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8/3/2019 Photographing History and Trying to Change It
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CelebratingPeoplesResistancesWhile
ForgingNewAlliances
PSAGETTOGETHEROFACTIVISTS,ACTIONGROUPS&MOVEMENTS GandhamardanODISHANovember7-9,2011
PHOTOGRAPHINGHISTORYANDTRYINGTOCHANGEIT
XavierDias1
When I think of PSA (Programme for Social Action), I think of the days of the Emergency
promulgated by the Indian National Congress Party under the leadership of the then Prime
MinisterSmt.IndiraGandhi(25June197521March1977).
When I think of the Emergency, I think of it recollecting the social, political and economic
conditionsthecommonpeopleofIndialivedin.
WhenIthinkofthesituationduringthosedecades,Ithinkoftheresponseofthecommonpeople:
thethousandofworkersstrikes,thestudentmilitantmovements,theNaxalbarimovement,andthe
undergroundnetworkingthatperforcetookplace .
Withinthatlargerpoliticalspectrum,asmallspeckofsocialactionemergedandgrewtobecome
thePSAfellowship,ofwhichIamproudtobelongandproudtobeoneamongallofyouatour
gatheringeventhoughphysicallyabsent.
Whatwerethosedifficulttimes?
Onewinterdayin1976duringtheinfamousEmergencyIwasattheDongoPosirailwaystation,
inSinghbhumDistrictofthenBiharandnowJharkhandState.DongoPosiisontheTataGua
branchrailway line, builtessentially for the transportof iron ore and limestonefrom the big
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mines in theWorld famousSaranda rain forest2to the Steelplants in Jamshedpur, Durgapur.
TodayitservesnotonlyBokarobutalsosteelplantsinKoreaandChina.Itisthesinglehighest
earninglinefortheIndianRailways.Onthedayin1976whenIstoodtheretheRailwayswere
receivingrevenueofRs.7.5million(75lakhs)perday.
OnthatdayIboardedthericketypassengertrainatDongoPosiforChaibasa,asitwaspickingupspeedIsawawomancarryingaheavybasketofcoalchasedbytheRailwayPolice.Shetriedto
boardthetrainbutthepolicemankeptpullingherout;asaresultshefellbelowandwascutinto
twobythewheelsofthetrain.Shewasinthefinalstagesofpregnancy.Shedidnothavethesix
paiseoroneanna3tobribethepoliceandsohewaspreventingherfromboardingthetrain.She
wasanOraonAdivasifromMarytolaChaibasatownlivinginabasti/shantyofAdivasis.Forthe
purposeofthispaperlcallherKhuntiOraon
DongoPosiRailwayDivisionwasservingallthesteamenginesonthatroute.Whichmeantthat
notonlyweretheredumpsofcoalallaround,buttherailwaytrackswerelinedwithhalfburnt
bitsofcoal.
Coal at that time was a very important source of fuel for Industry as well as domestic use.
Togetherwith Kerosene oiland firewood itwas the only available fuel fordomesticcooking.
Firewoodwaswhatvillagepeople used,butpeoplein small townsandcities like Jamshedpur
dependedoncoal.Therichorbetteroffusedkeroseneoil.Theworkingclassesandpoorallused
coal tocook their food.Since the government coal depots/shopsrarely functioned, therewas
alwaysashortage.Ashortageofanycommoditymeansanundergroundorparallelmarket.The
commonterm for thismarketis black-market butweshoulddesistusing this term black as
thenpeopleofblackcolourtooareconsideredascrooks.
Whenthereisashortageofanyessentialhouseholdneeds,thebusinesscommunitypeopleseeit
asanopportunityforgoodbusiness.For,theyhoard the commodityandkeepthepriceshigh.Whilekeepingthepriceshightheyalsowilldoalltheycantogettheirstockfromanyplace;
mostlyillegally.
As coal dumps existed in Dongo Posiit became a good source for them to get free coal.The
business communitywouldgather the poorest ofthe poor,mostlywomen andchildren,send
themtoDongoPosiinthenightfromwheretheywouldcollectthecoalalongthetracksorstealit
fromtheRailwaydumps;thentakeitbythelocaltraintotheshopsofthebusinesscommunity.
