Violence looms but better wages in tea gardens still lure Adivasis

A day after the Joint Adivasi Action Committee (JAAC), an umbrella body of tribals, called for an indefinite economic blockade in four states —Jharkhand, Assam, Orissa and West Bengal — from December 17 to press for their demand for ST status to immigrant tribals who had settled in Assam, around 250 odd tribals boarded the Assam-bound train Alipurduar Express here on Thursday night. The prevailing tension in Assam has failed to deter these tribals from flocking to the state, an annual phenomenon for the past several years. The reason is simple. They could hardly ignore the lure of the tea gardens in Assam where they manage to earn handsome money as daily labourers, compared to what they get here. In fact, back home, none of them were even ready to work under the much-hyped National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Even the stand of the Centre that it is not going to accord ST status to tribals living in Assam has failed to deter them.

Take the case of three farmers who went to Assam on Thursday — Ramchandra, Dulari and Sukra Oraon. Each one of them who owns 4-5 acres of land in Ranchi and its adjoining Gumla district. They have been in possession of job cards issued by the state Government. But in the aftermath of the harvesting season, they were not ready to work under NREG programme. Why? “It fetches us less than Rs 100 per day, whereas in tea gardens we make anywhere between Rs 150 to Rs 200 per day,” said Ramchandra.

Sukra Oraon had cultivated paddy even in the absence of irrigation facility. After harvesting early this month, he had left for Assam, leaving behind his ageing father, mother and three children . “The paddy lasts for six months. For the next six months, I earn and come home to feed them,” said Sukra.

Dr Ramdayal Munda, former V-C of Ranchi University, who had been witnessing this seasonal migration, blames the Government. “The need of the hour is to provide irrigation facilities and power so that they can gainfully employ themselves on their land.”

“The plan to provide road, water and power to all tribal inhabited villages was there for long. Now we have initiated a move to accelerate the process of its implementation,” said Secretary (Rural Development) Santosh Satpathy. In fact, their migration could have been contained, had the Government allowed companies like Tata, Mittal and Jindal, who had signed MoUs with it during the past seven years since 2001, to set up their plants.

Asked if they would prefer to work in the private industry in this state, they replied in the affirmative. “If we are paid as much as we get in Assam, then why will we go there,” asked Ramchander.