Kerala s Development Approach and Adivasis

Transcription

1 Chapter 3 Kerala s Development Approach and Adivasis Introduction One of the drawbacks in tribal policies of the state has been the lack of integrated, cohesive and analytical approaches towards the existential problem of tribal communities. While economic development and development in some social sectors have played a major role in improving the quality of life of nontribal people, the ground reality is that adivasis in Kerala are largely ignored. The virtual alienation of tribal communities from forests has added to their problems. With reference to Kerala s development approach, it is argued that the cause of conflicts involving tribal communities in Kerala is the misplaced development strategy adopted by the state. The shift in policy regime has only engendered a process of new social exclusion by pushing the adivasis to the fringes of development. While it is true that government has introduced so many development programs for the tribes in Kerala, this paradigm swing in policy has not helped in reducing illiteracy, unemployment, hunger and utter destitution of these people. This chapter is an attempt to analyze the development issues of adivasis in Kerala. Social development in Kerala Kerala state lies in the south-western corner of India and is bounded by the forested hills of the Western Ghats in the east and the Arabian sea in the west. The state has a pattern of development, characterized by high levels of social development. This achievement in the social sphere was made possible by state policies in response to the series of social movements and mobilizations by politicized interest groups (Narayanan, N.C., 2003). Aikya Kerala Movement was taken over by the Communist party in the 1950s. It helped to manipulate the regional patriotism on an all Kerala basis. There was mass and class mobilization of people, for the fulfillment of their immediate day-to-day needs and the ultimate aim of independence and social advance. These struggles embraced the entire spectrum of social life, with special emphasis on abolition of untouchability, land reforms, the rights of workers, educational advancement, and cultural revival. No doubt, the communists won the hegemony in the popular movement. The EMS Ministry introduced reforms in the popular social reform fields like land reforms, decentralization of power, educational reforms etc. But land reforms ended up as a failure. The successive

2 governments altering between left and right, were also no exceptions. How land reforms became a failure in the adivasi context will be discussed later in this chapter. Jean Dreze & Amartya Sen (1996) and many others have analyzed the social and economic sector development in Kerala. Kerala Model Development has been the hypothesis of development that took shape in Kerala during the first three decades following the formation of the State. The characteristic feature of this model was the priority given to the democratic culture in development. This is often highlighted through the following indicators: land reforms which gave entitlement to the tenants through politically motivated interventions, a generally high literacy rate, a low population growth rate and high life expectancies, greater accessibility to essential services like health, water, electricity, public distribution system, roads etc. These indicators are important because they are attributes available to and in fact experienced by a large section of population to show up significantly when measured on a spatial or per capita basis. The Kerala Model has in fact laid the foundations for the development of a new model based on knowledge-intensive industries and services and modernization of traditional agriculture and cottage industries. But the internationally acclaimed Kerala Model came under sharp criticism in the late eighties. It was criticized for its failure to produce enough wealth to satisfy the growing demands of a consumerist society. It was apprehended that the model would not even help to produce enough wealth and employment to sustain levels of living already achieved. The study of George, K.K & Ajith Kumar, N. (1997) points out that Kerala is a relatively egalitarian society where skewness of income and assets is not extreme. On the economic front too, there have been great achievements especially in the fields of transport, communication and financial infrastructure. But the state failed to transform these achievements into self sustaining economic growth. This slow economic growth has put a limit to the development in the social sectors. It is quite possible that social development did not trigger off economic growth in the state because the state by spreading its resources too thin did not attain the critical minimum threshold level of quality in its social services which is necessary to transform social development into economic growth. Joseph Tharamangalam (1999) also views Kerala Model of Development as unsustainable. According to him there is a three-fold economic crisis for this model of development; a progressively worsening fiscal situation, prolonged economic stagnation and even decelerating growth, and the continuing inability of the economy to generate employment for the people of Kerala. These problems are inherent in the model itself and are not anomalies that can be easily overcome. Along with this, evidence suggests that these social sector development practices have not had any influence on the adivasi communities in Kerala. Each of these aspects will be discussed in the coming sections. Before going into the details of this, we will analyze the profile of adivasis. A detailed discussion on their special distribution and other aspects is given below. 64

