Only points 7 & 14 seem to refer to the legal instruments. We all know the
fate of court orders and even laws. That there is no reference to changes
in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes
Regulation 1956 or to Article 244 to ensure legal compulsions to translate
these pious statements is strange as obviously eveyrone knows the fate of
all such recomendations for which there is no dearth including Andamans.

Bijoy


> http://www.tribal.nic.in/index1.html
>
> POINTS THAT EMERGED IN THE SEMINAR AT KOLKATTA ON 7-8TH APRIL 2004
> REGARDING
> DRAFT POLICY TOWARDS JARAWAS
> In the final session of the Seminar, Shri V.V. Bhat, Chief Secretary,
> Andaman & Nicobar Administration and Shri S. Chatterjee, Joint Secretary,
> Ministry of Tribal Affairs, made a summary of the recommendations which
> had
> emerged as a consensus after the two day deliberations. They are:-
>
> 1. Since the Jarawas, numbering only 266, are in an unparalleled
> situation,
> they should be perceived and treated as a unique human heritage.
> 2. In the background of the historical experience of dealing with .the
> aboriginal tribes, especially, Great Andamanese, and the Onges, the
> approach
> of maximum autonomy to the Jarawas, and measured intervention by the
> Government will be practiced towards the Jarawas. Bringing them to the
> mainstream and assimilation will not be desirable at this stage of their
> social development. Rehabilitation of Jarawas in separate
> islands/locations
> will not be desirable
> 3. A reconstituted AAJVS will advise the Administration regarding the
> Schemes and measures for the protection and welfare of all aboriginal
> tribes
> including the Jarawas
> 4. The quality of intervention will be carefully managed through suitably
> trained and re-oriented personnel, in consultation with and evaluation by
> anthropologists and experts. The objective will be to avoid dependency
> syndrome and to ensure their development as a vibrant social group. The
> personnel working for Jarawas would be provided proper training and
> sensitized
> 5. Periodic health survey of the Jarawa community will be organized
> through
> a standing team of health professionals. Only cases needing intensive care
> may be brought to the hospital but they will be kept in separate
> enclosures.
> Appropriate food will be provided instead of the hospital meals. Whenever
> female Jarawas come or are brought to hospital, female police will be
> posted
> invariably
> 6. Permanent residence of' Government employees/non tribals in the Jarawa
> reserve will not be allowed
> 7. Provisions of PAT Regulation will be used more effectively.
> Accountability of officials of different Departments dealing with Jarawa
> issues may be ensured
> 8. Tourists will not be allowed to visit/interact with them so that
> curious
> intrusions are avoided
> 9. Nutritional and food security survey of the Jarawas will be conducted
> every year
> 10. Codification or the language of the Jarawas may be done with the
> advice
> and involvement of AnSI. Documentation of their families may also be
> maintained
> 11. Use of Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) will be strictly regulated, thereby
> limiting the traffic to the essential purposes of supplies and emergency
> evacuation of patients and persons
> 12. Documents about aboriginal tribal policies and events etc. may be
> properly kept
> 13. Periodic review of this policy may be done so that the policy is
> dynamic
> and takes into account changing needs and circumstances
> 14. A suitable empowered arrangement for enforcements and monitoring the
> implementation of the policy may be created
>
> C/o Kalpavriksh
> Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
> 908 Deccan Gymkhana,
> Pune 411004
> Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
> Fax: 25654239
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>  http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>  http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

http://www.tribal.nic.in/index1.html

POINTS THAT EMERGED IN THE SEMINAR AT KOLKATTA ON 7-8TH APRIL 2004 REGARDING
DRAFT POLICY TOWARDS JARAWAS
In the final session of the Seminar, Shri V.V. Bhat, Chief Secretary,
Andaman & Nicobar Administration and Shri S. Chatterjee, Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Tribal Affairs, made a summary of the recommendations which had
emerged as a consensus after the two day deliberations. They are:-

1. Since the Jarawas, numbering only 266, are in an unparalleled situation,
they should be perceived and treated as a unique human heritage.
2. In the background of the historical experience of dealing with .the
aboriginal tribes, especially, Great Andamanese, and the Onges, the approach
of maximum autonomy to the Jarawas, and measured intervention by the
Government will be practiced towards the Jarawas. Bringing them to the
mainstream and assimilation will not be desirable at this stage of their
social development. Rehabilitation of Jarawas in separate islands/locations
will not be desirable
3. A reconstituted AAJVS will advise the Administration regarding the
Schemes and measures for the protection and welfare of all aboriginal tribes
including the Jarawas
4. The quality of intervention will be carefully managed through suitably
trained and re-oriented personnel, in consultation with and evaluation by
anthropologists and experts. The objective will be to avoid dependency
syndrome and to ensure their development as a vibrant social group. The
personnel working for Jarawas would be provided proper training and
sensitized
5. Periodic health survey of the Jarawa community will be organized through
a standing team of health professionals. Only cases needing intensive care
may be brought to the hospital but they will be kept in separate enclosures.
Appropriate food will be provided instead of the hospital meals. Whenever
female Jarawas come or are brought to hospital, female police will be posted
invariably
6. Permanent residence of' Government employees/non tribals in the Jarawa
reserve will not be allowed
7. Provisions of PAT Regulation will be used more effectively.
Accountability of officials of different Departments dealing with Jarawa
issues may be ensured
8. Tourists will not be allowed to visit/interact with them so that curious
intrusions are avoided
9. Nutritional and food security survey of the Jarawas will be conducted
every year
10. Codification or the language of the Jarawas may be done with the advice
and involvement of AnSI. Documentation of their families may also be
maintained
11. Use of Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) will be strictly regulated, thereby
limiting the traffic to the essential purposes of supplies and emergency
evacuation of patients and persons
12. Documents about aboriginal tribal policies and events etc. may be
properly kept
13. Periodic review of this policy may be done so that the policy is dynamic
and takes into account changing needs and circumstances
14. A suitable empowered arrangement for enforcements and monitoring the
implementation of the policy may be created

C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

MINUTES OF TWO DAY SEMINAR/WORK ON DRAWAL OF POLICY FOR JARAWAS, A PRIMITIVE
TRIBAL GROUP OF ANDAMAN GROUP OF ISLANDS HELD ON 7TH & 8TH APRIL, 2004 AT
KOLKATA

