photographing history and trying to change it

8/3/2019 Photographing History and Trying to Change It

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CelebratingPeoplesResistancesWhile

ForgingNewAlliances

PSAGETTOGETHEROFACTIVISTS,ACTIONGROUPS&MOVEMENTS GandhamardanODISHANovember7-9,2011

PHOTOGRAPHINGHISTORYANDTRYINGTOCHANGEIT

XavierDias1

When I think of PSA (Programme for Social Action), I think of the days of the Emergency

promulgated by the Indian National Congress Party under the leadership of the then Prime

MinisterSmt.IndiraGandhi(25June197521March1977).

When I think of the Emergency, I think of it recollecting the social, political and economic

conditionsthecommonpeopleofIndialivedin.

WhenIthinkofthesituationduringthosedecades,Ithinkoftheresponseofthecommonpeople:

thethousandofworkersstrikes,thestudentmilitantmovements,theNaxalbarimovement,andthe

undergroundnetworkingthatperforcetookplace .

Withinthatlargerpoliticalspectrum,asmallspeckofsocialactionemergedandgrewtobecome

thePSAfellowship,ofwhichIamproudtobelongandproudtobeoneamongallofyouatour

gatheringeventhoughphysicallyabsent.

Whatwerethosedifficulttimes?

Onewinterdayin1976duringtheinfamousEmergencyIwasattheDongoPosirailwaystation,

inSinghbhumDistrictofthenBiharandnowJharkhandState.DongoPosiisontheTataGua

branchrailway line, builtessentially for the transportof iron ore and limestonefrom the big

[email protected]


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mines in theWorld famousSaranda rain forest2to the Steelplants in Jamshedpur, Durgapur.

TodayitservesnotonlyBokarobutalsosteelplantsinKoreaandChina.Itisthesinglehighest

earninglinefortheIndianRailways.Onthedayin1976whenIstoodtheretheRailwayswere

receivingrevenueofRs.7.5million(75lakhs)perday.

OnthatdayIboardedthericketypassengertrainatDongoPosiforChaibasa,asitwaspickingupspeedIsawawomancarryingaheavybasketofcoalchasedbytheRailwayPolice.Shetriedto

boardthetrainbutthepolicemankeptpullingherout;asaresultshefellbelowandwascutinto

twobythewheelsofthetrain.Shewasinthefinalstagesofpregnancy.Shedidnothavethesix

paiseoroneanna3tobribethepoliceandsohewaspreventingherfromboardingthetrain.She

wasanOraonAdivasifromMarytolaChaibasatownlivinginabasti/shantyofAdivasis.Forthe

purposeofthispaperlcallherKhuntiOraon

DongoPosiRailwayDivisionwasservingallthesteamenginesonthatroute.Whichmeantthat

notonlyweretheredumpsofcoalallaround,buttherailwaytrackswerelinedwithhalfburnt

bitsofcoal.

Coal at that time was a very important source of fuel for Industry as well as domestic use.

Togetherwith Kerosene oiland firewood itwas the only available fuel fordomesticcooking.

Firewoodwaswhatvillagepeople used,butpeoplein small townsandcities like Jamshedpur

dependedoncoal.Therichorbetteroffusedkeroseneoil.Theworkingclassesandpoorallused

coal tocook their food.Since the government coal depots/shopsrarely functioned, therewas

alwaysashortage.Ashortageofanycommoditymeansanundergroundorparallelmarket.The

commonterm for thismarketis black-market butweshoulddesistusing this term black as

thenpeopleofblackcolourtooareconsideredascrooks.

Whenthereisashortageofanyessentialhouseholdneeds,thebusinesscommunitypeopleseeit

asanopportunityforgoodbusiness.For,theyhoard the commodityandkeepthepriceshigh.Whilekeepingthepriceshightheyalsowilldoalltheycantogettheirstockfromanyplace;

mostlyillegally.

As coal dumps existed in Dongo Posiit became a good source for them to get free coal.The

business communitywouldgather the poorest ofthe poor,mostlywomen andchildren,send

themtoDongoPosiinthenightfromwheretheywouldcollectthecoalalongthetracksorstealit

fromtheRailwaydumps;thentakeitbythelocaltraintotheshopsofthebusinesscommunity.

