Latest news with #Adivasis
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of ‘surrendering' to U.S. pressure over Indo-Pak ceasefire
Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'immediately surrendered' after receiving a phone call from United States President Donald Trump, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) in Bhopal, referring to Mr. Trump's perceived role in the ceasefire announced between India and Pakistan on May 10. Mr. Gandhi, who was in the Madhya Pradesh capital to launch a campaign to revamp the Congress party's organisational in the State, made the remarks while addressing a gathering of party workers. 'I know the BJP and RSS people well now. You put a little pressure on them, they get scared and run away. For example, Trump gave a sign from there [the U.S.]. [He] picked up the phone and said 'Narender, surrender', and Narendra Modi ji obeyed Trump's directions,' Mr. Gandhi said. Also Read | Rahul Gandhi targets Jaishankar's remarks on informing Pakistan 'at the start' of Operation Sindoor 'This is their character. Since the time of independence, they are used to writing the letter for surrender. They cave in after even a little amount of pressure. The Congress does not surrender. [Mahatma] Gandhi ji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, they are the people who surrender. They fight the superpowers,' the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said. Recalling the 1971 Indo-Pak war, Mr. Gandhi claimed that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had not given in to pressure from the U.S. 'You must remember the time when the 7th fleet [of the U.S. Navy] with an aircraft carrier had come instead of a phone call. Indira Gandhi ji said 'I will do what I have to'. This is the difference,' he said, adding that India had split Pakistan into two despite American pressure. Mr. Gandhi further said that the country was currently facing two kinds of fights — one ideological and the other centred on social justice. Also Read | Cannot remain silent if the government fails to protect its own people: Congress 'I had promised the country in the Lok Sabha that whatever happens, the caste census will be passed in the Parliament. We will fight for social justice. We will pass the caste census in the Lok Sabha,' he said, claiming that there are currently two models of caste-based census. 'One is Telangana model and the other is Bihar's. In Bihar, the officers prepared the questions for the caste survey without asking Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, general caste or minorities. Whereas, in Telangana, we asked questions from lakhs of people,' he said, adding that the Congress' Telangana government had prepared the questionnaire after consulting more than 3.5 lakh people. Mr. Gandhi also launched the 'Sangathan Srajan Abhiyan (Organisation Rejuvenation Campaign)' aimed at reorganising the party in Madhya Pradesh, where it has been out of power since 2003, barring a 15-month period between 2018 and 2020. During his visit, Mr. Gandhi held four separate meetings with party leaders, office-bearers and workers. Two Congress MLAs and a senior party leader told The Hindu that Mr. Gandhi addressed several concerns raised during the meetings, including ticket distribution, appointments to district and block-level committees, and factionalism within the State unit. Also Read | Congress accuses BJP of trying to take political advantage of Operation Sindoor 'This was the first such occasion in a long time when leaders and workers could raise their concerns freely. An MLA had raised the issue of lack of prominent face during elections, to which Rahul ji said he could see 10 such leaders in M.P. Congress,' one of the MLAs said. The campaign is scheduled to run from June 10 to June 30, Anuradha Mishra, an MLA from Uttar Pradesh who is among the observers appointed for the campaign, said. She added that one observer had been appointed for each district in the State and that a report would be submitted to the Congress national leadership after June 30.
