TRIBALS LEARNING TO FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS’

Monday, 03 February 2014 | PNS | BHUBANESWAR | in Bhubaneswar

Don’t neglect the tribals; now they are learning to fight for their legitimate Constitutional rights,” said noted tribal leader and former Chairperson of SC and ST Commission Dillip Singh Bhuria, attending a massive rally of thousands of tribals here on Sunday. The rally was organised by the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) on the occasion of birth centenary of Ashram founder Bala Saheb Deshpande.

Bhuria said the tribals are still fighting for their rights though the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996 and the Forest Rights Act is there to help the community. The Central and the State Governments don’t take tribals’ issues seriously, for which they live in miserable condition, he added. VKA national vice-president Krupa Parasad Singh said the tribals should fight for their self-respect and fundamental rights unitedly. He called upon fellow tribals to remember the deeds of Deshpande to help others.

The tribals from different parts of the State attended a meeting of the Visal Janajati Adhikar Samabesh at the Swadhinata Sangrami Bhawan here and then came in a procession from the Ram Mandir Square to the Lower PMG here to participate in the rally organised by the VKA. Later, a delegation led by Singh submitted a memorandum to the Governor for protection of their legitimate rights.

Among others, VKA State president Lachhaman Nayak, Swami Pranarupananda Saraswati, Chairman reception committee Laxman Mahipal and VKA working president Jagdish Prasad Mishra spoke in the rally.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/tribals-learning-to-fight-for-their-rights.html

tribals asked to unite before poll

The Statesman
03 Feb 2014

to assert & seek answers through the ballot

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

Bhubaneswar, 2 February

Urging upon tribals to unite, Vanavasi Kalyan Samiti and BJP leaders said elections provide an opportunity to assert and seek answers from the government on what they have done to check the displacement of tribals and the loot of natural resources.

Tribals are the rightful owners of the forests, the minerals and the water streams which flow from hills , no government or company can deprive them of their ownership over ‘jamin, jal, jungle and minerals’ said leaders like Dilip Singh Bhuria, former union minister Jual Oram and others.

The Statesman

03 Feb 2014

Addressing a public meeting of tribals who had come from different parts of the state, Oram said the Naveen Patnaik government has displaced tribals across the state. He has gifted away land, forest and minerals to private companies.

The cases of torture and sexual harassment of tribal girls in ashram schools run by the government have increased, people with fake caste certificates have cornered all the jobs and that was one of the major issues in Kandhamal district, he pointed out.He claimed that the Atal Behari Vajpayee government was the first to pay due attention and respect to the tribals across the country. He set up a commission and it was he who established a tribal welfare ministry, noted Oram.Though none of the leaders on the dias made a direct call asking tribals to vote for the BJP , each one of them criticized the central Congress and the state BJD government.This country has over 10 crore tribals and in Odisha their population is 80 lakhs. If all of them unite none can ignore their demands, said Dilip Singh Bhuria.Referring to the epic Ramayan, the tribal leader said government should know that tribals had defeated the powerful Ravana.Tribals do not beg, they fight for their rights, he observed.

http://www.thestatesman.net/news/37476-tribals-asked-to-unite-before-poll.html

http://www.thestatesman.net/news/37476-tribals-asked-to-unite-before-poll.html?page=2

Odisha tribals demand constitutional rights at Bhubaneswar rally

By ANI | ANI – 10 hours ago

Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Feb.3 (ANI):Thousands of tribals participated in a rally in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, over the weekend over a demand for implementation of constitutional provisions in tribal areas.

Protesters said the Indian Constitution guarantees forest dwellers and tribals land, water and forest rights, and mentioned that nobody can deprive them of these.

They claimed they were being exploited in the name of development and that their lands were being sold to big corporate houses.

They blamed the state government for not implementing the Forest Rights Act and the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act in the right spirit.

Former chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Dilip Singh Bhuria, who participated in the rally, said: "Our demand is that we should have governance in our villages. We should be allowed to live the way we want to. The British never intervened in our lives, therefore, the present government should also not do so."

"After independence, they introduced many laws which have become a nuisance for these tribals. According to the Constitution of the country, the governance of villages inhabited by Scheduled tribes should be given to the tribals," Bhuria added.

Apart from acute poverty, hunger and social unrest, massive displacement and disintegration have been major issues of concern in tribal areas. Extractive mining and private take-over of land and forest have already created havoc in the life and livelihoods of tribals living in these areas.

In order to protect and safeguard the lives and the natural resources, the Supreme Court of India had given a progressive judgment called Samata Judgement in the year 1997.

But the government of Odisha deliberately ignored the judgment and deprives the tribals of their land and other resources. Allegedly, there are multiple mechanisms and fraudulent means which are used by the expropriaters of land and resources from the scheduled areas. (ANI)

Odisha tribals demand constitutional rights at Bhubaneswar rally

Monday, 3 February 2014

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