NCCI consultation on violence against tribals and adivasis

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) has kick-started a three-day consultation to highlight the "violence and violation of human rights" against tribals and adivasis in India.

The consultation will strive to bring to fore the socio-political, economic and religious struggles of tribal and adivasi communities who have been victims of gross violations of human rights.

Organised in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of India, the consultation brings together church leaders, theologians, civil society activists, law makers and heads of NGOs across the country.

The Feb 13-16 event will specifically study the Naxalite menace, human trafficking, mass displacement, gender discrimination, the Red Corridor areas and also on the long-term outcomes of the two mega mining projects - Vedanta Aluminium and POSCO in Orissa.

"Our discussions will seek to redefine the terms such as Indigenous, Tribal/Adivasi and their interconnectedness with their rights, privileges and their dignity to life to assert and re-affirm tribal identity," said Dr. Hrangthan Chhungi, secretary of the Commission on Tribal & Adivasi, NCCI.

"We want to make the Church and citizens of this country realise that violence of any form is a violation of human rights and it is the duty of all citizens to work for the restoration of peace and security. There is a need to re-assert our constitutional rights of 'Equality for all Citizens' and 'Justice for all' irrespective of regional or ethnical identity," she added.

Besides zonal problems, the consultation would also give special focus to the issues of tribal women in India

"There is a need to empower tribal women in order to enjoy their selfhood and their spirituality. We also need to educate our Church and the civil society about the seriousness of the danger of indulging in the cultural invasion in the name of development and mission," says Chhungi.

"Therefore t is necessary to critically analyse to what extent the tribal women are robbed off from their reality of life and what identities they would prefer to maintain."

Denial of justice to dalits and adivasis and violence directed at them continues in India today despite official policies and declarations to the contrary. Dalits and adivasis account for about a quarter of the Indian population.