Despair and protest are spreading through the Adivasi colonies of Kerala over the failure of the successive governments led by the Congress and Marxists to take steps to mitigate their hardships, distribute land to them to live and cultivate and to end their exploitation by the rapacious land mafia and rich settler farmers, both enjoying support of political parties.
No harsh protest has come up from among the Adivasis against the exploiters and the apathy of the Governments towards their issues since the struggle of Muthanga in Wayanad in February 2003, which ended with a massive police action, but people working among the Adivasis say that they are not ready to put up with the total disregard from the part of the Government anymore.
What caused the abrupt escalation in the discontent among Adivasis were the recurring death of little children in the tribal regions of Attappadi in Palakkad district due to what Public Health authorities call malnutrition — but abject poverty, according to Adivasis and NGOs — and the spread of cholera in the settlements of Wayanad district in the middle of the summer.
Even officials in the Intelligence wing of the Kerala Police monitoring Maoist activities in the Adivasi areas of the State’s forests admit that things could get out of hand if the authorities fail to undertake some effective confidence-building measures in the colonies and to reach assistance immediately in the form of food, money, housing, infrastructure and other basic amenities.
Adivasi land Reforms Committee convener M Geethanandan and Gothra Maha Sabha president CK Janu have already described the “malnutrition deaths” in Attappadi as genocide and have called for action against all those responsible for the situation, including Tribal Welfare Minister PK Jayalakshmi, herself a tribeswoman.
As many as 33 children have died of ‘malnutrition’ in Attappadi in the past 15 months. Health Minister VS Sivakumar visited Attappadi last week and announced some package but Adivasis and NGOs say nothing has changed on the ground. On Wednesday, State CPI(M) secretary Pinarayi Vijayan visited the area but Adivasis do not attach much importance to the visit.
A senior State police official said that the Government should be extra careful about the Adivasi issue in the context of the reports on Maoists’ bid to get a foothold in the tribal areas. “In today’s condition in the settlements, spreading roots among the Adivasis anywhere in Kerala wouldn’t be very difficult for the Maoists. Police alone cannot do anything in such issues,” he said.
Reports from Adivasi settlements indicate that there are many takers for the allegation of genocide leveled against the authorities by Geethanandan and Janu especially as the successive Governments had never taken any effective step to end the encroachments by settler farmers of Adivasi lands but had effectively supported such activities with their silence.
