ATTAPPADI

GOVT.ITI.ATTAPPADI

2010-04-26T18:36:00.000+05:30

The new building for Govt Industrial Training Institute Attappadi opened by Hon.Deputy Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly Mr.Jose Baby on 23rd April 2010 at Mattathukad near Anakkaty.Mr.Raveendradas,President Attappadi Block Panchayath presided the function.Director of Employment and Training,Mr.Antony IAS,AHADS Director Unnial IAS members of panchayath,representetives of political parties,ITI staffs,students,tribal and other peoples of Attappadi attended the funtion.This Institute may become the No.1 Institute in Kerala by training and other extra carricular activities.

TRIBAL DANCES

2008-10-20T18:44:00.000+05:30

TRIBAL DANCE

ELELAKKARADI
Elelakkaradi is a highly heroic group - dance in which almost the whole community of men, women and children participate. The dance is very common with the tribal called Irular of Attappadi in Palakkad district. The dance brings out the fight of the people against the wild bears which often attack their tribal hamlets. Hear the dancers move out in rhythmic steps, with vociferous shouts and war cries and keep time to the beatings of the primitive drums. The various stages in the fight against the wild beasts are very well presented.

KAADAR NRITHAM
Kaadar Nritham is a type of ribal dance in which Only women partake.It is a primitive dance of the Kaadar tribes of the forest of Kochi area. The performers arrange themselves in a semicircle. They hold the tip of their cloths in their hands to the level of the waist and wave it to various rhythms of the dance. It is a very simple but elegant tribal dance in slow steps.

KURUMBAR NRITHAM
Waynad district had different types of hill tribes of which the kurumbar and the kattunayakar are the most prominent. They perform a special type of dance which is staged in connection with marriages. Before marriage, the members of the families of both the bride and bridegroom and after marriage the newly - wedded couple perform this dance. After the return of the bridegroom with his bride to his family, all the members of his house household and the newly - wedded again repeat the dance.

KAANIKKAR NRITHAM
Kaanikkar Nritham is a group dance of the kanikkar tribes. The dance is performed as a ritual offering. The steps of the dancers perfectly synchronise with the waving of the hands and beating of drums.

PANIYAR KALI
Panyar are another set of tribel inhabiting the hilly forests of Wayand district. Their dance is highly masculine and only men participate. Hear the dancers numbering about eight or ten stand in a circle with hands linked together. They have around with rhythmic flexions of the body and while moving stamp the ground in perfect rhythm to the loud beat of the primitive percussion instruments called Karu, Para, Udukku, etc. As the dance gathers momentum the circle is swiftly expanded and contracted and the dancers utter peculiar cries which gradually run up to a high pitch.

MAN KALI
Man Kali is a tribal dance. It is mainly of two kinds. In one version, the Ramayana episode in which Sita is being enchanted by Maricha in the guise of a golden deer is enacted in graceful movements. In the second type, one man takes the role of a deer while another that of a hunter. The deer hopes about and jumps around. The hunter follows in close steps and his movements and gestures suggest drawing the bow, aiming it, hurling the spear, brandishing some wooden log, etc. the whole dance is performed to the rhythm of wild percussion instruments.

PARVALLI KALI
Paravalli Kali is a mixed dance of the aboriginals of dense forest of Travancore area in which both men and women participate. They dance holding arms together, or shoulder to shoulder, linked in a backlock posture. The dance develops into variety of pleasing pattern, in which the men and women change their positions which amazing speed. The entire group of dancers sing songs and move swift rhythm in a circle. The linked arms swing to the rhythm in a fascinating wavelike movement.

THAVALA KALI
Thavalakali is a tribal dance in which a number of participants, usually boys, jump one above the other in succession, imitating the leaps of the frog.
KOORAN KALI
Koorankali is another tribal dance which is similar to Mankali. Hear one man takes the role of a wild bear with another enacting the role of hunting dog. The movements are perfectly timed to the rhythmic beats of primitive drums. While this is going on, the large number of onlookers who form a circle round the two dancers, shout wild cries of joy with the occasional clapping of hands and jerky dances.

EDAYA NRITHAM
Edaya Nritham is the dance of the tribal shepherds. Both men and women participate. One of the shepherds sing. This is repeated in chorus by all the rest. As the singing is going in, one of them imitate the special sounds of shepherds driving their sheep. The dance as such consists of someone of the group crying successively to imitate the wild animals that try to attack the sheep and also the thief who tries to robe them while the other members of the group very adeptly bring out the terror on the faces of the lamps and their mournful walings.

NAIKAR KALI
Naikar Kali is popular among the tribes in Wyanad and Malappuram districts. It is more ritualistic than entertainment oriented. This is performed as pooja to family deities and during marriages. When the instruments, Thappu and Kuzhal start playing, the naikars begins their performance. With jingling anklets round their legs, they dance round in clock-wise and anti-clockwise movements to the accompaniment of the instruments. In between they shout 'Hoy Hoy'. Thappu and Kuzhal are the musical instruments used.
MUDIYATTOM
Mudiyattom, also known as Neelilyattom, is a tribal dance in which only women partake. The women stand on small wooden blocks and the dance begins with slow and simple movements of the body which culminate in graceful movements of the head. The uncombed hair of the participants flow down and swing in rhythmic waves. The instruments used are Karu, maram, para, kakkaro etc.

GADHIKA
Gadhika is a ritual dance performed by Adiya tribes of Wayanad district. The art from is meant to care ailments. The performance is also done as part of a ritual for having a safe delivery of child. Gadhika begins with the principal performer invoking lord Siva for his help to cure the patients. Central to the ritual is the belief that a person falls sick when the gods are angry. The prayers are in a strange dialect, which has a pronounced Kannada diction. Once Lord Siva was brought down to earth and he was pleades by the invocations of the worshippers. The other gods, goddesses were enrolled by the performance. These gods include Chamundi, Maniamma, Malankali (Siva) and Karinkali. Simultaneously other actors dressed in colourful costumes also move centralistic which is titled with a small structure that resembles a temple. The participants include men dressed as women whose function is to welcome the gods and goddesses arriving in response to the summons from Siva. Gadhika is usually performed during the month of Mithunam, which falls in June-July period. The participants go to houses from which they had received invitations, conduct rituals, collect the oblations and offer them to gods at a ceremony conducted on the banks of a river.

WWW.KALAKERALAM.COM

MALABARPHOTO.COM

2007-11-02T19:21:00.000+05:30

Silet Valley National Park

These pictures have been taken during my stay in the Silent Valley National Park over the past nine months. I had ventured into this year-long project voluntarily as I was inspired by some of the great people who worked hard to preserve this biodiversity for the generations-to-come. Their dedication, commitment and perseverance paved way to the Silent Valley tropical rain forests being declared as a National Park in November 1984.

What trail worth remembering would I be leaving if I don't capture this legacy?

I dedicate my work to the movement behind the existence of the "Greatest Expression of Life on Earth".

I am aware that I have managed to cover only one percent of this biodiversity. I am happy that I have made this attempt as part of the preservation campaign. I hope that my pictures will serve as an eye opener to the people who are still not convinced about what the Silent Valley National park holds in her bosom and are trying to asphyxiate the life that is bubbling in these forests in the name of development.

This is just a beginning and I sincerely hope that my attempt would contribute a drop to the ocean of the Save Silent Valley Campaign.

Other Galleries


Art & Culture	History	Nature	People	Tradition
Click on the pictures to view Gallery

My photographs here are the product of long years of my committed and often tiring, painful efforts to know my land, my roots. This web site aims to kindle the inquisitiveness of those wishing to know Malabar visually. A place where legends, lores and realities fuse seamlessly into a vibrant melange of traditions, culture, unique landscapes, against the backdrop of a long and tumultous history.

I hope you would find that many of these pictures transcend the realms of mundane chronicling or mere imagination. They span the last ten years of Malabar. Malabar is changing rapidly and many of these images have since become a collective memory. Like elsewhere, Malabar too is coping with the erosion of its hoary cultural heritages and values, and some of its fast depleting natural resources, are already facing extinction.

For the photos of malabar by NP JAYAN Please visit www.malabarphoto.com

AHADS

2007-07-12T17:31:00.000+05:30

A FIREBRAND FROM ATTAPPADI

A platform for meeting, interaction and collaboration of minds

Bhagavathi is bold and ready to voice out the problems faced by the tribal. A firebrand from Attappadi, she was in the city recently to partake in a two day meeting organized by the States women’s commission.
Bhagavathi is one of the beneficiaries of Attappadi area development society AHADS, which is an eco restoration project implementing agency, funded by JAPAN. WHAT PROMPTED HER TO WORK FOR THE TRIBAL was the rampant illicit liquor brewing. Attappadi is a liquor prohibited zone. Btu brewing is a big business now. Outsiders find this a secure place. Even the children are addicted to liquor” says Bhagavathi. The women work under the banner of thaikulam a monitoring agency.

We conduct raids. Initially we installed warning boards and then warned them verbally. As a last resort we had to use the broom sticks. Then we imposed a fine of rs.100 on drunkards and with the collected we purchased provisions for the affected family. On confiscating jaggery we make payasam and distribute it among the tribal.

“Attappadi is a tribal belt in Palakkad. It is covered by forest. THE TRIBALS HAVE THE RIGHT TO CULTIVATE THERE. Outside settlers encroached upon their land. We are illiterate and hence easy to cheat. There is no school or hospitals. We don’t mind sending our children to far off schools but the non-tribal teachers, treat these tribal children differently. Sexual harassment is very high and we have many unwed mothers. We are economically weak to approach the court and to conduct sophisticated tests like DNA test. The culprits escape as the law enforcing agencies are weak” she reasons.

There are 182 oorus and 110 thaikulam sangahm. Each ooru comprises of 25 families. Ragi is their staple food. Rice is consumed in eager quantities. Now they are force to supplement their diet with chama, roots tubers and fruits. Unscrupulous elements successfully owned the land and the ragi cultivation declined. Now they depend quality ration rice.Domestic violence an infant mortality is on the rise. Cancer and cardiac patients receive no attention.

Bhagavathi was listening to the various problems, suggestions and complaints raised by the NGOs. Finally she remarked: You have access to schools, colleges, courts, police stations, hospitals, and you have well equipped communication facilities- and still GRUMBLING?! On hearing this statement of Bhagavati the entire forum burst into laughter

Author
padmanabha Devoted Hubber

Tribal people

2007-07-12T17:23:00.000+05:30

Tribal people in Attappadi

by pradeepsz

Attappady, one of the prominent forest regions of Kerala is situated in
the north eastern part of the Palghat district of Kerala. Irular,
Mudugar and Kurumbar are the main tribal groups. They live in forest in
closely built huts called ‘Ooru’ (hamlets) Government have constructed
some concrete programmes to uplift the tribals.Attappadimountain valley nestled in the Western Ghats ranges is in Palakkad district of Kerala, south India. Attappady is a tribal abode.This 765 square Kilometres of area is bounded on the east by the
Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu, north by the Nilgiris, south by the
Palghat taluk and on the west by the Karimba, Pottassery and Mannarghat
revenue villages of Mannarghat taluk of the Palghat District and Ernad
taluk of the Malappuram district. The elevation of the Attappady valley
ranges from 750-1000 metres.

The majority of the tribal people in
Attappadi use arrack (country liquor) and for quite a number of them,
it is their main food! Non-tribal people, the local settlers are no
exception. It is a common knowledge, that because of excess demand of
this stuff, many venture to produce it in their vicinity, against all
governmental rules. It is the most profitable and thriving non-licensed
cottage industry! This illicit distilling goes on secretly in hilly
terrains not easily accessible to the excise officials. "Koda", a basic
ingredient to prepare arracks is usually stored in the homes of these
illicit distillers.

Strange Rituals…..

Wedding

Attappadi is inhabited by three ethnic tribal groups viz., Irulas,
Kurumbas and Mudgas. Their weddings include many rituals and
ceremonies. Wedding is very common even at the age of 12 or 13. The
wedding is usually conducted in the groom's house. The groom has to
give dowry to the bride's father. They give a grand feast on the
wedding day. Vegetable food is a must. Family relationships are not
given much priority. The son even marries the second wife of his
father. Polygamy is prevalent among them.

Delivery

The woman before her delivery is kept in a specially made separate hut
near her house. When the pain starts, a mid wife who has mastery over
sorcery, accompanies her. After delivery the women and the baby are
declared unclean for six months. She leads a peaceful life without
doing any household works for three months. Husband does all the works
at that time (probably regretting making her pregnant!).

Death

When a person dies, couriers travel through out the village annoucing
the death news.. Chanting the name of the dead person, the relatives
and the neighbors sprinkle coriander mixed water on the dead body. The
dead body , completely covered with a white cloth is then placed in a
bamboo cot. A coin (nettikkasu) is pasted on the forehead. The people
who come for the burial service set right all the problems that they
had with the man and thus he is expected to be completely freed for his
eternal journey. A whole day is spent dancing and singing
(sapparayattam), thanking god for keeping the man so far. In that dance
they show symbols that God gave and God took. We cannot see Adivasi
people crying when somebody dies. When the father dies, the first born
in the family shaves his head and when the mother dies the second son
shaves his head. If there are no males in the family girls are supposed
to do so.

Irula tribe leads in literacy and in education comparing other tribal
groups. They are very interested to learn more. Tribal Mission strives
hard to shed light to their darkened lives. As a result of the ministry
among the tribals many have turned their hearts for the glory of God.
We request all of yours valuable prayers for this ministry.

How to reach there

* Nearest town: Mannarghat - 38 km
o Frequent buses to Anakkatti which is in Attappadi.
o Accommodation is available at Mannarghat and at Agali

TAO

2007-03-06T17:35:00.000+05:30

Tribal population threatened by crippling disease

A deadly maiming disease called `Thrombo Angiitis Obliterans' (TAO), is threatening the life of tribals in Attapadi. The flow of spurious liquor and the widespread cultivation of ganja in the forests of Attappady have abetted the spread of TAO. A number of tribals have succumbed to the killer disease. Many have lost their legs. An unofficial survey found that more than 200 people were affected by the disease.
The TAO, commonly known as Buergers disease, is the spin-off of the large-scale substance abuse and excessive smoking. Much before the arrack ban was implemented in the whole of Kerala, the Attappady tribal belt was declared as a 'total liquor-prohibited zone'.
But, the liquor ban has no effect here. The Attappady Hills are floating in spurious liquor. Earlier, liquor was sold only in arrack and toddy shops, but now it is available at every nook and corner of Attappady. The State Government has miserably failed to stop the flow of spurious liquor and the large-scale cultivation of ganja in the Attappady Hills.
The Excise and Police Departments are said to be hand-in-glove with the liquor mafia. The tribal hamlets have become centres of the spurious liquor trade and in most of the 170 hamlets, many of the men and women have become addicted to narcotic substances.
A health survey conducted in the tribal hamlets in 1999 found that 873 tribals are alcohol addicts, of which 152 are women. Out of this, 559 belong to the age group of 10-40 years.
The blood vessels of a TAO-affected patient expand and leads to a rupture. This usually occurs in the feet, as the tribals walk barefoot. Once affected, the disease quickly spreads to other parts of the body, eventually resulting in the death of the patient. In most cases, amputation could have saved the lives, but tribals are not willing to lose their limbs even at the cost of their lives.
Majority of the tribals do not seek any sort of medical aid. Patients afflicted with TAO feel that they have no means to go for treatment to far-off places like the Medical Colleges of Thrissur or Kozhikode. They are not in a position to go for costly treatment when their very survival itself is uncertain.
Some of the doctors of Attappady who tried to help the TAO-affected feel that medical practitioners can only help by giving treatment and advice. When the tribals are reluctant to cooperate, there is little the doctors can do. The doctors of the area say that the tribals have been found to have traces of sickle-cell-anemia in their genes which makes them easily vulnerable to TAO.
Some years back, liquor was taboo for tribals. They lived on the forest products and cultivated food crops for their livelihood. Once they lost their land and their traditional habitat on account of the inflow of 'outsiders', they became victims of illicit liquor and the ganja mafia.
Tribal activists complain that the authorities who are busy preparing 'masterplans' and other big welfare schemes over the years, spending several millions for 'tribal development' turned a blind eye to the spread of this crippling disease which may wipe out the entire tribal population of Attappady, if left unchecked.

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CHECK DAM

2007-01-28T14:11:00.000+05:30

(From The Hindu)

Byline: Our Staff Reporter

A public interest litigation petition challenging the Kerala Government proposal to construct a checkdam across the Bhavani at Mukali, near Attapadi, in Palakkad district, has been filed in the Madras High Court.

(Though an order for the construction was issued in 1997 itself, the Kerala Government could not go ahead with the project in view of protests from various quarters, particularly residents of Attapadi which faced inundation).

According to the petitioner, R.R. Gopalijee of the Tamil daily Dinamalar , if the dam was constructed, five lakh acres of agricultural land would go dry, affecting more than one crore people in Coimbatore and Erode districts. The Bhavanisagar dam, irrigating more than 2 lakh acres under the Lower Bhavani project, the Thadapalli project, the Arakkankottai scheme and the Kalingarayan channel scheme, would be in jeopardy.

The river irrigated over 3 lakh acres in Erode district and about 60 lakh people depended on it through various hydel power projects, fisheries and research activities. If Bhavani water was stopped, the Cauvery would also go dry in the lower reaches.

Despite representations from the Tamil Nadu Green Movement and the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, the State Government remained indifferent to the developments, having far-reaching consequences for the State's agricultural economy. The petitioner also cited civic unrest and collapse of rural economy in the Cauvery delta region when the Karnataka Government built dams across the Cauvery.

The proposed construction would take away the riparian rights of millions of farmers, Mr. Gopalijee contended, and prayed for an interim injunction restraining Kerala and its officials from proceeding further with the Mukali checkdam project, pending disposal of the petition.

APJA KALAM

2007-01-27T16:01:00.000+05:30

President presents "Attapadi Declaration" against liquor

Attappadi(kerala)Nov.17

President A P J Abdul Kalam today presented the "Attapadi Declaration" against use of liquor and drugs to make the entire hill area a liquor-free zone.

"Let us take a pledge today to abolish use of liquor and Ganja cultivation that is rampant in this most-backward tribal belt", he said administering an oath to a large gathering of tribals here.

Taking cue from the tirade launched recently by tribal women representing 80 hamlets in the Attapadi hill area in Palakkad District, Kalam said arrack or Ganja could do no good either to one's self or one's family.

"I congratulate tribal women for launching the anti-liquor campaign in the area and want everyone to support their cause. Let me rename this Chundapatti Campaign as Attapadi Declaration and let the campaign be more vigorous from today", he said.

Satellite view

2007-01-04T20:32:00.000+05:30

Attappadi

Coordinates
UTM : FN72
Geographical coordinates in decimal degrees (WGS84)
Latitude : 11.083
Longitude : 76.583
KML Export for Google Earth
Google maps view of Attappadi

Geographical coordinates in degrees minutes seconds (WGS84)
Latitude : 11 05' 00''
Longitude : 76 35' 00''

Satellite view of Attappadi

GOLD

2007-01-04T20:06:00.000+05:30

Kerala's Gold

2006-03-11

Recent exploration result for Kerala are very encouraging, Gold worth of about Rs 600 croe at current price is present in the Attapadi, Nilambur and Mankada areas in Malappuram district. These areas are found to be highly potential for Gold. Among them the Atapadi gold belt is found to be most potential. It is made up of gneissic rocks. The gold is found in three subparallel load zones. Similarly six lensoid gold bearing load zones in Nilambur and two gold load zones of sulphide rich high grade rocks at Mankada are alos recorded. Kottathara area of Nilambur region hold maximum, 80000 tonnes of gold in its reserve. Gold at the rate of 13.8 grams can be obtained from here.

Kerala government is planning to go for mining. Four gram of gold per tonne from any ore lead zone is viable, if continued for twenty years. However government should take precaution while going for exploration, because of the low percentage of gold and erratic distribution of gold in ore. Each area should have distinct strategy for exploration depending upon the nature of ore. Locations are so far found viable for mining. It is wandered why kerala has not gone for mining up to now. In karnataka’s kolar mining has produced so far 800 tonnes of gold upto an average depth of 2750 metre in area of 8 kilometres. 99% percent of gold in India come from 40000 sq km area covering Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

It is very likely that kerala is heading for gold mining. And once the mining is started in Malappuram and Attapadi valley, issues of environment will come in focus. The valleys may be turned in to grey. The ecological and natural balance may get disturbed. For the country to sustain growth in economy, proper utilization of mineral wealth is necessary. However all this thing should we done by using the modern mining technologies by causes less harm to the environment? First a study of impact of mining on environment should we done. Proper benefit of Country, people and environment should be taken care of.

http://www.geocities.com/arvindkatoch1

BLOG

2007-01-04T20:04:00.000+05:30

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2006-04-06

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By arvindkatoch1

PALAKKAD

2006-12-28T18:04:00.000+05:30

:: PALAKKAD

Palakkad or Palghat is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state in South India. It has Thrissur and Malappuram district of Kerala and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu as boundaries. It is a predominantly rural district. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats.Palakkad is believed to derive its name from pala (tree) and kadu (forest). When the Zamorin of Kozhikode invaded Palakkad, the Raja of Palakkad sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore and forced Zamorin to retreat. Later Hyder Ali annexed all the Malabar region with his kingdom. The Hyder Ali Fort in the centre of Palakkad Town is the proof of their dominance. In the year 1872 the defeat of Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali faced defeat in the hands of East Indian Company, all the territories were ceded to British. After Indian Independence, the Palakkad administrative unit was formed on January 1st 1957. Palakkad has the best irrigation system in Kerala. The irrigation projects & dams are at Malampuzha, Walayar, Chittur, and Pothundi

DOWN TO EARTH

2006-12-16T20:40:00.000+05:30

DOWN TO EARTH

Feathers, nails, bones and blood!

Time has come for tribal medication to be revalidated

JAGDISH SWAROOP

Illustrations: Rustam Vania

THE practice of tribal or generic medicines is a school with a difference. The practitioners are still found among the Irula tribals of Attapadi near Pallakkad in Kerala. Recently at a camp organised by the Prakrithi Sastra Vijnana Kendram at Nadavardmpu near Irinjalakudda, more than 2,000 people were given tribal medication for diabetes, asthma and chronic headache.

Traditional medications are, in fact, now becoming popular in the face of the government's irrational drug policy which is turning India into a dumping ground for many banned drugs like Baralgan, Buscopan, Oxalgin, Novalgin, Suganril) Butalgin, Viaform and Utragin that are still manu -factured and sold over-the-counter in India.

It is a proven fact that very large Ultragin (an analgin-based antipyretic) doses lead to a fatal condition known as Thrombocytopenic purpura a bone marrow disease.

Much of the organised indigenous medicine uses medicinal plants, minerals and animal parts and extracts as remedies for various ailments. Classical medicinal systems like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani, use more than 1,200 medicinal plants. But much of the localised - tribal as well as rural - practices use over 7,000 medicinal plants.

Recent ethno -zoological surveys are documenting the medicinal uses, of a diverse range of plant as well as animal species. The Charaka Samhita lists references to nearly 200 animals. Smoke from burning owl feathers, nails and skin is, said to soothe the insomniac, while owl meat is 'used to treat tuberculosis (TB). For TB patients, meat of cat, mongoose and jackal (in the guise of rabbit), snake (disguised as eel), and crow (as partridge), is considered beneficial. A more exotic suggestion by the Samhita is that lion, bear and tiger meat (disguised as venison) is also highly potent. The Samhita also holds goat meat in high esteem. Fresh goat blood is prescribed to treat excessive blood loss.

Ethno-zoology essentially deals with the inter-relationship between humans and -animals, especially the medicinal applications of animals. The Zoological Survey of India undertook a study of tribal medicines, and carried out the first ethnological survey in Madhya Pradesh which has the largest tribal population in India ( 11,987,03 1, out of a total tribal population of 52,178,844).

A detailed data sheet was prepared pertaining to the utility of animals in food, medicine, aphrodisiac value, family planning, age stabilising, laboratory experiments, mechanical uses, in dual uses, fuel, fertiliser, ornamental uses, perfumes, dyes, entertainment, as pets, for religious purposes, as omens, in astrology, witchcraft, and several such fields.

The survey also listed harmful lifeforms like pests and vectors. In the study, all current and historical known medicinal applications were listed, too. The group wise break-up showed that birds yielded 136 different applications, reptiles 107, amphibians two, fishes 35, insects 44, arachnids seven, myriapods one, crabs 39, leeches two, earth worms 24, and molluscs 64.

Thus, of the 894 , medicinal applications, the maximum number were from parts of mammals (433), followed by birds (136) and reptiles (107). The most popularly used single derivative is cow's urine having 37 applications in a variety of diseases like coughs, colds, fever, jaundice, appendicitis, stomach disorders, TB, urinary complaints (consumed internally), deafness, eye trouble, skin diseases, septicaemia and varieties of pain (external application). It is also used for rejuvenation and blood purification. The hen's egg also has 37 applications, including increasing libido in males, abortion and preventing pregnancy. Among insect products, honey is most useful.

The survey found that calcium-rich animal parts are useful in treating ear troubles, that earthworms increase lactation, goat liver cures night blindness, pigeon blood alleviates rheumatism and that human urine serves as an antiseptic. Surveying 35 tribes of Madhya Pradesh, the study listed 107 medicinal applications from body parts of reptiles: 28 from the monitor lizard, 10 each from the garden and the spiny-tailed lizard, four from the crocodile and eight from the snake. The tortoise and turtle accounted for the maximum (47).

Once the findings are properly researched, documented and confirmed, a radically different pharmacology may emerge altogether. The 1978 World Health Organization meet had declared that to achieve "health for all by 2000, there is an urgent need for strengthening traditional medical systems...", and that ethno-zoological medicine is more relevant today and needs to be recognised, and that the role of its practitioners is as relevant today as the village primary health centre.

EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

2006-12-16T20:08:00.000+05:30

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

The Employment Service came into existence in India under the stress of post-war demobilization. Towards the end of the Second World War, the need for machinery that could handle orderly re-absorption of civil life, of a large number of service personnel and war workers who were about to release was keenly felt. Having regard to the complexity of the problem and in order to ensure uniformity in policies and effective co-ordination of efforts, it was considered necessary that the proposed machinery be directed and controlled by the Central Government. In accordance with a scheme that was agreed upon by the Central and State Governments, the Directorate general of Resettlement and Employment (DGR&E) was set up in July 1945 and Employment Exchanges were gradually opened in several parts of the country.

Till the end of 1946, Employment Service facilities were restricted to demolished service personal and discharged war workers. In 1947, consequent upon the partition of the country, the Employment Exchanges were called upon to deal with the resettlement of a large number of persons who were displaced as a result of partition. In response to popular demands, the scope of the service was gradually extended and by early 1948 Employment Exchanges were thrown open to all categories of applicants.

In 1952 under the chairmanship of Shiva Rao a Training and Employment Service Organistion Committee was appointed to review the set up and functions of the Employment Service and to make recommendations for its reorganization. The day today administration of the organization was handed over to the State Governments with effect from 1^st of November 1956. The Employment Service is now the joint concern of the Central and State Governments.

In 1960 Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T) was formed as national head quarters of the Employment Service as well as the Craftsmen Training Scheme of the Ministry of Labour, Government of India.