Fromwheredotheyfindsuchcheaplabourtodothisriskywork?Itwasnotthatdifficult.After
Independence 1947, the government introduced the Five Year Plans, under what Economist
calledamixedeconomy.ThatwasaPublicaswellasPrivateSectoroperatingsidebyside,bothworkingfor NationalDevelopment.ThePublicSectorwouldbuildtheprojectsthatthePrivate
Sectordidnothavethemoneyfor.BuildingSteelPlants andopeningmineswasapartof this
PublicSectorplan.Bokaro,Rourkela,BhillaiSteelPlantswereallpartofthisfiveyearplan.For
theseSteelplantstheyneededvasttracksofland,forestmaterial,water,cheaplabour.Asiron
2AtthattimetheSarandaforestwastheworldslargestOak/Salforestintheworld.Injusttwo
decadesithasbecomethehighestconcentrationofminingcompaniescreatedmooncraterswith
forestandallthefloraandfaunacompletelydestroyed.
3
100paisamakes aRupee. Annawasa lowermeasure ofmoneybetween the paisa andtheRupee
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ore,limestoneandcoalwereallfoundintheregionsofJharkhand,OdishaandChhattisgarhthis
regionwaschosenforalltheseSteelPlants.Pleasenotethatthecountrychosethepathofthe
mixedeconomybecausethePrivateSectordidnothavethemoneytobuildsuchbigprojects.So
thePublicSectorwascreatedforthispurpose.ButthePublicSectortoodidnothavethatamount
ofmoneytoputinvest.Howdidtheythenmanage?TheybuildthisSectorbystealingalltheland
from the people of these regions to build the plants, the townships, the mines, and thetransportationsystems.WhichmeanstheStatespentapartofthecosttherestwasthesacrifice
oftheAdivasi people. So the actual composition ofmixedeconomy shouldbe PublicSector
PrivateSector-AdivasiSector.WhatthiscountryhasneveracknowledgedisthattheAdivasisas
acommunity, intermsof land,minerals,forestproduce, almostno-costlabour,havebeen the
singlelargestcontributortotheNationalDevelopment.WhiletheHouseofTatasaregivencredit
for National Development the Adivasi contribution is never acknowledged or even
comprehended.SimilarlyitisnevertalkedaboutthattheHouseofTatascreatedtheirwealthby
usurpingand expropriating itfromtheseAdivasi communities.BeforetheTataSons built the
steelplant inJamshedpur,theywerelaboursuppliersto theBritish.HeretoosupplyingWarli
Adivasi labour to construct the Bombay Pune treacherous railway track. Besides labour
supplierstheyweresuppliesofOpiumtotheBritishwhousedittodrugtheChineserulersandcoloniesChinesetrade.
MillionsofAdivasiswereforciblyevictedand overnightthrownonthestreetsofourcitiesas
refugees.After reaching the streets of the cities they were further exploited by the business
communitieswhoengagedthemto dodifferent jobs likepilferingthe coal from the depots of
DongoPosiRailwaystation.Theserefugeesintheirownhomelandwereforcedintosuchslave
labourforiftheydidnotdoittheywouldstarvetodeath.Rememberthiscoalgatheringwork
gavethemenoughtomeettheir foodneedsjusttosurvive.Mostof themanywaydied/dieof
curableillnessesorfromslowstarvation.
KhuntiOraonwasoneamongtheseforcedrefugees.Sheandhergroupofwomenandchildren
wouldeachcollectaboutabasketofcoal,washitandthenloaditonthetrain.Themoneythey
receivedforthisbasketofcoalwassolittlethattheycouldnotaffordtherailwayticket.Hereis
whentherailwaystaffwouldcomeintogettheirshareoftheloot.Thustheyhadtopaythe
RailwayPoliceandtheTicketCollectormoneyinordertotravelwithoutaticket.
EverydayanEmergencyday
This ghastly incident though it happened during the Emergency was not because of the
Emergency.Suchcriminalexploitationoftheverypoorwassomethingverycommon;atleastinthatpartoftheworldwecallJharkhandtoday.Iftheclaimwastruethatallhumanbeingsare
equalinademocracytheninthefirstplaceKuntiOraonshouldnothavebeenpickingcoalbut
havingabetterlifeinherancestralvillageorasalariedlifeinoneoftheSteelplants,herfamily
gavetheirlandfor.Notonlywasshedeniedthis,butherfamilycouldnotexercisetheirrightto
fileapolicecase.Ifherfamilyhadevenapproachedthelawforjusticeyouwouldbesurethather
husbandorfatheroranyonearbitratingontheirbehalfwouldbepunishedifnotbumpedoffby
thesamepolice.