http://www.tribal.nic.in/index1.html

A National Seminar cum Workshop was held on 7th and 8th April 2004 in
Kolkata. The Seminar was organized by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Government of India on the directives of the Hon'ble High Court, Kolkata. In
a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a judgement was passed to form an Expert
Committee for studying the Jarawa community and suggesting the remedial
measures for their well-being. The Expert Committee had submitted its
reports, and thereafter the Hon'ble High Court had directed that seminars
including experts be held to decide on the course of action.
Shri S. Chatterjee, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Government of India in his Welcome Address clearly delineated the objectives
of the seminar and briefly described the background of this
seminar-cum-workshop. He very lucidly stated that this seminar-cum-workshop
was the first of the two seminars for 'Drawal of developmental policy for
the Jarawas' and the second seminar will be held in the month of May in Port
Blair of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, in which the final strategy and policy
will be carved out from the recommendations of that seminar. He also
narrated that instead of the term primitive it is better to refer, the
Jarawas as a 'Heritage Tribe'.At one time before the construction of Andaman
Trunk Road they were an isolated group of people with less contact and
interaction with the people at large, and they have no concept of private
property. With the construction of the Andaman Trunk Road and settlement of
the people in periphery, the Jarawas came in contact with their non-tribal
neighbours and they began to accept gifts and food items either out of
inquisitiveness or due to lack of food items among them. At the same time
they began to suffer from some diseases which were once unknown to them.
Before this they were identified as hostile tribes but all of a sudden their
change of behaviour attracted the attention of the tourists passing through
the Andaman Trunk Road.
As per judgement of the Hon'ble High Court, Kolkata a committee was formed
in the month of July, 2001 and after conducting studies, a report was
submitted in the month of July, 2003. The Hon'ble High Court also suggested
to organize seminar-cum-workshop for giving publicity to the findings to the
people at large. Following this a base paper was prepared which was already
circulated to the participants of the Seminar and was made available on the
website. The Expert Committee report was also put on the website.
Dr. A.V.S. Reddy, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India
delivered the keynote address. Dr. Reddy stated that the Jarawas are a small
group of population and are in the food gathering and hunting stage. They
mainly inhabit the western side of southern and middle part of Andaman
Islands and sometimes due to reasons, known or unknown, they have shown
hostility to the people of other cultures. With the declaration of the
reserved area for the tribals some behavioural changes have been noticed
during the later part of the twentieth century. He highlighted the following
fundamental issues and requested the participants to streamline the
discussions on those issues.
1) Whether the Jarawas should be allowed to remain isolated from the
mainstream of population and lead their own way of life
2) Or they should be brought to the mainstream, or
3) One should ensure peaceful co-existence by measured intervention as
suggested in the Master Plan prepared by the Department of Tribal Welfare of
the Andaman & Nicobar Administration.
The Chief Guest, Hon'ble Justice Mr. Altamas Kabir, Judge, Kolkata High
Court inaugurated the seminar.In his inaugural address Hon'ble Justice, Mr.
Altamas Kabir touched upon various issues related to the tribal groups of
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and shared some of his experiences and
knowledge about the Jarawas with the participants. He appreciated the
initiative of Smt. Shyamali Ganguli, Advocate, Kolkata High Court through
PIL and also requested the members of the expert groups, members of the
NGOs, Anthropologists and other dignitaries to utilize their experiences and
knowledge of the other tribal groups like Onges, Great Andamanese etc.
living in the close vicinity of the Jarawas.Justice Kabir requested the
delegates of the Seminar to come out with the policy for the development of
the Jarawas.
TDr. M.K. Chowdhuri, Director, Cultural Research Institute, Government of
West Bengal proposed the vote of thanks.
TThe first session started under the Chairmanship of Shri K.B. Saxena. In
this session the members of the expert group, eminent anthropologists from
the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) and anthropologists from other
Universities and Tribal Research Institute, reputed members from NGOs took
part in the discussion and framed the procedural manner for conducting the
seminar. Shri K.B. Saxena suggested that no individual presentation of the
papers will be made and he requested the members of the exeprt group,
nominees from Anthropological Survey of India who have research experience
among the Jarawas, members of the different NGOs present in the seminar to
briefly narrate their findings and then the discussions would follow.
In the post lunch session, Dr. Bhupinder Singh chaired the session and Dr.
A.V.S. Reddy, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India
acted as the Co-Chairperson.During the session two speakers namely Shri
Kanchan Mukhopadhyay from Anthropological Survey of India and Shri S.A.
Awaradi, member of the expert group, presented the recommendations of the
report. Dr. K. Mukhopadhyay presented recommendations given by different
departments involved in the study.Prof. V. Sahay cited some examples of
Chowara Island, which has virtually been colonized by Terresa people. Basing
on his experience he also pointed out some of the contradictions with regard
to medical intervention particularly the modern medicine vs. traditional
medicine. Joining the discussion Prof. A.K. Danda wanted to know as to how
many people were needed to take care of the Jarawas. He also mentioned that
more the number of aliens (non-Jarawas) the greater would be the stress on
the Jarawas. During the course of discussion Dr. K. Mukhopadhyay explained
how medical intervention saved the Jarawas during the out-break of measles.
Shri S.A. Awaradi presented the summary of the Master Plan prepared by him
for the Jarawas. Prof. Sudersan joined the discussion and cited the example
of Dugong Creek Onge settlement which are manned by 25 persons of which 17
are officially posted.In this regard, he emphasized that sensitization is
required not only for the neighbouring population but also for those posted
in the tribal area.
Prof. V.S. Upadhyay opined that in response to the resource exploitation he
suggested to impose the similar policy on the line of National Parks. He
further illucidated as to how the contact can be minimized despite the
presence of Andaman Trunk Road.
Dr. S.B. Chakraborty exclaimed that as per the report, there is no shortage
of food as such and the Jarawas are not facing any problem, then why are
they coming out of forest! He further raised the question as to whether all
members of Expert Committee visited the Jarawa area or not. Prof. V. Pandya
stressed upon the fact that the whole report is to be discussed for
formulation of the policy for the Jarawas. Shri S.A. Awaradi stated that
some members of the Expert Committee had different opinions which were
appended in the report and his report was one of them.
Shri Samir Acharya made the point that why the Jarawa should not be allowed
to come out? The visits of senior Government officials need to be checked.
He also reported about the recent accident on Andaman Trunk Road and
apprehended that such accidents will be more in future, if the road is
allowed to be open for use.
Dr. J. Parthasarathy objected to the use of term "Jarawa Hostility" and
showed his reservation about it. In this context, Chief Secretary, Mr. V.V.
Bhat replied that no human trafficking has been reported from the area under
reference.
Dr. T.N. Pandit referred to a study report under chairmanship of Dr. S.C.
Sinha, which did not find mention in the expert committee report. In this
context he mentioned that the tribe of Chotanagpur region who have settled
inside the forest during constructions of Andaman Trunk Road are still there
and need to be removed. He stressed on the fact that while introducing new
medicines, assessment of impact of such medicines are to be done. He further
raised the point as to how Jarawas can realize that their knowledge system,
culture etc. are valued and respected.
In the next session, Prof. R.S. Mann was the Chairperson and Dr. A.V.S.
Reddy, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India the
Co-Chairperson. Some members of the Expert Committee, who have submitted
separate notes in addition to the main report, presented their views during
this session. In addition, Dr. T.S. Naidu of Pondichery University also
presented his views based on his studies on the subject and put forward
certain recommendations for the welfare of the Jarawas.
Shri Som Naidu stated that he has learnt about the Jarawas while working as
the Executive Secretary, AAJVS and also as Assistant Commissioner,
Mayabunder. He presented his recommendations which included suggestions
preventing on poaching and smuggling of Jarawa resources, providing them
with medical facilities, management of the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR), raising
coconut and banana plantations for the Jarawas and constituting monitoring
group to evaluate the situation and supervise the actions taken.
Dr. R.K. Bhattacharya, one of the members of the Expert Committee Group,
presented his recommendation for closure of portion of Andaman Trunk Road
(ATR), which passes through the Jarawa Area. He viewed that this road not
only helps non-Jarawas to disturb the Jarawas and to exploit their
resources, the road itself destroys natural resources for its maintenance.
The road brings the Jarawas in contact with many people, thus exposing them
to possible health and cultural hazards.
Shri K.B. Saxena in his presentation explained why some members of the
Committee decided to present their own individual comments in addition to
the core report. According to him, they thought, their individual opinions
should not be sacrificed in the name of unanimity. In this individual report
he has taken up such issues also, which were not addressed by the Hon'ble
High Court while appointing the present committee. There are issues which
were raised in the Court earlier or which the Court never raised but the
individual member thought these as important to discuss. Shri Saxena asked
the house to go through the issue-wise discussion presented by him, so that
the same can be taken up for deliberation later.
On 8th April, 2004, the second day of the Seminar started with Shri V.V.
Bhat in the Chair. A paper was jointly presented by Dr. Madhusree Mukherjee
and Dr. Sita Venkateshwar who have research experience among the Jarawa
primitive tribal group. Various discussions took place following the
presentation of the paper. Smt. Mukherjee appreciated anthropologist Dr.
J.K. Sarkar for writing a book on the Andaman Islanders in Bengali language.
According to her, this type of book will be of great help and these books
are to be published in different local languages like Tamil, Telegu, Hindi
etc. for wider reach. She also discussed about the evil effect of
alcoholism, drugs and stated that attempts should be taken to stop this type
of drug trafficking among the Jarawas by the outsiders. She also discussed
on the nutritional aspects of the Jarawas and requested the Physical
Anthropologists to throw some light on this topic. In response to her
question
Dr.B.N. Sarkar responded that he worked among the Jarawas covering the
physical aspects. He stated that in the year 1985-86 he conducted an
intensive survey among the Jarawas. Also during study period in 2001 he
noticed that the population strength of Jarawas was 266 which can not be
called, declining because 40% of them belonged to the age group of 'more
than 15 years'. This is a trend of growing population. He also stated that
the male and female ratio was quite balanced, and in-take of Protein and fat
were also on the higher side, the frequency of life style diseases like
blood sugar, High Blood pressure is low. By considering all these factors it
may be stated that the population is maintaining a static condition except
the high child mortality rate in recent years for which medical intervention
is necessary. Some reduction in Body Wt. (i.e. 4 Kg to 5 Kg.) has been
noticed but no change was noticed in their height
Dr. Tulasidasan, a member of the study group informed that a
multidisciplinary approach was undertaken to study the Nutritional status of
the Jarawas. Researchers from Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI),
Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Scholars
from All India Instiute of Health & Hygiene unanimously stated that their
nutritional condition is not alarming and medical intervention is required
at the time of some diseases like measles, Pox etc. and the medicines are to
be distributed at the time of sickness and that medicine should be given in
proper doeses and as per the advise of the medical practitioner.
Smt. Madhusree Mukherjee raised an issue that there are high population
pressure in the Andaman Islands. All of them are suffering from population
pressure due to shortage of water supply which is the result of
deforestation in the islands. At the end of her discourse she requested the
organizer to invite all the leading anthropologists, social activists,
members of NGOs and the administrators in the second seminar to be held at
Port Blair, so that they can exchange their views and recommendations may
come up from the deliberations of the seminar which may be helpful in
carving out the final policy of development among the Jarawas.
Dr. V.S. Pandya joined the discussion and stated some of the alternative
methods for the development of the Jarawas. He said "we are not the
custodians for the development of the Jarawas; they should be empowered to
realize the course of action which may be useful to them." He also
emphasized on the issue of the closure of the ATR for the outsiders,
tourists and restrictions are to be imposed on heavy vehicles at least near
the vicinity of the Jarawa settlements. He also stated that on-going
research studies might be helpful to assess the changing problems of the
Jarawas. According to the study report submitted by the Expert Committee
which is highly commendable and informative, yet more specific and pragmatic
approaches are to be taken in formulation of the developmental policy of the
Jarawas.
Prof. V.S. Sahay joined the discussion and opined that, as Jarawa language
is completely unknown to all so it is very difficult to understand their
problem and to follow the specific
model of the methodology of the ethnological studies. So, some effort may be
made to study their language by establishing proper rapport among them.
Prof. V.S. Upadhyay wanted that imparting education to the Jarawas should
get place in the body of the policy for Jarawas. Dr. Ramesh Chandra viewed
that informal education may be imparted to these people for indirect
learning and sharing the knowledge material. This could be attempted by
interactive method and not by introducing formal education programme at this
stage as situation is yet not ripe for any such attempt in case of the
Jarawas. Another important issue raised by Professor Sahay was preservation
of the reserve forest which is also a major issue in dealing with the Jarawa
and migration of the outsiders should be restricted in their zone. Dr.
Namita Ali joined the discussion and said that since 1974 they were working
among the Jarawas and according to her the Jarawas are now in the habit of
taking medicine on their own. According to her closure of the Andaman Trunk
Road will lead to problem at the time of evacuating the Jarawas and other
patients in case of emergency.
In the final session of the Seminar, Shri V.V. Bhat, Chief Secretary,
Andaman & Nicobar Administration and Shri S. Chatterjee, Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Tribal Affairs, made a summary of the recommendations which had
emerged as a consensus after the two day deliberations. (Please click on the
link below for the summary of recommendations.)
The Seminar ended with the vote of thanks


C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

Notice in The Daily Telegrams, Port Blair, April 29, 2004
NOTICE
Government of India
Ministry of Tribal Affairs

It is hereby published for general information that the Expert committee
report on the development of Jarawas is available on the website
www.andaman.nic.in.
The proceedings and broad consensus arrived at the first seminar of Experts
held at Kolkata on 7-8 April, 2004 is available on the website of the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs, government of India at www.tribal.nic.in
Experts, anthropologists and other interested in the welfare of Jarawas may
submit their views and specific suggestions regarding the policy to be
followed for the welfare of Jarawas indicating their name, qualification,
background and details of work done on the Jarawa Community. The views
expressed should be precise, indicating the course of action that should be
followed for the welfare of Jarawas. All letters may be addressed to the
Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi 110001.
Another seminar will be held on 27 and 28 of May, 2004 at Port Blair, to
finalise the recommendations for formulation of a policy for welfare of
Jarawas. In addition to submitting the written comments which will be taken
into consideration of formulation of policy, those desirous of attending the
seminar may give their names, along with their full address, telephone
number etc. and their background indicating their expertise to enable us to
invite suitable experts for the said seminar. These may be addressed to Dr.
Ramesh Chandra, Director, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shastri Bhavan, New
Delhi - 110001. Fax. No: 011 - 23073607
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

From The Andaman Express
April 24, 2004

More Curtailment of water
Port Blair, Apr. 23.
The Port Blair Municipal Council has decided to impose further curtailment
in water supply. The Secretary Municipal Council today informed that due to
failure of North East Monsoon in A&N islands, the water level at Dhanikhari
Dam has depleted more than the corresponding level of previous years.
" Considering the limited availability of water it has been decided by the
Administration to impose further curtailment over and above the existing
curtailment w.e.f. 26.04.04" the secretary said.
Accordingly, he added the water supply will be made on every third day (i.e.
one day supply and two day off) instead of alternate days as being done
presently to all area being supplied from PBMC command area of Police Hill
Tank, Buniyadabad Tank, AIR Hill Tank, Lal Bijin Tank and Ranchi Tekri Tank
till further notice. The general public are requested to use the water
judiciously and co-operate with Port blair Municipal Council and bear the
inconvenience caused.


C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

Intentions may be honourable. But what if the Bajrang Dal also decides to
contibute its mite (might)? All we need is a communal angle to the whole thing.
I remember long ago an MP making a suggestion that a way to solve the Jarawa
issue for good was to "discover" a temple within their territory! "Mandir bana
do...." .Not really hair-brained- quite possible in this country.
I guess Im being slightly alarmist. Maybe we shouldnt discriminate against well
meaning NGOs, even if they have religious backing. Besides we cant really stop
anyone from getting involved.....
regards,
Miriam


---------------------------------
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Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Any idea if whether they are trying to reach out to the natives or to the
settlors? From the text of the message it certainly appears as if the aid is
menat for the Jarawas etc.

Is anyone on the island aware of this or has more details?

