Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

How IAS-IPS officers turned PESA, FRA, TRIFED into tools against Naxalism

There are many unsung heroes of India's anti-Naxal victory. Home Ministry's SAMADHAN framework gained acceptance because of their efforts.

There can be no two opinions that substantial credit for the conclusive victory over Left-Wing Extremism, or LWE, must go to the brave hearts of the Central Armed Police Forces and state police forces — many of whom lost their lives in the last decade.

But credit must also go to civil servants who translated laws and schemes into trust-building interventions on the ground.

This column will first discuss interventions under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), the Forest Rights Act (FRA), and the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), because these created the ground conditions before the Home Ministry’s SAMADHAN framework for tackling LWE could gain acceptance among tribal populations in the deep forests and adjoining areas.

Also Read: How Dantewada Collector OP Choudhary pushed education in the Naxal-dominated district

BD Sharma: the activist collector of Bastar

We shall first talk about PESA, which in 1996 overturned a long-standing assumption—dating back to Verrier Elwin and earlier colonial administrators such as Herbert Risley, MV Grigson, and RV Russell—that tribal communities (formerly called aboriginals) could not defend or protect their own interests.

Historically, areas with a large tribal presence had been placed under the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas under the Government of India Act of 1935, and under the Fifth and Sixth Schedules after India became a Republic. They were cut off from the dominant political discourse of the territorial state, and the “special” responsibility for their development was cast upon the Governor.

This produced an anomaly: while the 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) enabled a three-tier Panchayati Raj and effective decentralisation across the country, Scheduled Areas were excluded.

Activist IAS officer BD Sharma, who had been Collector of Bastar, realised that top-down schemes rarely succeed. He therefore strongly advocated tribal self-governance by recognising the ability and competence of village communities to manage their affairs according to customary law.

As Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (1986-91), he questioned the exclusion of Schedule V areas from the provisions of the 73rd Amendment. His advocacy contributed to the enactment of PESA in 1996.

PESA attempted to shift the balance of power toward communities by providing a mechanism for self-protection and self-governance. The Act........

© ThePrint