Suppression of Valia Tribals A CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
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Suppression of Valia Tribals
A CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION - extracted text
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COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
Suppression of Valia Tribals
A CASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
326, V Main, I Block
Korambngala
Sangaloro-560Q§4 '
India
P- A. Augustine
Contents
j
‘
Preface
v
1.
A Tribal People’s Struggle for Identity
1
2.
A Valley of Terror
6
3.
Laws made for Repression
16
4.
A Tale of two Villages
22
5.
Two Fallen Leaders
30
6.
Divided and Enslaved
37
7.
Conclusion: A Cry for Justice
41
Preface
The data for this report were gathered during my 20-day
stay in Valia taluka of Bharuch district, Gujarat, in FebruaryMarch this year. I made a second visit to the same locality
iu the month of July for further verification of the data. At
this time I was also able to incorporate in my report further
incidents that had happened since my first visit. I wish to go
on record here that I have no political axe to grind. My sole
concern has been to bring to light the human rights violations
against the Valia Tribals.
Though I have primarily dealt with Valia taluka, 1 have
thought it necessary to include some incidents from the
adjoining talukas of Mangrol and Mandvi in Surat district.
These incidents show that the people there fare no better
than the people of Valia. The conditions in Valia continue to
remain virtually unchanged even today.
Many people have assisted me in this investigation. I wish
to thank them ail. Although their own safety requires that
they remain anonymous, anyone who reads the following
pages can hear their cries, feel their anguish. And if someone,
somewhere, is also moved to do something aboat it, this work
has ach.eved its purpose.
A Tribal People’s Struggle for Identity
An old tribal, so said the teller of tales, had two wives.
One was old and the other young. The old wife would care
fully pluck her husband’s black hairs while he rested his head
in her lap, as she wanted him to look as old as she was. But
the young wife on her part would pluck out his grey hairs so
that he might look as youthful as she herself was. Between
them the two wives pretty well cleaned up their unfortunate
husband’s pate.
The story teller, an elderly Tribal, then drew the moral.
The tribals of southern Gujarat were in the same predicament
as that of the bigamous husband. The landlords, the politi
cians and the police between them have cleaned them up. The
story teller had personally witnessed with mounting sorrow
the cleaning up process of his fellow tribals. Yet the compari
son between the bigamous husband and the tribals was too
weak. The husband in the story lost only his plume. The
tribals have lost their possessions, their honour and their
hope.
From the pages of history
The tribals who inhabit the Valia taluka of the Rajpipla
subdivision of Bharuch district are semi-Hinduised Bhil tribes.
They have lost much of their tribal identity during the last
few centuries. Few of them can speak their ancestral langu
age and they have adopted many Hindu customs and prac
tices. Caste distinctions exist among those who live along the
Narmada, some of whom have even assumed the sacred
thread to assert their caste superiority. Yet they desperately
2
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
try to preserve their tribal identity, though they disown the
name ‘Bhil,’ a word suggestive of primitiveness and wayward
ness often attributed to the tribals. The tribals of Valia
belong to three different tribes: the Vasavas, the Gamits and
the Chaudharis. The Vasavas are the most numerous but
economically the most backward. The tribals of Valia are
related to the Bhils who are scattered over a wide area of
central and western India and have been in possession of
the region for millennia.
Rajpipla, before it became a former princely state, was
ruled by Rajput chieftains. Under the British, Rajpipla state,
along with several other petty principalities became part of
the Rewa Kantha Agency. According to the census of 1872,
it had a population of 102,000 of whom o0% were tribals. On
accession to the Indian Union after Independence, Rajpipla
state became part of Bharuch district.
The Bhil tribes were once a force to reckon with. The
Muslim rulers of Gujarat were frequently troubled by the
Bhils. Forts were erected as a safeguard against these raids.
But during the Mughal period they appear to have led a
peaceful existence. At the break-up of the Mughal empire they
became restless. The Marathas, try as they might, couldn’t
subjugate the Bhils. They then declared a war on them.
When a large group of Bhils had gathered following an offer
of pardon, hundreds of them, both men and women, were
blown up with cannons, thrown off cliffs, or tortured; child
ren dashed against rocks and women roasted on heated iron
plates. This savagery forced the Bhils to take refuge on the
inaccessible mountains (W.W. Hunter, Imperial Gazetteer of
India, Vol. 1, 1885, p. 338).
But there was still fight left in them. The Gaekwad of
Baroda came to grief in his effort to subdue the recalcitrant
Bhils. An army of 10,000 men was ignomniously defeated
and put to flight by the forest dwellers. The British too,
initially tried to subdue them but had little success. Later
they . employed more conciliatory tactics, recruitins them
into the police force. A corps of 600 Bhils was raised in the
twenties of the 19th century (Cambridge History of India,
Vol. VI, p. 71). The corps was pressed into service to subdue
A TRIBAL PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY
3
the tribal leaders through surprise raids at their hideouts.
Hunter, (1885. p. 388) gives an illuminating description of
the character of the Bhils:
The Bhils, roving and restless by disposition, and skilful hunters
by necessity, long defied their oppressors. Superstitious in the
extreme, and possessing little attachment of fixed spots, their hive
like habitations on the isolated knolls were abandoned without
regret on the occurrence of any evil omen. Addicted to bouts of
drinking, they burst forth in frenzied bands on the more settled
country, and were a scourge to the lowlands.
The Bhils have their own peculiarities. A Bhil is capable
of putting in a good day’s labour when he has a mind to. But
in cultivating his own land he tends to be slipshod. He is
more likely to give over his own land to a share-cropper and
then hire himself out as a daily wage labourer. He avoids
assuming responsibility beyond a certain limit.
Valia taluka shot into the news early 1981. Following the
agitation launched by the tribal farm workers, the area was
declared a Mini Chambal. As we shall see in the next chapter,
the agitation was crushed by the powerful landlords, who
were able to bring pressure on the State government to deploy
a platoon of the State Reserve Police in the taluka. This
agitation was an expression of the tribals’ growing self-aware
ness. They had known better times. Once they were the
owners of most of the lands. The forest provided plenty of
game to supplement their crop yields. The forests were their
main source of sustenance. All this is now radically altered.
Today the outsiders have reduced the inhabitants to mere
slaves working on the lands they once owned. According to
1981 census the total propulation of Valia taluka is 94,319.
About 29 per cent of this population are outsiders and, what
is a matter of concern, as much as 85 per cent of the land is
in the possession of these non-tribal outsiders. This alienation
has occurred through a combination of usury, fraud, cunning
and capitalising on the weak points of the unsuspecting
tribals.
A great deal of alienation of tribal lands has come about
through disbursement of loans. The tribals were perpetually
4
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
in need of both cash and grain. The money-lenders were
always prepared to oblige them with a loan. Even a maund
of grain frequently led to the loss of land of the loan-seeker.
The tribals’ susceptibility to drink is cleverly used against
them. There are numerous examples in which a Bhil is
persuaded to part with his possessions in a drunken condition.
One of them lost his ancestral possession for a drink of
mahua. To the tribal it was like a bad dream. It was as if he
had woken up one morning and discovered that someone
had done a disappearing trick. The forests with their games
and products were gone. He was no longer the owner of his
home or his land. From the status of land-owner he had
metamorphosed into an abject slave. Suddenly, he realised
that it wasn’t a dream at all but a stark reality. He had been
outsmarted by the more resourceful and cleverer outsiders.
A testimony
Pithor is a large, exclusively tribal village in Valia taluka,
7 kms. from the taluka headquarters. This village has nearly
200 households. Most of the houses are miserable-looking
thatched huts. One saving point about the village is that it is
spread out over a large area. A few families can also boast of
brick houses.
About sixty years ago outsiders started coming into the
area. Half a century ago there were only a few families of
non-tribals. This settlement has now grown into a huge
village and stands in sharp contrast to the old tribal village of
Pithor. The new village, Dehli, has far outstripped Pithor in
number. It has, unlike Pithor, a prosperous look about it.
Here live the Rajput, Brahmin and Patel landlords who have
bought up great chunks of the land around Pithor and in
nearby villages. The population of the village Dehli, is esti
mated to be more than 3,000.
Baba Kunj Bihari is a venerable, old priest with a flowing
white beard, at the Ganga Nath Temple at Dehli. He first
came to Dehli more than 50 years ago. At the time the temple
was in ruins. He had it rebuilt single-handedly. Baba is one
of the oldest persons living in the area and is a link with the
past. Fortunately even in his eighties he is blessed with a clear
A TRIBAL people's STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY
5
mind and a keen memory. He has been a witness to the trans
formation of the tribals from the carefree forest dwellers to
the demoralised, oppressed labourers of today- With sorrow
he narrated the sad tale.
When he first arrived at Dehli, the priest in charge of the
temple had died and none had taken his place. So Baba Kunj
Bihari took upon himself the care of the temple. He never
thought of leaving the place. ‘There were only a couple of
Rajput families here when 1 first came,' he reminisces.
‘Most of the land in this area was covered with forests. The
tribals cultivated some land. But there was plenty of wild
game to supplement their food. No one starved then.’
Baba Kunj Bihari has also watched the growth of Dehli
village to the present size. With concern he witnessed also
the growing impoverishment and enslavement of the tribals.
His heart ached for the tribals. But his sympathies for the
tribals irked the landlords at Dehli. They have boycotted
his temple. The rich people of Dehli rarely visit the Ganga
Nath Temple. He also alleges that the landlords have
managed to take possession of most of the land belonging to
the temple which was given to him by the former raja of
Rajpipla on lease. The landlords in a raid at his residence
one night also took away all his legal documents.
