Another Kandhamal in the Making

D N Singh

Once a scenic hub of pristine nature is now a festering sore. Thousands of tribals are out in the fields brandishing weapons, homes have been devastated, non-tribals are on the run and the entire social fabric remains ripped apart by a sudden outburst of vengeance that had been smoldering within the aborigines for many decades. The scene now in the Narayanpatna block in Koraput district of Orissa seems heading for a repetition of what happened in the Kandhamal district last year posing a big question mark on Naveen Patnaik`s secular credentials. But, it seems, the government here has not learnt the lesson from that month long strife and now, after the unrest in Narayanpatna, BJD government`s political conduct towards ensuring social harmony, as usual, has been found wanting. Since more than a month Narayanpatna is on the boil, as the tribals here are now up in arms protesting against the generations-long domination by the non-tribals which includes the SCs. The moot point, however, is their deprivation from their rights on cultivable land and exploitation of forest products. It was a virtual civil war wedged by the tribals against this and the pledge is loud and clear. "We will not brook any more domination and fight tooth and nail for our rights on our land and the forest." This is the common refrain audible in the woods of Narayanpatna. They have resorted to all the modes of protest. Their plans have no secret plots. They gather in thousands, holding weapons and march into the middle of the town and villages. Their silence is deafening. They then resort to attacks; breaking houses, chasing the non-tribals and at last, they pitch red-flags on the cultivable lands as a sign of occupation. And that is what the battle is on. They are unwilling to take any more domination whatsoever. The non-tribals have no place here, they say. They have declared the hills and forests of Narayanpatna as their heritage on which the government has no business to trade on. “We will not allow any mining lease on the hills nor any act that would precede razing of forest cover would be allowed,” warned Nachika Linga, the tribal leader who is spearheading the movement. This is a signal fraught with volatile ingredients. Now, on top of that, the Red-rebels have started unleashing their terror in this area. On Thursday last, they blast a landmine on the road to Narayanpatna in which nine police personnel were killed and the vehicle was blown to pieces. Two days back the ultras barged into a government nursery and destroyed thousands of saplings and other vegetation. What is important is the timing of their action. The interiors are shaken by the angry tribals and the ultras have virtually laid siege to the area outside as a whole, leaving the police either to defend themselves or just be mute onlookers. The banner ` Chasi-Mulia- Mazdoor- Sangh ` under which the tribals are fighting is tipped to be a frontal outfit of the Maoists. The signs of the discontent were well discernible when the tribals had made their intentions clear two months back. But the political executives here took an inordinately long time to decide on what they need to do to placate the ruffled psyche of the tribals. Or they simply don’t bother. That gave Red-rebels time to chalk out their strategy and now Narayanpatna is in the grip of a menace made more potent by both local anger and ultra-terror.