Fromwheredotheyfindsuchcheaplabourtodothisriskywork?Itwasnotthatdifficult.After

Independence 1947, the government introduced the Five Year Plans, under what Economist

calledamixedeconomy.ThatwasaPublicaswellasPrivateSectoroperatingsidebyside,bothworkingfor NationalDevelopment.ThePublicSectorwouldbuildtheprojectsthatthePrivate

Sectordidnothavethemoneyfor.BuildingSteelPlants andopeningmineswasapartof this

PublicSectorplan.Bokaro,Rourkela,BhillaiSteelPlantswereallpartofthisfiveyearplan.For

theseSteelplantstheyneededvasttracksofland,forestmaterial,water,cheaplabour.Asiron

2AtthattimetheSarandaforestwastheworldslargestOak/Salforestintheworld.Injusttwo

decadesithasbecomethehighestconcentrationofminingcompaniescreatedmooncraterswith

forestandallthefloraandfaunacompletelydestroyed.

3

100paisamakes aRupee. Annawasa lowermeasure ofmoneybetween the paisa andtheRupee


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ore,limestoneandcoalwereallfoundintheregionsofJharkhand,OdishaandChhattisgarhthis

regionwaschosenforalltheseSteelPlants.Pleasenotethatthecountrychosethepathofthe

mixedeconomybecausethePrivateSectordidnothavethemoneytobuildsuchbigprojects.So

thePublicSectorwascreatedforthispurpose.ButthePublicSectortoodidnothavethatamount

ofmoneytoputinvest.Howdidtheythenmanage?TheybuildthisSectorbystealingalltheland

from the people of these regions to build the plants, the townships, the mines, and thetransportationsystems.WhichmeanstheStatespentapartofthecosttherestwasthesacrifice

oftheAdivasi people. So the actual composition ofmixedeconomy shouldbe PublicSector

PrivateSector-AdivasiSector.WhatthiscountryhasneveracknowledgedisthattheAdivasisas

acommunity, intermsof land,minerals,forestproduce, almostno-costlabour,havebeen the

singlelargestcontributortotheNationalDevelopment.WhiletheHouseofTatasaregivencredit

for National Development the Adivasi contribution is never acknowledged or even

comprehended.SimilarlyitisnevertalkedaboutthattheHouseofTatascreatedtheirwealthby

usurpingand expropriating itfromtheseAdivasi communities.BeforetheTataSons built the

steelplant inJamshedpur,theywerelaboursuppliersto theBritish.HeretoosupplyingWarli

Adivasi labour to construct the Bombay Pune treacherous railway track. Besides labour

supplierstheyweresuppliesofOpiumtotheBritishwhousedittodrugtheChineserulersandcoloniesChinesetrade.

MillionsofAdivasiswereforciblyevictedand overnightthrownonthestreetsofourcitiesas

refugees.After reaching the streets of the cities they were further exploited by the business

communitieswhoengagedthemto dodifferent jobs likepilferingthe coal from the depots of

DongoPosiRailwaystation.Theserefugeesintheirownhomelandwereforcedintosuchslave

labourforiftheydidnotdoittheywouldstarvetodeath.Rememberthiscoalgatheringwork

gavethemenoughtomeettheir foodneedsjusttosurvive.Mostof themanywaydied/dieof

curableillnessesorfromslowstarvation.

KhuntiOraonwasoneamongtheseforcedrefugees.Sheandhergroupofwomenandchildren

wouldeachcollectaboutabasketofcoal,washitandthenloaditonthetrain.Themoneythey

receivedforthisbasketofcoalwassolittlethattheycouldnotaffordtherailwayticket.Hereis

whentherailwaystaffwouldcomeintogettheirshareoftheloot.Thustheyhadtopaythe

RailwayPoliceandtheTicketCollectormoneyinordertotravelwithoutaticket.

EverydayanEmergencyday

This ghastly incident though it happened during the Emergency was not because of the

Emergency.Suchcriminalexploitationoftheverypoorwassomethingverycommon;atleastinthatpartoftheworldwecallJharkhandtoday.Iftheclaimwastruethatallhumanbeingsare

equalinademocracytheninthefirstplaceKuntiOraonshouldnothavebeenpickingcoalbut

havingabetterlifeinherancestralvillageorasalariedlifeinoneoftheSteelplants,herfamily

gavetheirlandfor.Notonlywasshedeniedthis,butherfamilycouldnotexercisetheirrightto

fileapolicecase.Ifherfamilyhadevenapproachedthelawforjusticeyouwouldbesurethather

husbandorfatheroranyonearbitratingontheirbehalfwouldbepunishedifnotbumpedoffby

thesamepolice.

