A forgotten people

One sultry summer night in 1996, the people of Kadamtalla village in the Andaman and Nicobar islands woke up to shouts of thief-thief''...

One sultry summer night in 1996, the people of Kadamtalla village in the Andaman and Nicobar islands woke up to shouts of 8220;thief-thief8221;. When they descended on the intruder, they found a 14-year-old boy writhing in pain near a small ditch. He had probably broken his leg by falling into a ditch in the darkness. To their horror, they also realised that he belonged to the Jarawa tribe a community that has consistently shunned the outside world, and who are known to attack non-tribals with poisoned arrows.

Apprehending the wrath of the Jarawas, they did nothing to help the boy, hoping against hope that the tribals would come and take the boy away. But, having stolen a goat and a few unripe bananas, the tribals obviously were afraid to return and the boy was brought to the village next day. But he required urgent medical care that was unavailable in the village. He was, therefore, shifted to the Port Blair Government Hospital. Unable to understand the local language and because of the unfamiliar atmosphere hefound himself in, the boy kept crying and refused food for four days. Over time, since he couldn8217;t return to his people because of his plastered leg, he slowly started eating the food given to him. For the next four months, while he recuperated at the hospital he not only became a good friend of the medical staff there, he also picked up a few words of their language: Hindi.The boy, named Enmai by the medical staff, became fond of television and remained glued to a portable TV set kept in his room. People flocked to the hospital from distant areas, just to see the tribal boy. This was the first time they were confronting a member of the Jarawa tribe from so close. Once he was cured, Enmai was taken to the Kadamtala forests on the islands. There was no trace of him after that and people started forgetting him. But four months ago, Enmai resurfaced. He requested the villagers of Kadamtala to help his clansmen who were in need of medical attention. Suddenly it seemed that the Jarawas were ready to dilute theirhostility towards the outside world, after the treatment meted to Enmai.

In the second week of September last year, a two-member medical team led by Dr Shiv Shankar Singh, a local physician, was despatched to the tribal area in a motor boat. In an interview to the Indian Express, Dr Singh described the experience. 8220;I was apprehensive about my meeting with the Jarawas, notorious for killing non-tribals at first sight. Interacting with Enmai in the safe confines of a hospital ward was totally different from going right into the lion8217;s den.8221; But his fears were unfounded. Though he could not understand their language, Singh could perceive that the Jarawas were welcoming him warmly. What helped were the fruits for them that he had brought along. He found about a dozen of them running high temperature and decided to bring them to the Port Blair hospital for a thorough check up and diagnostic tests. They were suffering from pneumonia and had to be hospitalised for a few days. This marked a definite shift in theway the outsider was perceived by these tribals. Even after going back to their forest homes, they continued to mingle with the locals.

Jarawas are not the only hostile tribe in the Andamans. There are two others, Onges and Sentinalese, who are as yet unfriendly. Although census figures on these tribal communities are lacking, rough estimates put the total population of the Jarawas at 100, while the Onges and Sentinalese are believed to number 150 and 50 respectively.

The Jarawas live in Jirkatang in south Andamans, Kadamtalla in the Middle Andamans and the Tirur islands. The Sentinalese inhabit the Sentinelle islands in the Middle Andamans while Onges live in the Little Andaman Island of Sputh Andamans.

None of these tribals wear clothes. They prefer to remain naked, adorning themselves with seashells and little else. Red seems to be a particularly favoured colour among these communities and most of them sport a piece of red cloth as an arm-band. Their staple diet is boiled fish and boiled banana.While fishing, they don8217;t employ either fishing hooks or nets. They rely on sharp metal objects, procured from villages, or sharp-ended sticks to kill fish. Since they don8217;t know how to cultivate, they have to steal bananas, chickens or goats from nearby villages. Says B.S. Banerjee, director, tourism and information, government of Andaman and Nicobar,8220;A major part of their life is devoted to collecting food. Sometimes they walk continuously for two days to lay their hand on eatables. They also row in sea in makeshift boats made of logs from felled trees, that are tied together to nearby villages during the night.8221;

Besides the three hostile tribes, there are three more tribes which have mingled with the non-tribals on the islands: the Great Andamanese 40 in number, they inhabit Strait Island; the Shompens 250 in number, they inhabit Campbell Island in Great Nicobar and Indira Point, the southern most island in the cluster; and the Nicobarese 20,000-strong community inhabiting the Nicobar Islands.

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While Shompens have Mongloid features, all the others have Negrative Negro-like features.

An admirable quality of tribals is their concern for the environment. The biggest problem they face is one of survival. While their population has grown, the land doesn8217;t get any bigger. This makes the local ecology an extremely fragile one: 87 per cent of the total area of the entire region is covered by mangrove forests. The only food crop the Andamans produces is coarse rice, and the only wildlife available is wild boar, which is hunted by tribal and non-tribal alike. This has led, in turn, to the dwindling wild boar population.

The Andamanese in general and the tribals in particular, therefore face a serious shortage of food. This often leads to starving tribals wrecking havoc on non-tribal communities. Villages are invaded at night and eatables stolen anything from fruit to chickens and goats is fair game.

Earlier, the tribals used to target with bows and arrows any vehicles, especially buses, passingthrough their territory in Jirkatang. Says Ram Prasad Ojha of Jirkatang, 8220;Today, they seem to have given up this practice, choosing instead to hitch a ride on the buses and seek eatables from passengers. If they are repulsed, they can even rough up the passenger.8221;

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The situation is indeed grim. Manoranjan Bhakta, the local Congress MP, in his representation to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his visit to the islands from December 30 to January 1, specifically demanded that proper food for the tribals be arranged by the government.

The problem is only going to get worse as the years go by and managing it will be the biggest challenge for the local government. It8217;s a task that would require both sensitivity and commitment.