Khunti Oraon and her community were not starving or poor people. They were forced into
poverty.Fromself-sufficientforestdwellersandfamilyfarmerstheywerethrownintobegging
andpilferingofcoaljusttogetenoughfoodforahalf-life.Sowhileonpapertherewasalawtoprotectthem,in reality theStateandtherulingclassesdenied themtheaccessto thatlaw.In
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short but very true these people were born and continued to live in a State of perpetual
Emergency.ThustheAdivasipeoples,theDalitpeoplesandthetoilinglabouringclasseshadno
excesstocivillibertiesevenbeforetheEmergency.Thisfactisoftenomittedwhenreportingor
talkingabouttheEmergency.
IhavegivenasanexampleofanindividualKhuntiOraon.ButitisimportanttonotethattheAdivasi peoples (andDalitpeople inother partsofIndia) builtorganisations that resisted the
plunder of their lands and forest. But these organisations too were denied the same right to
associationasworkingclass andmiddle classorganisationsand therefore theseorganisations
andassociationstoocameunderthedraconianperpetualEmergencysyndrome.
It is interesting tonote thatwhen the ruling classes deniesor limits civil liberties to certain
sectionsofsocieties,itisnotbecausetheylovethemless.Therulingclassisaverycleverand
cunninganimal.Fromthesectionsofsocietythatithastoextractthemost,isgivestothemthe
least (civil liberties). Since Adivasi peoples are owners of minerals, forest, other natural
resourcesandsincetheyconstitutethebulkofverycheaplabourtheyareconsciouslydeniedby
theStatetheirconstitutionalrights/civilliberties.Weseethisinthefunctioningofthepresentjudiciarysystemrightthroughallthecourts.TaketheSC/STPreventionofAtrocitiesAct.Inthe
mineralexportingregionsofthiscountrytheActisnotevenaccessibletotheSCandSTvictims.
TherulingclassfollowsthesamelineorlogicasancientfeudalIndiansocietiesfromwherethe
castesystememergedandfromwhereDalitpeoplesweretreatedaslesshuman.Inshortwhat
therulingclassissayingisthatwewillletyouenjoysomeofyourrightsascitizensifyouletus
increasewhatwearelootingfromyou .UntilthenitsanEmergency365degreesforyou.
TheDalitpeoplesandtheAdivasipeoplesconstituteover50%4oftheIndianpopulation.Which
meantthattheStatehad/hasthepowertodeny50%ofitspopulationthebenefitsoflaw.The
Statecouldruleoverthemin the samewayas slave-mastersruled overslaves.Having tastedsuchfreeweldingpowertheStatewantedmore.Itthereforesoughtmoreandmorepowerover
biggerandlargersectionsofitspopulationthatgaveitthebrilliantideaofextendingthe defacto
Emergencyexistingon50%ofitspopulation,tothenextintheline,theworkingclassesandthe
middle classes. Bydoing soduring thatperiod25 June 1975 21March1977 of the Official
Emergency,citizensandorganisationsorassociationsofthemiddleclasses,allbecameKhunti
Oraonsinsomewayortheother.
UnderthetyrannyoftheOfficialEmergency, themiddleclassesnow felt thepainofthesame
stickthatbeatandkilledthousandsofthedeprivedsectionsofoursociety.Thisinawaymade
someofthemiddleclassesrealisethatneitherweretheythefirstnorweretheyaloneintheir
oppression.InshortthisperiodgavethemiddleclassesanopportunitytodiscovertheAdivasiandtheDalitasfellowoppressedpeople.Eventhoughitwilltakesomemoredecadesorcouldbe
evenacenturyforthemiddleclassestorealisethefullcasteandethnicbiasesingrainedintheir
owncultureanddevelopabetterpoliticalconsciousnessaboutthesebiases.
Itwasthisrealisationamongusthemiddleclassesthatcausedafewamongustogointothe
DalitandAdivasicommunitiesandidentifyandunderstandtheirproblems.