Arpan

 
This is hell of a reckless trade unionism which is destroying Bengal.Let this
not enter Anadamans.
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 C.Bose wrote :
>there is good news in today's paper .......The Telegraph ,april 27th2004. It
>has sailed.
>----- Original Message -----
> From: Pankaj <pankaj@...>
>To: <andamanicobar@...>
>Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 7:10 PM
>Subject: [andamanicobar] MV Nicobar refuses to sail to Port Blair
>
>
> > The Telegraph
> > Sunday, April 25, 2004
> >
> > Mutiny stalls ship
> > A STAFF REPORTER
> > Calcutta, April 24: Seven hundred and fifty-two passengers aboard MV
> > Nicobar, that was to sail to Port Blair last night, returned home today
> > after crew members acting under the Citu banner mutinied and refused to
>let
> > the ship leave Kidderpore dock.
> >
> > Manoj Kumar, captain of the second-largest ship plying between Calcutta
>and
> > Port Blair, was assaulted and his officers threatened by the militant
>crew.
> > The vessel has 300 tonnes of perishable cargo.
> >
> > MV Nicobar was meant to set sail around 11 pm on Friday, but 24 contract
> > catering staff of the passenger liner, backed by the majority of the
>ship's
> > 55-member non-officer crew, stopped the captain from sailing, asking for
> > dues to be settled.
> >
> > The contract catering seamen, belonging to the Citu-affiliated Forward
> > Seamens' Union of India, arrived from Port Blair on the same ship on April
> > 19, two days before their contract with the Directorate of Shipping
>Services
> > of Andaman and Nicobar islands was scheduled to end. But the seamen stayed
> > put, alleging their salaries and outstanding dues had not been cleared.
> >
> > Sadhan Kanjilal, general secretary of the Citu-affiliated union, said
>today:
> > "The union won't allow the ship to move an inch until all the dues are
> > settled in Calcutta."
> >
> > Ships did not ply between Calcutta and the islands for 10 months in a
> > similar Citu-sponsored fracas in 1997. Shipping corporation officials fear
> > there may be a repeat this time as most of the ship crew feel unsafe and
>are
> > not willing to ply ships on this route.
> >
> > Late in the evening, it was learnt that talks had failed. Kumar has said
>all
> > passengers will be refunded their ticket costs on Monday. No one knows
>when
> > the ship will ply again.
> >
> > Earlier, the captain had sent an SOS to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
>and
> > his employers, the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, the agents for the
> > island administration, to ensure the ship sets sail. "If it does not leave
> > tonight, it will be held up for 10 days due to low tide," he warned.
> >
> > Trouble had been brewing since the ship docked at Kidderpore last Monday,
> > but things turned ugly yesterday when Kumar asked the 756 enlisted
> > passengers to board the ship around 2 pm.
> >
> > The agitating crew stormed into the captain's cabin after the initial lot
>of
> > passengers boarded the ship, saying the vessel would not be allowed to set
> > sail.
> >
> > All hell broke loose around 10.30 pm, half an hour before the scheduled
> > departure, as the crew and some outsiders roughed up Kumar. "They later
> > forced me to announce that the ship would not move an inch," he said.
> >
> >
> >
> > C/o Kalpavriksh
> > Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
> > 908 Deccan Gymkhana,
> > Pune 411004
> > Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
> > Fax: 25654239
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> > To visit your group on the web, go to:
> >  http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> >  andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> >  http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>To visit your group on the web, go to:
>  http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>  http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Why Hoax? or a Fraud?
Why can it not be something that's really being attempted?
pankaj
----- Original Message -----
From: <asaagar@...>
To: <andamanicobar@...>
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 9:32 PM
Subject: Re: [andamanicobar] Christian Aid for Andaman tribes


> Hoax??Fraud???
> >
> >>From the Website of Christian Aid, USA
> > https://secure6.hostek.net/secure1/christianaid/pl200404give.asp
> >
> > PRAYERLINE, April 2004
> >
> > This page is the online version of our Prayerline that Christian Aid has
> > been publishing and sending out to friends for nearly 50 years now.
> > Prayerline is a daily guide to intercession for indigenous missions
around
> > the world. If the Lord lays it on your heart to help meet a need
mentioned
> > below, you may enter your gift amount(s) in the appropriate blanks
below.
> >
> > If you have accessed this web page with the https: protocol and have not
> > received any alerts or error messages, your personal information will be
> > transmitted securely. If you prefer to contribute by phone, please call
> > 1-800-977-5650
> > 17, Saturday
> >
> > Andaman Islands, India
> > The workers of an inidenous ministry in India are finding new ways to
> > reach
> > primitive tribes on the Andaman Islands. With no proper medical
facilities
> > on the islands, many tribespeople die of diseases that could be easily
> > treated. This ministry is starting a clinic to minister to these needs.
> > Pray
> > for $8000 to purchase medicines and needed medical equipment.
> > I would like to give: $
> > C/o Kalpavriksh
> > Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
> > 908 Deccan Gymkhana,
> > Pune 411004
> > Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
> > Fax: 25654239
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> > To visit your group on the web, go
> > to:http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email
> > to:andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>  http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>  http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

Hoax??Fraud???
>
>>From the Website of Christian Aid, USA
> https://secure6.hostek.net/secure1/christianaid/pl200404give.asp
>
> PRAYERLINE, April 2004
>
> This page is the online version of our Prayerline that Christian Aid has
> been publishing and sending out to friends for nearly 50 years now.
> Prayerline is a daily guide to intercession for indigenous missions around
> the world. If the Lord lays it on your heart to help meet a need mentioned
> below, you may enter your gift amount(s) in the appropriate blanks below.
>
> If you have accessed this web page with the https: protocol and have not
> received any alerts or error messages, your personal information will be
> transmitted securely. If you prefer to contribute by phone, please call
> 1-800-977-5650
> 17, Saturday
>
> Andaman Islands, India
> The workers of an inidenous ministry in India are finding new ways to
> reach
> primitive tribes on the Andaman Islands. With no proper medical facilities
> on the islands, many tribespeople die of diseases that could be easily
> treated. This ministry is starting a clinic to minister to these needs.
> Pray
> for $8000 to purchase medicines and needed medical equipment.
> I would like to give: $
> C/o Kalpavriksh
> Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
> 908 Deccan Gymkhana,
> Pune 411004
> Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
> Fax: 25654239
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go
> to:http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email
> to:andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS  ON "Mega Urbanisation, Multi-ethnic society, Human
Rights and Development
www.iuaesintercongresscalcutta-2004.com/
Special Session on the Andaman Islanders
http://www.iuaesintercongresscalcutta-2004.com/programme.htm

Dear Friends
C 2.3

Session:  3

Indigenous Futures: The Andaman Islanders in the 21st Century.


Convenor: Prof. Sita Venkateswar and Vishvajit Pandya, Lecturer and
Associate Professor Massey University, New Zealand and Dhirubhai
Ambani-Institute of Information and Communication Technology Address: Social
Anthropology Programme, Massey University Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston
North, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Tel: 64-6-3505799 ext.2515.  Fax 64-6-3505689. E-mail
S.Venkateswar@...


This panel will address the current situation in the Andaman Islands with
respect to the indigenous groups and formulate various alternatives to
protect and simultaneously enable the different groups to take control of
their own destinies.  What models of best practice can we look towards to
suggest the various capacity building measures that point towards such a
goal?  What are the various alternatives to the prevailing welfare system
such that it is thoroughly overhauled and rendered accountable?  How can
biodiversity in the islands be ensured that taps into indigenous knowledge
of the environment and resource control?  This session will invite papers
from academics, activists, policymakers and writers to address some of the
questions raised here as well as others that are relevant to enabling a
viable indigenous future in the islands.

Following is the  the general welcome message on the website of the congress
Pankaj
Welcome Message
    Dear Colleague,

Greetings from Calcutta (now known as Kolkata), the cultural city and one of
the largest megacities in India

I am sure, you are aware that IUAES Inter Congress will be held in Calcutta
during 12-15 December, 2004. This is the first time that any Inter Congress
will be held in India. After the Xth ICAES held in Delhi in 1978, any major
IUAES event will be organised in India after long 26 years. The theme of the
Inter Congress is "Mega Urbanisation, Multi-ethnic society, Human Rights and
Development".  On behalf of the Organising Committee, I warmly invite you to
participate in the Inter Congress.

As you know, there is a long tradition of anthropological study and research
in India and the Department of Anthropology, University of Calcutta is the
oldest department in India and one of the oldest in the world. The
University of Calcutta in collaboration with the Commission on Urban
Anthropology and Commission on Human Rights of IUAES and a number of other
organisations will organise the Inter Congress.

After the Inter Congress in Calcutta, there will be Post Congress seminars
in the University of North Bengal and in Ranchi. You can get the information
of the Inter Congress in the website:
www.iuaesintercongresscalcutta-2004.com/ or through email to me or to
calcuttaintercongress@... . Information regarding registration,
sessions, accommodation and tour programmes are all available in the
website. However, if you need any further information, please do not
hesitate to contact me.

Already we have received about 40 session proposals from different parts of
the world but since we are getting many requests, we have decided to extend
the last date of submission of session proposal to 31st May, 2004 and last
date of submission of abstracts to 31st July, 2004. As December is the best
season in Calcutta and many seminars and conferences are held, getting
proper accommodation is a problem. So we would advise participants to plan
their programmes as early as possible. We have already contacted hotels and
other guesthouses and they may offer accommodation at a special rate if we
can book early. A number of tour programmes can also be organised at a
special rate to see the colourful cultural life or natural beauty of the
region I hope these will be no problem regarding visa. If you need any
assistance, please let us know.

I am sure, with the active participation of you all, the Inter Congress will
be a grand success.

      With kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
     B. Chaudhuri



C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

there is good news in today's paper .......The Telegraph ,april 27th2004. It
has sailed.
----- Original Message -----
From: Pankaj <pankaj@...>
To: <andamanicobar@...>
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 7:10 PM
Subject: [andamanicobar] MV Nicobar refuses to sail to Port Blair


> The Telegraph
> Sunday, April 25, 2004
>
> Mutiny stalls ship
> A STAFF REPORTER
> Calcutta, April 24: Seven hundred and fifty-two passengers aboard MV
> Nicobar, that was to sail to Port Blair last night, returned home today
> after crew members acting under the Citu banner mutinied and refused to
let
> the ship leave Kidderpore dock.
>
> Manoj Kumar, captain of the second-largest ship plying between Calcutta
and
> Port Blair, was assaulted and his officers threatened by the militant
crew.
> The vessel has 300 tonnes of perishable cargo.
>
> MV Nicobar was meant to set sail around 11 pm on Friday, but 24 contract
> catering staff of the passenger liner, backed by the majority of the
ship's
> 55-member non-officer crew, stopped the captain from sailing, asking for
> dues to be settled.
>
> The contract catering seamen, belonging to the Citu-affiliated Forward
> Seamens' Union of India, arrived from Port Blair on the same ship on April
> 19, two days before their contract with the Directorate of Shipping
Services
> of Andaman and Nicobar islands was scheduled to end. But the seamen stayed
> put, alleging their salaries and outstanding dues had not been cleared.
>
> Sadhan Kanjilal, general secretary of the Citu-affiliated union, said
today:
> "The union won't allow the ship to move an inch until all the dues are
> settled in Calcutta."
>
> Ships did not ply between Calcutta and the islands for 10 months in a
> similar Citu-sponsored fracas in 1997. Shipping corporation officials fear
> there may be a repeat this time as most of the ship crew feel unsafe and
are
> not willing to ply ships on this route.
>
> Late in the evening, it was learnt that talks had failed. Kumar has said
all
> passengers will be refunded their ticket costs on Monday. No one knows
when
> the ship will ply again.
>
> Earlier, the captain had sent an SOS to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
and
> his employers, the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, the agents for the
> island administration, to ensure the ship sets sail. "If it does not leave
> tonight, it will be held up for 10 days due to low tide," he warned.
>
> Trouble had been brewing since the ship docked at Kidderpore last Monday,
> but things turned ugly yesterday when Kumar asked the 756 enlisted
> passengers to board the ship around 2 pm.
>
> The agitating crew stormed into the captain's cabin after the initial lot
of
> passengers boarded the ship, saying the vessel would not be allowed to set
> sail.
>
> All hell broke loose around 10.30 pm, half an hour before the scheduled
> departure, as the crew and some outsiders roughed up Kumar. "They later
> forced me to announce that the ship would not move an inch," he said.
>
>
>
> C/o Kalpavriksh
> Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
> 908 Deccan Gymkhana,
> Pune 411004
> Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
> Fax: 25654239
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>  http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/andamanicobar/
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  andamanicobar-unsubscribe@...
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>  http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>

The Telegraph
Sunday, April 25, 2004

Mutiny stalls ship
A STAFF REPORTER
Calcutta, April 24: Seven hundred and fifty-two passengers aboard MV
Nicobar, that was to sail to Port Blair last night, returned home today
after crew members acting under the Citu banner mutinied and refused to let
the ship leave Kidderpore dock.

Manoj Kumar, captain of the second-largest ship plying between Calcutta and
Port Blair, was assaulted and his officers threatened by the militant crew.
The vessel has 300 tonnes of perishable cargo.

MV Nicobar was meant to set sail around 11 pm on Friday, but 24 contract
catering staff of the passenger liner, backed by the majority of the ship's
55-member non-officer crew, stopped the captain from sailing, asking for
dues to be settled.

The contract catering seamen, belonging to the Citu-affiliated Forward
Seamens' Union of India, arrived from Port Blair on the same ship on April
19, two days before their contract with the Directorate of Shipping Services
of Andaman and Nicobar islands was scheduled to end. But the seamen stayed
put, alleging their salaries and outstanding dues had not been cleared.

