The road to 'civilisation' is paved with bad intentions.
Infestation, in'fes•ta'tion n. the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. Do people inhabit the lands and forests that they have been living in for thousands of years or do they infest them? The answer to this no-brainer of a question might well lie at the root of the problem being faced by the Jarawas in the Andaman Islands today. The video showing the Jarawa women dancing on the Andaman Trunk Road, apparently for food, is just the latest manifestation of a malaise that is so deep that one might well argue that there is no hope for the Jarawa.
In 1965, the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Government of India, published an important document related to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands: ‘The Report by the Inter Departmental Team on Accelerated Development Programme for A&N Islands.' The contents of the report and their purpose were evident in the title itself — it laid out the roadmap for the development of these islands and set the stage for what was to happen over the decades that have followed.
This little known report of less than a 100 pages in size is remarkable for the insight it provides into the thinking and the mindset of the times. There is what one might call a shocker on every page of this document and here is a just a sampling:
Page 26: …The Jarawas have been uniformly hostile to all outsiders with the result that about half the Middle Andaman is treated as a Jarawa infested (emphasis added) area which is difficult for any outsider to venture… With the present road construction and the colonisation of the forest fringes, friction has become more frequent, and no month passes without a case of attack by the Jarawas.
Page 69: The completion of the Great Andaman Trunk Road would go a long way to help in the extraction of forest produces...
A nation that had just fought its way out of the ignominy of being a colony was well on the way to becoming a coloniser itself. And those that came in the way could only be pests or parasites infesting the forests that had valuable resources locked away from productive use.
It is also pertinent to note here that in 1957 itself, more than a 1000 sq. km of these “Jarawa infested” forests of South and Middle Andaman had already been declared protected as a Jarawa Tribal Reserve under the provisions of the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation (ANPATR) — 1956. The 1965 report was in complete violation, or was a result of complete ignorance of this legal protection to the Jarawa and the forests that they have inhabited for thousands of years.
The seeds that were sown then have bloomed into myriad noxious weeds today and if one knows this history, the latest video that has generated so much heat is not in the bit surprising. Much space in the media, both print and electronic, has been occupied in the last few days by a range of claims and counter claims — about the date of the video, about the police involvement in its making, the role of tour operators and about fixing blame and responsibility. A little known fact that lies at the root of the issue has been all but forgotten — the existence of the Andaman Trunk Road, where this infamous video was shot about three years ago. The Andaman Trunk Road that the 1965 report offered as a good way of extracting resources from the forests of the Jarawa had been ordered shut by a Supreme Court order of 2002.
It's been a decade now and in what can only be called audacious defiance, the administration of this little Union Territory has wilfully violated orders of the highest court of the land. A series of administrators have come and gone but contempt for the Supreme Court remains.
Whenever asked about the order, the administration has tried to hide behind technicalities of interpreting the court order and arguing that the court had never ordered the road shut in the first place. They forget that in March 2003, a few months after the SC orders had been passed, they had themselves filed an affidavit with a plea to “permit the use/movement through the Andaman Trunk Road.” If it was not ordered shut, why the plea to keep it open? A few months later, in July 2003, the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee reiterated explicitly that the court orders include those for the closure of the ATR in those parts where it runs through the forests of the Jarawa Tribal Reserve. The A&N administration has clearly violated the court's order both in letter and in spirit.
It is a spirit that was evocatively articulated by Dr. R.K. Bhattacharchaya, former Director of the Anthropological Survey of India, in a report he submitted to the Calcutta High Court in 2004. “The ATR”, he said, “is like a public thoroughfare through a private courtyard… In the whole of human history, we find that the dominant group for their own advantage has always won over the minorities, not always paying attention to the issue of ethics. Closure of the ATR would perhaps be the first gesture of goodwill on part of the dominant towards an acutely marginalized group almost on the verge of extinction”.
The video in all its perversity offers us another opportunity, when all others in the past have been brushed aside either due to ignorance, arrogance or then sheer apathy. It's still not too late to make that ‘gesture of goodwill' because otherwise there will be many more such videos down the years and much worse will follow. The lessons from history are very clear on this. And it will hardly be a consolation that a few people will be left saying we told you so.
(The writer is associated with Kalpavriksh, one of the three NGOs whose petition before the Supreme Court resulted in orders for the closure of the Andaman Trunk Road in 2002. He is also the author of Troubled Islands — Writings on the indigenous peoples and environment of the A&N Islands.)
