In this blog I will try to clarify some of the comments/querries that have appeared in response to my blogs.

As regards the question - who is opposing ST status for the adivasis, if it was meant to be one, I have already discussed in my earlier blogs. But I may mention here that there appears to be a tacit endorsement of the opposition by some non ST people through some umbrella organizations.

As regards the decreasing share in the ST pie, it is for the government to do the adjustments in the quota between various categories. If not, despite the decrease, the pie needs to be shared between various tribal groups. This would empower the marginalized adivasis of Assam with the same benefits that are available to other STs in Assam. Conferring ST status will also enable them to contest elections in reserved constituencies.

The Gurjar claim for ST status is different from the claims of adivasis of Assam. To the best of my knowledge, while Gurjars are not a recognized tribal group any where in the country, the adivasis of Assam are recognized tribal groups in Jharkhand, Bengal, and Orissa.

As pointed out by Mr. Alok, ‘class difference’ within the tribal groups is evident but it is not unique to the tribes. Class difference is a generic phenomenon and is evident even in the so called communist countries. This class difference may partly be attributed to the different level of development of the states in which the tribal population is distributed. However, what concerns me more is the indifference that exists among the “upper class” within the tribes towards their less fortunate brethren. Perhaps, the distributed and detached upbringing of this class of tribals is partly responsible for this apathy.

Regarding Meenas cornering 30% of the Civil Services, I think it is a matter of personal choice. The ‘upper class’ among the Jharkhandi tribals are the ones whose development is generally missionaries led. To this set of second or third generation educated tribals a government job is increasingly becoming a taboo – not worth the effort; thanks to the widening gap in the remuneration between the private sector and the government sector. This is the generation which does not bother much about reservation and ST status. That also partly explains their indifference towards the less fortunate tribals. The argument that this class of tribals is snatching away opportunities at colleges and institutes from less fortunate brethren is true but unfair because the same applies to all categories including the General Category; such is the nature of competition.

Personally, I am not averse to the idea of an income criterion for all categories. But there is a caveat; the employers have to be more equitable and just in recruiting staff. There is evidence of caste & religion based discrimination in recruitments (See S Thorat & P Attewell’s article published in Economic and Political Weekly of 13-19 October, 2007)

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ - POLEMICS - Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse

Does the country need another militant outfit?

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Today, if Adivasis are taking up arms, it is the government that is responsible for it.
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If media reports about the involvement of an Adivasi outfit in the December 13 bomb blast of Rajdhani Express is true, it spells bad news for the state as well as the Adivasis of Assam and other places where Jharkhandi tribes exist. It will add another undesirable chapter to militancy in this country.

Today, if Adivasis have resorted to taking up arms it is because they have been betrayed by successive governments of Assam. Ever since the first batch of adivasis was brought to Assam during the British rule the community has been an exploited and neglected lot.

One can understand the pre-independence exploitation and neglect by the colonial masters, but how can one excuse the continual exploitation and neglect of a community that has contributed so much for the economic prosperity of Assam, after independence. Today, the adivasis form the lowest strata of Assamese society.

Ethnic affinity knows no boundaries and that has been amply demonstrated umpteen number of times in the past. The very recent one being the sharp reaction of Tamils to the tough handling of Tamil demonstrators in Malaysia by the local authorities. In a country like India where political boundaries were drawn arbitrarily rendering people of one ethnicity divided between several states, the affinity is even stronger. Therefore, this Adivasi miltant outfit’s arrival, which was much publicized by the local media, can potentially distort peace in all the states where Adivasis exist.

Already, this nation has bled enough. Do we need another militant outfit to inflict wounds at this great country of ancient people and cultures?

It is imperative for the governments in Assam and the Centre to recognize the danger and concede the justified demands of Adivasis.

