Who speaks for the Adivasi’s right to the forests?

Thaindia News 

Sunday, April 17, 2011 1:39:58 PM by ANI ( Leave a comment )

By Aloka KujurRanchi, Apr 17 (ANI): Much is at stake for the Adivasis in Jharkhand. Inhabitants of a region heavily forested for hundreds of years and rich in mineral and ore deposits, they have lived in close contact with nature, turning to the forest for many of their needs.
That itself has been the basis of the protection of forests, which have remained the wealth of the region. This has been probably the most defining character of not only Adivasis in Jharkhand, but tribal communities across the world. Adivasis have an inherent right over forest produce and this is implicit in the nature of their traditional relationship with the land and forests. The governing classes have been constrained to recognise it as such from the time of the colonial rulers.
After Independence and the making of a modern nation state, things began to change. The inherent and even unquestionable right of the Adivasis over forestland now began to be questioned. Indeed, the nature of their link with the forest was now threatened by the new economic and industrial forces, which came into play. This in a nutshell is the root of a conflict between forces industrialisation for an exploitation of the rich natural resources of the region and adivasi way of life, which is based on retaining the forests. What is crucial in such a debate or even conflict is the stand by the government of the land. Whose interest will it protect and to what extent? Indeed the challenge for any government and policy maker is to evolve a development model, which focuses on the interests of these forest communities yet opens out the potential of the region to forces of modernisation and puts in place a people-centric development.
It is, however, easier said than done. Let us put it in perspective. Jharkhand is governed under the V Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which applies to states having a dominant tribal population. There exist a slew of measures, of Laws and Acts, inherited from the colonial period, and others passed by Parliament meant to augment, strengthen and protect interests of the adivasi, his link with the land, water and forests.
Of course, these did not come as largesse from an enlightened establishment. Many of these were hard fought battles, which mark a little known history of the adivasis in this eastern region. The Chota Nagpur Tenancy Agricultural Act (CNT) 1908 and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Agricultural law (SPT) 1949 have been a result of such agitation. The CNT expressly states that agricultural land cannot be sold or transferred to a non-adivasi and certainly not for commercial purposes.
Infact both these Acts are singular in their provisions for protection of adivasi lands, traditional self-governance and preservation of cultureThe agitation and the issues that it stood for have remained a truism for the region over the last few decades while new political systems have marked history beginning with Independence. More recently in 2000, the formation of new states including Jharkhand carved out of the erstwhile larger ones also signified a change. What did these changes signify for the adivasis?
With priorities of the ruling classes changing, with larger industrial and commercial interests taking predominance, there has been over this period, a gradual but palpable dilution of the commitment towards protection of these forest communities. According to sources, there has been a loss of 22,00,000 acres of land due to breaches in the existing Laws ever since IndependenceThe ruling classes have unfortunately shown themselves as complicit in the crime. In 2003, a committee was formed to make amendments in CNT and SPT Acts. In a nutshell, the entire effort has been to push the people out from the forestland and make it available for the industrial and commercial lobby eying the land, the forest produce and what lies beneath the ground.
What this government and any government needs to unequivocally do is to ensure that this is protected and the Adivasis have an unfettered rights to the forests, centered around their traditional relationship with the land. Instead, there has been a reversal, a violation of these rights in subsequent measures including through legislation.
The Land Acquisition Act 1894 upholds the supremacy of the sovereign for total colonization of any territory in the name of ‘public interest’ The 2007 Amendment to this historical Act dealt with the rehabilitation and compensation of communities having traditional rights over lands taken over by the government The devastation that such measures have wreaked is all too obvious. The Torpa region, 90 km from Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi stretching over about 12,000 acres is home to the Munda Adivasis.
Breathtakingly beautiful, dotted with mountains, forests, rivers and canals, this has been protected by the CNT Act and the community enjoyed control over all collective resources of the land. Now, this land has been marked to be allotted to Mittal Steel in sheer violation of not only the spirit, but the letter of the Acts that are in place. The area marked is not only forestland but fertile. According to the CNTAct, such a transfer requires the express consent of the Gram Sabha. These are not isolated cases. Across its pristine landscape, tribals are getting displaced due to various developmental projects. Baitala’s Munda Adivasi are displaced by HEC. The Adivasi of Barwadih, Manika, Vishnupur, Satbarwa forest region are struggling for resettlement. Meanwhile the plunder continues. According to Munsawar, a villager: “Baitala region was once very rich. But the mafia has cleared the forests, the forests department doesn’t take any action against the mafia, but when the local people cut wood or take forest produces for their routine use, they are sent to jail. People are unaware of their rights on the forest as the Right on the Forest Act is not properly publicised here.”The powers that be are playing for very high stakes in Jharkhand. The communities most vulnerable to this onslaught are clearly the ones, who will lose not only the physical access to land but see the destruction of a way of life which has sustained them for generations.
Not that they are giving in without a fight. The Bhumi Raksha Morcha has started a movement covering 44 villages, which are threatened by such displacement. Such movements will need to be augmented and supported by all those who believe development models need to fine-tuned to the intrinsic and organic needs of a settled community and not the other way round.
Writing for Charkha Development Communications, the author feels the government should protect the rights of Adivasis and ensure they have unfettered rights to the forests, centered around their traditional relationship with the land. (ANI)

