Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Campaign to seek support for tribals

Staff Reporter

Coimbatore: The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Coimbatore unit hosted a group of tribals from Bastar district of Chhattisgarh who visited the city as part of their propaganda campaign in the Southern States for eliciting support for the tribals.

Dr. Darshan Pal, National Co-ordinator, Campaign to Assist Tribals affected by Salwa Judum (CATAS), spoke to newsmen in Coimbatore on Tuesday. He said that there were 600 villages in Bastar district of which close to 70 per cent were forest areas with rich content of minerals.

Lease

In 2005, the government had given the mineral extraction lease to local bigwigs and multinational corporations.

Following resentment expressed by Maoists and local tribals, who feared threat to their livelihood and displacement, these companies had formed a force reportedly for self-defence under the name Salwa Judum.

Excesses

The main objective of Salwa Judum was to isolate the tribals from the Maoists and so far in the excesses and outrages committed by the force, close to 250 tribals had been killed and a number of women had undergone sexual harassment.

A large numbers of tribals had become refugees in their homeland and were taking shelter along the roadside in nearby towns.

Hence, CATAS had undertaken a yatra to Southern States to mobilise support by creating awareness among the people and also to mobilise resources for the tribals.

The yatra covering Maharastra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala is being organised by the PUCL in Tamil Nadu.

Five male members and two women from the tribal community are conducting skits through folk arts along the roadside detailing the harassment meted out to the tribals by the Salwa Judum.

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