Indian Express
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
As Chhattisgarh tribal leader Arvind Netam heads for RSS event, why it isn't good news for Congress
In Chhattisgarh's political terrain, where tribal votes are a decisive factor, an RSS invitation to senior tribal leader Arvind Netam to an annual event at its Nagpur headquarters has sparked intense speculation. The former Union Minister in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet, who is from the Bastar region, will be the chief guest at the Sangh's 'Karyakarta Vikas Varg-Dwithiya Samapan Samaroh' on June 5. It marks the end of the three-year training period for swayamsevaks, or the Sangh cadre. It is the same event that former President Pranab Mukherjee attended in 2018, leading to criticism from some sections of the Congress. With the invitation leading to questions about political motives, the 83-year-old tribal leader said he planned to attend to maintain good ties with the Sangh and further the cause of tribal rights in Bastar. 'I am going to the RSS event as I want strong communication with the RSS to make them understand tribal issues. The biggest issue right now in Bastar is conversion. I believe if the RSS supports us, then the BJP government will pay heed to our demands. We are the ones who first invited RSS leaders to our tribal event in December last year. Also, months ago, I met Mohan Bhagwat in Raipur and discussed tribal issues,' Netam told The Indian Express. Netam said he would also discuss the need for a separate code for tribals in the Census. 'We have our own culture and religious practices. We do not want to be defined under any religion; we want our code. Due to talks, gradual changes are taking place. They (the RSS) are gradually calling us Adivasi and not Vanvasi,' he said. An influential tribal leader in Bastar, Netam still retains a lot of political heft. Months before the Assembly elections in 2023, he had quit the Congress. This came after he floated his political party, Hamar Raj, which he carved out of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS), an umbrella group of tribal organisations. At the time, Netam had said the formation of Hamar Raj was similar to that of the Sangh that has '50-odd independent groups under it, including the BJP'. In the elections, the Hamar Raj appeared to have hurt the Congress in at least two Assembly constituencies and is also estimated to have damaged the Congress's chances in the Kanker parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Netam's apparent move towards the Sangh comes when the Congress is already struggling to regain tribal votes. When the party had stormed to power in 2018, it had swept the Scheduled Tribe (ST)-reserved constituencies, winning 25 of the 29 seats while the BJP had got three. However, failure to effectively address tribal issues led to it losing ground among Adivasis and in 2023, the Congress saw its tally of ST seats drop to 11 while the BJP bagged 17. The Congress, however, argues that even if Netam moves to the BJP, it won't have any adverse effect on its political fortunes. 'He (Netam) took a different political route and left the party. He is a big tribal leader, but we know the RSS's view of tribals. The RSS terms tribals as vanvasi (forest dwellers) and not Adivasi (the oldest inhabitants). So, does Netam agree with this? Politically, it will make no difference in elections … Bastar's public does not support him,' said the party's state communications chief Sushil Anand Shukla. RSS's state media cell in-charge Sanjay Tiwari said Netam was doing 'good work' for tribals and opposed conversions. 'We invite even those who are our critics,' he added. 'Thousands will be attending the event. Many who want to understand the Sangh will also be there.' BJP spokesperson Kedar Gupta said the RSS invitation should not be seen through the political lens. 'There is no political discrimination in the RSS. Before this, Pranab Mukherjee ji was invited and he graced the event. It is a nationalistic organisation that believes in working together with every section of society.'
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Adivasis say Project Tiger and tourism are displacing them from their ancestral land
TOI correspondent from London: Indigenous communities across India are being pushed out of their ancestral lands in the name of tourism and expansion of tiger projects whilst the laws to protect them are being diluted and not implemented properly, Adivasis told a global press briefing on Monday. 'They say India has got freedom. But I think Adivasi people have not yet got freedom,' J C Shivamma, from the Jenu Kuruba tribe, said at the online event organised by Community Network Against Protected Areas. She is among the 52 households who reoccupied their ancestral land within Nagarhole tiger reserve on May 5, 35 years after their families were forcibly evicted. 'Some of our family members died when in the plantations, but our sacred deities, our graveyard, everything that concerns us, is still in the village, so we used to go back to bury our people in our ancestral land, but it was always a fight with the forest department toconduct rituals. We consider our ancestors to be on the lands, they become deities and this way we were tortured. If we have to die, we will die on our ancestral land,' she said. Shivu JA recalled how their houses were burnt and elephants brought to destroy their fields when they were evicted from Karadikallu. 'This land is ours. It's not any tiger project or scheme of the govt for tiger conservation,' he said. 'Our elders are very happy now. We are having our food, we are going for honey collection. We have our own water resource. We sit together in the evening, and they are teaching us songs. All these songs and lessons were silenced for 40 years." 'The forest department keeps saying that only after your rights are recognised, you can live on this land. We already have these rights,' he said. The Jenu Kurubas are filing a case against the Forest Department under the SC/ST Atrocities Act for withholding their rights and filing an appeal against 39 rejected forest rights claims. 'Why are their rights not being recognised despite the notification of central legislation such as the Forest Rights Act 2006,' asked scholar Nitin Rai. 'People across the country in different states are fighting the same battles. It is important to find a way to raise a collective voice for what is happening all over,' said lawyer Lara Jesani.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Kamal Nayan Chaubey's Adivasi or Vanvasi unpacks the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram's influence on tribal politics