While it is true that the term Adivasi encapsulates within itself a conglomeration of Jharkhandi tribes, the fact is that the Adivasi community of Jharkhandi descent is essentially one ethnic block and shares a common dialect ‘Sadri’ though there may be minor variations in their culture. It should also be noted that though the state of Jharkhand was created recently, the Jharkhand movement itself dates back to the pre-independence era.

Some of them who are opposing the grant of ST status for Adivasis on the premise that it “would adversely affect the status of the state’s indigenous people and would contribute towards further deterioration of their socio-political and economic condition”, seem to go by the premise that the “well being of a community is only possible by domination of another”. Such flawed logic is untenable. Also, perhaps, the indiginity clause itself needs some reconsideration.

On the one hand these opponents talk about integration of the Adivasis with the Assamese society while on the other they want to deny them their basic citizenship rights. Ironically, they refer to the Adivasis, quite ignominiously, as Tea Tribes but they do not want the government to grant them Scheduled Tribe status.

If the governments decide not to grant ST status with full citizenship rights to the Adivasis of Assam, it would be akin to propagating apartheid rule, something that has almost vanished from the face of this earth, but is so reminiscent of the obnoxious colonial past. It would be an anachronism in an age when migrant people of Indian origin have grown to the level of heads of state in several countries.

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ - POLEMICS - Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse
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My sincere apologies if I have hurt anybody’s sentiments unintentionally.
Please pass it on to all Jharkhandi groups and other adivasi friends.

Wish you a Merry Christmas and a very happy & prosperous New Year.

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Response to comments:

1. As regards the question - who is opposing ST status for the adivasis, if it was meant to be one, I have already discussed in my earlier blogs. But I may mention here that there appears to be a tacit endorsement of the opposition by some non ST people through some umbrella organizations.
2. As regards the decreasing share in the ST pie, it is for the government to do the adjustments in the quota between various categories. If not, despite the decrease, the pie needs to be shared between various tribal groups. This would empower the marginalized adivasis of Assam with the same benefits that are available to other STs in Assam. Conferring ST status will also enable them to contest elections in reserved constituencies.
3. The Gurjar claim for ST status is different from the claims of adivasis of Assam. To the best of my knowledge, while Gurjars are not a recognized tribal group any where in the country, the adivasis of Assam are recognized tribal groups in Jharkhand, Bengal, and Orissa.
4. As pointed out by Mr. Alok, ‘class difference’ within the tribal groups is evident but it is not unique to the tribes. Class difference is a generic phenomenon and is evident even in the so called communist countries. This class difference may partly be attributed to the different level of development of the states in which the tribal population is distributed. However, what concerns me more is the indifference that exists among the “upper class” within the tribes towards their less fortunate brethren. Perhaps, the distributed and detached upbringing of this class of tribals is partly responsible for this apathy.
5. Regarding Meenas cornering 30% of the Civil Services, I think it is a matter of personal choice. The ‘upper class’ among the Jharkhandi tribals are the ones whose development is generally missionaries led. To this set of second or third generation educated tribals a government job is increasingly becoming a taboo – not worth the effort; thanks to the widening gap in the remuneration between the private sector and the government sector. This is the generation which does not bother much about reservation and ST status. That also partly explains their indifference towards the less fortunate tribals. The argument that this class of tribals is snatching away opportunities at colleges and institutes from less fortunate brethren is true but unfair because the same applies to all categories including the General Category; such is the nature of competition.
6. Personally, I am not averse to the idea of an income criterion for all categories. But there is a caveat; the employers have to be more equitable and just in recruiting staff. There is evidence of caste & religion based discrimination in recruitments (See S Thorat & P Attewell’s article published in Economic and Political Weekly of 13-19 October, 2007)

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ - POLEMICS - Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse

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Who’s ST? And who isn’t?

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Post Beltola. It is time to review the debate over ST status for Adivasis of Assam.
Adivasis are among the most underprivileged groups of Assam. According to a study by North Eastern Social Research Centre 60 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys in the age group of 6-14 are out of school. Only 4 percent study beyond class VII.
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While different tribal groups of Assam seem to be moving towards a head on collision over the grant of ST status to some underprivileged groups, it would be worthwhile to examine the arguments that are being put forward by those opposing ST status for Adivasis.

