Adivasis and Untouchability

In the past, the squad had bombed Shivalingam and the temple. This was the first time they had returned to the village after that incident. Squad Area Committee (SAC) member Kosi, commander Ramdev and squad member Budral went to the village to ask the residents to come to the meeting and also bring some vegetables and rice.

It was almost a year since they had visited the village. It was getting dark when they reached the village. Ramdev addressed the people as Dada and Didi and requested them to come to the meeting with rice. Even though the villagers said “okay”, he, being an adivasi himself, sensed something different in their response. Normally, a commander does not come into the village. However, considering the situation with respect to this village, Ramdev himself had come to the village. On seeing the response, he decided to cut short the visit to the village and returned to the squad.

The squad, as is the norm, had camped outside the village. As soon as the kits are dumped on the ground, there is a roll call (where everyone stands in a line in front of the commander). The commander will decide who will go into the village to invite the villagers to the meeting, the programme for the day regarding youth and women’s organizations’ meetings etc. Those identified to go to the village will leave for the village.

Those who are assigned the cooking duty will start collecting wood and making things ready. Except the commander, everyone, whether male or female, has the cooking duty in rotation. While the comrade who has been assigned cooking duty makes tea, the other comrades go and wash in the streams nearby. They also wash their boots as these are made of rubber. Since there are no thorny plants in Chattisgarh, they use plastic boots. In the north Bastar and  Abhujamad regions, there are lots of streams and brooks all over the place for them to wash.

After having tea, everyone gathers in one place. Whoever is responsible for the evening class listens to the news on the radio and informs all the others. Not everyone has a radio. It is usually with the commander and those of higher cadre. Sometimes, everyone may listen to the radio together. After listening to the news, they discuss about national, international politics or Marxist theory and so on for about an hour. In the meanwhile, people from the village will start arriving at the camp site. By the time they finish the meeting with the villagers, eat and pack up, it is about 11.30pm-12am or later. They walk for about half an hour before they spread their polythene sheets and sleep. Only one or two people died due to snake or scorpion bite even in that dense forest when resting. When they are on the move, they had never been bitten by snakes or scorpions. As long as there is enough space to curl up, they fall into a deep sleep. The sheer tiredness of a long day drives them into deep sleep despite the lack of comforts. Kosi didn’t understand this in the beginning.

Kosi had come from outside. She had changed her name to an Adivasi name after coming into the forest in order to mingle freely with them. She had studied until degree. After that, she quit her studies midway and became a full time activist. Four years later, she entered the forest on December 6, 1996.

As soon as the squad lies down to sleep, the sentry duty will start. If people sleep by 11:30pm, each sentry duty is for one and a half hours whereas if they sleep after midnight, the duty is of one hour each. The sentry duty will go on till 5AM. Sentry duty is decided by the deputy commander. When their duty is done, the person wakes up the next person on duty. Sometimes, if someone is very tired, they will request for a specific sentry duty such as the last duty.

On hearing the whistle blown by the last sentry at 5AM, everyone gets up. No one can sleep beyond this time even if they had slept late the previous night. Everything has to be done as per the schedule. It is difficult to manage a squad if there is no discipline. They freshen up in half an hour and pack up their kits. As soon as there is a whistle from the commander, they stand in a formation with their kits. Some of the people may skip the daily ablutions and come straight to the formation on the commander’s whistle. They cannot do this every time as they will be criticized for it if they do so.

The squad members march in formation. In the front, there are pilot-1 and pilot-2 followed by deputy commander, squad member, commander and then the other squad members. In the rear, there are the two back pilots. The first three members should be ever ready to handle any firing they may encounter. A special mention must be made of the pilot-1. Those who are totally familiar with the forest and will not be rattled on encountering the police are made pilot-1. They can lead the squad even in pitch dark. Even if there are no roads/trails and there are dangerous beasts or even the police, they lead the squad following the commander’s cautions. Sometimes, in the dark, the pilot-1 may fall into a pit. Their main job is to move forward bravely. They are like the head of the formation.

Ramdev, Kosi and Budral came back to the camp in haste. The District committee member, Sukhdev, was also with the squad. Ramdev told Sukhdev about the situation in the village. “Oh, is it? Let us then eat and leave. Do we have provisions?” asked Sukhdev.

