The recent( Nov-2024) death of two young tribal women,Ms Runi Majhi ,age 30, Ms Ramita Patamajhi, age 28, and hospitalization 7 other in serious condition due to consumption of Mango kernel in Mandipanka village under Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district in Odisha has refreshed a prolonged debate over such deaths.
Odisha has witnessed death of many people in the past years in tribal areas of Odisha , specially the South-western belt due to consumption of gruel from mango kernel. There have also been continued reports of death due to extreme poverty ,malnutrition, unemployment and middle age diseases such as diarrhoea etc in these vulnerable tribal belt . There were major incidents in 1987 , 1995 and 2001.Tribal communities in Odisha remain victims of state apathy and live in a subhuman condition in the midst of natural resources.
The tribal women are belonging Kondh community which is a numerically larger tribe of Odisha having a distinct culture and Kui language who live in 5th schedule area, under article 244(1), the areas have a protective legal status that attracts the special role of both state and Union government.
This writer , recently came across four reports on the Kondhamal incident from ground ,one by a team of academics from Central University of Odisha ,Koraput ,published in Pioneer on 12th Nov, Fact Finding report by Ganatantria Adhikar Surakshya Sangathan (GASS) a civil and democratic rights protection forum , a video report over the incident by a Human rights activist Dr. Kumar Prasant from Berhampur, and a memorandum to Governor of Odisha by former Union Cabinet Minister and Congress Leader Srikant Jena , after a quick field visit by him.There are many others also expressed their concern over the issue after media reports.
All these four reports from ground have raised common concern over the improper implementation of two important Acts ,The National Food security Act-2013 and the NREGA -2005, and the continued dependency of the poor over government run PDS in the absence of household food security in the lean period.
Largely, it is being observed by them that the quantity of rice supplied to the poor household under BPL category ,mostly the daily wage labourer and families of migrant workers, has been inadequate for a monthly intake and also there are irregularities in distribution. Here the KYC update is also an issue. It is also reported that the PDS centers are in distant places, in this case it is about 9km from the Mandipanka village. For the past three months ,there has been no distribution of ration to such needy people who are almost dependent on free rations even whatever may be the quantity. Lack of safe drinking water is another pressing issue in the area.
The constitution of India has provided a number of protective legislation for the protection and development of STs and others but unfortunately the governments have not implemented such provisions to bring a radical change in the life of these historically marginalized sections.
It is being supported by data that the tribal people are numerically visible among the BPL households of the state and they are made dependent on food distribution schemes, while the poverty in case of other social groups have declined but such rate is very marginal in case of tribal people. The South -Western Odisha continues with a higher rate of poverty ,mostly among tribes. But no special effort has been made by either the state or Union government to tackle the issue.
There is no selective application of schemes under NFA and NREGA considering the vulnerabilities of different social groups and the geographical areas still remain inaccessible without communication and networks. Such schemes purposelessly become universal to serve the political motive rather than meeting the basic objectives by loosely applying exclusion and inclusion criteria . In the case of Odisha almost 85 percent of people are covered under PDS ration. But NITI Aayog in 2023 says only 15.68 percent are below the poverty line.
Odisha continues to remain featured among the poorest states of India with a sizable population below poverty line and Kondhamal is one of the poorest districts of the state.Based on NITI Aayog recommendation , about 15 districts mostly tribal dominated are covered under fortified rice distribution program to arrest malnutrition issues. There has been also a lack of basic amenities such as drinking water ,toilet ,housing,electricity and other such facilities such as internet connectivity with the majority of tribal households. Lack of local employment and poor quality of life have pushed the youth for distress migration. The Mandipanka village having 300 STand SC households has almost 300 migrant workers outside Odisha,mostly in Kerala and other states.
Why is the most important scheme to ensure right to food and right to employment relating to tribal and scheduled areas not being periodically reviewed for its basic purpose and effectiveness ? It is being observed that, the most important aspect of development administration in tribal areas is largely lack of political will and non-involvement of tribal members in matters of decision making process on issues affecting their life and livelihood.
The fact is that the institutional mechanisms in the state are largely dysfunctional. There have been no regular meetings of the Tribal Advisory Council where the chief minister is the chairperson and the governor is supposed to hold meetings to review and visit the areas but unfortunately for the last so many years such important constitutional bodies’ roles and responsibilities have been ignored by ruling political parties in the state. The NCST is supposed to take-up food security,livelihood, issues and intervene in matters vital to poor tribal interest but such institutions remain digressive for people in protecting their life and liberty guaranteed under the constitution.