More at : Who speaks for the Adivasi’s right to the forests? http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/feature/who-speaks-for-the-adivasis-right-to-the-forests_100526848.html#ixzz1NtDR6h00

In Jharkhand, the forest is like a mother to Adivasis

2011-05-04 16:50:00

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For Adivasis, the forest is their provider, taking care of food, medicine, firewood and herbs. Forest produce like lac and mahua are sold in the market for cash. Small wonder then, that for the Adivasi, the forest is like a mother's bosom. So, why is it that this harmony is lost on those who make policies? The government's program, in the name of Joint Forest Management, highlights this lack of understanding, this denial or refusal to accept and enhance the equations that exist on ground. In Jharkhand, this has a tragic consequence. The state is blessed by nature including mountains and luxuriant teak forests. Teak not only symbolises the culture and way of life of the Adivasis, it also has a very important role of retaining ground water levels. Ask any Adivasi, and you will get an anguished response to this. Seeing the depletion of forest cover, they recognise the threat to not only to their physical existence, but also their entire belief system, cultural and social practices, and in a larger sense their identity. This may be seen as subjective, and even a non-intellectual response, but it is for the government to go about collecting data and putting together an objective forest policy framework. In Bonda village, in Chanho block, the collection of fuel from the forest is affected. Chandra Dev Tana Bhagat, a villager rues, "In and around the forest, all such trees are being planted, which is not useful. Its leaves can't be used. According to him, the forest has a wisdom, an innate sense of what to allow to grow and what to throw out. Yet, there is now an outside force that is derailing this natural process. Bhagat goes on to say, "Suddenly, the government has started planting useless trees which can damage the traditional forest property." Not that the communities have been passively accepting their fate. There has been noise and agitation around the issue. Soma Uraon of Chauda village says, "The people who live around the forest have been fighting against this new form of encroachment for many years". Yet it is so much water off duck's back and government continues its mindless plantation, its replacement of precious forest wealth with cheap alternatives. The question is why? Is this sheer mindlessness or is there a larger conspiracy at work? he answers are not so hard to find, you simply need to join the dots. The teak wood in the forest is priceless and is vanishing at an alarming rate. It is an open secret that the timber mafia is entrenched in the area. . The thick forests of Khunti are completely destroyed because of wood smuggling. In Ormanjhi block, teak worth probably lakhs has been cut. Infact to put a price on it would be a disservice, and still undervalued. Its worth in terms of its value to the Adivasis is infinitely more. At another level, the suppression of the rights of the Adivasis continues. The police acting upon the complaint of the Forest Department arrest forest settlers of the region slapping on cases of encroachment of forestland. The pity is that these incidents, this fear and insecurity continues despite the existence of the Forest Act, 2006 which clearly safeguards the rights of the forest communities in relation to the forest and its produce. Sub section 5 of Article 4 of the Act states that unless the process of claim of trespassers on the forest land is not complete, the police or the officials of Forest Department cannot remove them from the place, Yet the police, mostly at the behest of the Department continues to slap cases against the hapless villagers. Is this then not a violation of the Law? Such cases abound. In Adasadam village of Jarideeh block the police slapped cases against 15 villagers. According to the FIR, these villagers are booked for cultivating land meant to plant trees. What has been overlooked is that the eight families who have been affected are domicile since 1939 and have 'zamindari' receipts to corroborate their rights on the land. They also have receipt for the land that was given to them in 2005. So what is the justification for such arbitrariness, such flagrant violation of the law of the land? There is none but then why are those that are inflicting injury not being brought to book? Do we need a super-cop, a super-authority to oversee the functioning of those who have been vested with power and authority in the first place? The Charkha development communication network feels that the government needs to wake up to the importance of nurturing forests and the rights of the communities connected with it. The preservation of the bond of the Adivasi to the forest, the spirit of protecting and nurturing it should be the policy. It would make governance and development in tune with the needs of the people, not antithetical to them. By Aloka Kujur (ANI)