One argument that has been put forward is that the Adivasis have ‘lost their tribal characteristics’. Well, if this argument was to be applied impartially, probably all the indigenous tribal groups of North East and perhaps other parts of India (including the Tribal Affairs minister, Mr. Kyndia himself), would loose their ST status. The tribal people of the North East region are more modern (westernized) than any average Indian. This is not to suggest that the tribal groups of rest of India are not influenced by the west. They are, but not as much as the tribal groups of the North East.

Another argument that has been put forward is that the Adivasis are not an indigenous tribe. To this end, according to a report in the media, some indigenous leaders of Assam claim that even Bodos are not considered ST in the Karbi Anglong region. Now, that is very strange because the migrant Adivasis settled in the tea belt of North Bengal are recognized as Scheduled Tribes. Why this anomaly? Aren’t Assam and Bengal governed by the same constitution?

Another question that arises is: How long does a recognized tribal group of another region need to settle in a place to become indigenous? Isn’t 150 years long enough? Certainly, it is, if one were to consider the ST status accorded to the adivasi settlers of North Bengal.

Probably, the determining tests for ST status themselves are flawed, borrowed as they are from colonial knowledge. Sanjib Baruah rightly points out the dangers of depending on colonial knowledge for classification of different tribal groups for consideration of Scheduled Tribe and sixth schedule status (see his article in the editorial page of The Telegraph (Guwahati edition) dated 11th December 2007). Perhaps, it is time we applied our knowledge to make better sense of the people and redefine the rules to determine who deserves ST status and who does not.

Initially, I did not expect the kind opposition that the Adivasis of Assam are now facing. Here is a situation where the most underprivileged people of the state are fighting for their justified demands and the people opposing them are their more privileged fellow tribals stirred by the selfish interests of some politicians whose sole objective is to cling on to power at any cost. What a spectacle it must be for the other sections of the society to watch different tribal groups fight each other?

Sadly, even after 60 years of independence we are exhibiting the same kind of behaviour from which we sought to be free through our freedom struggle.

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ - POLEMICS - Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse
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My sincere apologies to anybody whose sentiments I may have hurt unintentionally. It wasn’t my intention to do so. My objective is to tickle some grey cells into thinking differently.

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Mamoni’s story on the stripped adivasi girl was in bad taste

This refers to the front page story of Mamoni Raisom Goswami published in The Telegraph, Guwahati edition dated 28th November 2007.

Mamoni is a great writer and I have high regard for her but being an adivasi myself I sensed more dramatics in her story than outrage. The pain and anguish of the victim that should have come out of that story was missing.

Sentences like “their eyes lit up on seeking a nubile young girl in their grasp… like a deer amidst a pack of wolves”; “Then they attacked her churidar-kurta; the chunni was first to be pulled away… the unmistakable sound of clothes being ripped apart”; “One by one, they ripped off her clothes…” It was in bad taste.

It seems she was relishing describing the horrendously sad incident in dramatized detail. Now, that also makes me wonder, is The Telegraph becoming voyeuristic?

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ -POLEMICS-Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse

See photos at:
http://assam-adivasi-killed-snap.blogspot.com/

Please sign an online petition initiated by R N Marandi to condemn the atrocities at:
www.petitiononline.com/STAssam/petition.html
Please excuse language error in the petition, if any.

A letter for Mr. patil, the Union Home Minister of India

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As a tool for development, after the compassionate efforts of the missionaries, Scheduled Tribe status has been the most effective tool of tribal development. All other government interventions have failed miserably because of corrupt administration.
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Mr. Patil says “the settlers in the tea estates have tended to lose their tribal characteristics in the new surroundings”. Therefore, they are not eligible for the Scheduled Tribe status.