Tribal’s food insecurity issues still unaddressed in Odisha.
M. K. Gandhi after visiting Puri in March 1921 , wrote in Harijan – “Odisha is the epitome of India’s poverty”. Dr. Ambedkar, as labour ,irrigation and electricity member of govt. India under British rule, attended a conference on Odisha’s rivers in Cuttack on November 8th, 1945 and spoke about the poverty of Odisha .He said “when I think of Odisha ,the picture that comes to my mind is that of a people subject not to one affliction ,but many”. After so many years, their observations are still relevant even today in Independent India when we come across Mango Kernel deaths of tribal women in Kondhamal, and hunger in South-western parts of Odisha.
The living standard of a majority of people in Odisha has not been changed and still they grapple with hunger, poverty , diseases , unemployment and distress migration. The basic minimum food is not available to a section of people who are historically poor and neglected by our enlightened society for a long time. The government reports on social development has also substantiated these realities by providing data in its number of surveys and evaluation studies which are just ignored by ruling elites of Odisha. Some one may visit the NITI Aayog reports on social exclusion and ranking of poorest districts of India to get a better understanding over the issues of multidimensional poverty in Odisha and its tribal population.
The constitution of India has a number of provisions based on which both union and state governments have made legislation and programs to address poverty and hunger death. There are dedicated institutions and annual budgetary provisions for its effective implementation. There are also review and monitoring bodies with power .
If we look at financial and human resources, there is no dearth of resources with the government and multiple sources are available .There are exclusive budgetary provisions under sub-plan schemes and host of non-budgetary schemes and departmental allocations for tribal development . There are also an equal number of non-government actors with enthusiasm and dedication for tribal development including corporate and international aid agencies ,religious bodies and many more but why do we all fail in Odisha while in other parts of the country we do not come across reports of such vulnerability of indigenous people.
After 2013 , we have a strong law to address hunger, i.e the National Food Security Act that ensures supply of minimum food intake in the human life cycle through access to adequate quality food to people by the government. It is a paradigm shift from charity and welfare based approach to rights based approach to ensure right to life with dignity which is more constitutional and legal in its approach. Right to food to live with dignity is a fundamental non-negotiable human right. We have a department to manage and administer and Odisha state food commission to do monitoring and undertake evaluations of the whole process of implementation. Such bodies under law have made provision to ensure the presence of representatives of marginalized sections such as ST and SC in leadership roles. So that they can proactively address the issues of the community. But we experience institutional failure and lack of accountability . The question is are the minister and officials and commission members not accountable to the people specially to the communities suffering in hunger and poverty while they are paid out of the state treasury specially to look into such sensitive issues relating to suffering people.
It is most unfortunate that the ruling parties , bureaucracy and civil society in Odisha are largely dominated by a microscopic minority that is the upper caste, mostly Savarna people and a very insignificant participation has been made by Tribal and others in all kinds of tribal affairs, specially relating to their development and sharing of power and resources . The participation of STs in civil societies have not been encouraged in Odisha; rather their space has been occupied by others in the name of tribal development. They are seen as project beneficiaries without dignity and recognition as fellow participants. Tribal representatives suffer with language problems and social isolation in public places due to their sociolect-cultural identity and continued long time marginalization process. The social sector of Odisha from the days of Gandhians to present day development professionals are mostly dominated and occupied by people who are culturally and socially not connected to STs, . There is absence of an organic indigenous leadership from among the tribal communities to take up their own development. The tribal community leaders and intellectuals are not visible in development sector assemblies . At government level the natural tribal leaders of the community are not the choice of ruling elites; rather they recruit people of their own perception to manage the legal formalities and constitutional obligations so that the real voice of the communities and their issues are not being heard in power corridors. They choose people who are too loyal and parrot them to speak the language of the oppressor who are historically responsible for their such sub-human condition today. Tribal must have the right to self-determination. We need to revisit out approach to development in general and tribal development in particular while addressing hunger and food security , where the first thing we have to ensure that the affected communities must be taken into confidence and their involvement is a must while we are discussing their issues and framing policies for their development.
‘Odia identity’ meaningless as state’s poverty not dented.