3 The Scheduled Tribes of Kerala The Scheduled Tribes constitute the most backward group among the weaker sections in the state. In postcolonial Kerala the Adivasis were characterized by poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, socio-economic and sexual exploitation by settlers and the depletion of their traditional resource base (C. P. Balan Vaidyar, 1997). The Scheduled Tribes lag behind the others of Kerala Model of Development in their basic achievements like education and health, which has played a central role in Kerala s development process( Human Development Report 2005, 2006). Statistical profile The Scheduled Tribe population is 3,641,89 (2001 census), which is nearly 1.1 per cent of the state population. Their population is steadily increasing from 1981 census onwards, though their growth-rate has declined from per cent in 1991 to percent in The number of different ST groups in the state in 1961 census was 38 with some area restrictions and they constituted 1.26 percent of the total population of the state. There was no change in the number of ST groups in the 1971 census and their proportion to the total population also remained the same. In 1981 some changes were incorporated in the list of STs, reducing the total number of STs to 35. In 1981, there was 0.23 per centage decline in the proportion of STs to the total population. This lower proportion might be due to changes incorporated as per the 1976 revised list, deleting Pulayans from the ST list. The Western Ghats region that dominates the cultural geography of Kerala is an area where most of the tribes live. The district-wise population of tribesfolk in Kerala is given in table 3.1. The highest percentage of STs is in Wayanad District wherein they form percent of the total population (2001 census). The coastal district of Alappuzha has the lowest percentage (0.15 percent). More than 37 percent of the ST population is concentrated in Wayanad district and another 14 percent is in Idukki. Thus more than 50 percent of the total population of STs in the state is concentrated in the hilly districts of Wayanad and Idukki. There are 10 districts viz. Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram having proportion of ST to total population less than the state proportion of 1.14 percent showing that southern districts have lower proportion of ST population. The four districts having proportion higher than the state average are Kasargode, Wayanad, Palakkad and Idukki. Kasargod and Palakkad together constitute more than 19 percent of the ST population in the State. Communities There are 35 tribal communities in the State. Among them Paniyas form the majority (67948 as per 1991 census which is % of the total Scheduled Tribe Population in the State). Adiya, Paniya, 65

4 Sl.No Table. 3.1 District-wise details of ST population Census 2001 District Total Population 66 Scheduled Tribe Male Female Total Male Female Total Kasaragode Kannur Wayanad Kozhikkode Malappuram Palakkad Thrissur Ernakulam Idukki Kottayam Alappuzha Pathanamthitta Kollam Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Share of Kerala (%) Source: Census 2001 Cholanaikan and Kattunaikans are the four tribal communities in Wayanad district who are still in a very underdeveloped stage vis-à-vis other tribal communities there. The Kurumas in Kasargode, Kurumbar of Attapady, the Kadar of Parambikkulam and Sholayar and Cholanaikans of Wayanad and Nilambur are the communities which are under the threat of extinction (Radhakrishnan, 2007). Communitywise details of Scheduled Tribes are given in the table below. The sex ratio of tribal population was 996 females per 1,000 males. The total number of tribal households as per 1991 Census was 69,441. The highest number of tribal households is in Wayanad district (23,287) followed by Idukki district (11,516). The lowest is in Alappuzha district (651). The tribals of Kerala do not generally adhere to any one particular activity alone. In fact, they depend on a variety of activities for their livelihood. Farm operations, collection of forest products and associated activities comprise the main traditional occupations of the major tribes of

5 Sl No. Table: 3.2 Community wise population of scheduled tribes of Kerala Name of Community Population as per 1981 census ST population Male Female Total in Adiyan Arandan Eravallan Hill Pulaya Irular,Irulan Kadar Kammara Kanikkaran/Kanikar Kattunaikan Kochuvelan Kondakapus Kondareddies Koraga Kada Kudiya,Melakudi Kurichiyan Kuruman Kurumbas Mahamalasar Malai Arayan Malapandaram Malavedan Malakuravan Malasar Malayan Malayarayar Mannan Marati Muduvan/Mudugan Palleyan Palliyan Palliyar Paniyan Ulladan Utaly Unclassified TOTAL Source: Scheduled Tribe Directorate (2001), Govt. of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. 67

6 Kerala. Kurichyas, Kurumas, Kattunaikans, Irulas etc are predominantly agriculturists. On the other hand, Paniyas, Adiyas and Mavilans are basically agricultural labourers. Kattunaikans, Kadars, Malampandarams, Malaivedans, Arandans etc seldom venture on independent cultivation. Their livelihood mostly is based on the collection of forest products. Traditionally, tribal cultivators practised shifting cultivation. However deforestation, construction of dams, major projects and government rules forced tribals to stop shifting cultivation. Now a good proportion of these people are depending on agricultural labour for their livelihood. Primitive Tribal Groups There are five Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) in the state viz; Kattunaikans, Cholanaikan, Kurumbas, Kadars and Koragas. The total population of the PTGs as per 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1991 Census records are 6411, 8728, and respectively. According to the Baseline Survey report of the KIRTADS (government organization) during , the PTG population is 24,285 (6 per cent of total Scheduled Tribe population) and the number of households is Details are given below: Table 3.3 Details of Primitive Tribal Groups Name of PTG Total Population Male Female No. of families Kattunaikan Cholanaikan Kadar Koragas Kurumbas Total Source: Baseline Survey Report ( ), KIRTADS, Government of Kerala. & Chapter14, Poverty and Special Programmes for Weaker Sections, Accessed on 15 th January They show an increasing trend in the population. Among the PTGs, the Kattunayakan is having the largest population size. They have a wide geographical distribution. The Koragas, Cholanickan and Kurumbar are located in single districts, Kasaragode, Malappuram and Palakkad respectively. Kadar population is distributed in Palakkad and Thrissur. The economic activities of the PTGs differ from hunting-gathering to cultivation. The Cholaniackan and Kadar subsist mainly on food gathering, hunting and non-timber forest products collection. Kattunaikans are agricultural labourers. Koragas are experts in basketry. Educationally, these PTGs lag far behind the other Scheduled Tribes of the area where they reside. The primitive tribes are in the pre-agricultural stage of development. Malnutrition and 68

