The sweetly garnished mud hutments and spotless interiors of an adivasi household may often mislead you about the State of its kitchen. This little Sabar village of Banspahari is one example.
Mamata Banerjee had started her Jangalmahal campaign about two decades ago from this village telling the whole world about the horrific conditions of the Sabars who survive on the eggs of red ants. It was scorching left regime then.
Many years later she came to power in 2011. But the lives of Suku Sabar, his relatives, Madhu, Bangshi or for that matter a slightly ‘richer’ Fulmoni Sabar (a part time labourer) has not changed one bit. The reason you ask and pat comes the reply.
“Kings come and go but there is no respite for us. There is no one for the garib manush,” says Fulmoni who apart from being a little ‘rich’ is courageous also. “Their mouths have been muted in the past several years. You do not have work, water, food, nothing. But when TV babus (reporters) come you are required to paint a rosy picture or else you are gone.”
Incidentally the Chief Minister had repeatedly told in her Jangalmahal meetings that she was through with 90 percent work that she made.
And who intimidatesIJ The one answer is common. It is the TMC. “They were in People’s Committee when the Maoists came. Then they joined the Trinamool and now they rule the roost minting money through labour contracts in highway construction,” says a retired teacher near Belpahari.
“There is either no availability of the 100-days’ work and even if we get some there is no payment for them for months. All the money is taken by the TMC,” says a young man from Belpahari refusing to deliver his name. So why don’t they vote against the rulersIJ
“We do not get a chance to vote,” is the simple answer. We could not vote after 2004. The only time we voted after that was in 2011. But that was the last time. We could not vote in 2013 (panchayat polls) or 2014 elections,” says Bura Soren a local.
At lalgarh which was the hot bed of “revolution” and “counter-revolution” by the Maoists and then CPI(M) things are better though. Ruled now by the Trinamool workers around no local would complain of any hardship.
“The situation is better as there is no violence. A bridge has been constructed across the Kangsabati shortening the distance between lalgarh and Jhargram. Then the road between lalgarh and Netai has been constructed” says Rabi Mahato adding “the most important thing is that we are getting Rs 2-a-kg rice and cycle to travel distance.”
Another person at Amliya village, “the most important thing is that violence is gone and peace has returned” only to be stopped by Shantanu Soren a school teacher: “But this peace has returned after most so-called Maoists returned to their original party Trinamool Congress. We lived through those tumultuous years seeing how TMC men tied up with the Maoists through various committees, identified the left leaders’ houses and got them killed in the dead of night. Now those men are panchayat members and are earning in millions.”
A little bit of prodding brings some more people around. “True we have seen some development as schools and colleges have come up. But there is no staff, no jobs. There is water line but not a drop in it. How can we live on alms of Rs 2-a-kg rice and a free cycleIJ” he asks a pertinent question.
At Netai - where CPI(M)’s harmads gunned down 9 villagers mistaking them for Maoists - the locals are more vocal. “You do not have water. Though there is no water. The power lines are there but voltage is very low so that you cannot see anything” says Nasimuddin a local.
Will they go to vote this time round or sit back like they did in 2014IJ “let us see how the Central forces act. Till now we have not seen them in the interior areas. They are only sitting in police stations or marching on main roads.”