Sadhan Kanjilal, general secretary of the Citu-affiliated union, said today:
"The union won't allow the ship to move an inch until all the dues are
settled in Calcutta."

Ships did not ply between Calcutta and the islands for 10 months in a
similar Citu-sponsored fracas in 1997. Shipping corporation officials fear
there may be a repeat this time as most of the ship crew feel unsafe and are
not willing to ply ships on this route.

Late in the evening, it was learnt that talks had failed. Kumar has said all
passengers will be refunded their ticket costs on Monday. No one knows when
the ship will ply again.

Earlier, the captain had sent an SOS to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
his employers, the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, the agents for the
island administration, to ensure the ship sets sail. "If it does not leave
tonight, it will be held up for 10 days due to low tide," he warned.

Trouble had been brewing since the ship docked at Kidderpore last Monday,
but things turned ugly yesterday when Kumar asked the 756 enlisted
passengers to board the ship around 2 pm.

The agitating crew stormed into the captain's cabin after the initial lot of
passengers boarded the ship, saying the vessel would not be allowed to set
sail.

All hell broke loose around 10.30 pm, half an hour before the scheduled
departure, as the crew and some outsiders roughed up Kumar. "They later
forced me to announce that the ship would not move an inch," he said.



C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

The issue is the same one that we too have been discussing, but here is a
new report on the same.
pankaj

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----FACTIVA
Reuters and Dow Jones


Remote islands open to tourism India's spectacular Andaman islands in the
Bay of Bengal are being opened up to tourism but environmentalists are
concerned about the impact on some of the globe's last pristine beaches and
diving sites.
TOWNBU0020040424e04o00046
Weekender
Michael Mathes
853 Words
24 April 2004
Townsville Bulletin
1 -
637
English
Copyright 2004 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
IDIA'S remote and spectacular Andaman islands, unexploited jewels in the Bay
of Bengal, have flung open their shores to tourism with the first
international air links from Bangkok.

The enchanting tropical archipelago of 572 islands -- nearly half of them
unnamed and only 38 inhabited -- are blessed with miles of white sand
beaches, lush rainforests, world-class diving, ocean-swimming elephants and
a rich variety of animal species.

But as investors and tour operators aim to stake a claim to some of the
globe's last pristine beaches and diving sites, environmentalists are
worried that the fragile islands cannot endure a tourism onslaught.

Developers and the government are being urged to strike a balance between
preservation and progress, as the Indian government touts tourism as the
islands' economic salvation.

"These charter flights can be a trigger to open up these islands," said
developer Samit Sawhny, who heads upstart Indian firm Barefoot Group, which
put together the Bangkok-Port Blair charters that began in March.

The firm, which has enlisted small Thai carrier PB Air to fly the route, is
spearheading the charge for controlled, high-value tourism development.

"We want to be as sustainable as possible," Sawhny said. "The Andamans have
incredible potential, but at the same time there are a lot of environmental
concerns."

Several other constraints on the island chain, 1200km from mainland India
but only 500km from Thailand's largest resort island Phuket, are putting
pressure on the tourism industry.

The sleepy capital Port Blair serves as an Indian navy base, and security is
tight, with travel to the Nicobar islands, south of the Andamans but in the
same union territory, forbidden for foreigners.

Infrastructure is severely lacking outside Port Blair. Ferry services are
slow, and the government has shut the main road linking Port Blair to the
northern end of the archipelago as it abuts the protected territory of the
indigenous Jarawa tribe.

Last year, according to official figures, the islands saw 94,000 Indian
visitors, mainly government employees on leave allowance, and just 4200
foreign tourists, mostly backpackers.

That demographic must change if the Andamans are to prosper, developers and
officials said, as backpackers, or so the argument goes, put far fewer
dollars than wealthier tourists into the pockets of locals, while their
aggressive pursuit of some untouched paradise puts the entire ecology at
risk.

"Low-value tourists take away rather than contribute to the islands, and
that's not the direction the administration wants to go forward with. It
wants premium, high-value tourists," said Barefoot's Ashish Gupta.

The Maldives, the exotic island nation southwest of Sri Lanka, have been
successfully marketed along these lines as a luxury destination.

But while paying lip-service to the need to preserve the Andaman ecosystem,
officials are enthusiastically embracing a future tourism boom.

The Andamans' secretary for tourism and tribal areas, Anbarasu, who goes by
one name, rattled off a list of goals for the islands that could raise the
hackles of ecologists.

Plans are afoot, he said, to introduce jet skiing and parasailing, develop
beaches used by nesting leatherback turtles, relax Indian law to allow for
development within 50m of the sea instead of the current 200m, set up
tree-top cottages in protected forests, and launch water safaris.

"The day is not too far in which we'll get the green light from the
government for this," Anbarasu said.

Critics say Indian authorities, business leaders and Thai diplomats are
pushing to turn the Andamans into another Phuket, prompting the signing last
year of a sister cities agreement between the Thai island and Port Blair.

But environmentalists wince at the prospect of Phuket's sleazy bars and
massive tourist intake being replicated in the Andamans.

"I am not against tourism, but I have a problem with uncontrolled tourism,
and the administration is not ready to handle that," said Harry Andrews, who
heads the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Environmental Team (ANET).

"It really can have a negative impact."

ANET has submitted a draft plan urging restricted access to the Andamans by
keeping charters to a minimum and focusing on sustainable high-end tourism.

But PB Air is seeking to expand beyond charters, to as many as three
scheduled flights per week from Bangkok on a 50-seat Embraer Jet 145
aircraft.

Until now, the islands have been accessible only from Madras and Calcutta,
via expensive domestic flights or cheap but gruelling four-day cargo boat
rides.

"This is a foot in the door, and when we get our permit it will only be a
matter of time before the Indian government approves scheduled flights,"
said PB Air president Jothin Pamon-Montri.

On formerly pristine Havelock island, the strains of development are already
showing. Ramshackle bamboo and concrete huts have been erected just 20m from
the high tide line, and construction crews are busy sealing more roads.


For assistance, access Factiva's Membership Circle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
(c) 2004 Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive, LLC. Trading as Factiva.All
Rights Reserved.

C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

From the Website of Christian Aid, USA
https://secure6.hostek.net/secure1/christianaid/pl200404give.asp

PRAYERLINE, April 2004

This page is the online version of our Prayerline that Christian Aid has
been publishing and sending out to friends for nearly 50 years now.
Prayerline is a daily guide to intercession for indigenous missions around
the world. If the Lord lays it on your heart to help meet a need mentioned
below, you may enter your gift amount(s) in the appropriate blanks below.

If you have accessed this web page with the https: protocol and have not
received any alerts or error messages, your personal information will be
transmitted securely. If you prefer to contribute by phone, please call
1-800-977-5650
17, Saturday

Andaman Islands, India
The workers of an inidenous ministry in India are finding new ways to reach
primitive tribes on the Andaman Islands. With no proper medical facilities
on the islands, many tribespeople die of diseases that could be easily
treated. This ministry is starting a clinic to minister to these needs. Pray
for $8000 to purchase medicines and needed medical equipment.
I would like to give: $
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

Dear Royan (and anyone else who is interested),

I have come across some very interesting posters on corals, reef fishes,
shrimps, molluscs etc. which may be just the thing you are looking for for your
childrens education programme. The best part is that these are free of cost and
are meant for distribution to schools, colleges and NGOs. You can get them by
writing to :

Dr. M. Sakhthivel
President
Aquaculture Foundation of India
4/40, Kapaleeswarar Nagar
Neelankarai
Chennai 41
email:afi@...


Best,
Miriam


Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner online.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I would like to know the trade related problems in the Islands.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From
The Andaman Express, April 6, 2004
Onges and Great Andamanese to cast their votes too
Port Blair, April 5

The members of the Onges and Andamanese Tribal Communities will also cast
their votes on coming Lok Sabha elections, informed the Chief Electoral
Officer of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mr. Gyanesh Bharati today.
While addressing a press conference at  IP&T's conference hall the Chief
Electoral Officer said that only members of Onge and Andamanese Community
will be using their voting right in 14th Lok Sabha Election while he denied
to comment on the status of members of other tribal communities . But
sources informed that altogether 25 Great Andamanese Tribes and 55 Onge
tribes have their names included in voter lists of the Andaman & Nicobar
Islands........
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

Dear Pankaj and friends..

Well, we sort of reacted a 'trifle too aggressively' to an article published in
Current Science recently...  perhaps..  or may be not..  well i still go by what
we said.. (Pankaj plz comment..)

All of you who have access to current science must see this article..  replete
with errors.. assumptions..  really no good findings..  an fanciful experiment..
beleive me I know what their experiment is.. okay!!.. of any consequence to any
jarawa to say the least...

i am enclosing our correspondence to (attached) Current Science.. the .  well
the response to our response to...  And i dont think Oxford Dictionary is what
Sociologists use to check the meaning of "primitive" .. nevertheless we dont
chose to respond to the response .. or should we....

Please go on and read on..   Not to mention that .. they havent even sighted
Lalji's Paper on the Andaman Tribes ..  Another DNA study which is very well
sighted and referred to in these very lines of research...  Possibly they
thought .. nobody would know.. its the Andamans.. exotica..  howzzaat..(hey dont
quote me from here.. I am not in my senses)..

Suresh



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From
The Andaman Express, March 23, 2004

Storm over New Andaman Port
New Delhi:
The Shipping Ministry is toying with the idea of establishing a transhipment
port at Great Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal. It is reliably learnt that the
issue was discussed at a high level meeting recently. Sources say it was
decided that the feasibility fo the project could be examined after the
Andaman & Nicobar Island Administration obtains clearances from the Defence
Ministry. However, it could be tough to get these clearances as the Andaman
islands also form the base fo the country's only tri-services command and is
considered strategic from the country's defence standpoint.
Contingents of the navy, air force and army are stationed on the Andaman
islands under a unified command on the lines of the US.
Around 42% of the world trade is routed via the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
with China and Japan alone accounting for over $300 billion. At present,
Singapore is the hub for international shipping in the area. Even Indian
cargoes are often transhipped through Singapore as the big mother ships find
it quicker to dock and turn around for the port. The Shipping Ministry sees
scope for attracting part of this business to an Indian port.
However the Indian defence establishment is not comfortable with the entry
of foreign vessels around the Andamans. It has, in fact, been opposing the
entry of foreign companies for oil exploration in the offshore area of the
Andaman islands. The Indian Navy is of the view that any oil exploration in
these waters should be taken up by ONGC and senior officials should be
present on the oil rigs.
It made it clear to the oil companies that the permission of the navy would
have ot be taken before any foreign vessel was hired by them for undertaking
drilling in the area. If fact an oil exploration block was put up for
auction in the latest round through international bidding only after
petroleum minister Ram Naik had discussions with defence minister George
Fernandes.
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

THE ANDAMANS' TRIBAL RESERVES
protecting forests, biodiversity and indigenous peoples
by Pankaj Sekhsaria
Sanctuary Asia, Vol XXIV, No. 2, April 2004
www.sanctuaryasia.com