All About: Ranchi

http://epaper.risingkashmir.com/2342011/default.asp

Strange bedfellows

Aloka kujur, Charkha Features (www.deccanherald.com)
Gizmos and ‘adivasis’ represent two opposite ends of a pole, yet Chinese products have brought them together! Aloka kujur explores this strange reality in the interiors of Jharkhand.
Political issues or the trade imbalance with China notwithstanding, there is a serious Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai bonhomie happening in Jharkhand, a region which falls under the V Schedule of the Constitution as having a large scheduled tribe (ST) community. Politics makes strange bedfellows but trade and commercial interests also are great levellers of intellectual, ideological, regional or cultural differences. Often, it is based on treaties and agreements signed between governments and heads of state. Sometimes, it is in response to a demand of goods on the other side of the border, a need which finds its way through other channels.  Rather than sermonise about it, condemn or alternately condone it, it may be useful to examine the underlying factors which make the goods of one country find a bustling market in another. The study becomes even more interesting when this reflects the needs and aspirations of rural communities living totally cut off from the world of consumer goods. This is exactly what is happening in Jharkhand, where the adivasi or tribal communities are joyfully buying up goods which traditionally they never used, or perhaps had no access to. Suddenly the sale of mobile phones, batteries, torch, radio, TV, LCD, DVD, camera and electronic toys has picked up and doing brisk business. Of course, Jharkhand is not the sole state to be bitten by the Chinese bug. Over the last few years, Chinese products and goods first made their presence felt in India, when customers, mostly from the middle class, woke up to the plethora of ‘Made in China’ goods ranging from watches to garments to crockery. They were cheap, useful and readily available, meeting a variety of household needs. That these were lapped up by a burgeoning middle-class, largely urban, is not difficult to understand. Driven by a need to acquire all the items of a good life has been an aspiration for this class, particularly the lower middle-class. The catch was that their income was not commensurate with their needs, and this is a gap, which was amply, and indeed cleverly filled by Chinese products, a perfect fit. What is more difficult to understand is how this fit works in the tribal areas of Jharkhand. The adivasis who inhabit these lands are known to be ‘forest dwellers’ living off the forest produce like lac, tendu leaves, tamarind combined with some agriculture for their needs. Their way of life and socio-cultural patterns are entwined with the forest, worshipping nature, and in a deeper sense, protecting the natural resources. Yet, it is curiously amongst this community which has carried these traditions from time immemorial, preserved the unique culture and dialects, that indeed Chinese goods have created a niche. It is perplexing, this coming together of opposite poles of lifestyle, one based on an intuitive and symbiotic bond with nature in its pristine form, and the other, based on acquisition of a large number of cheap utility items; ‘utility’ as defined by a popular consumerist culture. A clash of civilisations, it would seem, but in Jharkhand, it is apparently not so, with both co-existing and even dovetailing into a composite whole. Suddenly, the dark huts of the forest, abode of thousands of adivasis, are starting to shine