“We do” said Ramdev.

“Okay. Cook them. The villagers may delay bringing rice. We had better leave as early as possible. Do not speak about the sacred thread wearers in the meeting”, said Sukhdev. “Call all the squad members and ask them to be alert” he cautioned Ramdev.

“Situation in the village is not good. They may even attack us. So, everyone be alert”, said Ramdev having gathered the squad together.

“It may be good to inform the sentry” said Kosi.

 “True”, said Sukhdev and added “Have another sentry towards the village”.

“If the situation is bad, why don’t we leave immediately?” asked Vinod, a squad member.

 “We can. But, it is possible that the villagers will think we left because we were frightened. That is dangerous. We need to show them that the squad is not frightened of threats. So, let us eat, conduct the meeting and then go”, said Sukhdev.

“Will they dare to attack the squad” asked Kosi unbelievingly.

 “It depends on the situation” said Sukhdev.

Mangdu, who was on cooking duty, started making dal and rice. While they were expecting the villagers to come late, they came while it was still light and brought the rice. But, they also came armed with bow and arrows, axes etc. and came marching in a line. Not a single woman had come. The squad became alert. Ramdev went forward and wished them Laalsalam (Red salute). They also wished everyone a red salute and sat down with Ramdev.

Ramdev sat chatting to them but was constantly observing them. Kosi also chatted with them. But, she still had not got the hang of their dialect since she had come to the Kondagav squad only recently from south Bastar. The Gondi language differs a lot between north and south Bastar. In the meantime, food was ready. Instead of everyone sitting down to the meal together, they ate in batches.

Ramdev talked about the harassment faced by the Adivasis from the forest officials before the squad came into the area.  The villagers seemed ready to attack if any questions were raised about the sacred thread. Since no mention was made of it, they listened to the meeting. Kosi observed them keenly. But she couldn’t find any change in their facial expressions. She wasn’t sure about the impact that the meeting made on them. After the meeting, the squad shook hands with the villagers, wished them red salute and left.

*******

Into the dense forest and the adivasi areas, some people made an entry saying they were Baba’s disciples. They had meetings with the adivasis. Normally, the adivasis do not trust outsiders easily. They had not believed the comrades who entered the Dandakaranya in 1980s. They believed that they perform black magic, kidnap women etc. They wondered how anyone can visit so many places unless they have magic; they thought that they disapparate from one village and apparate in another, that they can fly, that they drink the liquor of their gorga trees and so on. They would attend the meetings called by the squad, listen and go away never trusting them. The adivasis faced a major problem in those days. Forest officials would fine them for even plucking a leaf from a tree or for constructing a new hut; and they would molest the adivasi women who went to the forest to cut and collect the stacks of cut bamboo. The squad killed one among them. That is when the adivasis accepted the squad as one of them.

The adivasis did not trust the disciples of Baba also. However, the disciples succeeded in converting the Vadde (the priest) and a few others into their ways. In the village, what the priest said was the law. The priest used to pretend he understands natural phenomena that did not make sense to them and that would frighten them. If someone had fever, he would tie a thread and recite some mantras. He would frighten people by talking about God. He would control the whole village in this manner. He was the only person who did not do physical labor in the adivasi villages. He would also possess more land and better land than the others. However, he was more interested in controlling the village than accumulating more wealth. His permission was necessary for celebrating festivals or to start any important tasks. If he encountered a woman going through her monthly periods he would impose a fine. After the squad came into the life of the adivasis, the priest lost his control over the village. The priests bowed their heads as they had no choice.

The disciples took the priest and a few others to the ashram of Baba. The adivasis who had never gone beyond the small market town near their village, were amazed to see acres of land under cultivation and the large houses. The adivasis were treated with great respect and given a lot of importance in the ashram. The disciples gave them a tour of the tilled lands. “You can also till the land in this fashion. Stay in the ashram for a few days. We will teach you how to farm” they said. They had the adivasis stay for about 10-15 days and then brought them back to their villages. The priest and others shared everything they saw and learned with the villagers. They said that they were treated very well, were given very good food, that the ashram people do not eat meat at all, that their farms are large and they are able to grow large quantities of crops and that the Gods there are very different. Everyone listened to them with amazement.

