Death reward

Common in a couple of places across the border in Gujarat, 8216;Chadhotaru8217; is a practice as old as the hills atop which the scattered houses of tribals are located. It8217;s a long, lonely drive to Kotda, the most backward area of Rajasthan. About 125 kms from Udaipur, one has to be extremely careful while driving through the deserted stretch, for dead or injured cattle fetch at least double the price they are worth.

Much before the sun sets, the tribal rule begins when the police prefer to watch from the sidelines. 8216;8216;You took a big risk by not alerting us in advance, we would have arranged for an escort,8217;8217; the in charge of Kotda Police Station Shivnath Singh says. 8216;8216;They ambush strangers, robbing them of their last belongings,8217;8217; Singh says, painting a frightening picture of an area where many non-governmental organisations have been working and a lot of projects have been initiated over the last few years.

Though it8217;s not as bad as Singh or the warnings by strangers in hotels or paan shops, it8217;s far from ideal out there. Jaysinh alias Jimmy, whose father was the only MP from this region, says even NGOs want the tribals to remain the way they are or else they will have to shut shop.

Even as we speak, a group of armed men from Talab village, about 10 km from the police station is in Vadahari, a village across the border in Gujarat, where a young man died at his sister8217;s house, negotiating the price. Yes, when it comes to 8216;unnatural8217; deaths, they even put a price on male bodies. Kurtha Gujra, probably in late teens, died a couple of days ago but the cremation will take place only when the amount is fixed.

When women are involved, even if the death is due to a heart attack, the in-laws have to pay. 8216;8216;I have lost the count of the chadotarus I headed as panch,8217;8217; admits Shankarlal Kapura, 55, who works as a kind of bridge between the police and the tribals.

When negotiations are on, including in cases of road mishaps, Shankarlal tries to keep the tribals in check. When negotiations fail, the group on the victim8217;s side often torches houses of those responsible. 8216;8216;We wait for the settlement to be over and do the post mortem only after the panchs agree,8217;8217; says Singh. Once the deal is struck the mourners get back to drinking and making merry. Only part of the settlement amount reaches the victim8217;s family, the rest is splurged by villagers who are a part of the team.

Though the bargaining begins in lakhs, it ends in few thousands. The victim8217;s family can raise the money only because the kin pool the money.

8216;8216;It8217;s a tradition, I have to abide by. If I don8217;t go they will accuse me of having struck a deal for a much lower amount,8217;8217; admits Shankarlal sheepishly. Two of his eight sons are teachers. His own jeep was taken away by a finance company when he could not pay the loan for he had to pay a heavy price when it was involved in a mishap.

He gets angry only when he is questioned about promiscuity practiced by them. 8216;8216;The husband stands outside the home when his wife is with her paramour,8217;8217; says a policeman about the practice.

Shankarlal and his sons agree that elections for them mean liquor and meat for a day or two before the day of the voting. His family members have to take a detour via a bridge in Gujarat when the Sabarmati that passes near his Badli village has water. Last year, the president of India was brought to the village school but no one told him that the tribals lived at least 30 kms away.

8216;8216;Koi dukh dur karne ki baat nahi karta, sab pilane ki bat karte hai,8217;8217; he says describing the ordeal of living in a hillock which means patients have to be bodily lifted for treatment.8216;8216;But I can8217;t think of living anywhere else,8217;8217; he says in the same breath. Though all get drunk by evening, only the habitual offenders carry out loots, he says.

Nanalal Meena of Astha, an NGO working since 1988, says things are improving. He says until a few years ago, the tribals used to run away from strangers thinking they had come to sterilise them. He says a lot of forced 8216;nasbandi8217; operations were carried out here. Another NGO Adivasi Vikas Manch has been working for issues such as forest land rights but tribals themselves are wary of such efforts.

8216;8216;I have stop going with them when they started to parade me before strangers,8217;8217; Shankarlal says. But for all the backwardness, a few among them have agreed for a mass marriage that is likely to take place. Marriages often involve a lot of expenditure on meat, liquor and dowry.