with the white light of Chinese torches. Mobile phones, say a decade ago, were out of reach for these people, yet obviously the yearning was there. Especially amongst those who migrated in search of livelihood and were unable to buy a mobile phone to be in touch with their family. This gap was filled after 2000, by cheap Chinese electronic goods, including mobile sets, and spread literally like bush-fire, lapped up by the local population. This was not all. Labourers in agriculture or industry across the region were attracted to the new gadgets which opened up a new world for them. It was inconceivable for an adivasi to buy a branded colour TV or any electronic item produced in India by an established company. It was simply beyond their means. Yet, these items represented a world of aspirations, entirely different from what their culture and tradition bestowed on them. The lure of material goods, of a lifestyle that boasted of these and brought modern facilities into their life was something they consciously reached out to. It was not inherited along with the socio-cultural patterns sanctified by their symbiotic link with the forest. This latent, unexpressed need has now found an outlet. Gizmos and adivasis represent two opposite ends of a pole, yet Chinese products have brought them together! This too is an aspect of an adivasi aspiration, and not necessarily what the intelligentsia and ‘culture-vultures’ of our age have categorised them into. Indeed, it can be an eye-opener for policy makers and activists alike. That an adivasi can also make a conscious choice and aspire towards acquiring consumer goods reflects changing socio-economic priorities. It may sound simplistic and perhaps too premature to arrive at any conclusion, but at the same time, it should not be ignored. There is a view that it is imperative for the world at large to ‘preserve’ the old way of life of the tribals in its pristine glory. The popularity of Chinese products makes a hole in the theory. Safdar, an organisation working in the region, made a study into usage of battery-run TV, mobile, emergency light, torch charger, and pen. Their findings confirmed the fact that all these had become necessities in the lives of rural population. There is also another aspect of this proliferation of goods and that is the livelihood opportunities for those who stock and sell these products. In sum, everybody is happy. There has been much talk about the lack of development in tribal areas and government’s plans to allocate resources towards regions which, since India’s independence, have remained on the fringes. Perhaps, this is one way that the tribal communities living here have spoken, in an unpretentious way about their aspirations and priorities, in their journey towards this larger development. It would be wise to factor in this aspect while planning for the development of tribal areas, and the move to mainstream adivasis inhabiting these into the rest of society. [ Post Comments ] By: ranjitgrover On: 17 Apr 2011 08:06 pm it only goes to prove that the social mores are not hard wired into the forest dwellers. their way of life is imposed on them by the financial and local circumstances. they too have the normal "wants" and "needs" that are taken as natural in an ordinary citizen of the nation. the fact is that the romanticized part of their life is a myth. they have a hard life. an LED solar rechargeable light is a great comfort for them. it is not a luxury. Reply |  Report abuse

Has the paradigm for women labour changed?

Wednesday, March 02, 2011 5:46:25 PM by ANI 
(www.Thaindian News)