Theworldatthattimewasinapoliticalferment.TherevolutioninChinaandtheRedbookof
Maoaskingyouthtogotothevillagestolearnfromthepeasantry.TheVietNamWar,arevolt
4Theaccuratefigureismuchmorethan50%
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againstaDictatorinPhilippines,useoftheArmyandCIAtoputdownmassrebellionsinalmost
alltheLatinAmericancountries,theCubanrevolutionetc.etc.
Thatperiodofthe1960sandthe1970swasverysimilartowhatishappeningtodayglobally.
Whilebeing similar therewasalso some differences. Iwould like topoint out some of these
differencessothatatthisPSAget-togetheryouallcantakenoteofthem.Ifwedonotrecognisethesesimilaritiesanddifferencesthenwemaybeforcedtorepeatourmistakes,whichwillbea
colossallossandsetbacktotherevolutionaryprocess.Itistoobigatopictobecoveredinthis
paperbutIwilltrytosummariseit.
Whileitwasrampantpovertyandexploitationthatwasthemaindriverofthosemovementsthe
masses then rose upagainst the ruling classesnot only forroti or bread but also forizzat
(respect). They were able to identify the enemy punjipati (Capitalist) Tata-Birla America
Samarajwad (US Imperialism).From LatinAmerica toSouthAfrica toPhilippines the slogans
werealloneandidentifiable.
Secondly, their demands too were all one, identifiable and achievable. Punjawadi jayegaaurSamajwadiayega(CapitalismwillgoandSocialismwillcome).
TodaythedebateonSocialismhasbeendistortedandSocialismnowisbadnam(abadword).
FirstandforemostthefalloftheUSSRandalltheEastEuropeanSocialistcountrieswaslargely
shownasproofofthefailureofSocialismwheninmyopinionitwasnot.Theyfellbecausetheir
varietyofSocialismwaswrong.
Secondly the Socialist Republic of China gave up Socialism and took the Capitalist path to
development. Today China is considered not only a capitalist State but also a State where
SocialismfailedandCapitalismhassucceeded.Intheabovedebatenotawordwassaidaboutthe
failureofcapitalisminitsownMeccatheUSA.WherethereismorepovertyintheUSAthaninCuba.Theresultoftheabovefaultyunderstandingofhistorycreatedabadnam(badname)for
Socialism.
The important studyandanalysisonthephilosophy ofCapitalism,whereit isproved beyond
doubtthatforCapitalismto succeed inone placeit needsto create poverty inanotheris just
forgotten.Forexamplefor the cities likeMumbai,Delhior Londontodevelopwehaveto loot
from Jharkhand and therefore it become essential that places like Jharkhand have got to be
destroyed. Secondly itisprovedbeyonddoubtthat theaimofCapitalismisnot thewelfareof
societyorsocialrelationsbuttomakemoneyorprofitforafew.
ThefulldebateonCapitalismandSocialismhasbeenswitchedofffromourlives.SocialactivistinIndiaaremoreeager toprotect trees. Protectingtrees andtheenvironmentis veryimportant
today.AtaPSAworkshopinRanchiin1992wemadeanimportantstatementthatIwouldliketo
remindyouof.Theactivistthereaskedaquestion.WearetheAdivasicommunitieswhohavefor
centuries been protecting theforest and environmentand areeven nowprepared to save it for
tomorrowsworld.Butrememberourtodaysworldisbeingdestroyedbyyouandwithitoursociety
tooisbeingdestroyed.ThereforetellusWhatistheplacewewillhaveinyourtomorrowsworld?
Dowehaveaplaceinit?ORDoyouwantustosaveourforestsothatyouwillhaveassuredtimber
foryourcitiesandindustriesinthenextcentury?
Thisraisestheimportantquestion:whatkindofapoliticalsystemarewewanting?Willitbea
systemwhereeachhumanbeinghasthesameizzat/respectastheother?
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Willitbeasystemthatgivesalllifethesameizzat?AnIzzatwhereasmallsectionofpeopledo
notlootfromthelargersectionofpeoplebydenyingthemtheircivilliberties?
Tillthenletusrememberthatfor50%ofourpopulationtheEmergencycontinues.
2011:HASTHEEMERGENCYBEENLIFTED?