The tribal elders, who have memories of the times gone
by, insist that the licensing of the manufacture of toddy has
been another serious cause of the ruin of the tribals. Accord
ing to them, some traders first persuaded the former raja to
grant them a license for the production and sale of toddy in
the tribal belt. Till then the tribals had enjoyed freedom to
brew it. They have been accustomed to use it for centuries.
The licensing and restriction put on its manufacture, began to
eat into their earning and gradually led to exploitation and
enslavement.
2
A Valley of Terror
ft is against the backdrop of the continuing impoverish
ment of the tribals that the agitation launched by them in
Valia taluka in 1981 should be viewed. It had not come as a
bolt from the blue. Many young leaders had contributed to it.
They had succeeded in awakening a response in the illiterate
and harassed tribals.
Tribals elect sarpanches
Towards the end of the last decade there were clear signs
of a new consciousness emerging among the tribals of Valia
regarding their rights and the forces that had contributed to
their impoverishment. In a remarkable departure from tradi
tion, the tribals began to elect their own fellow tribals as
sarpanches in those grain panchayats where they held a
numerical advantage over non-tribals. Chotalia and Luna
were two such villages that returned tribal sarpanches.
Manharbhai Nursing was elected sarpanch in Chotalia in 1979
on a Janata Party ticket. The village has about 160 tribal
households. In the village itself there are no non-tribals. A
few families of landlords have their residences not far from
the village.
Soon after his election, Manharbhai was implicated in
several cases of theft, looting and dacoity. ‘Whenever a crime
was committed in the locality, I was held invariably respons
ible for it,’ says Manharbhai. His house was attacked and
destroyed by a mob. Manharbhai is convinced that the mob
was hired by the landlords. The police harassment became so
frequent and intolerable that he thought it best to leave the
A VALLEY OE TERROR
7
village. Today he lives with his wife's relations in another part
of the district, from where he continues to function as sar
panch.
Ordeal at Luna
Luna is a village of 100 households of which 50 belong to
the tribals. Of the 50 non-tribal households nearly 40 are
Rajputs. Brahmins and others make up for the rest. In the
same panchayat election which returned Manharbhai as
sarpanch in Chotalia, Chandubhai Virambhai was elected
sarpanch in Luna. At first, the people, including the Rajputs,
were pleased with the performance of the new sarpanch- He
was instrumental in installing street lights and a water supply
system. But confrontation soon began when a Rajput of the
village, Harisingh Mangrola, started constructing a compound
wall which encroached upon the public road. The sarpanch
objected to the construction. Mangrola ignored his objection
and continued the construction. The sarpanch then secured a
court injunction against Mangrola. The emboldened sarpanch
now went a step further and lodged a complaint that Mangrola
had an unaccounted wealth of rupees one lakh. The Rajput
at this stage reportedly hired a gang of goondas and had the
sarpanch beaten up. Chandubhai lodged a complaint at the
local police outpost. But the police took no notice of it.
It appears that a certain Sanatbhai, a Brahman with some
political ambition, lent his support to the beleaguered sarpanch.
Sanatbhai was also threatened, haiassed and even beaten up.
He appealed to the D.S.P. of Bharuch for police protection.
The D.S.P. dispatched two police constables but there was no
let up in the harassment. Hari Singh Mangrola now filed a
new suit in the court charging Chandubhai with inciting the
people. He also moved a non-confidence motion in the panehayat committee against the sarpanch. The motion was
defeated. At this time the Dy. S.P. (Mr. Parmar) of Rajpipla
arrived at Luna, presumably under pressure from the Rajput
landlords. He summoned the sarpanch to the outpost and
threatened him brandishing his pistol at him.
Chandubhai had registered two more cases, one in the
matter of the assault on him and another on the snatching
8
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
away of some cash he was carrying while returning from
Karsal village. The cash was intended for payment of wages
for labourers. The money was snatched away by the muscle
men of the landlords, who waylaid Chandubhai- The Jamadar
of Luna severely beat up Chandubhai’s brother Bihalbhai, for
taking the matter to a press reporter. One day a mob consist
ing mostly of Rajputs dragged Chandubhai out of his house
and beat him up severely in the street. The Mangrola family
took a leading part in the proceeding. Dilawarkhan the arch
muscleman of Luna led those who wielded the lathis on
Chandubhai.
For Chandubhai, existence in Luna had become a night
mare. He understood now that his very life was in danger.
The police, the guardians of the law, were of no help. The
place where Chandubhai was brutally beaten was within two
minutes’ walk from the police outpost. So he decided to slip
off from the village, leaving his mother in the care of his
elder brother. He found a refuge in a village in Surat district.
But he was not to be left in peace. The musclemen of the
Rajputs were trying to trace his whereabouts. In summer of
1984, the hoodlums discovered his hideout. But fortunately
for Chandubhai, when the hoodlums arrived, he was absent.
Instead, they found Chandubhai’s nephew, whom they beat
up brutally. Thus, the first tribal sarpanch of Luna had to
pay a heavy price. After four years of exile, he is still being
hounded out by his implacable tormentors. The democratic
experiment in Luna too seems to have come to a stop. Luna
now has a Rajput sarpanch, a relative of Mangrola.
Whatever other factors might have contributed to the
flight of the elected representatives of the tribal people from
their villages, it will be impossible to deny that the represent
atives found it difficult to function in the face of the determined
opposition from the landlords and the harassment by their
musclemen. The police, if they did not actually cooperate
with the forces of oppression, were silent spectators. As long
as the tribals were content to play a submissive, non-question
ing role in the life of the village, they were left in peace. But
once they became politically conscious, and claimed their
rights, they aroused the virulent opposition of those hitherto
A VALLEY OF TERROR
9
accustomed to lord it over other less privileged groups.
These privileged groups acted true to a pattern followed
by the Whites in South Africa. As long as the Blacks were
content to play a subservient role in the affairs of the country,
there was little conflict between the White minority and Black
majority. But when the mood of the Blacks changed and they
demanded to be treated as equals with the Whites, repression
was unleashed on them. The minority regime went a step
further and legitimised apartheid through legislation. The
Whites had no difficulty whatever in employing Blacks as
domestic servants, in permitting them to handle their food
and looking after their children and even in treating them as
members of the family. It was a different matter when the
Blacks began to ask for a share in the decision-making process
or wanted to occupy positions as equals with the Whites. The
ire of the Whites was directed at the educated Blacks and
not to those in humbler stations. To the Whites, the Blacks
aspiring to share power was insufferable cheek. In many ways,
the apartheid of South Africa is being reenacted in Valia.
Oppression unleashed
In the beginning of 1981 there was an unusual spurt in the
number of offences registered against the tribals by the Valia
police. These offences related to house-breaking, looting, and
theft of standing crops. Complaints of house-breaking were
registered, for example, in FIR Nos. 1/81, 14/81, 54/81.
Between January and April of that year the police registered
20 cases relating to theft (Aas Paas, a Gujarati magazine
published from Bharuch, September 27, 1981).
The tribal farm workers had by now begun to demand
better wages. It is not difficult to detect a design behind the
spurt of complaints by landlords. It was their first reaction to
the changing mood of the farm workers. The harvest season
was approaching. At this time the average daily wage was as
low as Rs. 3.00. In support of their demand, the workers
launched a strike in April. It was organised by the Marxist
leader, Mahiman Desai. The 10-day strike was called off after
an agreement was reached between the farm workers and the
landlords according to which the landlords agreed to pay
10
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
Rs. 5.50 as daily wages. The workers gained little from the
strike as the farmers never implemented the terms of the
agreement. But the strike was to have far-reaching repercus
sions.
Following the strike, the farmers seemed to take alarm
over the new mood of the farm workers. At this time several
complaints were lodged by the farmers with the local police
alleging thefts of standing crops by the tribals. These allega
tions were, according to the tribals, a cover for the demands
of the farmers to the State government for the deployment of
the State Reserve Police (SRP). The Rajput farmers, it must
be remembered, are the mainstay of the party in power in
Gujarat. Naturally, they were able to bring considerable
pressure on the State government to deploy the SRP. How
ever, the SRP was ordered into Valia against the clear instruc
tions of the Inspector General of Police, Gujarat, and against
the advice of the district officials of Bharuch. A unit of the
SRP arrived in Valia in early May 1981. They were stationed
in such villages as Bhamaria, Luna and Delhi to patrol the
villages closeby.
With the coming of the SRP, the Valia police embarked on
a round of raids, indiscriminate arrests, and terrorism. The
villages like Pithor, Mokhadi and Patharia were picked out
for special maltreatment and brutality. The reason? Some
young leaders were emerging in these tribal villages who
were believed to have been responsible for the wide participa
tion of the tribals in the April strike. Manga Supad of Pithor
village was one of them. He was subjected to various types of
ill-treatment by the police. His ancient-looking, frail grand
mother, Tegli Behn, recalls vividly the savage beating, the
police gave Manga when they were taking him away from his
home in Pithor. Eye witnesses have mentioned another savage
beating Manga received at the bus stand at Valia, the taluka
headquarters. Manga was one of the young leaders who
played a prominent role in April strike.
During the strike, two villages, Chotalia and Patharia, had
been raided and men beaten up. On account of these raids
and police savagery, the men of the village lied from their
homes. The way was now clear for the police. They brandished
11
A VALLEY OF TERROR
their rifles at the older women of the village, threatening them.
