Christian leader blasts Chhattisgarh’s tribal sterilization rules

Raipur: A Christian leader in Chhattisgarh alleges that the eastern Indian government’s move to protect primitive tribes infringes personal freedom.

On May 26, the Chhattisgarh government passed an order amending the 1979 rule passed by then undivided Madhya Pradesh to protect primarily vulnerable tribal groups.

The amendment “is an attack on the free thought of an individual,” Arun Pannalal, president of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told Matters India June 6.

The new rule stipulates tribals who want sterilization should apply for permission from their subdivisional magistrate.

While making the law in 1979, the government officials said the order was necessary to protect primitive tribes that had extremely low health indicators. The tribes also showed a negative rate of growth and there was fear of them dying out.

The state has seven primitive tribes that are on the verge of extinction.

The Chhattisgarh government officials say the amendment is a “step forward,” but Pannalal and other activists denounce it continuation of an inhuman practice of denying the tribes “autonomy over their own bodies.”

“It is up to the individual or the family to decide whether they want to procreate or not. There should not be any interference from anybody from outside,” the Christian leader asserts.

If the government is serious about primitive tribes’ welfare, it should provide them better health care and educate them to improve their living conditions to enhance their population, Pannalal says.

Pannalal also opposed to government interference in such decision of a family undermining the dignity and privacy of a family.

The activists pointed out that no change had really been made to the 1979 order as that too had mentioned a provision by which only government officials could “give permission” for sterilizations. The tribals could not decide on going for sterilization.

Media reports on April 24 noted that 10 families of Baiga tribe, listed as “primarily vulnerable tribal group,” approached the Bilaspur High Court for right to undergo sterilization without involving government officials.

Women of these families suffered health problems after giving birth to several children. They found it difficult to feed their children. The court dismissed the petition that was supported by Jan Swasthya Sahyog (People’s Health Support Group) and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (People’s Health Movement). The two organizations work for rural health in the state.

The amendment, passed by the state Health and Family Welfare department, stipulates that a family that wants sterilization should submit an application to the subdivisional magistrate. The officer will issue a letter that says the applicant undertakes sterilization on the person’s own choice and that the person has been informed about the surgery’s consequences.

Yogesh Jain of the Jan Swasthya Sahyog that works in Bilaspur, asks: “Why should a woman go to any office to get permission for what is a personal right and need?”

Sulakshana Nandi of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan says the amendment indicates that the state has reiterated its control over the bodies of primitive women and men. “The fact that they still have to ask for permission shows that nothing really has changed. Getting permission from the government has never been easy. Petitioners in the PIL have tried to get permission and failed and were forced to go to court.”

Nandi said the amendment had just tweaked the earlier order that mentioned the tribals would have to take the Block Development Officer’s permission. “Now they have written SDM,” she said.

Five primitive tribes in Madhya Pradesh were left out of a forced sterilization program initiated during the Emergency period because they had few children. The real reason for their dwindling numbers–acute poverty and lack of health facilities–was ignored. Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh during the implementation of the order.

Now the Chhattisgarh government took what it says are some corrective measures to extend family planning facilities to these poor tribal people.

Planning Commission secretary Sindhushree Khullar in 2012 wrote to the Chhattisgarh government to take the December 13, 1979 order of the Madhya Pradesh government (to implement sterilization drive) in the right perspective and provide sterilization facilities to the Behor, Pahari Korvas, Abhujmadias, Kamar and Baiga tribal communities.

They are considered Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups because both birth and death rates are high among them.

Kedar Kashyap, Chhattisgarh’s minister for Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe development, denies that the state ever deprived primitive tribes of health facilities. “It was a law made by the government of Madhya Pradesh. We have never denied health facilities to anyone in the state,” he says.

According to the Scheduled Tribes of Chhattisgarh, The Institute of Tribal Research and Training Center, based at Raipur, the state capital, the Abujhmaria tribe has 19,401members in Baster, Kanker and Dantewara districts in 2008.

The state has 67,241 Baiga tribe members who live in Bilaspur, Kawardha, Korba and Durg districts. Pahari Korwa tribe has 34,122 members in Jashpur, Sarguja and Korba districts, At least 2,626 Birhor people are found in Raigarh, Jashpur, Sarguja and Durg while 23,033 Kamar are in Raipur, Dhamtari and Mahasamund

The Planning Commission acted on a complaint filed by advocacy group Public Health Research Network (PHRN). It says the Chhattisgarh government had issued an order saying that primitive tribe opting for family planning measures should take a no objection clearance from the local administration. “Primitive tribes have low literacy and this order remained only on paper,” says Nandi.

According to the National Family Health Survey, 70 percent of the children born in primitive families are underweight, while the national average is 46 per cent. Infant mortality rate among them is also high. “Thus their population either remains stagnant or it increases slightly,” says Nandi. The government cannot increase population of the tribal communities by denying them family planning initiatives. It can rather save the dwindling population by enhancing basic health facilities for them, Nandi adds.