7 communicable diseases are reported from all these communities. High prevalence of TB is reported from Koragas. Most of the PTGs do not have health care facilities within their vicinity. Infra-structural facilities provided to them are grossly insufficient (Seetha, Kakkoth, 2005). Due to peculiar settlements and occupation, the Scheduled Tribes are concentrated in certain regions of the State. They have undergone various kinds of exploitation for long periods of time and their life is characterized by poverty and misery. Capitalist onslaught on the tribal way of life by the state and global business interests have brought nothing short of disaster for these people. Large scale alienation and dispossession from land and natural resources, and displacement due to development projects have pushed the tribals into conditions of stark economic deprivation. Now the tribes in Kerala are struggling hard for livelihood. The following section attempts to analyze the contemporary educational status of the adivasis in Kerala with special reference to the educational crisis of ST children. Literacy status of Adivasis At present, the education sector as a whole in the state is characterized by the existence of a dual system: one segment comprising high quality institutions catering to the affluent 5 per cent of the population and the second consisting of low quality institutions meant for the masses. The state has never made any attempt at equitable distribution of quality higher education, the access to which is virtually barred to children of marginalized groups like SC/ST (Abdul Salim, 2008). A review of literacy rates among ST population vis-a-vis with that of the general population indicates a growing gap between literacy rates of these communities (Kerala Development Report, 2008). The main sources which have been utilized are the Census, Statistical Publication of Tribal Department and the NSSO etc. Active studies have also been drawn upon. It is found that the literacy rates of the tribes are far behind those of the other segments of the populations. The literacy rate of the scheduled tribe population in the state is as follows:- Table 3.4 Literacy Rates STs vs. All Castes (in %) Category General Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Source: Census of India, Series-10, Kerala. Paper-3 of 1971, 1981, 1991 Final Population Totals. Even though a significant increase has occurred among the Scheduled Tribes, a wide gap is still existing between the literacy rate among STs and general population. District wise literacy rate in Kerala 69

8 among STs shows that Kottayam has the highest tribal literacy and Palakkad has the lowest. A detailed literacy rate district wise is given below. Table 3.5 District-wise Tribal Literacy Rates District Thiruvananthapuram Kollam Pathanamthitta Alappuzha Kottayam Idukki Ernakulam Thrissur Palakkad Malappuram Kozhikode Wayanad Kannur Kasargod Kerala Source: Census of India, Series-10, Kerala, Paper-3 of 1971, 1981, and 1991, Final Population Totals. Table 3.6 Level of education among STs and other social groups [(in percentage) As on (Rural)] Level of Education ST SC OBC Others Illiterate Literate without formal schooling Below Primary Primary Middle Secondary Higher Secondary Graduation above Source: Human Development Report 2005(2006), State Planning Board, Govt. of Kerala: p

9 About two-third of the districts in Malabar region have literacy rates lower than the state average. This data has to be read along with the fact that Malabar region accounts for more than sixty five per cent of the tribal population. The level of education among the STs and that of general population is discussed in Table 3.6. From the above table, it could be seen that over a quarter of the ST population was illiterate in compared to just a little over 10 per cent for others. However it is at the higher levels that the differences are more striking, especially from secondary level onwards. No wonder why the deprived groups lag behind the others in the basic functioning achievements, which have played a central role in Kerala s development process. Disparities in the educational attainments between STs and others are continuing in spite of various educational concessions extended to Scheduled Tribes. There are three specific reasons for this; low enrolment ratio of Scheduled Tribes children at the school level, high drop out rate of Scheduled Tribes as compared to non-scheduled Tribes and poor economic conditions. The following sections will focus on these three factors in detail. Education and enrolment The percentage of Scheduled Tribe students in total enrolment went up only marginally from 1.15 per cent in to 1.23 per cent in But the absolute number of Scheduled Tribe students enrolled went up from in to in The proportions of Scheduled Tribe students in Lower Primary and Upper Primary schools during are relatively higher than their population percentage. But when it comes to high school section, the percentage of Scheduled Tribe students is less than their population percentage. The fact also remains that the vast majority of these students are in government schools and government-aided schools. In 2004, percent of the SC/ST students were enrolled in government schools, percent in government-aided schools and a meagre 1.53 percent in private unaided schools (Anjana, Alex, 2005). According to the report of SC/ST Development Department, the state has never made any attempt at equitable distribution of quality higher education, the access to which is virtually barred to the children of the marginalized groups like Scheduled Tribes. The principles of equity and access are thought to be the concerns only of government-run and aided private institutions. Even here the SC/ST and other backward sections are unable to avail themselves fully of the facilities statutorily made available to them. Though the government has reserved 20 percent (15 Per cent for SC and 5 Percent for ST) of seats in the government aided Arts and Science Colleges in Kerala for SC/ST students, their annual quotas are seldom filled, not even as late as 2000 (Report on the Implementation of Safeguards and Development Programmes for SC/ST, 2000). In 2000, the share of SC/ST enrolment in Arts and Science Colleges was 71

