By – Akshita

Abstract:

This piece delves deep into the world of Adivasi displacement, a crisis they endure in silence, hidden from the illusion of normalcy we have carved out for ourselves. This article examines how those who have become the fierce protectors of the forest are not only pushed out from their homeland by ecological disasters but also suffer through development-induced displacement in the name of progress and conservation. From the ferocious forest guardians in Odisha’s Thengapalli to the floundering communities in Panna, it portrays how the mixture of climate crisis, mining, and deforestation is forcing them into a life of loss, suffering, and destruction, which gradually becomes a cycle. This article seeks to gently awaken us to the simple truth – that these gentle protectors of the land shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of the development.

Introduction:

Only the few of us, attuned to the whispers of our surroundings, can hear the faint screams in the valley of silence – slowly but surely plunging towards apathy, destruction, and whatever comes after. To most of us, this line might come across as a string of beautiful but meaningless words, but this is the living, breathing reality for some. Approximately 135 villages in Odisha are spectator to the practice of Thengapalli, where the tribal members, mainly women, fiercely protect their community forest and its resources from smugglers, timber thieves, and others looking to exploit natural resources by patrolling the forest area. The discovery of a barren land due to the overexploitation of resources breathed life into this concept. It’s just one of the many instances that attempt to portray the unique yet poignant relationship between Adivasis and their land. Their land isn’t just a backdrop in their story, but it encompasses the very being of their lives and how they live. The Adivasi people have a symbiotic relationship with the forest, and their identity and sense of belonging are tied to where they hail from. To capture the essence, the forest represents all of their basic needs- home, kitchen, workplace, and pharmacy all at once. Many of them practice subsistence agriculture, but it isn’t just about livelihood for them; the land is sacred to them, believed to have a spiritual connection.

With a connection entrenched in generations of enduring experiences, one might think they would be reluctant to step out of their land, but they often end up becoming victims of environmental migration. More often than not, they find their lives impeded by the wrath of nature, often incurred and exacerbated by the human greed of development through activities such as mining, power plants, and dam projects. When we talk of the tribal people, a lot of us find ourselves out of depth here because they remain one of the least acknowledged people in the mainstream, a true embodiment of “out of sight, out of mind”. This displacement is not only just the aftermath of natural disasters like earthquakes and landslides, but a result of industrial pollution, water scarcity, deforestation, and a never-ending list of the like. Displacement induced by developmental projects such as dams, mines, thermal power plants and railways is indisputably a product of want of growth and modernity, for which the price Adivasis pay in silence, yet their protests remain unheard.

But can we truly attribute displacement caused by earthquakes and floods solely to nature, absolving humans of any fault entirely? It’s not entirely a secret that floods are as much the result of urbanization and poor drainage systems as much of nature. As we all infamously know in Sundarbans, the sea levels rise by 3 centimetres per year, which far surpasses the global average, causing the displacement of tribals amongst other people as the land is continuously being submerged under water. Earthquakes can be prompted by dam pressure, as was witnessed in the Koyna reservoir-induced seismicity. The case of the Parhaiya Adivasi community of Jharkhand is the perfect demonstration of the double trouble faced by the tribal people, forcing them from their land into the world of the unknown, and how it affects their lives.

Parhaiya – The Adivasi Community in Jharkhand:

The Parhaiya are a particularly vulnerable tribal group and are traditionally engaged in and dependent on shifting cultivation, hunting, and forest resources, as is often the case with tribal groups. But climate change has brought on erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, amongst other events, leading to a life with such water scarcity that even drinking water is a blessing and where there is an inability to farm anymore, thereby impacting the livelihood of not only 1.5 million farmers but their families. In 2023, Jharkhand stood witness to 38% less rainfall than average. This has pushed a significant number of households to seasonally migrate, starting from post Diwali season, which is usually November till June, until their return for Kharif cultivation. Migrants often find themselves at the mercy of brick kilns, slaving away under exploitative conditions such as 17-hour shifts and negligible remuneration; labour rights are like an unreachable fantasy of a decent life. The Dadan system is also infamous in the area; tribals are often given advances for emergencies, which they are compelled to repay through their hard labour, a convenient way of keeping the needy dancing to the tune of the exploitative urban song. 