According to these women, the constables took the younger
women inside the houses and raped them. During the raid on
Pithor village in the first week of September, the police also
allegedly raped the women. The men-folk had fled their
homes. Dalki, the younger wife of Manga Supad was allegedly
raped. A rape attempt is said to have been made also on
Narmada, Manga’s sister-in-law.
On September 14, 15 women with various complaints of
molestation, rape and thefts against the police were being
taken in a matador to Dediapara to enable them to file cases
in the Judicial Magistrate’s court. Three men escorting them
on a motorcycle were arrested on the charge of violation of
prohibition. The women were thus prevented from proceeding
to the court. Seven of them v/ere later produced before the
DIG, K. V. Joseph, who was then at Valia to inquire into
the complaints of police excesses (Pratap, a Gujarati daily
published from Bharuch, September 15, 1981).
A woman by name Gajra of Chotalia village has filed an
FIR (No. 118/81) against the officer heading the Valia P-S.
A.M. Rathor. According to Gajra, PSI Rathor, during a raid
at the village, entered her house, threatened her with his
pistol and then raped her. At a public meeting held at Bhamaria on September 26, 1981, in which two former Chief
Ministers of Gujarat, Babubhai Jasbhai Patel and Chimanbhai Patel were present, Gajra is reported to have stood up
before the crowd and narrated her tale. According to a news
paper report, her account moved Babubhai Patel to tears.
(Gujarat Samachar, September 27, 1981). But Mr. Patel is not
known to have given any further expression to his sympathy.
Manga Supad’s sister, Yamuna, married with two children,
has the following tale to tell. The incident occurred in
September 1981 after the police were posted in Pithor. One
night, at about 11 p.m., when she was alone with her two
children in her house, two constables arrived at her house and
asked her to dress up and accompany them to the police
outpost in the village. She changed into a fresh sari and
followed the constables. At the outpost she found the head
constable in a drunken state. He ordered Yamuna to come
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12
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
into the room and to close the door behind her. She was now
thoroughly frightened. She had a fair idea of the man’s
intention. In a spurt of courage, she angrily told the men
that, if they dared come again to her house, she would kill
them. Then she fled
Assault and rape
One night, in September 1981, three constables turned up
at the house of Dhanji Dani at Valia. They found Soni, Dani’s
daughter-in-law alone at home. The menfolk hadn’t yet
returned from their work. One of the constables entered the
house, and pinned her down. The victim has identified her
assailant as constable Mustaq. Constable Mustaq’s name
has figured in several other incidents of atrocities committed
against the tribals. While the assault was taking place, Dinesh
Dani, the younger brother of Soni’s husband, returned from
work. Hearing cries for help, Dinesh rushed to the house.
The two other constables, standing outside, severely beat him
up. They then took him to the police station, where he was
charged with violation of the prohibition law and with
obstructing the constables from carrying out their duties.
When I interviewed Soni, she maintained that she went to
the police station to surrender the sari she had been wearing
at the time of the assault and to lodge a complaint. She was
detained at the police station several hours for questioning.
A complaint was lodged with the DSP Bharuch, regarding
the assault on Soni, as it was thought that the local police
might not take action as they themselves were involved in the
crime. A case was later instituted in the matter. A medical
examination reportedly showed no evidence of rape. The
policeman concerned was later acquitted of the charge.
Dinesh Dani was also acquitted of the charge against him.
An exposure
When the SRP were deployed in Valia, there was an out
cry, especially in the Gujarati press. It was at this time that
Bhanubhai Advairiu, a noted social worker visited Valia to
ascertain for himself the truth of the allegations of large scale
looting of crop by the tribals of Valia. Valia had by now
A VALLEY OF TERROR
13
become a ‘Mini Chambai.’ His findings were published in a
series of articles in Jansatta, a Gujarati daily. Advairiu has
given the lie to the Mini Chambai scare that the landlords
had spread with the assistance of the Valia police. Advairiu
draws attention to the repression the Valia police freely
indulged in and the naked violation of human rights that
followed. Analysing the causes of the plight of the tribals
Advairiu also notes that the ceiling laws were being violated
with impunity by the landlords. Some landlords possess 500
acres, while the ceiling is 40 acres. He calls this a mixture of
law and lawlessness, legality and illegality and ‘mixed econo
my’ {Jansatta, October 20, 1981).
When the Valia police adopted measures against the farm
workers, the latter protested loudly and demanded an impar
tial enquiry. The matter was brought up by some legislators
during the assembly session. As a result of this, the Inspector
General of Police, Gujarat, was asked by the government to
look into the complaints of repression by the police. But
before the IGP could submit his report, the State Home
Minister Prabodh Raval stated at a press conference that the
situation in the tribal area did not warrant a judicial enquiry
and that the law should take its course. Hearing this, many
tribals set out for Dediapara to register cases, since, at this
time, there was no court at Valia. On the way they were
arrested. It was abundantly clear that the administration, the
police and the landlords were all in collusion to suppress the
awakening among the tribals and to keep them ‘in their place.’
An armed attack, alleged to have been made on PSI F.S.
Mahida of Valia P.S., was much publicised outside as proof
of criminality and lawlessness among the tribals. According
to the police, on June 26, 1981 PSI F.S. Mahida was proceed
ing towards Desad on a motorcycle with two pillion riders.
Mahida is reported to have been attacked by a gang of tribals,
who, it is claimed, fled only when Mahida fired into the air.
‘Firing into the air’ may be a euphemism for missing the air.
That the officer should fire into the air to scare away a gang
of blood thirsty men making a vicious attack on him sounds
rather queer. One cannot help wondering why our police
officers are such wretched shots. Or is it that they do not
14
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
know how to tell a lie. The tribals living near the spot where
the assault is supposed to have taken place, have a different
version of the incident. According to them the officer concern
ed had a quarrel with a Rajput of the area and that it was
this Rajput who had dispatched his goondas to attack the
officer.
The Gujarati dailies Jansatla and Gujarat Samachar have
carried frequent reports of atrocities on the Valia tribals. But
the Loksatta, a Gujarati daily from Baroda, has preferred to
carry only the police versions in its reports. Navin Chauhan,
Loksatta's correspondent, has made much of the attack on
PSI Mahida, to show that the tribals have taken the law into
their hands. The tribals, however, assert that they have
observed Chauhan moving around in police vehicles. It is
only to be expected that he would swallow the police version
hook, line and sinker.
Police indicted
Hari Vallabh Parekh is a highly respected social worker
of Congress (I) persuasion attached to the Anand Niketen
Ashram, Rangpur in Gujarat. When Valia was declared a
Mini Chambal, he visited the area on a fact-finding mission.
Beginning on September 5, 1981, Parekh toured the villages
of Valia and acquainted himself with the situation. Later he
issued a statement which was carried by the Gujarat Samachar
on September 27, of same year. Parekh has referred to the
harassment of Chhotubhai Vasava and his brother in Maljipura village. The Valia police had raided the farm and the
house belonging to the brothers and had confiscated a pump
set, claiming that it was stolen property. Though the police
were shown a receipt for the purchase of the pump set, that
did not deter them from carrying it away, from where it was
being used for the irrigation on the farm. Parekh adds that
the people of the village looked up to Chhotubhai and he saw
no sign of the dacoit which the police had painted of the
social worker.
Parekh also visited Pithor, a village which the Valia police
had dubbed as a den of dacoits. He remarks that the house
of Manga Supad, which he had visited, wasn’t the type one
A VALLEY OF TERROR
15
would expect an arch dacoit to live in. It was a shabby
thatched hut, devoid of furniture. The people in this village,
he noted, lived in dire poverty. He discounts the stories of
looting and dacoities in which the people of Pithor were
believed to indulge in. He dismisses these stories as pure
fabrications. Parekh adds that the Chambal scare is an insult
to the many social workers engaged in the selfless services to
the people. He demanded the withdrawal of the SRP from
Valia taluka.
Following persistent complaints of police excesses in Valia,
the State government appointed a one-man enquiry commis
sion consisting of DIG K.V. Joseph. He submitted his report
in the first week of October, 1981- However, the State govern
ment has not yet made the Report public. The commission
is believed to have passed severe strictures on the Valia police
and in particular on PSI A.M. Rathor of Valia P.S., Head
Constable Vansia, and Head Constable Badhaji of Luna. The
tenor of the Joseph Report may be gathered from the fact
that soon after the Report was submitted, the SRP unit was
withdrawn from the area and was replaced by a few mounted
policemen.
3
Laws Made for Repression
According to the agreement reached between the farmers
and the workers in 1981, the daily agricultural wage was fixed
at Rs. 5.50. The agreement has remained unimplemented.
Instead of this mutually accepted wage rate, even today, after
three years, the average agricultural wage is rupees four per
day. In some villages it is only three rupees.
Minimum Wage Act
Acute unemployment in the tribal area forces the workers
to accept low wages. The local administration has been very
vociferous in its claim that statutory wages are being paid
to the workers. Such claims of course do not alter the actual
wage situation. Only in rare cases do workers receive rupees
five per day, and that too only in the peak employment season.
Valia forms an arid region. It is served only by lift irriga
tion and the land is not very fertile. Naturally, there is surplus
labour nearly throughout the year. In October 1982, the
Gujarat government fixed the minimum agricultural daily
wage at Rs. 9.00. It did so at a time when it could not enforce
the daily wage of even Rs.5.00. It needs hardly be said that
the 1982 minimum wage regulation has never been implement
ed. It is hard to believe that the government was serious about
implementing it. My own inquiries have revealed that in
villages like Pithor, Chotalia, Sodgam, Patharia, Karsad,
Madia and Desad the farm worker receives an average of
only Rs. 4.00 per day.
