Mumbai: A thousand-odd Adivasi people, together with forest officials and nature lovers, celebrated World Indigeneous People’s Day in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Dressed in traditional finery, they walked from the Warli hamlets to the Aarey Colony. They marched to the pace of energetic drumming, accompanied by flute melodies as well as amplified music. Frequently, they stopped to dance in circles and sing.
On a day when a morcha paralysed much of normal life in the city, these marchers wanted the world to know that this was not a protest: all they wanted to do was celebrate their way of life. The older members looked at the day as a way to let their youngsters know that their way of life had value, and was still flourishing.
“We are here to demonstrate our unity, culture and strong commitment to our way of life, all despite many problems of financial scrutiny, bureaucratic protractions that deprive us of our caste certificates and lack of basic conveniences,” Nalini Bujad, General Secretary of Shramjeevi Sanghatana World Tribal Dija Committee said.
Mumbai has approximately 100,000 indigenous people who call the forests their home.
Participants in Wednesday’s walk said that the population of Adivasi villages can vary from 50 to 1,000 people.
Aside from traditional livelihoods like fishing, Adivasis also practise agriculture, and many work as hired labour or for the forest authorities.
Residents of tribal hamlets in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Aarey forest land live in constant fear of eviction, and the destruction of their environment and way of life due to infrastructure development projects like the Mumbai Metro. They also face a lack of awareness and understanding from the urban sprawl that surrounds them.
“As Adivasis of Mumbai, we do not want to leave our homes,” Prakash Bhoir, a resident of Kelti Pada village and a member of SSWTC, explained. “What we need are basic facilities like water and electricity.”
Pawan Umbarsare, a 21 year-old forest security guard, says, “I want to stay in the place I belong to. We do farming, the woods and rivers give us everything we need.” His friend, Rahul Varthae, who is 21, agrees: “After I finish my commerce degree, I I’d like to get back to my natural way of life. Come and see how happily we live there in Navapada.”
“What is notable is the level of cooperation, helpfulness and family-like ties that bind them,” says Lakma Bondve, a social activist in Sai Bangoda village. “We get together when someone faces troubles. If anyone starts building up own house, everyone will come to extend help.”