By P A Chacko

Sahibganj, July 8, 2023: The central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, under Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been gaining notoriety for increasing crimes and atrocities committed on the Adivasis.

Blood-curdling cruelties by lynching mobs and BJP’s foot soldiers have been on the rampage with impunity and state patronage. Then victims are the Adivasis who constitute the state’s 21.09 percent.

Amid all this, Chauhan’s public display of his political gimmick by washing the feet of the Adivasi, on whom an alleged BJP MLA’s aide urinated, smacks of sheer hypocrisy. Otherwise, he should go from door to door of every Adivasi family and wash the feet of each victim of the increasing number of atrocities during his regime.

One is reminded of Macbeth’s remorse-filled words after murdering Duncan: “Will all Neptune’s Ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No….”

Today, the victimized Adivasi community asks Chauhan: “Will all the waters of Gangotri, Triveni Sangam and Narmada wash away the guilt of your administration for your crimes and atrocities against us?”

The Adivasis have a point. Congress leader Kamal Nath states that “Highest number of atrocities on tribals are reported in MP.”
According to reports, Madhya Pradesh registered 33,239 cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 2018 to November 2021 – a steep climb of 15-20 percent in the crime figures every year.

According to Frontline magazine, “Atrocities against tribal men and women are increasing in Madhya Pradesh; 2,401 such cases were registered in 2020, an alarming 25 percent jump from the 2019 figure as per the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2020 report.”

Moreover, as reports say, Madhya Pradesh has also earned notoriety for recording the highest number of rapes of tribal women in the country.

The setting on fire of Rampyari Bai, belonging to a ‘particularly vulnerable tribal group’ for claiming her land from encroachers in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district in July 2022, shocked the world. But for the administration it was just a law-and-order problem.
Another blood-chilling horror in MP’s Dewas district was the discovery of the decomposed bodies of five people who had gone missing for 45 days. The chief minister’s promise of speedy justice to Bharti Kasdekar, the tribal woman whose family members were killed, remained a non-starter.

In frustration, Bharti and her surviving brother went on a 200-kilometer march to Bhopal covering 11 days. State Governor Mangubhai Patel, a tribal, denied their request for a meeting. So much for human compassion and honouring human rights.

One Sardar Vaskale was beaten up by a mob of 25-30 people on the basis of a rumour of conversion. His house was ransacked with impunity. It was also reported that a pregnant Leela Bai was repeatedly kicked in the stomach. The attack eventually caused fatal injuries to the foetus.

The Frontline quoted Abbas Hafeez, spokesperson of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, as saying: “The BJP’s nomination of a tribal leader for the President’s post was also a ploy to divert attention from the real problems the community is facing.’ He pointedly asks: “The BJP is selling Draupadi Murmu’s candidature as an epoch-making event for tribal emancipation, but have you ever seen the candidate talk about atrocities against tribals?”

In the name of Ghar wapsi, tribal Christians have been attacked and thrown out of villages. In the name of anti-cow slaughter, many tribals are attacked or killed.

This central Indian state has become a failed state for the Adivasis. Does anyone care?

(Jesuit Father P A Chacko has worked more than 50 years in Jharkhand, an eastern Indian state with a sizable tribal population.)