10 only per cent. In a note prepared by the department in August 2000, it was pointed out that in the case of self-financing courses run by the University; the share of SC/ST students was marginal. Table 3.7 Enrolment of ST students at school levels [As on ] Section Total ST Percentage to Total LP UP HS Total Source: Directorate of Public Instruction (2009), Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. Also the proportion of enrolment of SC/ST students has been higher in general education than in professional education. The proportion of Scheduled Tribes enrolled in professional courses at the postgraduate level is almost half of that in the corresponding courses at the degree level (Abdul, Salim, 2008). All these statistics indicate their low share in the enrolment and also the high drop out rate among them as they go for higher education. From the foregoing analysis, we find that tribal education no doubt lags behind general education. Drop-out rate Among the Indian states, Kerala has achieved the distinction of the state having the lowest dropout rate among school students. In the year , dropout rate among school students in Kerala was 0.81 per cent. The drop-out rates in Lower Primary Section, Upper Primary Section and High School Section were 0.59 Per cent, 0.52 per cent and 1.38 per cent respectively. Among the districts, Wayanad has the highest drop out rate in the Lower Primary section (1.89 %), Upper Primary Section (1.92 %) as well as High School Section (2.56 %). If we read these statistics along with the fact that the highest percentage of ST population is in Wayanad district, the picture is complete. In fact, drop-out rate among Scheduled Tribe students is 4.18 per cent. The study of Sam Mohanlal highlights that the main reason for dropout is the total incompatibility between the students and the use of language in the textbooks, language used by the teachers in the school, and the contents of the text that are often not ecofriendly (Sam Mohanlal, 2001). Poor economic conditions One of the main reasons for the very slow spread of education among STs is the peculiar nature of their dwelling. Majority of the STs are living in remote areas far away from educational institutions. Lack 72

11 of sufficient educational institutions in tribal areas, poverty etc curtail effective educational development among STs. Moreover, the parents of the tribal children being generally illiterate, neither attach much importance to education nor insist their children to attend classes regularly. The study of Krishnan, C. (1999) points out that the major factor accounting for low educational achievements and low aspirations on the part of tribefolk in Wayanad is their poor social and economic condition. Lack of tribal teachers The representation of Scheduled Tribes in the cadre of teachers is very low. During , out of teachers up to the High School level, there were only 6642 (3.5%) belonging to SCs and 354 (0.18%) belonging to STs. At the Primary, Middle and Secondary levels, the representation of ST teachers was 0.1 per cent, 2.7 per cent and 0.18 per cent respectively. It is also seen that there is no in-service training for tribal teachers. The need for special training to understand the tribal traits for teachers in the tribal areas should be considered (Chapter X, 1998). The State Government should make efforts to fill up the prescribed percentage of reservation of 2 percent for STs, in the teaching profession. State and tribal education programmes The government has been implementing several programmes for the educational improvement of the tribes for the past few decades. In fact in almost all the recent years, more than fifty per cent of the allotment under the state-level schemes of the Scheduled Tribes Development Department has been on education (Krishnan, C., 1991, p.44.). But unfortunately the levels of awareness and utilization of these schemes are relatively low among the tribe folk. Even the total literacy campaign launched in did not succeed in incorporating tribes. The reasons range from non-easy accessibility to their settlements to dearth of qualified instructors to carry out the programme. The experience in Kerala also shows that in spite of successful completion of the Total Literacy Campaign, a good number of literates and semiliterates relapsed into illiteracy mainly due to the lack of continuous and systematic follow up programmes. A special project titled Tribal Literacy Project was launched for tribals once the total literacy campaign was over. This programme covered several programs incidental to the cultural and socio-economic advancement of tribals. During , the literacy programs were transferred to the Panchayat Raj Institutions. In spite of all these it is to be noted that majority of these developmental programmes in the tribal settlements could not make any desired impact (Environmental Literacy Programme: Evaluation Report, 2006). 73