Kamal Nayan Chaubey, in his new book Adivasi or Vanvasi, explores how the tribal politics of the country has changed since the inception of the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA). Through his ethnographic work, he unpacks the complex questions of identity and emphasises the importance of reading the ground as it is, without being swayed away by theoretical presumptions. In this conversation, Chaubey explains this transition and unravels the limits of VKA's politics. Edited excerpts: What are the major differences between Adivasi and Vanvasi? Are these differences a result of different political assertions? Adivasi means original inhabitant of the land, whereas Vanvasi means inhabitant of the forests. Many anthropologists have underlined that not all communities claiming to be Adivasis are the original inhabitants. In some areas, non-tribals have been the original settlers, with tribals joining them later. However, eventually, many tribal communities started to use the term Adivasi to assert their unique identity and claim rights over forest land and its resources. On the other hand, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the VKA emphatically rejected the idea. For them, they are Hindus living in the forest areas, and hence, Vanvasis. They claim that all Sanatanis are original inhabitants of the country. Why do you think that there has been a consistent silence over the activities of the VKA in literature? There has been ideological bias against the VKA. When a few scholars focused on it, they presented it as a static organisation working for the idea of Hindu majoritarianism. Such a fixed understanding compelled researchers to overlook the changing nature of VKA's works. Even scholars sympathetic to the RSS overlooked the VKA as they considered it nothing more than an RSS wing. You write that lately VKA has taken a Left turn. What do you mean? In its early days — the VKA was formed in 1952 — the organisation focused on two things: countering Christian influence among tribals and spreading Hindu values. However, from 1970 onwards, many Left-oriented organisations started raising the issue of forest and land rights. They opposed displacement and emphasised their rights to live an autonomous life. It was in the 1990s that the VKA even felt the need to echo the Left. In 2015, it released a 'vision document' and supported all major demands raised by Left-oriented tribal organisations. It indicates the willingness of the VKA to adopt progressive ideas coming from opposing ideological camps. What is the VKA's view on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)? The UCC has been one of the core agenda of the RSS and the BJP. However, in recent years, the VKA leadership has asserted that tribal communities should be excluded from the UCC. It emphasised the cultural and customary diversities among various tribal communities. Its criticisms played a crucial role in the BJP government's decision to exclude tribals in the UCC in Uttarakhand. Many leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, have made it clear that tribals will be exempted from the UCC even in other parts of the country. It underlines the pragmatic nature of the VKA. Though it talks about the Hindu identity of tribals, it opposes any form of cultural encroachment. Why does VKA need to create 'aggressive organs' for implementing agendas like ghar wapsi or delisting? The VKA prefers to focus on service work to keep its image intact. They never raise contentious issues like reconversion. To work on these issues, there are some 'aggressive organs'. They are not formally connected to the VKA. But their leadership carries its lineage. For example, the Janjati Surksha Manch was formed in 2006 to raise the issue of 'delisting' of those tribals from the ST list who converted to Christianity or Islam. Despite not being a direct wing of the VKA, it shared the same leadership. Many such organisations work on the ghar wapsi campaign. You are using the Gramscian idea of hegemony to unpack VKA's politics. Why? (Antonio) Gramsci divided intellectuals into two parts: Traditional and organic. The former, whereas, always tries to protect the existing system, the latter questions the prevalent hegemony and seeks changes in favour of the marginalised communities. As organic intellectuals, the VKA sometimes takes a stand for the tribals, but as traditional intellectuals, they never question the hegemonic neoliberal state and its developmental model. Did the VKA strengthen the BJP's presence in the tribal regions? The VKA, through its service works, has increased the BJP's presence in many tribal areas where its presence was earlier negligible. The Northeastern states are an important example. The BJP's vote share has increased across the tribal belts in the country. However, political contestation with other organisations also shapes its political future, as witnessed in Jharkhand, where the party lost all the tribal seats in the latest Assembly elections.
