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“If you don not provide us food and clothes we would continue to steal and destroy the plantation of the villagers” Harpatabad, Oct. 9: In an incident of burglary reported at Harpatabad on 7th October 2009, a group of 13 Jarawa broke-in the house of a villager named Anand, when no inmates were present. The Jarawa broke the lock hanging on the door, opened the trunks kept in the house and collected sarees, money, cooking utensils, farm equipments and food.
The incident took place in the night of Oct. 7, 2009 when four children among the Jarawa at Tirur decided to make a swing for them using ‘saree’. The plan was later supported by other members in the community. A group consisting of 13 members; four adults named Tawe, Tuitup, Konu and Illi and nine children finding no inmates in the house decided to break-in.
After the group of Jarawa satisfied themselves by collecting whatever required, they entered the kitchen of the house, cooked rice and ate before they left the place. The next day in the morning, the group visited a ration shop at Harpatabad and bought rice, salt, oil, masala (spices) and went back to the jungle.
A complaint was later lodged at the Police Outpost at Tirur and the police along with the staff of AAJVS were able to recover almost all the stolen goods except money.
Following the incident, the Member of Parliament, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray today along with the villagers, police and the staff of AAJVS visited Tirur and met the Jarawa group who were involved in the burglary. He had a lengthy discussion with the group of Jarawa who boldly accepted to have stolen the goods from the house at Harpatabad.
In an exclusive interview with Andaman Chronicle, the Member of Parliament said, “Few children of the age group 8-10 years had planned a conspiracy to enter into some villagers’ house and collect sarees to make a swing out of it. The conspiracy was later supported by adult members in the group. In night of 7th October, a group of 13 Jarawa entered the house of one Mr. Anand at Harpatabad which was locked from outside”.
“The children who had planned the conspiracy are Tawei, Tobi, Aki Hana, Tatia Mani while the elders who supported the conspiracy were Tawe, Tuitup, Konu and Illi.
“Konu broke the lock and Tawe took the money, which was in the denomination of Rs. 10, 50, and 100. Others members collected some clothes, cooking utensils and food”.
The Jarawa told the MP that, ‘We want rice, biscuits, banana, dekchi, dah, cheni, reti, kural, axe, cooking oil, masala, chilli and potato. We also want clothes, cap, underwear, slippers and belt and the most important a mobile phone so that we are able to call the AAJVS staff if we wanted anything’. Apart from these the Jarawa group also demanded for perfume (scent), coconut oil, ponds’ face cream and school bags.
When asked what you would do with these, the Jarawas replied to the MP; ‘We would cook wild bore’s liver (kaleji) using oil and masala as the local fishers who visit us do when they visit us’. They even said, ‘We will wear clothes and take our school bags to schools like other children in the village do. We all will go to school, elders and children’, the Jarawa said.
The Member of Parliament further explained that all the members in the group were wearing clothes. Some were wearing short pants, some nighties, full pants and some even underwear with leather belt. When asked who provided the clothes to them, the Jarawa explained that the fishermen who visit us, the hospital workers and the labourers who work at Middle Strait give it to us.
“But it was noticed that the entire group of Jarawa had skin disease which was quite prominent”, MP Mr. Ray said.
“The Jarawa even threatened that their list of demands should be met else they would continue to break-in the house of the villagers and destroy their bageecha (plantation).”
‘We hunt deer in our forest and give it to the fishermen who visit us. In return they give us rice, salt, masala, pan, sugar, tea, bread and what ever we ask’, the Jarawa explained. ‘The fishermen give these things to us depending on the size of deer we are able to hunt for them’, the Jarawa explained to the Member of Parliament.
Ray further said that the Jarawa suffered from ailments, which are mainly due to the contact with outsiders. “When asked do you suffer from any ailments the Jarawa replied, yes! We feel feverish, we have headache and also stomach disorder”.
The Member of Parliament later added, “Another aspect, which I noticed was that the female population is quite less among the group. According to the AAJVS staff the entire group in Tirur consists of 82 Jarawas. Out of them 32 are adult females, 19 adult males, 12 male children and 19 female children”.
“There are only 5 AAJVS employees posted in the area who are supposed to cover an area from Tirur to Middle Strait. Three of them perform their duties in the hospital at Tushnabad while the other two perform shift duty at Tirur”, Ray said.
When Andaman Chronicle spoke to the villagers of Tirur and nearby areas, the villagers explained, “We do not want that the Jarawa is confined to some small place like that of the Great Andamanese. It is their land and they can move around wherever they wish to”.
“The problem occurs when they disturb us, steal our goods and destroy our property. If sufficient AAJVS staff and Police guards are posted in the area, we are sure they will not disturb the villagers”, they said. |
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