By Aloka KujurRanchi, Mar 2 (ANI): Across millions of households in India, straddling the rural and urban, there seems to be a tacit understanding that women of the house including girls should put in long hours of work to ensure the functioning of the house and the comfort of all members.This assumption invariably is followed by another one that the work done by women across millions of households across the country does not amount to a contribution to the family or society or the economy. In a nutshell, the hours of cleaning, cooking, rearing children, looking after the sick and elderly, fetching water, cattle rearing and a multitude of tasks especially in agricultural based homes is simply unrecognised. The term for it is ’service’, in the larger ambit of ‘family and social duty’ and is perceived to be different from the contribution of men, which is ‘labour’. This view pervades across society. In a personal or subjective sphere, this would amount to an undervaluing of women, leading to discrimination. In a larger arena or a more objective sense, this engenders an erroneous evaluation of the women’s contribution to society, and a miscalculation of her worth to the economy. If one were to calculate or put a figure on it, the picture could change drastically. The wheels of social progress, the growth of the economy is today dependent on the labour of women. This needs to be quantified so that it is recognised and due value given to it. It should also lead to changing social perceptions, which view women’s role in society as ‘unproductive’. Apart from domestic or household work, more women are likely to be involved in ‘undocumented’ or ‘disguised’ work like farm labourers, domestic or artisan. According to a 1991 World Bank Report this could be 90 per cent of working women.Women are also less likely to be counted into the official workforce as many of these overlap with the ‘household’ work category. In fact it is crucial that such errors are dispensed with and the leaders in society and indeed the political leadership in any region or country factor this in while planning for economic growth and social development. From the four walls of domesticity, this view pervades the larger labour market. Invariably women get lower wages than men. It is true that in modern economies, the opportunities for women have opened up and they ‘man’ or perhaps to use a more appropriate term, they ‘woman’ diverse fields from agriculture, construction, healthcare, banks, schools, marketing, science, research, infact practically every field or endeavour of human activity.Yet they remain marginalized; and are a category of citizens who provide equal work on lower wages. Given the entrenched systems of thought and practice, it has been a long struggle by women’s groups and social activists of questioning fundamental attitudes of discrimination towards women, one that reflects in economic disparities and of course in social mores. Women in India are gradually becoming aware of their rights, but the pace is painfully slow. That the odds are heavily stacked against them is a given; the challenge is how to go around it.Movements that demand ‘Equal Wages for Equal Work” is one. Clarity and vision needed to give women their due place in the social, economic and political spheres of the country. Understandably this is a huge challenge. It calls for not only changing stereotypes, but also evolving policies, allocating funds and ensuring implementation. One of the crucial areas, which are crying out for this kind of attention, is the issue of women labourers working in the unorganised sector.According to 1991 census, alarming 95 per cent women belong to this category. Do they get equal wages for their labour as men? What about facilities which women workforce requires and infact is an agenda for many social and political movements. Maternity benefits, crèche or day-care facilities for children, toilets form this agenda which governments are then pressured to adopt. Again, the extent to which women are taken care of shows the maturity of not only the women’s movements but the stage of evolution of any society across the world. We are sadly not very high on this scale. A report prepared by the Lok Sabha Standing Committee on Labour under Sudhakar Reddy in 2006 outlines the unorganized labourer social security. Women who do not get salary, wages or benefits from the market are excluded from the term ‘labourers’. Nor does it provide for labour rights, or social security rights, for women.It then seems preposterous to say that women, the large unorganized, unrecognized workforce is at the crossroads.Terming the ‘labour’ of women as ’service’ or ‘devotion’ or ’shramdaan’ does not hide the calumny; it brings it out in even sharper ways. The Constitution of India seeks to promote and sustain democratic values, social justice and equity.The Government of India is meant to take this as the foundational guideline and evolve policies to further a prosperous, just and equitable society. So why are women sidelined in countless ways as she goes about her business of living, earning, nurturing, and contributing to society? Why this endemic discrimination, both at the work place and at home, her supposedly safe haven? Infact, the Charkha Development Communications, feels the safe haven needs to extend beyond the home to the larger society and nation. Only then can our society and this nation really evolve. (ANI)

Adivasis: Pawns in Development?

new kerala new.com by ANI

By Aloka Kujur, Ranchi, Jan 15 : Down the ages, the adivasi community, which inhabits what is presently Jharkhand, have lived their lives closely connected with the land, mostly the forests that both sustain them and they in turn nurture.

They have faced challenges in the past that threatened the symbiotic connection between their lives and natural resources be it water forests and land (Jal Jangal Jameen).

Historically, the dreaded famine of Bengal in the 1770's the famine triggered off a wave of migrations from Bengal into adjoining lands the Santhal dominated areas of present day Jharkhand, notably Potka. Communities like ' Sundi' (Mandal) and 'Baniya' (Monalaha) made this their home and lived amongst adivasi communities notably the 'Bhumij' and 'Santhali'.