The Star
3 days ago
- General
- The Star
Tribal women dream green
AT a small stream in India's eastern state of Odisha, indigenous villagers catch eels and fish for a dinner celebrating an annual harvest festival. The bounty of communal farming, foraging and fishing marks the start of a new season. But the fish and other resources have been dwindling. 'Nowadays, the rains come late, affecting our farming, leading to a decrease in production,' said Sunita Muduli, a Paraja tribeswoman from Putpondi village. She stood on freshly tilled fields that would be sown again with millet before the increasingly unpredictable monsoon rains. The indigenous Adivasis have lived in these villages for millennia. They continue traditional practices of farming millet and rice and foraging leaves and fruit from the forest to make plates, the local brew and more. With those practices under pressure from a changing climate, they are making their most significant effort yet to speak up for their community's needs, advocating for Indian authorities to protect and restore their lands as the nation of more than 1.4 billion people tries to adapt to a warming world. Budri Munduli, a Gadaba Indigenous woman, tending to her paddy fields near her homestead in Hatipakhna village, Koraput district. — AP Women are leading the way. Muduli and others from 10 villages, with help from a local non-governmental organisation, have surveyed and mapped out resources that are dwindling and what needs restoring. Comparing state government data from the 1960s with their results, they found that common areas in many of their villages had shrunk by up to 25%. The women have created what are known as dream maps, showing their villages in their ideal states. The most prominent of their bright colours is green. Muduli and others plan to submit their maps and surveys to local government officials, the first step in requesting village development funds to preserve or restore their common areas. The women estimate that US$2mil might be needed – an ambitious ask when India's poorer regions often struggle to secure and implement government projects. Still, the women believe they have a 50-50 chance of success. 'We want to make sure these resources are available for our children,' Muduli said. This is the first time that many of the women are formally leading an outward-facing community effort. They say it's giving them more confidence in speaking up about community needs. (Right) Members of the Paroja Indigenous community discussing the maps they have made in Hatipakna village, Koraput district. — AP 'Our forest contains an abundance of diverse resources. Unfortunately, rainfall has reduced, temperatures have risen and our forest cover has dwindled. 'However, once we acquire the rights we deserve, our priority will be to revitalise and flourish our forest,' said Saita Dhangada Majhi of Pangan Pani village. They seek rights over their common lands that will require outsiders, including authorities, to seek villagers' permission to make any changes to them. India is among the world's most vulnerable countries to climate impacts. According to the 2025 Climate Risk Index, the country between 1993 and 2022 was subject to 400 extreme events – including floods, heat waves and cyclones – causing 80,000 deaths and economic losses nearing US$180bil. Odisha is one of India's poorest states and among the most vulnerable to climate impacts. A study by researchers from Odisha's Fakir Mohan University published in 2023 found that food production there had decreased by 40% in the last 50 years due to climate change. Most Indian farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture, with about half of all farmed land dependent on downpours. As the monsoons become more unpredictable, livelihoods are affected. India's indigenous people feel those impacts the most as their traditions depend greatly on forests and natural produce, said Bidyut Bidyut Mohanty of the Odisha-based non-profit Society for Promotion of Rural Education and Development. The organisation helped the Odisha villages with the dream mapping process. Climate change is affecting 'their very existence', Mohanty said, asserting that they have not contributed to the problem but are paying the price. The forest commons are 'not only considered the lungs but are also a hidden kitchen for indigenous communities,' he said. The women's survey found that resources available a decade earlier had either dwindled or disappeared. In Muduli's village, the number of fruits such as mango, guava, java plum and Indian gooseberry had dropped drastically. Resources used to make traditional instruments and other items had become more rare. Climate experts said the Odisha project can be a model to be replicated across India and other nations. United Nations reports have said 80% of the world's biodiversity lies in regions controlled by indigenous peoples. Women from marginalised and vulnerable communities are affected the most by climate change, and the indigenous women of Odisha are an inspiration, said Neha Saigal, a gender and climate expert at Bengaluru-based Asar Social Impact Advisors who is familiar with the mapping project. 'They are actually leading from the front,' she said. Their work could be critical in deciding where India's efforts on climate change should be focused, Saigal added, noting that the country is working on a national adaptation plan. It is not clear whether the dream maps will become part of that plan. The women behind them say their project has given them formal understanding of what they and their communities have long known intuitively. They want to pass that on for generations to come. 'The forest is our life,' said Purnima Sisa of Badakichab village. 'We have taken birth in this forest, and one day we will die in the forest. It is our life and livelihood.' — AP