At the DGE&T, the Director of Employment Exchanges is responsible for advising the Director General on matters concerning policy, procedure and co-ordination of the Employment Service

NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE-KERALA

The Department of National Employment Sevice-Kerala was formed in the 1st of April 1957. The Director of Employment & Training is at the apex of the organization in the State. The Director of Employment in the State has his Head Quarters at Thiruvananthapuram. To assist him in administration a Joint Director, three Deputy Directors and an Administrative Officer were working in Employment Directorate. There are Regional Deputy Director's Office functioning at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode at regional level, District Employment Exchanges at Districts level, and Town Employment exchanges at Taluk level.

For physically handicapped, separate Employment Exchanges are functioning at Thiruvananthapuram, Neyyattinkara, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. There are Professional & Executive Employment Office functioning at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode to meet the needs of the professionally qualified candidates. At the University level, University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaus are functioning at Kerala University (Thiruvananthapuram), M.G. University (Kottayam), Cochin University (Cochin), Agricultural University (Mannuthy), and Calicut University (Kozhikode).

To impart training for SC/ST candidates there are Coaching cum Guidance Centre for SC/ST functioning at Ernakulam and Kozhikode. There are Self Employment Guidance Unit functioning at Kollam and Idukki. Apart from Employment Exchanges registration and renewal facilities are available at Employment Information and Assistance Bureaus situated in Attapadi, Kondotty, Vandoor, Manjeswaram, Devikulam, Payyannur. Under I.T.D.P two mobile Employment exchanges are functioning at Thodupuzha and Kalpetta.

AIR

2006-12-16T19:51:00.000+05:30

Re-categorisation of Stations: The following AIR stations have been categorized as category-C, stations vide DG, AIR order no. 3/1/99-SCORE (Vol-I)/205 Dated 15-07-2004. All these stations will now have tenure of TWO years.

1. Bansi (Raj.)
2. Joranda (Orissa)
3. Hamirpur (HP)
4. Mount Abu (Raj)
5. Uttarkashi (UA)
6. Soro (Orissa)
7. Ooty (TN)
8. Kavarathi (Lakshdweep)
9. Markapur (AP)
10. Kalpa (MP)

11. Gopeshwar (UA)
12. Attapadi (Kerala)
13. Athadama (UP)
14. Deorukh (MS)
15. Kuksi (MP)
16. Thambalapalli (Kar)
17. Rajapur (MS)
18. Sridungargarh (Raj)
19. Sujangarh (Raj)
20. Sironcha (MS)

21. Sardar Shahar (Raj)
22. Osmanabad (MS)
23. Gulbarga (Kar.)
24. Jammu (J&K)
25. Medikeri (Kar.)
26. Shimla (HP)
27. Shahdol (MP)

Visit of North-East by CWC Members

During middle of February Sh. R. Dasgupta (President) and Sh. Umesh Chand Sharma (Addl. GS) paid a short visit to NE region. On arrival the President, AGS and VP (TV) -who was on leave in Guwahati, had a meeting with the ARTEE NE zonal office bearers to have an overview of the working.

The CWC members encouraged the office bearers to take the cause of the members of the zone to the best of their abilities. Also it was urged that they should, from time to time, communicate with centre about any problem that need attention. The CWC members alongwith zonal office bearers subsequently had a very useful meeting with staff of DDK and PPC Guwahati. All the current topics including the bifurcation of zones and thereafter the special significance of the ARTEE zonal office, the issue of outsourcing and a host of other issues being pursued by the Association under the banner of SSS were discussed. Present status of RR was also discussed. Subsequently the office bearers of zonal office along the CWC members had a very open and frank discussion with CE (NEZ) Sh. H.R. Singh and Sh. R.K. Sinha, DE(AVM) in the newly set up zonal office at Guwahati. The discussions were very fruitful and all the points taken up by our zonal office were discussed and decisions were taken.

Next day CWC members visited Itanagar, where a meeting was organized to discuss all current topics. Members were also enlightened with the latest status of RR meetings. The members of AIR and DDK Itanagar were extremely happy and excited by this short but meaningful visit of CWC members at such a remote and difficult place. On the way back CWC members paid a day long visit to Siliguri. It was a very hectic yet extremely useful visit by the CWC members along with VP(EZ) Sh. J.P. Sengupta and other zonal office bearers. In the meeting convened by Sh. Dhruva Bhowmick, State Sec (WB), a good number of unit secretaries of North Bengal and Darjeeling area were present. The well attended meeting was addressed by President, AGS, VP(EZ) and other state office bearers. The burning issues were discussed at length. The effect of zonal bifurcation on cadres e.g. SEA, EA and Sr.Tech. was discussed dispassionately. The stagnation of promotion of the cadres is a cause of concern among the cadres at large as this situation may continue for next seven years, if left unresolved.

A decision was taken in the meeting to hold West Bengal state convention on 4th and 5th September at Siliguri. ARTEE office bearers later visited HPT and PGF Jalpaiguri.

DOORDARSHAN

2006-12-16T19:36:00.000+05:30

Transmitters in Kerala and Lakshadweep

DETAILS OF DOORDARSHAN FACILITIES IN KERALA
T.V STATIONS
· Doordarshan Kendra : Kudappanakunnu,Thiruvananthapuram
· PGF. : Viyyur, Thrissur

HIGH POWER TRANSMITTERS
1. Thiruvananthapuram 10 K.W Range 70 KM
2. Cochin 10 K.W Range 70 KM
3. Calicut 10 K.W Range 70 KM
4. Kannur 1 K.W Range 30 KM
5. Thiruvananthapuram for DD News 10 K.W Range 70 KM
6. Cochin for DD News 10 K.W Range 70 KM
7. Calicut for DD News(UHF) 20 K.W Range 70KM

LOW POWER TRANSMITTERS
1. Pathanamthitta 100 W Range 10 KM
2. Punalur 100 W Range 10 KM
3. Kayamkulam 100 W Range 10 KM
4 Chegannur 300 W Range 15 KM
5. Aooor 100 W Range 15 KM
6. Changanacherry 100 W Range 10 KM
7. Pala 100 W Range 15 KM
8. Thodupuzha 100 W Range 15 KM
9. Iddukki 100 W Range 15 KM
10. Thrissur 100 W Range 10 KM
11. Shornur 100 W Range 10 KM
12. Palkkad 100 W Range 15 KM
13. Attapadi 100 W Range 15 KM
14. Malapuram 100 W Range 15 KM
15. Thalassery 100 W Range 15 KM
16. Kasarcode 100 W Range 15 KM
17. Kalpatta 100 W Range 10 KM
18. Kanghangad 100 W Range 15 KM
19. Kottarakara 100 W Range 15 KM
20. Kannur (DD News) 100 W Range 15 KM
21. Kottarakara 300W Range 15 KM
22. Manjeri 100W Range 15 KM
VERY LOW POWER TRANSMITTERS
1 Kangirapally 10 W Range 05 KM
2 Devikulam 10 W Range 05 KM
3 Mahi 10 W Range 05 KM
4 Mundakkayam 10 W Range 05 KM
5 Eerattupetta 10 W Range 05 KM

DETAILS OF COMMUNICATION FACILITIES IN LAKSHA DWEEP
LOW POWER TRANSMITTER
1. Kavarathi 100 W Range 15 KM

VERY LOW POWER TRANSMITTERS
1. Agati 10 W Range 5 KM
2. Amini 10 W Range 5 KM
3. Andrott 10 W Range 5 KM
4. Chetlat 10 W Range 5 KM
5. Kadmat 10 W Range 5 KM
6. Kalpeni 10 W Range 5 KM
7. Kavarathi (DD Metro) 10 W Range 5 KM
8. Kiltan 10 W Range 5 KM
9. Minicoy 10 W Range 5 KM

JALANIDHI

2006-12-11T21:11:00.000+05:30

The World Bank supported Jalanidhi Tribal Development Project commenced in December 2002 at Agali GP of Attapadi block, Palakkad District was completed in September 2004. Total cost and expenditure of the project was Rs. 126 Lakh.

Achievement at a Glance


»	Tribal group owned the project with responsibility.

»	A remarkable step towards self reliance of the tribal community

»	Increased participation of youth and women among the tribal group

»	Rs. Ten lakh obtained as cash contribution from tribals for drinking water schemes.

»	Contribution also mobilised for the construction of latrine and micro enterprises of women.

»	15 to 115 families were included in the User Group

»	A new leadership of 250 people emerged as office bearers of beneficiary groups

»	The costs of the project are borne by people who have accepted responsibility voluntarily

»	Low Operation and Maintenance Costs per month for each family which is Rs 3/- to Rs 40/-.

»	Community donated land free of cost for most of the schemes.

»	Job opportunities of more than 10 lakhs people achieved through the project other than the labour contribution.

»	Pure drinking water for 1000 families who suffered from scarcity of pure water.

»	Tap connection available for each family.

»	24 hours water facility in most of the schemes.

»	The capital investment per family is approximately Rs. 10,000

»	All families in Project areas benefited from the schemes.

»	Ground water recharge programmes implemented for activating drinking water sources.

»	Women Enterprises benefited 78 families.

»	Skill development training provided to 225 members in various trades

»	Better Attitudinal change in Health & Hygiene behaviours.

»	Sanitary Latrine facility for 500 families.

Schemes Implemented
Drinking Water Schemes - 26

New Schemes Regenerated Plumbing Schemes Gravity Schemes	: : : :	24 2 11 15
Benefitted Families	:	10000
Benefitted School children	:	500

Ground Water Regeneration Activities


Check dam	:	15
Filter bed	:	2

Environment Hygiene


Latrine Construction	:	500
Soak pit Construction	:	208

IRULAS

2006-12-11T21:01:00.000+05:30

IRULAS

The Irulas are found mainly in the southern and eastern slopes of the Nilgiri hills. They are generally considered to have drifted to the Nilgiris from the hilly terrains of Attapadi and Siruvani valleys in Kerala and the adjoining Anaikatti area in Coimbatore.

Among the tribes of the Nilgiris, the Irulas are most numerous, next only to the Badagas. They are reported to be in possession of excellent medico-botanical knowledge of herbal wealth and related vegetation in their immediate vicinities.

Similarities With Kurumbas
The Irulas have many points in common with the Kurumbas. Like them, they are dwellers of the jungle, and hence they derive their name, which literally signifies "People of the darkness". They, like the Kurumbas live in the lower reach of the Nilgiris in the south and east in villages with detached huts made of split bamboo. Their villages are called 'Mottas' like those of the Kurumbas.

Culture
The Irulas are sub-divided into the following groups; Poongkaru, Kudagar Kalkatti, Vellaka, Devala and Koppillingam. Marriage ties are rather loose. The Irula marriage and funeral ceremonies are simple. Marriages are followed by feast and dance, and some Kurumbas are invited.

Irulas are said to worship Vishnu in their own temple. Irula temples aren't imposing, consisting as they do of circles of rough stones, each enclosing an upright one with iron tridents fixed in the ground.

They are many traditions concerning their power over wild beasts. They are accredited with being able to tame tigers, and the fable goes that the women when in the woods leave their children in the care of a tiger.

The Irulas in the eastern slopes are legendarily associated with the Ranagsamy (also spelt as Rangaswami) cult, a virile religious and cultural event centered on the northern slopes of the hills, used to be expert honey-collectors and hunters.

Occupation
Irulas cultivate small patches close by their village raising Ragi, Samai, (all cereals), plantains, oranges, jacks, pumpkins, etc. They rarely trade on the plateau, but go down to towns in the plains with their produce like fruits, honey bee-wax market gum, dyes, etc. They also hunt and snare wild animals.

They have also been the traditionally hired herdsmen for Badagas pasturages in Moyar basin. Put together they number around 9,000 people.

ELEPHANTS

2006-12-11T20:54:00.000+05:30

Division	-	Nilgiri South
Location	-	Nilgiri District - Tamil Nadu
Area	-	NA
Status	-	Territorial Forest Division
Latitude	-	11°11' - 11°3' N
Longitude	-	76°27' - 76°52' E
Min Elevation	-	1500 m
Max Elevation	-	2635 m
Highest Peak	-	Doddabetta (2635 m)
Min Rainfall	-	1000 mm
Max Rainfall	-	4000 mm

Geography

The division forms a contiguous and compact block lying in the southern sector of the Nilgiris District. The track is divided by the Nilgiri plateau and the south-eastern outer slopes.

Boundary

North	:	Nilgiri North forest division
South	:	Silent Valley NP and Attapadi RF
East	:	Udhagamandalam town
West	:	Mukurthi NP

Elephant Population

23 (very few resident elephants)
Census 1993

Conservation Problems

The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has occupied a large area of the reserved forest in connection with the execution of various hydroelectric projects. These projects have fragmented the forest and have caused much disturbance.
The greater demand for fuelwood has led to the conversion of grasslands into plantation areas.
Forest produce of the division has been set apart for South India Viscose, Tan India Wattle Extract Company and Sesh Sayee Paper and Boards. The demand for forest products by these industries and fuelwood demand by the tea industries have reduced the quality of the habitat.
Most of the areas under the division fall under tea and potato cultivation. These activities have fragmented and made the habitat unsuitable.
Forest fire occurs frequently in some parts of the division, mainly in the grasslands.

Conservation Priorities

The proposal to bring some of the areas of this division under Mukurthi National Park has to be given priority.

Other Information

Crop raids / year	-	8
Fragmentation index	-	2.45
Population	-	23
Elephant Distribution Area	-	76 km²
Endemic Species	-	35
Poaching / Year	-	0
Corridors	-	0
Preferred Habitat Area	-	0
Rare Vegetation Area	-	17.6 km²

LAND RIGHTS

2006-12-11T20:17:00.000+05:30

EPW Perspectives

May 29, 1999

Adivasis Betrayed: Adivasi Land Rights in Kerala

C R Bijoy

Constitutional Obligations
Historical Overview
Perpetuating Injustice

THE Kerala government has done it again. In another desperate attempt to hoodwink the adivasis (tribals) and of course, the Constitution, ‘The Kerala Restriction on Transfer by and Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes Bill, 1999’ was passed by the Kerala assembly as Bill No 163 on February 23, 1999. This bill also repeals the ‘Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on Transfer of Lands and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Act, 1975.

Last time around, faced with the angry and resolute adivasis and possible contempt of the high court for not implementing the 1975 Act, the then United Democratic Front (UDF) government attempted to bring an ordinance to amend the act in early 1996. Shiv Shankar, the then governor, refused to approve the ordinance on the plea that it was election time and the election code did not permit this. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, on ascending to power, promptly passed another similar ordinance, but failed to get the clearance from Kurshid Alam Khan, the governor of Karnataka who was then also in charge of Kerala. Faced with the deadline of September 30, 1996 set by the high court, the government passed ‘The Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on Transfer of Lands and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Amendment Act, 1996’ on September 23. This amendment was aborted by president K R Narayanan when he returned it withholding his assent. Obviously, the Kerala government was not able to convince the centre and the president on the genuineness and legality of the act.

The aborted ordinances as well as the amendment were intended to subvert the very intent of the 1975 act – of restoration of alienated lands back to the adivasis. These also go counter to Section 3(1) IV and V of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 which prescribes punishment between six months and five years imprisonment to those who wrongfully occupy or cultivate any land owned by or allotted to or notified by the government to be allotted to a member of ST or gets the land allotted to him transferred and wrongfully dispossesses a member of ST from his land. (The act also provides for punishment of officials for neglect of duties prescribed under this act.)

They were also violative of Articles 3, 13 and 14 of the ILO Convention 107 which has been ratified by India. These articles relate to protection of properties, respect of customary procedures of transmission of traditional ownership of lands, prevention of non-tribes from securing ownership or use of lands belonging to tribals and provision of more land when they have not the area necessary for providing the essentials of normal existence. They are also violative of Section 2 of ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Populations (which India is yet to ratify) which explicitly recognises the concept of territoriality of the tribals and the relationship it has with their identity, and their right of ownership and possession over lands traditionally occupied. In addition, they are also violative of Part VI of the UN draft Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which is being discussed at the level of the UN Commission of Human Rights.

The unanimous position of both the LDF and UDF was that the 1975 Act was unjust to the non-adivasi migrant settlers who had, through deceit and cunning, grabbed the lands of adivasis. A sub-committee constituted by the Kerala state assembly in 1976 visited Wayanad district which has the largest adivasi population in the state. They conducted a rapid survey on land alienation. Of the 298 cases presented to them, it was found that 71 (24 per cent) were grabbed by force, 67 were grabbed for measly sums while the rest for a small amount. There were 14 cases where signatures were obtained on blank papers without any money being paid, five did not receive the stipulated amount and two had their money taken away. An official ITDP survey of February 15, 1977 reveals that in Attapady of Palakkad district, another major adivasi belt, 10,106.19 acres of adivasi lands were alienated.

As early as 1960, the Dhebar Commission recommended that all tribal land alienated since January 26, 1950 – the day the Constitution came into force – should be returned to the original adivasi owners. A meeting of state ministers on April 1, 1975 passed a resolution: “Legislation for prevention of land alienation should be undertaken immediately. This work should be done within six months. More important is the legislative measures for prevention of land alienation and restoration of alienated land. A crash programme for effectively implementing these laws within two years may be prepared in each state setting targets for each year which should be periodically reviewed.”

The 1975 Act was enacted unanimously by the late Achutha Menon government as Act 31 of 1975. It was published in the Kerala Gazette extraordinary No 673 on November 11, 1975 after the mandatory assent of the president of India on November 11, 1975. This act was further included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution to ensure that the act itself is not challenged in any court of law. However, the rule operationalising this act was formulated a full decade later in 1986 with retrospective effect from January 1, 1982. After all, the adivasis with a population of about 3.21 lakhs constitute just 1.10 per cent of the total population of the state. Moreover, the settlers dominate the political parties even in the adivasi belts.

Under this act, all transactions of adivasi lands during the period 1960 to 1982 become invalid and are to be restored to the original owners. It is estimated that 8,553 applications for restoration of lands totalling some 10,177 hectares were filed till the last date of receipt of applications. The number has since risen to 8,879. The adivasi beneficiaries have to pay a sum which is the total of the amount received, if any, as consideration for the transaction and the amount spent for improvements on the land before the commencement of the act, as compensation for the restoration of ‘their’ lands. This amount will be determined by the revenue divisional officer (RDO) of the concerned district. Taking into consideration the incapacity of the adivasis to pay this amount, the act also generously provides for loans to them which are to be paid back in 20 years. The act is silent on the loss incurred by the adivasis whose lands were grabbed by the settlers. Naturally this clause acts as an outright disincentive to the adivasis to apply for restoration. Where compensations are payable, the beneficiaries, if they avail of the loan, would irrevocably be pushed to debt bondage defeating the very purpose of rectifying the past injustice. The government has admitted that, “for example, in the case of revenue divisional office, Ottapalam, compensation has to be paid in as many as 974 cases involving an amount of Rs 317 lakhs, but so far no tribal has even applied for a loan”.

The act also stipulates that all transfer of adivasi lands to non-adivasis are restricted from 1982 without the prior consent of the authorities. Despite this restriction, in blatant violation of the act, transfer of lands continued unabated. Despite the 1986 rules operationalising the act, the government made no real attempt to implement the act. The government, unwillingly, had to act when the high court passed an order on October 15, 1993 on a petition filed in 1988 by Nalla Thambi Thera, a non-adivasi resident of Wayanad, directing the government to “dispose of the applications pending before them within six months”. It was also the year when the young C K Janu, a brave Adiya woman from Wayanad, declared that they would forcibly occupy lands that were rightfully theirs.

The assurance given by the then additional advocate general that “utmost steps would be taken for the disposal of the applications and that the act would be enforced in all its rigour” recorded by the high court in 1993 was just plain doublespeak. The government appealed for more time again and again. The high court kept extending the time. The RDOs were ordered to file affidavits once a month in the high court showing the progress of the disposal of applications during that month. Left with no other option, the dusty files were retrieved and opened. The RDOs, the authority under the act, had to process over 8,000 applications. The applicants were to prove prior ownership of the lands applied for. The RDOs are empowered under the act to summarily determine the validity of the applications. Naturally, the fact that adivasis, by virtue of their ignorance of the complex laws and procedures, invariably could not get their land rights recorded, were largely ignored by the RDOs. The non-recording of land rights of adivasis by the corrupt revenue department as well as the rampant manipulation of land records by the influential were historical facts that were best kept under wraps. What remained was just 4,524 valid applications for some paltry 7,640 acres. By administrative sleight of hand, about half the claims were rejected outright. Even this, the government was unwilling to restore.

Ultimately, as most of the applications were disposed of, a number of orders for restoration were issued. Stray and insignificant actual restoration did take place. Instead of standing by the law, the government and the political parties instead encouraged the settlers to resist the implementation of the high court orders. This they did by declaring repeatedly that the act was unjust to the settlers and that the act itself was impractical thus requiring immediate amendment. Encouraged with such political and official patronage and protection, in some places the settlers attacked some upright officials who actually attempted to physically restore the lands as in Attapady and elsewhere.

These incidents were then shown in the high court as evidence of the organised attempt made by the non-tribal occupants in thwarting implementation. The high court asked “Can a democratic state with the rule of law as its beacon light, bow to such illegal resistance to the implementation of a welfare legislation to benefit the oppressed classes? Clearly it cannot.” The court ordered that the “state and the district superintendents of police of all districts are directed to afford the needed protection to the RDOs to carry out their duty of restoring possession to the tribals”.

The non-availing of loans by adivasis for payment of compensation to the occupant of the adivasi land was another excuse raised by the state. The court turned around and asked why lands in which no compensation is payable and for which appeals are not pending have not been restored. The state had no answer.

The government then claimed that the lands cannot be restored ‘overnight’. The court reminded that the act was passed in 1975, the judgment was passed in 1993 and it was then the year 1996. The court asked “Is it ‘overnight’ according to the deponent? I can assume that he had not fully informed about the fact.” The court declared that the government has “no will to implement the legislation”.

Left with no other plausible argument and faced with possible contempt of court, the amendment was passed in the Kerala assembly, once again unanimously, on September 23, 1996, with only Gowriamma (the suspended CPM veteran) abstaining from voting. The secretariat that day saw the angry outburst of the agitation adivasis with C K Janu attempting to forcibly enter the assembly. The CPI(M-L) Red Flag also had launched their agitation in support of the adivasis. The passing of the amendment, which in effect denies the restoration of alienated lands with vague promises of alternate land and cash, only helped in further alienating the adivasis whose frustration and anger rose as at no other time in the state’s history. The adivasis instead took the morally and socially just and valid position that their lands be returned to them and the settlers be provided adequate compensation by the state. In this, they were willing to forgo the funds allocated for the welfare of the STs which could be diverted for compensation to the settlers – indeed a magnanimous and civilised gesture of a peace-loving people.

Matters came to a head with the sensational hostage taking by an until then unheard of group calling itself ‘Ayyankali Pada’. W R Reddy, the then Palakkad collector, was taken hostage by four youths on October 4, 1996 demanding the withdrawal of the amendment. This nine hour tense drama, the first such incident in the state, ended with the hostage takers being allowed to go free after releasing the collector. This was reason enough for the state to terrorise the adivasis to cow them down. The returning of the amendment by the president who has the special constitutional obligation to protect the adivasis, withholding his assent, once again shifted the drama to the high court.

The popular struggle for land by the adivasis across the state was belittled. The contrived pervert logic to delegitimise their struggle was that the adivasis, ignorant as they are, are instigated by ‘outsiders’. Left to themselves, they are very docile and undemanding. Imperialist agents and extremist elements from within the state and outside were pointed out as the culprits. Thankfully, the all-time favourite ISI was spared! The innocent adivasis, it was claimed, are being misled. A civil war between the minuscule adivasis and the majority settlers was conjured up.

The government then put together an act that does not have to wind its way through the Rashtrapathi Bhawan. This can be achieved only if the bill is formulated under one of the state subjects. ‘The Kerala Restriction on Transfer by and Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes Bill, 1999’ was enacted on February 23, 1999 to once again deny the restoration of adivasi lands. All in a state which had the courage and political determination, not so long ago, to implement the Land Reforms Act of 1963, unlike the other states barring, to some extent, West Bengal.

As per this 1999 Act, only land in excess of 2 hectares will be restored, while alternate land would be given elsewhere in lieu of alienated land up to 2 hectares. The number of applicants claiming land in excess of 2 hectares would be negligible, largely negating the very title of the act itself, making a farce of ‘restoration’. This is applicable to lands alienated between January 1, 1960 and January 24, 1986. The 1975 Act prohibits land transactions since 1982, but the 1996 act exempts lands alienated between 1982-86 up to 2 hectares. The eagerness of the government to placate the land grabbers is naked.

The 1999 Act also, in addition, has brought into its ambit the provision to provide land of up to 40 acres (or 10 hectares) to the landless adivasis in the district they reside in, within a period of two years. The government estimates that there are about 11,000 such families. In essence, by bringing in a new set of beneficiaries, the government hopes to divide the adivasis between the beneficiaries of the 1975 Act and the new set of beneficiaries to further complicate the matter. It must not be forgotten that there is yet another piece of legislation titled ‘The Kerala Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Act, 1972’ under which some 23,000 hectares were to be given to landless adivasis. This too remains on paper despite the committee constituted under the act specifying the exact lands to be given to landless adivasis. The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 is blamed for not providing the land to adivasis in this instance, as forest land should not be alienated for non-forestry purposes under this act. What is conveniently glossed over is that forest lands can be alienated with the prior permission of the ministry of environment and forest and the proposals to alienate lands prior to 1980, when the Forest Conservation Act came into effect, would be favourably considered by the centre. Once again this points out the lack of will of the government, seriously bringing into question the very intention to now provide land to the landless adivasis under the 1999 Act.

To make the 1999 Act further attractive, the act also creates a fund called ‘The STs Rehabilitation and Welfare Fund’. This is to provide funds for the adivasis as loan to be paid as compensation to the settlers wherever necessary as well as for construction of houses and other welfare measures.

By enacting the law under ‘agricultural lands’ which is a state subject, the government need not refer the 1999 Act to the president of India. The repeal of the 1975 Act, which is included in the ninth schedule, by this act is also questionable. Moreover, rules and regulations have to be framed to operationalise this new act which, from past experience, is going to take another long wait. Even if all these are carried out, there is the question whether the government would finally implement even this new act, as it clearly lacks the will which was also pointed out by the high court earlier. Meanwhile, the legality of this new act will also be questioned.

All these pretensions would mean that restoration of alienated lands, or alternate lands as the case may be, would continue to remain in the statute book and the courts while the crisis of survival intensifies. Kerala has by far the highest incidence of land alienation by adivasis amongst states in the country. Fear of ethnocide are voiced on account of hunger deaths, deaths due to malnutrition and diseases. The incidence of mental illness is also high. The phenomenon of the huge and rising number of ‘unwed mothers’ amongst adivasi women in these belts forcing the government to launch DNA testing to identify the fathers, points to the horror that these communities face as their mainstay – their home lands – are invaded by others backed by the state apparatus.

Unlike others, adivasis have a special relationship and dependence on land which gives them the notion of territoriality. Their existence as communities is possible only if their inalienable right to their territories is acknowledged. This is increasingly being acknowledged in international law and the UN which has even drafted a ‘Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’.

