Jammu, Aug 13: The All India Adivasi Congress on Thursday, accusing the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration of neglecting the identity of ‘Adivasis’, vowed to fight for their constitutional rights, including protection of ‘Jal, Jungle and Zameen’.
AICC National Coordinator Ritu Meena said attempts to describe Adivasis as “Vanvasi” amounted to an assault on their identity and alleged that such efforts were aimed at depriving the community of its basic rights.
“BJP and its centre-led government are ignoring the basic rights and identity of Aadivasis. The attempts to name Adivasis as ‘Vanvasis’ are a serious assault and a conspiracy to deprive them of their basic identity”, Meena told reporters here.
Meena also criticised the alleged absence of greetings from the top BJP leadership to the Adivasi community on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9.
“It is unfortunate that despite Adivasis constituting a population of more than 10 crore in the country, the top BJP leadership did not extend greetings to the community on August 9, which is an occasion to celebrate their identity, culture, heritage, pride and rights,” she said.
She said the Congress is committed to fighting for the constitutional rights of Adivasis, the development of tribal-inhabited areas, education and employment opportunities for tribal youth and the protection of their land, water and forest resources.
Meena, who was flanked by JKPCC Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma and former minister Shabir Ahmed Khan, strongly objected to the rejection of claims under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, in Jammu and Kashmir, citing figures mentioned in a recent report of the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs.
“Out of 46,242 claims received under the FRA in J&K, 39,898 have been rejected, while only 6,172 claims have been approved. This exposes the hollow claims being made by BJP leaders about the implementation of the Forest Rights Act in Jammu and Kashmir,” Meena said.
She demanded that the FRA be implemented in “letter and spirit” and that all eligible families be granted their forest rights without further delay.
Meena also accused the Centre and the UT administration of neglecting tribal-inhabited areas, particularly Rajouri and Poonch, in terms of road and railway connectivity, education, healthcare, infrastructure and employment opportunities.
She said the enactment of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, was a major milestone in protecting the rights of tribal communities.
She also questioned the alleged neglect of the community by BJP’s tribal leaders and MPs.
JKPCC Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma condemned an alleged incident in Haldwani where a right-wing outfit reportedly performed a “purification” ritual using Ganga water at the venue of a Congress rally addressed by party president Mallikarjun Kharge.
He termed the incident “shameful and condemnable”, saying it reflected a “regressive mindset” and was against constitutional values.
Former minister Shabir Ahmed Khan said that had the FRA been properly implemented over the past seven years, there would have been no need for recent directions regarding its implementation in J&K.
“Hundreds of tribals and other forest dwellers were uprooted from forest lands that they had been using and possessing after August 2019 and even after the present government came into existence,” Khan alleged.
He demanded full implementation of the FRA and reconsideration of rejected claims in accordance with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Tribal Affairs.
Choudhary Hussain Ali Waffa also accused the BJP-led Centre and the UT administration of neglecting the genuine rights of tribal Gujjar and Bakerwal communities.
The Congress leaders further expressed concern over the alleged neglect of Rajouri and Poonch, describing the two districts as predominantly tribal areas requiring special attention in connectivity, healthcare, education and employment generation.
They sought a special development plan focused on tribal-inhabited areas and urged the Centre to expedite the Jammu-Akhnoor-Sunderbani-Nowshera-Poonch railway project, which they said had remained pending for more than 12 years.
