Not poor enough

Braving the scorching sun, they arrived in tractors, buses and hired jeeps. For the people of Bijoliya block, in south-west Rajasthan, attending a meeting with the sub-district magistrate was more important than earning a day’s wage ranging from ₹100 to ₹300. The meeting was the culmination of a 10-day walk — organised by Rajasthan Adivasi Adhikar Manch — through 30 villages and settlements in the district of Bhilwara.

The team walked through these villages listening, mobilising and collecting the grievances of the villagers they met. The yatra’s agenda was to inform people of their right to be heard and help them file their complaints with the government under the Right to Hearing Act. The State government, in 2012, passed the Right to Hearing legislation, which entitles a person to file a grievance and receive a time-bound written reply addressing the problem and its solution. On submitting a request, the complainant is given a pink receipt stating the day of the hearing. This receipt is the only proof that can hold the local officials accountable to the fact that the government has registered the complaint and that action will be taken.

Bhils form almost 38 per cent of the adivasi population of Rajasthan and are classified as scheduled tribes under the Constitution. Although the word ‘bhilwara’ means abode of the Bhils, there is little that the Bhils can call their own. Most of them hold no registered land holdings to claim their land, most of which is mined and owned by those with business interests in textiles and stone mines. The Bhils in this area live in settlements or villages in the forests. Traditionally they relied on these forests for wood, shelter and livelihoods, including collecting medicinal herbs and subsistence farming. Today to earn a living, most of the young Bhils work as labourers at Bhilwara stone mines — the stone most commonly used for roofing pukka houses in this area.

Although the Bhils lack housing and access to bare necessities they have not been classified as Below Poverty Line. This status would help them build proper houses, get rations from the government at a subsidised rate, send their children to schools, gain affordable access to electricity and other social schemes. During the yatra, 372 Bhil families submitted their applications demanding inclusion in the BPL category.

Deprivation and denial

Their lives are a constant struggle for survival. Either they have no access to water tanks or the existing water pumps and connections lie defunct. Pushpa Bhil of Sukhpura village says, “We walk two-three kilometres to get drinking water.” Caste discrimination adds to their water woes. Bhils from Jaawda district said, “Our water-filled vessels are often thrown away by upper caste people.”

A survey conducted by the Rajasthan Adivasi Adhikar Manch in Maangarh (with 96 Bhil families) indicated that in the last 28 years only three literate people have emerged from the village. But Maangarh is considered luckier than other villages because it has access to a two-room primary school. Villages such as Kodina ka Jhonpra, Kesarpura, Ramraada and Swarupjika Khera have 35-45 children in each settlement but no access to a school. Babulal, a parent says, “We don’t have a single literate person. Our children study under a thatch roof. A government school teacher conducts classes, but they are often cancelled due to the rains or heat.”

Children also suffer due to a lack of healthcare facilities. Aanganwaadis, which should provide basic healthcare to children and pregnant mothers, are absent. In Maangarh, seven children below five years have died due to malnourishment and five adult women died during childbirth. There have been six deaths due to tuberculosis, and six new cases were detected recently — all in a span of two years from 2012 to 2014. “Our panchayat doesn’t have a primary health centre. We have no facilities, no roads for jeeps to carry someone to the hospital. How does the government expect a patient to reach the hospital for check-ups?” says Shaayari Bhil of Maangarh, whose husband Gopal Bhil died of TB just last year.

If living in makeshift houses, walking two kilometres to get drinking water, having no access to schools and aanganwaadis, and no medical facilities don’t qualify the Bhils to be classified under the BPL category, then what does?

For the Bhils gathered at Bijoliya block, their main appeal to the SDM Gopal Singh Shekhawat and the panchayat was inclusion under the BPL category. However, neither the panchayat nor the SDM provided them with the pink receipts. Shekhawat, who accepted the application but made no written commitment, said, “We will try to deal with these issues, although we are not certain if we can hold special camps to redress their problems.”

The new State government has now announced a Good Governance Act. While policymakers and politicians tweak and replace important legislations like the Right to Hearing, poor governance makes day-to-day survival an endless struggle for the Bhils.

Digvijay Singh is a member of School for Democracy Rajasthan

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