Stop Green Hunt!

Thousands of tribals gathered at the national capital to demonstrate against the armed offensive of the State
Pushkar Kishore/ Abhish K Bose Delhi

Worried over the onslaught in several Naxal areas of the country, a rally was held in the Capital on Thursday. Around 2000 people gathered at Ramlila Maidan and marched to Parliament Street protesting against the government's move which they see as a ploy to alienate the tribal populace of the country. Several representatives of people's fronts, intellectuals and civil rights activists addressed the rally. There were aggrieved people from various states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and Kerala who came all the way to register their protest against the policies of the government.

"Millions of people have been displaced due to the neo-liberal agenda of the State.  The forest is the abode of tribals. Why did the Government take over their lands?" said Dr BD Sharma of the Peoples Movement of India. He told Hardnews, "While I was the Commissioner of SC and ST commission, I submitted 34 recommendations but none of them were considered. The government is dealing with tribals as if they are a burden on the State," Sharma mentioned that the Naxalites are getting the support of tribals because they are succeeding to address their issues up to an extent.

Rona Wilson of the Forum against War on People expressed his concern on the presence of a large number of military and paramilitary personals and alleged that the government is acting against its own people for the benefit of the multi-nationals.  "The government should scrap all the MOUs it has signed with the multinationals which do not cater to the welfare of the tribals."

The rally culminated with a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding immediate attention to the armed offensive of the State against the tribals. The forum   pledged more protests if the government does not pay heed to their demands.