The KST Act, 1975 is part of a history of similar legislation elsewhere in the country, both during the pre-independence as well as the post-independence period. As early as 1879 the Bombay Province Land Revenue Code also prohibited transfer of land from a tribal to a non-tribal without the permission of the district collector. In 1901, in Gujarat, some measures of protection were provided (when it formed part of the Bombay Province) by amendment of Section 73-A and 79-A in the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879 and a ban on transfer of land of tribes in those scheduled villages in which survey and settlement had not been introduced, without prior permission of the collector. In Bihar, the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 prohibited transfer of lands by sale, etc, except with the sanction of the deputy commissioner. In Karnataka, the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 was made applicable in Bombay region of Karnataka. The Mysore Land Revenue (Amendment) Rules, 1960 were suitably amended and the Karnataka SCs and STs (Prohibition of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 imposed restriction on alienation of lands allotted to SCs and STs without the permission of the government. The Santhal Pargana Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1949 and the Bihar Scheduled Areas Regulations, 1969 also prohibit the alienation of land of the tribals. These regulations also provide for restoration of alienated land to the tribals or when converted for urban use, to give them equivalent lands. The Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 as amended in 1956 prohibits such transfer of lands. In Madhya Pradesh, the MPLP Code, 1959 under Section 165(6) and 168(1) prohibits alienation of land and remedy of restoration is provided. The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959 and amendment of 1970 (Regulation 1/70) provides for restoration and restriction. Similarly, the Orissa Scheduled Areas (Transfer of Immovable Property) Regulation and also Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960 were made for the same purpose. In Tripura, the Tripura Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960 imposes similar restrictions. In Assam, the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1964 was enacted. In Himachal Pradesh, the HP Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1968 was made. In Manipur, the Manipur Land Reforms and Land Revenue Act, 1970 was made. The Maharashtra Land Revenue Code and Tenancy Laws (Amendment) Act, 1974 and the Maharashtra (Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes) Act, 1974 (and second amendment in 1976) also prohibit alienation and ensure restoration of alienated lands to the tribes. In Sikkim, which became an Indian state only in 1974, the Sikkim Revenue Order, 1977 and the Sikkim Agricultural Land Ceiling and Reforms Act, 1977 was enforced.

A number of these legislations, as the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908, the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1940, the Maharashtra (Restoration of Lands to Scheduled Tribes) Act, 1974 (and second amendment in 1976), the Himachal Pradesh Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1968, the Karnataka SCs and STs (prohibition of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 and the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Lands Transfer Regulation, 1959 and its amendment of 1970, were included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to prevent them being challenged in any court of law. Similarly, the KST Act, 1975 was also inserted in the Ninth Schedule.

The KST Act, 1975 also flowed directly from Clause (1) of Article 244 in Part X of the Constitution titled ‘The Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas’. The provisions under Schedule V of this clause is not only applicable to the administration and control of areas notified by the president of India as ‘scheduled areas’ but also to those notified as ‘scheduled tribes in any state’.

Constitutional Obligations

The KST Act, 1975 and other similar acts mentioned above are the direct result of constitutional obligations. The Constitution demands that legislative or executive measures for the reconstruction of the unequal social order by corrective and distributive justice through the rule of law. The fundamental rights and the directive principles are the means to achieve the above object of democratic socialism. The word 'socialist' used in the Preamble must be read from the goals in Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 23, 38, 39, 46 and all other cognate articles. We must seek to reduce inequalities in income and status and to provide equality of opportunity and facilities. Pragmatic, broad and wide interpretation of the Constitution makes social and economic democracy with liberty, equality of opportunity, equality of status and fraternity a reality to 'we, the people of India' who include the STs. All state actions should be to reach the goal of establishing a socialist, secular, democratic republic under the rule of the law.

Article 46 mandates the states to promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the SCs and STs, and protect them from injustice and all forms of exploitation. This article embodies the concept of 'distributive justice' which connotes the removal of economic inequalities and rectifying the injustice resulting from dealings or transactions between unequals in society. It means that those who have been deprived of their properties by unconscionable bargaining should be restored to their property. By taking recourse to this article, the law invalidating transfers of land belonging to a member of STs and restoration of such land to the original owner was held constitutionally valid. Similarly, when Article 39(b) of the Constitution enjoins upon the state to frame its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to serve the common good, what it connotes is a duty of the state for building a welfare state and an egalitarian social order. The object is that the basic needs of the common man must be fulfilled and that the state should endeavour to change the structure of the society. There cannot be any dispute that the neglected tribals do not get equal opportunity with their counterparts in other developed parts of the state and the state should be empowered to make laws for protection of tribals from being exploited by the non-tribals. The state should take all effective steps to eradicate inequalities. This is also to make socio-economic justice, assured in the Preamble and Articles 38, 39 and 46, a reality to the tribals.

Moreover, the legislative power of the state under Article 245 is subject to Schedule V. In other words, as the scheduled tribes come under the purview of Schedule V, it is constitutionally obligatory on the part of the state government that the state legislation does not violate the objects of Schedule V and that state legislation is required to be enacted to fulfil the objects of the Schedule V. The KST Act, 1975 therefore is in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Schedule V as applicable to the STs of Kerala.

The constitutional scheme embodied in Article 15(4) and Article 46 as well as the power conferred upon the governor of the state under Schedule V are intended to preserve and protect the interests of the tribals. Considering the past experience and the exploitation of the tribals' ignorance by the non-tribals, it became imperative by statutory safeguards to preserve the land which is their natural endowment and mainstay for their economic empowerment. The Schedules V and VI constitute an integral scheme of the Constitution with direction, philosophy and anxiety to protect the tribals from exploitation and to preserve valuable endowment of their land for their economic empowerment, to elongate social and economic democracy with liberty, equality, fraternity and dignity of their person. The predominant object of para 5(2) of Schedule V of the Constitution is to impose total prohibition of transfer of immovable property to any person other than to a tribe, for peace and proven good management of a tribal area and to protect possession, right, title and interests of the STs held in the land at one time by the tribals.

In addition to the applicability of Schedule V to the STs, through the formation of scheduled area, the object is also to preserve tribal autonomy, their culture and economic empowerment to ensure social, economic and political justice for the preservation of peace and good government in the scheduled area. The notification of certain tribal dominated areas as 'scheduled area' by presidential order enables the governor of the respective state to hold and use immense power to ensure peace and good governance. Scheduled areas have been notified in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. However, the tribal areas of Kerala as also in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal are yet to be scheduled despite increasing demands for the same. The flourishing plantation economy that was established during British times by British companies and by Indian big business in these areas seems to be the obvious reason for the denial of the scheduled area provision for the adivasi areas in these states. Scheduling tribal areas would in effect have prevented or possibly slowed down the ruthless expansion of these private estates infamous for their lend grab. Nevertheless, under Schedule V, the government of Kerala is obliged to enact such legislations as the KST Act, 1975 even when a scheduled area is not notified.

It is settled in law that the transfer of immovable property between a member of the ST and a non-ST member in the scheduled area in states where protective land legislation exists is null and void. The non-tribal transferee acquires no right, title and interest in that behalf in furtherance of such sale. The Supreme Court in Machegowda vs state of Karnataka (<1984>3 SCC 301) had declared such sales to be voidable. In Lingappa Pochanna Appelwar vs state of Maharashtra (<1985>1 SCC 479), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of similar provisions of the Maharashtra Restoration of Lands to STs Act, 1974. In Rami Reddy vs state of Andhra Pradesh (<1988>3 SCC 433:1988 Supp (1) SCR 443) the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the aims of the regulation to restore the lands to the tribals which originally belonged to them but passed into the hands of non-tribals. It would be unjust, unfair and highly unreasonable, merely to freeze the situation, instead of reversing the injustice and restoring the status quo ante.

Though the restoration causes hardships to the non-tribals, it equally alleviates hardships of the tribals. The non-tribals could reasonably be expected to disclose their titles to the properties. The tribals, due to handicaps and ignorance of modern law, are unable to prove their right to the land. The burden to prove the title to the land therefore is shifted to the non-tribals. The revenue minister is solely, legally and morally responsible for actions and inaction, duties performed and policy laid down. Therefore, he is indictable for his conduct.

Historical Overview

Before the colonisation of the country by the British, the adivasis were self-governing 'first nations'. Though some of the adivasi regions were part of various kingdoms, the rule of the realm was notional and did not extend to these regions which had their own chiefs and politico-administrative system. The adivasis always resisted any imposition of any alien rule. The British colonial rule systematically attacked the self-sufficient and self-governing autonomous adivasi societies by bringing adivasi homelands under their control legitimised by legislations as the forest laws. The persistent revolts, the inability to bring the adivasis under actual subjugation and control, inhospitable terrain, lack of established economic interest and immediate economic potential compelled the British to enact special legislations that made autonomous governance possible in those areas and also bought peace.

The stated aim of government policy was to protect the tribals from the twin dangers of land alienation and indebtedness. At first individual laws were enacted, applicable to particular areas with simple and elastic judicial and administrative procedures. The Scheduled Districts Act, 1874 appears to be the first measure adopted to deal with these areas as a class. The 'scheduled districts' defined in the 1874 Act were treated as excluded and partially excluded areas. The administration was exclusively vested in the governor of the province with the powers to exclude these areas from the normal operation of ordinary law and give them such protection as they may need.

The Montague and Chelmsford Report, 1918 contained a brief reference to these areas suggesting that the political reforms contemplated for the rest of India could not apply to these backward areas where the people were primitive and 'there was no material on which to found political institutions' and excluded them from the jurisdiction of the reformed provincial governments. The administration was entrusted to the governors of the provinces.

The government of India Act, 1919 divided the area into two categories – 'wholly excluded and partially excluded areas from the scope of reform'. In the former only the centre, and in the latter, the governor and the governor general-in-council jointly had the responsibility. The Simon Commission Report in 1930 indicated that these tribal areas covered 1,20,000 sq miles with a population of about 11 million located mostly in Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Assam. The report is worth extracting here: "There were two dangers to which subjection to normal laws would have specially exposed these peoples, and both arose out of the fact that they were primitive people, simple, unsophisticated and frequently improvident. There was a risk of their agricultural land passing to the more civilised section of the population, and the occupation of the tribals was, for the most part, agricultural and, secondly, they were likely to get into the 'wiles of the moneylenders'. The primary aim of the government policy then was to protect them from these two dangers and preserve their tribal customs and this was achieved by prescribing special procedures applicable to these backward areas". The report felt that these backward tracts was a deficit area and no provincial legislature was likely to possess either the will or the means to devote special attention to its particular requirements. Hence, it recommended that responsibility should be entrusted to the centre through the governors. But this centralisation was not carried out in the Government of India Act, 1935 which dealt with excluded (about 18,600 sq miles in Assam) and partially excluded areas (10,000 sq miles in the rest of India) as per the 1936 order issued under Section 91 of the Government of India Act, 1935.

The Government of India (Adoption of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 repealed the 1874 Act and brought excluded and partially excluded areas directly under the governance of the governor of the province in the Government of India Act, 1935. The Cabinet Mission's statement of May 16, 1946 mentioned excluded, partially excluded and tribal areas as requiring the special attention of the constituent assembly. The advisory committee on fundamental rights and minorities set up by the constituent assembly at its meeting on February 27, 1947 set up 3 subcommittees – one to consider the tribal, excluded and partially excluded areas in Assam, one to consider the tribal areas of North-Western Frontier Province and Baluchistan and the third to consider the position of excluded and partially excluded areas in provinces other than Assam. This third Committee submitted its interim report on August 18, 1947 and final report in September of the same year.

The joint meeting of the first and third committees in August 1947 summed up the problems though colonial and paternalistic in their approach, thus: "The areas inhabited by the tribes, whether in Assam or elsewhere, are difficult of access, highly malarial and infested also in some cases by other diseases like yaws and venereal disease and lacking in such civilising facilities as roads, schools, dispensaries and water supply. The tribes themselves are, for the most part, extremely simple people who can be and are exploited with ease by the plainsfolk, resulting in the passage of land formerly cultivated by them to moneylenders and the erstwhile non-agriculturists. While a good number of superstitions and even harmful practices are prevalent among them, the tribes have their own customs and way of life with institutions like tribal and village panchayats and councils which are very effective in smoothing village administration. The sudden disruption of the tribal customs and ways by exposure to the impact of a more complicated and sophisticated manner of life is capable of doing great harm. Considering past experience and strong temptation to take advantage of the tribals' simplicity and weaknesses, it is essential to provide statutory safeguards for the protection of the land which is the mainstay of the aboriginals economic life and for his customs and institutions which, apart from being his own, contain elements of value."

The subcommittee also found that the administrative distinction should be maintained to protect them from being reduced to a state of virtual serfdom and that the areas predominantly inhabited by tribal people should be known as 'scheduled areas' (the intention being that these areas should figure in a schedule to a notification) and special administrative arrangements made in regard to them. At the same time, the responsibility for the betterment and welfare should be with the provincial government (the state), the ultimate responsibility should be with the centre. With regard to land, the report of the subcommittee said: "The importance of protection for the lands of the tribals had been emphasised earlier. All tenancy legislation which has been passed hitherto with a view to protecting the aboriginal has tended to prohibit the alienation of tribals land to non-tribals. Alienation of any kind, even to other tribals, may have to be prohibited or severely restricted according to the different stages of advancement. We find however, that provincial governments are generally alive to this question and that protective laws exist. We assume that these will continue to apply and as we have made special provision to see that land laws are not altered to the disadvantage of the tribals in future, we do not consider additional restriction necessary (emphasis added). As regards the allotment of new land for cultivation or residence, however, we are of the view that the interests of the tribals need to be safeguarded in view of the increasing pressure on land everywhere. We have provided accordingly that the allotment of vacant land belonging to the state in scheduled areas should be made except in accordance with special regulations made by the government on the advice of the Tribal Advisory Council."

The recommendations of the two subcommittees were not considered by the constituent assembly in its session in July 1947, when the broad principles of the constitution were settled since, as explained by Ambedkar, they were received too late. The drafting committee however, considered these proposals at the stage of drafting and suitable provisions were included in the draft constitution of February 1948 in which it was indicated that the transfer of land in scheduled area from tribal to non-tribals was forbidden and the state government was also prohibited from allotting the state lands in the scheduled area except in accordance with the rules which may be made by the governor after consulting the Tribal Advisory Council.

The Tribal Advisory Council (TAC), of which three-fourths were to be the elected representatives of the STs in the legislative assembly, was a body recommended to advise, both the provincial (state) government and the governor, on the needs of tribals of that province in regard to the laws affecting social matters, occupation of land including tenancy laws and setting apart of land for village purposes and village management, including the establishment of village panchayats. It was obligatory for the governor to act on the advice of the Tribal Advisory Council with regard to the applicability of laws.

The joint report on partially excluded areas other than in Assam and North-East Frontier of August 25, 1947 stated that: "we are of the view that the interests of the tribals need to be safeguarded in view of increasing pressure on land everywhere. We have proceeded accordingly that the allocation of vacant land belonging to the state in scheduled area should not be made except in accordance with special regulation made by the government on the advice of the Tribal Advisory Council." It would therefore be seen that before the draft constitution became paramount law and Schedule V as its integral part, the members of the constituent assembly deliberated to protect land, the precious asset to the tribals, for their economic empowerment, economic justice, social status and dignity of their person by retention of the land with the tribals, not only belonging to them but also allotment of government land (emphasis added). The proposal of allotment of government land to the non-tribals, though was initially proposed, but was ultimately dropped.

After restructuring Schedule V, as presently found, the specific provision in the draft report to allot land to non-tribals was omitted which was accepted by the members of the constituent assembly without any demur or discussion. It would therefore be clear from the debates in the constituent assembly that various drafts were placed before it. Suggestions, and ultimate approval of Schedule V, would manifest the decision of the founding fathers that land in the scheduled areas covered by the Schedule V requires to be preserved by prohibiting transfers between tribals and non-tribals and providing for allotment of land to members of STs in such area. The important provision to be noticed in the draft Schedule V prepared by the drafting committee is that a total ban was placed on the transfer of lands by a member of ST to a non-tribal and that no government land in a scheduled area could be allotted to a non-tribal except in accordance with the rules made by the government after consulting the TAC in respect of states of Madras, Bombay, West Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces, Berar and Orissa.

In October 1948 the drafting committee recasted the provisions in the draft. Before Schedule V was adopted by the constituent assembly, there were debates on every clause. For example, Brijeeshwar Prasad suggested, "I want, sir, that no land in the scheduled areas belonging to adivasi should be allowed to be sold or mortgaged even to tribal without the permission of the deputy commissioner. I am not in favour of dispossessing those non-tribals who have got lands or property in the scheduled areas, but no further lands should be given to non-tribals." Jadubans Sahay forcefully argued that "lands should not be settled to anyone except the tribal people".

In the constituent assembly, when draft Schedule V was considered, the members were conscious of the fact that the special privileges and special status enjoyed by the tribals should not be disturbed by allowing non-tribals to enter into that area. Chapter VI, Part X of the Constitution deals with 'Scheduled Tribes and Tribal Areas'. Article 244 provides that the provisions of Schedule V shall apply to the administration and control of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes in any state other than the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Special duty has been entrusted to the governor of each state having scheduled area to report to the president on the administration of scheduled area. The governor of each state having scheduled areas shall give directions to the state as to the administration of the said area. Para 5 (2) provides that the governor may make regulations for the peace and good government of scheduled area under Clause (a) to prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the STs and under clause (b) to regulate the allotment of land to members of STs in such area.

In the Constitution, the expression 'scheduled area' has been defined to mean such area as the president may by order declare to be scheduled areas. Clause (2) of para 6 provides that the president may at any time (a) direct that the whole or any specified part of the scheduled area shall cease to be a scheduled area or a part of such an area; (b) increase the area of any scheduled area in a state, after consultation with the governor of that state; (c) alter, but only by way of rectification of boundaries in any scheduled area; (d) on any alteration of the boundaries of the state or on admission into a union or the establishment of a new state, declare any territory not previously included in any state to be or to form part of a scheduled area; and (e) rescind, in relation to any state or states, any order or orders made and in consultation with the governor of the states concerned, make fresh orders refining the areas which are to be scheduled areas.

The president of India issued the Scheduled Areas (Part 'A' States) Order, 1950 declaring specified areas to be scheduled areas within the states specified in Part 'A' of the First Schedule (The States and Union Territories) to the Constitution of India. Subsequently, the president issued the Scheduled Areas (Part B States) Order, 1950, the Scheduled Areas (Himachal Pradesh) Order, 1975 and the Scheduled Areas (States of Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa) Order, 1977.

The above legislative history indicates that from the 19th century, scheduled areas inhabited by the tribals have been exclusively under the control of the central government through the governor of the state by providing special statutory measures. It is obvious that from the earliest time till the making of the Constitution, it was all along felt that the transfer of land in the scheduled areas by a tribal to a non-tribal be totally prohibited and if such a transfer was made, it was to be treated as null and void. Government land in the scheduled areas could also not be allotted to them but only under the regulations made by the governor. The basic concept was that the land of the STs should be protected and should neither be frittered away by transfer nor any non-tribal be allowed to infiltrate into the scheduled area by getting allotment of land made in his favour. In case of transfer of land which was void, the power to restore land to a tribal or his heirs after evicting the non-tribal was also vested in the government.

Article 40 of the Constitution states that the state shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-governance. Alter a long wait of 42 years the Constitution was amended through the 73rd and 74th Amendments regarding panchayats end municipalities respectively. These amendments had the clear injunctions to exclude the Schedules V and VI areas besides the states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, the hill areas of Manipur and the Gorkha Hill Council Area, for which the parliament was to make separate enactments. In 1994, the government appointed a 22 member committee to recommend guidelines for the law to extend the panchayat raj to Schedule V areas. The committee submitted their report in 1995. Finally, after a long delay, the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Bill, 1996 was enacted becoming law on December 24, 1996.

Section 4(d) of this act provides that "not withstanding anything contained under Part IX of the Constitution, every gram sabha shall be competent to safeguard and preserve...community resources" and under Clause m (iii), the power to prevent alienation of land in the scheduled areas and to take appropriate action to restore any unlawful alienation of land of a member of ST. This provision makes a significant departure in that the power regarding prevention of alienation of lands and restoration of illegally alienated lands is vested in the gram sabha.

Perpetuating Injustice

From the Kerala experience, it is clear that the rights of STs enshrined in the Constitution have been consistently violated by the coalition governments that have ruled the state, despite specific acts as the KST Act of 1975, by avoiding their implementation under one pretext or another. It must also be clear that any amendments to existing legislations or newer legislations will also not mean anything as there is the lack of will by governments to implement them. Besides, the short-term and vested interests that embedded in the body politic and the parliamentary political system, will not permit the protection of the STs, who constitute just about 1 per cent of the population of the state. The tribal areas provide immense natural wealth and fertile lands for cash crops and plantations. Some of these areas, once an adivasi majority area, have now been reduced to an adivasi minority area: for example in Attapadi, where the 63 per cent adivasis in 1961 have been reduced to just 30 per cent in 1991 by the state induced and supported trans-migration policies. The absence of the militant naxalite movement as in the seventies also means that these adivasi areas are no longer politically 'dangerous' requiring appeasement of the adivasis. Only the desperate but spirited struggles by the adivasis organised at a local level and of course, also the 'sympathy' of vast non-tribal sections of the population hold out hope.

The lessons from Kerala are that: (1) The present arrangement for protection of the interests of adivasis in the state has clearly failed in carrying out its responsibility meaningfully; (2) nor does the present arrangement in the state have the inherent capacity to carry out its constitutional obligations; (3) the judicial response is inadequate; and (4) paternalism and sympathy for the plight of adivasis, including their land problem, pretended or genuine, are insufficient by themselves to provide the necessary impetus or the will to implement the acts that protect the adivasis.

It thereby means that constitutionally the current arrangement in Kerala has failed. And the only other constitutional arrangement that is available is the arrangement of declaring adivasi majority areas as 'Scheduled Area' under Schedule V. The provisions for the Panchayat Raj (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 then becomes automatically applicable to the area which also provides for the incorporation of Schedule VI in it. Adivasi majority areas (beginning with the level of hamlets) can be declared as 'Scheduled Area' by the president with the state government and the governor being politically forced to accept this demand. Besides, the Bhuria Committee set up by the central government, which made recommendations for provisions for the extension of panchayat raj, states in 7(2): "The process of scheduling was commenced in the fifties and was resumed in the seventies as a part of making the tribal sub-plan and scheduled areas co-terminus. But somehow it has remained incomplete. It is necessary that the remaining tribal sub-plan and MADA areas as well as similar pockets in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka should be covered by scheduled areas notification." And in 21(3) it says: "Many of the present-day administrative boundaries were determined during colonial times based on colonial compulsions.. .By and large, the earlier boundaries have stayed, with the resulting situation that tribal people are located, be it state, district or block, marginalising them in every way and fragmenting larger communities and areas. states should consider, say within a period of two years, reorganisation of the boundaries based on ethnic, demographic and geographic considerations."

In this new scheme of the Constitution, the onus of implementing the restriction on transfer of lands and restoration of illegally alienated lands is shifted from the state/district bureaucracy to the gram sabhas and structures above it which are subject to the local needs, realities, compulsions and sense of justice. Constitutionally, therefore, the adivasis of Kerala have not much use of legislations as the 1975 Act or the 1999 Act that pretend to rectify some part of the injustice historically perpetrated on them without the aid of the 'Scheduled Area' provisions to go by. This remains the only constitutional option available for ensuring that the legislations serve the interests of adivasis and that they are implemented for ensuring the very survival of adivasis as communities in the future. This, of course, has to be politically forced.

SANCTUARY ASIA

2006-12-11T20:15:00.000+05:30

Sholas and Grasslands

(Sanctuary Asia Magazine, 1996, Vol. XVI, No.2)

The western catchment in the Upper Bhavani forms the western edge of the Nilgiris. Here, the hills crash down suddenly to the forests of New Amarambalam thousands of feet below. With the sheer cliffs all around, it is as if one were standing in a giant amphitheatre. Behind you is an undulating landscape , hill after hill covered by a seemingly endless sea of grass. Here and there, the monotony of the grassland is interrupted by small patches of forest with canopies of brown, red and green. In the valley, the startling blue fingers of the Upper Bhavani reservoir stretch across the landscape. From December to April, the grasslands are brown, or blackened by fire, and the green of the shola is in striking contrast. Early mornings, the grasslands turn white, covered with frost. As the sun comes up, ghost wreaths of mist rise slowly from the ground, covering the landscape with a blanket of fog. Almost overnight, as the rains come and slake the thirst of the grasses, the hill slopes turn a bright green. The sholas are rain-soaked; sponge-like, they absorb the water and hold it in their innumerable pouches and folds- the soil, the dead barks of trees, living trees- and their perennial streams and countless other mini reservoirs. The sun goes into hiding for several months, clouds roll through periodically , half hiding the forests in the valleys.

I describe Upper Bhavani in the Nilgiris, but the landscape represents a wider genre, namely the montane ecosystem of the Western Ghats. The montane ecosystems throughout the Western Ghats form extraordinarily beautiful landscapes. The mosaic of sholas and grasslands is pretty in a way that defies description. Grasslands form the matrix in this panorama, while the sholas are invariably found nestling in the valleys. The `sholas' are montane evergreen forests, where the species are similar to those in lowland evergreen forests, but more stunted. There is an incredible diversity of plant and animal life in the Western Ghats, and the montane systems are no exception.They have extremely dense undergrowth and the ground is covered with leaf litter. Most of the sholas are on slopes, sometimes very steep, and perennial streams cut deep valleys through them. When it rains (which is most of the time) , walking through can be about as safe as crossing a city road at rush hour. There has been much debate for the better part of the century about the origin of the grasslands in the montane systems of the Western Ghats. One school of thought believed that the grasslands were a part of the climax vegetation of the system. The other proposed that they had been induced by the advent of man in these areas. Man-induced fires, and grazing by livestock and cattle would have created these grasslands and frost could have prevented the forests from re-expanding. However, recent work has shown that grasslands existed as long as 40,000 years ago in the Nilgiris, long before the advent of man in the region. The Forest Department has had to review its policy of treating the grassland as a poor relative of the shola, their plantations having largely affected the grasslands.

Upper Bhavani, about 60 kilometres from Ooty, is one of the entry points to the Mukurthi National Park. This is a small sanctuary of some 70 square kilometres where the last surviving tahr of the Nilgiris (an animal ironically called the `Nilgiri Tahr') remain. The sanctuary is like a misshapen dumb bell; there is a large chunk to the south and a large chunk to the north (an area including the Nilgiri and Mukurthi peaks), connected by a long strip along the ridge where the western catchment dams are located. The southern chunk is bounded by the Upper Bhavani reservoir to the east and the ridge of the Nilgiris to the east and south. To the southwest is the Sispara pass, which leads straight down into Silent Valley National Park. The sanctuary contains the few shola-grassland areas in the Nilgiris which have remained relatively untouched. Over the rest of the Nilgiris, most of the habitat has been wiped out by plan- tations. Even after the sholas were recognised as worthy of conservation, grasslands were considered to be wastelands and planted on even by the Forest Department itself. The Forest Department continues to plant wattle in the grasslands, since it is a fast growing tree and bears yield quickly. Wattle has been useful to the extent that it has fulfilled the fuelwood needs of the locals and therefore helped in preserving the sholas. The weather in Upper Bhavani remains wet much of the year. The western catchments get as much as 5000 mm of rainfall. Much of the rain comes from the South West monsoon, lasting from June to September, but mostly in July. During this period the sun may disappear for weeks at a time. The North East monsoon is not very significant in this area, but has greater impact in the Coonoor region of the Nilgiris. In the Upper Bhavani region , the dry season lasts form January to April. The temperatures vary from 0 to 30 degrees celsius in the grasslands during the dry season, but remain constant around 15 degrees celsius in the sholas.