IfyoustandonDongoPosiRailwaystationtodayyoumayprobablynotseecoalpickers.The
Railways nowuseonly Diesel and Election traction. Youwould seea numberof ourAdivasi
familymemberswithcellphones,wearingthelatestclothesfromFashionStreetMumbai.You
willseeplentyofprivatecarsandhundredsoftwowheelers.ThereisaJanShatabadiSuperFast
traincomingfromHowrahrunningonthisrouteeachday.IntheACChaircompartmentyouwill
oftenseeChinese,Koreanandotherpeoplesoftheworld.Infactifyouarealittlewatchfulasthe
trainhaltsontheTatanagarRailwaystationinJamshedpur,youwillseeawelldressedwaiter
enter the ACChair carwithpackets of speciallypreparedKoreanand Chinese food forthose
specialpassengers.
SoherecomestheNo1Crorepatiquestion:
HasthelifeoftheAdivasiandDalitpeopleimprovedsincethedayin1976whenKhuntiOraon
waskilled?
Wehavetobeverycarefulinunderstandingthisquestion.Forifouranswertothequestionis
NOthenitmeansthatAdivasiswantorshouldbegivenmorecellphones,fasttrains,carsand
washingmachines.
AND
IfouranswertoitisYESitmeansthatthepermanentandperpetualEmergencythatItalked
aboutintheaboveparagraphsontheAdivasipeoplehasbeenlifted,becausewehavedecidedto
letthemlootmoreandmorefromus.
Themostimportantpointinthisdiscussioniswhohasframedthisquestion?Doesthisquestion
reflectthecorrectaspirationsoftheAdivasiPeoples?
ThequestionstheJharkhandMovementhasbeenaskingfordecadesare:
1. Stoplootingourrottikappadaaurmakkan(bread,shelter&cloathes).HastheStateandthebourgeoisierespectedthis?
2. Jaljunglekaneejjaminhamarahai.(Land,Forest,Water&Mineralsareours)Hasthisbeenrealised?
3. RighttoadistinctCulture,Identity,EconomyandHomeland.Hasthisbeenrealised?
IfAdivasiswantmorecars,fasttrains,cellphones,washingmachinesthengiveuptheseabove
threedemandsandI amverysure theywill giveyounot onlymore cell phonesandwashingmachinesbutaeroplanestoo.WithoutthemineralsfromJharkhandnotonlyIndia,butalsothe
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economicgrowthofevenChinawillbetroubled.Sowhattheyaregivingthepeopletodayinthe
formofgadgetsandtechnologyisactuallyabaittoextractmoreandmorefromthecommonsof
thesepeople.
ConcludingPoint
Inthelater part ofthis paper I havegiven the examples of theAdivasi peoples only.This isbecause the Adivasi Peoples of Jharkhand has been very clear in their demands from the
movementsoftheirancestors300+yearsagoaswellastoday.OthersectionsofIndiansociety
havegottolearnfromtheexperiencesoftheAdivasipeoplesofJharkhand.
TheothersectionsofIndiansocietyespeciallytheDalitpeoples,thetoilingclassesofIndiahave
gottorethinktheirmainpoliticalideologicalpositions.Ourmovementsiftheywanttomakeany
politicalgainshavegottodevelopclearaimsandobjectives.Theseaimsandobjectiveshavegot
tobeexplainedwithinapoliticalframework.Theyhavegottocreateamass-thinkingpeople.For
thistheyhavegottonetworkwithoneanotherandcreatealliances,relationshipsetc.Iwelcome
thethemeofthisyearsPSAgatheringandIhopeitwillforgetheway.
Ifweallrealisethattherulingclasshasaplan,averyclearplan,toextractmoreandmorefrom
us. Be it our cheap labour, or natural resources or want us to become consumers of their
products(Market).Theirplanistoextractitinordertoconvertitintomoney/profit.Wemust
realisethisclearlythatwethecommonpeoplearenottheaimoftheirplan.Weareinfactthe
producttheyareselling.Theyareactuallysellingusalongwithallthatweown.
In 2007 the members of Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee JMACC
(www.firstpeoplesfirst.in)gavethisslogantotheirmembers:
THINKDEEPLYORDIESLOWLY
Ithinkitismorerelevanttodayasitwasthen.
November2011