Presently while engaging ourselves in the assertion of Odia identity and dignity issues, the multidimensional poverty scenario in Odisha shows a very discouraging picture about a section of Odia who still live in sub-human conditions, that continues to threatening our Odia pride and identity.
The Odisha Economic Survey 2023-24 , based on NITI Aayog’s Multidimensional Poverty Index report of 2023 , informed that Odisha’s multidimensional poverty headcount ratio remain higher than the national average ranking 12th among 17 states of India and the intensity of multidimensional poverty is also above the national average where Odisha occupies 14th position. It is reported that a major proportion of the population of Odisha have been faced with a number of deprivations across multiple indicators as components of poverty such as housing ,sanitation ,drinking water ,cooking fuel ,electricity, schooling, assets etc. where Odisha ranked among bottom states. The Household consumption expenditure survey 2022-23 ranked Odisha at 15 among 17 states as Odisha’s average monthly per capita consumption expenditure is Rs 2950 one of lowest and less than national average Rs 3773 for rural areas.
Why do the average Odia live a miserable life and their income level has not improved to lead a dignified life while the people in other parts of the country have a higher level of income? why the condition of poor has not been improved in spite of poverty alleviation schemes ?
The data further says a major portion of the poor suffering with poverty are STs in scheduled areas of the state. Why has the situation of tribal people in Odisha not improved to the desired extent and they remain largely poor in comparison to other social groups of the state ?
The uninterrupted 24 years of rule by BJD, a regional party, in alliance with BJP for 9 years , has not impacted much in changing the structural issues of the state specially poverty and migration that impact a sizable population of the state. Though the poverty ratio has reduced to 15.68 percent in the 2019-21 survey but still its intensity is much higher, even some of the basic human necessities such as safe drinking water have not been provided to all. People of Odisha have voted for a double engine government in the 2024 assembly and parliament election, and now the government is headed by a chief minister belonging to marginalized sections of the state, those who suffer the most. The focus of the government must be poverty alleviation and to arrest distress migration. It estimated that about 1.75 million people migrated to other states in search of livelihood. There are reports of hunger death and extreme poverty in interior parts where still people consume Mango kernel gruel to survive. The vulnerable plight of migrant workers is very often reported in the media.
It is most unfortunate that the state government has not developed any own scheme in an indigenous way to intervene in issues of poverty ,migration and specially for its marginalized sections rather it has been dependent on central schemes and grants and on charity work of international agencies. The state government has enough resources to implement its own ideas to the very specific micro situations based on ground realities rather than mechanically implementing schemes of the central government.
For any social transformation and especially to bring economic change education is vital along with the right to self determination .The suffering communities must be empowered with education and power to make decisions about their own development. In this context education and the PESA Act are two most important tools against poverty in tribal areas . The planning for poverty alleviation must be done at panchayat ,block and district level. The panchayati raj institutions must have power to plan and execute their own local schemes suitable for the area based on the strength of the available manpower and local resources. Odisha is the only state among 10 others having 5th schedule area where PESA Act 1996 has not been implemented properly.PESA is one of the important legal instruments to transfer power and resources to tribal communities so that they can manage their own affairs locally but such an important instrument of self governance has been purposefully ignored by the ruling elites in Odisha who heads the political parties, bureaucracy and CSOs. It is expected that the state government will not delay the process further in fully implementing the PESA Act and revisit its education program.
Education and skill development is an important area to change the quality of life and make people more employable in the changing conditions. The state government has been engaged in running 1737 residential schools and 5500 hostels and supporting private factory schools to house tribal children in big numbers in the name of residential education . The process has alienated the children from the communities and from their locality by making them rootless and increasing social isolation. It is reported that the dropout rate is much higher in case of ST and SC students . At secondary level the dropout rate is almost 30 percent for both ST and SC students in the year 2021-22. The school dropout among ST and ST is higher than state dropout rate at upper primary and secondary level mostly among boys. It impacts the employment of youth as they fail to complete a minimum level of education that is required for skill development. The state government spent very little money on the education of marginalized children such as ST and SC . The per-matric and post -matric stipend amount to the children is a cruel joke for being paltry. The condition of the residential schools has not been improved; rather students are forced to live in subhuman conditions while the elite schools are promoted for a section of students with all care and dignity. The state government has spent only Rs 473 crore on per-matric and Rs 762 crore on post matric stipend which is nothing for education of the children of marginalized communities. Double standard are being followed by government in matter of education in the state which further marginalizing communities.
Manas Jena is a political commentator