  In the Andamans, some of the best forests are those that are being
protected in the name of human communities. These are substantial chunks of
tropical rainforest that have never been subjected to development or
commercial threats and they remain repositories of biological wealth that
have never been surveyed, leave alone documented.
  Beaches on which endangered sea turtles have been nesting for aeons and
creeks and mangroves where endangered saltwater crocodiles cruise in search
of fish, these reserves are the stuff naturalists' dreams are made of. The
forests are home to innumerable species of plants and animals, including the
Andaman wild pig and endemics such as the Andaman teal, Andaman day gecko
and the Andaman Serpent Eagle, the first two of which are extremely
threatened. These forests, importantly, are also home to remarkable, but
very vulnerable human communities. Together these constitute a priceless
repository of natural and human heritage.
  These are the four tribal reserves in the Andaman Islands, created in the
name of the islands' four negrito communities: the Great Andamanese, the
Onge, the Jarawa and the Sentinelese. The reserves were created in the late
1950s under the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes
Regulation (ANPATR), 1956. The Jarawa Reserve covers more than 700 sq. km.
on the South and Middle Andaman Islands; the Onge Reserve is spread over 520
sq. km. on the island of Little Andaman; and the entire 50 sq. km. island of
North Sentinel is reserved for the Sentinelese. Combined, they constitute
nearly 20 per cent of the roughly 6,500 sq. km. landmass of the Andaman
archipelago and protect the finest forests and biodiversity that the islands
support. Though this article is about the Andaman Islands alone, by
extension it is easily applicable to the Nicobars as well. The entire 2,000
odd sq. km. of the Nicobar Islands have been designated as tribal reserves.
  There is more. Three to five kilometres of the sea adjoining these forests
have also been protected as part of the tribal reserves, making up marine
areas that are nearly 1,000 sq. km. in extent. This is the only legal
protection accorded to coral reefs off the western coast of the Jarawa
Reserve. Considered to be among the finest reefs in the Andamans, they have
still not been studied in any great detail.
  What makes these tribal reserves so significant is the fact that most of
the other forests on the islands, including wildlife sanctuaries and
national parks, have been exploited for timber at some point or other in the
last 100 years. The indigenous tribes, on the other hand, never allowed any
such extractive or destructive use of their forest homes.
  In contrast with the rest of India's conflict ridden conservation
landscape, the Andamans' tribal reserves are an example where the needs of
biological and environmental conservation and those of human communities
neatly overlap. The negrito communities of the Andamans have lived in
harmony with their forests and natural resources for several thousand years,
setting an example we should seek to emulate. However, the history of
the islands over the last four decades clearly shows that we have opted to
go down the opposite road.
  When first created in the 1950s, the tribal reserves were much larger than
they are today. In the '70s, substantial chunks were denotified to
facilitate the colonisation of these lands by populations from mainland
India and for the exploitation of resources, primarily timber.
  History is witness to the forest destruction that followed. Two
denotifications in the '70s handed over about 200 sq. km. of pristine
forests from the Onge Reserve for clear felling, settling of mainlanders,
timber extraction, red palm oil plantations and fields. The pristine Jarawa
Reserve was also reduced to allow timber operations and the construction of
the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR). The forests on the eastern side of the road
were then handed over for large-scale timber extraction operations. The
consequences are clearly visible today, years after timber operations in
this area ended.
  The original canopy and evergreen character of the denotified forests is
gone, as is the Andaman wild pig, the largest indigenous mammal on the
islands. Aggressive alien plants that thrive in deciduous, dry conditions
are taking over, sea turtle nesting beaches have been mined for sand,
offshore coral reefs have been choked by erosion, groundwater aquifers have
been depleted and the hydrological cycle has been adversely impacted.
  To the west, on the other side of the island, the forests are still
protected as the Jarawa Reserve. Standing on the ATR and looking to either
side, one can see how the Jarawa use and protect their forests, while
'civilised' people have chosen to destroy the fragile and priceless
ecosystem.
  If indeed undisturbed large pristine areas are crucial for long-term
conservation and the maintenance of viable gene pools, the importance of
these tribal reserves cannot be emphasised enough (see box below). These
indigenous communities have little, if any impact on their forests. They are
in fact their protectors. The survival of these ancient cultures is
critically dependent on the forests, as the forest now is on the indigenous
communities.
  'Protection' in this case needs to be defined and understood differently
from the present perception. This protection is not being accorded from the
outside, as is the case with all PAs on mainland India, but from within, by
those who dwell within the forest, who are protecting themselves and their
forest home from destructive external forces.
  The concept of 'threat', too, needs to be redefined. The threat here comes
from the outside world. Forest dwelling hunter-gatherer communities are
never very large, but they need a basic minimum area for subsistence. The
same holds good for the negritos of the Andamans. A massive colonisation
scheme in which thousands of mainland families were settled in the islands
has over the years completely skewed the balance against them. While the
population of all the negrito communities in the Andamans is only about 500,
outsiders now number almost 400,000. The pressure such aliens exert on
resources such as fresh water and on the indigenous people themselves can be
imagined.
  But the threat does not come just from the physical destruction of their
forests and the usurpation of their lands. The dominant civilisation does
not even try to understand, leave alone respect the culture, way of life and
system of knowledge of the negrito tribes, perhaps because it is so
drastically different from their own. Communities like the Jarawa take just
as much as they need from their environment, achieving a system as close to
one of balance and equilibrium as possible. Their needs are limited and
therefore their exploitation of natural resources is limited.
  A recent, preliminary study has revealed that the Jarawa have knowledge of
about 150 species of plants and trees and over 350 species of fauna. Many of
these are directly used in their material culture, as food or medicine, an
excellent indicator both of the Jarawa's knowledge, as well as of the
diversity of the forest. For the Jarawa, this knowledge is important for
their survival. The wider the base from which they can extract their
subsistence needs, the better their chances. The same is true for the
Sentinelese and the Onge.
  The Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese can certainly protect and save themselves
and their forests, but they now need outside help. No drastic interventions,
no surgical incisions, but something far simpler. As we have seen, the
tribal reserves are the most significant repositories of the islands'
biodiversity. The system for their management and protection, however, needs
to be diametrically opposite to the principles and philosophies that are the
basis of the Protected Area network in the rest of the country today.
Protection here cannot be divorced from the indigenous communities. First,
their ownership and primary right over the forests has to be accepted. Far
easier said than done, but this is necessary. Their lands and forests have
to be protected at all costs, and what was wrongly taken away has to be
restored to them. Cultural interaction has to be regulated, has to be
extremely sensitive and, by and large, reduced to a bare minimum. There has
to be an explicit recognition of their way of life, a respect for their
traditions and knowledge and an acknowledgment that they are our most
important partners in the conservation of a unique natural heritage: the
forests of the Andaman Islands.

Box 1:
Hotspot for biological diversity
The Andaman & Nicobar Archipelago in the Bay of Bengal is a global hot spot
for biological diversity, with over 3,552 species of flowering plants (223
endemic), 5,100 species of animals (100 freshwater, 2,847 terrestrial, 503
endemic) and 4,508 marine species (220 endemic), 52 species of mammals (33
endemic), 244 species and subspecies of birds (96 endemic) and 111 species
of amphibians and reptiles (66 endemic).

Box 2:
Prioritising Sites for Biodiversity Conservation in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands: With Special Reference to Fauna
By Tara Gandhi
In Singh et. al. (eds) 'Setting Biodiversity Conservation Priorities for
India', WWF India, New Delhi.
Jarawa Reserve - Middle and South Andamans
  The Jarawa Reserve Area which is roughly 65,000 ha. (sic) extends as a long
strip from Middle to South Andamans along the western coast. It is
characterised by a mosaic of forest types with dense forest cover of over 40
per cent, particularly in Middle Andaman which has evergreen forests,
deciduous forests and mangroves. It is evident that the reserve area is rich
in living resources as it provides (the Jarawa) full sustenance by way of
edible plants, protein sources of meat and fish, wood and material for
building their huts, medicinal plants and all other requirements for their
daily lives.
  Recent surveys have shown that of the Andamans group, the forests of Middle
and South Andamans are richest in bird and butterfly diversity. These two
islands have the largest number of endemic and threatened plants.
Consultations with wildlife officials has established that the reserve is a
rich area for the endemic wild pig. As a substantial area of the best
forested area of both these islands is covered by the reserve, the
biodiversity within the reserve is expected to be exceptionally rich.
Patterns of butterfly distribution in the Andaman Islands: implications for
conservation
By M. Soubhadra Devy, T. Ganesh and Priya Davidar
Published in Acta Oecologica, 1998
  "The study shows that island size and habitat types are important in
influencing butterflies. More species and a higher proportion of less common
species were recorded from larger islands. Islands with evergreen forests
had significantly more species than those with drier forests and the species
number increased linearly with increase in island area with evergreen
forest, but not for those without evergreen forest. Even smaller islands in
the South Andaman Group, such as Chester and Snob, supported more butterfly
species due to the presence of evergreen forests than larger islands with
dry forests in the North Andaman group. Current forestry practices tend to
convert evergreen forests to a more deciduous type through selective felling
and selective regeneration of commercial species. This is a cause for
concern, as it will lead to a loss of butterfly (species) and probably
affect other species as well. A significant proportion of the species were
also rare and therefore more vulnerable to extinction with the loss of
forests.
  An analysis of the size distributions of the Protected Areas in the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands show that most reserves are small islands of < 0.01 sq.
km. The under representation of forests on large islands in the Protected
Area network appears to be a cause for concern. Therefore, in addition to
the area already under protection, forests on large islands need to be
included in the Protected Area network. Furthermore, primary evergreen
forests, which are rapidly being decimated, need to be protected on a
priority basis. There is no large reserve on the main Middle Andaman,
Baratang, Rutland and the Little Andaman Islands. Little Andaman Island is
particularly vulnerable because of its isolation and its increasing pressure
on forests."
Author's note: These studies support the point made in this article, that if
we broaden the definition of Protected Areas to include the protection of
the tribal reserves of South, Middle and Little Andaman, many of these
concerns will be taken care of.

C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

Dear colleagues and friends,

Environmentalists are alarmed as the Seychelles has
unveiled plans to turn Aldabra, a unique coral atoll
and UNESCO World Heritage site in the Indian Ocean
into a playground for super-rich ?eco-tourists?.
Considering the experiences with tourism development
at other protected sites, there are good reasons to
fear that privatization and commercialization for
tourism purposes will destroy the natural beauty and
biodiversity of the area.

UNESCO can no longer escape from responsibility as its
World Heritage site managers appear to be more
occupied with promoting tourism and forging
relationships with Big Business than with the
conservation of nature and culture. A few weeks ago,
the UN agency hosted its first stand ever at the
International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin, the
world?s largest tourism fair, to draw attention to
World Heritage sites as tourism destinations. Among
other things, UNESCO?s announcement for the ITB said
that ?tourism industry partners will highlight their
collaboration with UNESCO World Heritage sites and
explain the ?added-value? this has brought to their
corporate image.? (sic!).

Although UNESCO officials acknowledge that ?tourism
can be a problem?, what actually matters is tourism as
a money-spinner: It ?brings much-needed funds, which
can be used to help preserve natural and cultural
World Heritage sites and empower local communities
living and working near those sites?, says the UNESCO
announcement.  But are such statements credible and
sincere, given that more and more protected sites ?
from Macchu Picchu in Peru to the Sunderbans in
Bangladesh and India - are handed over to the private
tourism sector, with little or no regard for the
social and environmental impacts that might occur? It
is time for UNESCO to rethink its lopsided
conservation and tourism policy if it wants to be
taken seriously in its efforts to save the world's
cultural and natural heritage.

Yours sincerely,
Anita Pleumarom
Tourism Investigation & Monitoring Team (tim-team)

--------------------------

http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1190221,00.html

The Guardian, Monday April 12, 2004

THE ATOLL THAT TIME FORGOT: BUT NOW TOURISTS THREATEN
ITS ECO-SYSTEM

Campaigners fear for future of giant tortoises and
crabs

By Rory Carroll, Africa correspondent

For millennia the atoll known as Aldabra has bloomed
in the absence of man. A speck in the Indian Ocean
hundreds of miles from inhabited islands, it spawned
tortoises big enough to knock over trees and crabs
powerful enough to rip open coconuts.

White-throated rails, the last surviving flightless
bird of the Indian Ocean, wandered the scrub, and in
the lagoon darted sharks, ray, groupers and other
exotic fish. Sailors occasionally landed but did not
linger, for want of fresh water and timber.

But in the mid-1960s Britain appeared to deliver the
unique ecosystem's death sentence by deciding to site
a military base at Aldabra, effectively turning it
into a giant aircraft carrier.

Campaigners rolled back that decision in what was
feted as a landmark victory for the modern
environmental movement, leaving the atoll's four main
islands, Grande Terre, Malabar, Polymnie and Picard,
largely untouched to this day.

Now that may change because a luxury hotel is being
planned for Aldabra. The age of ecotourism has caught
up with the land that time forgot. The government of
the Seychelles, the archipelago east of Africa which
administers the atoll, has tendered for a resort to
cater for the super-rich in anticipation of charging
each visitor thousands of dollars a day.

