November-December 1999

Orissa, otherwise a backward state in our country, is showing a new hope for revolutionary movements; as the revolutionary mass movement is spreading to different pockets. About twenty five percent of the total population of Orissa is covered by 62 different tribes. Most of the backward hill and forest areas of the state are tribal. Other than the MNCS and other Indian compradors, these tribals are also exploited by local feudal lords — money lenders, businessmen, police, forest and other government officials. They are not only economically exploited by different non-tribal exploiters but also their culture and language are destroyed by the latter.

In this background the tribals of Rayagada and Gajpati districts i.e. Kuis and Soras have been organised under the banner of the Chasi-Mulia-Samiti (CMS) — a revolutionary peasant and agricultural labourers organisation. Since the end of 1995, the ‘CMS’ has been working in this area and fighting for tribals’ right to forest resources and land. The organisation started its work in two to three Gram Panchayats of Padmapur block in Rayagada district. Within the span of this short period activities spread to about 30 panchayats of seven blocks of both Rayagada and Gajpati districts. Thus, the area of activities covers from the Ganjam-Gajpati border upto the Rayagada-Phulbani border through the Rayagada-Gajpati border.

This area is traditionally dominated by Kui and Sora tribes. Both these tribes have their own languages, cultures and religious faiths. About 75% of the population are tribes. Before 1947, the then kings of Jeypur and Parlakimidi, collaborating with British imperialism, exploited these tribes through different anti-people laws. To exploit these tribes through these laws, the local kings and the British rulers, sent their non-tribal agents to different pockets and started harassing the tribes. The tribals were loyal to the kings and their rules of exploitation. Taking advantage of this submissiveness of these tribes and with the help of the anti-people land laws, the non-tribal exploiters and their agents were able to occupy the traditionally owned tribal lands. Similarly, through the pro-imperialist forest laws the tribals lost their traditional rights to the forest. Through the excise policy of the then rulers the police and excise department started harassing the tribals. Out of fear of the laws, instead of using their home made liquor, the tribals started depending upon the non-tribal liquor merchants. These merchants taking the help of the local police, heavily exploited the tribals and occupied their lands. Thus the tribals became slaves on their own lands, lost their traditional rights to the land, forest and natural resources. Moreover, the newly infiltrated non-tribal exploiters exploited the tribes by purchasing their agricultural and forest produce at a low cost. Some of these exploiters became money-lenders and intensified their exploitation to occupy tribal wealth and property. Taking advantage of these anti-people laws the police, revenue and forest officials started their ruthless exploitation of the tribes. It is also not out of place to mention that these tribes are dependent on shifting cultivation for their livelihood which is illegal as far as the government’s forest laws are concerned. The forest officials had taken away their agricultural produce, birds and money to allow this so-called illegal cultivation.

Similarly, according to the laws, the waste forest land cannot be used for cultivation and the legal records (pattas) of the same cannot be issued to anybody. But the tribals are mostly dependent on forest lands for their cultivation. Moreover, the well-cultivated tribal lands and their houses have no legal records (pattas). To allow legal pattas for these lands the revenue officers have been collecting huge amounts of money from these tribes. These revenue officers are also involved in various conspiracies to transfer the tribal lands to the name of non-tribals.

For a small quarrel between tribals — like a dispute in a love case or marriage, or keeping a fire-arm or for any such so-called ‘illegal’ activity — the police officials demanded a heavy amount from both the sides.

With the transfer of power from the British to their Indian compradors in 1947, nothing has changed in the local exploiting structure. In the name of so-called democracy the same old kings and feudal lords were elected as local representatives from different political parties, upto the seventies. Continuing their old loyalty for these feudal lords the tribals did vote for them repeatedly. With the collapse of the ‘Ganatantra Parishad’ and ‘Swatantra Party’ of Orissa — the two parties of old kings and feudal lords — this tribal area was converted into a Congress vote bank. With the declaration of tribal reserved seats, some new tribal agents were coopted into the system. As the old kings and feudal lords and the newly rising local exploiters joined the Congress and the then Janata party (now it is BJD and BJP), their control over these political parties and the local politics remained unchanged. Newly elected tribal leaders started exploiting their own community and joined hands with the exploiters.