When a labour officer of the area was queried on the wage
situation, he confessed his inability to do anything in the
LAWS MADE FOR REPRESSION
17
matter. Even if he filed a suit in court against a landlord for
non-payment of statutory wages, the landlord would succeed
in obtaining an affidavit from the illiterate labourers to the
effect that they were receiving statutory wages. The farmers
themselves have admitted they do not pay the statutory
minimum wage rates. They maintain, not without some justi
fication, that they are unable to pay the statutory wages, as
farming becomes unprofitable at these rates.
The government has not been able to ensure even half of
the fixed rates of wages. No one takes 1982 wage regulation
seriously. The government is unlikely to antagonise the
Rajput landlords, its political supporters, by enforcing the
minimum wages. Expediency often determines the policies
of the government. It is even more scandalous that on the
government-aided development ptojects such as digging of
irrigation canals, workers are not paid the minimum wages.
Since the wages are low, able-bodied youth seek employment
in the industrial towns, such as Ankleshwar and Surat. Here
they receive much higher wages in the diamond cutting
factories and other establishments. But the tribal youth are
repelled by the unhealthy and cramped living conditions
prevailing in these places.
Acute unemployment invariably leads to cheap domestic
labour. In the tribal belt, one comes across a type of domestic
labour which has its own peculiar features. Tribal women and
girls are employed as domestic hands in the homes of the
non-tribals. Their work generally consists in washing clothes
and utensils, tending cattle, and other menial jobs. They
receive, along with two meals a day, an annual pay of Rs.
60.00 or Rs. 5.00 a month. They also receive a set of clothes
once during the year. This mode of employment appears to
be widespread in the taluka. When there are serious anomalies
regarding the payment of wages in the better organised farm
sector, it isn’t surprising that domestic labour is exploited.
Prohibition or legalised extortion?
I have noted above that the degradation of the tribal popu
lation is said to have begun with the licensing of the
production and sale of liquor. In former times, the tribals
18
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
used to brew their liquor from the flower of the mahna tree.
With the disappearance of forests, it is impossible to obtain
the mahua flowers. Now they use jaggery as substitute. A
low-quality jaggery is used for the purpose. With the introduc
tion of licensing in the days of Rajput Chieftains, illicit
liquor made its appearance. Having been long accustomed to
the consumption of home-brewed liquor, the tribals were
liable to incur penalties for illicit brewing. That was bad
enough. Then came the prohibition law of May 1961. Now
the tribal faced heavier penalties. With his pronounced
weakness for the brew, the tribal frequently lost his landed
property mortgaged for loans or even in exchange for liquor.
He was lured into business transactions while under the
influence of liquor with grave consequences for him. The
prohibition law brought an additional disadvantage. Now the
tribal fell easy victim to the whims of the law enforcement
authorities. He was easily snared in the prohibition net. It
became a convenient instrument of harassment and extortion.
There is no denying that illicit brewing is fairly widespread.
The raw materials are easy to obtain. It requires no great skill
to brew country liquor. The police extort varying sums of
money from those nabbed in the prohibition net. The sum
would depend on the victim’s ability to pay or his economic
condition as judged by the police. Needless to say, the police
confiscate the liquor. People say that the police usually
consume the liquor soon after it comes into their possession.
Such prompt consumption of course relieves them of the
burden of carrying it. It is not difficult to understand why the
Valia police display rare zeal in enforcing the prohibition law.
No one can charge them with neglect of duty here.
It is not only the drinkers who are caught by the police.
The police easily brandish this charge of drunkenness at will.
The prohibition law is a good example of how any legislation
in the hands of unscrupulous men becomes a means of harass
ment and extortion. Budhiabhai Vajibhai Vasava claims that
he was beaten by the police at the Chodgam bus stand on the
charge of drunkenness. This happened on February 19, 1984.
Later Budhiabhai attended a meeting at Vittalgam and there
he complained of police harassment. He says that the police
LAWS MADE FOR REPRESSION
19
saw him at the meeting. On February 21 the police came to
his village and began to belabor him and then took him to
Luna outpost and later to Valia P.S. There he was beaten again
in the lock-up. His son-in-law and his father went to the Valia
P.S. and had him released from lock-up on payment of Rs.
30.00 to the police for nasta-pani. On the same day Budhiabhai was examined medically and no trace of liquor was found
on him.
In the last week of February 1984 the police had a field
day in Mokhadi village, 13 kms. from Valia. On February 22,
three constables led by Jamadar Vanmadi of Mirapur outpost
arrived at the village around noon and led away Chandiben,
wife of Resiabhai, after confiscating two bottles of country
liquor. Later another villager Thakharbhai had her released
after paying the Jamadar Rs. 50.00. The police consumed the
incriminating material, but were considerate enough to return
the empty bottles. There are witnesses to the policemen
drinking the forbidden brew. On February 23, a police party
of about ten constables led by Jamadar Vanmadi came upon
a tribal named Virembhai carrying some liquor and catching
hold of him beat him, and took him to Ghatta village to the
house of Saradhbhai Mania, a fairly well-to-do tribal.
Saradhbhai, besides furnishing a bond, gave the police an
egg-laying hen and Rs. 100.00 in cash. Only then did the
constables release Virembhai. The constables had the hen
cooked there and had a chicken dinner. They washed down
the dinner with the liquor they had seized from Virembhai.
There are two witnesses of the constables’ feasting in the
village. Again on February 23 in the same village, a tribal,
Naginabhai Jethiabhai, was apprehended because he was
reportedly found in possession of a bottle of country liquor.
He was also taken to Ghatta village. In this case the police
succeeded in extracting Rs. 50 00 from Saradhbhai. He merely
acts as a go-between for the transaction. The conclusion
seems to be inescapable that prohibition has become a means
for the police to extract money and liquor from the tribals.
Law has become a handy means of extortion.
Viewed in this light, the prohibition law, as it operates in
Valia is a colossal fraud on the tribals who must bear the
20
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
brunt of the waywardness of the constables. They pin the
charge of violation of the prohibition law on anyone they
want to harass. The guardians of the law show an appalling
want of respect for the law itself. It is worthwhile to note
here that the Rajputs, though heavy drinkers, are rarely ever
apprehended. The rare instances where they are nabbed are
almost certain to be motivated by political vendetta- Another
aspect of the problem is that the police do not seem to be
concerned about the manufacture of liquor which could be
discouraged with a ban on the sale of the type of jaggery and
the chemicals used in its production. But are the authorities
seriously interested in stopping the production of liquor? Can
the Valia police, most of whom are Rajputs, do without the
liquor?
Seemrakhas
Village watchmen are locally known as seemrakhas. They
are usually hired to guard standing crops. In reality they do
a lot more than crop-watching. The seemrakhas in many
Valia villages act as the musclemen of their employers. The
Rajputs seem to prefer outsiders as seemrakhas. Generally
they employ Pathan Muslims. Some of them have gained
wide notoriety. From the record of these seemrakhas, one is
led to conclude that they have been hired to keep an eye on
the tribals and to cow them down through the use of naked
forces. The tribals themselves are quite capable of doing
the job of seemrakhas. Manga Supad of Pithor organised a
team of seemrakhas in 1980-81, who hired themselves credit
ably. The Dehli farmers however didn’t renew their contract
when it expired after the rabi crop. Manga had by now gained
some influence with the tribals. He was one of the emerging
young leaders. The landlords didn’t quite relish this develop
ment, and grew wary of him.
The seemrakhas of Luna village have terrorised not only
the tribals of Luna but also of the neighbouring villages. They
have done so with the connivance of the local police, and also
with the full backing of the landlords. Their leader is Dilawarkhan Rahimkha Pathan, a Sindhi Muslim. They seem to
derive diabolic pleasure in cruelty. The tribals of Luna and
21
LAWS MADE FOR REPRESSION
the neighbouring villages have suffered much at their hands
during the past five years. The seemrakhas keep a close watch
on the tribals. Visitors to the tribal quarter of the village are
also kept under surveillance. The democratic rights of tribals
are held in abeyance.
On March 6, 1984, I visited Luna along with a small
fact-finding team, driving into the village in a jeep. We inter
viewed several persons, both tribals and non-tribals. We were
about to close our interview with a Rajput shop-keeper, when
Dilawarkhan, the notorious muscleman of Luna, walked in
and called the shop-keeper into the living quarters. As we had
no more business on hand, we took leave of the shop-keeper.
As we walked towards the jeep parked under a tree in the
main street of the village, a group of young men converged
on the spot and surrounded the jeep. The young men who
were obviously not a friendly-looking lot, wanted to know
why we were asking all those questions and what data we
were after. On instruction from us, the driver switched on
the motor. But now Dilawarkhan stood directly in front of
the vehicle, with one foot on the bumper. Repeated blowing
of the horn failed to persuade him to move away. We asked
the driver to shut off the motor and we emerged from the
vehicle. We then declared our intention to appeal to the police
outpost nearby. Only then were we allowed to proceed. We
then drove direct to the Valia Police Station to lodge a comp
laint there. But the business of lodging an FIR turned out to
be far more vexatious than we had imagined. It was clear
that the officer taking down our complaint was trying to
thwart us. He moreover seemed to have his own idea of what
should be put in. The result of all this was that the FIR had
to be drafted three times. The whole operation lasted two
hours. We could not but ask ourselves: what chance did an
illiterate tribal have at the police station in lodging an FIR?
COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
326, V Main, I Block
Koramangala
Bangalore-560034
S’
,ndia
I
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4
A Tale of Two Villages
The incidents narrated below go to prove that the Valia
police and the Forest Department are hand in glove with the
seemrakhas and the local landlords and actively cooperate
with them in the inhuman treatment of the tribals. There seem
to be a tragic reversal of roles of the guardians of the law.
Harshani: Tribals treated as less than humans
Harshani is a village in Mangrol taluka in Surat district.
It lies just across the border of Bharuch district, only two kms.
from Luna. Harshani is an exclusively tribal village. The
people of this village have repeatedly been victims of barbarity
of the seemrakhas of Luna led by the notorious goonda,
Dilawarkhan. On July 13, 1983, Mobansingh Vansia, PSI of
the Valia P.S., drove into Harshani along with a large force
of SRP numbering about 50 men. Also present in the group
were Dilawarkhan, his brother Abdul and a number of
Rajputs from Luna including Jitendra Mangrola. The police
men, together with the Pathans, began rounding up all the
adult male tribals of the village. But some of the men of the
village, realising what was up, fled from their homes. How
ever, eight men were caught. They were, Kilia Ramla Vasava,
Dolat Dahya Vasava, Ramesh Nana, Subhash Karsan, Sardar
Karsan, Prabhat Ravia Vasava, Viram Vallabh and Ghemal
Viram. The captured men, roped together, were taken to
Dhansoli. From there they were driven to Luna in a police
vehicle. At the Luna police outpost, while the PSI was look
ing on, Dilawar poked Kilia Ramla with a stick causing a
deep wound. Later the eight tribals were brought to Valia
A TALE OF TWO VILLAGES
23
police station. Here the torture began.
All the eight men were now ordered to lie face down on
the ground. Four constables stood on Kilia Ramla, two on
his legs, and two on his arms. PSI Vansia repeatedly beat
Ramla on the sole of his foot with a lathi, causing him intense
pain. The same treatment was administered to the other seven
men in turn. Sardar Kansan, Prabhat Ravia and Kilia Ramla
were beaten with greater ferocity. And what crime had the
men committed to merit the arrest and torture? Khumansingh Mahansingh Mangrola, a Rajput farmer of Luna, had
lodged a complaint (FIR No. 110/83 dated July 12, 1983)
implicating 13 tribals in a theft of papayas from his field.
Besides the eight men apprehended and tortured on July 14,
another tribal, Suroli Chidia Vasava, was arrested on July 15.
Four of the 13 accused, namely, Nagin Jesing Vasava, Babu
Jesing Vasava, Fatia Ravia Vasava, and Fikha Haria Vasava,
could not be arrested.
From the manner in which the police went about rounding
up the men in Harshani, it does strike one as strange that
they, through sheer coincidence, succeeded in capturing the
accused in the theft. It is conceivable that the police entered
the names of the accused in the FIR after their capture on
July 15. The police may have arrested all those who for some
reason had earned the displeasure of the landlords. The
presence of 12 witnesses, including Dilawarkhan, appears
contrived and thus strengthens the suspicion. The case
relating to the alleged theft was heard in the Valia court.
Advocate Sursing Mateida appeared for the accused. The
court declared all the accused innocent.
A few days before the raid by the Valia police on Harshani
and the arrest of eight tribals, another incident took place
which bears witness to the utter helplessness of the tribals in
the face of brutality freely indulged in by the seemrakhas of
Luna. Some cattle belonging to the tribals of Harshani were
grazing on the fallow land belonging to a landlord, Ratilal
Modi, and lying within the confines of the village. The cattle
belonged to Dalusing Udesingbhai, Raimalbhai, Savantu Bijia,
and Amarsing Virsing. Some adults and children were keep
ing a watch over the animals. Towards evening, Dilawarkhan
24
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
along with some members of his gang and a few Rajputs
appeared on the scene and began to drive the animals towards
Luna. Those who were keeping watch over the cattle were
terrified and fled. They reported to the owners what had
happened.
A few of the owners were very reluctant to go to Luna to
claim their property, knowing full well the character of Dilawarkhan and his friends. Ishwarbhai Soniabhai of the village
had some relatives in Luna. He was now requested to go to
Luna along with Dalubhai. Accordingly the two men set out
for Luna, arriving there around 8.00 p.m. They also had taken
along with them a stick as they would be returning at night
and would have to bring back the animals. On arrival at
Luna, the two men went directly to the residence of the Pre
sident of the panchayat, Bhupendra Mangrola. As Mangrola
was at his evening meal, Amarsing and Dalubhai sat down on
a bench near the door leading into the house. They kept their
stick leaning against the wall. As they waited, Dilawarkhan
happened to come by and noticed the two men. He picked up
their stick and beat them with it. Then the ruffian Dilawar
khan asked for a glass of water from within the house. Water
was handed to him in a steel cup; he drank a portion of the
water and threw the steel cup at Ishwarbhai, hitting him on
the head.
Now Mangrola, the panchayat president, emerged from
the house and began discussing the matter of the cattle. He
demanded Rs. 300.00 as fine. As the two men from Harshani
didn’t have that amount with them, they declared their in
ability to pay it. At this they were asked to pay Rs. 250.00. But
between them they had only Rs. 240.00. Mangrola then told
them to give the money to Dilawarkhan. When he discovered
the amount was only Rs. 240.00 he demanded Rs. 10.00 more.
Therefore the two tribals set off to borrow the money from
Ishwarbhai’s relative in Luna who kept a shop there. When
they reached the shop, Ishwarbhai left Dalubhai outside and
went into the shop to talk to his relative, Supadbhai. At this
moment Dilawarkhan leading a mob of Rajput youths reached
the spot. They dragged Dalubhai into the street and began
to shower lathi blows on him. Dalubhai received several
A TALB OF TWO VILLAGES
25
blows from Dilawar on his thighs and arms. When Dalubhai
tried to ward off the blows from Dilawar by catching hold
of his lathi, Dilawar wrenched the lathi so violently from
his hand that his forearm slipped off its socket at the elbow.
After this orgy of violence seemed to satisfy the mob, the
two tribals were permitted to take the cattle away. But the
men refused to lead the cattle out of the village unless one
of the villagers accompanied them up to the boundary of
Luna, lest they should be accused of stealing cattle and beaten
up again. Hence Jitla, brother of Bhupendra Mangrola,
brought them to the boundary of Luna. On their return to
Harshani, the two tribals met the panchayat president of
Harshani and informed him of all that had happened and
of the heavy fine extracted from them, for which no receipt
had been issued. The panchayat president who is a staunch
supporter of the Rajputs of Luna, strongly advised them
against filing any complaint with the police about the affair.
At this time Dilawarkhan appears to have formed a
habit of driving away cattle belonging to the tribals at his
pleasure. This had become an easy way of extracting sums
of money, which must appear quite large to the poor tribals.
Secondly, Dilawar was thus able to lure the men of Harshani
into Luna where they could expect little mercy at the hands
of the criminal elements. Most of those lured into Luna
were also beaten up. It is impossible to believe that all this
went on without the knowledge of the police at the outpost.
Gambhirbhai of Harshani works as an Extension Officer
and is quite well off. One day seven buffaloes belonging to
him were driven away to Luna, while they were grazing with
in the area of the village. The cowherds reported the matter
to the owner. Shashikant, Gambhirbhai’s son, along with the
cowherd, drove into Luna on a motorcycle, with the purpose
of recovering the buffaloes. They met Abdul, Dilawar’s
brother, who demanded Rs. 100.00 as fine. As Shashikant
was known to be a man of means, he was not beaten up.
Yet, finally he had to pay the fine in full.
Natwarbhai Jesingbhai, 21, an employee of the Maroli
Sugar Mill, came home for a short visit in December 1983.
On reaching home, he learned that two cows belonging to
26
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
his father were missing. Natwarbhai made a diligent search
for the animals in the neighbouring villages. On failing to
find them, he set off for Luna and located them there. He
went to the house of the panchayat president Bhupendra
Mangrola. At this moment Dilawar made his appearance
and took Natwarbhai to another Rajput in the village. A
yelling crowd of Rajput youths now collected and followed
on the heels of Dilawar and Natwarbhai. The latter, sensing
grave danger, took off. The mob led by Dilawar chased the
young man and finally caught up with him at Panoli village
and overpowered him. Natwarbhai was now ied back to
Luna in a triumphal march. All along the way, he was con
tinually beaten. Dilawar now demanded Rs. 70.00. Natwar
bhai paid the fine. He was then permitted to leave. He was
informed by Dilawar that the cows had been sent back to
his village. On reaching Harshani, he discovered that the
animals had come direct to the village, as soon as they were
released from captivity.
Devgiri: shocking stories of atrocity
Devgiri in Mandvi taluka of Surat district is a tribal
village of 60 households. The experiences of the inhabitants
of this village have belied the pretentious name it bears.
The inhuman treatment they received from the staff of the
Forest Department has few precedents. The incident narrated
below occurred in July 1982. But it was closely linked to
another episode that took place two days earlier.
One night a stranger turned up at Devgiri village. He
was bare up to his waist. He had taken off his banian and
wrapped it around his neck. The man was obviously drunk.
He entered the huts of the tribals uninvited, and would not
state his business. In this fashion he went in and out of
several huts, nor would he reply to questions. The villagers
grew suspicious of him, thinking him to be a thief. Now
some of the villagers gathered and stopped him. As he did not
give any coherent answer, they cuffed him a few times. They
also deprived him of the weapon (dharia) he was carrying.
