COLLECTIVE ACTION FOR FOREST ADIVASI IN TAMIL NADU (CAFAT)

Collective for Action of Forest Adivasi in Tamil Nadu is a collective of six NGOs from Madurai , Theni, Dindugal and Virudhunagar Districts of south Tamil Nadu. This collective working with Paliyar tribes in Western Ghats region aims at building up Adivasi Paliyar Movement in Western Ghats Region of Tamil Nadu.

About Paliyar Tribes:

The aboriginal tribes, paliyars live now scattered in the hills of Madurai, Theni, Dindugul,Tiruppur, Virudhunagar,and Tirunelveli districts of Tamil Nadu. The originating place of paliyar adivasis is considered to be Poolavadi Puliyampatti in Palani hills of western Ghats where Palar dam in built now.

Physical Features and habitat:

A.G. Gardener ( 1972) the famous anthropologists says that paliyar tribes belong to “ Astroloids” and are similar to “ Semangs” of Malaysia in physical features .Paliyars are black in colour, with curly hair, thick lips, broad and flat nose. They are short in stature. Tamil is their language. In olden days, these people lived in small cave like structures called Kalazhais. Paliyars, today, list their ancestors with their azhais. In the medieval period, paliyars had small hut like structure between two rocks. Now the paliyars have colony houses built by the Government schemes or built their own small houses in the plains nearer to the hills from where they are thrown out. Some paliyar, who are still living in interior forests build their huts with minimum wood and grass that suits their climatic conditions.

Food Habits

The land and the forest are worshipped with reverence by Paliyars. Their habitat livelihood resources and their enriching culture are in unison with Nature. Roots, Honey, vegetables, fruits from the forests are their main food earlier and later they cultivated minor millets like samai, Thinai and Ragi. They are not in the practice of storing the surplus. The abundant water resource, self sustained forest produce ad a small habitat made them contented and happy. Under Kanikaran’s (Local Leader) guidance, they lived quite freely and happily in the forests.

Land Alienation of Paliyars :

During Pandiya Kingdom in Madurai, the Kings and their teams entered the solemn forests, for hunting purposes. The interface with outsiders made Paliyars very insecured and they moved further into deep forests. Later, when British entered India and found Kodaikanal Hills ideal for their summer, Paliyars moved further into the forest. When Britishers started cultivating coffee, Plums, Pineapple, Berry, Banana and new varieties of fruits and vegetables in the hills, they were in need of workers. They exploited the labour of paliyars, Paliyars started wearing minimum clothes and their food habits too changed.Paliyars were not used to live in big groups or cluster. They ere unorganized and scattered all over Western Ghats region from Pollachi to Thirunelveli.

In the late 17th Century, the North East and Central Indian Tribes had a tough time with Britishers and on British India’s Forest Policy. To bring Forest under state control, British passed Forest Act. After that Act, the entire forest area came under the control of the forest Department. People from plains, who visited the forests and hills for official reasons plundered forest resource and occupied the lands. Paliyars lost their traditional and customary rights over forest resources and also their close relationship with forest. The scattered nature of Paliyars, their innocence and ignorance about forest laws and rules made Paliyars more vulnerable to exploitation by outsiders.

The Forest and Wildlife Protection Act and major projects like Kuthiraiyaru dam, Palar dam, Manjalaru dam, Maruthanathi dam, Kamarajar dam, Parapplalaru dam, Azhiyaru dam and Amaravathy dam have driven the Paliyars out of the forests. They are alienated from their own land, their near and dear Mother Nature, their cherished forests, their deities, their livelihood resources and they are forced to go out in search of jobs for their survival.

Heritage of Paliyars :

Paliyars have a lot in store to teach the present so called “Modern world” from their traditions. Paliyars, are hunting tribes, never stored anything in surplus; they took utmost care to protect and save forest and wild life and believed that every creation in nature has a right to live. They were never individualistic and self centered. They did not think of surplus, storing of surplus or making profit out of surplus. Their thinking and production process were of primitive communist model and they had enough space of every creation in Mother Nature.

Paliyars are peace loving, and from the study of Gardener, it is clear that their peace loving Nature with shyness to outsiders have increased their vulnerability to be exploited by the

corrupted outsiders.