Well, who does not change in characteristics? Haven’t you Mr Patil? Pick anybody who has taken advantage of the reservation policy and joined government service? Doesn’t he or she change in characteristics? And, isn’t that change desirable?

Often, the service itself requires government servants to be relocated at different parts of the country. Doesn’t it change their characteristics? Sure, it does. If it does, then by your flawed logic all such government servants should lose their ST status.

If for some reason best known to you these government servants’ tribal characteristics doesn’t change despite job related relocations then what makes you think that the tribal characteristics of adivasis of Tea Gardens of Assam have been lost. You should realize that at the time these adivasis were brought to Assam as indentured labourers, India was under British rule and being indentured, they were forced to settle there.

If today’s government servants and their descendents do not lose their ST status despite relocation due to their jobs why should the descendents of Assam’s tea tribes?

If indignity is the hitch, then haven’t these descendants of Jharkhandi tribes become indigenous to the place with over a hundred or perhaps hundred and fifty years of settlement in the state? For sure their geneology, culture and customs haven’t changed and I also believe a solution can be found out if the government has the will.

Jharkhandi tribes, whose place of origin is believed to be the Chota Nagpur Plateau, are dispersed in the states of Jharkhand, Bengal, Orissa and Assam. If Jharkhand, Bengal and Orissa have accorded the ST status to these tribes why not Assam?

Even if one were to agree with the Minister on the loss of tribal characteristics (which of course is not true) then what changes have they acquired? Incidentally, most of these districts are tribal districts and if they have changed then that change can only be tribal since one acquires changes based on his or her surroundings.

Adivasi means, original inhabitants, and Mr. Patil should realize that the adivasis who belong to the dark skinned dravidian stock are the oldest inhabitants of India. The fair skinned Aryans came much later. Is it fair that the oldest inhabitants of India should also be the most backward?

I had the opportunity to travel through one of these Tea Gardens, thanks to a land slide and the resultant change of route. I was appalled to see the pathetic conditions in which my fellow tribals work and live. It reminded me of the medieval lord and serf society which I have only seen through books. Mr. Patil, please pay a disguised visit to one these tea estates and you may see it for yourself.

To add a twist to the tail, as regards change in characteristics, Mr. Patil, haven’t we all evolved from the apes? And just because your forefathers saw light a little early, will you turn the other way and deny the opportunity to my fellow down trodden brethren to catch up with you?

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/ - POLEMICS - Diversity of views
http://edzucate.blogspot.com/ - ACADEMIA - An academic discourse
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Can somebody pass on this letter to the Union Home Minister, Mr. Shivraj Patil. If not, please pass it on to all Jharkhandi groups and other tribal friends. Let this reach all tribals on the web.
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Mayhem at Gauhati – my heart goes out to my adivasi brethren of Assam

Being a tribal myself and an adivasi at that, my heart goes out to my marginalized brethren of Assam for the inhuman treatment meted out to them by the Brahmaputran Barbarians of Guwahati. The barbaric atrocities that were committed on adivasi women and children will continue to haunt my imagination for quite sometime.

It is high time the governments at the centre and the state wake up to the graveness of the problem and take initiative to grant the justified demand of the adivasis to be recognized as Scheduled Tribes.

Hopefully, the blood shed and the tremendous humiliation faced by hundreds of adivasis on the streets of Gauhati does not go wasted.

While I strongly condemn the atrocities of the locals on the Adivasis, I must emphasize that the organizers of the rally should have been more circumspect in controlling their flock.

The administration is also to be blamed for the whole episode. The police in particular, was ruthlessly aligned with the locals in beating up the adivasis. This syndrome of partisan policing is now becoming generic. In recent times, we witnessed it in Gujrat, we saw it Nandigram, and now Gauhati!