12 Tribal land issues and the state The tribals depend on land for their identity, existence, security and livelihood. In post-independent Kerala, large-scale alienation of tribal lands took place mainly due to the immigration of plainsmen to the hill areas, displacement for projects etc. The historic Kerala Land Reforms Act 1963, with its land to the tiller policy unfortunately turned out to be a nightmare for the adivasis. Under the new law, the occupiers of the land (settler farmers) became the owners and the original owners (the tribals) became landless and were reduced to the status of agricultural labourers. This resulted in the total derailment of their life. The KLR Act conferred full ownership on the tenants in respect of land in their possession and brought them into direct relationship with the state by the abolition of all intermediary rights. One of the major components of the Act is the abolition of house compound land tenancy and conferment of full ownership rights to 2,69,000 kudikidappukar or hutmen dwellers who received an average of 0.08 acres of land on which their houses stood. Compensation was set at 25 percent of the market value of which half was to be paid to the former landlord by the government and half to be paid by the recipient in 12 annual installments. Unpaid installments were to become debts to the government, not the landlord, and this could not be used to repossess the land (Srikumar, Chattopadhyay & Richard, W. Franke, 2006). After the enactment of KLR Act, the non-tribal communities who invaded Attapady and Wayanad behaved ruthlessly towards the adivasis who are the real owners of the land. They exploited the adivasis more unscrupulously than their former rivals, the British or landlords. The new masters and the government bypassed the dalit and adivasi labourers by focusing on giving land rights to tenants only. The failure to implement land reforms in the real sense in Kerala fuelled violent leftist movements. It is upon this pressure that C. Achutha Menon, the Chief Minister of Kerala was compelled to push forward the land rights for the adivasis. The state government headed by Shri. Achutha Menon took some initiatives for tribal development. A Bill to restore the tribal land issue was unanimously passed as the Kerala Scheduled Tribes (Restriction on Transfer and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Act, It was intended to ameliorate the plight of the neglected tribals. The Act got the mandatory assent to Entry 6 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. It received the consent of the President of India on and was further included in the Ninth Schedule so as to immunize it from judicial scrutiny (Cochin University Law Review). But the rules under the Act were framed and notified in the gazette only on 20 th October 1986, that is after a gap of nearly 11 years. This shows the gross indifference of the authorities in the implementation of the Act right from the beginning. 74

13 In fact it was the apathetic attitude displayed by successive governments that made the Act remain unimplemented for nearly eleven years. Finally, in 1986 the government brought the Act into force with retrospective effect from and also framed the necessary Rules. Around 8,500 applications seeking land restoration were received from tribals. But no action worth the name was taken thereby reducing the Act to a travesty. This only encouraged the encroachers to continue occupying tribal lands. Successive governments also ignored the issue. A legislative committee was appointed in 1976 for enquiring into the issue of landlessness among the adivasis. 298 cases were notified in Wayanad. Out of this, direct seizing of land of adivasis by force without payment accounted for 71 cases. 67 cases involved land transactions for petty incomes by nontribals and 14 cases were through cheating. In 1977 another survey was conducted among the tribes by the project officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), Attapady. It established that tribal lands were snatched at throw away prices ranging from Rs. 20 to Rs. 2,400 per acre. Money-lending is the major factor for alienation of tribal land especially in Attapady. In the absence of any savings the tribal people have no option but to borrow to meet expenses in connection with social obligations. Indebtedness is wide spread among them. Many take loans from their own patrons besides money-lenders, petty traders and other unscrupulous exploiters. They are unable to repay within the stipulated time. Consequently they have to transfer the land by oral lease mortgages or oral usufruct agreements. There are three credit systems among the tribes of Attapady- Kuttakapattam, Bogikaraya and Chalaku. Under Kuttakapattam, people of Irula tribes lease out land to settlers for three to five years on nominal rent. Under Bogikaraya system, land is mortgaged for securing loan. Chalaku refers to a local unit of eight paras of grain to be measured by the debtor at the creditor s house for loan. Rates of interests are four hundred percent, 650 percent or even 900 percent (Mathur, P.R.G., 2010). It was in this scenario that Dr. Nalla Thampi Thera, a doctor-turned tribal activist of Mananthavadi (Wayanad), whose name has now gone into the annals of Kerala history as a master litigant of landless tribals, petitioned the High Court of Kerala against the government. The Court issued a writ of mandamus directing the state to take utmost steps to execute the purposes of the Act within six months. But even after receiving directions from the judiciary, the government remained unmoved. In 1993, the Kerala High Court, in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed for the enforcement of KSTA, gave the state government six months to dispose off applications of restoration pending with it. The government in their affidavit said that it could not implement the Act as there was organized resistance from the settler encroachers. In this context the court issued yet another direction to the effect that the properties covered by orders of restoration against which no appeals are pending and in which no compensation is payable be delivered by the Revenue Divisional Officers to the tribals within six weeks of that order. 75

