(We are publishing here the address By Com. Y. S. Rao delivered at the All India Tribal Convention held on October 24-25, 2005 at Bhubaneswar. The address gives Party's opinion on important issues facing tribals, particularly forest dwelling tribes.               -Editor)

I express my gratitude to the organizers for inviting me to place my views in brief in this assembly of those who are participating in the struggles of tribals and those vitally interested in and supportive of these struggles. Though the topic is vast I shall try to be brief.

One in every dozen Indians is a tribal. Economically exploited, socially oppressed and developmentally neglected, they mostly inhabit the hilly areas and forests though they are in plains as well. These traditional peasants are hardworking as is the demand of the conditions of their existence. They are simple as are the means of their production. They are honest by nature, as their mutual relations are not so laden with the overgrowth of what we call “civilization”.

We have assembled here to discuss the issues faced by the vast multitude of these people, the obstacles in the way of their strivings for better life, nay even for very basic essentials of life, and the forces ranged against realization of their strivings. From these we should proceed to give fillip to these strivings, to chalk out programmes of action for realization of their rights and to unite the forces willing and prepared to move in this direction. We should also consider combining these efforts with those of others akin in aim and complementary in practice. The struggles of tribals are part of the vast struggles of toiling peasantry of the country. It will be one of the tasks of this Convention to chart a path embodying this unity while taking into account special features of tribal society.

If we take a broad view of the issue, tribals are facing a crisis of existence and livelihood. They are being made encroachers on the very land they have been cultivating since a long time and attempts are being made to evict them. At the root is the non-recognition of their rights over the land traditionally belonging to them. The nexus of forest officials, contractors, landlords and ruling politicians harasses them for producing the means of their livelihood as their very cultivation is declared inimical to the interests of ‘society’. There is no mechanism to purchase at fair price the produce of their cultivation and the forest produce they gather. They fall prey to the combine of traders, moneylenders who make big profit by buying their products at very cheap rates and selling to them at exorbitant prices. In some areas the whole business is handled by a handful of traders authorized by the Govt. Where Govt. has formed cooperatives to purchase their produce, the prices are abysmally low and tribals are not allowed to sell to others. Rather than a supportive mechanism it is an extracting machinery.

On top of this crude exploitation, is the near total neglect of their well being. They continue to suffer and die from common ailments. Health care is practically absent. Their education needs are also neglected, with Govt. paying scant attention. They have to toil much even for clean drinking water particularly in summer. Their housing needs, roads and general conditions of life suffer from neglect by the powers that be.

Besides denial and neglect of their material needs, rulers over a long time have suppressed their culture, their language and dismantled their traditional organizations of self-rule. Attempt of the rulers have been to absorb them into existing dominant national groups denying them the opportunity to develop their own institutions and distinctive features. Tribals face alienation in their traditional abode.

While Govt. leaves the tribals to the tender mercies of the sharks of forests and neglects their basic needs, areas inhabited by them are not ‘neglected’. These are the areas of rich natural resources- coal, mineral resources, medicinal herbs and rare vegetations, and water resources as rivers flow down these areas. But the development projects of the rulers make the tribals not sharers in this development, but its victims. They are uprooted, their lands given to industries without any worthwhile compensation to them. In line with present policies, their lands are being handed over to MNCs and big business houses. These darlings of rulers in Delhi and state capitals are striking terror among the tribals, depriving them of their very means of existence. International and national merchants of destruction- World Bank, MNCs and compradors- are coming down in strength to relieve them of their problems of existence by relieving them of the very means of livelihood. This ‘final solution’ is being thrust upon them in the name of development.

This broad overview makes it clear that the forces arraigned against tribals are the imperialists and their institutions, their MNCs, comprador business houses, landlords, contractors, merchants and money lenders, contractors and forest officials, in brief, the international and national reactionaries served and protected by Central and state govts. Tribals have been exploited, oppressed and ground down by these forces for a long time though the modes of exploitation and oppression and consequently the issues have been changing.