All the leaders of these parliamentary parties have been extending their support to these exploiters and in exchange they are able to collect votes through these exploiters. For the last fifty years people of this area have voted for different political parties — tribal and non-tribal leaders hoping for a better life. But the fate of the people have never changed. Instead, the number of exploiters and non-tribal infiltrators have been growing day by day. In the name of the different religious missionaries such as Christian missionaries and VHP many non-tribal new exploiters are also entering into the tribal areas. The same thing is happening in the name of NGOs. These missionaries and NGOs are not only helping the ongoing exploitation of tribals but have also been trying their best to destroy the tribal culture and heritage.

Traditionally these Kuis and Soras speak Kui and Sora languages respectively. They have faith in their own religion. On one side the government and the local exploiters are trying their best to convert these people into Oriyas. On the other side the Christian missionaries, VHP and the caste Hindu exploiters have converted all the tribals to either Christian or Hindu religion. These religious Hindu and Christian missionaries are teaching the people not to revolt against the government — the so-called living representative of the God. Instead, they are prompting the tribals to clash with each other in the name of religion and God. In British India the then rulers divided the Soras and Kuis in different states and districts to suppress their revolt. And now the rulers are dividing them in the name of religion.

In the last fifty years after the implementation of the so-called development programmes of the so-called independent government, the tribals have actually not benefited from this. There is no proper education facility and the schools are running only on paper. Neither are the non-tribal teachers interested to teach the tribals nor are the tribals interested to learn in other mediums like Oriya, Telugu, Hindi, English, Sanskrit etc. This is best witnessed from the fact that, while each Christian Sora person is able to read and write in the Sora language with a Roman script, yet they have remained as mass illiterate so far. It is best not to speak of the health facilities in these areas. Every year hundreds of people die of Cholera and Malaria. Other than this, hundreds of children also die off Chicken-pox. Taking advantage of this situation the governmental and non-governmental village quacks are looting the people. These tribals are living in low-cost thatched houses. In the name of reform programmes the government officials and NGO activists are looting the people — demanding a sizable amount for a roofing house, for a loan or for a subsidy. Though these tribals are cultivating paddy, Mandia, Ghantia, Suan, ganga, Kangu, Kandula (red grains), birhi (black grain) til, horsegram (Kolatha), Castor seed, different pulses, gingelly, mustard seed, plantain, pumpkin, sweet potato, gam, tomato, brinjal, chilly, arum, papayya, pineapple etc., most of the time they subsist on salt and chilly. At times they get forest produce such as jackfruits, mangoes, berries, mahua, and some roots and leaves.

Struggle Against Government Officials

In this situation at first the organisation started its fight against forest, revenue, police and other government officials. Mass meetings were conducted giving a call to boycott the forest and revenue officers and to assert the tribals’ traditional right to land and forest. People boycotted the courts, jumped bail on forest cases, fought the forest officials unitedly and finally won a partial victory. Police officials and their local agents (chaukidars) were gheraoed at different times, in protest against their anti-people practice; police raids were faced with mass action. In 1996 the tribals of Anugur panchayat of Gajpati district were successful in such a gherao and the police department was compelled to shift its camp from that area. In 1998, at the time of the general election in the same place, 25 armed police were faced with 400 armed peasants to successfully implement the boycott call. In the land movement of Raba, Mandrabaju-Sindhba and also in most other places the armed police were confronted with armed mass action and at times police were even beaten up by the people. Tribal women played a most courageous role in all these events. And on December 8, 1998 the people of R-Udayagiri and Nuagada block gheraoed the R-Udayagiri police station in protest against the collusion of the local police with robbers. About five thousand armed tribals blocked the roads, cut off R-Udayagiri town from all other headquarters, beat up the police and corrupt government officials, broke into the sub-jail and killed two robbers inside the jail. Following the R-Udayagiri incident the police tried their best to arrest the tribals from the adjacent villages but failed due to mass protest in these villages. They were able to arrest only three tribal people and 24 non-tribals in this connection.

Struggle for Land

Other than the struggle for selling suplus land the tribals are also organised under the banner of the ‘CMS’ to reoccupy their traditional lands, which were transferred to non-tribal occupiers legally or illegally. The tribal and non-tribal people of Lachhamanguda village of Padmapur block in Rayagada district occupied a 5-acre surplus declared pond, from the control of a known landlord of that area. The landless tribals of this village had also seized a big chunk of government land (Gochar) and started cultivation on it.