14 The UDF government then in power attempted to amend the Act by an Ordinance in early The bill was completely unjust because it made legal all transactions of tribal land up to January The Revenue Department collected details on tribal land alienation. It showed that 80,590 ha. of tribal land had been alienated up to , out of which 440 ha. has been restored (Government of Kerala, 1998:4). In Attapady alone, there were claims for restoration of more than 10,000 acres of alienated land, but the authorities had ordered restoration of only 3, acres, with 600 applications pending. Even these restorations have not taken place in the field (Ratnaker, Bhengra, et.al., 1998). The government received a major set back as the Governor Shri. Shiv Shanker refused to sign the Ordinance. The LDF government led by Shri. E.K.Nayanar was thus faced with the final orders of the High Court to implement the Act before September 30, In order to bypass the Court directives, both the UDF and LDF tried to bring separate ordinances against the Act. Finally with UDF support, the LDF government passed the first amendment against the Act in September Thus both ruling and opposition parties joined hands in unanimously passing The Kerala Scheduled Tribes(Restriction on Transfer of Lands and Restoration of Alienated Lands) Amendment Act, 1996 amending the 1975 Act. The amendment was in fact an attempt to protect the rights of the settlers rather than that of the underprivileged adivasis. In fact the Kerala ST Amendment Bill, 1996 was a clear proof of the Kerala Government s anti-adivasi stand. Although Shri. E.K. Nayanar, the then Chief Minister and Shri. A.K. Antony the then opposition leader led a joint LDF-UDF delegation to Delhi to get Central approval for the Amendment, President Shri. K.R.Narayanan returned the bill in 1998, refusing assent. This forced both the LDF and UDF to pass the second amendment in The Kerala High Court, however, ruled against it by reiterating its 1993 order for the implementation of the Act of Thus the adivasi issue in Kerala presents a dismal picture As the government remained indifferent, the Adivasis have from time to time tried to assert their land rights but were brutally crushed by unleashing the state violence as at Cheengeri (1995) and Panavally (1997). On October 4, 1996, the Ayyankali Pada group of Naxalites held the then Palakkad District Collector, Dr. W. R. Reddy, as hostage demanding withdrawal of the amendment bill and total implementation of the 1975 parent Act. But nothing happened in the field. On August 14 th 2001, following starvation deaths in adivasi belts a group of adivasis snatched food stuffs from the government owned mobile van at Noolpuzha area in Wayanad. This incident drew nation wide attention and resulted in a spate of agitations including the one lead by C.K.Janu, a fire brand articulate leader from the Adiya community. Even the Muthanga upraising in Wayanad was dealt with through suppressive tactics. The same government which rejected the High Court order to evict encroacher settlers from the tribal land in 1996 had no qualms to open police firing against the landless tribals at Muthanga in February 2003 in order to evict them from a protected wild life sanctuary (The Tribal Blood Muthanga: A Struggle for Survival). 76

15 During the last few years Chengara (Pathanamthitta district) has become a symbol of a silent war for land. Unlike in Singroor or Nandigram, it was not against eviction. Instead it was the fight of those who toiled in land, but never possessed any cultivable land asserting their right to own sustainable land in a society, that professes equality and fraternity. The agitation at Chengara commenced on August when 300 families from various parts of the state belonging to dalits, adivasis and other landless communities converged on the rubber estate owned by Harrison s Malayalam Plantations Ltd and pitched up thatched sheds and started living there. Their demand was five acres of land for cultivation and Rs /- as financial assistance per family. The demand was later reduced to one acre of land. After 790 days, the struggle was settled at a discussion convened by the Chief Minister, Shri. V.S.Achuthanandan with Laha Gopalan and others of the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi, which spearheaded the agitation families out of the 1738 families who had started living on the rubber plantation of Harrison s will get land and financial assistance to build houses as part of the settlement (Pratheep, P.S.) Whether the settlement will be implemented or not still remains a question mark. The Adivasi demands over the ages have been the total implementation of the 1975 Tribal Land Act and also the Scheduled Areas Act in Kerala to enable the tribals to govern their traditional tribal belt in the true spirit of decentralization of political and economic power as well as to deny land ownership rights in tribal areas to non-tribals from the plains (Unknown, 2010). But recently they have succumbed to the fact that undoing past transactions may not work out especially when the current owners are in a position of power. Thus they started to drop their demand for restoration of alienated land and started asking for equivalent land. But as the next section shows, even this demand has fallen on deaf ears. Scheduled Tribes Rules of 2001 As an extension of the Kerala Land Assignment Act of 1960, in 2001 the government went in for a historical settlement of the adivasi land issue. As per this settlement, government land will be assigned to Scheduled Tribes for house sites, personal cultivation and beneficial enjoyment. The assigned land will be heritable but not alienable. The state also agreed to bring adivasi areas under Schedule V of the Indian Constitution. This could help in protecting adivasi land. A Tribal Resettlement and Development Mission was appointed by the government for identifying the issues faced by the landless tribal families. It identified the number of landless tribal families to be 22,491 while the number of families having less than 5 acres of land was 30,981. Thus a total of 53,472 families were found eligible to receive land up to five acres each. District wise details of the landless tribal families are given in Table 3.8. But again nothing happened in the field and distribution of land remained on paper. Only 1.06 percent of the families were provided with land (which came to 2.2 percent of the identified land) within the first four 77