It was the British colonialists who brought these areas under their colonial rule for exploitation of natural resources, particularly timber, coal and mineral resources and for increasing their revenue. The colonialists promulgated the forest laws, which struck at the root of the traditional and community rights of the tribals over the forests they inhabited. In order to extract more revenue from these areas and to rule over the tribals, the colonialists took people from plain areas to forcibly occupy the land of tribals. Tribals were reduced to ‘unauthorized’ encroachers on their own land and subject to the exploitation of landlords, merchants and moneylenders in service of colonial rule. Their good lands were taken over by the outsiders and they were pushed into deeper forests, making them fit for habitation and cultivation through their toil till this next lot too fell to a similar fate. Their earlier interaction with plains based on mutual exchange, though not totally free of exploitation, was changed to exploitation and oppression by landlords and usurers. Vast tracts were taken over for extraction of coal, felling of trees for timber and extraction of mineral ores. Their life, till then relatively free of outside interference, was disrupted with the advent of these exploiters and their colonial overlords. Their self-administration, simple as it was, was subjected to the rule of colonialists and exploiters subservient to them. The inner growth of their society was disrupted, their culture subverted and they were reduced to inferior class of people in their own lands. Like the rest of India, the colonialists subjected them to harsh exploitation with added oppression of the layers of exploiters aiding the colonial rule.

The areas inhabited by tribals being rich in coal, mineral resources, medicinal herbs and other natural resources, brought in these profit greedy sharks under the patronage of colonialists. With superior weapons and inferior morals, the tribals were subjugated. For the exploitation of the resources of their land they were displaced. With their traditional lives disrupted and new avenues not provided, they became the most exploited sections of labour both urban and rural. A large number of industries came up on their land but they were the losers. ‘Development’ became a nightmare to them for what was pursued in its name was not the development of people but extraction of maximum profits. To them this development meant degradation.

Exploited, oppressed and squeezed by the colonialists and their surrogates, the landlords, merchants and money lenders, the tribals fought many a valiant battles for their homes, land and way of life and shook the foundations of colonial rule. Their struggles are part of the heroic struggles of the Indian people, particularly of Indian peasantry against the colonial yoke. Lands of tribals produced heroes galore- Sidhu-Kanu, Birsa Munda, Laxman Nayak, Alluri Seetharamaraju, Kumaram Bhim and other valiant fighters- who gave their lives in different periods in the struggle against alien rule and exploitation.

These struggles forced the colonial rulers to promulgate laws giving protection to tribals in their own lands. But these laws were more as fire fighting missions to quell the tribal uprisings and did not denote any sincere efforts to protect them from exploitation and oppression. As was their wont elsewhere, colonial rulers painted their local agents as the real culprits. However, under the patronage of colonial rulers, the tentacles of landlords, merchants, moneylenders and bureaucrats kept on expanding with more encroachment of tribal areas.

The end of direct colonial rule and transfer of power to domestic ruling classes did not bring any relief to the tribals. Rather the class of their exploiters became part of the new power structure. To their exploiters were added the ruling class politicians. No efforts were undertaken to improve their lot while they continued to be dispossessed of their land and means of livelihood. Over the last nearly six decades of the rule of domestic reactionaries, the lot of tribals has further worsened.

Of all the issues faced by the tribals, the issue of their right over forestland and forest produce is the primary one. While their community rights were not recognized, of late a concerted campaign has been conducted on environmental issues and the tribals are made scapegoats for dwindling forest cover and environmental degradation. The culprits of environmental degradation are imperialist countries who are mainly responsible for production of obnoxious gases and depletion of ozone layer. While the imperialist countries, particularly USA, the main contributor to environmental degradation, are not willing to bring down their own hazardous activities, third world countries are being made the target and in these countries too the main burden is falling on the forest dwelling people. It should be clear that in our country, tribals have been the most steadfast protectors of forests as their very livelihood depends on them. Whatever they take from forest is a miniscule and is in accordance with natural replenishment to which they also contribute. Their podu (sifting) cultivation is a favourite scapegoat of environmentalists and ruling establishment including judiciary, but it has not degraded the forests for centuries. It has been the contractors, forest officials and ruling politicians who have been responsible for the felling of trees on large scale. Moreover while a lot of hue and cry is made over the tribals’ encroachment, no steps are taken to curb the activities of forest Mafia nor efforts are made for afforestation in the scheduled areas, a large part of which are lying barren.

Tribals are the scapegoats of the environmental concerns of the establishment and its various overgrowths. This is quite obvious from the fact that there are no qualms in handing over vast tracts of land to MNCs for exploitation, selling the very rivers to profit seeking sharks. In the present parlance the new watchword is giving them on long leases. The Supreme Court not only banned podu cultivation but held all those who could not prove their land titles prior to 1980, the year Forest Conservation Act came into force, as encroachers to be evicted. In many places tribals were thrown out of their traditional abode but the tribals put up a determined resistance in that undeclared war against tribals. The then NDA Govt. announced extension of the deadline to 1993 but its operation was stayed by the Supreme Court. The eviction drive was halted by the struggle of the tribals.