The few cuffs the man received seemed to bring him to him
self. He now told the villagers that his name was Budhiabhai
A TALE OF TWO VILLAGES
27
Chaudhary and that he was employed as a beat-guard
at Gangapur by the Forest Department with his residence at
Gangapur settlement near Amli dam site. On hearing this,
the villagers stopped the rough treatment and returned his
weapon to him. They put him in a tractor-trolly working at
the dam site which happened to be going in that direction.
Next morning Budhiabhai reported the incident, or his
version of it, to Mr. Malek, the Ranger at Mandvi. Budhia
bhai also must have filed a complaint with the Mandvi police
soon after, for the police took action on the matter by even
ing of the same day. The police reached the nearby Bhunda
village and sent word to Devgiri that all the people of Devgiri should report to Bhunda immediately. As soon as the
message reached Devgiri, those who were present in the
village at the time proceeded to Bhunda. First to arrive at
Bhunda were Chandu Hira Vasava and Dhanji Supadia.
Impatient at the delay in the arrival of people from Devgiri,
the police took the two tribals into custody and left for
Mandvi, leaving a message behind that the remaining people
should report to the Mandvi police station on the following
day. The two arrested men were sent to Mandvi jail. Next
morning the Ranger Mr. Malek was seen at Devgiri on
motorcycle, presumably studying the terrain in view of the
operation that evening. It is logical to conclude that he
masterminded the operation.
Seeing that two of their fellow villagers had been sent to
jail, the elders of the village trecked to Mandvi that day to
see about their release. In the evening of the same day, a
motorcyle carrying two foresters, namely, Chatur Ramji Vasa
va and a certain Solanki, and six bicycles arrived at Devgiri.
In the party were four constables armed with guns and nine
other persons of the Forest Department staff at Tarapur.
Immediately on their arrival, they set about the business on
hand- The visitors first rounded up all the male adult tribals
they could find in the village, and brought them to the shade
of a mahua tree, showering blows on them while doing so.
By the time seven men were apprehended, the others suspected
something foul and fled the village into the surrounding forest
and hills. The seven captured men were the following: Nava
28
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
Chamadia Vasava, Vimala Chamadia Vasava, Singa Kalia
Vasava, Satalia Hubda Vasava, Kataria Nathia Vasava, Nava
Hulia Vasava and Babu Kotana Vasava.
Now the torture of the men began. Forester Chatur Ramji
Vasava was in charge of the operation torture. He ordered
the seven to dance round the mahua tree. From his mouth
he produced sounds imitative of drum beats to accompany
the dance step. Those who failed to dance to his complete
satisfaction were beaten on the legs, thighs, and backs by the
constables. After this grotesque dance show, the men were
asked to lie face down on the ground, holding up their feet.
The forest staff and the constables, wearing heavy boots,
tramped on the backs of the men on the ground. While they
did this they struck at the feet of the victims with lathis. Then
Forester Vasava had Satalia Hublia tied to a bicycle. One
of the constables mounted the bicycle and pedalled as fast
as he could, thus compelling Satalia to run behind. The other
six men were also made to run but they were not tied to the
bicycle. The forest staff and the constables pursued the run
ning men and beat them whenever they slowed down or failed
to keep pace with the bicycleAfter the men were made to run for more than a kilo
metre, they were ordered to stop. Here a new phase of the
torment began. The men were told to pluck leaves of the
khakar tree and make cups out of them. When the leaf cups
were ready, the hapless tribals were ordered to urinate into
the cups and pass the cups to their fellows. Whoever showed
the slightest reluctance was severely beaten with lathis. All
the seven were compelled to drink the contents of the cup.
The barbarous ritual over, all except Nava Chamadia were
permitted to go home. Nava was taken to Mandvi forest
office where Mr. J.L. Zala, an official of the department
questioned him whether he had been beaten up. On Nava’s
admission that he had been thoroughly beaten up, Zala asked
Vasava and a constable to take Chamadia to Tarapur. Here
the tribal was put on a truck going in the direction of
Devgiri. He reached his village around 11.00 p.m. Chandu
Hira Vasava and Dhanji Supadia, who had been sent to jail,
were released on bail. The case registered against them is
A TALE OF TWO VILLAGES
29
being heard in Mandvi court. Advocate Balwant Singh
Bojwalia is appearing for the two tribals. He collected Rs.
400.00 from the villagers for securing the bail. The villagers
had also stood surety for the two men. The amount was
collected through subscriptions. Each of the 60 families
contributed Rs. 10.00. What was left over after paying the
lawyer was spent on travel.
When the tribal leaders of the district came to hear of the
outrageous treatment meted out to the men of Devgiri, they
were shocked and dismayed. A protest meeting was held at
Devgiri. The meeting was addressed by such leaders as
Amarsing Chaudhary, a former chairman of the Tribal
Development Corporation, Chandubhai Deshmukh, former
Minister for Tribal Welfare and Forests, Chimanbhai Patel,
a former chief minister of Gujarat, Arvind Desai of Halpati
Seva Sangh and others. It is unlikely that anything more will
come of it.
It may also be noted here that the whole population of
Devgiri has been uprooted by the Amli Dam project. The
dam construction has been completed but the villagers have
been submerged in the catchment area. The people of
Devgiri and other villagers have traditionally made a
precarious living by cultivating these lands. They have lost
not only their land but also their houses. They have been
given a pitiful amount as compensation. The villagers of
Gangapur and Bhunda are also faced with the same situation.
All these tribals who were born and made a living in these
areas are now thrown out unceremoniously. And no one
seems to care!
5
Two Fallen Leaders
Any tribal who shows signs of leadership, or dares to
question the authority of the landlords, the police or the
politicians is victimised, often exterminated. In this chapter
we shall look at this process of elimination of tribal leader
ship and the suppression of the tribal voice through the
experiences of two fallen leaders.
Narsing Anop
The memory of Narsing Anop remains vivid and luminous
among the tribals of Valia. His name is an inspiration not
only for those who have known him personally but also those
who have only heard about him. People still speak with
fondness and pride of his courage, his oratory and his dedi
cation to the cause of the harassed tribals. The liberation of
his people from their bondage was the mission he had
accepted and the cause to which he had dedicated himself.
But he was cut down cruelly in the pursuance of that mission.
The Satyagraha he organised in the forest at Peterkui in
Mandvi taluka of Surat district in April 1981 claimed his life.
While leading a large group of tribals on this occasion, he
was shot by forest guards and he died of the gunshot wound
in Surat hospital after a few days.
Narsing first came to public attention while serving
as a gramsevak in the late sixties. He had begun to
take a keen interest in the sad plight of the tribals. He
had n ticed with sorrow how they were being harassed,
exploited and dispossessed of their land. For some time,
Narsing served as granrevak in the Rajpura panchayat.
From here he was transferred to Sabaria. But before he could
31
TWO FALLEN LEADERS
take up his new post, he was once again transferred to Panoli
gram panchayat. Narsing refused to accept the second trans
fer. Thereupon he was suspended. He challenged the suspen
sion in court and eventually won the case. He was now
reinstated in his post.
Narsing suffered much harassment at the hands of the
police. He was one of the accused in a murder case and was
jailed for six months. In the lock-up he was severely beaten
up. Later he was acquitted of the charge. Once Narsing tried
to intervene on behalf of a close associate of his, who had
been arrested on the charge of violation of prohibition. There
was an exchange of words and then of blows. The pclice
fired without injuring anyone. Later Narsing claimed that the
police themselves were drunk at the time of firing. It does not
tax one's credulity to accept Narsing’s charge about the
police, as the police there have never been known to be tee
totallers and country liquor is available in large quantities in
spite of the prohibition law. After the episode Narsing re
mained in hiding for three months.
Another major brush with the police occurred following the
confiscation by the police of some toddy kept for the tradi
tional ritual the tribals perform when a woman enters her
labour. The police had taken the toddy away: Narsing,
accompanied by a group of tribals, met the policemen at the
Kadwali bus stand and an altercation followed. By this time
the policemen were reported to have been drunk. The
police then left the scene but soon returned with guns.
At this the tribals fled. We meet Narsing in action again
during the strike by the farm workers in April 1981. The
strike was a complete success in Narsing’s home village,
Patharia. Later, when the SRP was deployed to Valia, and
some SRP men stationed at Patharia itself, this village was
further subjected to ruthless repression.
Peterkui Satyagraha. In his meetings with the tribals,
Narsing repeatedly told them that the land as well as the
forests were theirs and that the outsiders had disinherited
them of their ancestral possessions. The use of the forest was
their birth-right, he told them, and they didn’t need anyone’s
permission to use it. To highlight this point, Narsing decided
COMMLi Ml i ; ) ’ V. i" ] 2~!_L
Bancialore - 5GC .01.
32
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
to organise a Satyagraha towards the end of April 1981 at the
forest at Peterkui. He publicly announced the coming event.
Groups of tribals came with bullock carts. The protesters
reached Sabaria village on the evening of April 28. They
halted there for the night. The next morning they set off
again and entered the forest at about 8.00 a.m. Their plan was
to fell trees and cart them away to use them for house build
ing. The protesters were grouped village-wise. Manga Supad
was leading a team from Pithor. Narsing told the assembled
men that if anyone attempted to question their action, they
were not to argue or resort to violence. They were to go
about their business coolly. Now the protesters dispersed to
different parts of the forest, and started their work. The
action was not done clandestinely. It had been well advertised
in the neighbouring villages.