A few miles from Upper Bhavani is the largest shola in the Nilgiris, Thai Shola. `Thai shola' may be translated as `mother shola' which provides an interesting ecological perspective, in that Thai shola may well be a species source for the other smaller sholas in the area. However, the name probably derives originally from `Thia shola' which means `shola that does not catch fire'. The Western Ghats are, as is well known, considered a biodiversity hotspot of the world. There are 117 species of amphibians here, of which 89 are endemic. All the shieldtails, a group of 44 species of burrowing snakes, are endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. Several endangered mammals- the Lion tailed Macaque, the Nilgiri tahr, the Nilgiri marten and the Nilgiri langur- are also found only in the Western Ghats. The tree species in the sholas are evergreen, many of them belong to the family Lauraceae. Some of the common trees include Litsaea spp., Cinnamomum spp., Syzygium spp. . Rhodomyrtes and Rhodendron are found along the edges of the sholas. Psychotria and Strobilanthes are common woody shrubs. Of course, Strobilanthes kunthianus, (the `kurinji') which covers many hill slopes with its bright blue flowers once in 12 years, gives the Nilgiris its name. There are several species of Strobilanthes in the Nilgiris and many of them flower only at long intervals.

There are many animals that are unique to the montane systems of the Western Ghats. Amongst these are the uropeltids or shieldtails, a group of burrowing snakes found exclusively in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. These are very elusive creatures and only come out during the rainy season to breed, and that too at night. Otherwise they stay in the network of burrows one to two metres below the soil feeding primarily on earthworms. They are small snakes (one to two feet in length) with a blunt head and a spiny tail, which they use to burrow. They are very colorful and come mostly in reds, oranges, and purples with yellow blotches on the sides and below. The other snakes that are characteristic of the higher altitudes are the pit vipers. Of these, the Malabar Rock Pit Viper and the Horse-shoe Pit Viper are fairly common. Pit vipers have a heat sensory pit on their head, which they use to track their warm blooded prey. These are less poisonous than the Saw-scaled and the Russel's vipers. Kukris (Oligodon spp.) and grass snakes (Ahaetulla perroteti) are common snakes. A frequently seen reptile is the Nilgiri Salea, an agamid whose colour varies from bright green to brown. Several species of frogs are found at these altitudes despite the temperatures. Most of the frogs are found in the sholas. However, the toads, especially the common toad, Bufo melanostictos, is often found on the grassland. The frogs here are largely tree frogs, belonging to genera, Philautus and Rhacophorus. The Green tree frog, Rhacophorus malabaricus, is also found here. Tree frogs are generally active during the rains, and in winter, they hibernate, usually under tree barks and in dead logs.

Upper Bhavani has most of the large mammals that a sanctuary might want to boast of. However, some of these are visitors while others are found in low densities. There are tigers, leopards and wild dogs resident in the park. While the former are rarely seen, the 2 to 3 wild dog packs resident in the area are more easily sighted. Smaller carnivores include the jungle cat, the leopard cat, the small Indian civet, the palm civet, and quite possibly the Nilgiri marten. Otters amy be seen in some of the streams. Jackals are very common and quite handsome in these areas. The odd bear may ramble into the area, but excepting the fruiting season when Syzygium, Rhodomyrtes, and other fruits might attract them, there is little food in the area. Primates include the Nilgiri langur, whose resounding vocalizations are a hallmark of the sholas. Bonnet macaques are also seen, but mostly in plantations, and at the edges of sholas. The most common herbivore is the sambar, the animals seen in this area being clearly bigger than in Mudumalai. Barking deer and mouse deer are also found in these forests. There was no record of gaur for the past 20 years despite the fact that there is a place called Bison swamp very close to Upper Bhavani. However, recently, gaur were sighted once in the Upper Bhavani area. Elephants wander over the upper plateau, but they are believed to migrate down the slopes to Silent Valley or the Attapadi plateau. There is probably one resident herd which uses the upper plateau. The Nilgiri tahr, in whose honor the national park was created, is fast becoming another rarity in the park. The reasons for the decline are not clear, but habitat loss and poaching are clearly important factors. Various censuses over the past few years indicate that the numbers have dropped from 400 in 19**** to about 100 in 1994. The tahr are primarily creatures of the grass- lands, living on steep slopes and near cliffs. They are grazers, feeding almost exclusively on grasses. The grasslands have suffered greatly in these areas and have given way to plantations of tea and even wattle. To add to their woes, poaching has further depleted their numbers. Tahr live in herds of 10 to 15 animals, but may congregate to form larger herds of upto 100 or 200 animals. Herds of this size are almost unheard of in the Nilgiris today.

Among the birds of the sholas are flycatchers- the Black and Orange flycatcher, the Nilgiri flycatcher, and the Grey Headed flycatcher. Black bulbuls, Nilgiri laughing thrushes, and White Eyes can also be frequently sighted. On the grassland, the Nilgiri pipit is the most common bird. Black winged kites and kestrels are main predators of the grassland.

My work in the Nilgiris was primarily on very small mammals, mainly rodents and insectivores. We looked at some aspects of diversity and community ecology in this group. The dominant rodent species in the shola was, interestingly, the wild subspecies of the Common House Rat (Rattus rattus wroughtoni). Unlike its urban counterpart, this is actually quite a pretty animal, with rufous brown fur, and a totally whiteunderside. Other species included the soft furred field rat (Millardia metada), some species of mice, the Long Tailed Tree mouse (Vandeleuria oleracea)- another very attractive animal- and the Spiny Tailed dormouse (Platycanthomys lasiurus). The Dusky Striped squirrel is a rare arboreal rodent, while the Malabar Giant squirrel is both frequently heard and seen. The logic behind the study of rats may not seem very obvious, but on a little reflection, one finds that they are a key food resource for several groups of animals. They are a staple diet for raptors, owl, snakes, and several small carnivores. Many of these are key components of the ecosystem and if we are to conserve them effectively, we need to understand all the factors that affect their survival. In fact, there has been some research on estimating carnivore densities from rodent densities. Further, there are several interesting theoretical questions in the field of community ecology and diversity that rodents could provide insights into.

A prevailing preoccupation in conservation today is the design of nature reserves since forests everywhere are getting fragmented. The theory of island biogeography (relating to the number of species on islands) has now been extended to terrestrial islands or forest fragments. The sholas in the Western Ghats provide a naturally fragmented system in which these facets of ecology can be studied. The animals in the area are under threat due to loss of habitat and poaching. Many animals- jackals, jungle cats, giant squirrels, nilgiri langurs- are killed for their skins. Leaving aside all questions of science, the shola - grassland system is a unique ecosystem and one of the prettiest landscapes in the world. The ecosystem and all its faunal inhabitants are an irreplaceable part of the tremendous natural heritage of this country. And it is upto us to do our very best to see that they do not disappear into our memories.

COFFEE BOARD

2006-12-11T19:54:00.000+05:30

Monthly Magazine Published by Coffee Board

Coffee Board Circuit _________________________

Inauguration of Worker Farmer Model Project at Attapady

The Worker Farmer Model Project and Vermicompost units for Karuvara Schedule tribes coffee growers Self Help Group were inaugurated by Sri J.N.Raj, Secretary, Coffee Board at Karuvara farm Attapady on 6`h January 2006. Sri Mohanan Master and Sri Ashokan, Members, Coffee Board participated and spoke on this occasion. S/Sri Kalathil Abdulla, MLA, Mannarkad, Romanus Horo, Principal Secretary, SC/ST Development Department, Govt. of Kerala, Dr.Dinesh Arora, SubCollector, Ottupalam & Managing Director, ACFS, Vinod Kumar Unniyal, Project Director, AHADS, Attapadi were also present on this occasion. About 450 tribal growers from various farms participated in the programme. A traditional tribal cultural prograin in c followed after the meeting.

THE HINDU

2006-12-10T20:39:00.000+05:30

Silent Valley Project

Silent Valley Project to be revived ;

The Hindu - July 20, 2001

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 19. The Silent Valley hydro-electric project,
which had touched off a storm of protest in the State during 1978-80,
is to be revived.

The project, shelved in 1981 at the instance of the then Prime Minister,
Indira Gandhi, is sought to be revived in the context of the rising cost
of power generation in the State. The State Government has instructed
the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to prepare the papers for
putting up the project for the consideration of the Centre.

The decision to seek revival of the project was announced by the
Electricity Minister, Mr. Kadavoor Sivadasan, in the Assembly during
question hour today. And his statement came as if on a cue from
the former Electricity Minister, Mr. R.  Balakrishna Pillai, who
reminded the Minister that at the time of ordering shelving of the
project, the Centre had promised to reconsider it 20 years later.
His suggestion was that the project could be executed as a
`run of the river' scheme. "Twenty years have lapsed and we must
now revive it," Mr. Pillai said.

Mr. Sivadasan conceded that there was indeed such a promise and informed
the member. He said the Government could now consider the project afresh
as new technologies for construction of sub- surface dams have been
developed. Experts like the former Atomic Energy Commission chairman,
Mr. P.K. Iyengar, had advised the Government that sub-surface dams
could be the answer to forest denudation for implementation of hydel
projects. He also termed as `mostly imaginary' fears about damage
to environment on account of implementation of hydro-electric projects.
....

Renewed 'Save Silent Valley' call ;

The Hindu - July 24, 2001

....
Reacting to the current controversy surrounding the Kerala Electricity
Minister's avowed intention of resurrecting the hydro electric project,
Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the M.S.S. Research Foundation,
Chennai, who holds UNESCO's Cousteau Chair in Ecotechnololgy, has
stated that as Principal Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry,
holding charge of Forests, he visited Silent Valley in 1979 and
conducted a detailed study of the benefits and risks associated
with the proposed electricity project. In August that year, he proposed
that ``the entire area of 39,000 hectares consisting of Silent Valley,
New Amarambalam Forest, Kunda Forest and Attapadi Reserve Forest
should be developed into a National Rain Forest Biosphere Reserve''.

He also suggested alternative methods of obtaining the much-needed
electricity and water, adding: ``Every new source from which man has
increased his power on earth has been made at the cost of damage
to the environment, that he cannot repair and could not foresee''.
Based on Prof. Swaminathan's report, Indira Gandhi convened a meeting
in 1980, soon after she became Prime Minister, which was attended by the
then Kerala Chief Minister Mr. E.K. Nayanar.
....

``It is not clear to me what the new technology referred to by the
Minister for Construction of Subsurface Dams implies,'' Prof. Swaminathan
adds, ``In my view Kerala's future lies in health-and-eco-tourism.
This is an avenue that can be safeguarded only by protecting the
remaining forests and environment. Silent Valley is particularly
important for the conservation of Kerala's unique medicinal plant
wealth. I, therefore, reiterate my 1979 recommendation''.
....
The State Council of the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) which
met in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday also sent a petition to the
Kerala Chief Minister requesting him to ``abandon the current move'',
suggesting that the hydel issue is ``being raked up for ulterior
motives''. The Parishad's letter adds: ``Kerala has more than enough
of other (energy) resources and there is no need to disturb
Silent Valley for this purpose''.
....

PATHRAKKADAVU

2006-12-10T20:36:00.000+05:30

Silent Valley in Turmoil Again

Seen from the giant steel watchtower of the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, the Kunthipuzha river - popularly called Kunthi - flows like a thin silver ribbon down the Western Ghats. The Silent Valley is the only remaining undisturbed, tropical evergreen rainforest in peninsular India.

A kilometre downstream from the park boundary, at Pathrakkadavu, rocks bear painted marks denoting the point where the river would be dammed, the resulting reservoir flooding the forest around. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) plans a 64.5m high, 275m long, 70-megawatt (MW) dam project across the Kunthi in the near future.

Kunthi (named after the matriarch of the Indian epic, Mahabharata) is a drinking water source for downstream villages and tribal hamlets and a key tributary of Bharathapuzha (Nila), Kerala's second-longest river.

In the early 1980s, the central government scrapped a power project across the Kunthi river after India's first successful anti-dam campaign. The 89 sq km area of the Silent Valley was then declared as a national park. In the last 20 years, constant efforts have been made to conserve the park.

Kerala's environmentalists - including several writers and artistes - are aghast at the recent decision to build a dam in the southwest zone of the park. "Madness," says Mustafa Desamangalam, a filmmaker. They insist that the state government is reintroducing a smaller version of the old dam.

The forests of the Silent Valley - christened so because of a perceived absence of cicadas (tropical insect with a loud, chirpy sound) - are home to rare mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. They are also home to a variety of creepers, ferns and orchids. Some say the valley got its name from Macaca Silenus - the scientific name of the lion-tailed macaque, a medium-sized monkey found in the valley.

"The forests have a number of species that are found only in India and Sri Lanka," says Professor Madhav Gadgil, a famous environmental scientist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

"There are over 180 kinds of birds here," says V S Vijayan of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature History, Anakkatty. He led the first environmental study of Silent Valley when a dam was planned here in the 1970s. "This is one of the two places on earth where the lion-tailed macaque can live."

Environmentalists note that to protect the biodiversity in the core of Silent Valley, there should be forests all around as a buffer, and the new project would breach this buffer zone. Besides, the forests are 'carbon sinks' in the sense that they absorb excess carbon dioxide (from fossil fuel burning) that blankets the earth and warms it up. Scientists say deforestation in the tropics may account for one-tenth to one-fifth of the carbon released into atmosphere by human activity during the 1990s.

"Soon after the 1972 UN Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Kerala (with its anti-dam struggle) gave the world hope. But after the Rio and Johannesburg (international UN) conferences we are back to square one," Dr B Ekbal, a neurosurgeon who served as vice-chancellor of Kerala University till recently. "The plan to build the dam is like turning the clock back."

The local people came to know that the state government was secretly planning a dam on Kunthi river during a public hearing in March 2004. Ever since, the environment vs development battle has been raging in Kerala.

The state claims that crippling power shortages have forced it to take this decision. "We are duty-bound to explore new possibilities," says Chandramohan, the KSEB chief engineer who studied the feasibility of the project. KSEB says the state's electricity demand is envisaged to double in six years as India's 16th Power Survey notes.

The Environmental Resource and Research Centre (ERRC), a private consultancy group in Thiruvananthapuram (state capital), has done a rapid environmental assessment for the project. ERRC calls it a 'run-of-the-river' venture, a tag that denotes small and green dams. ERRC was commissioned to do the assessment by KSEB.

But environmentalists argue that the Rs 2,470 million (1US$=Rs 46) dam with its 4.1 hectare reservoir and 7.4 km approach road may look rather innocuous on paper, as it was made out to be in the ERRC report, but be ominous in reality.

S Sathis Chandran Nair, a noted environmental scientist based in Thiruvanathapuram, questions the narrow vision of seeing the Silent Valley as an 'artificial administrative unit' of a notified national park that encompasses just about 89 sq km reserve forest area. "The actual biodiversity-rich natural landscape unit is larger than the reserved forest, a contiguous forest tract along the south-western slopes of Nilgiris," says Nair. "This is a segment of the Western Ghats extending across many ridges and valleys, including the valley of the Kunthi and the plateau."

The protection of biodiversity demands preserving the largest possible natural habitat unit, including the Silent Valley. "Protecting it is ensured by safeguarding an adequately deep buffer zone all around it," says Nair. The buffer zone includes part of the rich rainforest area, some plantations and land now encroached by villagers for farming.

Huge forest tracts in the buffer area are already threatened by loggers, settlers and cannabis cultivators. "Building a road in this inaccessible forest will amount to opening up the forest to these vested interests," says Tony Thomas, a local farmer.

The greens also argue that the Kunthi is a rarity among dozen-odd tributaries that feed the Nila. As Sugathakumari, the famous Kerala poet who was at the forefront of the 1970s campaign, puts it: "In summer, the Nila lies as if she were dead. There is a single live artery on her breast - that is the Kunthipuzha (Kunthi)."

A study by the River Research Centre (RRC), Chalakkudy (Trissur district), has noted that some of the main tributaries of the Nila dry up even in the rainy season because of upstream dams. "Even during this year's severe drought, the Kunthi had water in it," the study noted.

The ERRC research claims that the project would divert the river only to a 2.75 km stretch of uninhabited area. "The impact of a river's degradation affects the people living on its banks," says A Latha, an RRC scientist. "Besides, this is highland: the water that goes into the earth here contributes to water flow far away."

"The river is a drinking water source for several villages clusters and tribal hamlets," said Sunder Raj, a local activist. "It is state-sponsored robbery of resources." The heads of 12 panchayats (village councils), out of 16, recently held a meeting to protest against the dam.

Finally, the board's claim of generating cheap electricity from the Rs 2,470 million dam is also under criticism. The RRC study notes the figure calculated at the 1999 rate will be far higher, and by spending a fraction of the cost, the board could cut down its huge transmission losses.

Meanwhile, the local people recall an ominous quote in an old signboard at the national park: "The distance from Silent Valley (rainforests) to attapadi (barren hills) is covered by an axe."

– Max Martin
August 29, 2004

By arrangement with Womens Feature Service

MCK RAJA

2006-12-10T20:11:00.000+05:30

VALLUVANAD VAMSAM

Valluvanad Rajavamsam is considered to be a very ancient family of kings. Unnu Neeli Sandesam and Unni Yadi Charithram contain a mention of Vallabha Kshiti (Home of Vallabha), which, by all indications, is likely to be Valluvanad. It extends from Bharathapuzha in the south to Panthalur mala in the north, and ATTAPPADI MALA in the east (Silent Valley) to the seacoast in Ponnani in the west. In most records, the hierarchy was called "Arangot Swaroopam".

The beginning

There is a belief that the Valluvanad Rajas are the descendants of the Pallavas of Tamil Nadu which means they are migrants from Tamil Nadu. Between B.C. 300 and A.D.300 the Pallavas, headquartered at Kanchipuram, had a branch ruling from Sreevilliputhur to increase the stability of their kingdom. They were valiant kings.

Bhadrakali and Sreevalli were their family deities. After the spreading of Aryan (a term coined by the British) culture to the South, one young Raja got influenced by Krishna Bhakti. His name was Sreevallabha. When he became the ruler at Sreevilliputhur, he built a big Vishnu temple there. This temple became very famous in due course.

However, the prosperity of the area kept declining. Seeking a way of deliverance, famous astrologers were invited to conduct "Prasnam". The findings of the Prasnam were, that although the temple would prosper because of the presence of Vishnu, due to a small deviation in the rules of temple construction, the Rajavamsam would deteriorate. The solution was for the entire vamsam to leave the place. However, the local devotees of Bhagavathi believed that this was the result of higher importance given to Vishnu than to Bhagavathi.

Soon the Vallabha king and followers (including the entire family) left Sreevilliputhur and travelled a long distance to reach the southern banks of Bharathapuzha and slowly became the rulers of Valluvanad.

Even now the eldest member of this family is called by the title "Sree Vallabhan". The four branches of this family, namely Aripra, Ayiranazhi, Kadannamanna and Mankada are now in Mankada panchayat, Perintalmanna taluk, Malappuram district.

The eldest five males and eldest two females are eligible for "malikhan" (a monthly remuneration to compensate for properties or rights taken over by the British.) Apart from this, the eldest female members of each Kovilakom have their own rights and privileges.

Among the male members the eldest sthani is titled "Valluvakonathiri" and the rest four are "Vellalpadu", "Thachalpadu", "Idatharapadu" and "Kulathur Thampuran" respectively. Another sthani is nominated by Valluvakonathiri and is called "Patinharakkara Thampuran". He has rights over some landed property and privileges. The eldest Thampuratty of the family is called "Kulathur Thampuratty" and the next is called "Kadannamootha Thampuratty.

The old capital of Valluvanad was Angadipuram. Till some time ago, the trade centre of Angadipuram was called Velltangadi. During British rule, the capital of Valluvanad was Perinthalmanna (3km from Angadipuram). Perinthalmanna's importance went up because the treasury, court, subjail, etc were all located there. However, because of the Thirumandhankunnu temple, Angadipuram became a pilgrim centre. (The railway station is at Angadipuram).

Thirumandhamkunnilamma is the Kuladaivam of Vallabhavamsam and Vallukanari is the Trustee of the temple. Legend has it that Maharshi Mandhata did "Tapas" at the hilltop and hence it is called Thirumandhamkunnu. Devi gave darshan to Mandhata at this place and hence the temple has an inseparable relationship with the Maharshi.

Some say the Valluvanad Rajavamsam was established by Mandhata Maharshi. As evidence of the above contention, they cite the rituals of the crowning ceremony of the Raja. In the olden days there was a rule that the Vallukanari had to live a celibate life at the temple with Vratha for 41 days before crowning.(Sarva sanga parithyagi). Even after the crowning ceremony he had to live like a Rajarshi. There are no celebrations, decorations or special dresses for Vallukanari. He is supposed to dress like a Sanyasi. When people prostrate in front of him to receive blessings, he is supposed to give his blessing with his feet. (As in the film Sankaracharya). This system also must have been inherited from Mandhata Maharshi.

The accompanying pattu of Kalam puja by Kurup at Thirumandhamkunnu temple mentions the "Devi who resides in the sword and the garland of Vallukanari". The recitation also gives details of the lands between Kailasam, from where Bhagavathi starts her journey to Thirumandhamkunnu, up to reaching the place. All the lands mentioned are in the present Tamil Nadu and are near Sreevilluputhur. This also proves to some extent that Valluvanad Vamsam came from Villiputhur and reached Kerala before the Sangha Kalam.

After some time Samoothiri became a major force on the western coast and he captured several lands from Valluvanad. Cheraman Perumal (the last emperor of Kerala) told the Samoothiri that he could annexe land by "dying and killing". (Chathum Konnum Atakkikolka). Accordingly, he started conquering the neighbouring kings. Till then Vallukanari was the strongest of the kings and he had the right of presiding over the "Mamanka Festival" held once in 12 years at Thirunavaya. This right was usurped by Samoothiri.

The people of Valluvanad wanted to take back this right. It was with this purpose that the "Chaver pada" was organised (suicide squad). The Raja never compelled anyone to join this "Pata". The people voluntarily came forward to save this right of Vallukanari. The Raja blessed them in their valiant endeavour and prayed for their victory.

During the last "Mamankam" when Vallukanari did not find anybody volunteering for this heroic act, he himself prepared for the Chaverpada. He arranged for a special puja at Thirumandhamkunnu. After the puja when he reached Vadakke nada (the Northern entrance) he found an 18-year-old boy coming to him with 12 of his followers. They obtained the blessings of Vallukanari and proceeded to Thirunavaya for "Mamankam".

This boy fought through the warriors of Samoothiri and reached the "Nilapatuthara" (stage) and swung his sword at Sammothiri. It missed its target and hit a big bronze lamp, putting it out. At that moment Mangatachan struck at the boy and killed him. That was the last "Mamankotsavam". The lamp's going off was considered an ill omen. Later in due course, the entire Malabar area deteriorated in all spheres and reached its present state.

VALLABHA VAMSAM

In memory of Vallukanari himself becoming a Chaver and taking up the challenge of pushing through the swordsmen of Samoothiri and reaching the Nilapatuthara, even now, during the pooram, before the deity is taken out of northern Balipura, "Purappad Puja" is conducted in the presence of Vallukanari or his representative.

Similarly, as soon as Vallukanari reaches northern Balipura, in memory of the Chaver pada, three or four young boys display mock swordplay. While the deity is being taken down the steps of northern passage for Arattu, members of the Kovilakom go along with the procession with swords and shields. Till recently, the Vallukanari himself used to accompany the procession as bodyguard to the Deity.

After the Vallukanari lost the right of conducting the Mamankam, the Pooram festival was conducted as a reminder of the age-old Mamankam and to display the cultural tradition of Valluvanad.

Pooram is not just any festival. It has some special daily features. In no other temple is Aratu conducted twice daily during festivals. The festival became elaborate only after losing the right to conduct Mamankam.

Samoothiri annexed Palghat and its surrounding areas and subjugated the Nedungadi kings (chieftains). In response, Vallukanari erected the "Mannarmala Fort" and crowned the fourth senior member of Manjeri Kovilakom as the king of Mannarmala to stop the efforts of Samoothiri to cross the Attapadi Mala (Silent Valley) and enter Valluvanad. The new king of Mannarmala was given some titles and special rights and privileges by the Vallukanari. He is entitled to Malikhan and the title "Onnu kure ayirathil Thampuran" (one in a thousand).

After losing Panthalur areas, Vallukanari had to accept Melattur river as its northern border. In order to stop the enemy crossing the river, Vallukanari appointed a young member of the family as Patinharakkara Thampuran.

In the south to protect the coasts of Bharata Puzha the 5th sthani (Kolathur Thampuran) and senior-most Thampuratty (Kolathur Thampuratty) were made rulers of the area. To protect them, a strong army was created under the command of Kulathur Varier.

It is also said that a Brahmin, Puzhakkattiri Moos, was Vallukanari's chief commander. He had a number of Kalaris under him for training the warriors. Even now, near his Illam, there is a place called Pataparambu (field for pata i.e. training field).

Samoothiri was never able to defeat the army of Vallukanari, even though Vallukanari had fewer soldiers. A surprised Samoothiri asked Sree Villwamangalam Swamiar the reason for this. The Swamiar asked Samoothiri to touch him by one finger, close one eye and then look at the battlefield. When Samoothiri did so, he saw "Bhadrakali" ie Thirumandhamkunnilamma attired in red garb with sword and shield, standing by the side of Vallukanari and directing the battle.

Later, Samoothiri, in the garb of a Sannyasi (Bhikshu) did tapas for 41days at Thirumandhamkunnu and this pleased the Goddess. When Bhagavathi asked what he wanted as varam, he said he wanted Sakthi to conquer Valluvanad. The goddess said the whole of Valluvanad belonged to her and it was to be ruled by her devotees ie Vallukanaris. However, she promised half her strength to Samoothiri.

Because of this help, Samoothiri built the "Thiruvalayanad Temple" in the model of Thirumandhamkunnu Temple and installed Bhadrakali there.

Historically, the prosperity of Valluvanad under Valluvakonathiri, should be written in golden letters in the history of Kerala.

Another version

We have already covered a nearly true history of Vallabha Vamsam. Here is another version but less authentic.

Some historians believe that Vallabha Vamsam came from the old Travancore State.

As evidence they point out the finds of certain archaeological materials from Thiruvalla etc, which indicate that there was a place called Valluvanad in AD 1200. The area was ruled by a king who was a descendent of the "Aye" Vamsam. Places like Thirunandikara, Mekkad, Muttam, Eranjikal, Kalkulam etc were supposed to be part of this Valluvanad.

This is a vast area extending from Kollam to Thiruvalla. The capital was Pothimala near Shenkottai. Later it is said the capital was shifted to Vizhinjam. The basis of all this presumption is the Sreevallabha temple at Thiruvalla.

From a cultural point of view, this cannot be true. When you consider the period of existence of this kingdom, the possibility is that a branch of Vallabha vamsam could have migrated South from the present Malabar area. Only after the 12th century, is there any mention about this Valluvanad in Travancore state.

However it is a fact of history, that Vallabha vamsom was ruling over Valluvanad in the Malabar area, much before 12th century. Thus logically, a part of the Vallabha family might have migrated from North to South and not from South to North.

In another instalment, more substantive evidence will be provided on this aspect. In any case this article is about the widely accepted Vallabha Vamsom which ruled from Angadipuram, the capital of Valluvanad.

Legends

Let us now turn towards some "Aithihyam" (folk tales) about Thirumandhamkunnilamma. Several centuries ago, Ayodhya, which was then famous due to Ramarajyam (and now due to Babri Masjid), was ruled by Mandhata of Surya Vamsam.

He accepted sanyas and as a Rajarshi (Kshatriya turned to sanyasi) roamed throughout our lands. When he reached Angadipuram, he felt attracted by the beauty of the place. At that time, it was a forest full of wild animals. It is said that all the animals lived in peace with each other at this place. The place appeared special and divine (Pavithram) to him.