Keywords: Jarawas, Andaman Islands
Aritra Gupta
"The primary concern in those islands is the protection of the
Jarawas'.! There are at least a million people if not more, who have
migrated from other parts, living in the island. It is not that the
misery of the Jarawas doesn't bother the islanders. It is just that,
complete shut down of the trunk road will divide the islands into 2
remote sections (of the already remote Islands). Government has
already put in measures to protect their interest. The 'Caravan'
system followed in the route already creates massive bottleneck in
traffic. Still people never complained because we actually have learnt
to live with mutual understanding. If something needs to be done, it
is to improve the existing measures of safeguard. The remark that "It
doesn't matter if the sea route makes your guts spill out" shows your
sheer ignorance for the fact that you do not live here. We have lived
together happily before and will continue to do so despite the
unnecessary and impractical suggestions.
Ritesh Kumar Mishra
The primary concern in those islands is the protection of the Jarawas.
The Jarawas do not need truckloads of goodies for their development.
They need to be left alone. Your so-called argument that the road is
indispensable to the development of the locals seems to imply that it
is the locals only who need development and protection of interests,
while the Jarawas are shunted to second place.
It doesn't matter if the sea route makes your guts spill out. It is up
to the locals to find an alternative route that doesn't harm the
Jarwas' interests. The island is not the "locals'" personal property.
finally it all boils down to implementation of the laws of this
nation or the lack thereof. Anna Hazare can keep fighting for the
Lokpal bill but if the organization responsible, read "the police
and CBI" is powerless to apprehend those responsible for breaking
laws, then it is a lost cause. One of the rulings of the Apex court
(2006) is about police reforms which is another crucial issue which
needs to be implemented by all states. We can keep shouting from the
rooftops about the deteriorating situation of this country but
unless someone puts a leash on our corrupt politicians and big
money, we will keep sliding into the morass our other neighbouring
countries are today. THAT is the key issue.
its really painful to see the current situation of our precious tribals.......
It is extremely funny to see people react to the situation in a blind
biased way against the road. With all due respects to all the above
notes, how many people who took the time to write a reply actually
inquired what exactly is 'Andaman Trunk Road'(ATR). ATR when
constructed was one of the engineering marvels of its time with the
roads plying through the dense forests and difficult terrains.
Andaman being an archipilago has limited connectivity between islands.
This road ensured faster delivery of goods and hence incrased
development of even the remotest of the regions. The administration
defied the orders of supreme court due to local pressure since the
road serves a great deal to islanders. Those propagating 'use only the
sea route' should come themselves and take a 12 hour long journey in
these rough seas. By the end many will have have their guts poured out
in vomit. If misery was the only option to locals then immigration
should have been banned to the islands to begin with.
I am extremely concerned about the Jarawa tribe of the Andaman Islands. The Supreme Court of India ordered in 2002 that the road running through the Jarawa's reserve should be closed; yet it remains open! The road brings the tribe into regular contact with settlers and tourists who treat the Jarawa like animals in a human safari park. Poachers are also entering the Jarawa’s forest, hunting the animals the tribe relies on. Both tourists and poachers risk bringing disease, violence and exploitation to the tribe. Such contact could have devastating consequences for the Jarawa, putting their survival as a tribe at risk.
I urge GoI ( Govt.of India) to ensure that the alternative sea route is put in place as soon as possible; that the road is closed and the Jarawa reserve is protected. The Jarawa must be allowed to make their own decisions about their future, in their own time.
Amazes me how the law is disregarded with such impunity. The MHA arrested some locals in the Jarawa video case and called it a day. These people, the so-called "A&N administration" who are openly flouting Supreme Court orders were not even given a slap on the wrist. That's why these so-called govt people are so anxious that the "sovereignty" of the P'ment should remain for all eternity, eh?We think we are so much better than the double-crossing West, the West abandoned the thought that indigenous people can "infest" their ancient abode decades ago. And I thought Gandhiji who called the Dalits "Harijans" was our guiding spirit? Clearly not!
Events like these reflect the negative values towards an innocent group of our early ancestors. Indian government should adopt more stringent laws like those for women in general apart from those already in place. This is the ultimate opportunity for India to preserve some of the early civilization that is being swept away by modernization.