But as already discussed, the environment isn’t their only enemy; tribal people often feel the heat of animosity from the forest laws framed to safeguard environmentally sensitive areas, but which only push the marginalized, the protectors of the forests, out of the only house they have ever known. While the government is giving green light to large-scale projects such as leasing out mining initiatives, tribal communities are deprived of their home as well as livelihood, and are forced to engage in labor in the very mines that changed the course of their lives. When industrial pollution renders the land unfit for cultivation, they not only lose food and their sense of identity but also access to herbs and other plantations used for medicinal purposes.

The Lived Reality of the Adivasi Community in Panna:

Adivasi communities in the Panna district of Madhya Pradesh is the epitome of the aftermath of development-induced displacement, often sold to the mainstream as progress; they are enclosed in a land that is rich in forests and diamond resources, making them a perfect scapegoat for both conservation and commercial exploitation. 55% of Adivasis in the region live below the poverty line. Tribal people have been forcefully evicted under two antithetical agendas- mining and wildlife conservation. Under the guise of tiger protection, no second thoughts were given to the removal of villages from the buffer zones of the Panna Tiger Reserve. Once eloquently known as the guardian of the forests, tribal communities are now barred from grazing cattle, collecting firewood, or most importantly, accessing medicinal herbs- practices essential to the very being of their survival. They are evicted under the guise of environmental protection, lured in by the false but sweet promises of compensation and facilities, but they are quickly made aware of their new reality of no housing, water, healthcare, or education in the world touted as urban, modern and developed.

Illegal stone and diamond mining continues to encompass every corner of the forest, often facilitated through leases that are state-sanctioned yet bypass statutorily mandated environmental clearance norms. The tribal people are left with no alternative but to slave away their days as daily wage labourers at the mines with no safety precautions and under employers that hardly respect labour laws. Even women find themselves in the same position, exerting the same amount of labour but for half the earnings as men, and they are pressed into bringing children to the site where they are exposed to dust, heat, and contaminated water. Child labour runs rampant, the innocence of their childhood stolen as they begin working from as young as 5, when “ordinary” children of the “developed” world would be deep in the world of Barbies and toy cars. Naturally, silicosis and malnutrition prevail in their new realities.

While it is true that legislations such as Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 and Forest Rights Act amongst others are in the picture, more often than not, during implementation, their provisions are very conveniently forgotten, left behind with no thought to the onslaught on the already marginalised tribal people. The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Schedule Areas) Act 1996 (PESA) not only preserves their cultural identity but also ensures access to community resources. It mandates that the Gram Sabha should be mandatorily consulted in land acquisition, resettlement, and rehabilitation of tribal people, but while projects such as dam projects are being sanctioned, keeping the Gram Sabha in the loop is the least of their worries. The Forest Rights Act, 2006 endows ownership over tribal land to the ST and other communities who have been actively cultivating the land up to 4 hectares, but when the Adivasis go to claim their right, they are refused, citing the lack of paperwork that the Act doesn’t even demand if not some other irrelevant reason. These rights must be settled before tribal land is acquired, but to whom do the Adivasis turn when these rights aren’t even acknowledged? Now, LARR, 2013, provides for rehabilitation and compensation when land is acquired, but these provisions are generally bypassed, and people are forcefully evicted. Environmental Impact Assessments, necessitated by 2006 EIA Notification to gauge the effect of a large-scale project on the local community, its fauna, and flora, is often not complied with.

Conclusion:

As observed, tribals who have assumed the role of protecting the forest are shoved out of them, only to be swept away in the endless wave of misery and labour, not only due to climate change but also in the name of conservation and progress. We can safely claim that the displacement of Adivasi communities is the most brushed aside consequence of both environmental and development-induced migration. The need of the hour is to give voice to these marginalised communities who have spoken out yet remain unheard, and who, now, are barely held together by strings of survival, not daring to hope for a better future when the State has failed them time and again for its greed for development, the chase of modernity. It’s time we realise the dream of sustainable development, ensuring that while progress is being made, communities are thriving along with it. Tribal people should be provided with proper rehabilitation in good condition to ensure that no one disproportionately bears the brunt of development. 

Author’s Bio:

Akshita is a third-year BBA-LLB student at Jindal Global Law School (JGLS). 

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