While rulers dithered over recognizing the traditional rights of tribals over the forestland, the alienation of their land continued unabated. Andhra Pradesh tops the list of alienation of the land of tribals to non-tribals. F. Engels has remarked “The full, free ownership of land implied not only possibility of unrestricted and uncurtailed possession, but also possibility of alienating it.” (Origin of Family, Private Property and State, p. 163) It is only the right of alienating the land that is of interest to ruling classes. There are Acts in different states prohibiting such alienation and yet it continues. The implementation of these Acts is tardy, full of corruption and their implementation is in the hands of the bureaucrats aligned against the tribals. And where-ever it becomes difficult, tribal leaders of ruling class parties are pressed into service demanding right to alienate land, closing their eyes to the fact that such alienation has been detrimental to the interests of tribals.

While addressing the question of forest lands, we should keep in mind that the forest dwelling tribes have primary right over the forest land. The principle of territoriality with regard to tribals should be always kept in mind. However, the lands of landlords, business houses and even Govt. should be taken over to satisfy the land needs of tribals. To frustrate the designs of ruling classes and vested interests, the unity of tribals and non-tribal poor should be forged and land rights of poor non-tribals to a certain extent of land should be protected to mobilize them in struggle against non-tribal landlords and other vested interests.

The other important aspect is the marketing of forest produce. Tribals combine cultivation with gathering of forest produce. We should struggle for marketing system protecting their interests. MSP should be declared for ginger, tamarind, turmeric and other produce and Govt. should come forward to purchase all their produce at a support price, which should be remunerative. Purchasing centres should be provided in the tribal areas and middlemen should be excluded. Moreover, the govt. purchase should operate as a supportive mechanism and tribals should not be deprived of their right to sell their produce elsewhere at better price. The Convention should discuss the various aspects of this problem and concretize demands relating to marketing of forest produce.

As outlined above, displacement has been haunting the tribals and also non-tribal poor dwelling in the forests areas. In 1950s and '60s, large-scale hydel and irrigation projects and industries dealing with mineral resources were set up in tribal areas resulting in large-scale displacement of tribals. These were set up mostly in public sector. The tribals were dispossessed and converted into cheap labour force. Their daughters became low paid housemaids in the metropolitan cities. There was no proper rehabilitation of these tribals. Jharkhand areas had been some of the worst affected and till date, while whole generations have passed away, the problems of displaced people have not been solved.

With changes in Govt. policy in tune with diktats of imperialist powers the present emphasis is on enabling MNCs and comprador business houses to exploit the vast mineral resources. Provisions of various legislations are being bent in the service of MNCs. In fact there is a race among the ruling class parties as to who can attract how much foreign capital as all of them have embraced a FDI driven model of ‘development.’ While rulers gloat over the FDI, tribals are uprooted becoming refugees in their own country. Tribal areas of South Orissa and Chhatisgarh have been in the limelight as unsavoury examples of this treachery of the ruling class parties.

An important aspect of these displacements is that there is no adequate, prior and proper rehabilitation of the displaced people. The cost of displacement is quite heavy in tangible and non-tangible costs as the whole economic and social life of the people is destroyed. Development should be people oriented and not for MNCs and comprador business houses’ interests with people waiting for trickling down effects. This is a very vital issue and needs to be properly addressed.

Firstly, there should be proper scientific evaluation of the benefits and costs of various projects which must include all aspects. Here a word of caution will not be out of place regarding ability of MNCs to enlist the services of even scientists, economists and social planners who sell their merchandise to the highest bidder. Reappraisals of various projects have brought out sordid tales of manipulations of facts and distortion of data. Secondly, adequate, prior and proper rehabilitation must be guaranteed in all aspects. If a developmental project is the need of the society, its cost must be borne by the whole of society and not by the poor displaced people alone. Here the interests of landless labourers and other people dependent for their livelihood without having ownership interests must also be safeguarded. It is they who become worst sufferers of displacement. There should be clear-cut policy embodying all aspects of the problem and which must be implemented fully before any displacement is allowed to take place. In no case the areas of rich natural resources should be given to the MNCs for their exploitation. Rulers of the day have no right to sell the future of the country.