Khunti Oraon and her community were not starving or poor people. They were forced into

poverty.Fromself-sufficientforestdwellersandfamilyfarmerstheywerethrownintobegging

andpilferingofcoaljusttogetenoughfoodforahalf-life.Sowhileonpapertherewasalawtoprotectthem,in reality theStateandtherulingclassesdenied themtheaccessto thatlaw.In


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short but very true these people were born and continued to live in a State of perpetual

Emergency.ThustheAdivasipeoples,theDalitpeoplesandthetoilinglabouringclasseshadno

excesstocivillibertiesevenbeforetheEmergency.Thisfactisoftenomittedwhenreportingor

talkingabouttheEmergency.

IhavegivenasanexampleofanindividualKhuntiOraon.ButitisimportanttonotethattheAdivasi peoples (andDalitpeople inother partsofIndia) builtorganisations that resisted the

plunder of their lands and forest. But these organisations too were denied the same right to

associationasworkingclass andmiddle classorganisationsand therefore theseorganisations

andassociationstoocameunderthedraconianperpetualEmergencysyndrome.

It is interesting tonote thatwhen the ruling classes deniesor limits civil liberties to certain

sectionsofsocieties,itisnotbecausetheylovethemless.Therulingclassisaverycleverand

cunninganimal.Fromthesectionsofsocietythatithastoextractthemost,isgivestothemthe

least (civil liberties). Since Adivasi peoples are owners of minerals, forest, other natural

resourcesandsincetheyconstitutethebulkofverycheaplabourtheyareconsciouslydeniedby

theStatetheirconstitutionalrights/civilliberties.Weseethisinthefunctioningofthepresentjudiciarysystemrightthroughallthecourts.TaketheSC/STPreventionofAtrocitiesAct.Inthe

mineralexportingregionsofthiscountrytheActisnotevenaccessibletotheSCandSTvictims.

TherulingclassfollowsthesamelineorlogicasancientfeudalIndiansocietiesfromwherethe

castesystememergedandfromwhereDalitpeoplesweretreatedaslesshuman.Inshortwhat

therulingclassissayingisthatwewillletyouenjoysomeofyourrightsascitizensifyouletus

increasewhatwearelootingfromyou .UntilthenitsanEmergency365degreesforyou.

TheDalitpeoplesandtheAdivasipeoplesconstituteover50%4oftheIndianpopulation.Which

meantthattheStatehad/hasthepowertodeny50%ofitspopulationthebenefitsoflaw.The

Statecouldruleoverthemin the samewayas slave-mastersruled overslaves.Having tastedsuchfreeweldingpowertheStatewantedmore.Itthereforesoughtmoreandmorepowerover

biggerandlargersectionsofitspopulationthatgaveitthebrilliantideaofextendingthe defacto

Emergencyexistingon50%ofitspopulation,tothenextintheline,theworkingclassesandthe

middle classes. Bydoing soduring thatperiod25 June 1975 21March1977 of the Official

Emergency,citizensandorganisationsorassociationsofthemiddleclasses,allbecameKhunti

Oraonsinsomewayortheother.

UnderthetyrannyoftheOfficialEmergency, themiddleclassesnow felt thepainofthesame

stickthatbeatandkilledthousandsofthedeprivedsectionsofoursociety.Thisinawaymade

someofthemiddleclassesrealisethatneitherweretheythefirstnorweretheyaloneintheir

oppression.InshortthisperiodgavethemiddleclassesanopportunitytodiscovertheAdivasiandtheDalitasfellowoppressedpeople.Eventhoughitwilltakesomemoredecadesorcouldbe

evenacenturyforthemiddleclassestorealisethefullcasteandethnicbiasesingrainedintheir

owncultureanddevelopabetterpoliticalconsciousnessaboutthesebiases.

Itwasthisrealisationamongusthemiddleclassesthatcausedafewamongustogointothe

DalitandAdivasicommunitiesandidentifyandunderstandtheirproblems.