The sweet music of birds, the vast plain with a small hillock in the middle, to the north of the hillock a stream with crystal clear water rippling over uneven rocks sounding like a waterfall, all attracted the saint.

He decided to spend rest of his life doing penance at this place. He found a suitable place for doing Tapas (meditation) on the hillock and settled there.

The place where he did tapas is still preserved. Devotees pluck leaves from a tree from the site and wear it on their heads as prasad. This site is preserved even now and is at the north west side of the Sreemoola sthanam.

The west side of the temple is even now called "Anakkad" (Elephant jungle). Nowadays it is not a forest of trees but a forest of concrete.

After years of penance of Mandhatha, God Shiva appeared before him, asking him what he wanted. Mandhata, who had sacrificed all worldly pleasures, said, "I do not want anything material. However, for my daily pooja I may be given the world's best Sivalingam."

Lord Siva replied, "The best Lingam is in Kailas and is used by Parvathi for daily worship. How can I hand that over to you?"

However, Rajarshi Mandhata insisted that he is not interested in anything else than the particular "Sivalingam".

Since Shiva could never disappoint a devotee, he agreed and gave the Sivalingam to Mandhata, who installed it with appropriate rituals at Sreemoolasthanam and started daily pooja.

The next day at Kailas, when Sree Parvathi went for her daily pooja, she found her favourite Sivalingam missing. Searching everywhere she finally came to Shiva. Shiva informed Sree Parvati that he had given the Sivalingam to his dearest devotee Mandhata.

Hearing this, the angry Devi declared that she would not eat anything till she gets back the Sivalingam. Shiva replied that he could take back what he had given to a devotee, since that will be against Dharma, but that he had no objection to Devi taking it back from him.

Parvathi Devi immediately ordered Bhadrakali and soldiers (Bhoothaganam) to go to Earth (Bhoolokam) and bring back the Sivalingam, immediately. Bhadrakali mounted Vetalam (her carriage) and along with the soldiers, reached Angadipuram. She asked Mandhata to return the Shivalingam which he refused to do.

Bhadrakali tried all peaceful methods to make him agree to hand over the Sivalingam. She even tried to scare him by showing her monstrous form. However, all her peaceful efforts went in vain and she decided to use force. But due to a powerful Jyothi (light) emanating from the hillock, the soldiers were not able to go near it.

At last she and her followers began to shoot arrows at Mandhatha. When the wounds from the arrows became unbearable, he plucked some fruits hanging from twigs (Atanga) and threw it at the soldiers. When the fruits broke and seeds looking like Sivalingams appeared on the horizon, the followers of Bhadrakali started to run away.

Then Bhadrakali made a single stone bridge over the stream. She crossed the bridge and started pulling out the Sivalingam. Mandhata resisted the attempt with all his might. Finally the Sivalingam split into two pieces.

The Trimurthi (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) appeared before Mandhata and blessed him. Sree Parvathi was also pleased, seeing his steadfast devotion. The Sivalingam was presented to the Rajarshi and was installed there itself with the required rituals. Even now the deity at Sreemoolasthanam is a broken one.

Sree Parvathi requested Mandhata to erect a temple for Bhadrakali and the seven ladies who had accompanied her (Saptha Mathrukkal). This is the present Mathrusala.

Even now in memory of the fight between Bhadrakali and Mandhata on Tulam (mid-October) there is a ritual of Attangaeru. (Two groups, one on top of the hillock and the other at the bottom at Vadakke Nata throw attanga at each other).

It is believed that the Trimurthi (Brahma, Vishnu and Parameswara) and Parvathi and Ganapathi are present at Sreemoolasthanam. Hence Sreemoolasthanam is more important than Mathrusala.

As per conventions, one has to pray at Sreemoolasthanam before entering the Mathrusala. There is one Pratishta (installation) at Sreemoolasthanam, where the child Ganapathy sits in the lap of Sree Parvathy. It is to this Moorthi (idol) that the "Mangalya Puja" is offered. (After this puja was started some time ago, the material prosperity of the temple has improved).

Mandhata Maharshi continued his "Tapas" and attained his "Samadhi" there. After his Samadhi, for a long time, the place remained neglected. The entire area soon became a thick jungle.

Some time later, some forest dwellers reached the place in search of fodder, with sickles and other implements. One tried to sharpen his sickle on a particular granite stone, and he was immediately taken aback by the oozing of blood from the stone. He ran with fear, and informed the local king about the matter.

The king and his assistants immediately ran to the spot to investigate. After a close scrutiny, they found the presence of "Devi" there. The king immediately arranged for daily puja at the spot.

By a strange coincidence, a learned and brilliant (Tejaswi) brahmin (Namboodiri) appeared on the scene. He cleared the bushes nearby. Due to this act, he came to be known as "Katillamittam" (Quadrangle without forest). He settled near the place. His Illam (House) is even now known as Katillamittam.

Soon another Namboodiri also came there. He prepared a pandal (bamboo canopy) over the quadrangle. He became known as "Panthala kotam". Both the Namboodiris were appointed "Thanthris" of the new temple. (Apart from the right to carry out pujas, they have also the right to decide about the rituals to be carried out in the temple and the rules and regulations of worship by the public). Even now, the descendants of these two families are the Thanthris of Thirumandhamkunnu temple.

After a period of time, the Katillamittam family died out and now only Panthalakotam is the Thanthri at the Temple. Since, as per land records, the land where the temple stood, belonged to Cherukunnu mana, the members of that Illam were appointed hereditary pujaris of Sreemoolasthanam.

There are many rituals and conventions specific to Thirumandhamkunnu temple, which are not carried out at other temples:

Kalam pattu daily for about six months in a year starting from Vrischikam to Meenam (November to April).

Eleven days Pooram festival starting on Makiryam Nakshatram in Meenam month (This year Pooram starts on 24th March).

Arattu (bath of deity in the stream at Vadakke nata) twice daily except on 11th day, when it is only once. Total 21 Arattu in 11 days.

All rituals and celebrations repeated every day during the Pooram.

Early morning on 11th day of Pooram, a meeting between "Vallukanari" and the Vanavasi (tribal) king "Malayan Kutty" ( This ritual is perhaps to honour the vanavasi group, who was responsible for finding the idol installed by Mandhatha Maharshi by reaching the place for fodder.)

Below is an extract, from a souvenir, published from the Collectorate of Kozhikode, on the occasion of centenary celebrations of the Kozhikode Corporation.

Samoothiri & Thirumandhamkunnilamma

Only at Thirumandhamkunnu there is a puja called Thirihupantheerati. This is actually "Athazha puja" conducted at about 1500 hrs. (Afternoon, when a full-grown adult measures his shadow length as 12 footsteps).

This puja is financed by Samoothiri. It may surprise people to see Samoothiri Raja financing a puja, at a temple governed by his bitter enemy. But behind this offering there is an "Aithihyam".

Long ago, a member of the Samoothiri family married a lady from Valluvanad. After he ascended the throne, he used to conduct 41 days of kalampattu to "Vettakkoru Makan". Once his queen jokingly told him "Instead of conducting daily kalampattu to Vettakkorumakan, if you conduct one Kalampattu to my mother (Bhadrakali), she will reach the kalam here on the third kottu (drumbeat)."

This statement irritated Samoothiri and he shouted "I shall conduct the kalampattu to Bhadrakali tomorrow itself, and, if as you said, Bhagavathi does not come to kalam, I will cut off your head".

The queen did not expect Samoothiri to take her words so seriously, and as a sort of challenge. She felt a little perturbed, but soon regained her spirits (because of her faith in Devi) and started praying with intense devotion to her beloved Goddess.

That same evening, both the thanthris at Thirumandhamkunnu had Darshan of Bhagavathi in their sleep. The Goddess instructed them to conduct Athazhapuja at about 3 pm next day, and then to close the sanctum sanctorum for the day.

Next day Vallukanari had come for Usha puja (early morning puja) in simple dress and without any attendants. When Thanthri opened the door after the puja, he was surprised to see Vallukanari standing in front and praying.

When Thanthri informed Vallukanari about his vision in the night, the Raja said, he had also a similar vision, and he had rushed to the temple, only to know more about the same.

The Maharaja told Thanthri to follow the instructions of Devi, and to conduct Athazhapuja at 3 p.m., and to close the Sanctum Sanctorum, after the puja. On that day, after the puja at 3 p.m., people found one Komaram (An Oracle of the temple, dressed in red, carrying a sword, his body quivering) having Devi Darsan, and then running through the south nata (passage).

The oracle (a representative of Devi herself) reached the place at Kozhikode, where Kalampattu was taking place. He jumped to the "Peedhom" (A small moveable platform of the size of a stool and with ornamental carvings), removed the Utayata (Bhagavathi's dress), and sat on it. He sat there till the Kalam pattu was over. Immediately after, he performed a ferocious dance and asked Samoothiri in a loud tone "Are you testing me?"

Samoothiri immediately prostrated before him, and apologised for his foolishness. Pacified by his sincerity, the Oracle stated, "I am happy you have realised your mistake. Hereafter remember this incident, by arranging daily puja at Thirumandhamkunnu as done today" and the Komaram suddenly disappeared.

For the purpose of this puja, Samoothiri came to Angadipuram, purchased some land, and donated it to the Devaswam (temple administering authority). It is said that the income from this land was used to finance this puja. This puja continues uninterrupted till today.

Translation by MCK RAJA

THE END

STRUGGLE

2006-12-10T20:09:00.000+05:30

PUCL Bulletin, June 2001

Anaikatti Hills, Tamil Nadu:
Adivasis struggle to retain their lands - A report

Update on the Anti-CZP Struggle

On 13 March 2001, after a long respite, stones and stone pillars were unloaded behind the Adivasi village of Thuvaipathy of Anaikatti Hills in Coimbatore bordering Attapadi of Palakkad in Kerala by Doraiswamy Chettiar of Anaikatti who has taken contract for fencing the 400 acre proposed site of the Coimbatore Zoological Park (CZP) - an NGO set up by prominent industrialists of Coimbatore. Doraiswamy Chettiar was warned to keep away as the struggle against CZP has now been going on since 1987 with the Adivasis successfully resisting attempts to displace them till date. At about 7.30 p.m. a jeep load of police arrived at the village who beat a hasty retreat when the people, especially the women and children rushed to chase them out. Earlier in July 1996, the Adivasis demolished the illegal fence that started coming up and CZP was effectively kept away from taking over their ancestral lands.

On 18th March, the stone pillars were once again demolished which made the administration send a van and 2 police jeeps to haul up the people and bring them the next day to the Tehsildar and the Revenue Divisional Officer, Selvaraj who warned of dire consequences if the people did not give up their claims to all the poramboke lands within 24 hours as the government has given these lands (reportedly 300 acres) on long lease to CZP. The people informed that this was not acceptable as they are ancestral lands and thus inalienable. On 21st March the police went in a van allegedly belonging to CZP and brought about 21 Adivasi men and women to the RDO for talks which obviously failed as the officials were clearly acting as spokespersons for CZP and against the people. The RDO rushed to the village but was turned back by the people. This time tension has reached a flash point as the government has taken upon itself the responsibility of displacing the Adivasis from the poramboke lands while the CZP has financed and organised non-Adivasi petty traders and business people under the banner of "CZP Sangam" in Anaikatti whose members have been promised various contracts and other benefits. CZP hopes to finally take over the ancestral territory of these Irula Adivasis affecting lives and livelihoods of over 1000 Adivasis, by engineering conflict between Adivasis and the government as well as with the local non-Adivasis petty traders and contractors.

According to the latest reports, there are allegations that CZP has hired goondas to physically threaten the Adivasis. On 25th March the house of Ramaswamy, an Adivasi activist was burnt down.

Ever since 1991, CZP has been trying to get the lease of poramboke lands in this part of Western Ghats located near the famous Silent Valley and falling within the elephant corridor. But it is only with the announcement of Assembly elections that finally this deal seems to have been effectively struck.
Background:

CZP is a registered society set up by leading industrialists and business men of Coimbatore City in 1986, headed by G.Rangaswamy, proposing to establish the "Coimbatore Zoological Park and Conservation Centre" at Thuvaipathy Village about 30 kms from Coimbatore city in an area extending from 252 acres to reportedly 400 acres finally which is claimed to be an "exclusive interpretation centre for the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve" and " a new kind of zoo and tourist centre". Closely associated with it is Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO) with the key office bearers of both these NGOs being the same industrialists.

A Chronology of significant incidents

1987: Visits by CZP to the project site begins.
1988: Village administrative officer refuses to receive the B.Memo dues for poramboke lands cultivated by Adivasis.
May 12, '88: People informs all concerned their opposition to the project.
Aug 11, '89: A team of officials of the Survey Department destroys the "sangapadi" (community meeting hall), assaults 8 year old Pappa who dared pluck out the survey flags planted by the officials.
May 6, '90: The then Collector A.M. Raman visits the village and promises that the project would not be sanctioned as long as the people object.
March '91: CZP commences their operation to grab patta lands by illegal and dubious means as coercion and fraud.
Oct. 15, '91: A gang of goondas of CZP demolishes the house of Vettai. No action by police and administration.
Nov.10, '91: The same gang demolishes Maruthan's house. No action by police and administration.
April 5, '93: Collector announces through the press that the zoological park would come up on over 400 acres including 300 acres of government land.
Jan.2, '94: Indian Express article titled "Gene Pool in Peril" alleges involvement of ZOO in organising smuggling of semen and blood samples of endangered species.
June 5, '94: A protest rally and public meeting at Anaikatti where the Adivasis declare their resolve to oppose the project totally.
Aug. '94: People's Union for Civil Liberties - Tamilnadu released their fact-finding report on human rights violations confirmed that "various illegal means such as coercion, fraud, misrepresentation and forgery have been adopted by the CZP".
1995: CZP commences the illegal fencing of the area including the poramboke lands..
July 1995: The Adivasis of Thuvaipathy demolishes this illegal fence of CZP and commences physical retrieval of their lands, both patta and poramboke lands.
March 2001: Government issues a G.O leasing reportedly 300 acres of poramboke lands to CZP but refuses details. The process of actual physical possession over the poramboke lands by CZP commences.
March 18: Stone pillars of CZP kept for fencing demolished by the people.
March 21: Attempt of the RDO to coerce the people who are brought by the police to his office, to give up the poramboke lands fails.
March 25, 2001: The house of Ramaswamy, an Adivasi leader, was completely burnt down.

Demands:

The lease of poramboke lands given to CZP be immediately withdrawn.
A CBI enquiry be conducted into the whole affair especially on the grabbing of patta lands of Adivasis and other human rights violations since 1987.
Immediate arrest of the culprits under SC/ST prevention of atrocities act.

(Report prepared by: Adivasi Urimai Padukappu Kuzhu (Adivasi Rights Protection Committee), Thuvaipathy, Anaikatti P.O, Via Thadagam, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu; Adivasi Thannatchikkana Tamizhaga Munnani (Tamilnadu Front for Adivasi Self-Rule), V.S.R Puram Post, Pannaikadu, Kodaikanal Taluk, Dindigul District, Tamilnadu). March 28, 2001

WESTERN GHATS

2006-12-10T20:02:00.000+05:30

Western Ghats—Agasthyamalai Sub-Cluster (with Five Site Elements)

The Agasthyamalai region constitutes an extensive and compact tract of forest-clad mountains, called the Ashamabu or Agasthyamalai hills, in the extreme south of the Western Ghats. Distributed from just south of the Ariankavu Pass (a minor pass at around 9° N) to the vicinity of the Mahendragiri peak near Kanyakumari, the hills span an altitudinal range from near sea level (50 m) to the highest peak, the venerated Agasthyamalai (1,868 m), after which this region is named. The region receives precipitation from both the southwest and northeast monsoons and has a very short dry season of less than 2-3 months duration. Thus, much of the area is covered in tropical moist forest vegetation, with drier forests occurring chiefly in the rain-shadow regions along the eastern foothills.

On the eastern side, the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), the secondlargest protected area in Tamil Nadu State, spans an altitude of 50 to 1,700 m in elevation, with tropical wet evergreen forests (rainforests) occurring chiefly above 500 m. The topography is rugged with numerous perennial hill streams originating from the tropical rainforest areas on the upper slopes and that confluence to form major rivers such as the Tambiraparani, Manimuthar and Ramanadhi, which support the agricultural economy of millions in the adjoining plains. The forests of the reserve include the catchment area of the Manimuthar, Kodayar, Servalar and Karaiar dams.

On the west, three protected areas (Neyyar, Peppara and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuaries) along with the Kulathupuzha and Palode Reserved Forests form an almost equally extensive and contiguous tract of forest in Kerala. The rivers Kallada, Achankoil, Vamanapuram, Karamana and Neyyar drain this region. The three wildlife sanctuaries include catchment areas upstream of three dams (Neyyar on the Neyyar river, Peppara on the Karamana river and Parappar on the Kallad river in Shendurney).

Western Ghats—Periyar Sub-Cluster (with Six Site Elements)

The Periyar sub-cluster extends from north of the Ariankavu pass (at c. 9° N) over the region known as the Cardamom Hills to around Kumily in the northern boundary of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. To the south of the Periyar Tiger Reserve are the reserved forests of the Ranni, Konni and Achankovil Forest Divisions. On the eastern side, lying largely in a rain-shadow area with mostly drier forests, lie the Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary and reserved forests of the Tirunelveli Forest Division. The region spans a mostly forested tract of around 2,806 km². The region also spans an elevation range from around 100 m to over 2,000 m (2,019 m at Kottamalai) of mountainous terrain with deep valleys, and includes the drainages of the westflowing Periyar, Mullakudy and Pamba rivers. The Periyar was dammed in 1895 and the resulting reservoir, which submerged 2,600 ha of forest, was leased to the then Government of Madras for a period of 999 years. The area experiences winter temperatures of around from 15°C going up to 31°C in summer (April-May). The annual rainfall of 2,000 mm to 3,000 mm in Periyar decreases to less than 1,500 mm in the east in Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary. On the western side, two-thirds of the precipitation is received during the southwest monsoon from June to September. The areas also receive rainfall from the northeast monsoon (October-December) and from pre-monsoon showers (April-May).

Western Ghats—Anamalai Sub-Cluster (with Seven Site Elements)

The Anamalai (meaning ‘elephant hills’ in Tamil) ranges are a major conservation area in the southern Western Ghats. The ranges occur just south of the Palghat gap and are linked with the Nelliampathy hills towards the west, the Palni hills toward the southeast, and the Eravikulam, High Wavy and other ranges towards the south.

A number of protected areas span this region, including the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (987 km²), Eravikulam Wildlife Sanctuary (97 km²), Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary (90 km²), Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary (274 km²) and several reserved forests. This region is also contiguous with reserved forests and protected areas further to the west and east. Thus the Anamalai hills, covers a large forested region of great significance for conservation in the Western Ghats. The Anamalai hill range is a vast expanse of undulating and rugged terrain spreading across the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The highest peak in south India, Anaimudi 2,695 m is also a part of the range. A large proportion of this range has been set aside as protected and reserved forests due to its importance as a base for natural resources and also as the watershed of many major rivers and minor streams originating from these hills.

Grass Hills and Karian Shola National parks are located within the larger Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary (earlier known as the Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, 987 km², 10° 12' N to 10° 35' N and 76° 49' E to 77° 24' E). The altitude within the sanctuary ranges from 220 m in the foothills along the northern fringes to 2,513 m atop Tanakamalai in the Grass Hills at the southern portion of the reserve. The region is drained by perennial rivers such as the Konalar, Varagaliar, Karuneerar, Chinnar and Amaravathi. A number of reservoirs (Aliyar, Upper Aliyar, Kadamparai, Upper and Lower Nirar, Thirumurthy and Parambikulam), are at least partly within the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary. The Eravikulam National Park occupies the region variously termed as the High Ranges or the Kannan Devan hills forming a contiguous stretch of mountains to the south. This 90 km² National Park contains in the surrounding landscape other key areas for conservation, including the Mankulam Range, the Mannavan Shola in Marayoor range and three recently established National Parks, all in Kerala State. It is also contiguous with the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary comprising of lower hills on the eastern rain shadow region, with typically dry forest formations. Different parts of the region experience widely varying annual rainfall, from less than 700 mm in the eastern reaches to over 4,000 mm in the higher and western reaches, mostly falling during the southwest monsoon. It enjoys a tropical to sub-tropical climate due to the effects of elevation, with temperatures between 5°C and 35°C, with occasional frost in winter in the uppermost reaches. Most of the nominated sites contain typical high altitude shola-grassland vegetation.

Western Ghats—Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (with Six Site Elements)

The Nilgiri region consists of a landscape extending from the north-west of the Palghat Gap, a prominent break in the main Western Ghats ridgeline, up to the Mukurti region of the Nilgiri Plateau. This region spans a wide elevational range from around 50 m in the New Amarambalam Reserved Forest to nearly 2500 m in the Mukurti National Park. By virtue of its extremely variable aspect, rainfall regimes also vary tremendously although most of the precipitation occurs during the few months of the southwest monsoon. Pudur in the rainshadow areas of Attapadi Range receives around 800 mm annually, whereas in the Neelikal area of Silent Valley National Park, annual precipitation exceeds 5000 mm. As a direct consequence of these physiographic and climatic gradients, the vegetation in the region varies from dry Euphorbia scrub in parts of the Attapadi range, deciduous and evergreen forests in parts of Kalikavu and New Amarambalam to shola-grasslands that dominate the main Western Ghats crestline around Mukurti. This region also represents the origin of several important west- and east flowing rivers. Major tributaries of the Rivers Chaliyar, Bharathapuzha, Kuntipuzha, Bhavani and Siruvani originate in this area, which constitutes critical catchments for many irrigation and hydroelectric dams downstream. Together with the adjacent protected areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, this sub-cluster constitutes a largely secure forest complex of over 6,000 km², which is one of the globally most significant conservation areas for highly threatened species such as the Asian elephant, tiger and gaur, besides dozens of endangered species in other taxa.

Western Ghats—Talacauvery Sub-Cluster (with Six Site Elements)

All site elements in the Talacauvery region are situated in Karnataka state except the Aralam Reserved Forest (RF) in Kerala state. Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (92.65 km²) has dense evergreen and semi-evergreen vegetation, with shola-grassland in areas of higher elevation. The steep terrain of the Sanctuary has resulted in scenic waterfalls along its many mountain streams. Altitude varies from 160 to 1,712 m, the highest point being the Pushpagiri Peak in the north of the park. Temperatures range from 10-38°C, with annual rainfall exceeding 6,500 mm. Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (181.29 km²) also consists of evergreen and semievergreen forests in the lower-lying areas with shola-grassland habitat in the higher altitudes.

The eastern tip of the Sanctuary is adjacent to the north-western boundary of Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park, separated by a narrow strip of coffee plantations. The highest point in the Sanctuary is the Brahmagiri Peak on the south-eastern boundary, while elevation varies between 65 m and 1,607 m. Temperatures range from 5°-32° C, and mean annual rainfall varies from 2,500 mm to 6,000 mm. Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (105.01 km²) is located in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka. Its forests are predominated by tropical evergreen forests. It is named after Talacauvery the origin of the Cauvery river which lies on the eastern edge of the Sanctuary. Altitudinal and temperature ranges are 64-1,659 m and 10°-35° C, respectively. Annual rainfall is above 6,500mm.

The areas between Talacauvery and Pushpagiri sanctuaries have been excluded from the proposed area mainly due to the fragmentation and habitat degradation caused by the Mangalore-Madikeri road. There is no natural forest cover for about 2 km on either side of this road. There are some teak and rubber plantations near the road.

Western Ghats—Kudremukh Sub-Cluster (with Five Site Elements)

The Kudremukh National Park, Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, and surrounding Reserved Forests of Someshwara, Agumbe and Balahalli of Karnataka state are situated centrally in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. Kudremukh National Park has one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Western Ghats, encompassing evergreen, semi-evergreen and grasslandshola habitat characteristic of high altitude Western Ghats regions. Altitude varies from 120 to 1,892 m, the highest point being the Kudremukh Peak in the south of the Park. The Park has average temperatures ranging between 17° C and 28° C. Annual rainfall varies from 1,778 mm to 6,350 mm, with an average of 4,000 mm and a maximum recorded rainfall of 10,000 mm in 1994. The topography is mountainous with a central ridge running north-south through the Park. The Park is dotted with crystal-clear streams and picturesque waterfalls. Kudremukh National Park is flanked by coffee and tea estates on the north and east, whereas on the west, the land drops down to the Arabian Sea. In the northwest is a forest corridor that connects the Park with the Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. The Sanctuary, named after the famous Someshwara Temple located within it, and the adjoining 105.3 km² of Reserved Forest are predominantly evergreen forests, along with semi-evergreen vegetation. These Reserved Forests are in the process of being included within the Sanctuary. Elevation ranges from 75-870 m and the temperature varies between 20° C and 30° C, with an average annual rainfall of 6,000 mm.

Western Ghats—Sahyadri Sub-Cluster (with Four Site Elements)

The Western Ghats of Maharashtra, locally known as Sahyadri lie roughly between 15° 60' and 20° 75' N and between 72° 60' and 74° 40' E, covering about 52,000 km² area from Daman to Terekhol creek. The hills vary in height from 20 m to 2,000 m. As part of the Deccan Plate, this region has Gondwanaland origins. The Sahyadri sub-cluster includes the middle and upper elevation biomes of the northern Western Ghats, contain geologically and biologically unique formations.

The windward western slopes of the region receive more than 2,500 mm of rainfall annually, particularly during south-west monsoon (June-September). Three large rivers, the Godavari, Koyna and Krishna carry the rainfall from the monsoon rains eastward into the drier Deccan Plateau. The mountain range ascends abruptly on the western side from near sea level to the crest line and descends more gradually to 500 m on the Deccan plateau. The deeply dissected terrain produces localized variations in rainfall and habitat types and creates Hotspots of endemism by limiting species distribution.

The presence of numerous barren rocky lateritic plateaus locally called sadas is the unique feature of the Sahyadri. These plateaus possess very characteristic herbaceous ephemeral vegetation. The Kas Plateau is one of the important sadas located in Satara district, at an elevation of around 1,213 m. The rainfall received is between 2,000 and 2,500 mm annually. Of the total area of 1,792 hectares under the Kas plateau, 1,142 hectares is recorded as Government Forest.

To the west and south of the Kas plateau, lies the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary spanning an altitudinal range of 600 m to 1, 100 m. The rivers Koyna, Kandati and Solashi, originating in the Western Ghats, span the sanctuary. It forms and protects the catchment of river Koyna and the reservoir Shiv Sagar formed by the dam on it. To the south lies, Chandoli National Park (earlier a Wildlife Sanctuary declared in 1985) located at the junction area of four districts, Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara and Ratnagiri of Western Maharashtra. It spreads along the crest of the Sahyadri Range of the Western Ghats and lies between Koyna and Radhanagari Sanctuary. It forms and protects many perennial water channels, water holes and the Vasant Sagar reservoir. The altitude of national park ranges from 589 m to 1,044 m.

The Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary, the first wildlife sanctuary of Maharashtra, was notified in 1958. It lies at the southern end of the Sahyadri sub-cluster and is popularly known as ‘Bison Sanctuary as the ‘Indian Bison’ or gaur (Bos gaurus) is the flagship species of the area. It consists of the catchment area of the two major reservoirs namely Rajarshi Shahu Sagar and Laxmi Sagar in Radhanagari Taluka of Kolhapur district. Bhogavati, Dudhganga, Tulshi, Kallamma and Dirba are among some of main rivers those flows through the sanctuary area, which drain out into the River Krishna, a major river of the Deccan Peninsula. Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary contains some of the tropical evergreen forests typical of the northern Western Ghats.