Adivasis are organized into clans and they have clan Gods. Surnames such as Madavi, Naitam are derived from the clans. There are Gods of two clans, three, five and seven clans. They have male Gods such as Budal Penu, Lingo Penu and female Gods like Tallur Muthe. The idols of these Gods are made with wood. Adivasis within the same clan cannot marry each other.

The disciples of the Baba returned after 10-15 days again. The priest received them with a lot of affection. The disciples took the same set of people who had gone before back to the ashram. There, the adivasis got up early in the morning like the others and had bath with soap in the bathrooms, did surya namaskar, meditation and puja of the Gods. Then, they would have breakfast, a tour of the farms, lunch and a nap in the afternoon. After that, they would have lectures on agricultural methods and how to increase yield in their own villages. In the evening, there would be tea and snacks followed by bhajan and cultural programmes. Then, there would be lectures on religion, dinner and then they would retire for the night to their rooms. They found all of this very interesting. They had never known life of this sort with the tremendous variety of food and activities that were foreign to them. After a few days they were dropped back in their villages.

This time, the disciples returned after a week. They held a meeting in the village. They preached that eating meat and drinking alcohol anger the Gods and that they should refrain from them. They asked the adivasis to pray to God daily. They urged those who had gone to the ashram to not mingle with the adivasis who eat meat or drink alcohol, and that those people are impure and therefore they should not be touched. If they are touched, then these people will also become impure. They extolled the virtues of Rama and the beauty of the Bhagavad Gita.

Then, they asked who will accompany them back to the ashram. In addition to the earlier five, another five volunteered and the ten people accompanied them happily. Most of the people had come to the meeting only curious to see those who had gone to the ashram and come back.

The disciples came every ten or fifteen days and had meetings with the adivasis. Each time they would recruit some new people, in addition to the old members. They would teach them new methods of farming as well as the Hindu rituals of worship. Thus, they ‘purified’ them.

The adivasis normally grow rice in the slopes barricaded by ridges where water would accumulate (aka terrace cultivation) or on flat lands. They would not remove the weeds on a regular basis. They would grow foxtail millet in shifting cultivation. They would cut down trees of the forest and set fire to them once they are dry. They would sow foxtail millet as soon as it rained.  A lot of weeds would sprout along with the foxtail millet. They would reap the foxtail millet searching for these plants amongst the weeds. They would cultivate the land for 4-5 years until the fertility of the soil goes down. Then, they would cut down the forest in another location and cultivate that land. The forest would regenerate in the old land. They relied only on the rains for their cultivation. They did not know about digging wells.

There are forest fires every year. They know that this is natural and do not panic about it. All the dry leaves that have been shed, burn away in these fires and sometimes some branches burn too. However, the trees later develop new shoots from the burnt parts too when it rains. If there are no fires, it is possible that the leaves rot and lead to a miasma.

The adivasis grow more of millets and less of rice. Since they do not remove weeds and are entirely dependent on rains, the yield is not abundant. They also raise mustard. When Kosi was new to the forest, she was thrilled to see the carpet of bright yellow flowers on the green mustard plants and that view continued to fill her with wonder every time she saw it.

The life style of the adivasis who had stayed for months in the ashram changed altogether. They kept their homes very clean. They started having images of Shiva, Krishna and Rama in their homes. They would pray every day. They would wear beads (rudraksha) around their neck and tie saffron threads around their wrist and wear jackets. They changed their cultivation methods.  They stopped eating meat and drinking alcohol.

Of two biological brothers, the younger who went to the ashram became a sacred thread wearer. In one sense, he became a ‘brahmin’. Those who did not go to the ashram and ate meat and drank alcohol became ‘untouchables’. The ‘brahmin’ brother did not want his elder brother to visit his home. If the elder brother did, he would clean his house with turmeric water. This would lead to fights among them. It took more than 4-5 years for these changes to take place in the adivasis. The disciples of Baba organized the adivasis with patience.

Slowly, however, the number of those who went to the ashram came down. Those who decided that they will continue to live with their own traditions refused to go to the ashram. The disciples started attacking the adivasis who would not listen to them. They were aided by the sacred thread wearing adivasis. Together they broke the breweries where mahua liquor is made. They beat up those who tried to stop it. They ordered that nobody should eat meat. The adivasis were distressed by the turn of the events.