Theworldatthattimewasinapoliticalferment.TherevolutioninChinaandtheRedbookof

Maoaskingyouthtogotothevillagestolearnfromthepeasantry.TheVietNamWar,arevolt

4Theaccuratefigureismuchmorethan50%


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againstaDictatorinPhilippines,useoftheArmyandCIAtoputdownmassrebellionsinalmost

alltheLatinAmericancountries,theCubanrevolutionetc.etc.

Thatperiodofthe1960sandthe1970swasverysimilartowhatishappeningtodayglobally.

Whilebeing similar therewasalso some differences. Iwould like topoint out some of these

differencessothatatthisPSAget-togetheryouallcantakenoteofthem.Ifwedonotrecognisethesesimilaritiesanddifferencesthenwemaybeforcedtorepeatourmistakes,whichwillbea

colossallossandsetbacktotherevolutionaryprocess.Itistoobigatopictobecoveredinthis

paperbutIwilltrytosummariseit.

Whileitwasrampantpovertyandexploitationthatwasthemaindriverofthosemovementsthe

masses then rose upagainst the ruling classesnot only forroti or bread but also forizzat

(respect). They were able to identify the enemy punjipati (Capitalist) Tata-Birla America

Samarajwad (US Imperialism).From LatinAmerica toSouthAfrica toPhilippines the slogans

werealloneandidentifiable.

Secondly, their demands too were all one, identifiable and achievable. Punjawadi jayegaaurSamajwadiayega(CapitalismwillgoandSocialismwillcome).

TodaythedebateonSocialismhasbeendistortedandSocialismnowisbadnam(abadword).

FirstandforemostthefalloftheUSSRandalltheEastEuropeanSocialistcountrieswaslargely

shownasproofofthefailureofSocialismwheninmyopinionitwasnot.Theyfellbecausetheir

varietyofSocialismwaswrong.

Secondly the Socialist Republic of China gave up Socialism and took the Capitalist path to

development. Today China is considered not only a capitalist State but also a State where

SocialismfailedandCapitalismhassucceeded.Intheabovedebatenotawordwassaidaboutthe

failureofcapitalisminitsownMeccatheUSA.WherethereismorepovertyintheUSAthaninCuba.Theresultoftheabovefaultyunderstandingofhistorycreatedabadnam(badname)for

Socialism.

The important studyandanalysisonthephilosophy ofCapitalism,whereit isproved beyond

doubtthatforCapitalismto succeed inone placeit needsto create poverty inanotheris just

forgotten.Forexamplefor the cities likeMumbai,Delhior Londontodevelopwehaveto loot

from Jharkhand and therefore it become essential that places like Jharkhand have got to be

destroyed. Secondly itisprovedbeyonddoubtthat theaimofCapitalismisnot thewelfareof

societyorsocialrelationsbuttomakemoneyorprofitforafew.

ThefulldebateonCapitalismandSocialismhasbeenswitchedofffromourlives.SocialactivistinIndiaaremoreeager toprotect trees. Protectingtrees andtheenvironmentis veryimportant

today.AtaPSAworkshopinRanchiin1992wemadeanimportantstatementthatIwouldliketo

remindyouof.Theactivistthereaskedaquestion.WearetheAdivasicommunitieswhohavefor

centuries been protecting theforest and environmentand areeven nowprepared to save it for

tomorrowsworld.Butrememberourtodaysworldisbeingdestroyedbyyouandwithitoursociety

tooisbeingdestroyed.ThereforetellusWhatistheplacewewillhaveinyourtomorrowsworld?

Dowehaveaplaceinit?ORDoyouwantustosaveourforestsothatyouwillhaveassuredtimber

foryourcitiesandindustriesinthenextcentury?

Thisraisestheimportantquestion:whatkindofapoliticalsystemarewewanting?Willitbea

systemwhereeachhumanbeinghasthesameizzat/respectastheother?


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Willitbeasystemthatgivesalllifethesameizzat?AnIzzatwhereasmallsectionofpeopledo

notlootfromthelargersectionofpeoplebydenyingthemtheircivilliberties?

Tillthenletusrememberthatfor50%ofourpopulationtheEmergencycontinues.

2011:HASTHEEMERGENCYBEENLIFTED?