While the struggles of tribals have forced the successive govts. to abandon some of their plans and modify yet some others, these struggles have not been able to change the direction of the policies of the ruling classes. The struggle of tribals against eviction drive of NDA Govt. has forced the UPA Govt. to propose a law recognizing the rights of tribals over forests. But while the Govt. is claiming to recognize the rights of forest dwelling tribes albeit to a limited extent, the provisions of the proposed Bill actually make a mockery of the claim. In exchange for recognizing their right over minor forest produce and that too only for livelihood purposes (which may mean anything), forest dwelling tribes are to ensure protection of forests, nature and wild life failing which they can be evicted from the forest. With Govt. with vast machinery not able to ensure the protection of forests, how can poor tribals without any authority do that! It is clear that it is a recipe for making tribals into bonded labourers and keeping them insecure about their rights, with ultimate authority lying with bureaucrat dominated committees. The proposed Bill talks of rights and duties, all rights to ruling politicians and bureaucrats and all duties for tribals. While you would be discussing various aspects of the proposed Bill, I need not dwell on this point much except to point out that so blatant were the anti-Tribal aspects of the Bill that the UPA Govt. has been forced to announce its intention to make changes in the proposed Bill. I suggest that the Convention propose concrete changes, less with the hope of anti-people rulers accepting them and more to serve as a plank for struggle on the issue.

Hand in hand with the denial of traditional rights of tribals over the forests and building a network of exploiters and vested interests to subjugate them, have been the efforts of ruling classes to suppress their culture and languages. Rulers project a caricature of tribal culture ignoring the positive aspects of their culture rooted in their lives. Egalitarian values across the gender and social groups are not highlighted. Their respect for women, their mutual cooperation and care, respect for each other’s rights, their harmonious relations with each other and nature are among the positive aspects of their culture. While protecting the tribal culture they should be helped to inculcate a scientific outlook to further enrich what is positive in their culture. All help should be given to develop their language. Despite such a long time since direct colonial rule ended in the country, the development of script for these languages has been ignored and efforts of intellectuals in this direction suppressed. There is a need for help to intellectuals from these groups to evolve their scripts without which there is a danger of these languages disappearing into local dialects of the dominant linguistic groups, a process which has already progressed to a large extent. The strategy of the ruling classes has been to forcibly assimilate these tribals groups into existing dominant national groups. It is also evident in division of contiguous tribal areas among different states.

Tribals have their distinct characteristics and their special problems. The administration has been acting as occupying forces in these areas resulting in alienation of tribals. Their own institutions of self-rule have been undermined. There is a need to end this state of affairs. We should struggle for demanding regional autonomous development councils for the areas where tribals constitute a large proportion of population. Tribals do need development but it should be their development and not development over them and further degrading them.

While the Convention will devote its energies to the issues confronting the tribals, I shall conclude with highlighting the importance of their struggle to the common struggle of Indian people against imperialist exploitation and semifeudal oppression i.e. for a new democratic India. Tribals are confronting the enemies of the Indian people, the imperialists and the domestic reactionaries subservient to them. Since the advent of colonial rule, tribals have been in the forefront of the struggle against colonialists and their subordinates. The heroic struggles under the colonial rule have been carried forward in the large-scale participation of tribals in the revolutionary struggles under the leadership of communists. The Great Telengana Armed Struggle continues to be a beacon light. Tribals also participated in large numbers in Srikakulam armed struggle, Godavari Valley resistance struggle and revolutionary struggles in Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other provinces. Tribals have been targeted by the ruling classes, and their struggles have in turn targeted the ruling classes. They have been the most solid bedrock of the revolutionary struggle. They constitute an important part of the peasantry that is the main force of the revolutionary transformation of the country. By virtue of the nature of their struggle and other strategic considerations, their role becomes all the more important. It is therefore vital that we pay due attention to evolve a programme of struggle, comprehensive in terms of issues.

Comrades and friends,

We are developing the revolutionary movement in the country in the era of moribund capitalism i.e. imperialism. The Indian ruling classes are prostrating themselves before the imperialist powers, particularly US imperialism, further increasing the imperialist exploitation of our natural resources and cheap labour power. Indian reactionaries are intensifying their attacks against the people including tribals. It is an era in which the alternative to the present society can be provided only by revolutionary forces under the leadership of working class. The alternative to present system could not but be a system based on abolition of exploitation and oppression. Ever since the struggle against capitalism started, the fighters for a new system including the founders of scientific socialism chose to call their alternative vision as “communism” taking from the primitive communist society of tribals. The tireless researcher of tribal societies, Morgan, clothed his vision in these terms:

“Democracy in government, brotherhood in society, equality in rights and privileges, and universal education, foreshadow the next higher plane of society to which experience, intelligence and knowledge are steadily tending. It will a revival in higher form of the liberty, equality and fraternity of the ancient gentes.” (Morgan, Ancient Society, p. 552)

I extend my sincere greetings to you all with fervent hope that your labours will help take the struggles of tribals forward.