When the squad went to the village, the villagers told them about the attacks on them. They lamented that their own brothers were not allowing them into their homes, not touching them, not celebrating their own festivals, that they were worshiping different Gods and constructing temples for them. They bemoaned that just when they were happy to be rid of the harassment by the forest officials, the disciples of the Baba took over. Ramdev, who had become a commander recently, discussed this immediately with Squad Area Committee (SAC) members. Based on the resolution passed in the SAC, the squad had demolished the Shivalingam.

The sacred thread wearers became vengeful due to this incident. They felt more hurt by the destruction of the Lingam than if they had been thrashed. In addition, the disciples added to the sense of hurt. All this history is what lead them to come to the squad armed with weapons.

******

The squad left for another village. But, everyone was thinking about the villagers coming to meet them with weapons. They started wondering as to how the situation can be returned to normal. Sukhdev was wondering how to eliminate the bitterness created between the villagers by the disciples. Religion is a very fundamental belief in most people. Kosi felt that the squad should not have destroyed the temple.

Another fifteen days passed. Mahesh, who was a member of the State Committee, came to spend a few days with the squad. It was two months since the SAC meeting had happened. So, they camped for two days to conduct the meeting. In the SAC meeting, Ramdev, Kosi, Mangdu, Nirmala and Subhash participated. They discussed about the activities taken up by the squad in these two months. They discussed about the problems brought to them by the villagers and also about the mistakes committed by the squad. They also discussed the problems of the squad members and went through the process of criticism and self-criticism. In the process, they discussed this incident too.

“You should educate them that their belief is wrong. You cannot change their belief by blowing up the Shivalingam, is it not? If we look at it objectively, those who went to the ashram learned some good things such as how to improve their farming techniques and increase the yield. We could not stop them from drinking alcohol but in the name of God, the disciples succeeded in it”, said Mahesh on listening to the entire story.

“Does that mean that the disciples are good?” asked Ramdev sharply.

 “Good done by anyone is good, is it not?” said Kosi.

 “They attacked the adivasis. That is why we had to blow up the lingam”, justified Subhash.

 “Do not underestimate the disciples”, said Ramdev implying that Kosi did not know enough of the local conditions. He was annoyed with her and felt that she does not know the reality of the adivasi lives as she had come only recently into the forest. She is simply parroting the principles she has read in the books.

“When a change for the good is brought about, regardless of how it has come about, we should accept it. Of course, we should also analyze the aim behind the change. We should understand their methods. Revolutionaries should be even more sincere in this”, said Mahesh guessing what was going on in Ramdev’s mind.

 Kosi agreed with Mahesh. Sukhdev sat listening to the discussion.

Mahesh continued “At the same time, it is wrong to stop them from eating meat. It is important for health, especially for people like adivasis who have to do heavy physical labor. Similarly, drinking alcohol is not good but if somebody attacks others for drinking, that is not to be tolerated. We should educate them that the sacred thread wearers behaving like Brahmins and treating those who do not wear them as untouchables is wrong. We should tell the sacred thread wearers that some of the things they are doing are good and other behavior is bad; that they should not shun those who do not wear the sacred thread; that they should celebrate their own festivals along with the new Gods they have learned to worship such as Shiva, Rama and Krishna”.

 “The sacred thread wearers are refusing to participate in adivasi festivals saying that meat is served in the festivals”, said Ramdev.

 “We can tell them that each group can cook their own food but celebrate the festival together” said Kosi. Ramdev glared at Kosi as he felt she does not understand the situation at all.

“I think Kosi is right. Even if they cook separately, they can celebrate the festival together”, said Mahesh.

“We claim there are neither Gods nor Ghosts. Are we to encourage them to celebrate festivals?!” asked Subhash in surprise.

 “It is indeed surprising that a party which claims there are no Gods or Ghosts should ask that people celebrate festivals. Since even the smallest criticism of their Gods can lead to rebellion by the sacred thread wearers, there may be no other way to convince them” thought Kosi.