IfyoustandonDongoPosiRailwaystationtodayyoumayprobablynotseecoalpickers.The

Railways nowuseonly Diesel and Election traction. Youwould seea numberof ourAdivasi

familymemberswithcellphones,wearingthelatestclothesfromFashionStreetMumbai.You

willseeplentyofprivatecarsandhundredsoftwowheelers.ThereisaJanShatabadiSuperFast

traincomingfromHowrahrunningonthisrouteeachday.IntheACChaircompartmentyouwill

oftenseeChinese,Koreanandotherpeoplesoftheworld.Infactifyouarealittlewatchfulasthe

trainhaltsontheTatanagarRailwaystationinJamshedpur,youwillseeawelldressedwaiter

enter the ACChair carwithpackets of speciallypreparedKoreanand Chinese food forthose

specialpassengers.

SoherecomestheNo1Crorepatiquestion:

HasthelifeoftheAdivasiandDalitpeopleimprovedsincethedayin1976whenKhuntiOraon

waskilled?

Wehavetobeverycarefulinunderstandingthisquestion.Forifouranswertothequestionis

NOthenitmeansthatAdivasiswantorshouldbegivenmorecellphones,fasttrains,carsand

washingmachines.

AND

IfouranswertoitisYESitmeansthatthepermanentandperpetualEmergencythatItalked

aboutintheaboveparagraphsontheAdivasipeoplehasbeenlifted,becausewehavedecidedto

letthemlootmoreandmorefromus.

Themostimportantpointinthisdiscussioniswhohasframedthisquestion?Doesthisquestion

reflectthecorrectaspirationsoftheAdivasiPeoples?

ThequestionstheJharkhandMovementhasbeenaskingfordecadesare:

1. Stoplootingourrottikappadaaurmakkan(bread,shelter&cloathes).HastheStateandthebourgeoisierespectedthis?

2. Jaljunglekaneejjaminhamarahai.(Land,Forest,Water&Mineralsareours)Hasthisbeenrealised?

3. RighttoadistinctCulture,Identity,EconomyandHomeland.Hasthisbeenrealised?

IfAdivasiswantmorecars,fasttrains,cellphones,washingmachinesthengiveuptheseabove

threedemandsandI amverysure theywill giveyounot onlymore cell phonesandwashingmachinesbutaeroplanestoo.WithoutthemineralsfromJharkhandnotonlyIndia,butalsothe


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economicgrowthofevenChinawillbetroubled.Sowhattheyaregivingthepeopletodayinthe

formofgadgetsandtechnologyisactuallyabaittoextractmoreandmorefromthecommonsof

thesepeople.

ConcludingPoint

Inthelater part ofthis paper I havegiven the examples of theAdivasi peoples only.This isbecause the Adivasi Peoples of Jharkhand has been very clear in their demands from the

movementsoftheirancestors300+yearsagoaswellastoday.OthersectionsofIndiansociety

havegottolearnfromtheexperiencesoftheAdivasipeoplesofJharkhand.

TheothersectionsofIndiansocietyespeciallytheDalitpeoples,thetoilingclassesofIndiahave

gottorethinktheirmainpoliticalideologicalpositions.Ourmovementsiftheywanttomakeany

politicalgainshavegottodevelopclearaimsandobjectives.Theseaimsandobjectiveshavegot

tobeexplainedwithinapoliticalframework.Theyhavegottocreateamass-thinkingpeople.For

thistheyhavegottonetworkwithoneanotherandcreatealliances,relationshipsetc.Iwelcome

thethemeofthisyearsPSAgatheringandIhopeitwillforgetheway.

Ifweallrealisethattherulingclasshasaplan,averyclearplan,toextractmoreandmorefrom

us. Be it our cheap labour, or natural resources or want us to become consumers of their

products(Market).Theirplanistoextractitinordertoconvertitintomoney/profit.Wemust

realisethisclearlythatwethecommonpeoplearenottheaimoftheirplan.Weareinfactthe

producttheyareselling.Theyareactuallysellingusalongwithallthatweown.

In 2007 the members of Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee JMACC

(www.firstpeoplesfirst.in)gavethisslogantotheirmembers:

THINKDEEPLYORDIESLOWLY

Ithinkitismorerelevanttodayasitwasthen.

November2011

photographing history and trying to change it

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