16 months of the stipulated 12 months period. Till 2008 there after, there has not been any substantial change in these figures (Kerala Development Report, 2008, pp ). At this rate it would take another half century or more for the land distribution to be completed. This laxity is yet another example of the denial of Constitutional obligations to the Scheduled Tribes. The reality is that unless tribal people get rid of indebtedness and the accompanying evil of land alienation, it is unlikely that any legislation will prevent them from transferring their land. Table 3. 8 District wise landless tribal families [during the years 1976 & 2001] No. of tribal families District Thiruvananthapuram Kollam Pathanamthitta * 117 Alappuzha * 68 Kottayam Idukki Ernakulam 4 5 Thrissur Palakkad Malappuram Kozhikkode Wayanad * Kannur Kasaragode * 226 Total Source: Adivasi Master Plan Committee Report 2001, Government of Kerala & Socio-economic Survey, 1976, Government of Kerala Displacement for development projects Tribal lands are rich in hydrologic and other resources. And it easily makes them the most attractive sites to locate development projects of various kinds. For multinational companies looking for investment opportunities these areas are fast becoming favorite destinations (Hari, Nohan Mathur). Illegal acquisition of land by private sector companies like Suzlon (that erected 31 windmills in Palakkad district) is a classic example. Windmills on lush, prime forest land by forging papers and conning tribals became the 78

17 order of the day (Tehelka, 2010). Displacement for projects has resulted in greater landlessness for tribals. The hydroelectric projects in Chimmini, Idukki and Karapuzha are well known to have displaced a significant number of Adivasis. In Karapuzha, land acquisition began in 1977 leading to the creation of 306 landless families. As lands were acquired, 200 more families were evicted (Ratnaker, Bhengra, 1998). The study of Jose Murickan and others (2003) highlights some of the displacement figures among tribals in Kerala. The Idamalayar project displaced between 100 and 150 tribal families. Sixty seven percent of those displaced in the Pooyamkutty hydroelectric project were tribals. The Neriamangalam hydel project displaced 150 tribal families. The Periyar Tiger Reserve displaced fourteen tribal families. The rehabilitation package for these families was also denied because they had no documents for land in their possession. No one was also paid any compensation. Add to this the loss of means of livelihood and the picture is complete. For instance the tribal workers at Umikuppa, Lakshmipara, Naduthottam and Milappara of the cardamom estate in Thekkady tiger project depended on forest products for their livelihood. These people lost the means of their livelihood because of this project. Banasurasagar project will displace nearly 300 tribal families. All these problems connected with displacement, resettlement and rehabilitation can be traced to the present pattern of development which does not sufficiently take into account the sufferings of the poor. The government focus is shifted to the economic viability of the project. Needless to say, liberalization has further intensified the process of sacrificing the people, the poor in particular, for the sake of profit of the entrepreneur. Neo-liberal policies in agriculture and adivasis Kerala s agrarian economy has undergone radical and far-reaching changes, so that the state can no longer be classified as an agrarian society. The production of food for consumption is only a minor activity for Kerala people. When the Agrarian Relations Bill was introduced in the State Assembly, it was estimated that a surplus of about 7,20,000 hectares would be available. But by the end of 1988 the extent ordered for surrender got reduced to 67,000 hectares. Later only 25,000 hectares were distributed. In 1959 the first Communist Ministry of Kerala had passed the Kerala Agrarian Regulations Act, (KARA). This Act confers full ownership on the tenants in respect of lands in their possession and brought them into direct relationship with the state by the abolition of all intermediary rights. But the Act remained silent regarding the land issue of adivasis (Oommen, M.A., 1975). All these ultimately resulted in the total derailment of adivasi life. During the decade from through , Kerala registered a negative growth of 0.60 per cent in agriculture as against a positive growth of over 2 per cent for all India. But along with this 79