The prospect has horrified conservationists. Tam
Dalyell, the Labour MP who led opposition to the
military base, vowed yesterday to launch a new
campaign on behalf of Aldabra, which remains part of
the British Indian Ocean Territory. "I am absolutely
dismayed," he said. "It would alter the nature of the
atoll. The idea was to keep it as pristine as
possible."

Mr Dalyell, now the father of the House of Commons,
said he would raise the issue in parliament when it
resumes after the Easter break and lobby the Foreign
Office.

But the South African company which has tendered to
build the resort, Wilderness Safaris, said its
environmental record was impeccable and it would
manage the world heritage site better than scientists
who, it said, treated the atoll as a private
playground while stationed there for research.

"Why should it be scientists that have exclusive
access? They can be the worst when it comes to looking
after the environment," said a company director,
Russel Friedman.

Aldabra is situated in the extreme south-west of the
Seychelles archipelago, 375 miles east of Africa, 250
miles north-west of Madagascar and 685 miles
south-west of the main Seychelles population centre,
Mah?.

It is the world's largest raised coral atoll; its last
submergence was about 125,000 years ago. It hosts
endemic insects, plants and mammals, including 152,000
giant tortoises, the world's largest population of
this reptile. Believed to live beyond 100 years, the
tortoises weigh up to 250kg (39 stones) and are known
to push over shrubs and small trees when foraging for
food.

Robber crabs measuring up to a metre long - the
world's largest terrestrial arthropods - rove the
beaches and climb palm trees in search of coconuts,
which they open with huge pincers. The world's second
largest population of frigate birds use the atoll for
their sanctuary.

Described by Sir David Attenborough as "one of the
wonders of the world", the atoll was declared a world
heritage site by the UN in 1982.

The government of the Seychelles, whose beaches
attract celebrities such as the England rugby star
Jonny Wilkinson, wants to attract rich tourists and
for Aldabra to pay its own way.

"It costs us $500,000 a year to run Aldabra," Lindsey
Chong Seng, executive director of the Seychelles
Island Foundation (SIF) which manages Aldabra, told
Reuters. "In order to maintain the atoll, we have to
put Aldabra on a sustainable footing by introducing an
upmarket eco-lodge."

He said plans included building six blocks,
accommodating a total of 12 people, on the western
island of Picard. Visitors will be expected to pay up
to $2,000 (?1,090) a night.

Wilderness Safaris is the only company to have
tendered, according to Mr Friedman. The
Johannesburg-based company runs 48 lodges across
southern Africa, many of them in environmentally
sensitive areas.

Non-governmental organisations promised funding but it
never materialised, Mr Friedman said, prompting the
authorities to seek alternative means.

He envisaged a maximum of 20 visitors spending a week
at a time on the atoll, adding that it would be better
off hosting monitored tourists than PhD students
duplicating predecessors' research.

"It's an awesome place, really amazing. If you go
there and don't enjoy yourself there must be something
wrong with you," Mr Friedman said.

But he said the company had asked the authorities to
suspend the tender process for 12 months while the
tourism market improved.

A marine researcher who spent several months on the
island but declined to be named said a hotel would
compound rising sea temperatures and erosion which are
already threatening the ecosystem.

Mr Dalyell echoed those concerns, claiming that no
matter how well intentioned, a resort would damage the
atoll.

PARADISE BEING LOST

The Galapagos Islands:
The Galapagos archipelago, 600 miles off Ecuador, was
discovered by Charles Darwin and is home to giant
tortoises, lava lizards and penguins. The ecosystem is
threatened by fishermen demanding laxer laws and by
the 2001 oil spill which killed 60% of the unique
marine iguanas. The tourist trade is also a concern.

Great Barrier Reef:
Off Queensland, the 1,250-mile long series of reefs is
home to sharks, turtles and more than 1,500 types of
fish. Concern that overfishing is depleting marine
life has led to a law that will leave tourism the only
permitted industry in one-third of the world heritage
site. The million visitors a year bring problems of
pollution.

Maldives:
A chain of islands off the Indian sub-continent, the
Maldives are a sought-after destination for scuba
divers. But the coral reefs are being damaged by
effluent by the tourist cabins. Global warming makes
their disappearance a real possibility.

Antartica:
Mining and mineral exploitation has been banned from
the last great wilderness, which occupies a 10th of
the plane. It is home to penguins, albatrosses,
elephant seals and whales. But there is a also a
burgeoning cruise industry. Environmentalists point
out that if you leave a footprint in moss on Antartica
it will take at least 10 years to recover.
- Luc Torres -

--------------------------------
NOTE: The articles introduced in this Clearinghouse do
not necessarily represent the views of the Tourism
Investigation & Monitoring Team (tim-team).


=====
tourism investigation & monitoring team (tim-team)
P.O. Box 51 Chorakhebua
Bangkok 10230, Thailand
Email: timteam02@...
Webpage: http://www.twnside.org.sg/tour.htm




__________________________________
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Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411004
India
Tel: + 91 20 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239
Email: kvriksh@...

From the Andaman Express
Feb 2, 2004

State Development Report Seminar ignores the Tribes
Can the Development of the Islands be planned ignoring the islands tribes
deliberately?
Port Blair, Feb 1

The two day seminar on 'State Development Report' sponsored by the Planning
Commission, Government of India and organised by the National Institute of
Public Finance and Policy and facilitate by the A&N Administration concluded
last Friday. The seminar was an effort to discuss the subject and sectors to
be planned for the overall sustainable development of the A&N islands. The
plans discussed were meant for a period of next one decade.
Apart from a spate of government officials (bureaucrats) only about ten non
official invitees attended the seminar. No information from administrations
side was made before the outset of the seminar through its mouthpiece  'The
Daily Telegrams' or the AIR news. However, the reporting of the proceedings
was covered in the papers. But since the people for whom the 'draft report'
was under preparation were unaware so they could not and also did not attend
the seminar to result a better interaction.
Any development report meant for the islands cannot be complete if it did
not discuss and finalise the strategies in relation to Tourism, tribes and
fisheries of these islands. Andaman is known to the outside world as the
habitat of certain primitive tribes who are matter of studies world wide for
genetic scientists as well as anthropologists. The subject related to
primitive tribes was earmarked on Chapter 7 in the index of the book of
'Draft State Development Report of A&N Islands'. But conspicuously the
chapter 7 was missing in fact from the said book. The reasons are best known
to the organisers.
It may also be recalled here that in a report submitted by the High Power
Committee appointed by the Calcutta High Court on Jarawa tribes 127+2 pages
were missing, when this was first circulated. After this glaring mission was
pointed out by an NGO  and also a member of the committee itself, the
missing page was posted on the internet more than 2 months after the
submission of the report to the High Court. The 127 pages were actually a
'Note in dissent' plus a preface of 2 pages submitted by the member of the
said committee Dr. KB Saxena in the Draft Policy for Tribes. Is it not a
deliberate attempt of the administration to ignore this primitive tribe in
its all long term draft development and such plans and discussions?
The seminar that took place on January 29 and 30 also said use of plastic
bottles and also the plates made of styrofoam. The styrofoam is also a
plastic but more dangerous than plastic as this is prepared with the help of
6 ozone depletion substance. It is worth-mentioning it was only on 26th
January when the Lt. Governor Prof. Ram Kapse decided to declare the islands
as 'no plastic zone' from RD 2004

C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004
Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450
Fax: 25654239

Jarawas: Present at stake, future uncertain



JARAWAS: PRESENT AT STAKE, FUTURE UNCERTAIN
HindustanTimes.com Correspondent
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/6920_664766,001600520003.htm
April 6




Once again, the cause of the Jarawas has put the government and the
non-governmental organisations
at loggerheads.

The bone of contention this time happens to be a seminar which is expected to
formulate the policy
for future handling of the threatened Jarawa tribals. Some 300 Jarawa tribals,
who inhabit the
Middle & South Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal archipelago of Andaman &
Nicobar Islands, are
fighting for survival.

The two-day seminar begins in Kolkata on Wednesday, April 7, 2004. It is being
conducted by the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs at the behest of Calcutta High Court which wants the
Government to draft
a policy "after taking into account the views and suggestions of the experts of
national and
international repute in the related fields."

Samir Acharya of the Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology (SANE), which has
been championing the
cause of the Andaman tribals, says the spirit behind High Court's order has been
completely ignored
by the Ministry.

"The court wanted wide publicity and wider participation in the seminar which
will determine a
policy vital to the survival of these tribals. But there has been little
publicity and the time
given to us to participate is woefully inadequate," he says.

  But the Ministry does not seem to agree with him. Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Joint Secretary
Samirendra Chatterjee says, "Ten days are adequate for any such activity. Only
experts in the field
have been invited. Being experts, they do not need any time to prepare for the
seminar. So, isn't
ten days ample to travel to Kolkata?"

Acharya says, "A few foreign experts have agreed to converge in Kolkata on our
initiative. But we
are not going to participate in the seminar which is more of an eyewash. We have
decided to stand
outside the seminar venue (a five star deluxe hotel) and protest against it."

Fifty-five to 60 experts have been invited for the seminar. "The names have been
finalised by the
Anthropological Survey of India which is the expert body dealing with the
tribals," says Mr
Chatterjee.  He adds, "We have decided to not invite foreign experts due to two
reasons. One, it
saves money and two, we do not want to expose our tribals to people who have
already finished their
own aboriginals."

Moreover, "we have a deadline to meet. The High Court gave us four months in
February 2004 to
submit the final draft policy. After the Kolkata seminar, we are planning to
meet in Port Blair in
early May to finalise the policy," says Mr Chatterjee.

It is not only the "inadequate time" that has led to the standoff, the
non-government agencies are
also complaining about the "timing" of the seminar.

In a written complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner, a local Andaman
journalist Denis Giles
has said, "The recommendations and conclusions of this seminar will also have
serious implications
for the settlers, the main voting population in the islands."

"The outcome of the seminar, therefore, is of great significance in the context
of the General
Election as decisions could significantly impact the islands' population. We
have reason to believe
that the seminar is being held in undue haste and with a view to use the outcome
to electoral
benefits." The Andaman & Nicobar Islands goes to polls on April 20, 2004.

When contacted, Election Commission's media secretary SK Kaura said, "We have
nothing to say in
this regard to the press."

In February 2001, the Calcutta High Court had put on hold all contacts with the
aboriginals after a
six-member Expert Committee said the Jarawas might have to be "either isolated
or integrated or
given need-based aid." To decide on the issue and lay down guidelines, the court
had further asked
the Government to constitute an Expert Committee in April 2001.

In July 2003, the committee suggested in its report "a policy of maximum
autonomy with minimum
interference." The committee also recommended curbs on poaching in Jarawa areas,
sensitising the
settlers about the tribals and identifying areas where "selective and limited
interference should
take place … foremost being, medical intervention." The seminar is to
discuss and finalise
the recommendations of the Expert Committee report.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Newindianexpress.com

B R E A K I N G N E W S April 9, 2004


Centre examining proposal to rehabilitate Jarawas
Thursday April 8 2004 11:36 IST
PTI
KOLKATA: Almost 58 years after the country achieved independence, the
Centre is examining a proposal to rehabilitate the Jarawas, the aboriginal
tribes living in the Andaman and Nicobar islands for the past 2000 years.

''We are looking into the proposal for drawing up a policy for the Jarawas
on the basis of the recommendation of the expert committee, which was
formed under the direction of Calcutta High Court in 1999. We will be
keeping an open mind and based on the recommendation of the experts we
will arrive at a conclusion,'' secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Dr A
V S Reddy told UNI on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Drawal of policy for
Jarawa primitive tribal group of Andaman and Nicobar islands' here.

''All our previous attempts to rehabilitate the Jarawas have proved futile
as they were hostile to us,'' he explained.

Dr Reddy, however, categorically denied that there was any move to
urbanise the Jarawa settlement. ''We categorically deny any move to
interfere with the age-old culture of the Jarawas. It is a disinformation
campaign being carried out by some NGOs. There is no move to build pucca
houses in the reserve forest inhabited by the Jarawas,'' he added.

