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A tribal time bomb is ticking away

Bibhuti Mishra in Bhubhaneswar

The new millennium in Orissa appears to herald a season of tribal uprisings. Numerous clashes between tribals and policemen have resulted in casualties and a very tense atmosphere in the affected areas.

Five months ago the scheduled castes of Gajapati district and the converted tribal Christians had clashed over some land dispute. So, as a security measure a police picket comprising two police platoons was deployed there. Since the settlement of the land dispute got delayed the picket remained at Mandrabaju village much to the annoyance of the tribals who alleged that the police were favouring the status quo. On Wednesday last they had an altercation with the cops when they demanded compensation for their toddy pots which had allegedly had been destroyed by the police.

On the same evening they threatened the cops with dire consequences if they did not leave the village by Thursday. When the cops did not oblige, about 300 tribals armed with bows and arrows set upon the police picket and in the ensuing clash that compelled the police to fire 30 rounds eight persons including a woman died while 50 persons including nine policemen were badly injured.

The situation is so tense that high level police officers and the district magistrate are camping at the village with 10 police platoons. Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal has rushed to the village today to oversee the situation and defuse the tension This area has a record of tension involving the tribals and during J B Patnaik's time also the tribals had raided police stations in similar fashion.

In another shocking incident involving the tribals and the cops, the villagers of Kuanribila village under Gudugudia panchayat at the foothills of Simlipal in Mayrubhanj district have alleged that two police constables raped two tribal women at the police station. The tribals have threatened to take the law into their own hands if immediate action is not taken against the guilty police constables.

On December 24, two tribal men of the village were taken to the police station on the charge of involvement in a land dispute. The police said they would be released if they paid up 500 rupees. On the 25th two women from the family of the detained tribals went to the police station with food and the money.

But by then the tribals were shifted to another police station and finding the two women alone the two constables of Gudugudia police station raped them. When they came back to the village and revealed it to their sarpanch Akhil Nayak, he went to Jashipur police station and filed a complaint on 26 December. But no action has yet been taken and the angry tribals have threatened to punish the guilty themselves unless the authorities take action. The government has another tribal bomb ticking away.

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