I was sent an urgent request from a indigenous colleague in India about their current situation, and thought I would try and help get the word out. Please, if you can email this entry to friends and colleagues, or help spread it around so that word gets out on the current situation in India concerning indigenous peoples.
Dear Friend,
I belong to the Gond tribe of India and you must be aware that in India tribal are being systematically displaced and killed in the name of development by the Indian Government policies and USA expansion policies in India.
We have registered a political party by the name "Prithak Bastar Rajya Party" where we will be demanding a seperate Bastar State to safe gaurd the interest of the tribal. Evo Morales is an inspiration for us.
Below is also a video link which might give you some insight to our plight.
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=1O2WwESwJhw
I would be grateful if you can mobilize some support for us in your country.
Regards,
Prabhat
You can read more about this at Prabhat's blog: http://bhumkal.blogspot.com
For a greater insight into the current situation of indigenous peoples in India, a great resource to have that provides an excellent overview is: Disappearing Peoples: Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Minorities in South and Central Asia by Left Coast Press and edited by Barbara Bower and Barbara Rose Johnston. A full review of the book can be found on the Indigenous Peoples Issues & Resources site.
A similar situation is occurring among the Dongria Indigenous Peoples of India as a result of mining operations.
Background
The South Central Gond indigenous people live in the forests and hills of India in Maharashatra and Andhra Pradesh, north of the Godavari River. They are essentially concentrated in the Chandrapur, Adilabad, and Garhichiroli districts. The Southeast Gond indigenous people live in the forests and hills of southern India. They are primarily concentrated in the state of Andhra Pradesh, south of the Godavari River and in bordering districts north of the river.
The South Central Gond speak a Central Dravidian language called Adilabad Gondi. Today, The Southeast Gond are bilingual, speaking both their native language, Koi Gondi, and the Telugu language. The Telugu, their bygone rulers and present neighbors, immovably influenced both the South Central and Southeast Gond indigenous peoples.
The Gond were historically one of the most significant group of original Indian tribes. In the 1500's, several Gond dynasties were firmly incorporated by the Gond rajas, or kings. They ruled like Hindu princes until Muslim armies overthrew them in 1592. In the 1700's, the Gond lost all power to the Maratha kings, who forced the Gond and their culture to retreat to the hills.
Sixty percent of the Gond are Hindus, while the remaining forty percent are animists. The Animist Gond believe that the wood is the dwelling place of the gods and hereditary spirits. As such, the forests in which they live are considered extremely important to them. They habitually pray to the ancestral spirits for guardianship and blessings. This is one of the natural resources currently being impacted by developments in India as demand grows for wood - resulting in the destruction of Gond indigenous territory and lifeways.
Both the South Central and the Southeast Gond are semi-nomadic framers, who use swidden or "slash and burn" agriculture to survive. Most of the South Central Gond survive by farming, hunting, and eating the fruits of the forest groves, but they also trade and sell cattle. Others hold wage-earning jobs.
3 comments:
I will pass this around in my humanities class at school.
That's great, we need to get the upcoming generations involved in these issues as they will be the ones grappling with our natural resource management issues in the future. Some more info on indigenous peoples in India - specifically the Chittagong Hill Tribes - was just contributed and adds further context.
DEAR SIR,
OUR NGO IS A TRIBAL / INDIGENOUS PEOPLE`S NON-PROFITABLE NGO WORKING FOR THE POOR TRIBAL PEOPLE OF MAHARASHTRA STATE.
OUR OBJECTS
1] TO TAKE CARE OF THE CHILD, WIDOW WOMEN, WIDOW OF NEXELITE
[TRIBAL] PEOPLE, BLIND, HANDICAPTS PERSONS,
2] PROVIDING THE EDUCATION, ADULT EDUCATION, DISTANCE
EDUCATION, URBAN SCOOLING, TRAINING TO PEOPLE LIVING IN
REMOTE TRIBAL AREAS, WHICH ARE PRIMITIVE TRIBAL FEMALE
WHERE IS BELOW 10% EDUCATION, CULTURAL EDUCATION, PREVENT
FROM MIS-EDUCATION,
3] SUPORTS TO POOR TRIBAL PEOPLE FOR SMALL BUSSINESS, PROVIDING
GUIDENCE FOR SELF EMPLOYEMENT, FORMING SMALL SAVING
GROOPS IN VILLAGES, ARRANGING TRAINING FOR SMALL INDUSTRIAL
PRODUCTS,
4] PREVENT FROM THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF TRIBAL PEOPLE,
5] ISSUES TAKING WITH GOVERNMENT, APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIS
THAT ARE
A] MALNUTRITIONS / STARVATION IN TRIBAL AREAS,
B] UNMARRIED MOTHERS IN TRIBAL AREAS,
C] KILLING TRIBAL BY TRIBALS ON THE NAME OF NAXELITE,
D] KILLING THE TRIBAL PEOPLE IN PUBLIC PLACES, POLICE STATION
AND IN CONFLICT WITH IN RELIGEOUS STRUGGLES,
E] PRESERVATION AND PREVENTION OF CUSTOMS, CUTOMARY LAW
CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE TIBAL PEOPLE
D] RESTORE OF TRIBAL LAND, RIGHTS OF TRADITIONAL LANDS.
PRAYER-
WE NEED OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, GRANTS
FOR CHILD EDUCATION, AND INCREASE EDUCATION IN PRIMITIVE TRIBES, FOR PROTECTION OF WOMEN, UNMARRIED MOTHER, TRIBAL CHILDREN DUE TO MALNUTRITION, HELP TO HANDICAPTS, ARFEN CHILDREN, RESETTLEMENT OF TRIBAL PEOPLE, AND WIDOWS OF NAXELITE [TRIBAL]
YOURS SINCERELY
L K MADAVI
PRESIDENT
MULNIVASI MUKTI MANCH
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