SOCIAL SCIENTIST 1976

2006-12-10T19:57:00.000+05:30

Social Scientist. v 4, no. 46 (May 1976) p. 6.

KURUMBAS

2006-12-10T19:54:00.000+05:30

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KURUMBAS: Attapadi

GRN Language Number: #4741

ISO / Ethnologue 15th edition code: kfi

Other names for KURUMBAS: Attapadi

Attapadi
Kurumba

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C26540 Words of Life

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Abey George

2006-12-10T19:30:00.000+05:30

LEAD-INDIA

LEAD India is registered as an NGO under the Societies Act and has a membership of 132 Fellows strategically and geographically located across the length and breadth of the country. At present, many Indian LEAD Fellows hold senior positions in Government, Non-Government, Donor agencies, Industry, Media, PSU’s and Academia. Others work at grassroots level with communities and some provide support services, urban and rural, aimed at building capacity for sustainable development. This multi-sector composition places LEAD India in a unique position, not only to deliver quality training, but training that has been validated through a process of cross-sector insights across the entire spectrum and strata of society.

LEAD India’s Decentralised Resource Centres (DRCs) was born out of a realization that there is feedback necessary to develop and bring alive an information, communication and capacity building services that attempts to meet the needs of development practitioners, development organizations, civil society, and the public in general and thus support them in their activities. So far there are three DRCs.

Abey George
E-mail: abbey@leadindia.org

Dr. Abey George is working on social and environmental issues in the state of Kerala. For the past 15 years, he has been actively involved with environmental issues in Kerala. He has participated in statewide debates over the conflicting demands of environment and development, and has also involved himself in local environmental issues. He has also been actively involved with the Save Narmada Movement (Narmada Bachao Andolan), and later he worked with the Unit for Rural Studies, at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Subsequently, he worked as the Coordinator of the Oceanic Circles Research Group at Sewagram, (an ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi), at Wardha, Maharashtra. This was followed by a two-year stint as the Deputy Director in an organization under the Rural Development Department of the Government of Kerala. This organisation was the project-implementing agency for an internationally funded project for eco-restoration and tribal development. The project aimed at sustainable natural resource management, in an ecologically disturbed area, with the participation of the local people. Later, he worked as a consultant to the Agro-forestry division of Kerala Forest Research Institute, where he was involved in an international initiative towards developing criteria and indicators for sustainable natural resource management. He is currently working in association with the Kerala Research Programme for Local Level Development, of the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. As a part of the same, he is coordinating a research project dealing with the issue of river pollution, brought about by a private company, and its effects on the local populace, as well as on the river. He is examining the policy issues related to natural resource allocation, in the context of decentralized planning. He is also coordinating an action research project in a tribal area, on the issue of pesticide use in agriculture, especially by small farmers. Environmental education and capacity building are the two key components of this project. Dr. Abey George is a graduate in Physics, and a postgraduate in Gandhian Studies. His Ph.D. in Development Studies is from the Centre for Rural Development and Appropriate Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

HOSTELS

2006-12-10T19:29:00.000+05:30

Kerala's tribal hostels converted to prostitution dens

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

Hostels run by the Kerala Tribal Welfare Department for the educational upliftment of tribals are facing an unusual problem - unwed mothers, a phenomenon that was believed to be confined to undeveloped tribal belts in the state.

The hostels, part of the Integrated Tribal Development Project, have seen two inmates deliver children while another three are reportedly in various stages of pregnancy.

Recently, a 16-year-old inmate of the Pre-matric Tribal Hostel at Agali in the Attapadi tribal belt of Palakkad district gave birth to a child.

On making inquiries, the Palakkad district collector came across a well-knit racket, involving ITDP officials and hostel employees, to sexually exploit the schoolgirls. The collector has suspended the ITDP project officer, assistant project officer and the tribal extension officer on the basis of the preliminary inquiry.

Apparently, the girls were taken to cinema halls and other public places with the connivance of the hostel wardens and handed over to 'clients'. The innocent girls are mostly lured with small gifts like clothes, pens, books etc. They are discarded if found to be pregnant.

A survey conducted by the People's Union for Civil Liberties has reportedly identified 800 unwed mothers in the Attapadi belt. This includes several young girls like the Agali schoolgirl.

The victims are usually silenced with threats. However, this girl was different. After delivering the child, she named the father, a shopkeeper by the name of Hari, and insisted on getting married to him.

She preferred a complaint when Hari refused and that led to his arrest. Securing bail, Hari allegedly tried to hush up the matter by offering Rs 30,000 to the girl and her mother. The girl's mother, Mallika, refused the 'compensation' and pressed for action against Hari as well as the racketeers.

This is a rare case of resistance against the exploitation of the tribals. Usually, the victims and their parents succumb to pressure as the accused turn to influential people for help. Mallika has revealed that Hari had solicited the help of a forest ranger and the husband of a block panchayat member to save his skin.

Even otherwise, proving the paternity of the child involves a lengthy legal process, which most victims prefer not to pursue. Though the Kerala State Women's Commission suggested DNA tests to strengthen their case, the high cost has proved to be a deterrent. The biggest problem is that Kerala does not have a DNA testing centre. The nearest one is at Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and getting the test done involves huge expenses.

The Women's Commission's pleas to the state government to set up a testing centre in the state have fallen on deaf ears. Some civil rights activists even feel that a testing centre can be entirely avoided if the government had the will to solve the problem. Mukundan C Menon, convenor of the confederation of human rights organisations in Kerala, believes that even a constable can deal with the problem.

He told rediff.com that the Tribal Welfare Act of 1987 had enough provisions to protect the interests of unwed mothers and book those responsible for their plight. The offence is non-bailable.

"Unfortunately, the police book THE accused under provisions of the Immoral Traffic Act whenever such complaints are received," Menon said. That was the reason Hari secured bail, he added.

Inquiries into cases of unwed mothers have been completely insensitive and unsympathetic to the victims' complaints. The findings were often contradictory and inquiry reports full of loopholes. "Most of the cases in Attapadi are simple cases of prostitution if one goes by the report of the Kerala Assembly Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes," Menon said.

The happenings in Attapadi have startled human rights activists since they believed that the evil was mainly confined to Wayanad, which has the largest concentration of tribals in the state. Attapadi now has more unwed mothers than Wayanad, which, according to official figures, had about 300.

The activists are also disturbed that the trend, which earlier was confined to women working in plantations and estates, is now being seen among schoolgirls.

HEALTH RVLN

2006-12-10T19:27:00.000+05:30

A healthy revolution in Attapadi tribal's life

PALAKKAD: The rare initiative by a District Collector to contain the raging sickle cell disease among tribals has produced wonderful results.

Buoyed by the success of the tribal health scheme, christened `Giriswasthya', in the tribals belts of Attapadi in Palakkad district, the Government has decided to extend the scheme to other districts of the State as well.

Two years ago when the tribals of Attapadi were affected by sickle cell anaemia and starvation, the Palakkad District Administration led by District Collector Dr K Ellangovan, making use of his medical background, decided to conduct a sample nutritional survey in the 171 hamlets of Attapadi to assess the general health conditions of the tribals and the causes of malnutrition.

The survey was conducted by a team comprising three medical officers, seven para-medical officers and two helpers. The survey revealed that the tribals were grossly anaemic in 33 `oorus,' deaths were frequent, the causes being congested cardiac failure, renal failure and exhaustion.

The findings were converted into a draft plan and submitted to the State Government which saw the birth of the Giriswasthya project.

The Government sanctioned the project, costing Rs 28 lakh. One of the main objectives of the scheme was to educate and train tribal health volunteers. The volunteers were given a five-week training. A total of 39 Giriswasthya volunteers were trained under the scheme and they were called peer educators. Each educator was given a monthly allowance of Rs 600. They underwent training at the district hospital, taluk hospital and the Medical College, Kozhikode.

The volunteers go to the hamlets, raise the level of personal hygiene and immunisation, provide proper ante-natal check-up and so on.The survey, undertaken during September 1999 to 2000 August, showed a marked difference. The number of tribal delivery cases in hospitals, between September 1998 and August 1999, was 208 while that of non-tribals was 279. But between September 1999 to 2000 August, the tribal deliveries in all the hospitals of Attapadi Block increased to 312 while that of non-tribals decreased to 266 .

The women who registered for ante-natal check up, increased to 2,254 in August 2000 compared to 2,081 during the period ended August 1999 and the pulse polio rate increased by 103 per cent.

The number of condoms distributed from September 1998 to August 1999 was only 40,000 while the Giriswastya volunteers distributed 70,000 condoms from September 1999 to August 2000.

During this period, the volunteers conducted 1,256 health awareness camps, 28 anti-drug camps, staged 11 street dramas and 60 hamlet-based medical camps. Another 33 medical camps were held at the panchayat level.

Thus, a project implemented by the tribal volunteers for the tribal population, has shown that even areas like health could be tackled, provided a concerted bid was made at the grass-roots level.

HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME: A total pay out of Rs 3 lakh has been effected under the novel health insurance scheme, being implemented by the district administration in association with United India Assurance, for the tribals of Attapadi during the past one year under the Giriswasthya project.

The success of the scheme has prompted the Government to devise plans to replicate it in other parts of the State. The nominal premium for this scheme will be borne by the district administration.

The tribals of Attapadi have been insured against six major diseases_ snake-bite, death due to accidents, death due to child birth complications, blood transfusion and mortal diseases.

Recently, a payment of Rs 40,000 was made to the K G Hospital, Coimbatore, by the insurance authorities under the scheme towards the medical expenses incurred by a tribal mother for a complicated delivery case, saving the life of both mother and child.

The private hospitals of Coimbatore are unaffordable even to the salaried class. Now the tribals of Attapadi receive quality medical attention, thanks to the success of the innovative health scheme

Mukundan C Menon.

2006-12-10T18:26:00.000+05:30

Tuesday, 18 December 2001

Lack of political will in Kerala has ensured that tribal land rights are paid mere lip-service by subsequent governments, says Mukundan C Menon.

Kerala, acclaimed as India's most progressive and model state, has earned the distinction of protecting the basic rights of the tribal population who form the largest ethnic minority at the bottom level of Kerala society. All major national and international agencies, including Nobel Prize Winner Amartya Sen, applauded this `God's own country' as a model state in the fields of literacy, education, health, family welfare, life expectancy, gender ratio, representation in public service, etc. However, the nearly 3.5 lakh tribalsbelonging to 35 different communities, who form roughly one per cent of the state's population, lag terribly behind the so-called mainstream society of Kerala in all these areas.

True, this `red-belt' state is politically advanced. However, the two major ruling fronts - the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) - exhibited a remarkable collective unity not only in non-implementation of the 1975 Act for restoration of alienated tribal lands but also in hoodwinking the very Act, which they had passed unanimously in the state assembly in April 1975. All this while various tribes are facing a severe threat to their very existence and the apprehension that many of them will become extinct during the next 25-50 years.

Undoubtedly, the tribal land issue has become the single major human rights issue in present day Kerala. Says former Supreme Court judge, VR Krishna Iyer: "The Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on Transfer of Lands and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Act, 1975, was not implemented so far due to lack of political will on the part of successive ruling governments and political parties."

Unfulfilled efforts to solve tribal land alienation has a long history in independent India, starting with the Dhebar Commission's major recommendation that all the tribal land alienated since January 26, 1950, the day the Indian constitution came into force, should be returned to their original rightful owners. It took almost two decades for the tribal ministers of all states to meet at New Delhi to pass a resolution on April 1, 1975, containing the spirit of the Commission's recommendation. This was followed by the passing of the 1975 Tribal Land Act by the Kerala assembly, unanimously with veteran CPI leader, C Achutha Menon, as UDF chief minister, and veteran CPM leader, EMS Namboodiripad, as main opposition leader. Moving the bill in the assembly, then revenue minister Baby John of Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) said that the encroachers had snatched the lands from the tribal adopting fraudulent methods, apart from providing them dry fish, tobacco, and paltry amounts of money in return. "Whatever may be the methods adopted, this government considers all such land-transactions as thefts, and we are determined to return the stolen property to their rightful owners," he declared.

Passing of this Act was followed by the declaration of Emergency in June 1975. The 20-point programme announced during the Emergency again found a solemn pledge to restore alienated tribal lands throughout India. The Act passed by the Kerala assembly got the mandatory assent of the President of India on November 11, 1975. Yet, throughout the Emergency period, which lasted till March 1977, the Act was not implemented. At the same time, even after passing the Act and its getting the president's consent, massive encroachment of tribal land continued unabated, especially in the predominant tribal belts of Attappadi (Palakkad district) and in the tribal-dominated Wayanad district. In fact, the government took 11 years to formulate the rules to implement the Act, which was formed only in 1986 with retrospective effect from January 1, 1982. Even after the belated formulation of rules, the successive governments failed to implement it while, on the other hand, the powerful lobby of encroachers, with due political patronage, continued their tribal land-grabbing spree.

The 1975 Act proclaims that all transactions of Adivasi lands during 1960-1982 are illegal and invalid. It also says that all such lands are to be restored to their original tribal owners. There is also a provision that the tribal owners have to pay the amount, if any, they received for the transaction from the encroachers along with any amount spent for improvement on the land by encroachers before commencement of the Act. On behalf of the tribal beneficiaries, the government will advance this compensation amount as loans, which is to be repaid back in 20 years. The Act also restricted transfer of tribal land to the non-tribal from 1982 without prior consent of the authorities. It simply means that all such transactions after 1982 without prior permission of the government stand null and void in law and, therefore, all such lands are to be restored to the original tribal owners. The Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs) in the concerned districts were entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the Act in toto.

Even this unimplemented Act has numerous weaknesses. For one, it applies only to those cases of land alienation where the tribal have records to prove their prior ownership of the respective lands. At the same time, until a few decades ago, the tribal population never knew that there was a need to possess land records from government bureaucrats for the premises which they had inhabited for generations. Traditionally, they worshipped forests and many of them could not digest the fact that they had to pay money (as land tax) for their gods and goddesses as well as to preserve documents issued by government officials. The vast majority of the tribals did not possess record of ownership given by the State even though they were enjoying the possession of their ancestral lands from time immemorial. This overall situation only helped the powerful encroachers from the plains to occupy tribal lands even after formulation of the rules in 1986.

The Tribal Sub-plan in 1995-96 Annual Plan says: "So far, 8,641 applications have been received for the restoration of alienated tribal lands. Of this, only 563 applications have been disposed off and land has been restored only in one or two cases. Unfortunately, the area of tribal lands restored is negligibly small in the state." According to yet another estimate, 8,553 applications for restoration of lands (totaling 10,177 hectares) have been filed till the last date of receipt of applications. Since then, this number rose to 8,879 of which the maximum have been from Palakkad (2,523), Wayanad (2,229) and Idukki (1,193) districts.

Despite receiving these applications, the successive UDF and LDF governments did not take any action to restore the alienated tribal lands. This forced Dr Nalla Thambi Thera, a tribal of Mananthavadi in Wayanad district, to move a Public Interest Litigation in 1988 before the Kerala High Court. Five years later, a positive verdict came from the High Court on October 15, 1993, giving the government six months time to implement the 1975 Act. However, considering an appeal of the then Congress-led UDF Government led by K Karunakaran, the court granted extension of the last date to carry out its order for two-and-half years ending April 15, 1996. In between, replacing Karunakaran, AK Antony became chief minister in 1995. Yet, the government refused to carry out the court orders even during this extended period.

The cause of the tribal was taken up mainly by CK Janu, a tribal leader from Wayanad, and the CPI-ML (Red Flag) through agitations and demonstrations for the implementation of the 1975 Act in accordance with the High Court directives. At the same time, the powerful settlers, under the banner of Karshaka Raksha Samithi (Farmers' Protection Forum) and Malayora Karshaka Sanghatana (Hill-area Farmers' Organisation) intensified their demands for amending the 1975 Act. The encroachers had the political backing of leading UDF and LDF constituents, especially of the different Kerala congress parties. Before the May 1996 general elections, the ruling UDF government attempted to bring an ordinance amending the 1975 Act. However, the governor refused to approve the ordinance on the ground that the election code did not permit it on election eve. The election saw CPI-M's EK Nayanar becoming the LDF chief minister in May 1996 ousting the then UDF government led by AK Antony.

Under the Marxist-led LDF Government, the principal secretary for SC-ST Development filed an affidavit before the High Court on August 9, 1996, claiming difficulties to implement the 1975 Act due to "organised resistance" against it. Rejecting this claim on August 14, the High Court directed that, within six weeks ending September 30, "the RDOs should effect delivery of possession of alienated tribal lands to its original owners in cases where no appeals are pending against orders for restoration of land and where no compensation is payable", that adequate law and order machinery could be used to carry this out, and that the RDOs have to file affidavits by September 30.

Meanwhile, the new LDF government, like its UDF predecessor, made yet another attempt to bring an ordinance to amend the 1975 Act. This, too, was rejected by the governor. Thus, in order to meet the final September 30 deadline fixed by the High Court and to avoid contempt of court proceedings against RDOs, the LDF government hurriedly managed to pass an Amendment Bill on September 23, 1996, in the assembly known as Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on Transfer of Land and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Amendment Bill, 1996. In the 140 member assembly, all members belonging to both ruling LDF and Opposition UDF supported the bill, except veteran communist leader KR Gouriamma. Opposing the bill, she said this was the most reactionary bill ever introduced in the assembly since formation of Kerala state in 1957. The bill also met with strong resistance from the tribal and their supporters outside the assembly with CK Janu and Red Flag leaders staging indefinite hunger strike in front of the assembly. It also led to the famous incident of Ayyankali Pada group of Naxalites holding the Palakkad district collector, WR Reddy, as hostage for more than eight hours on October 4, 1996, demanding withdrawal of the Amendment and implementation of the Parent Act of 1975.

The 1996 Amendment clearly nullified all the pro-tribal provisions of the 1975 parent Act. For example, the Amendment held valid and legal all transactions of tribal land between 1960 to January 24, 1986, which were termed as invalid in the original act. The sole objective of this amended provision was to nullify the original provision of restoration of alienated lands back to the tribal. According to the Amendment, an equivalent alternate land and Rs 25,000 would be provided for alienated land up to one hectare, and a proportionate piece of land for alienated lands of more than a hectare. The Amendment restricted all transfer of tribal land from January 24, 1986, as against 1982 in the belatedly formulated rules of the parent Act. Since, there was hardly anything left for alienation after 1986, there was very little land to be restored as per this Amendment.

Both Nayanar and Antony (who heads the present UDF government) led a combined delegation to Delhi to get presidential assent to the 1996 Amendment. In March 1998, President KR Narayanan, however, refused to give his assent and returned the Amendment. One of the main reasons was the inclusion of the 1975 Parent Act in the ninth schedule of the constitution which cannot be amended by the state assembly.

In order to counter this, the LDF government brought in and passed the second Amendment in 1999 with due support of the then Congress-led UDF opposition. To bypass the central approval, this Amendment termed the tribal land as "agricultural land" and thus secured the needed approval from the state governor. Says K Panur, an exponent of tribal affairs and chairman of the Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (CHRO), "The second Amendment sanctifies legality for encroachers to occupy tribal land up to five acres. Even those who own 100 acres can legally occupy an additional five acres of tribal land. Instead of fixing restrictions on encroachers' landholding, the second Amendment is fixing it upon the tribal. This is gross injustice and is meant to abet the big encroachers under the cover of protecting the interests of small encroacher-farmers".

Says Justice Krishna Iyer, "I opposed both the 1996 and 1999 Amendments as they went against the interest of the tribal and legalised the alienated land occupied by the non-tribal. A new dynamic fraternity has to be created to give development rights to those like the tribal who were denied their rights over land by fraudulent methods. Their lands were taken away because the political parties and social organisations here had no courage to oppose it. In fact, they supported those who cheated the tribal. Since the tribal did not constitute even one per cent of the total population of the state, they have no vote bank to get the support from political parties".

Early last year, the LDF government conducted a sham show of distributing documents (pattas) of alternate lands to the tribal of Attappadi in the presence of the chief minister and revenue minister. However, none of the beneficiaries occupied the land so far for the simple reason that the place is difficult to reach apart from being totally unsuitable for human habitation or cultivation.

Kerala High Court also duly stayed various provisions of both 1996 and 1999 amendments. However, the past two years witnessed the Supreme Court over-ruling the High Court's verdict. At least two separate cases on writ appeal on the issue steadily pursued by Dr Nalla Thambi Thera and the public-interest body, `Niyamavedi', headed by Adv AX Verghese of Kerala High Court, are still pending before both the High Court and Supreme Courts.

Reprinted from http://www.humanscape.org/Humanscape/new/sep01/landless.htm

SARANG

2006-12-06T18:48:00.000+05:30

Pursuing dreams against all odds

Gautam

Sarang
Agali- Chittor P.O.
Palakkad District
Pin Code 678581
Keralam
Phone 04924 - 254552

One may go to the extreme end of the universe and learn, but must first start from the earth: the base and origin of all life.

Gautam is a living testimony to a unique experiment in education that a teacher couple initiated in the deep forests of Southern Kerala, a quarter of a century ago. The Sarang Rural University was founded in 1982 by Gopalakrishnan and Vijayalekshmi, both former government school teachers, for local tribal children and the so-called academically backward. The Sarang experiment lasted for over a decade years. It had to be closed. Due to unfortunate circumstances, the founders were unable to finance it any longer.

Gautam, Gopapalakrishnan and Vijayalekshmi's son, grew up with Sarang. He was an intimate part of the experiment, not just as a student, but he also taught at Sarang for a while. He is a young man now, aged 23 years and is all set to revive this real life university, fully convinced that it is his turn to offer to others the unique learning experience he received at Sarang.

Gautam recalls his experiences at Sarang:

Attapadi is in Palakkad district in Kerala, South India. Both my parents are teachers. At first, they were teachers in the govt. school. But they were harassed when they tried to bring to the notice of the authorities what they felt was wrong with the system and how education could be made relevant to the local situation. Teaching was their life, yet they felt stifled and despaired of this hopeless situation. The only way out was to start a school of their own and teach in their own way. Actually, my parents say that they had started to think about such a school for Attapadi when I was still in my mother's womb. Anyway, thoroughly disillusioned, they eventually resigned from their govt. jobs and started Sarang.

Sarang was initially called an experimental centre for alternative education. A rural "university" was their dream and an ideal campus was what they set out to create. In 1983, with the help of friends, they bought some degraded forest land very cheaply. Local tribal children were enrolled and the Sarang journey began.

The curriculum was to be based on our real life situation. The land was a barren hill top, with no water, the people struggled for simple amenities, so improving this situation became the curriculum. Sarang embarked on an ambitious programme to rejuvenate the watershed by afforesting the area. My earliest memories are of fetching water from the bottom of the hill, all the way up. Naturally, very early in life, I learnt my lessons in minimum resource use. It became a habit with me to treat resources with respect and to use as much as required and not as much as was available.

We also undertook a massive afforestation programme, planting each year a number of local species on the barren land and nurturing the plants till they could fend for themselves. We learnt natural farming, gully plugging, fire protection measures, how to build simple mud house with locally available material, how to ward off wild animals etc. Alongside, topics such as politics, health, environment and sex education, to name a few, were introduced into the curriculum. In fact, all our daily experiences were integrated into the learning process. We learnt our geometry in the process of building the school-house, geography and natural sciences through the afforestation and watershed development programme and so on.

In about 8 years time our forest had grown, the watershed restored as the aquifers were rejuvenated and amazingly there was water on the hill throughout the year.

I had about 10 brothers and sisters, living with me and sharing in my life. We would all be learning the same thing at the same time but, at various levels of understanding. At Sarang there was no "bringing up" children, there was only growing up. People visiting us every year would remark on how well the children and the forests were both growing.

We were all treated with the respect we deserved as intelligent learners and were never written off as mere kids. All our individual interests were taken seriously and given maximum scope for in-depth study. I once expressed an interest in the radio and was introduced to the world of electronics. I even spent some time in a local radio repair shop assisting the shopkeeper who unfortunately was hesitant to let me progress beyond dusting the radios.

In 1989, as a 9 year old, I went with Mohan Kumar for a month to participate in the "Save the Western Ghats March". We walked from Kanyakumari to Goa, with a whole lot of activists. At times Kumar mama carried me on his shoulders.

When I was 10, I wanted to learn Kalari. To do so I needed to live in the near by town. In preparation for this programme, my mother taught me how to cook, wash clothes and take care of myself and my basic needs. When my parents thought that I could fend for myself, they hired a room for me and an older cousin, who was 13 at the time, in Ediki (Kattapana) and arranged for our tuition. We spent six weeks learning Kalari. In addition, as a way of spending our stay usefully, we also took classes in typewriting and drawing. This was an early lesson in self reliance, self restraint and self confidence. I enjoyed it so much that I repeated it once more, this time learning Kalari, Bharat Natyam, Yoga, English Grammar and typewriting.

Some times if we wanted to learn a particular art form, skill or subject in which my parents were not competent, we would have teachers come and live with us for a short duration. This too added to the variety of our learning experiences.

If anyone fell ill, the occasion was used to study health and medicine. We learnt the basics of treating common ailments, home remedies, allopathy, naturopathy and how to deal with problems like worms, lice etc.

This outdoor life and learning made us confident, healthy, strong and fearless. When I was 15, I remember I had a fall and had to have my knee stitched up. I went to the hospital but took no medication and no anesthesia. The wound healed in 9 days, I just walked to the hospital and had the stitches removed.

My interests in Electronics, stayed with me. I was fascinated with timers and this somehow got me interested in parallel communication systems. I took a course in amateur radio communication. I am a HAM member. The course took about a year, but it took me three years to get the licence. I had to go to Delhi for the licence. It added to my education as I learned how the bureaucracy operates.

Looking back I feel that I have been blessed with very special parents and that my education is complete in every way. I even have two sisters of my own. Kannaki and Unniyaarchcha aged seven and five. They too school at Sarang - my home, the rural university!

When we ran into financial troubles, the other kids had to be sent home and Sarang was officially closed. My father, who has first hand experience and many skills is often invited to N.S.S. camps as a resource person to teach conservation, watershed and afforestation techniques. My mother does not keep well and so is mostly at home. For a time in order to help meet our expenses I used to collect milk from the village and sell. Now I drive a taxi.

But my dream is to revive Sarang. I spend a lot of time trying to work out how this can be done. Sarang has taught me so much that I feel it my obligation to revive it so that what I got from it I can share with other young children.

Gopalakrishnan and Vijayalakshmi, ‘Sarang’, Attappadi.

Former schoolteachers Gopalakrishnan and Vijayalakshmi, who resigned their jobs in search of better teaching alternatives, have done it again. They have, by their water conservation efforts, given birth to a stream in their 20-acre land ‘Sarang’ at Attappadi.

Attappadi with its barren hills posed stiff challenge to them when they migrated there initially. They had to bring water from the valleys to irrigate the crops and meet household needs. So for conservation of water they created water pits throughout their land. From the initial 15 acres of land in their possession, they let Nature grow its own vegetation and trees in 14 acres. Only the balance 1 acre they used for cultivation.

With the water pits and the dry leaves from the vegetation acting as a sponge, the water recharge of the soil improved. Even in their cultivated land, the soil was not tilled or disturbed. Mulching with green leaves alone was done.

With all these efforts at water conservation, a small brook, which had disappeared years ago, reappeared in their land.

That was a day of rejoicing for the couple.

