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By B Jayant Kumar In Tripura’s tribal areas, political parties are demanding greater autonomy for the tribal council. But for most people who have no clean drinking water, depleting food stocks, and no employment, more development, not more autonomy, is a key requirement
Septuagenarian Tuiya Chandra Roaja of Rajdhar, a picturesque tribal hamlet in Tripura’s Longterai valley, is a broken man today. He does not have enough food to eat and water to drink. “We subsist on the foodgrains and vegetables that we grow on the hills by shifting cultivation and drink water from cherras (small rivulets), but now we are suffering from acute food crisis because our stored grain is over and there is no potable water because sources have dried up,” he says. The predominantly tribal villagers in this part of the state subsist on what they can grow in the surrounding hills -- foodgrain, vegetables, wild potatoes, different types of tubers -- using the primitive slash and burn method of cultivation. Collecting firewood, sticks to make brooms, and other types of forest produce brings in a meagre income. When streams and rivulets – the only source of water -- dry up in summer, there is an acute shortage of drinking water; people are forced to drink contaminated water which results in increased incidence of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea. According to official records, 80 people have died of meningococcal meningitis in the last four months in the Longterai subdivision of Dhalai district. Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Ratan Lal Nath, who visited the area, puts the figure at 200. There is a Junior Basic School in the village which is run by a ‘proxy teacher’, Gopinath Tripura, while the government-appointed teacher keeps away. “This is a single teacher and single room school and all students up to class five sit in one room,” Gopinath Tripura explains. “One Ananda Reang, who is the real teacher of the school, stays far away from the village and appointed me proxy teacher, paying me a salary of Rs 1,300 per month.” Not surprisingly, the drop-out rate among the tribals is very high, says Tripura. The Longterai valley falls under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) which constitutes two-thirds of the state’s territory and is the home of the tribal population which makes up one-third of the state’s population. The council was formed to safeguard the tribals economically, politically and culturally. Despite this, the condition of the tribals remains abysmal. According to government statistics, the literacy rate in the state is 73.20%. But the literacy rate among tribals is 56.50% with the female literacy rate being 44.60%. The drop-out rate at the primary level is more than 50% and only 17% tribals reach college level. Official records reveal that about 80% of tribal people live below the poverty line (BPL). Tripura, bound by Bangladesh on three sides, was once ruled by tribal kings and tribals were in the majority until it was merged with India after Partition. Partition opened the floodgates as migrants from the then East Bengal poured in and changed the demography of the state. According to the 1941 census, tribals constituted 53.16% of the population; in just ten years, that figure was down to 37.23%. A major issue in the elections held on April 23, 2009 for Tripura’s two seats, was more autonomy for the TTAADC. Asked if the tribals of the state want more autonomy, Gopinath Tripura replied: “We do not know what autonomy is, but what we want is our food security, good roads, good schools and employment guarantee and better education.” The TTAADC was created by an Act of Parliament in 1979 and brought under the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution. Today, though the TTAADC enjoys powers similar to other district councils operating under the sixth schedule regime, unlike other autonomous district councils in India’s north-eastern states, it is built on the acceptance of the tribal as a generic and composite entity -- a council for ‘Tribal Areas’ -- rather than focused on a single tribe. The TTAADC’s call for more autonomy is backed by most political parties. The National Conference of Tripura (NCT), a tribal-based party, has demanded application of Article 244A of the Indian Constitution for converting the TTAADC into a ‘state within a state’. When it was pointed out to him that the tribals living in the council area do not understand what autonomy is, but they want more development and employment, the general secretary of the NCT Animesh Debbarma said, “Development is not possible without more autonomy and financial empowerment of the council. Application of Article 244A means direct funding by the Central government, bypassing the state government.” He said that the NCT’s demand is basically for financial autonomy of the tribal council as state governments are reluctant to release legitimate funds for the council. “When the state budget is about Rs 4,000 crore per annum, the budget for the tribal council is just Rs 200 crore, of which Rs 110 crore is spent on salaries of employees and elected representatives and for administrative purposes,” he asserts. The leader of the opposition in the Tripura Assembly, Ratan Lal Nath said his party, the Congress, wants more empowerment and more autonomy for the council and direct funding from the centre, bypassing the state government. The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), a major tribal party and poll ally of the Congress, also demands more autonomy. General Secretary of INPT, Rabindra Debbarma says, “Introduction of Article 244A is not enough; we demand autonomy in line with the Bodo Land Territorial Council (BLTC) in Assam. This will help us get ample financial and administrative power and check infiltration of non-tribals in the council area.” The council of the TTAADC comprises 30 members, of whom 28 are elected directly through adult franchise and two are nominated by the governor of the state. There is only one executive member. The TTAADC is vested with both legislative and executive powers. It is headed by a chairman who conducts the business of the council with the help of its own secretariat. The secretary to the TTAADC is appointed by the governor. The executive functions are the prerogative of the chief executive member supported by the executive committee. The procedure of the state legislative assembly is followed to conduct the business of the council. (B Jayant Kumar is a journalist, based in Agartala,Tripura) InfoChange News & Features, May 2009
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