By Jayantha Das
Sundargarh is burning in the name of development, fertile agricultural land has been snatched, forests have been decimated in the name of extractive mining, and the indigenous adivasi population have lost not only their livelihood but also been displaced from their shanties multiple times.
Governmental Apathy and oppression has throttled and pushed the adivasis into further penury, though the president is considered to be the guardian of the scheduled areas, the collector and his minion of officers have ensured that their voices are not hear. In this scheduled area also there was nothing different. The collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan ( IAS) has not taken any action to uphold the constitution or the rights of the Adivasis in this country from illegal transfer of land and resources. The people of Sundergarh has been demanding for the immediate cancellation of an order to include a few more Gram Panchayat Areas into the corporation of Rourkela which is violation of the constitution. But the State government has slept on the pleas of the People of sundergarh and forced the people to take the call for an economic blockade from 20.01,2015.
“Sundergarh Zilla Adiwasi Mulwasi Bachao Manch” has been leading the struggle in a peacefull manner, and had submitted a memorandum of the same to His excellency the President of India and also the prime minister requesting for immediate action on the matter as the issue has become a bone of contention in Scheduled Areas. However with the entry of a posse of armed forces people both women, pregnant women and lactating mothers have been indiscriminately picked up arrested or detained. Deme Oraon has been struggling to get the voices of adivasis heard. Mr. Nikhil Kalyan is known for using the government machinery and brute force to suppress the voices of adivasis. The movement in Hemgiri Block to stop 3000 trucks per day plying through the Village Road putting the lives of 24 adivasi villages at risk was brutally suppressed by intimidation, arrests and oppression. These movements and protests show the middle classes lack of response to the plight of their own indigenous population in a very bad light and brings forth the question: Who was the panchaayti and ULB elections beneficiaries ? What are these elected leaders position when 5th Scheduled Area are burning and the adivasis are being killed? We need to ask these questions.