In the year 1996 the tribals of Augur Panchayat were organised to reoccupy 6-acres of tribal land and won the battle facing the armed police and the false cases foisted upon them. In 1997 tribals of Raba village of Mohana block of Gajpati district occupied 50 acres of tribal land which were under the control of non-tribals since the last 3 to 4 decades. Four comrades were arrested in this struggle and cases were foisted on many. Finally the tribals won the battle. About 400 to 500 peasants participated in this land struggle. In 1998, the land movement started in Mandrabaju and Sindhba of Mohana block, Murising-Tabarda of Naugada block and in many other places of Gajpati district. Recently land struggles have also started in Lamber village of Chandrapur block of Rayagada district and in Duliponkal of Anugur panchayat in Gajpati district. In all these movements hundreds of peasants are participating to occupy the land and to counter police repression. Three police camps have been set up near the Mandrabaju village and one near Duliponkal village in the name of maintaining law and order. The police forces are not only exploiting the people, but also attacking their women folk.

Struggle for Wages

The J.K. Corporation has been taking away bamboo from the Rayagada and Gajpati districts. The bamboo corporation has been exploiting the tribal and non-tribal workers with regard to wages and several other issues. In 1997-98 the bamboo workers were organised under the banner of the "Bana Sramika Sangha" and started a wage hike struggle with the support of the CMS. After a partial victory, the wage-hike struggle began to get more organised from the succeeding year. To assert the tribals’ right on the forest it was decided that the company should be permitted to cut bamboos according to the decisions of the various village committees of the organisation. In this connection a ‘save forest campaign’ was also conducted. The company agreed to the organisation’s decisions and wage rates were hiked by 15%.

In the current year wage struggles were also conducted with regard to various government developmental works. Before the struggle the contractors had given Rs. 25, instead of the stipulated Rs. 30 to working women. The organisation conducted struggles on the demand for equal wage for equal work and won. Soon after the declaration of 40 rupees as the minimum government wage, the organisation started another struggle and this is now being implemented at several places.

Struggle against Government taxes

In some panchayats of this area taxes were collected from the tribals on their hens, goats, cows and buffalos. The organisation called upon the people not to pay these taxes and it was first implemented in Kerdang and Parimal panchayat of Nuagada block. Taxes were also collected from different local markets known as — ‘hatas’ on different goods of the peasants. Each year, at the time of the Dasahara festival, the local police have been collecting taxes on licenced and unlicenced private guns, which is not even legal according to the existing law. Recently the organisation called upon the people to stop paying all these taxes and struggles have already started on these issues and it is reported that the tax system has been stopped in two or three local markets.

Other struggles

Struggles are also being conducted against liquor trading and gambling, against theft of tribal properties by non-tribals, against corruption indulged in by various government officials and their other anti-people activities. In the day-to-day activities of the organisation, people have been organising themselves, conducting people’s courts and punishing the culprits. The culprit may be a thief, may be a corrupt school master, a corrupt BDO, a molester, or a rapist; each one is punished according to the level of crime committed. In organising all these initiatives the Mandinera panchayat of Gajpati district has been in the lead. While the people of Mandinera succeeded in recovering the school property from a corrupt school master, the people of Khajurpada panchayat of Nuagada block were successful in collecting 10,000 rupees as fine from a molester and in sending him to jail.

In a molestation case, the district collector and police officers had to attend a Jan Panchayat. The Jan Panchayat was held in front of the Khaji Pode PS. The government officials themselves collected the sum of money (10,000 Rs) levied on the culprits.

A dalal, who earlier belonged to the CMS, stole money from the CMS fund and took shelter in the house of a money-lender in Nuagada of Rayagada district. Police came to rescue him. But the wrath of the people forced the anti-people elements to give Rs. 1500 to the CMS as a fine. The police too paid Rs. 300.

Recently some lumpens tried to attack an important activist of the CMS in Mandimera panchayat of Gajpati district. The lumpens were instigated by liquor merchants, as the CMS had been building a broad-based people’s movement against the liquor business. A Jan Adalat was held in this panchayat and the lumpen was fined Rs. 10,000. The said lumpen surrendered before the organisation and admitted his faults in writing.

To conduct all these struggles more effectively, the organisation is restructured and village committees have been formed in the various villages. Taking two to five panchayat committees one area committee has been formed and there are 9 such area committees under the Rayagada-Gajpati divisional committee. Campaign and propaganda is being conducted to arm the people against the state. Inspired by the organisational activities and developments, tribal youths have been coming forward to devote their life for the cause of the people and revolution, becoming whole-timers for this noble cause. Let us hope to see a formidable guerilla front in this most backward region of southern Orissa.

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