They then constructed 4 check dams in this stream. Without using cement, borrowing from the technique employed by adivasis for constructing walls, they did these structures.

Woven bamboo mats kept in two layers 60 cm apart across the stream form the basic structure of the ‘Goda’ check dam. The inner space between the bamboo walls is filled with earth and the outer faces are plastered with mud. On top of it they plant saplings of Illi, Eetta and Ama.

Within one year this living check dam becomes strong enough to withstand any flood.

The 'Goda' Checkdam with overflow section. Sample Bamboo mat lying by the side.

Courtesy: M.George, Karshakasree, February 2002

ELEPHANT PROTOCOL

2006-12-06T18:40:00.000+05:30

Elephant Protocols, Manuals, and Proceedings

Practical Elephant Management:
A Handbook for Mahouts

The copyright of this publication belongs to the
Elephant Welfare Association

SECTION VI

WILD ELEPHANTS AND CAPTURE

Wildlife Protection Act
Life of Wild Elephants
Man-Elephant Conflict - Case Study in North Bengal
Elephant Capture and Training in Kerala Forest Department
Elephant Capturing in North-eastern India

THE WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT

M.I. Verghese

Introduction

In 1972, the Indian Parliament passed the Wildlife Protection Act, to establish a standardised national policy for wildlife protection in the country. In 1973 June 1st, this Wildlife Protection Act was endorsed in Kerala by its State Parliament. The law has 68 sections pertaining to various aspects of wildlife conservation.

Schedule - I of the Wildlife Protection Act

There are 6 Schedules in the Wildlife Protection Act. Initially there were only 5 but in 1991 a 6th schedule was introduced. The Schedule I animals are those that face the threat of extinction due to poaching and trade and have very small existing populations in the wild. The elephant is placed under the category 12-A of Schedule I proving that it is an animal facing the threat of extinction. The animals in the Schedule I and part II of Schedule I are under strict government protection.

Protocols for Schedule - I Animals

Since the elephant is a Schedule -I animal, the following protocols apply to both captive and wild elephants.

1.Declaration of ownership:

The 40th-44th sections of the Wildlife Protection Act are directly related to Schedule I animals and also to the animals in part II of Schedule II. The 40th section requires the owners of animals belonging to the above mentioned categories, to declare their ownership to the Government that they possess these particular animals. This claim should be documented, within one month of acquiring the animal. The Chief Wildlife Warden of the state, or the District Forest Officer may be contacted for the same.

Ownership certificate:

The law requires the elephant owners to register their elephants at the District Forest Officer’s office. Though this Act was passed in Kerala State in 1973, most of the elephants in captivity are not registered with the government. Many elephant owners are unaware of or insensitive to, this requirement which constitutes a clear violation of the act and is punishable.

Procedure:

To apply for an ownership certificate, the applicant has to fill up form no-13, which is available at every District Range Office. The completed form is sent to the Chief Conservator’s office who informs the applicant, (on form no-14) through the DFO's office, that his elephant would be inspected by officials on a certain date. The inspecting officer will inspect the tethering area, take measurements of the elephant and prepare a report on form no-15 and send it to the Conservator’s office in the capital. The applicant will be issued an ownership certificate (on form No -16) after the authorities are convinced of the elephant's identity and satisfied with its health condition.

Charges:

The charges for violation of this protocol are stated in Section - 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, and it entails a 1-6 year prison sentence or payment of Rs 5000 as fine. If the person is charged for repeating the offence, his punishment is doubled. An owner who is ignorant of the law, is permitted by the authorities, to apply for an ownership certificate. The charges were amended in 1991.

2.Transfer or transportation of elephants:

To transfer an elephant from one place to another, the owner must inform the officer concerned, i.e., the Range Officer

Procedure:

The applicant must receive permission from the range officer, on form no-4, which requires the applicant to submit his ownership certificate or registration number. In the absence of an ownership certificate, the forest officers inform the owners to apply for a registration certificate. If this condition has been satisfied, the elephant is inspected by a veterinary surgeon to ensure the health condition of the animal and to see if the animal is fit enough to make the journey by foot or vehicle. If the veterinarian agrees to send the animal on the journey, the officers would issue a Transport - Permit or form no - 6 to the applicant. In Kerala, elephants are often brought from Bihar and U.P. and the licence or ownership certificate is not renewed. The certificate of registration done in other states is valid only up to a period of 1 month. After which, the certificate has to be renewed or the elephant has to be re-registered in the current state of domicile.

3. Elephant attacks:

The Act addresses issues related to wildlife invasion or attack, on human beings. If wild elephants attacked a village or a house or destroyed several acres of plantation and crops, the victims are likely to be compensated by the government. In 1980, the state passed a provision for the victims of attack by the animals enlisted in the Wildlife Protection Act. A sum of Rs. 10,000 is paid for loss of life, and handicap and Rs 5000 depending on the extent of damage.

Procedure:

The victim has to apply for his re-imbursement to the Range Officer of the concerned range. The Range Officer would forward this application to the District Forest Officer who will sanction the amount to the descendants of the victim in case of loss of life or compensate for the damage to property. There are certain conditions to receiving or issuing compensations. If the victim has been killed or attacked because he/she ventured into the restricted forest area, he/she will not be compensated, but will be compensated, if the victim was attacked while he/she were on the public road. Similarly if the victim was attacked at his/her patta (or - allotted) piece of land in the forest or the road leading to it, he/she is eligible for the compensation. The compensation does not apply to captive or domestic elephants. If any mahout or any individual were to be attacked by a captive elephant he will not be compensated.

Wild elephants that are a threat to humans, may be removed with orders from the Chief Conservator of Forests. The law has a provision for killing wild animals of Schedule -I that become dangerous to humans beings.

4. Elephant Trophies:

An ownership certificate is also required for possessing the body parts of a Schedule-I animals also called as "Trophies". It is commonly seen that people posses several items in their homes made of Ivory, and furnishings made of elephant’s body parts. The hairs in the elephant tail are popular as jewellery. It is illegal to keep trophies of animals belonging to schedule - I of the Wildlife protection act without proper permit. The trophies have to be declared voluntarily to the nearest forest officer and a certificate of ownership has to be obtained.

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LIFE OF WILD ELEPHANTS

Dr. P.S.Easa,

Elephants have been associated with man since time immemorial. It has been an object of worship and embodiment of strength, size and intelligence. The Indian culture is so much associated with this animal that earlier literature has recorded observations on elephants in detail. The present day knowledge on Asian elephants in the wild come from several studies conducted in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India.

Distribution and Habitat

Asian elephant was once distributed from Tigris and Euphrates Valleys of Syria and Iraq to the yellow river of China and South to Sumatra (Daniel, 1995). At present it is confined to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. In India, it exists as four populations. The four populations are distributed in the South, Central, Northwest and Northeast regions in India.

In South India, they are distributed in the forests of Western and Eastern Ghats in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Elephants in the Eastern Ghats in Orissa and Bihar states form the Central population. Terai forest regions of Uttar Pradesh along the foothills of Himalayas form the population in the North Western India. The North-eastern population is distribute over the Himalayan foothills of Bhutan and North West Bengal eastwards into the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. The habitat of these populations are further fragmented dividing these into isolated populations. Thus, about ten sub populations could be identified within the South Indian population.

Elephants in Kerala exist as seven populations.

Agasthyamala: It consists of those within the Neyyar, Peppara, Shenduruny and Kulathupuzha areas south of Ariankavu pass. This region has contiguity with Mundanthurai-Kalakkad of Tamil Nadu.
Periyar: This is distributed from the north of Ariankavu pass and include Ranni, Konni, Achenkovil, extending upto the borders of Periyar Tiger Reserve. The east of this region is the Varashanadu hills.
Idukki: Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary and the forests of adjacent Ayyappankovil and Nagarampara Reserves harbour an isolated and probably the most disturbed population of about 100 elephants.
Anamalai: The areas under the forest divisions of Malayatoor, Munnar, Vazhachal, Chalakudy, Parambikulam, Nemmara and Munnar (Wildlife) is contiguous with Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and Palni hills of Tamil Nadu. This population could be considered to have a larger extent of forests with comparatively less disturbance.
Palakkad: Forests of Walayar and Muthikulam Reserve was once contiguous with the adjacent forests of Silent Valley and Attappadi. At present, this has contiguity with part of Shiruvani area of Tamil Nadu.
Silent Valley - Nilambur: This population occupies the areas of Attappadi, Silent Valley, Nilambur and part of Wayanad (Meppadi). The contiguity with the Nilgiris and Anakkatti of Tamil Nadu further extends the area available to elephants in the region.
The Wayanad population exists in Kerala part as two due to the discontinuity within the State. However, these populations are connected through forests of Karnataka. The southern Wayanad population within Kerala are in Kurichiat, Muthanga and Bathery areas. The northern population are distributed over Tholpetty, Begur, Kottiyoor and Aralam areas which are connected to the Kuttiadi - Thamarassery regions through a narrow belt of forest at Periyar.

Range

Elephant is a wide ranging animal requiring larger extent of continuous stretch of forests for food, water and shelter. Studies conducted in the wild on the home range of elephants have indicated that a herd of elephant would require a minimum area of about 650 km². The home range size may vary according to the regions, the vegetation type which inturn is reflected in the food and water availability. The home range size was about 150 km2 in Parambikulam , 115 km² in Sathyamangalam and 650 km² in Mudumalai. there could be seasonal variations in home range size depending on the environmental factors.

Seasonal Migration

Seasonal movements of elephant herds have been recorded from different elephant ranges. Studies in Mudumalai, Sathyamangalam forests, Parambikulam, Wayanad and other areas have indicated that these movements are mostly influenced by water and food availability.

Thermoregulation

Elephants with its large sized body produce metabolic heat. The colour of the skin absorbs more heat and this combined with the absence of sweat gland force the animal to go for a thermoregulatory mechanism through behavioural changes. Elephants in the wild normally spend the hottest period of the day in the shade of the trees reducing the activity to a considerable extent. Further, they also go for wallowing in muddy waters which help them to keep their skin moist.

Feeding

Observations of elephants in the wild have indicated that it spends about more than 70% of the time for feeding. However, there are seasonal differences depending on the availability of food and also on the variation in diurnal temperature. The time spent for resting and wallowing sharply increase in dry season and there is a reduction in the time spent for feeding.

Elephant is a polyphagous animal feeding on a number of plant species belonging to different family. Observations have indicated utilisation of 93 species in Parambikulam and 112 species in Sathyamangalam area. A major share of the food species are of grasses and sedges. Grasses, bamboos (again a grass) and reed are the most utilised. There are seasonal differences in the utilisation of plant species and also plant parts. The high crowned molar teeth with their rasp like surface are structured for grinding fibrous and siliceous food materials. The prehensile trunk also help them to deal with a food material of any size and range.

Polyphagous animals such as elephants have the advantage of surviving even in an environment of scarcity. Availability of a range of nutrients can also be ensured by feeding on a variety of species in addition to the most preferred ones. Thus, elephants have the ability to utilise the available resources in a very efficient way. During the pinch period of summer when grasses are scarce and of low nutritive value, they go for an increased quantity of intake.

They feed a lot on the bark of various tree species. Bark feeding has been reported to be in response to deficiency in essential fatty acids such as lenoleic acid in other food species and found in higher quantities in bark. Further, higher contents of minerals such as manganese, iron, copper, boron, calcium and sodium in tree barks have also been reported as reasons for the bark feeding behaviour of elephants.

Elephants are reported to consume between 1.5% (dry season) and 1.9% (wet season) of their body weight in twelve hours of feeding. There is not much studies on the mineral requirement of Asian elephants. A 3000 kg cow elephant may require 60 g. of calcium daily. An adult elephant require 75-100 g. of sodium. They need a large quantity of water. Evidences indicate a requirement of about 100 litres of water at one time and up to 225 litres in a day.

Many authors have debated on the question whether it is grazer or browser. Studies in most of the elephant ranges have indicated that they are both grazers and browsers. However, the proportion of both grass and browse species in the diet vary according to seasons. Certain authors have indicated that the foraging efficiency of elephants on grass is high (80%) compared to feeding on browse (50%). More often the selection of food species, whether it is grass or browse, depends on the nutritive value and also the secondary toxic compounds in the plant species. The digestive system is reported to be highly sensitive to plants’ toxic secondary compounds

Social life

Elephant is a social animal and live in herds. The herd will have elephants of different age sex classes. The calves are protected by all the members of the herd. The herd size vary according to the season and resource availability. It is also influenced by environmental factors such as water availability, disturbance and also by other biotic pressures. Herds of even up to 62 have been reported in Asian elephants. The matriarchal system in elephants have been well established. There could be all male herds also. Most of the solitary elephants are bulls.

Threats

Loss/degradation of habitat

Elephants because of their wide ranging habit require larger areas. Loss of habitats have been the major threat to the animal. Fragmentation and degradation of habitat have also affected most of the populations.

Man-elephant conflict

Man-elephant conflict has been identified as one of the major problems to be solved to ensure their survival in most of the ranges. The problem is always on the increase because of degradation /conversion /fragmentation of habitat. Crop raiding and manslaughter have been reported from several places in India. This conflict often leads to the death of the animal or at least inflict serious injuries.

Population status

Ivory is a much sought after commodity within and outside the country. Most of the populations of Asian elephants have a highly skewed sex ratio favouring females. This may range from 1:5 to 1:100 in certain cases. Such trends have been reported in the case of polygynous animals due to increased mortality of males among the calves and juveniles. Since the elephants are not seasonal breeders, it is also possible that all the females in the population could be mated by the available males. However, the genetic heterozygoity will be definitely affected. This is especially true of isolated populations with low population sizes. The selective removal of males from the population through poaching could also affect the behaviour of the animal to a great extent.

The increasing number of makhnas in most of the population have been a matter of great concern to conservationists. The long term effect of such changes cannot be predicted at present but could be not for good.

It is important that a minimum viable population is maintained in all the areas for long term survival. These population may also be ensured enough contiguous habitats. The Project Elephant launched by Government of India envisages long term survival of the species ensuring minimum viable population, larger extent of areas, improvement of habitat, mitigation of man-elephant conflict problems and affording protection to the animal from poachers.

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MAN - ELEPHANT CONFLICT : CAUSES AND CONTROL MEASURES

S.S. Bist

1. INTRODUCTION

People dealing with wild elephants know that it is generally a shy animal, avoiding human beings and loving its privacy within the forests. At the same time the elephant is also a wild and mighty animal. Its requirement of food and living space is also very large. It is, therefore, only natural that it should come in contact with human beings sometimes or the other and some problem should arise. In fact, cases of crop damage and occasional man-killing by wild elephants have been recorded since time immemorial in all elephant areas. People have also been killing or injuring elephants in defence of their life and property. But such cases used to be few and far between in the past. In the recent years, however, elephants have been observed to be straying out of forests much more frequently and causing large scale depredation in human localities.

As we know, elephant is an endangered animal and whole-hearted attempts are being made by the Government and other agencies to protect it. For the success of all such attempts, co-operation of the public is a must, but public co-operation can not be obtained in all such areas where elephants have become a serious problem for the life and property of human beings. Therefore, control of man-elephant conflict has become a very important issue for elephant management in India today.

2. TYPES OF DEPREDATION

Depredation by elephants is usually of the following types:

Killing or injuring of human beings -- such cases are mostly accidental in nature, and nervousness and confusion on the part of the elephant and the victim lead to such accidents. However, occasionally, there are some confirmed "rogue" elephants who would deliberately chase human beings and kill them. Experience shows that solitary elephants are involved in man killing more frequently than herd elephants.
Crop raiding -- Most of the depredation by elephants is in the form of crop raiding. More or less, all wild elephants indulge in crop raiding whenever they get an opportunity. Experience in the Northern part of West Bengal suggests that wild herds indulge in crop raiding only in particular months when the crop matures but cause maximum damage. On the other hand, solitary elephants visit agricultural fields almost round the year but do not cause much damage.
House breaking -- Elephants may indulge in house breaking for various reasons -- search for food grains, salt or country liquor or for rescuing their calves if they have ventured inside a house. In North Bengal, most of the house-breaking cases take place in tea gardens. Sometimes there are desperate solitary elephants who are habitual house breakers.
Loss of livestock -- Cases of elephants killing buffaloes and other livestock are reported from time to time.

3. EXTENT OF DEPREDATION

3.1 Accurate figures regarding depredation by elephants in India are not available, but the extent of depredation is believed to be very large. In North Bengal, wild elephants occur only in the two districts, viz. Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, and records of elephant depredation are regularly maintained. The following figures would indicate the extent of the problem in North Bengal.

3.2 Human casualties

1986-87	39	1987-88	46	1988-89	63
1989-90	42	1990-91	68	1991-92	54
1993-94	49	1994-95	41	--	--

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3.3 Crop damage -- It is estimated that crops over 4000-4500 ha of agricultural land are destroyed by elephants every year in North Bengal.

3.4 House damage -- Approximately, 1000-1200 houses are demolished every year by elephants in N. Bengal.

3.5 Compensation-- Government of West Bengal pays compensation to the victims of elephant depredation. Expenditure incurred by the Government on payment of compensation during the last few years is as follows:

1991-92	Rs. 23.64 lakhs	(2.36 millions)
1992-93	Rs. 26.11 lakhs	(2.611millions)
1993-94	Rs. 22.34 lakhs	(2.234 million)
1994-95	Rs. 21.91 lakhs	(2.191 million)

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3.6 The State Government also spends Rs.40-45 lakh every year on anti-depredation measures. Tea gardens in North Bengal also suffer great economic losses on account of house damages and reduced production due to labour problems tormented by elephant depredation.

3.7 Considering the fact that there are only 186 wild elephants in North Bengal as per 1992 census, it can be inferred that the extent of depredation is abnormal, and the Government of West Bengal and the people of North Bengal are paying a very high price for the protection of these elephants.

4. IMPACT ON THE ELEPHANTS

It will be wrong to assume that only the people are the losers in this conflict with the elephants or that the elephants are enjoying the situation. In fact, condition of elephants in all conflict areas is very pathetic. Quoting from the North Bengal experience, the elephants are very much harassed-chased and disturbed constantly as they are, wherever they go. Number of wild elephants bearing injuries on account of arrows or bullets shot at them by the local villagers and tea garden labourers, is very high. Cases of elephant herds abandoning their calves are becoming common. Incidences of poaching of wild elephants are also not uncommon. Thus the elephants are under extreme state of stress on account of man-elephant conflict.

5. CAUSES OF MAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT

It is difficult to pinpoint a single factor responsible for the conflict. Often more than one factor cause the problem. Some major causes are discussed below:

5.1 Habitat destruction

In the recent years, forests have been destroyed in many areas for agricultural land, tea gardens, factories, refugee-colonies, army cantonments, roads, railways, irrigation projects etc. As a result, forests inhabited by elephants have shrunk and become fragmented. Elephants being a long ranging animal can not remain confined to a particular forest area for long. In small fragmented forests elephants come in contact with human beings more frequently than in large compact forests and thus the chances of man-elephant conflict increase.

5.2 Grazing

Grazing by cattle is a serious problem in Indian forests. Cattle not only deprive elephants and other wild herbivores of their legitimate fodder but also spread many diseases among them. Scarcity of fodder may force elephants to spend less time in a forest than they otherwise do and may make them more inclined to raid agricultural lands.

5.3 Defective forestry practices

Some of the practices followed by the state forest departments, such as clear felling of large tracts of forests and conversion of natural forests in to plantations of teak, eucalyptus, and other non-fodder species, have resulted in degradation of many forest areas which now can not hold elephants for a long period as in the past.

5.4 Lure of agricultural crops

An elephant is a huge animal requiring 250-300 kg of fodder every day. In forests, an elephant may have to spend 16-20 hours daily to gather its food. In an agricultural land, however, an elephant gets substantial quantity of nutritious food over a smaller area with the least effort. Elephant being an intelligent animal, it is obvious that he prefers to raid over agricultural fields once he has the taste of it and more so if there is a scarcity of fodder in the forests.

5.5 Over exposure to human beings
Movements of human beings in most forests of India has increased tremendously. Every day many people enter forests for grazing their cattle, collecting fodder or fire-wood, or for other purposes. Thus they come in contact with elephants more frequently than in the past. Elephant is basically a shy animal and tends to keep away from human beings. But over exposure to human beings makes elephants lose their inherent fear of man and makes them desperate.

5.6 It can, therefore, be seen that man himself is the cause of conflict with elephants in most of the cases.

6. CONTROL MEASURES

Measures for controlling man-elephant conflict can be divided into two categories, viz. the short term measures and the long term measures. Short term measures aim at providing immediate relief to the people against depredation by elephants. Long term measures aim at removing the factors responsible for elephant depredation and at creating ideal living conditions for elephants within forests. As regards short term measures no single method is effective in all cases against all elephants. Elephants are known to exhibit remarkable intelligence in finding out the limitations of various methods and adapt themselves accordingly. What, therefore, is required is constant improvisation of various methods keeping the psychology and physical capabilities of the elephant in mind. Both short term and long term methods should go hand in hand if the problem has to be resolved fully.

6.1 Short Term Measures

6.1.1 Driving away elephants physically using searchlights and crackers. (In North Bengal, Forest Department has engaged "Wildlife Squads" to help the people in chasing away elephants from localities.)

6.1.2 Destruction of confirmed man-killers ("Rogues").

6.1.3 Capturing of elephants to control their population.

6.1.4 Use of trained elephants (koonkie) to chase away wild elephants.

6.1.5 Tranquillising the problematic elephants and relocating them to safer places.

6.1.6. Use of barriers (Elephant - proof trench, watch towers and electric fencings).

6.2 Long Term Measures

6.2.1 Habitat Development Works

Felling of natural forests in India is now banned under law. In many states, forest departments have taken up programmes for replacing pure plantations of teak, eucalyptus etc. with indigenous fodder species. In North Bengal, bamboos and other fodder species liked by elephants are being planted on a large scale in various sanctuaries and national parks and even outside to improve the quality of forests and induce elephants to spend more time inside forests.

6.2.2 Eco-Development Works

Eco-development works are being undertaken in villages surrounding various national parks and sanctuaries in India. The objective is to reduce the dependency of the people over forests for grazing, firewood and other requirements and thus, to control biotic interference in forests. Eco-development works also aim at improving the relationship of the forest staff with the local people and to ensure the involvement of the people in the protection of forests and wildlife.

6.2.3 Corridors

In some states in India, corridors linking one forest inhabited by elephants with another forest have been identified. These corridors would be suitably improved to ensure adequate cover and fodder, and human interference would be removed from there. It is expected that these corridors would facilitate free seasonal movement of elephants without coming in to conflict with human beings.

7. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

Experience tells us that the extent of depredation by elephants can be greatly reduced by observing certain precautions and by taking preventive measures. An analysis of the pattern of depredation and the psychology of the elephants involved, would suggest many such measures. For example, in North Bengal, the Forest Department has been recommending the following precautionary measures to the villagers and the residents of tea gardens:

7.1 Tea garden authorities have been advised to get their labour colonies electrified and to provide street-lights at the entry points of the elephants in to the garden. Experience tells that wild elephants in general are shy of electric lights. Moreover, people can protect themselves against elephants in a better manner in the presence of electric lights than otherwise.

7.2 Local people are also warned against storing "haria" - a rice based country liquor, in their houses because elephants are believed to be fond of this and are attracted by its smell. People are also warned against moving around in intoxicated condition after sunset because they can not protect themselves against the elephants.

7.3 Villagers are advised not to grow bamboos, bananas, jack fruit and all such plants very close to their houses as may attract elephants. Villagers are also advised to keep the hedge around their houses short so that they can get a better view of the approaching elephants.

7.4 People are also advised to spray phenol or use any other foul smelling substance on the walls of their houses. It is believed that elephants, who have got an acute smelling power, keep away from foul smell.

7.5 People are also advised to stay put within their houses rather than run helter skelter when an elephant is around. They are much safer indoors than outdoors where they may accidentally run into the elephant and get killed.

7.6 It has been observed that wild elephants have more inclination to break houses with walls white-washed or painted with bright colours than those with green, ochre or earth coloured walls. Tea garden authorities are advised to keep this fact in view while constructing or repairing labour huts.

7.7. In areas where crop depredation by elephants is a regular problem, villagers are advised not to grow paddy or maize but to go for jute, potato and any other crop which is not eaten by elephants.

7.8 People are also warned no to cause injury to an elephant using arrows, bullets, fire or any other means. An injured elephant is mush more dangerous and may turn in to a habitual man-killer.

8. TRAINING AND PUBLICITY

As stated earlier, man-elephant conflict is basically a man-made problem. Therefore, to solve the problem man, rather than elephant, should mend his ways. The problem can be greatly reduced if people stop disturbing forests and take suitable precautionary measures. It is possible that man and elephant can live in peaceful co-existence. This can be achieved through intensive publicity among the people and by providing suitable training to them. In North Bengal, the Forest Department has already initiated such a publicity and training programme.

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ELEPHANT CAPTURE AND TRAINING IN KERALA FOREST DEPARTMENT

Dr. Girinadhan Nair

History of elephant capture

The Indian elephant has been declared as a Schedule - 1 animal, by the Wildlife Protection Act, meaning, it is a highly endangered species. Wild elephants are facing the threat of extinction due to poaching and habitat destruction. In 1973, the Indian government officially banned elephant capture, to prevent the depletion of wild elephant population. How ever, elephants that encroach into human habitations are captured by the forest department.

In the past, elephants were abundant in forests and were captured in large numbers, to be trained to suit human needs. There have been references in an ancient Greek text, by Megasthenes, as early as 2000 B.C., about elephant capture and training. In India elephant capture was carried out by various methods and they were: Pit method, Kheddah, Noose or trap method, Decoys and spearing. Various regions of India, practised various methods of capture.

Pit method

In Kerala, elephant capture operations were carried out by the pit method, during the months of July, August, and September, which coincides with the S. west monsoon. Elephant herds, while travelling in search of waterholes and fodder, form regular paths or 'walks', in the forests. The forest guards and watchers, who tracked these ‘walks’, would inform the concerned forest official, such as Range Officer and pits would be dug along these paths. Elephant capture in Kerala, was carried out in some important forest ranges like Konni, Kodanadu, Muthanga, Nilambur, Parambikulam (forest), and Chetalathu.

The pits were arranged in sets, where a set consisted of 3 pits, arranged in a triangle. 40-60 such sets of pits were dug, in a range alone. The dimensions of the pits were as follows

Distance between each pit, in a set - 20-25 feet. (7 - 8 mt)

Diameter between each pit - 12 feet (4 mt)

Depth of each pit - 12 feet (4 mt)

The pits were narrow, or tapering towards the bottom, to minimise the intensity of injury, caused to the elephant, due to the fall. While an elephant were falling, its body would strike against the sides, thus minimising the shock, during the fall. While preparing the pit, the mud that had been dug out, was removed far away from the pit. The pits were camouflaged with vegetation. Rafters were placed across the pit, vertically and horizontally, and dried twigs and leaves were laid out, across the top. The camouflage had to blend with the rest of the surroundings. Since the pits were dug during September and March, the dried leaves falling from nearby trees covered the area naturally and it became impossible even for humans to identify the pits.

The site for digging the pits had to be chosen very carefully keeping in mind the following points.

Rocky areas had to be avoided, as the elephant could be severely injured during the fall.
The earth had to be loose and soft to make it easier for digging.
There had to be several strong trees around the area, to chain the elephant and to fasten ropes, when the elephant was being taken out.
Ample water supply was essential for the koonkie elephants assisting the operation.