When they had worked two hours at felling trees, a jeep
and a tractor-trailer loaded with forest guards and policemen
drove up to the place. Four of the constables were armed
with rifles and others with lathis. When they attempted to
stop the tribals from their work, a scuffle followed. At this
time a few blows were exchanged. Narsing, who was at the
moment working some distance away, rushed to the spot and
managed to pacify the tribals and brought the situation under
control. Narsing was asked to stop the whole operation
under way. He told the forest guards and the constables that
the tribals have a right to the forest and that he had docu
ments to prove it. At this moment, according to eye-witnesses,
he moved off a few paces to the shade of a tree where he had
kept his file. Narsing was accustomed to carry this file with
him. A shot or two were fired. Narsing was seen falling to the
ground. He was hit on his thigh, a little above the knee.There
had been no warning before the firing. After the shots, the
forest guards and the policemen climbed into their vehicles
and drove away. Vajanbhai. a youth of 21 years from
Rajpura village, who acted as Narsing’s body-guard was also
injured in the firing. No help whatever was offered by the
forest guards to take the injured man to seek medical help.
Peterkui is far away from any village, not to speak of a
hospital.
TWO 1ALLEN LEADERS
The tribals tied up his wound as best as they could to stop
the bleeding and put him on a bullock-cart. Then began the
long and agonisingly slow ride to a hospital. They were now
headed for the primary health centre at Zankhvav. It was
nearly 7.00 p.m. when Narsing was brought to Zankhvav. He
was now unconscious. At the health centre in Zankhvav the
doctor in attendance gave the wounded man first aid. He told
Narsing’s friends that he could not do anything more for the
patient as the centre was ill-equipped. He advised them to
take the patient to Surat. Here again there was an unex
plained further delay in moving the patient to Surat. It was
nearly four hours later, after much precious time had been
lost, that a private vehicle was pressed into service. The
police didn't offer their jeep for the purpose. Narsing was
admitted to the Government Hospital in Surat. Dissatisfied
with the quality of medical attention there, the tribals moved
the patient to a private hospital in Surat. There he died on
May 9.
His death was a shock for the tribals. He was the embodi
ment of their unity and their leadership. Fate had intervened
to deprive them of that leadership. It need not be mentioned
that in the case that followed about the firing at Peterkui lead
ing to Narsing’s death, the police were acquitted of all blame.
A Tribal Guru. Some years before his death, Narsing had
met Kesarising Kunwar, known as 'Dada’ to the tribals of
southern Gujarat. Kesarising lives with his brother on a farm
near Vyara in Surat district. He is the founder of Satipati
Sangh, also knows as A.C. (Ante-Christ) Panth. Narsing was
greatly influenced in his thinking by the ‘Dada’ who has
scores of followers among the tribals of southern Gujarat, as
well as in Maharashtra.
I travelled to Vyara to see for myself the man who has
succeeded in motivating many illiterate tribals and continues
to influence their attitudes. Kesarising is in his mid-eighties
and of medium height with an anemic look about him. Born
a Gamit, he acquired a high school education. He has a
smattering of English, which like most Indians, he likes to
show off. Besides Gujarati, he speakes Marathi and Hindi.
According to Kesarising, the tribals are the only genuine
34
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
inhabitants of India. Ail others are encroachers and usurpers.
He also maintains that the tribals are proto-Aryans. Kesarising keeps framed documents containing copies of letters pur
ported to have been received from the office of the United
Nations and the British government. These ‘documents,’
which he willingly shows the visitors, are supposed to prove
the recognition by these bodies of the sovereignty of the
tribals. These ‘documents’ are composed in bad English, and
I could make little sense out of them. This suggests that they
are in all likelihood Kesarising’s own creations intended to
impress the illiterate tribals.
Kesarising propounds several theories some of which
sound a bit quaint. For example, he recognises only the onerupee currency notes as legal tender. He dismisses all other
notes of higher denominations as fake. He is convinced that
the tribals are under no obligations to pay taxes. He brushes
aside all direct questions about his plan of action, his vision
for the tribals and his strategy. He objected to notes being
taken at the interview.
Yet there is method in his ‘madness.’ Even in all his
illogicalities, in his mixture of sense and nonsense, Kesarising’s
basic message comes through, namely, that the tribals have
been defrauded of their land. And he knows fully well that
the message will easily be grasped by the illiterate tribals.
Kesarising had strongly disapproved of the action of Narsing
in leading the Satyagraha at Peterkui. He described the action
as foolhardy. Kesarising advocates a policy of non-confrontation. Narsing is gone but his guru still continues to shape
the thinking of many tribals in southern Gujarat.
Manga Supad
On November 12, 1983, newspapers carried, the news of
the brutal murder of the young tribal leader, Manga Supad,
at his home village, Pithor. The murder put an end to another
tribal story. He had just begun to emerge as a leader among
the tribals. Before he stepped on to the stage of tribal leader
ship, he had led a loose and aimless life, given to bouts of
heavy drinking. Then a gradual change came over him. His
life seemed to assume a purpose. Narsing Anop and Baba
TWO FALLEN LEADERS
35
Kunj Bihari of Dehli were largely responsible for the change
that came over Manga. Manga spent much time in Narsing’s
company and attended meetings addressed by him. He
admired Narsing’s eloquence and courage.
Baba Kunj Bihari used to talk to him of the days gone by
and the deteriorating conditions in the tribal area. Manga
became a frequent visitor at the Ganganath Temple. The
Baba, who had broken his thigh in a fall and was bed-ridden,
could expect no assistance from the Rajputs, Patels or
Brahmins of Dehli on account of his sympathy for the tribals.
He was looked after by the tribals of Pithor. During his long
stay in Dehli he had watched with much sorrow and concern
the growing impoverishment of the tribals. He had witnessed
the influx of the outsiders and the havoc that resulted from
it. All this had a great influence on Manga.
First, Manga gave up drinking. He had no education
worth mentioning. But he was an intelligent man. He could
become a leader to help his fellow tribals. He could unite
them ag linst exploitation—he was only in his late twenties.
Manga played a prominent role in the farm workers’ strike of
April 1981. The strike clearly demonstrated that the tribals
could not be taken for granted. They had reached a level of
awareness where they could unite for a common purpose.
Though the terms of agreement between the landlords and
the farm workers remained unimplemented, the strike had
forged a united front of the workers.
In 1980-81 Manga Supad had given ample proof of his
organising ability by putting together a band of seenirakhas
and bagged the contract from the farmers of Delhi for that
year. But the Dehli farmers were becoming suspicious of his
growing influence and his motives. Manga had boldly demand
ed that wages should be raised from the prevailing rate of
Rs. 3.00 per day. The contract was not renewed.
In the wake of the strike, a period of repression followed.
Scores of men were jailed. Manga was one of them. When he
was in jail, the police destroyed the hut in which he was living
with his aged grandmother. On another raid, a constable
raped his wife, Dalki. Even after Manga was released from
jail, the police continued to harass him and charge him with
36
SUPPRESSION Ol VALIA TRIBALS
responsibility for various crimes, including dacoity.
In pinning blame on him for any crime in the vicinity of
Pithor and even distant villages of Valia, the police were
acting true to form. In the eyes of the police, a man once an
offender, is always an offender. It is convenient for them to
assume that he never reforms. An old offender makes a very
good whipping boy for them. It relieves them of the duty of
looking for the real perpetrator of an offence. However, to
the tribals, Manga was a constant source of inspiration and
strength. They used to bring their troubles to him for counsel
and assistance. He regularly visited the villages and talked to
the people. He exhorted them to give up drinking habits,
which according to him was the cause of their degradation.
In Iv82 some tribal workers of Valia complained to Manga of
the denial of fair wages and harassment by the landlords. He
intervened on their behalf, and asked the landlords to desist
from harassment. The landlords, according to the tribals, had
Manga arrested on the cnarges of dacoity. He was also
severely beaten up at the Valia bus stand. The last meeting
Manga addressed was held at Valia on October 23, 1983. He
stressed the need for unity among the tribals, and on the
importance of education in order to improve their conditions
and to withstand all kinds of exploitation.
Manga's end came suddenly and is still shrouded in
mystery. On November 11, around 8.00 a.m- a heavily armed
group of tribals, reportedly dragged Manga out of his hut in
Pithor and took him to the outskirts of the village and hacked
him to death. Some of his own relations are reported to have
been in the murder gang. The police arrived at the scene of
the crime about 11.00 a.m. though they had been notified
soon after the murder. After the postmortem, his body was
brought back and buried at the burial ground at Delhi. A
week after the crime, 14 murder suspects were arrested in
Desad village. The case is still going on but much pressure is
reportedly being brought on the eye witnesses to disclaim any
knowledge of the crime. The cause of Manga’s murder is not
very clear. Was it tribal jealousy, political rivalry or another
plot by the landlords Whoever were behind Manga’s murder,
in his death another budding tribal leader was exterminated.
6
Divided and Enslaved
Politicians have brought deep divisions among the tribals
and have further weakened their strength, which is daily being
sapped through conflict with the landlords. Dividing the
people through threats, bribery and political handouts has led
to a slow but ruthless enslavement of the tribals by the
landlords and political bosses.
Horse trading
One of the undesirable consequences of the political rivalry
that has been introduced into the tribal society of Valia is the
horse trading that is in full swing there now. For political
ends, corruption is thus legitimised and protected. A typical
example of this can be seen in the political patronage offered
to the Secretary of the Milk Cooperative Society at Bhamadia
village. The Secretary reportedly defalcated a large amount of
money from the Society’s funds- Till this time, only one party
had following in this village. To cover up his misdeed, the
Secretary approached the boss of the ruling party, who readily
extended his support to the corrupt man. The party boss had
been waiting for just such an opportunity to establish a base
in Bhamadia village. A war was declared on those who
refused to countenance the defalcation. On September 17,1983
an armed mob attacked the local Janata Party man,
Chandubhai Maganbhai’s residence, and damaged his pro
perty. In another raid on January 22, 1984 vandals destroyed
his crop.