The clash between the non-adivasi and the adivasi way of life and thought was based on the relationship to Jal-Jangal-Jameen. For adivasis this was a hallowed bond, life would be inconceivable without it. For others, it was a more practical approach sans the reverence. Infact many of these communities were engaged in non-forest activities for their livelihood like trading ('Khoja' in colloquial terms) and wine-making.

Today the contemporary realities in Jharkhand are quite different yet these differences still play themselves out in the modern context. The land is still largely inhabited by adivasis. The predominant face is still very much the farmer, the agricultural labourer. Society is still defined by the bond that communities share with the land.

Yet super-imposed on this picture of the yore is another super-structure of economic and social relationships. In essence, this is a reflection of the industrialization and globalisation that is sweeping not just this state but also the entire country.

Industry is not new to Jharkhand. This too like the socio-economic patterns of society has been part of another kind of tradition. Beginning as early as 1905, the present-day Jharkhand has been home to major engineering works and large companies like Tata Steel, Bokaro Steel Corporation and Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC).

Today, Jharkhand with its immense deposits of mineral and iron ore is being eyed as a gold-mine of opportunities by industries. The political establishment regardless has gone all out to open the doors to the modern industries.

Quick on the heels of the formation of the state of Jharkhand, carved out of Bihar, Chief Minister Babulal Marandi set the ball rolling in 2001 with Industrial Policy. This proposed a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) from Barahi to east Singha Bhoom in Hazari Bagh.

This was taken forward by another leader Arjun Munda who by 2005 had signed a number of MOUs with industrialists on a variety of projects to exploit the state's natural wealth. To facilitate these, the political bosses perceived a need to amend the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, considered safeguards for Adivasis.

Around the same time a Delhi based company Bhushan Steel and Power Limited approached the state government with its project and rather summarily, without a formal MoU began the selection process of land for its unit. In 2006 came the MOU with Mittal Steel, which is hailed by the government as a landmark achievement. 14 villages in Potka were identified.

Yet through this trajectory of industrialisation in Jharkhand runs a parallel story of displaced lives, unfulfilled promises and broken dreams. Right from the inception of industrialization, this has been the case. All industries today stand on lands of adivasis who have been displaced, been promised jobs but find themselves on the margins today.

A typical scenario runs like this: Factories which acquired lands by promising employment gave one member from a displaced family the job. But what about the others given the fact that there would invariably 6-7 potential job-seekers in any one family?

The army of the landless and the disposed increased while the select few got jobs. Clearly Jharkhand's massive industrialization drive was not based on the sound principles of equity and social justice.

There is another factor , a more technical one which drives this 'joblessness' Jharkhand has been primarily an area for the mining industry. The lack of technical expertise amongst the locals prevented their large-scale recruitment. Perhaps one of the family members got absorbed into the 'non-technical' field say a peon. For the rest, industry preferred recruitments from outside, skilled persons who were readily available.

Obviously the social commitment of industry was not advanced to a level to plough resources into training of the local populace. Nor did the Government step in which is a serious flaw. It should have woken up to the immense potential of industrialisation in the state and linked it to creating new livelihoods.

The trend to downscale and trim down workforce only added to the angst of the people. It makes sound business sense perhaps but has a human fall-out. Ramesh Sharan is economist in Ranchi University does not envisage big industries creating employment opportunities.

The recent economic recession was bad news for this shrinking job base. Every company retrenched its employees. This has coincided with Arcelor- Mittal's plans to set up a steel plant in Potka region. It has unabashedly declared that its work force would be drawn in from outside.

Kumarchandra Madi a long-time social worker in Potka says "The existence of Adivasis is linked with their culture. Their livelihood is linked with water, forest and land. 62 years' experience of Independent India tells us that the Adivasis lost everything in this rat race of development. A recent statement of the Minister of Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, recognises that the single biggest threat to forests comes from development and growth.

