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A non-binding text, the declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues.
The indigenous communities in India are likely unaware of this declaration -- acknowledging, respecting and promising the protection of their culture and rights. Indigenous communities in India, and their resources, are being exploited by the so-called developed and urban communities and also by the government. Any opposition or resistance by indigenous people against the onslaught of urbanization and exploitation of their resources is viewed as anti-state activity.
In Asia there are many indigenous communities that face extinction, including a few hundred in India. These communities face a series of threats, including but not limited to massive exploitation of natural resources, depletion of habitat and violence committed against their own kin.
Natural resources, including the habitats of several indigenous communities in India, are being senselessly encroached upon by the state and state-sponsored agencies. An onslaught is underway in the name of excavating minerals in the state of Chhattisgarh, for example. Tribal settlements in states like Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and the Northeastern states are forcefully uprooted for various reasons.
These reasons include state-sponsored development programs and even the preservation of forests. Those who resist such uprooting are charged with false cases using draconian laws like the Chhattisgarh Special Security Act, 2006 and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958.
India has built about 4,000 dams, half of which were constructed between 1971 and 1989. Many of these projects involved mass eviction of the indigenous population. The government only partially rehabilitated a few hundred out of the thousands who were displaced. In practice, the resettlement story -- with a few "ideal village" exceptions -- continues to be one of callousness and broken promises.
Most of these mega projects involved forced evacuation of people, particularly of tribal communities from their natural habitats. In India, which is behind only China and the United States in terms of the construction of big dams, it is estimated that the social and human costs of these dams far exceed the benefits. All these constructions have had a chilling and devastating effect upon various tribal communities. Even though they are a miniscule 8 percent of the country's population, among those adversely affected by the construction of these dams the indigenous community account for a shocking 47 percent.
Poverty, hunger and death from starvation are common phenomena among the indigenous population. This is the direct result of a brutal assault upon the cultures, resources and habitats of these communities. The state that is sponsoring abusive exploitation of natural resources has turned a blind eye to the right to food and livelihood of the communities affected by such abuse.
Ruthless exploitation of natural resources not only creates a non-reparable dent in the lives of the people that depend on these resources, but also makes the land barren and good for nothing else. Such a short-term, profit-motivated end game sounds a death knell to both the indigenous communities and other inhabitants.
There are several groups and community-based organizations in India that combat this indiscriminate onslaught upon the indigenous communities. But the response of the government thus far has been to silence these communities by attacking and branding these persons as anti-development or anti-state activists. Give the dog a bad name and hang it, as the saying goes.
There are quite a few whistleblowers who have faced and continue to bear the brunt of the wrath of the state for being the spokespersons of the indigenous communities in India. Dr. Binayak Sen of the Chhattisgarh state is the most recent example. Sen, a pediatrician by profession, is currently in jail allegedly for being an anti-state activist. And all because he had the guts to voice his concern against the atrocities committed by the state-sponsored armed militia called Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh.
Disregard for the indigenous communities by the state is a reflection of the state's attitude toward its own population. The indigenous communities, often silent sufferers of the atrocities committed against them, also reflect the situation of rule of law in a country.
If the sprit of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is not reflected at the domestic level, in the name of development, India will soon wipe out its indigenous communities. In the present scenario, the term indigenous community in India might soon become a misnomer. As things stand now the fate of indigenous population in India is quite certain. They will be wiped out.
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(Bijo Francis is a human rights lawyer currently working with the Asian Legal Resource Center in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the South Asia desk at the center. Francis has practiced law for more than a decade and holds an advanced master's degree in human rights law.)