The pits were lined inside with grass from the forest, about 6 feet deep. The grass and brush wood was renewed every two weeks, as they dried up quickly in summer. Every morning the watchers or guards inspected the pits for trapped elephants and reported to their respective senior officers. Not all elephants that were trapped were captured. They were selected on the basis of their height, age and size. Elephants between 6 ¹/₂ - 7 ¹/₂ feet height, sub adults and cow elephants were preferred, as they were considered easier to handle and train. Larger tuskers, cows with very young calves and aged elephants, were released back into the forest. The wild caught had to be smaller than the koonkie elephants.

To prevent elephants escaping, huge trees were chopped down and laid across the pit. Special ropes were prepared, from the bark of the Vakka tree, (Streculia villosa), to noose the wild elephant in the pit. Fresh ropes were prepared for each operation, as their quality deteriorated with time. The number of koonkies to be used, depended on the size of the wild caught. No more than 3 koonkies were necessary for a capture operation.

The mahouts offered prayers to the mountain Gods, before removing the elephant from the pit. The wild elephant was noosed by experienced mahouts. The elephant was noosed on both the hind feet and the neck. The elephant's neck was measured in an interesting manner. One of the persons involved in the capture would attempt to distract the elephant using a white cloth, while the others would insert a long pole into the pit, to measure its height. The girth of the neck is calculated as 7/8 th of the height and a noose of the same dimension, was made. A peg was inserted between the knot on the noose, to prevent it from strangling the elephant.

Applying the noose required skill and courage. It was applied using bamboo poles or by lassoing. A second noose had to be applied, which had to run under the first one. Both these nooses had to be connected to the peg around the first noose, with a small knot called the cherukettu. The cherukettu was tied by experienced mahouts, who had to lean over the pit. A knot was tied around his waist, the other end of which was held by strong men.

To bind one of the hind legs, the noose was placed on the floor of the pit and was tightened around the elephant's legs, as soon as it placed its legs accidentally over the noose. A second noose was tied around the other leg, after the elephant emerged from the pit. The koonkies held the free ends of the ropes, around the hind leg and the loose ends of the two ropes, from the neck on either sides. The elephants were assisted out of the pit by means of billets, which were added to the pit after noosing. The billets had to be added slowly and carefully, to prevent the elephants from escaping.

As soon as the elephant was out, the capture team proceeded to an even ground preferably, along the banks of a river. The elephant had to be given plenty of water to drink, and had to be cooled by periodical sprays.

Elephant kraal

Some elephant kraals continue to exist from the old days and are used to house weaned calves or ailing elephants. The elephants were brought to the camp site and enkralled, with the assistance of koonkies. The entire kraal can be divided into six sections, of 12 square feet each, with one single roof. The wood of thambakam was used to build a Kraal, because it is very strong and could not be easily destroyed, by the elephant. The roof was built about 20 feet high from the floor.

Elephant training

The training takes place in 3 stages. Elephant training is still carried out for calves and wild caught elephants in some elephant camps.

Training within the Kraal.
Training outside the Kraal.
Training to perform logging operations.

Training within the Kraal.

After the elephants were enkralled, two mahouts were assigned to train it. They first treated the elephant for bruises sustained, from the fall into the pit. The medicinal preparation used, was a mixture of several herbs and this was splashed onto the body. The mahout tried to build up a relationship with the elephant by giving vocal commands, to familiarise the elephant with his voice. The commands were repeated constantly and the elephant was rewarded with tit bits of food or verbal approval, when it obeyed the commands. During the initial stages of training, the mahouts used only the stick, to restrain the elephant.

The mahouts were expected to spend lots of time with the elephant to develop a bond between him and his elephant. After a certain period, when the mahout felt comfortable enough to trust the elephant and vice versa, he would try and place one leg inside the cage and continue training in this manner. Later, smaller cages were built within the actual Kraal, to let the mahout get closer to the elephant and enable him to safely clean the Kraal. During this period, the mahout had to be wary of the elephant's movements, for his own safety. Towards the end of the training, the mahout had to fasten ropes and chains, on the elephant to familiarise it with the idea of being chained.

Training outside the Kraal

With the help of koonkies, the elephants were taken out of the Kraal and walked to the river, to be familiarised with scrub baths. This was carried out every morning for two weeks, until the elephant was accustomed to the new environment outside the Kraal and also to being bathed, by its mahouts. The walk to the river also familiarised the elephant, with the sounds and sights of civilisation. The mahout had to constantly reassure the elephant and help it get over its fears.

Training to perform logging operations

Training elephants to perform timber hauling operations is a complex job. There have to be at least two mahouts or trainers, during the training period, which may last for two years Training elephants to perform timber hauling operations is a complex job. There have to be at least two mahouts or trainers, during the training period, which may last for two years.

Uses of elephants

Elephants in the past, were used for battles and wars. With the invention and use of guns and canons, elephants ceased going for wars.
Elephants are used for various religions events in India. In Kerala they are an important part of the temple activities like ezhunnallippu.
Elephants are used in logging operations. In the forest types of Asia, where the land is uneven and sometimes very steep, elephants are very useful to carry out logging.

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ELEPHANT CAPTURING IN NORTH-EASTERN INDIA

Parbati Baruah

1. Elephants are captured in Assam and the other North-Eastern states either by "KHEDDA" or "MELA SHIKAR".

2. KHEDDA OR GARH-SHIKAR

There are two variations of Khedda as practised in Assam, viz., the Pung Garh and the Dandi Garh.

2.1 Pung Garh

"Pung", in local dialect, refers to a natural source of salt used by wild animals. In this method, a big enclosure (called stockade) of stout wooden poles is erected at a convenient place near a natural salt-lick , but away from the path taken by the elephants to reach the saltlick. The stockade is suitably camouflaged from inside as well as outside. The approach to the stockade is shaped like a funnel (called "Rangi" in local dialect) by suitably dressing the nearby forests and by using wooden posts and brushwood if so needed. Persons atop watch towers keep watch over the movement of elephant herds to the saltlick. As soon as a herd starts its return journey from the salt lick, it is obstructed on the way and driven carefully by shikaris and "beaters" towards the "rangi" using crackers and other noise-making instruments. As soon as the herd enters the stockade, its gate is slammed shut , using a trapping mechanism. A wide trench runs inside the stockade along the wall to dissuade the elephants from using their full might to break through the stockade. Help of koonki elephants is taken to noose and bring out the wild elephants selected for domestication. Usually big and old elephants, pregnant elephants or those with suckling calves and elephants below 4 feet of height are permitted to escape.

2.2 Dandi Garh

In local parlance,"Dandi" refers to the migratory path of elephant herds. In this method, a stockade is made at a convenient place on the migratory route of the elephants just before their seasonal movement starts. A herd is located when still at some distance from the stockade and then driven vigorously from behind till it runs into the stockade and gets trapped.

3. MELA SHIKAR

In local parlance,"mela shikar" refers to hunting in the open i.e.,capturing of elephants in the forests without erecting a stockade. Essentially the method involves the chase of wild elephants by using trained elephants (koonkies) and noosing them when the opportunity arises. In fact, mela shikar is much more popular in N.E.India than the khedda. A variation of mela shikar is known as the "Gazali Shikar". Gazali refers to the young shoots of grasses that sprout up during pre-monsoon showers in May-June. Elephants are very fond of gazali and are attracted towards grassy patches wherever they are and provide a good opportunity to the mela shikaris.

3.1 Preparation For Mela Shikar

3.1.1 Mela shikar is usually practised in winters (October to March) with the exception of Gazali shikar which, as stated above, is carried out in May-June. Mela shikar is not done during the monsoon due to practical difficulties. The preparations for mela shikar, however, start much in advance.

3.1.2 A standard team for mela shikar consists of a koonki elephant, a phandi (an expert on noosing a wild elephant), a mahout and a kamla (i.e. a grass-cutter). Considering the uneven terrain and dense forests in N.E.India, comparatively smaller (7.5 feet to 8 feet in height) and swift moving elephants are preferred as koonkies. Cow elephants and Makhnas (tuskless elephants) are preferred to the tuskers. Koonkie elephants are specially trained to chase the wild elephants, help in noosing them and drag them to the depot. They are particularly trained to follow "foot commands" from their mahouts and to move silently during the entire capturing operation. The phandi and the mahout must have a complete understanding with each other as well as with the koonkie under their command. It is the duty of the kamla to look after the feeding and other requirements of the koonkie back at the camp.

3.1.3 Number of mela shikar teams is selected depending upon the number of wild elephants proposed to be captured -- usually one team of shikaris can take care of only two or three wild elephants during the season. Some big koonkies including tuskers are also required for handling the captured elephants at the depots and for imparting training to them.

3.1.4 In N.E. India jute ropes are used for elephant capturing as these cause minor and easily curable injuries to the elephants. Before the actual operation, ropes of different thickness, lengths and knots are prepared and kept in readiness.

3.2 Operation

3.2.1 As soon as an elephant herd is located, it is given a chase by two or more koonkies. The objective is to wear out the elephants or to force them towards a hilly region or a big river or any other area where their movements are restricted. A target elephant (usually in the height range of 5.5 feet to 7.5 feet) is selected and attempts are made to isolate the same from the herd. Once the target elephant is isolated, the phandi throws the "phand" (noose) over the neck of the elephant and tries to restrain it with the help of the koonkie.

3.2.2 During the entire operation, the phandi occupies the front seat on the elephant and the mahout controls the koonkie from its back. He also keeps watch on the other wild elephants when the phandi is busy with his quarry.

3.2.3 The captured elephant is then dragged to the training depot with the help of one or two koonkies. The captured elephant is treated for injuries, if any. It is handed over to the training koonkies. To begin with, two koonkies are needed to handle the wild elephant but after 8-10 days of training, just one koonkie is sufficient. The wild elephant remains at the depot for 3-4 weeks during which period, it is familiarised with human touch and voice through different rituals involving caressing and a recital of folk songs. It is also taught to follow the following four commands, viz., Dhaat (i.e. stand still ), Agait (I. e. walk forward), Pichhu (i.e. walk backward) and Cheyi (i.e. turn left or right). The wild elephant can now be handled without the help of koonkies and it is sent to the regular elephant camp where further training is imparted.

4. Comparison of Mela Shikar with Khedda

As stated earlier, mela shikar is more popular in the N. E. India than the khedda. Khedda involves very large expenditure and can be organised only near a saltlick or a known migratory path. Success rate of khedda is very low as compared to mela shikar. Mela Shikar is relatively cheaper and offers much more liberty regarding the area of operation, but it is not suitable for capturing elephants of big size (say, of the height above 7.5 feet ). Mela Shikar involves considerable risk for the phandi and the koonkie and cases of their getting injured or even killed are not uncommon. There is also a chance of the captured wild elephant getting suffocated if the knot of the noose is not correct. All said and done, mela shikar has become an art and a tradition with the people of N.E.I

TRIB'L WOM'N

2006-12-06T18:24:00.000+05:30

Mariamma Kalathil in her study 'Withered Valli': Tribal development and the alienation, degradation, and enslavement of the tribesfolk especially of the tribal women in Attappadi, seeks to understand the multiple strands of exploitation that tribal women confront in Attappadi. The study also makes effort to look for responses of the tribal women to both government and international development programmes and to settler interventions that have led to alienate tribal people from land and other productive resources. Attappadi is a predominantly tribal area in Palakkad district, known for the degradation of its once rich forests. The researcher would focus on the three tribal groups in Attappady i.e., Irular, Muduga, and Kurumbar.

A complex of factors has forced tribal groups to leave their earlier settlements for less productive hilltops. Besides, for want of other productive resources, sections of tribal society are being forced to look for work on settler farms, providing the latter with a cheap source of labour. Tribal women of Attappady face very specific problems. They are forced to work 12 to 13 hours and paid as little as Rs 10 to 20 a day. For granting access to credit or other development assistance, sexual favours are sought by officials.

In this context, the researcher seeks to understand the multiple processes at work, which have served to disempower tribal people and especially tribal women, in the face, ironically, of huge development projects. This leads her to a documentation of the historical processes of intervention both by the state and by settlers from outside the area into the livelihood systems of the tribal inhabitants. The role of state policy in the creation of certain degenerative processes is also looked into. The researcher intends to document the processes of social and economic production and reproduction in tribal society with emphasis on the strains experienced on their earlier practices. The study raises several important questions including the role women play in tribal life. What did development intervention mean for them? What changes has 'development' brought? With what consequences?

The researcher sees this as a participatory social action research and has been collecting material with the help of 10 research assistants recruited from among the young tribesfolk (six women and four men). The method required intense interaction with the people through workshops, detailed interviews as well as a survey. A major source of information is the rich oral tradition, including songs and folk stories, of the tribal groups. Besides, the researcher has also been involved in initiating participatory spatial mapping of the hamlets as part of building up a critical awareness among the tribesfolk alongside generating data on their living conditions including housing, sanitation, energy, education, and health facilities

APJ ABDULKALAM

2006-12-06T18:21:00.000+05:30

National
LD KALAM

Kalam exhorts people to realise dream of developed India

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 17 (PTI) President A P J Abdul Kalam, on a two-day whirlwind tour of the state, today exhorted the people to work unitedly to realise the dream of developing India into a strong nation by 2020, focussing on the five vital areas of health, wealth, unity, peace and power. On the first day of his maiden trip to the state after assuming the highest office, the President who attended half a dozen engagements in north and central Kerala, said quality education was a vital ingredient for building a strong nation of enlightened citizens. Inaugurating a tribal development scheme at Attappadi in Palakkad district, the President quoted profusely from the Tamil classic `Thirukkural,' to drive home his point of the need to build a strong and self-reliant nation. Kalam, while opening a library complex at Farook college in Kozhikode, called upon the student community to have a dream and vision so that they could work for the progress of the nation as enlightened citizens. At all the places he visited, the country's first citizen found time to interact with children including three students of a school in Kochi who had reviewed his work, `Wings of Fire.' He also had an interactive session with members of `Balajana Sakhyam' of the Malayala Manorama at Kochi. The President also visited the Southern Naval Command, Amrita Institute of Medical Science, and addressed the `Viswas Sangamam' organised by the Catholic church at Kochi.

Earlier in the morning, Kalam was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival at Kochi by Kerala Governor Sikander Bakht, Chief Minister A K Antony and other dignitaries. At the Southern Naval Command, the President inspected a guard of honour and oversaw the repair facility of pegasus engine used in Sea Harrier aircraft. In Kozhikode, Kalam, breaking security cover, reached out to the students among the audience and asked them to take the pledge of `dreams transfer into thoughts, and thoughts result in action.' Endearing himself to the largely rural and tribal audience at Attappadi, the President came out with an `Attappadi Declaration' exhorting the gathering to make the entire hill area a liquor-free zone.

TM IDICULA

2006-12-06T18:19:00.000+05:30

Through the valleys of Attapadi...
Elephants in search of arrack!

Dr. T.M Idicula
General Promotional Secretary

Ever seen an elephant getting drunk? There may be many reasons for a man to get addicted to alcohol and become a drunkard, the peer influence being one of the main reasons. But why elephants? Listen to an interesting story from Attapadi.

The majority of the tribal people in Attappadi use arrack (country liquor) and for quite a number of them, it is their main food! Non-tribal people, the local settlers are no exception. It is a common knowledge, that because of excess demand of this stuff, many venture to produce it in their vicinity, against all governmental rules. It is the most profitable and thriving non-licensed cottage industry! This illicit distilling goes on secretly in hilly terrains not easily accessible to the excise officials. "Koda", a basic ingredient to prepare arracks is usually stored in the homes of these illicit distillers.
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The Attapadi elephants, in their nocturnal visits in search of food and water, probably tumbled upon this Koda (Serendipity!)accidentally. No wonder they fell in love with it. The local people believe that the recent rendezvous of the elephants in Attapadi is because of their interest in their newly discovered "koda"! Like drunkards waiting for the night, to visit their favourite bars, these pachyderms also wait for the nights to have their share of this ready (Attapadi) made local bliss. And like their homosapien counter part, they also started to behave abnormally. The recent phenomenon of the local elephants exhibiting destructive tendencies could not be explained otherwise. People who have been staying here for many years, vouch that they have never before witnessed elephants destroying houses during their nocturnal tours to feed on sugar canes or other cultivated items. For the last few months at least thirty houses have been ransacked in the villages of Sholayoor, Keerippathy , Moolakada, Vattalakki, Kalkandy, Agaly etc., in Attapadi and now Keralites have a genuine reason for going on a bandh to call attention of our ruling lords to the elephant menace! The only difference is it is almost becoming a daily affair. The usual drama of compensation being promised to the victims saves the local politicians from being assaulted by the mob who have lost their precious homes and crops. The usual modus operandi of these "koda" addicts is to reach a village as a group, come straight to small houses and just swap away the roofs in one stretch, put their probing trunk through the opened roofs and get whatever ready made stuff is available and if they are lucky get a peg or two of "koda". But their constant nocturnal visits have become a nightmare for the local people at Attappadi. Now tell me who is to be blamed?

Here is a joke going around in Attapadi that it is better to train these mammoth citizens of the local forests to identify illicit distillers and they are sure to do a neat job than our excise officials. Veteran distillers who care a hoot for the police raids are now scared to death that storing "koda" in their vicinity is inviting disaster! They will continue to be scared …till of course they learn the art of bribing our forest kings!.

Strange Rituals….. Wedding
Attappadi is inhabited by three ethnic tribal groups viz., Irulas, Kurumbas and Mudgas. Their weddings include many rituals and ceremonies. Wedding is very common even at the age of 12 or 13. The wedding is usually conducted in the groom's house. The groom has to give dowry to the bride's father. They give a grand feast on the wedding day. Vegetable food is a must. Family relationships are not given much priority. The son even marries the second wife of his father. Polygamy is prevalent among them.

Delivery

The woman before her delivery is kept in a specially made separate hut near her house. When the pain starts, a mid wife who has mastery over sorcery, accompanies her. After delivery the women and the baby are declared unclean for six months. She leads a peaceful life without doing any household works for three months. Husband does all the works at that time (probably regretting making her pregnant!).

Death

When a person dies, couriers travel through out the village annoucing the death news.. Chanting the name of the dead person, the relatives and the neighbors sprinkle coriander mixed water on the dead body. The dead body , completely covered with a white cloth is then placed in a bamboo cot. A coin (nettikkasu) is pasted on the forehead. The people who come for the burial service set right all the problems that they had with the man and thus he is expected to be completely freed for his eternal journey. A whole day is spent dancing and singing (sapparayattam), thanking god for keeping the man so far. In that dance they show symbols that God gave and God took. We cannot see Adivasi people crying when somebody dies. When the father dies, the first born in the family shaves his head and when the mother dies the second son shaves his head. If there are no males in the family girls are supposed to do so.

Irula tribe leads in literacy and in education comparing other tribal groups. They are very interested to learn more. Tribal Mission strives hard to shed light to their darkened lives. As a result of the ministry among the tribals many have turned their hearts for the glory of God. We request all of yours valuable prayers for this ministry.

SILENTVALLEY

2006-12-06T18:18:00.000+05:30

Silent Valley

FACTS & FIGURES

Area : 89 sq km
Altitude : 658 - 2,383 metre above sea level
Rainfall : 1624.3 mm
Maximum Temperature : 39°C
Minimum Temperature : 20.4°C
Languages : Malayalam, English
Best Time to Visit : September to March
STD Code : 04924 (Mannarghat)

INTRODUCTION
Located in the Kundali Hills of the Western Ghats, the Silent Valley National Park holds a valuable reserve of rare plants and herbs. The park is rich in its wildlife, and elephants, lion-tailed macaques and tigers are the most common denizens of this park. A visit to this park should be considered a lifetime experience, as this is the last representative virgin tract of tropical evergreen forests in India.

Though smaller in size in comparison to the other national parks in India, what makes it unique is the sylvan environment the region has along with its high altitude peaks and several rivers that run through it.

HISTORY
Silent Valley has a very eventful history in comparison to the other wildlife parks in the country. The local name for the park is Sairandhrivanam (the forest in the valley) and had been a centre of hot debates and protests in the decades of the 70's and 80's of the 20th century. The history of the park goes way back to 1888 when the region was declared a reserved land under the Forest Act and later notified as a Reserved Forest by the Government of Madras in 1914.

In the later half of the 1970's, Kerala State Electricity Board decided to construct a Hydel Power Project in this region and when in 1980, this region was declared as National Park, the area of Hydel Project was not included. This started fierce discussions and protests and the Board had to drop its plan. Subsequently, in 1984, the park was again renotified as a National Park with the project area included. In 1986, the Silent Valley was declared the core area in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

LOCATION
The Silent Valley National Park is situated in the Palghat or Palakkad district of the southern Indian state of Kerala. A part of the Western Ghat along the Arabian Sea, the park extends from latitude 11°04' in the North to longitude 76°79' in the East. The park is contiguous with Attappadi Reserve Forests in the east, and vested forests of the Palghat and Nilambur divisions in the west and south. In the North, the park is an extension of the Nilgiri Forests.

CLIMATE
The Silent Valley National Park is a heavy rainfall region with the places in the higher altitudes getting the highest rain. The average rainfall in the region varies between 2800 and 3400 mm. The park receives most of its rainfall during the southwest monsoon from June to December. The relative humidity is considerably high during this season with the maximum at times going to 95%. April and May are the hottest months while January and February are the coolest months, though not much difference in the temperature is experienced.

ATTRACTIONS

Flora
The vegetation of this park is tropical moist evergreen forest with the special status of Rain Forests. The main plants are teak, semal, amla, rosewood, and bamboo.

On the basis of altitude, one can divide the vegetation types in four different categories. The tropical evergreen forests comprise extensive dense forests along the hills and valleys. The sub tropical hill forests take the areas of higher altitude while the temperate forests are characterized by the unrelated evergreen species with a dense closed canopy. The grasslands are mainly limited to the higher slopes and hilltops in the eastern sector.

Fauna
The park has a strong fauna population with many of the endangered species residing here. Most commonly seen here are elephant, tiger, lion-tailed macaque, gaur, wild pig, panther and sambar. Some other species of wildlife have also been recorded here including 15 species of invertebrates, two fishes, and two amphibians.

The park has a total of 26 species of mammals and 120 species of avifauna, many of them considered endangered. Apart from these, there are 11 species of snakes, 19 species of amphibians, and nine species of lizards in the park.

PLACES NEARBY
In the vicinity of the Silent Valley National Park are situated wildlife sanctuaries such as the Parambikulam, Choolanur Peacock Sanctuary, Attappadi or Mountain Valley, and JP Smriti Vanam. Also in the vicinity are hill stations like Coonoor and commercial centers like Coimbatore.

REACHING THERE
By Air: Airport - Peelamamedu Airport, Coimbatore (155 km from the Silent Valley National Park)Coimbatore is the nearest airport and there are regular flights to Chennai, Kozhikode, Mumbai, and Madurai of the Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.

By Rail: Railway Station - Olavakkode Railway Station, Palghat (75 km from the Silent Valley National Park)The nearest railway station is Palghat connected to all the metros and most of the other important cities of the country by regular trains.

By Road: Bus Stand - Mannarghat (32 km from the Silent Valley National Park)Mannarghat is the nearest important township from where one can get buses to all the places in the region like Palghat, Coimbatore and others. There are frequent buses from Palghat to the Silent Valley National Park. Buses are also available from Coimbatore to the park.

STAYING THERE
Rest houses are available in the park to stay in, though not many facilities are available. One can also stay at Palghat, which has a good number of accommodation options available. It is difficult to get food inside the park except for the local eateries so one should arrange in advance for food.

LINKS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD
STD/ISD and postal facilities are available in Mannarghat. Internet facilities are available at reasonable rates in Palghat.

THE TELEGRAPH

2006-12-06T18:13:00.000+05:30

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Palakkad (PTI): A dawn-to-dusk hartal was observed in tribal-dominated Attappadi demanding steps to check wild elephants that often strayed into human habitations and killed tribals. Shops remained closed in the tribal settlements and villages in Kottappuram, Agali and Sholayur panchayats.

AMRITHANANDAMAYI

2006-12-06T18:11:00.000+05:30

Schulen für die Kinder der Ureinwohner in der Region Attapaddi Dr. Sudhir, ein Devotee Ammas, der sehr berührt war von dem harten Schicksal, das die Ureinwohner in der Region Attappadi erleiden mußten, gründete 10 Schulen in dieser entlegenen Bergregion. Als das Projekt zu groß für ihn allein wurde, bat er den M.A. Math 1994, es zu übernehmen. Der M.A. Math gründete ein Zentrum in der Nähe von Agali, welches inzwischen von Br. Vijnanamrita geleitet wird. Er ist der Ansicht, dass die Ureinwohner oft um ihre Rechte gebracht und von Menschen unter der Vorgabe, ihnen helfen zu wollen, betrogen wurden. Die Eingeborenen dieser Region lebten traditionell von der Jagd in den Wäldern. Durch die Erschließung der Region für Plantagen kam es zur Zertsörung ihrer Lebensgrundlage. Die Menschen mussten sich in den Dörfern niederlassen, wurden von der dortigen Bevölkerung aber nicht integriert. Sie stehen auf der untersten Stufe der sozialen Leiter und leben hauptsächlich von der Arbeit als Tagelöhner. Die meisten von ihnen sind Analphabeten und können nicht zählen oder mit Geld umgehen. Sie gehören zu den Stämmen Irula, Muduga, Koraga und Kurumba. Die Sprachen der Irula und Kurumba sind sehr alt. Die anderen sind wahrscheinlich Tamil-Malayalam-Dialekte. Alle diese Sprachen werden von den Ureinwohnern aber nicht geschrieben, was bedeutet, dass die Kinder nicht in ihrer eigenen Sprache unterrichtet werden können. Als der M.A. Math die Schulen übernahm, waren die Lehrer bereits vor Ort. Der Unterricht fand in einer Hütte oder sogar nur in einfachen Unterständen aus Stroh statt. Es gab keine Möbel, und die meisten Kinder hatten Schiefertafeln anstelle von Heften zum Schreiben. Amma lud die älteren Kinder ein, die weiterführende Schule des Waisenhauses in Paripally zu besuchen. In den Dörfern sind die Klassen meistens gemischt, d.h., die Kinder sind im Alter von drei bis zehn Jahren, manchmal sogar noch älter. Während der Woche leben die Lehrer zusammen mit den Kindern im Dorf. Meistens handelt es sich dabei um junge Frauen, die offensichtlich sehr mutig sind, so etwas zu wagen. Die Dörfer sind nämlich sehr abgelegen, und häufig muß man von der nächstgelegenen Bushaltestelle noch mehrere Kilometer laufen. Es gibt auch immer noch gefährliche wilde Tiere in diesen Gegenden. Diese Abgelegenheit ist auch eine Herausforderung für Br. Vijnanamrita, der die Dörfer regelmäßig besucht. Er versucht, den Menschen die Wichtigkeit einer schulischen Ausbildung ihrer Kinder nahezubringen und diskutiert diese Probleme auch mit den Dorfältesten. Dies ist nicht einfach - manche Eltern sind so arm, dass ihre Kinder ihnen helfen müssen, auf die traditionelle Art Nahrung zu sammeln. Es gibt Pläne, Land zu kaufen, um richtige Klassenräume zu bauen und eventuell auch eine weiterführende Schule mit Internat. Bei der Regierung in Delhi wurde beantragt, die Anzahl der Schulen zu erhöhen und Schulspeisung, Transport, Ausstattung und lokale Lehrer und Helfer zu erhalten. Das Ziel ist es, zehn neue Schulen pro Jahr zu eröffnen.