 “Let us not insult their festivals and hurt their sentiments. These festivals are part of their culture. When they do no harm, there is no need to destroy them. There is nothing wrong in making use of their belief in Gods to do them good”, said Mahesh. Then, he continued saying “Print a pamphlet with all these details. Distribute them in those villages which have seen large scale conversions. Do not forget to print that blowing up the Lingam was a mistake from our side”.

******

Sukhdev started the meeting by greeting the adivasis in their own language. “Blowing up the Lingam was a mistake from our side. We should not have done it. Please forgive us” he said in self-criticism on behalf of the squad.

 “Oh, that is okay” muttered the sacred thread wearers uncomfortably. They were surprised by the fact that the squad was willing to admit its mistake. They had come to the meeting because the comrades had called but they were not really interested. But, due to Sukhdev’s opening, they started listening keenly.

“You went to the ashram and came back having learned some good things such as how to improve your agricultural methods. You have increased your yield. You should teach the others also these methods”. They agreed happily. “Similarly, the others should learn these methods from them. Otherwise, there will not be enough food for everyone in the future. What do you say?”

 “We are okay but these people do not want to touch us. If we go to their homes, they tell us not to visit them. Or, they clean their homes with turmeric water”, said one of the adivasi women. In the meeting, those who had gone to the ashram and their families sat on one side while the other adivasis sat on the other side.

“Is it right to shun your own families just because you have started wearing the sacred thread? No God says that you should not touch other human beings. If any God says so, then he is no God! Are the adivasi Gods who treated all of you equally good or Rama and Krishna who are separating you? What do you say?” said Sukhdev.

There was pin drop silence. Earlier, such sentences would have led to resentment in the thread wearers. But, due to the self-criticism of the squad, their anger had evaporated. That’s why they listened to Sukhdev with open minds and started thinking about what he said.

Sukdev continued after observing them. “Please remember how closely all of you used to live together earlier. How happy all of you were. Do you see that now when you see your own biological brother you shrink from him? Brothers and sisters, we are all people who live by doing physical labour. They will try to separate us in many ways. Learn good stuff from the disciples. Ignore those which are not good. You should live together as in the past. What do you say?”

“They are not clean” said one thread wearer.

 “Then teach them how to be clean. Keeping them apart is not the solution. Our adivasi brothers and sisters also bathe every day except that they do not use soap. Teach them other ways of being clean that you have learned. What do you say?” Kosi hinted to Sukhdev regarding alcohol since he had not touched upon it.

 “Our adivasi brothers should learn from the thread wearers how to stop drinking alcohol. You people say that you are willing to leave your wife but not your gorga liquor, right? How come your own brothers have been able to give up on the mahua liquor, gorga liquor, and are doing fine?” asked Sukhdev addressing the adivasis. The thread wearers’ faces lit up on hearing his words. The adivasis agreed sheepishly. “Even if you cannot give up altogether at once, try to reduce the consumption slowly. If you drink alcohol, you will feel sleepy and go to sleep. So, you do not spend enough time on farming. Only if you stop alcohol will you be able to do good farming. Learn from the thread wearers good methods of farming”.

“You thread wearers should celebrate the adivasi festivals along with the new festivals. If you only worship the new Gods and not the adivasi Gods who have been worshiped for generations, they also can get angry, right? The adivasi Gods who treat everyone equally are really good. What do you say? Will you celebrate your traditional festivals?”

 “What you say is true. We will celebrate the festivals but we do not eat meat, right?”

“You cook your own vegetarian food and they will cook their non-vegetarian food. But, all of you should celebrate together. We should not give up the good in our traditions. What do you say?”

The thread wearers agreed wholeheartedly. When the same was asked of the adivasis they also agreed happily.

The meeting was over. It was close to 12:30pm. The villagers started returning to their village. Those of the squad who had not eaten sat down to eat. Others who were done started packing the kits. Mahesh observed the villagers keenly through this entire meeting. He thought the Baba’s disciples may come again and try to indoctrinate them but he hoped the adivasis may not believe everything they say as they did in the past. In any case, this is also a small victory. Kosi was thinking that maybe this is how caste was born. Ramdev felt relieved on seeing the response of the villagers and happy on having learned something new. He said “It has become very late. Get ready fast”.

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