Today is the sixtyfirst independence day of India but even so hundreds of poor people across the country are languishing in jails where they have been stuffed for protesting against the unjust displacement policies of the state. Most of these unfortunate citizens are tribals who have borne the brunt of modern development. Our idea of independence is to celebrate the achievements of our tycoons and sportspersons and totally ignore the sufferings of the poor. Thus it would not be an exaggeration to say that the independence that we will ritually celebrate today is a false one. In the Narmada valley thousands upon thousands of people are a whisker away from being displaced without adequate rehabilitation and resettlement protected tenuously by orders of the High and Supreme Courts.
Above are a few Bhil adivasi children, visibly malnourished at present, even prior to their displacement. What is their future going to be after displacement when they will lose even the minimal resource bases which they now have?
Freedom is contingent on having the opportunities to live a meaningful life. Sixty years of independence have deprived the Bhil adivasis of their freedom by denying them a meaningful life.
1 comment:
Sensitivity, like peace is a fragile thing. Sixty years is not a long period to cultivate something that ought to be time-less. On what can one pin one's hope that apathy shall one day turn to concern?
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