By M K George

Rome, July 11, 2022: In all probability, India will soon have a woman from the tribal community as the next president, the highest position of authority in the Indian polity.

The tribal community will probably be euphoric and vote en masse for the ruling regime in the forthcoming elections, in gratitude. At least, so hopes the present regime.

But will the tribals and the public ever realize the difference between ‘tokenism’ and real commitment?

Definition of Tokenism goes this way. It is ‘something that a person or organization does that seems to support or help a group of people who are treated unfairly in society, such as giving a member of that group an important or public position, but which is not meant to make changes that would help that group of people in a lasting way.’

The tribal population which constitutes 8.6 percent of the country is unquestionably the most vulnerable and exploited lot of the nation. As per the report of the government ministry for tribals, ‘the tribal population in India lags behind other social groups on various social parameters, such as child morality, infant mortality, number of anaemic women’ (2016).

One must feel that the act of the present regime to get a tribal president is only an act of tokenism because some of the actions going behind the scene do not show real commitment to the tribal interests.

Take, for instance, the case of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers’ (Recognition of Forest Right) Act, 2006, popularly known as Forest Rights Act 2006. This Act was hailed as one of the most progressive laws passed in India because it conferred land and livelihood rights-both individual and community, to Adivasi, Dalit and other families living in forest areas of the country.

In August 2009, the then Ministry of Environment and Forests had issued a circular that stipulated that no clearances for diversion of forestland under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, would even be considered by it unless rights provided under the Forest Right Act, 2006, were first settled.

This was some guarantee for protection of the rights of the tribals. The most significant clause in the Act was that ‘free, prior and informed consent of the families affected be obtained for any decision on forest usage.’

Unfortunately, reports say that a new set of rules issued recently by the Government of India revokes much of these. In order to facilitate ‘ease of doing business’, the ‘ease of living’ of the poor tribals is allegedly sacrificed. Critics allege that the new set of rules will impoverish the already marginalized tribals. The worst part of the whole process is that the new rules have not been discussed in appropriate forums.

For most Indian tribals, land and forest remain the source of survival. If tribal land can be taken away and they can be displaced at will, then it is death knell for the tribals in India. Studies show that tribals are the worst affected when it comes to displacement due to development projects representing almost 34 percent of the affected population.

Activist Medha Patkar, who spearheaded the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), has in the past highlighted how building dams lead to dislocation of tribal societies. Official figure indicates that about 42,000 families were displaced due to the Sardar Sarovar dam but non-government organisations such as NBA claim the figure is 85,000 families or 200,000 people. The Narmada Valley Development Project is expected to have affected the lives of 25 million people (India Spend, 2014). The rehabilitation processes leave much to be desired.

Yet another recent evidence that tokenism rules the roost is to look at the case of Father Stan Swamy who died in jail an year ago. While it was clear that he ‘helped tribal people fight illegal capture of their lands, filing claims and records and worked for the release of young tribal people from prison,’ the rulers alleged he was a Maoist and denied him basic human rights. If the government really stood for the interests of the tribal, they would have saved the life of Stan.

Tokenism now rules the Indian nation. The worst and brutest of it is when the tribals are given the gift of a president, while their land and livelihood are stolen behind the scene.

The groaning of the poor tribals of India should not go unheeded.