annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Rajasthan
tribals was in contradiction to the Central
government’s decision to regularise the
land rights of tribal dwellers who have
been in continuous occupation since 31
December 1993. The State Government
had also decided in 1991 to regularize the
encroachments made on forestlands before
1 July 1980. But the committees
constituted at the forest range level to
identify the tribals for regularization of
land rights have failed to do so. The
eviction notices were issued ignoring the
order of the Union Ministry of Forest and
Environment dated 5 February 2004 in
which the Ministry observed that when the
areas where tribals had been living since
time immemorial were brought under the
purview of Forest Acts, their traditional
rights were not settled, making them
“encroachers in the eyes of law”.
The Sahariya tribes: Land Alienation
and starvation deaths
The alienation of the lands of the
Sahariya tribes by the land greedy farming
communities from the plains is the major
reason for the deplorable conditions of the
Sahariya indigenous peoples in Rajasthan.
Majority of their populace are rendered to
the status of labourers working for others
in lands once belonged to them. The nonindigenous
peoples from the plains have
grabbed large areas of lands of the
indigenous peoples in South East
Rajasthan. The Forest and the Revenue
Departments have reportedly made life
miserable for them. The non-tribals with
the help of the Government officials have
allegedly manipulated the land records.
Even the lands set aside for the Sahariyas
have been allocated to other people
rendering the Sahariyas to be bonded
labourers in their own land.” According to
a survey by the Sankalp Sanstha in
Khandela gram panchayat in Kishanganj
alone, more than 80 Shariya families were
victims to usurpation of land. 27
About 35 persons reportedly died in
the Saharia-dominated Baran district of
Rajasthan between July and September
2004 due to starvation. 28 The authorities
attributed the deaths to diseases and
inordinate delay on the part of the tribals to
give timely medical attention to the
victims. 29 On 16 September 2004, the
Supreme Court directed the state
government of Rajasthan to submit status
report on the alleged starvation deaths in
the state. 30
Six persons reportedly died of
diseases resulting from malnutrition in
Brahmapura, a Sahariya tribal settlement
in Kishanganj block in Baran district in
July-August 2004. Five of the six deceased
were children below five years. The sixth
person, Sampat, wife of Ram Singh, a
drummer, died on 4 August 2004 after
childbirth. The medical records attributed
excessive bleeding as the reason for her
death though the neighbours said she did
not have proper nourishment after the
delivery. The family was extremely poor. 31
Harji, a villager in Brahmpura claimed that
the deaths were due to starvation, as
villagers could not buy food and fell ill
after going without food for days together
217