Tribals, Dalits call for Bharat Bandh on March 5

NEW DELHI: Tribals across several states have called for a Bharat Bandh on March 5 to protest against a recent Supreme Court order that paved way for "mass-scale evictions" of tribal and forest-dwelling families from their traditional areas of inhabitation.
Angry at the BJP-led central government’s failure to defend the populace's rights in the apex court, tribals will demand that the government brings forth an Ordinance immediately to protect their rights, as stated in the Forest Rights Act.
Dalit and tribal activist Ashok Bharti said the bandh on March 5 will be called off only if their demands are met.
The call for mobilisation was made at the local level in tribal-dominated states and also on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and others on Monday morning.
Responding to the call, Dalits will join the movement on March 5, demanding that the Forest Rights Act be restored as well as the 13-point roster system of appointments in colleges, universities, railways and other government organisations be addressed as it is constricting the entry of SCs, STs and OBCs in these institutions.
The demand is also for an Ordinance to reverse the reservation system in appointments to ensure SCs, STs and OBCs get better opportunities.
On March 5, a collective peaceful bandh will be lead by tribals in states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand and states in the Northeast. In addition, they plan to hold a rally in Delhi to highlight their issues and demands, Bharti added.
“If tribal people living in their ancestral habitat for centuries do not have 'pattas' or documents, then the government and the embedded officials must ensure that they get what they are entitled to. In Supreme Court, the government’s law officers have failed to represent the voices of STs and SCs, and even the Dalit and tribal commissions have failed,” he added.
Opposition leader Sharad Yadav said on Monday that the Centre should file a review plea in the Supreme Court against its order. Hitting out at the government for its apathy and 'non-serious' approach in protecting rights of tribals he said, “it is high time the government filed a review petition in the Supreme Court without losing any time for the welfare of tribals in the country,” in a statement.
The Supreme Court had on February 13 asked 21 states to apprise it about the action taken by them on the eviction of tribals and forest-dwellers whose claim over the forest lands has been rejected.
A PIL had challenged the validity of the Forest Rights Act, passed in 2006 by the Parliament to give back to traditional forest-dwellers their right to access, manage and govern forests within their village boundaries.