Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information about systemic discrimination against tribals and other marginalised communities affected by cyclone Hudhud. The discrimination, also witnessed in relief work in the wake of other recent disasters in India, includes tribals not being disbursed relief material earmarked for them, and the losses suffered not being assessed. Such discrimination following natural disasters has only furthered the impoverishment suffered by tribal groups in India since independence.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Thousands of members of tribal and other marginalised communities in Koraput District. Odisha are still suffering in the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud, which ravaged the state and the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh in the second week of October. The government’s active discrimination against these communities in the on-going relief work is merely adding to the woes of the already impoverished people.
For example, 130 tribal families of Nuagaon Village under Potangi Block were shifted to a nearby school on the morning of 12 October, for shelter from the cyclone that was set to hit the Vishakhapatnam Coast that afternoon. After spending several days in the shelter, when they returned to their homes, they found 20 houses completely demolished and most others in different states of destruction. However, these families have yet to receive any relief from the government.
The tribal families affected eke out their livelihood primarily from minor cultivation and the collection of minor forest produce; i.e. theirs is a life without much surplus and savings, where survival requires daily effort. And, even the bare minimum they own, such as their houses, have been taken away in the cyclone.
However, the district administration failed to provide even polythene sheets so the affected could create stopgap roofing. Media reports suggest that the district administration confessed to the failure of providing for even such a basic need and blamed the same on the shortage of revenue inspectors, the point of first contact between the victims and the relief operation.
The state of affairs in Nuagaon is not atypical. In fact, the entire district is suffering the same fate following cyclonic destruction on the night of 12 October and throughout the day on 13 October. Heavy rains, with wind speed clocking 150 kilometers per hour, demolished huts and uprooted trees.
Government directives instructed all its employees to help the community in evacuation and to provide food during the shelter. But, in many cases, schools remained locked and the keys were kept with teachers residing far away, who did not bother to open the schools.
In the first major relief move after the cyclone, the district administration ordered immediate disbursal of five quintals of rice and other materials to each gram panchayat, but many affected families have not received the relief.
Estimates put the numbers of the families suffering discrimination and neglect in four districts, Koraput, Raygada, Malkangiri, and Nabarangpur, at around 4 lakh, with total estimated discriminated population of 16 lakhs. Scheduled tribes are a majority in these districts. And, those who have suffered the most, and been denied state relief, include a significant number of members of scheduled tribes and other backward classes, as they are categorized by the Indian government.
Additional Information:
Discrimination against members of marginalized communities is nothing new in India. Various academic studies, media reports, as well as reports of civil society organizations, have established the systemic discriminations dalits, tribals, and other marginalized communities suffer during relief operations in the wake of disasters. These reports and studies have also established that, apart from systemic discrimination, as a result of the state apparatus being in the control of dominant groups, sometimes the discrimination occurs involuntarily with relief teams rushing to save their “own”. To comprehend the continuing pattern, relief operations after the cyclone that devastated Odisha in 1999, the massive earthquake that rocked Bhuj, Gujarat, in 2001, and after the Tsunami, which devastated Tamil Nadu amongst other areas, may be examined.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below, demanding immediate intervention to stop discrimination against the tribals and other marginalized communities affected by the cyclone Hudhud in Odisha.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples seeking his intervention in the case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ..........,
INDIA: Government discriminating against tribals affected by cyclone Hudhud
Identities of the Victims: 4 lakh families affected by cyclone Hudhud in Odisha
Identities of the Perpetrators: Local government authorities and the state administration
Place of Incident: Koraput, Raygada, Malkangiri, and Nabarangpur;
Time of Incident: Since 12 October 2014.
I am writing to you with concern over lakhs of the members of tribal and other marginalised communities in Koraput District, Odisha still suffering in the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud, which ravaged the state and the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh in the second week of October. The government's active discrimination against these communities in the on-going relief work is merely adding to the woes of the already impoverished people.