Paliyar habitats are very rich in medicinal plants. The herbal medicines are still used by the paliyars and they have a rich knowledge about herbs. The sathuragiri hills in Western Ghats are still famous for its herbal richness and Paliyars are now marginalized in the hills by the outsiders who plunder the resources of the hills.

Paliyars have a modest living with minimum needs, very simple and straight forward in their thought process, find no reason to acquire in abundance when there is enough for their need and they respect ecological democracy without knowing the terms and concepts as used by the so called educated, modern people.

Modern world and the non-Adivasi have a lot in store to learn from Adivasis . Paliyars are one such Adivasis, from whom the Non –Adivasis community has to learn and understand Nature, ecological democratic principles and conservation of forest and bio-diversity.

The Present Status of Paliyar Tribes :

Paliyars, who are scattered in western Ghats, live in small hamlets, from Palani Hills, Tiruppur district, they are scattered in kodaikkanal, Sirumalai , Agamalai , Bodi, Varusanadu, Sathuragiri in Virudhunagar Districts and Thirunelveli districts. There will be around 3000 Paliyar families scattered all over western Ghats, who are in search of their lost identity, livelihood resources, healthy food habits, rich traditional heritage, access to herbal medicines and minor forest produce. They are forced to live in plains, reduced to the level of plantation workers or agricultural coolies in their ancestral land.

Why this collective as a new Initiative:

There are lots of Action groups and non governmental organisations working with Adivasis all over the country and non-Adivasis have been working with Adivasis on issues like education, health and income generation activities. This collective aims at interacting with Adivasis to learn and disseminate the rich socio-cultural heritage of Adivasis to others and to orient the Paliyar tribes on existing Forest Act 2006 which give some space and positive hopes to ensure the rights of Adivasis over their land, livelihood, forests and wild life. At all levels of action, the (CAFAT ) Collective wants to ensure active participation of Paliyar representatives-specially Paliyar youth – in planning execution, monitoring, evaluation process of the program - to minimize the role of NGOs as mere facilitating agents of dialogue and understanding of Paliyar tribes in Western Ghats.

The Collective has planned program for 2008-2010 to evolve a democratic process of planning and action at all levels and to learn from the process itself to build a democratic Adivasi movement in Tamilnadu with the leadership of Adivasis.

The six NGOs who are partners in the collective are PEAL, ACT INDIA FOUNDATION, HUMANE TRUST, TEST, ARUDECS and MMS are working with Adivasis on various capacities. This initiative will promote wider and deeper understanding about Adivasis and the need for working together to strengthen the grass root initiatives to build a state level Adivasi movement.

GOAL :

“To Build Adivasi Paliyar Movement in western Ghats Region of Tamil Nadu” is the ultimate goal of the collective.

Objectives:

Ø To mobilize Adivasi Paliyar community into a movement for protection of their rights in the present complex socio-Political condition.

Ø To ensure the rights of Adivasis to collect, use and dispose minor forest produce which has been traditionally collected within or outside village boundaries.

Ø To empower the Adivasis on their rights to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage and community forest resource, which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.

Ø To facilitate Adivasis to set committees that are competent enough to safeguard and preserve the traditions and customs of the Adivasis their cultural identity, community resources and the customary mode of dispute resolution in the village gram sabhas.

Ø To promote dialogue between Adivasi and non Adivasi communities to learn human value on global Justice from Adivasi culture and habitation.

Ø To document the cultlural heritage of Paliyars, their traditional dance, Music, Rituals, faith and their knowledge on herbs, practices of herbal medicine and share the documented resources among the younger generation of Paliyars to cherish their eco-friendly tradition and culture.

Primary Focus:

The collective has planned to focus primarily on Campaign on Forest Rights Act 2006 among Paliyars who are scattered all over western Ghats region as displaced Adivasis .

PRIORITIES

The priorities of action are forming grass root sangams to facilitate the paliyar adivasis to register as an organized co-operatives at district level to ensure their right over minor forest produce; to be informed about Forest Rights Act 2006; and to document traditional and customary rights in Gram sabha resolutions by the Adivasis themselves for the better implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006.

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