Asked about the reported move to start eco-tourism in the islands
populated by the primitive tribes, whose population has come down to 266,
he replied in the negative. ''We have no modernisation plan in area which
has been declared a reserve forest,'' he said.

The reason for the belated move by the Centre to look into the affairs is
the prodding from Calcutta High Court, which ordered the formation of an
expert committee to look into the problems being faced by the Jarawas on
the basis of a PIL filed in the High Court by one Shyamali Ganguly in 1999.

The court had directed the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2001 to constitute
an experts' committee to suggest remedial measures to save the Jarawas
from the danger of total extinction and organise two seminars, one in
Kolkata and in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Based on the direction, specialists from the Anthropological Survey of
India, Botanical Survey of India, All India Institute of Hygiene and
Public Health, Zoological Survey of India, forest department and the
directorate of health services, Andaman and Nicobar, who had conducted the
field study in the island between December 2001 and September 2002,
gathered here for a two-day brainstorming seminar to draft a proposal on
their rehabilitation.

Though the Jarawas were suspicious of others, the relationship took a turn
for the better when a Jarawa boy, who broke his leg, was provided medical
treatment at Port Blair in 1996. He was sent back to his habitat after he
recovered with lots of gifts.

''This helped in breaking their wall of suspicion and they gradually
started accepting eatables, garments and several other items offered by
the non-Jarawas,'' Mr Reddy said.








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PRESS RELEASE
STATEMENT BY INDEPENDENT OBSERVERS
Kolkata
April 9, 2004

FATE OF THE JARAWA

Concerns over the organization and outcome of recent seminar held by Ministry of
Tribal Affairs,
Government of India


The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, organized a seminar
–cum-workshop for
the purpose of ‘Drawing out a comprehensive policy for the Jarawas,
Primitive Tribe in
Andaman Group of Islands’ on April 7 & 8 at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata.
The seminar was organized, supposedly in compliance of the Kolkata High Court
Circuit Bench, Port
Blair order of July 2001 in response to WP 48 of 1999 that was filed by a Port
Blair based lawyer,
Ms. Shyamali Ganguly.

The seminar was organized in a manner that was clearly violative of the letter
and spirit of the
orders of the Hon. High Court, which had asked for open and detailed discussion
with national and
international participation and after public notices for the seminar were
announced in widely read
newspapers.
	 The seminar failed in dealing with the basic objectives before it and the
mandate that was given
to it by the Hon. High Court

ORGANISATION OF THE SEMINAR

a)Official invitees to the seminar were limited to only 31 experts, of whom a
majority were retired
or serving government servants. A small minority of the invitees were
independent experts and none
were from NGOs or civil society organizations as desired by the Hon. Court.
b)While the organizers had more than nine months to organize the seminar, the
invitees were given
an invitation only about 11 days before it started.
c)While the basic intent of the seminar was to discuss the Jarawa Expert
Committee Report prepared
on the orders of the HC, most of the official invitees to the seminar had no
access to this
document. They were not provided with the report or other relevant literature
that they were to
deliberate on. A number of delegates pointed this out on Day 1, following which
the summary and
recommendations of the report were circulated. This initial omission undermined
the deliberations.
d) The seminar was organized at immense cost to the public exchequer at Taj
Bengal, a six star
venue. It could have been held at a number of more appropriate institutions and
venues in Kolkata.




OUTCOME OF THE SEMINAR
The draft resolutions that were discussed at the conclusion of the seminar are
not being publicized
because of concerns of the Central Election Commission regarding their potential
misuse in the
context of the ensuing elections.
	 The diversity of opinion and policy options presented during the deliberations
was not fully
reflected in the draft recommendations.

The omissions included:
a)Refusal to accept the orders of the Supreme Court to close parts of the
Andaman Trunk Road, that
run through or along the forests of the Jarawa Reserve;
b)Refusal to accept the principle of ‘minimum intervention’, as
recommended by most
anthropologists who were present at the seminar.

We also note, however, significant progress on certain matters. For the first
time the authorities
in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the A&N Administration conceded the
following:
a)The Jarawa should not be mainstreamed;
b)The Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), the official tribal welfare
agency of the A&N
Administration, is deeply flawed in its structure and functioning, and is not
the appropriate
agency to ensure the welfare of the Jarawa and other indigenous communities in
the A&N islands; and

c)There is a need for drastically reducing the number of the government
officials who interface
with the Jarawa.

We urge the authorities to take these concerns into account when organizing a
follow-up seminar. It
is essential to invite a wider cross-section of independent experts. The
government must ensure a
transparent process for formulating policy. In particular, there must be a
mechanism put in place
to ensure that the expressed views are incorporated into the policy.

Sd/-
Samir Acharya
Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology (SANE)
C/oTarang Trades, Middle Point, Port Blair – 744101
Tel: 03192 – 236014 / 232929 / 234624. Email: sane@...

Madhusree Mukerjee
Author, The Land of Naked People, New York
Email: lopchu@...

Sita Venkateswar
Anthropologist, Massey University, New Zealand
Email: s.venkateswar@...

Pankaj Sekhsaria
Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group,
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004
Tel: 020 – 25654239 / 25675450. Email: pankajs@...



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

----- Original Message -----
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To: "Dive In" <Dive-In@...>
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 9:31 AM
Subject: Help protect the underwater world this Earth Day


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hon. Lieutenant Governor Prof. Ramchandra Ganesh Kapse
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration
Raj Niwas
744101 Andaman and Nicobar Islands
India

1 April 2004


Dear Professor Kapse,

Survival International's response to the Report of the Expert Committee
on the Jarawa of the Andaman Islands.

We are writing to you further to the High Court's request for comments on
the expert committee's report on the Jarawa. Survival's staff members have
between them over one hundred years of experience of working with tribal
peoples, including those who, like the Jarawa, have recently emerged from
isolation.

The principles guiding Survival's responses to the Expert Committee are:

* That the land on which the Jarawa live belongs to them under international
law and under the national law of India through its ratification of ILO
convention 107 (Article 11 of which states, 'The right of ownership,
collective or individual, of the members of the populations concerned
[indigenous populations] over the lands which these populations
traditionally occupy shall be recognised').
* That decisions on their future, on how much contact they want to have with
outside society, and on which aspects of outside cultures they wish to adopt
and which they do not, should be made by the Jarawa themselves.
* That it is not inevitable that the Jarawa must assimilate into outside
society in order to survive.

In Survival's experience the most devastating action for any recently
contacted nomadic people is for them to be forced off their land and settled
in fixed communities. We argued this in the testimony submitted to the High
Court (application W.P. No.48 of 1999 in High Court at Calcutta,
Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction, Appellate Side, Circuit Bench at Port
Blair) in 1999. In almost every case this has resulted in catastrophic
social breakdown through a loss of control over their own lives, as well as
deaths through the effects of diseases to which the people have no immunity,
and a dramatic increase in illness and ill-health. We strongly believe that
there should be no attempt to settle the Jarawa, but that they should be
allowed to continue their nomadic way of life, as long as this is their
wish.

Therefore, we welcome the recommendation of the Expert Committee that
a policy of maximum autonomy and minimum interference should be adopted.

Survival believes that tribal people must be allowed to make their own
decisions about their future. In the case of recently contacted peoples such as
the Jarawa it is difficult for them to fully understand the consequences
of any decisions they make in the early years of contact. For example, they
may well be attracted to certain aspects of the settlers' lives that are
likely to be completely unattainable for them. In reality, most tribal
peoples who have been assimilated into mainstream society live on the edges
of that society, and are often the poorest and most marginalised, suffering
from depression and alcohol abuse because they have given up one way of life
but are ill-equipped to find their place in another.

It is sometimes suggested that outsiders have no right to try to deny the
Jarawa the luxuries that many outsiders benefit from, but the reality is
that these luxuries are unlikely to be what lies in wait for an assimilated
Jarawa. The experience of tribal peoples around the world shows that
assimilation against a people's wishes results in misery, poverty and forced
integration into the poorest levels of national society. Development must
come at the tribe's own pace, according to their wishes, on their own land.

It is therefore imperative that the Jarawa are allowed to choose which parts
of their way of life they wish to keep and also which parts of outside
society they wish to adopt, without being given a false impression of what
they can expect from life outside the forest.

For this to happen successfully, the Jarawa must have the security of their
lands and resources. Survival welcomes the Report's recommendation that
poaching and encroachment on Jarawa land be prevented, and urges the
administration of the Andaman Islands to ensure that appropriate systems are
put in place and sufficient resources made available in order to do so. It
is also essential to prevent exploitation of the Jarawa by settler
communities and officials who induce them to hand over forest produce in
return for tobacco, alcohol and other commodities.

For the Jarawa to be able to make decisions about their future at their own
pace, all contact with outsiders must be at their own initiative, rather
than that of outsiders. The Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) brings more outside
contact to the Jarawa than any other factor, and Survival believes that the
ATR is the single biggest threat to their survival. It carries a daily
stream of drivers, tourists, police etc. who have introduced tobacco,
alcohol, items of alien food and other goods from the outside world, risking
the Jarawa becoming dependent on such hand-outs, neglecting their
traditional economic activities, and losing their self-sufficiency. It
brings the risk of sexual exploitation of Jarawa women in particular. It
increases the potential for the spread of introduced diseases, and brings a
high risk of injury in traffic accidents. It opens the way for depletion of
the Jarawa's natural resources, not least by the communities of people
employed to maintain the road.

Survival welcomes the recommendations of some members of the Expert
Committee that the ATR be closed, and urges the Administration of the
Andaman Islands
to do this as a matter or urgency, in compliance with the Supreme Court
of India's order of May 7th 2002.

Unsolicited contact with outsiders should also be minimized by proper
enforcement of the same measures introduced to protect the Jarawa's lands
and resources from outside exploitation.

Survival welcomes the attention paid by some members of the Expert Committee
to the issue of staff employed to protect the Jarawa. We would like to
emphasise that such staff should be highly trained and, above all, must have
the right attitude towards the Jarawa. They must have an understanding of
the rights of tribal peoples to decide their own future. They must
understand that any changes must take place slowly, and only at the
initiative of the Jarawa. Too much contact too quickly could rapidly lead to
disease and a breakdown in the Jarawa's way of life, and their confidence in
their own abilities.

Survival welcomes the Expert Committee's recommendation that  a programme of
education for the local non-Jarawa community be implemented. It is essential
that local people develop an understanding of the Jarawa's hunter-gatherer
way of life, and of their rights to their land and their rights to make
decisions about their own future, at their own pace. Survival would again be
pleased to contribute our knowledge to such an education programme.

Survival welcomes the commitment shown by the Expert Committee to providing
health care for the Jarawa. We would recommend, however, that such care
should be non-interventionist in order to avoid dependency on outside
systems and the abandonment of the Jarawa's own health systems, which are
well suited to most of the health problems they come across in their own
environment. The focus should be on the prevention and treatment of disease
resulting from the Jarawa's contact with the outside world. Great care
should be taken in the administration of drugs and of immunizations, as
these may have unknown effects on the Jarawa. The guidance of those medical
professionals who already have experience of working with the Jarawa, plus
those with experience of working with tribal peoples elsewhere in the world,
should be actively sought.

Survival strongly advises against providing coconuts, bananas  and other
outside foods to the Jarawa, as dependency on these foods may disrupt their
own economic activities. For the same reasons, and because of the potential
damage to their natural resource base, we would strongly advise against
implementing the suggestion of one member of the Expert Committee that
plantations should be raised within the Jarawa reserve.

Survival believes that due to the relatively recent emergence of the Jarawa
from isolation, the current high level of contact with the outside world and
the resulting fast pace of change for the Jarawa, this case is one of the
most urgent facing a tribal people anywhere in the world. It provides India
with an historic opportunity to implement a policy which allows the Jarawa
to thrive as an independent and self-confident people for many generations
to come, thus setting an example for governments throughout Asia in
protecting the rights of tribal peoples.