For example, 130 tribal families of Nuagaon Village under Potangi Block were shifted to a nearby school on the morning of 12 October, for shelter from the cyclone that was set to hit the Vishakhapatnam Coast that afternoon. After spending several days in the shelter, when they returned to their homes, they found 20 houses completely demolished and most others in different states of destruction. However, these families have yet to receive any relief from the government.
The tribal families affected eke out their livelihood primarily from minor cultivation and the collection of minor forest produce; i.e. theirs is a life without much surplus and savings, where survival requires daily effort. And, even the bare minimum they own, such as their houses, have been taken away in the cyclone.
However, the district administration failed to provide even polythene sheets so the affected could create stopgap roofing. Media reports suggest that the district administration confessed to the failure of providing for even such a basic need and blamed the same on the shortage of revenue inspectors, the point of first contact between the victims and the relief operation.
The state of affairs in Nuagaon is not atypical. In fact, the entire district is suffering the same fate following cyclonic destruction on the night of 12 October and throughout the day on 13 October. Heavy rains, with wind speed clocking 150 kilometers per hour, demolished huts and uprooted trees.
Government directives instructed all its employees to help the community in evacuation and to provide food during the shelter. But, in many cases, schools remained locked and the keys were kept with teachers residing far away, who did not bother to open the schools.
In the first major relief move after the cyclone, the district administration ordered immediate disbursal of five quintals of rice and other materials to each gram panchayat, but many affected families have not received the relief.
Estimates put the numbers of the families suffering discrimination and neglect in four districts, Koraput, Raygada, Malkangiri, and Nabarangpur, at around 4 lakh, with total estimated discriminated population of 16 lakhs. Scheduled tribes are a majority in these districts. And, those who have suffered the most, and been denied state relief, include a significant number of members of scheduled tribes and other backward classes, as they are categorized by the Indian government.
I, therefore, urge you to ensure that
1. Relief material reaches the affected families without delay;
2. The administration makes sure that the access to basic amenities like clean potable water, health services, and so on is restored immediately;
3. The administration assesses damages suffered by the victims and provides rehabilitation packages commensurate with the same. Further, the rehabilitation package must also be in consonance with the state and national disaster manuals;
4. An inquiry be instituted into the accusations of discrimination and, if found true, the officials prosecuted under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act.
.......
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Shri Narendra Modi
Prime Minster
Government of India
Room No. 148 B, South block,
New Delhi, INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 230116857; 23015603
2. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001, INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2338 4863
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
3. Thaawar Chand Gehlot,
Minister, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,
Government of India
Shastri Bhawan,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Marg, New Delhi, INDIA
Ph: +91 11 - 23381001 and
Fax: +91 11 - 23014432
E-mail: min-sje@sb.nic.in
4. Shri Jual Oram
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs
Shastri Bhawan, A - Wing,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road,
New Delhi, 110001, INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23070577
5. Dr. Rameshwar Oraon
Chairperson
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
6th Floor, 'B' Wing, Loknayak Bhawan, Khan Market
New Delhi - 110003, INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2462462
Email: chairperson@ ncst.nic.in
6. Naveen Patnaik
Chief Minister, Odisha
Through the office of the Principal Secretary
Home Department, Government of Orissa
Naveen Nivas, Aerodrome Road
Bhubaneswar, Odhisha
INDIA
Fax: +91 6742535100
E-mail: cmo@ori.nic.in
7. Shri Gokul Chandra Pati
Chief Secretary
Orissa Secretariat
Bhubaneshwar – 751001
Odisha, INDIA
Fax: +91 674-2536660 / +91 674 2536660
E-mail: csori@ori.nic.in
8.Shri Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra
Special Relief Commissioner Odisha State Disaster Management Authority
Rajiv Bhawan, Unit - 5
Bhubaneswar, 751001
Odisha, INDIA
Fax: 91 11 674- 2391871
Email: osdma@osdma.org
9. Ms. Yamini Sarangi
District Collector
Office of the Collector & District Magistrate,
Koraput
Odhisha
INDIA
Fax: 06652-233082
Email: dm-koraput@nic.in
Thank you
Hunger Alerts Programme
Right to Food Programme (foodjustice@ahrc.asia)
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
