What binds India together with all it's diversity? Nature is the foundation of the forest-dwelling and village dwelling societies and they are the stewards of land, water and all natural resources. Their language is a diverse local form of Prakrit.
Culture holds together at the top of which is the patron city-dwelling society. Their language is Sanskrit. India is known as Sone ki Chidiya or golden bird and Vishva Guru by synergy and symbiosis of Sanskrit and Prakrit.
Since ancient times, India's forest, village and city society are it's indigenous people or Adivasis. It is absolutely mistaken that the Adivasis of India live in forests only. This myth was spread by the white British first and the same is now being spread by the adherents of the Gujarat Development Model. The role of the East India Company which earlier colonised India has been taken over by Adani and Ambani though in a highly subversive and surreptitious way. When will India extricate from it's vicious grip and be completely independent again?
What has changed in this 70 years of independence? The way the British used to call the original inhabitants of India as "Bloody Indians", treated them as inferior and suppressed their protests as treason and terrorism, in the same way, today's Brown English and adherents of the Gujarat Development Model, treat the indigenous people as "tribals" or Adivasis as inferior and equally and as brutally suppress their protest by labelling them as Maoism and Naxalism.
Adivasi simply means those who are native inhabitants of India or who believe and follow the eternal tradition of the land. They share the saga of Rama and Krishna as their cultural heritage. Adivasis of Bharat are those who consider this country's diverse language, dialect and local culture and tradition as their shared heritage.
Ironically, while most people deny that they are not immigrants but are the natives of this place and debunk the Aryan Invasion Theory, they shy away from being called Adivasis. Because in their perception, Adivasi way of life is a sign of backwardness. There is a large number of such misguided people in the country today. Deceived by their strength in numbers, they mistake this anomaly to be true. I address this issue in this earlier essay here.
Indigenous or Adivasi society around the world has been struggling with similar problems of colonial terror, infiltration and subversion of their way of life over last several centuries. Taking cognizance of the significant contribution of the indigenous society and to redeem the historical injustice done to them, the United Nations General Assembly made a declaration for the protection and promotion of indigenous peoples' rights in 2007. Some of the key points are as follows:
Article 3
Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue
of that right they freely determine their political status and freely
pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Article 4
Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.
Article 11
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to practise and revitalize their
cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain,
protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.
2. States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property taken without their free, prior and informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions and customs.
Article 13
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and
transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral tradi-
tions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate
and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.
2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is
protected and also to ensure that indigenous peoples can understand
and be understood in political, legal and administrative proceedings,
where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other
appropriate means.
Article 14
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their
educational systems and institutions providing education in their
own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of
teaching and learning.
4. Adivasi Adhikar Manch will, according to this declaration of the United Nations, prepare an action plan for the collective efforts to protect the rights of the indigenous people around the world.
5. Keeping the priority of indigenous people in India as defined above, we call upon for a review of the existing constitution and to prepare the draft of a new constitution for wider consultation.
6. Adivasi Adhikar Manch will be an umbrella organization that will bring together diverse organizations working to protect, preserve and strengthen indigenous people's rights including Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan and to amalgamate wherever appropriate.
