Tribes
Januray 3 2007: The controversial law that seeks to empower traditional forest-dwelling communities by giving them security of tenure, access to minor forest produce, and a big stake in the preservation of open spaces, could also sound the death knell for endangered wildlife species. more
* Who is to blame for the plight of the tribals ? P.V. Indiresan (businessline)
April 03, 2006: Disastrous government policies, their own culture, mis-guided do-gooders have contributed to the sad state of tribals. They have been badly served both by their exploiters and well-wishers, pushing many to take to arms. But the tribal people need, and deserve, something better than what either the government or Naxalites can offer, says P. V. INDIRESAN. More...
* Malnutrition amongst Maharashtra’s tribals: How bad is it? Pratibha Shinde (InfoChange News & Features, March 2006)
A survey of 22 tribal villages in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district throws up disturbing facts about levels of malnutrition among children. The root of the problem is the absence of sustainable livelihoods. More
*Succession, gender equality and customary tribal laws, By Rakesh Shukla
The recent Hindu Succession Amendment Bill, making the daughter a member of the coparcenary, will make no difference to tribal women, since customary tribal laws continue to discriminate against women in the matter of succession. More.. Source: InfoChange News & Features, November 2005.
* Draft Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy of Orissa, 2006, Manipadma Jena, EPW.
Feb. 20, 2006: Though Orissa's draft resettlement and rehabilitation policy is an improvement on the national policy, it does not go far enough in ensuring adequate representation of affected women in rehabilitation and other representative committees. The draft, while it has created separate categories for the displaced, with commensurate compensation, still does not specify norms stringent enough to assess land claims put forward by investing companies. Full discussion.
*Orissa: Development, at what cost?
With the Kalinga Nagar killings as a case in point, Debabrata Mohanty looks at how an industrially resurgent Orissa continues to ignore the issue of tribal resettlement and rehabilitation in its frantic bid to ‘develop’. More....
*Give tribes their basic rights
Mahasweta Devi is a writer-activist recently met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding an act for denotified and nomadic tribes and emphasised to give tribes their basic rights. More...
Infocus: Debating the Tribal Bill, 2005
The present UPA Government under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs recently formulated a comprehensive legislation to redress this historical injustice done to tribal community and for clear assertion of their legal rights on land, a draft Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, which is to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament.
The draft bill triggered a heated debate between tribal rights activists and environmentalist.
The bill was criticised by social activists on the grounds that it would create divisions between groups that benefit from the provisions and those whose concerns are not addressed by it. Non-scheduled tribes, dalits and other backward communities that are also linked to the forest for their livelihood have been excluded from the provisions of the bill. Environmentalists fear that permitting such large-scale access to forests will harm ’s wildlife. The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) objected to the bill, saying it would hinder efforts to preserve ’s dwindling forest cover. A series of views/opinion and articles lend a multi-hued perspective to the Tribal Bill. Click here to view the debate...
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