Yours sincerely,


Stephen Corry
Director General

cc: Shri S.A. Awaradi, Director of Tribal Welfare,


Appendix: policy towards uncontacted and recently contacted tribal peoples -
some experiences from South America

Brazil contains a wide variety of different tribal peoples. Some have been
in contact with outside society since colonial times; many others, like the
Sentinelese people of the Andaman Islands, remain isolated today.

Sydney Possuelo, a Brazilian government employee in their tribal peoples
department, has spent almost thirty years working with uncontacted tribes in
Brazil. He probably has more experience than any other person in the world
of the impact of contact on isolated and uncontacted peoples. He has
personally made first contact with seven tribes and spent time living with
many of them after the contacts took place. These experiences have
profoundly changed his beliefs on the consequences of contacting isolated
tribal peoples, and on what policies should be adopted.

The following are some extracts from an interview with Sydney Possuelo:

'I saw the diseases for myself, the indigenous people losing their health,
losing their autonomy. They lost their identity, their language, their land.
Then I began to wonder, 'what sort of shambles are we creating?' At that
time, I genuinely believed that we were reaching out to them fraternally,
saying come share a world which is technologically more advanced and better
than yours. But all of it is a lie. We are invading their space. Those
'Attraction Fronts' which we set up at that time should have been protecting
the indigenous people. Instead they were protecting the surveyors, the road
builders. So, I began to wonder, 'what's going on?' And I realised that, in
reality, contact was truly not good for the indigenous people. And so it
made me think.

'We know that in the history of indigenous peoples various groups have been
virtually annihilated by contagious diseases, which killed them like flies.
Any contact must be at their initiative.'

In Brazil and around the world there is now a realisation that making
contact with isolated tribal peoples, unless they are in imminent danger of
disease, is unhelpful and that wherever possible they should be allowed to
continue to live their lives undisturbed.

The PanarĂ¡

As an example, the Brazilian government has recently been sued for what
happened to the PanarĂ¡ tribe in the Amazon, who were contacted when a road
was bulldozed through their land in 1973. The roadworkers quickly infected
the Indians with flu and other infectious diseases, and many of the PanarĂ¡
died. Their population plummeted from around 300 to 79 within two years of
contact. They were then removed from their land and relocated several
hundred miles away, where they never satisfactorily settled.

In 1991 the survivors expressed the desire to return to their own land, and
a case was brought by a Brazilian human rights organization on their behalf.
In 1996, in the Federal Court, the indigenous people won on the following
points:

1. Was the contact made in the indigenous people's best interests? The court
ruled not - it was made in the interest of development, the national
interest.
2. Once the government made contact, did it protect the PanarĂ¡ in the best
form possible? The court ruled not - more than half died.
3. Was it in the PanarĂ¡'s interests that they were transferred away from
their land? The court ruled not - they lost most of their land.

The court ordered that the government had to pay damages of US$500,000 to
the PanarĂ¡ for 'moral damages (suffering and humiliation)' and compensation
for the people who had died. The victory reinforced the policy of the
Brazilian Department of Uncontacted Tribes not to make contact unless a
tribe was in danger.

The Enawene Nawe and Yanomami

The case of the Brazilian Enawene Nawe tribe is an example of a post-contact
policy which has seen considerable success. It also illustrates the
importance of tribal peoples' rights to their land being respected. The
Enawene Nawe were contacted in July 1974. Contrary to the situation in which
many other Brazilian tribal peoples have found themselves, the Enawene Nawe
have not suffered depopulation or any serious epidemics as their lands have
not been seriously encroached upon.

Their numbers have grown from 97 people in 1974 to 320 today. They have
almost total independence, working with an
NGO called OPAN to acquire knowledge such as literacy in their own language,
and ways of treating introduced diseases. These have been on their own terms
and they are things that the tribal people themselves have requested, they
have not been imposed upon them. The Enawene Nawe have recently asked to
learn Portuguese. They have not adopted clothing: men wear only a palm-leaf
ornament on their penis, and women wear strings of beads around their waists
and a skirt made from wild cotton. They are still entirely self sufficient,
with an economy based on fishing, and require little or no funds or
attention from the government, other than to ensure that their territory is
protected from encroachers, poachers and development projects. The Brazilian
people can be extremely proud of this sort of success story.

In a meeting with Survival, staff from OPAN gave some recommendations for
protecting isolated tribal peoples, based on their experience with the
Enawene Nawe.  The policy that worked well in these cases was to employ a
small group of committed and highly-trained people to set up a post on the
edge of the tribe's land, to observe and learn about their way of life, to
learn their language, to record any problems that occurred, and to be on
hand if they were needed. These people could be anthropologists and health
professionals. It was important in OPAN's experience not to have a high
turnover of staff, so that the tribal people got used to the same faces and
were able to trust them. OPAN staff also emphasised the importance of
educating the local settler population about the tribal people's way of
life.

Like the Jarawa, the Enawene Nawe have faced problems due to a road through
their land. A soya company built fifty kilometers of road in 1998 to
transport its produce. The Enawene Nawe were vulnerable to outside diseases,
and several died as a result of contact with the road builders and miners
who invaded their land. OPAN alerted Survival, and the road was stopped
following protests to the Brazilian authorities.

Davi Yanomami, a prominent Brazilian indigenous leader, visited the Enawene
Nawe before the road was stopped to find out how it was affecting them. This
is what he told OPAN:

'I went to talk to my relatives the Enawene Nawe, to find out what their
situation was, and I was shocked to find this road built illegally through
their land. This road is the ranchers' road, the road of colonisation, the
road of disease. This is what they always do to the indigenous peoples, the
whites arrive and put themselves first. They give the indigenous people
presents to keep them quiet, so they won't speak out against the road. So
I'm very worried about my relatives the Enawene Nawe, they're going to
suffer a lot. They have never seen a road, they don't know about politics,
they don't speak Portuguese to defend themselves. When the white man arrives
he says, 'I'll do this for you, I'll give you that, he lies. And so the
indigenous person caves in. Because for us indigenous people, the customs of
the whites are too strong....The road will bring many problems, many people
will arrive on the land, fishermen, loggers, miners and ranchers will use
the road, and they'll take what they want from the land. This is what
happened to us, on the Yanomami's land. Many people died, because we don't
have resistance to the white man's diseases, which are very strong. Flu, TB,
malaria, illnesses from the city. And the men who come without women use our
indigenous  women. They trick them, saying they'll give them clothes and
things. They transmit diseases like gonorrhea and other diseases like AIDS
which we're very scared of. So this road is going to put the Enawene Nawe's
land in danger.... It will also take the young Enawene Nawe men to the city,
where they'll learn bad habits like stealing and drinking. The whites teach
us bad things. It makes me very sad, and very worried...

'When I arrived I met four miners. I was very angry, because miners always
invade, they arrive and say they're going to help, and teach the indigenous
people to mine, but it's not true. They tell you you'll be able to buy a
car, a boat, a house, a television. They lie. And when they find a lot of
gold, the news gets round town and they really invade. Ranchers also make a
mess, cutting down the forest... If the forest was his he wouldn't let it be
cut down. Since it's not his forest, he cuts it down, he burns and destroys
nature without permission... These miners don't say what they're really
going to do, and that it's worth money. This is kept secret. If they mine at
the headwaters they'll pollute the river. They'll use heavy machinery if
they find lots of gold, they'll use petrol, and poison. They'll contaminate
the fish and the drinking water. This is what happened in the Yanomami
area...

'The customs and the food of the whites are very powerful. They make us
lazy.  They stop us wanting to hunt in the forest, instead we just wait for
the white man's food to arrive. This has already happened to other
relatives... It ruins our customs, our traditions... I think the OPAN people
who work with the Enawene Nawe are very important. I was happy to see that
the Enawene Nawe are fat, and that the old people and the women are still
following their customs, everyone is painted, and they haven't been taught
to change anything.'

The case of Davi's people, the Yanomami, provides another example of a
tribal people who have, over a long period of time, adopted certain aspects
of outside society of their own choosing, while maintaining their
self-confidence and their way of life.

Gold miners invaded the lands of the Yanomami in the 1980s. The miners
brought disease and violence with them, and 20% of the Yanomami died. After
a long struggle, their lands were demarcated and protected by the Brazilian
government. The Yanomami now run their own health and education projects
with help from local and international NGOs. They have incorporated some
western medicine for treating diseases brought in from outside but use their
own medicines for diseases and problems which they had before contact. Their
medicinal treatment is done in consultation with their shamans and other
leaders so it does not undermine their own practices and their own leaders.
The Yanomami have also chosen to acquire literacy in their own language and
in Portuguese, and have their own bilingual education project.


The Ayoreo of Paraguay

Members of this tribe constitute the last uncontacted indigenous people in
South America outside the Amazon basin. Two contact expeditions instigated
by fundamentalist American missionaries in 1979 and 1986 resulted in around
50 of them being brought out of the forest. On both occasions, several
members of the tribe died, and the others quickly succumbed to a variety of
infectious diseases, especially flu and TB. Several Ayoreo died in the years
after contact.

In 1998 another Ayoreo family emerged from the forest and also succumbed to
TB. The authorities' lack of proper medical attention caused national and
international concern. In response, the Paraguayan government realized that
they needed to devise a precautionary medical plan for when the remaining
isolated Ayoreo were eventually contacted. An Emergency Commission was set
up, comprising government officials, doctors, and anthropologists who worked
closely with the tribe, ready to be activated when needed.

In March 2004 a group of 17 uncontacted Ayoreo emerged on the edge of their
forest territory, complaining that they could not access their usual water
sources because illegal colonists had entered their forest and had settled
there, establishing cattle ranches deep inside the Ayoreo's territory.
Alerted by other Ayoreo who encountered them, the government quickly
constituted its emergency commission. A police post was set up to prevent
uncontrolled access to the Ayoreo. Other members of the tribe, close
relatives of the uncontacted group, were allowed in to talk them, having
previously passed through a medical check to ensure they were not suffering
from colds, flu or any other infectious disease. The only other people
allowed in were doctors, who conducted basic medical checks and quickly
ascertained that the Ayoreo were in excellent health. Requests from
journalists and others to be allowed in to film members of the group were
turned down.

The group have now returned to the forest, but remain in touch with their
Ayoreo relatives outside. The government has promised to act to  protect the
Ayoreo's territory, in the face of a great deal of international protest.

Dear Pankaj and others in the group:
Thanks for the invitation. It is natural that one must be bound by the time
bound orders of the court. But it should not be made impossible to implement .
The authorities have a long experience in this regard and they have absolutely
no excuse whatever howsoever high the authority may be. By the by the supreme
authority in a democracy are the citizens.  This they must understand. Similar
mischief had been and is being perpetrated by the authorities on the Narmada
Projects issue and others....
R. Ashok Kumar

Pankaj <pankaj@...> wrote:
Dear Friends,
this is further information from the website on the Jarawa Seminar. It seems
that some of the letters sent to the authorities and the organisers did have
some effect. It also seems clear here that those not formally invited, but
desirous of attending are welcome to do so at their own cost.     In case
anyone from the group is interested in participating, please do let me know.
I can pass on the relevant information.
pankaj
----SEMINAR ON JARAWAS
RESPONSE
In pursuance of the directions of the Hon'ble High Court, Calcutta for
drawing out a comprehensive policy for the Jarwas, a Primitive Tribal Group
in Andaman group of islands} vis-a.-vis the report of the Expert Committee
on the subject, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is organizing seminars/ open
discussions. The first such seminar/open discussion is being organized on
7-8 April, 2004 at Kolkata. The second seminar in the series will be held
around first week of May 2004 at Port Blair.
             Some letters expressing inconvenience to attend the Kolkata
seminar and thereby requesting to defer the seminar at Kolkata have been
received. Letters are duly acknowledged and the concerns expressed are
noted. However, it may be appreciated that the matter being time bound as
per the Orders of the Hon'ble High Court, the two seminars/ open discussions
are to be organized within a specified period of time. Seminar at Kolkata is
the first one. In case it is not feasible for some persons desirous of
taking part in the seminar at Kolkata they may attend the seminar at Port
Blair on the said dates. The volunteers for both the seminars will bear
their own costs



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