The political intrigues have caused deep fissures in the
tribal community of Bhamadia with the people ranged on two
38
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBAIS
sides, one side supporting a corrupt tribal, and the other sid
ing with the Janata Party. One’s capacity to indulge in corrupt
practices depends on which side of the fence one is. It is not
surprising that the tribals have adopted the course of buying
patronage for their sheer survival. Others have been offered
monetary rewards to shift their political allegiance. Even a
person of the calibre of Manga Supad was offered Rs. 5000
for crossing over to the ruling party in Gujarat from the C.P.I.
Money and favours and other allurements are dangled before
the tribals to win adherents for political parties.
The triangle
The landlords, the politicians and the police constitute a
triangle in Valia. The tribals, who are caught in between, are
made to pay a heavy price for everything.
The Patels, though a minority among the landlords, are an
important segment of the population. The Patels have no love
for the Rajputs. But they readily join hands with them against
the tribals on such matters as wages The Patels maintain that
in the enforcement of minimum wages, they are being
harassed, while the Rajput landlords go scot free. This they
attribute to the Rajput hegemony. ‘The Rajputs have simply
taken over the country, moans a Patel Landlord of Dajipura.
While the Patels intensely resent the power of the Rajputs,
they also insist that the government is pampering the tribals.
They have little sympathy for the aspirations and demands of
the tribals. Today the Valia landlords are staunch supporters
of the Congress (I). So were they of the Janata Party during
the short tenure of the Babubhai Jasbhai Patel Ministry from
1977-79.
Obviously the landlords have found that playing up to the
party in power has several advantages and they were deter
mined to reap them. It is not unreasonable to assume that
they would again transfer their allegiance if another party
comes to power in the State. Class interests have taken on
protective political colouration. Colours may vary, but the
design behind the colouration does not. Even if a new party
comes to power, nothing will change the situation in Valia.
The landlords are determined to safeguard their interests at
DIVIDED AND ENSALVED
39
all costs. Their strong-arm measures are merely an expression
of their determination. Scores of applications from the
landlords for gun licences now pending before the authorities
speak for themselves. The tribals are always on the receiving
end, often made to pay a price for their very existence in
Valia. The tribals themselves have time and again pointed out
how their fellow tribals in the police force surpass the non
tribals in brutality and callousness. It is the price they have
to pay for their jobs. Other petty tribal officials too dare not
show bias in favour of the tribals for fear of earning the
displeasure of their bosses.
Ruling party politics in Bhamadia freely use intimidation
and vandalism against the tribals. Chandubhai Maganbhai,
the tribal leader of the village, continues to be subjected to
attacks by mobs. On June 8, 1984 a mob of an estimated 150
people, consisting mostly of people from outside the village,
attacked his residence. Several Rajputs from Luna were in
the mob. More noticeably, Dilawarkhan, the notorious
goonda of Luna, was one of the attackers. Ambu Mahida,
vice-president of Valia taluka panchayat, appeared to be
directing the operation. Following the attack, Chandubhai
lodged a complaint with the Valia police. The police however
deleted the name of Ambu Mahida from the list of names of
the attackers.
A posse of six SRP men has been posted at the residence
of Chandubhai after the latest mob attack. Another young
tribal leader, Manila!, the newly elected president of Bhamadia
gram panchayat in Valia taluku, has been given an indication
of things to come. On July 6, 1984, Chanda Devji, the new
recruit to the ruling party from Bhamadia village, went to the
residence of Manila! and poured out threats on him. Manila!
has also lodged a complaint with the Valia police.
The tribal leadership is thus hemmed in on three sides—
by the police, controlled by the political bosses, by the power
ful landlords who employ hired goondas and who have the
assistance of the police, and by the politicians who dangle
blandishments before the tribals to establish their bases. The
beleaguerd leaders are fighting for survival- Many of the
young leaders I talked to suspect that there is a conspiracy
40
SUPPRESSION OF YALTA TAIBALS
afoot to exterminate the emerging tribal leadership. For evi
dence, they point to the violent deaths of such leaders as
Mohan Narsing, Narsing Anop, and Manga Supad.
Extermination continues
One of the latest acts of violence was the fatal attack on
Amarsing Kotesing Vasava, chairman of the Tribal Develop
ment Corporation, Gujarat, who was also holding the rank of
a minister. On March 3, 1984, a little after midnight, Amar
sing was woken up at his home in Koyli Mandvi in Valia
taluka by a group of men who said they had important
business and had brought a letter from a close friend of
Amarsing. While talking to the men he was stabbed. When
he caught the assailant by the hair, another struck out at his
leg with an axe. He then ran into the house. He was fired at.
(Loksatta, May 10, 1984). He died in the government hospital
at Bharuch on March 3. In his dying confession, he reportedly
told the executive magistrate Bharuch that the attack on him
was politically motivated.
The suspicion of involvement of politicians is strengthened
by the long inaction of the police following murder of
Amarsing. A meeting attended by nearly 8,000 people was
held at Mowza on April 8 to protest against the failure of the
police to arrest the culprits. A delegation of tribal leaders
met Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on April 24, and submitted
a memorandum. The Prime Minister is understood to have
passed an order for the arrest of the culprits within 48 hours.
Only on the sixty-fourth day after the murder were some
murder suspects taken into custody. {Loksatta, May 13, 1984)
Amarsing belonged to the ruling party. Many young tribals
seem to feel now that belonging to the ruling party is no
guarantee against extermination.
7
Conclusion: A Cry for Justice
In the preceding pages 1 have tried to give a general, by
no means exhaustive, picture of the situation in Valia and
neighbouring talukas. If these pages say anything, it is that
there have been massive human rights violations in these
areas.
It takes a lot of nerves to tell the tribals of Valia that they
live in a democratic country, or that they have certain basic
rights. Their experience provides little evidence for this. Law
in the hands of the police has become a cover for law-break
ing. Humanity in the hands of unscrupulous landlords and
politicians have become a piece of clay they can mould as
they wish. The situation that prevails in this tribal area is a
repudiation of the Constitutional provisions for special pro
tection for the Scheduled Tribes. Those guilty of letting loose
repression on them or abetting it stand indicted by the
Constitution.
It can hardly be denied that repression has caused incal
culable damage to the dignity of the people of Valia. It is
hard to believe that the incidents narrated here actually took
place and are still taking place in this land of non-violence
and religious tolerance. But in spite of these brutal incidents,
the spirit of the people lives. One day that spirit will rise up
and demand for an answer from all of us.
To restore its credibility in the eyes of the tribals, the
Gujarat government must first make public the Joseph
Commission Report of October, 1981. Only by doing this can
it refute the charge of giving protection to guilty officers.
42
SUPPRESSION OF VALIA TRIBALS
Releasing the Report will also be a test of its sincerity and
goodwill towards the harassed tribalsThere is more than sufficient ground for calling for a highlevel and impartial enquiry into these incidents. The demo
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blood of so many innocent tribals killed in Valia, clamour
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cry for it.
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2. Walter Fernandes. Caste and Conversion Movements:
Religion and Human Rights, 1981. Rs 10
3. Alfred de Souza. The Social Organisation of Aging
among the Urban Poor, 1982. Rs 20
4. Jose Kananaikil. Scheduled Castes in the Constituent
Assembly: Rebirth in a New Nation, 1982. Rs 15
5. Desmond D’ Abreo. People and Forests: The Forest Bill
and a New Forest policy, 1982. Rs 7.50
6. Alfred de Souza and Walter Fernandes (eds.) Aging in
South Asia: Theoretical Issues and Policy Implications,
1982. Rs 15
7. Jose Kananaikil. Faith-Life and Social Context: A
Practical Tool for Self-Evaluation, 1983. Rs 7.50
8. Robert F- Amove. Education and Revolution in Nicaragua,
1983. Rs 7.50
9. Desmond D’Abreo. Ideology and Process of Participatory
Evaluation, 1983. Rs 10
10. Jose Kananaikil- Christians of Scheduled Caste Origin,
1983. Rs 7.50
11. Cheryl Lassen. Reaching the Assetless Rural Poor,
1983. Rs 7.50
12 Walter Fernandes. Forests, Environment and People,
1983. Rs 15
13. Antony Thomas. Mahatma Gandhi and the Communal
Problem: From the Khilafat Movement to Quit India,
1983. Rs 7.50
14. V.R. Krishna Iyer. Justice in Words and Injustice in
Deeds for the Depressed Classes. 1984. Rs 5
15. Bharat Dogra- IMF Conditionality and its Social Costs:
Case Study of India, 1984. Rs. 7.50
16. Alfred de Souza. Church and Society: Sociological
Perspectives on Lay Participation, 1984. Rs. 5
17. Alfred de Souza. Christian Colleges and a More Human
Society, 1984. Rs. 5
18- Rudolf C. Heredia. Religious and Social Change:
Behavioural Responses in Bombay University,
1984 Rs. 5
19. Jose Kananaikil. Constitutional Provisions for the
Scheduled Castes, 1984. Rs. 7-50
1.
How are the tribals treated in India? From personal obser
vation and on the spot investigation, the author, describes
the horrifying stories of atrocities being committed against
the tribals of Valia in Gujarat. It is the story of all the tribals
in India—shocking incidents of human rights violation. The
questions it raises concern all of us.
P.A. Augustine is a free-lance journalist based in Rajasthan.
Rs. 4
- Media
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