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Save the Jarawas
“Trouble down this road” (June 10) highlighting the pitiable state of the Jarawas was very interesting. This tribe withstood the colonial occupation of the British and that of the Japanese during the Second World War. But the situation seems to be changing because of prolonged exposure thanks to the Andaman Trunk Road. This trend has to be reversed and it is our duty to save this ancient tribe from extinction.
Capt. O.B. Nair,
Poonithura, Kerala
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Meena Gupta’s article clearly exhibits the callousness of the people. The root cause is that policymaking in India has unfortunately become an end in itself. Failure in implementing the policy has been a major defect in Indian administration. The encroachments on Jarawa land and their contact with outsiders should be strictly prohibited.
Shivakumar Pavate,
Banahatti
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The Andaman Trunk road is affecting the lifestyle of Jarawa tribals. They were not consulted on this “development”.It is a direct threat to their hunter-gatherer way of life that has survived for over many thousand years. They will be victims of “development”. A similar fate is awaiting another tribe in Tanzania, the Hadzabe who live on the famed Serengeti Plain. They are also hunter-gatherers who do not wish to change their lifestyle. But their belt is being converted into a private game resort for the affluent. They will, like the Jarawa, be a victim of agriculture, guns, diseases (against which they have no immunity), poachers, tobacco, liquor... In fact many such tribes in other parts of the world have disappeared.
H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bangalore
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Meena Gupta’s concern for the future of the Jarawas is appreciable. But is preserving this tribe in their primitive environs the best way to ensure their survival? Many primitive tribes and groups have becomr extinct due to conservation initiatives or geographical isolation. The need of the hour is a systematic programme to empower these tribes face the vagaries of development. With the ATR already in operation, it’s too late to go back. Already a large population depends on the ATR as its lifeline. With the restriction in influx of people, there should also be an effort to bring about growth and development of indigenous groups. Otherwise, it will be only a matter of time before they become extinct.
Jeevan Kuruvilla,
Vellore
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