18 there are important exceptions like rubber and tea whose production and productivity have registered a secular increasing trend. During the past two decades, Kerala had a decline in food grains production at an annual rate of 1.09 per cent, and Kerala is unique in India, in this respect. Area under food grains fell from 960,000 hectares in to 560,000 hectares in The share of cultivators in the total work-force declined from 17.8 per cent in 1971 (against the all-india figure of 43.3) to per cent in All these have adversely affected the weaker sections including the STs. Thus in Kerala, agriculture is not a sustainable activity except for limited number of plantation crops, especially rubber. In fact the structure of the agricultural economy of Kerala shows that more than 80 per cent of the agricultural commodities are cash crops and depend on the domestic and the international markets. Therefore, the WTO has had a unique impact in the state. Around 45 per cent of the country s plantation crops namely tea, coffee, rubber and cardamom are grown in Kerala. Yet in Kerala only 23 per cent of workforces are involved in agriculture as compared to the national average of 58 per cent. The State Domestic Product (SDP) similarly shows only 15 per cent as compared to the national average of 22 per cent (Mathew, Abraham, 2007). The opening up of the sector has resulted in a severe crash of the agricultural product market i. In the fiscal year Kerala incurred a loss of about US$800 million, and in the loss was around US$1,300 million. The removal of quantitative restrictions on imports under the liberalized regime has been pointed out as the major reason for the fall in prices of agricultural commodities ii (Darley Jose, Kjosavik, 2006, p.639.). The net result of all these is that the Kerala economy exists and functions as an integral part of the Indian economy and polity and in the underdeveloped periphery of the world economic system that at this stage needs the cheaply available unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled labour of Malayalees (Joseph, Tharamangalam, (1999). The vulnerability of Kerala to volatility in prices of coffee, pepper, cardamom and vanilla is compounded by the fact that major relief on the debt front requires central help. The high number of farmer s suicides in Kerala (11516 in of which many are in Wayanad) shows that the state s balance is delicate even in this front. In fact Wayanad witnessed a spate of suicides of farmers, unable to repay loans because of severe drought and resultant crop failure. The root cause however lies in the fact that agriculture is becoming unprofitable in the back drop of liberalization. In Wayanad many farmers turned to commercial crops when paddy cultivation became less profitable. In the steep hilly terrains the switch from paddy to commercial crops caused water to drain out quickly. To add fuel to fire, price of crops like pepper crashed due to WTO dictated import policies. The farmer, waiting for years for the yield, with accumulated debt became unbearably desperate. Statistics shows that Kerala shares a place with Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, West Bengal and Tripura in Group I- the states and union territories with very high suicidel rates (Sainadh, 2007). Needless to say these adversely affect the adivasis in a scenario where their 80

19 cheaply available unskilled labour is exploited to the core in an era where the real borders are not between nations, but between the powerful and the powerless, the free and the fettered, the privileged and the humiliated (Koffi Annan). Work participation and poverty Work participation rate of Kerala in 2001 is per cent as compared to per cent in 1991 iii. It is highest in Idukki district (43.16 per cent) and the lowest in Malappuram district (24.12 per cent). In the case of Scheduled Tribes it was percent in 1991 and increased to in Among the Scheduled Tribes, the unskilled labourers involved in agricultural sector is quite large in number iv. When per cent of total populations were main workers as per 2001 Census, for the Scheduled Tribe population it is This indicates a moderately higher proportion of the ST workers. The ratio of female workers belonging to STs is almost double that of general population. The STs are excessively depending on agriculture for their living. The details are given in the table below: Table: 3.9 Distribution of Workers (%) Category Total Scheduled Tribes Main Workers Male Main Workers Female Main Workers % of Cultivators to Main Workers Percentage of Agricultural Labourers to Main Workers Percentage of Main Workers engaged in Household Industry Percentage of Main Workers engaged in other services Marginal Workers Work Participation Rate Source: Scheduled Tribe Atlas of India In Kerala the share of BPL population among Scheduled Tribes declined to 24.2 per cent in from 37.3 per cent in But the fact remains that the Scheduled Tribes constitute three per cent of the total BPL population, whereas their proportion to total population is only 1.14 per cent. This 81

20 clearly implies that the incidence of poverty among the ST population is about three times that of the total population of the state. The details regarding the poverty rate of all categories of population is given below: Table 3.10 Category-wise percentage of families below poverty line Category Share of BPL 82 Percentage of total population Scheduled Tribes Scheduled Castes Others Source: Chapter14, Poverty and special programmes for weaker sections, Accessed on 15 th January 2011 The adivasis live in unhealthy environment, do low-paid physical labour, and own very little land. As per the findings of a survey conducted jointly by the State Local Administration Department and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Department, five percent of the people in the extreme weaker sections: (PTGs), Kattunaikkan, Cholanaikkan, Kadar, Kurumbar and Koraga have food only once a day. Twenty six per cent families of these five sections do not have ration cards and therefore are not receiving subsidized food items sold through ration shops (Jayaraj, V.R., 2011). The generalized index of deprivation (based on index of deprivation in four basic necessities for well being, namely quality housing, access to drinking water, good sanitation and electric lighting) for Kerala is about 30 per cent ranging from 15.5 per cent for Ernakulam to 46.3 per cent for Wayanad. The indices for deprivation are much higher for SC/ST compared to the other groups in all the districts of Kerala and are highest at 66 per cent for STs in Wayanad. The variation in index of deprivation observed across the districts could be due to higher deprivation in Idukki, Wayanad and Palakkad owing to their higher share of SC/ST population. (Kottathara Panchayat Human Development Report: Wayanad District, 2009). Decentralization and adivasis The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act was enacted in A Committee of Decentralization of Powers was set up to review the Act, and in 1999 the Act was modified on the basis of its recommendations. The Preamble of the Act states that the three-tier PRI structure is established for securing a greater participation of people in planned development and local government affairs. According to the Act, all Panchayats have to make annual development plans, five-year plans and fifteen-year plans, and submit these to the