Defending our Collective and Indivisible Freedom and Peace
Posted on Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
The Imperative for organizing the Independent Peoples Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt
Dr Vandana Shiva
A broad coalition of organisations, including Navdanya , are organizing a public trial of the militarized resource grab in the tribal regions which is threatening not just the tribal’s, but the constitutional framework and democratic structures of our society.
There are 9 imperatives which compel us to organize this Trial:
Imperative 1 The tribal’s/Adivasis are the first citizens of India. They have a natural right and the first right to the resources in there homelands.
Imperative 2 The Constitution of India has recognized the sovereignty of tribal communities to their land and resources through PESA, the Panchayati Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas.There is thus a constitutional obligation to respect the rights of tribal’s to there resources. The Militarised resource in tribal areas is a violation of the Constitution.
Imperative 3 The government has passed an Act to Recognise the Rights of the Tribals and forest dwellers to correct the historic wrong of non recognition of tribal rights to their land and forest habitat. In uprooting the tribals from there homes, the government is violating these laws.
Imperative 4 Tribal communities are the custodians our our biodiversity, the catchments of our rivers and waters, and our minerals. Protecting their rights is an ecological imperative to protect our natural capital.
Imperative 5 The diversity of tribal cultures contributes to the rich cultural diversity that makes India. Defending the integrity of the diverse tribal cultures is defending the living diversity of Indias pluralistic civilization .Destroying this living diversity on grounds that it is a cultural museum is amputating India and destroying her composite culture,while violating the rights of tribal communities to there distinctive cultures.
Imperative 6 There is un urgent democratic imperative to stop the militarised resource grab in tribal areas.As we have already witnessed, the threat to the democratic rights of of tribal’s to their homes and resources is translating into a threat to the democratic rights of all citizens defending democracy.
Imperative 7 The resource grab in tribal areas is leading to conflicts over natural resources. And as tribal’s defend their democratic and constitutional rights, militarized violence is being unleashed against them.The imperative for peace demands a respect for democracy and respect for the rights of tribal communities recognized by the Indian constitution.
Imperative 8 The imperative for equity and justice demand a stop to the plundering of the natural wealth that supports the lives and livelihoods of the tribal’s and its undemocratic and violent appropriation by corporations for mining and industry.
Imperative 9 Tribal and indigenous communities are not museum pieces from the past. They are the bridge to the future. Their sustainable lifestyles can teach the rest on India and the world how to live sustainably with a light footprint on a fragile planet. Future justice demands that instead of plundering their resources and threatening their existence, society makes a collective commitment to protect their resources, territories and living cultures.
Thanks for what you do for the Adivasis right…, and common Mather.
All my best.
Alfredo Anitori.