Jarawa tribe at crossroads, yet again
The bone of contention this time happens to be a seminar which is expected to formulate the policy for future handling of the threatened Jarawa tribals.
Once again, the cause of the Jarawas has put the government and the non-governmental organisations at loggerheads.
The bone of contention this time happens to be a seminar which is expected to formulate the policy for future handling of the threatened Jarawa tribals. Some 300 Jarawa tribals, who inhabit the Middle & South Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal archipelago of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, are fighting for survival.
The two-day seminar begins in Kolkata on Wednesday, April 7, 2004. It is being conducted by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs at the behest of Calcutta High Court which wants the Government to draft a policy "after taking into account the views and suggestions of the experts of national and international repute in the related fields."
Samir Acharya of the Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology (SANE), which has been championing the cause of the Andaman tribals, says the spirit behind High Court's order has been completely ignored by the Ministry.
"The court wanted wide publicity and wider participation in the seminar which will determine a policy vital to the survival of these tribals. But there has been little publicity and the time given to us to participate is woefully inadequate," he says.