Madhya Pradesh Adivasi activist asked to leave district: Govt move ahead of elections?

By A Representative
The Burhanpur district administration, Madhya Pradesh, has handed over externment notice Antram Awase, a 32-year-old Adivasi activist, who has been on the forefront of the campaign for implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) as well as the movement against mass illegal forest felling in Burhanpur. Earlier in April, he was arrested in an allegedly false case.
Reporting on this, the civil rights group Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), to which Antram belongs, said, ever since April a wave of repression began with the arrest of many activists, demolition of people's homes, and notice of externment to others from the district. Yet, Antaram and the Sangathan continued their movement unfazed.
"Now, the MP Government is attempting to extern Antram on false, baseless charges. We believe that the government may carry out more attacks against forest rights claimants and the Sangathan ahead of elections in November-December", JADS underlined.
The family of Antram, 32, has been cultivating in the forest of Dhababwadi (Siwal) village of Burhanpur district since before 1980. Like other Adivasi families in Dhababawadi, his family has also faced terrible violence, torture and repression for decades now, noted JADS.
When Antaram was in 5th std, the forest department destroyed farms being cultivated by Adivasis of his village, their cattle were looted by the forest department and landed farmers together and their locality was burnt to the ground, JADS recalled.
After his home was burnt down, Antram was forced to leave his studies, started working to support his family. However, the thirst for education remained -- through self-study, he appeared for 10th class examination from an open school.
But despite taking the examination, he was marked absent in one paper and did not pass. He was not able to correct this mistake or study any further. Meanwhile, the Adivasi families of his village continued trying to cultivate their land despite facing the "violence and oppression" of the forest department. Even after passage of the FRA these families continue to be called "encroachers" in their own fields, said JADS.
When the Sangathan began its work in Burhanpur in 2018, Antram joined it and quickly became active in the campaign to implement FRA in letter and spirit. Through Antaram and his sathis, a strong movement against the atrocities and oppression of the Forest Department that had been continuing unchallenged and unabated for generations took shape, stated JADS.

In 2019, in yet another attempt to "illegally evict" Adivasis from their lands, the forest department fired upon protesting Adivasis who were asserting the legal safeguards under the FRA, injuring 4 Adivasis. A massive jail-bharo Andolan led by the Sangathan forced the Madhya Pradesh government to take partial action against the DFO and other forest personnel. Since then, the forest department has been holding its grudge against activists like Antram and the Sangathan, claimed JADS.
"Over the past 5 years, violence, oppression and corruption of the forest department have been curbed to a great extent in the district thanks to the relentless work by Antaram and his sathis. The organization publicly challenged and protested against the government's blatant complicity in illegal deforestation of roughly 15,000 acres", said JADS.
"This agitated not only the forest department, but also the Madhya Pradesh government and district administration, and resulted in a series of attacks on the organization. Antram, Dilip Sisodia and Nitin were arrested in fabricated cases, Madhuri Ben was externed from the district, many other activists were implicated in old cases and the Superintendent of Police started publishing many absurd, fabricated and baseless allegations in the newspapers to defame and discredit the organization in his defense", it added.
"Now, just before the assembly elections, Antaram is being threatened with externment from Burhanpur district. This is a possible precursor to more violence, evictions, and repression against forest rights claimants and the Sangathan, once the elections are done in December", asserted JADS.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi).

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Search This Blog