There is a growing realization in the policy circles that this needs change. Control over forest land needs to rest more and more with the local community and farther away from the government. Otherwise the drive for industrialization and growth as currently defined in the economic sense would continue to threaten the country's forests.

This means a community-led approach to forest conservation. This holds out a hope for the adivasis in Jharkhand who have unwittingly found themselves in a game or a race towards 'development'. This has nothing to do with their interests; infact runs contrary to it. Charkha Development Service points out how this more holistic, inclusive concept of replaces the current exploitative one will depend on the sagacity of the government and the political will to stand by it.

--ANI

IT triggers migration in Jharkhand

OPED | Monday, January 11, 2010 The Pioneer
This is not necessarily good news. A lot more needs to be done in rural areas, writes Aloka

We are living in times when the world has shrunk. The marvel of Information Technology has brought people, places and ideas closer. It is time to think about what this phenomenon is doing to villages in Jharkhand and rural areas across the country where agriculture is in peril. In the face of rising input costs, inadequate attention by the state and lack of alternate livelihoods in the agriculture sector, small and marginal farmers are being pushed to the brink. They are compelled to join the multitude of rural folk migrating out of their villages in search of livelihoods to become labour force in urban industrial hubs.

Migration was once regarded as a last-ditch move but it has now become a matter-of-course. There was a time when only small farmers and agricultural labourers used to migrate to cities from villages following drought or floods. Now, people from all sections of rural society are migrating to cities. While poverty and failing agriculture are the factors that result in mass exodus, there is another ‘pull’ factor at work hidden but powerful.

And that is Information Technology which has virtually connected villagers from remote areas to economic prospects in cities. Its affect on the minds of rural communities cannot be trivialised. Earlier it was through word of mouth that rural folks would come to know about employment opportunities outside their villages. In this day and age, means of communication have improved and much more is known about the kind of work, payment, etc than in the past.

There are other compelling reasons for this ‘communication-induced’ migration boom which lie in the emergent economic forces that rely on capital-intensive and not labour-intensive industry. These economic forces ‘need’ cheap labour to migrate to urban centres, where capital is concentrated so that the wheels of industrialisation can be kept running. In fact, the extension of railways, road networks in addition to the spread of telephone and even internet have all come together to create and maintain the emerging economic patterns of society.

The underlying problem is larger, that of development or a warped form of development that is based on allowing big companies to swallow villages, forests and mountains and build urban centres of prosperity.

New technologies have also often deprived people of their livelihood options. Instead of addressing the needs of the rural communities in remote areas, the focus is on centralised development.

Whatever the factors leading to this skewed development model, the effect is quite tangible. Besides, the migrants face immense difficulties in new areas of their settlement. Whether it is crossing the rural-urban divide or coping with differences in cultural and social patterns in other regions, the migrants face identity crisis and are bereft of the support structure that was accessible in their villages. Therefore, a problem which began as an economic one becomes a social one.

Probably, the most affected are the children. With the head of the family often being the one to migrate, children grow up devoid of the presence and support in their formative years. The attention to their schooling, food, medical needs and the imparting of values that take place seamlessly within families in rural areas becomes a casualty.

There is possibly an even bigger casualty that does not figure either as a statistic or an accepted social indicator. With the face of migration changing, instead of groups, people are migrating individually for better and more lucrative prospects. Earlier the migrant group would stick together and customs, cultural patterns and social equations would continue to flourish as they did back in village. There would be interfaces with different communities in the new areas leading to an exchange of ideas and knowledge. It has also helped to soften the barriers of caste and region. But the change has also created an ugly scenario. People are pursuing individual goals even in the migratory circuit and thus are estranged from each other. A village society and economy which is based on collective strength and co-existence is giving way to individualistic way of life marked by a lack of concern for the collective.

The new Government in Jharkhand has its work cut out quite clearly as it has to take measures to make agriculture profitable for farmers so that they stay back and stick to it. Industry and new economic activities can be on the agenda but not at the cost of what sustains the livelihoods of vast sections of its population.