What wrong these Tribal women have done?

N.S.Sajith

Wayanad is illustrious for its scenic beauty.  This hilly district in North of the Kerala is also famous for its treasures of spices like pepper and cardamom. The idyllic nature of Wayanad and its nearness to Ooty and Mysore offer tremendous tourist potentialities. The flora and fauna in this District located in the Western Ghats also considered as a rich resource of bio diversity. As this district gives an enchanting and charming beauty of nature, at the same time it gives a painful history of exploitation towards the tribal communities. The Adivasis of this Wayanad has to tell a tremendous history of leading a long bloodshed revolt against the British East India Company. Tribal warriors were at forefront of Revolt led by Pazhassi Raja in the turbulent years of resistance in 18th Century.

The British authorities exploited their resources by bribing the Mooppans (clan leaders) with liquor and tobacco. After Independence this role took over by the Land lords who seized the land of the tribal people. Tribal people were always at the receiving end of exploitation. News came from Wayanad tells a more pathetic story of their sufferings and dismal status. A horrible action by Kerala Police is unheard in any modern society especially like kerala is worrying the Adivasis and the all the keralites having self respect. The bitter experience the Adivasi women met with was nothing but stripping of their cloths in the broad day light. Policemen intentionally removed their Kachcha (a dhoti like cloth) in the pretext of frisking.

Women from Paniya clan have had this bitter experience last week in Kalpetta, the district head quarters. They were about to receive pattas in function attended by Chief Ministers Oommen Chandy and Tribal Development Minister P K Jayalakshmi, who belongs to a tribal community in Wayanad. These innocent Paniya women complained that male police were tried to remove the clothes.

Adivasi Kshema Samithy an organization fighting for the Welfare of the Tribal Communities in Kerala has taken up the issue. AKS leader Sita Balan along with these Paniya women held a press conference in Kalpetta and given detains of happenings. Paniya women rightly came before Cameras of the Visual Media and given a detailed account of what had happened. These women said that many women from their clan did not turn up for the distribution of Pattas due to fear.

Patta distribution function has organized in the back drop of the agitation of AKS in the previous days.  The organization’s main demand was to execute the High Court order to attach 17 acres of Land which was illegally encroached by M V Shreyams Kumar, a UDF legislator from Socialist Janata led by M P Veerendrakumar. AKS and CPIM had jointly organized struggles to pressurize the government to attach the land from Shreyams Kumar. On the day in which Oommen Chandy reached in Wayanad, AKS had organized protest march and hurled the black flag. This was the reason for a thorough frisking.

While reacting to the controversial stripping, Tribal Development minister P K Jayalakshmi apologetically said that this incident should have been avoided. But AKS is firm on its stand for a stringent action against the erroneous police personnel.