No rallies should be violent. Especially, in mass demonstrations that comprise of women and children there is no room for error. Any kind of violence in a mass rally will have horrific consequences. Hopefully, the fledgeling leaders of the rally would have realized their folly by now and I hope that they would be more judicious when they organize a rally next time around.

Here’s a brief guideline for organizing mass rallies:

1. The organizers of a mass rally must acquire the necessary permission from the authorities. Seek police protection if required.
2. The organizers should have a command structure in place. The command structure may have several layers. The smallest unit should comprise of around 20 people. Leaders should be appointed for each layer with complete responsibility for their flock.
3. The plan should be properly communicated to the people going for the rally. Pamphlets and posters can be used extensively to educate the people about the cause. Detailed plans about the means of transport, the routes to be taken, the place of assembly, the speakers for the occasion, and the manner of demonstration should be known to the leaders at the lowest level.

4. If the nature of demonstration demands carrying traditional weapons like daggers, bows and arrows to symbolize the identity of the people, the organizers should ensure that such weapons are dummies only. For example, blunt wooden swords and ordinary sticks may be used to symbolize swords and arrows instead of real swords and arrows.
5. Rally organisers should ensure peaceful demonstrations at any cost. The leaders through out the hierarchy should have a Gandhian sense of determination in this regard. They must realize that the safety of the rally goers and other innocent people in general depends on their actions.
6. Remember, mass rallies comprising of women and children are not the occasions for violent demonstrations.

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/

http://edzucate.blogspot.com/

See photos at:
http://assam-adivasi-killed-snap.blogspot.com/
Also read the comments and an eye witness account at:

http://guwahatieimi.blogspot.com/2007/11/barbarianism-in-beltola.html
Please sign an online petition initiated by R N Marandi to condemn the atrocities at:
www.petitiononline.com/STAssam/petition.html
Please excuse language error in the petition, if any.

INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL

As the left tightens its grip on the Indian government over the Indo-US nuclear deal it would be worth while to take a look at what the leftists in campuses have to say on the issue. One view that has emerged from the leftist campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University is that energy security is being used as an alibi for aligning with the US. This obviously smells of the left’s outdated imperialist fears and their inherent distaste for anything that is remotely connected with the US. What is wrong in being aligned with the US? Does it harm our National Interest? Perhaps, it is time that the communists in India debate their own relevance in today’s world and whether they should reinvent themselves akin to the Chinese.

Another view that is being propagated by the left is that instead of investing in purchase of nuclear technology India should invest in its own R&D and develop its own technology. Sounds like the familiar inward looking technological self reliance mantra. Something that is no more relevant in today’s globalised world. We all know how the Japanese and the Koreans initially acquired technology from the West and are now in the frontiers of technological prowess in innumerous sectors.

Do we really need to reinvent the wheel when mature, commercially tested nuclear technology already exists and is available for a fraction of the price of carrying out R&D. Technology acquisition would allow us to leap frog to new generation of mature technologies besides saving valuable time. We should realize that there is a big gap between technology developed in R&D labs and mature technology that has weathered the market forces and is commercially successful. Also, India need not depend on US alone for nuclear technology. The French who have a very successful nuclear energy sector can be a source of cost effective nuclear technology. Or, for that matter, any other nation that has mature nuclear technology can be a source for India. In any case, the nuclear deal will only provide another option for our energy needs, whether we actually go ahead and build nuclear power plants is a matter which can be considered much latter based on cost and other considerations. What’s wrong with having another option?

Remember, while we paralyze ourselves with excessive analysis, China is quietly building capacities for energy security - nuclear and other wise. Today, China is our biggest competitor not the US and by missing the nuclear bus we will further trail behind the Chinese. The detractor’s of nuclear deal are actually facilitating Chinese supremacy in the new world order. Sadly, they are doing this at the cost of India. These are the same people who remain silent when China claims the North-Eastern part of India to be theirs.

Manoj Tirkey
http://manojtirkey.blogspot.com/

http://edzucate.blogspot.com/