The ostentatious video showing the Jarawas dancing has flagrantly captured the media conscience. The video shows the local tribe dancing for food and money in front of some tourists. This misdemeanour by the tourists who hector them to dance is despicable and saps the image of our country. The Jarawa tribe is a natural heritage and are indigenous of the Andamans since aeons; and rigging them for the sake of enjoyment is a serious offence. Those who have practised such barb have to be chided on legal grounds. Tearing the vernacular parlance has malicious ulterior. Mal exploitation and making fun of someone's culture doesn't show rectitude but only turpitude. The opprobrium has sparked emotes within the masses. The exploitation of locals by tourist isn't new in India. Take a jaunt in Indian rail and you will meet mendicants and paraplegic people who perform poignant tasks and it really takes the heart out of our mouths. Some websites like 'youtube' are flooded with such unethical gruesome and risible acts which breed shame and disgrace to our country. When I was in England, the anglophiles badgered me with the question that "is India really a land of snake charmers, saadhus, people having some super spiritual power who tell future and gypsies?" I become discombobulated and strained that how to explain them the veracity of the ill-governance of my county. What exasperates and validates their nod is the publicizing of such videos. The question is, is it really the tourists who should be censured? The answer is NO. We even share the culpability with the infirm libel laws of the government. The abject destitute has no money, no power and no voice. They live as troglodytes from the government welfare doles because of the convoluted distribution system. Finding themselves fully ditched in this murky system and no means to make two ends meet, they have to unrelentingly retrograde to these activities which is highly extolled by not only the foreigners but by the Indian tourists. Beggary is a criminal offence, clearly emboldened in the constitution; but what has the government done to eliminate it. It has no welfare policies that could spawn work opportunities for them. Whenever a foreigner hears of Indian Tourism, his mien paints a picture of a place where thousands of poor people reside with full illiteracy rate. The government is a perfect paradigm of a policy paralysis milieu and is least concerned for the bona fide of the people who live at the abyss of this facade.
This kind of a problem is not specific to A&N alone.. A parallel can be drawn where tribals in mountain ranges/forests across the country, have their habitats and lifestyles destroyed for other commercial activities like mining etc.On one end is a GDP that needs to keeps growing, and in the other end is justice and a right to life of all the diverse communities of our country. If we can find a way or a set of policies to keep these two requirements from clashing against each other, then we might have a better way ahead.
The tribes are also human beings. Government is day and night working to bring marginalized groups into the mainstream. Ironically the same government, in the name of conservation, want to preserve tribe- culture. This is pure injustice to them. What government can do for thier benefit is to initiate few schemes for the development of those tribes gradually, provide them suitable jobs and do not allow them to become a source of entertainment for tourists. It is shame for the humanity where few advanced want to enjoy the marginalized, forgetting that, they have evolved from same condition.
Eye opener, Shame we had to wake up only after being noted by the foreign media. This would still be happening if not highlighted by foreign media. Let us wake up on our own.
Hope this unfortunate incident serves as a wake up call to the administration, till then every care must be taken by tour operators, tourists themselves and the environmental and social activists that we do not err on the same path.
Whoever has considered presence of another group of human beings in an area as infestation is not a human being.
The video creating waves in the country is not new to the locals, even the media. But who are we to decide what the jarawas want? why we are taking decisions on their behalf - there may be 20 jarawas willing to interact with the locals, there may be 200 jarawas want to work and come back to the forests, there may be a part of them totally against entering the "civilised" lanes - let them evolve, like we all have.
Thanks for this nice write up and for shedding some light on the history of the issue. Its ironic that our own countrymen have been referred as pests and have been a subject of ridicule or sheer apathy. I wonder if the law of the land is applicable only to the poor and helpless. Defying supreme court orders with such impunity is surprising and most unfortunate.
Pankaj has made the picture clear for all!
This is shocking. The act called as The Forest Act of 2006 which guaranteed the right to the forest dwellers to continue their occupancy in their tribal abodes seems to have been brushed aside by these reports of atrocious activities being carried out by people - with the consent of the administration. That too, it was done in contempt of the order passed by the Supreme court alltogether magnifies the importance of this issue. 10 years on, there seem to be no respite for the indigenous of Andaman and Nicobar where perhaps we will find the last of the original inhabitants of the Indians thousands of years ago.
Well written article.The Trunk Road should be closed immediately. It
is ' a public pathway in a private courtyard" and the courtyard
belongs to Jarwahs. Secondly all tourism should be stopped at least
for a decade or so to allow the fragile island to recoup itself.
Tourism has made a mess of that beautiful island. I could see even
massage parlors in P.Blair when I went there recently. Any attempt to
develop tourism to places like Havelock Islands have to stopped
immediately. Andaman has one of the highest rainfall in the country
and yet people get potable water once in 5 days during summer. This
is the result of "Development".Let us save Andaman by leaving it alone.
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