sub: manya prantha shanti yatra plus

8/14/2019 Sub: Manya Prantha Shanti Yatra PLUS

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Sub: Manya Prantha Shanti Yatra PLUS

Jai Insaan, Jai Hind and Jai Jagath.

I hope that at least initially SOWMITRI will extend the servicesof Secretary, coordinator and one who bells the cat.

I feel alone and confused. The proposal of Shasi that I shouldstay at Hyderabad for couple of weeks and mobilize can bedone if I get company and encouraging support from him.

In fact, a team of such younger persons including Raghavanmust be explored in Solidarity with Tribals living inDandakaranya.

An important need for the success, involving all- inclusiveness and

sustenance of this intervention is to ensure from day 2, eraseVBC image in the lead. We need a real team to be the core. VBCis only a proactive friend to be invited if needed to this core andparticipant in the activities.

For that matter, ideally no one person should take full credit ofleading this and surely not the old blood in the field. It will lesserevils if friends like Sowmitri get projected in the lead. I SEE THISPOSSIBILITY IN YOU, DEAR FRIENDS.

This is the reason for my hesitation in meeting others andmobilizing support. I am choosy at the moment.

I was fortunate to get an opportunity to have a meeting of all the staff members of

ASDS organization at their Rekapalli office on the 31st

December 2009, who isworking in immediate relief and support activities to Chattisgarh InternallyDisplaced persons (IDPs) in Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh.

They get financial support for this work from Action Aid and Association for India sDevelopment- AID- an Indian NRI driven funding group, National Alliance (NAPM),few Human Rights forums, Civil Society etcas they said. Immediately there isSolidarity Group to support these IDPs consisting of all the just mentionedconcerned groups and individuals and their main field contact Hero is Himans


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Kumar based at crucial Dantewada in Chattisgarh. There are few of them atHyderabad . There is also another National Level Group Chattisgarh Joint ActionCommittee based- I presume in Delhi .

There is lot of secrecy of information and they say a need for approval fromSolidarity Group for giving out certain information- even discretely, becausethese are misused by Police against activists and even the People. I see botha need and no need for such secrecy.

Any way, he finally agreed to participate in a meeting at Hyderabad and he waspassively agreeing to involve other Solidarity members at Hyderabad at thismeeting. I expect him to give his two-three convenient dates by sixth of this monthso that I can finalise a mutually convenient date- along with you at our sixth

meeting (???!!! Will I be able to physically participate in the givenTelangana war like apprising situation- I am now at Araku)

I have these following questions to share with you.

1. Can we broad base Solidarity groups to interact without loosing theiridentitybut only share the concern? Can you at Hyderabad through web andother means of contacts, get complete contact detailsincluding the detailsof those in the field like Himans ( I am trying to give as many such email IDSin this email. I Am not getting proper response because of my stronglanguage style and assertive nature- probably by your suave nature andstyle, you can bridge)

2. In fact, there is a strong meeting on the 6th and 7th January at with Himans athis place in Dantewada with Medha and few lead lights and weightsparticipating in it. (Oh! I just got informed that Himans is arrested and thismeeting may not take place ??????!!!!!!!! It is at the time of typing 7.00 PM3rd Jan 2010)

3. I have a strong hunch that Funding Agencies have a role in notinvolving me/us though I am writing to them without any fundingrequest and all ---in fact insisting that I am not asking for funds. Iam also emailing the above groups. From my past experience, I geta strong belief and feeling that Funding Agencies want to set theagenda-ultimate and marginalize Independent thinking mad andeven sane persons.

4. In any case there is an unwillingness to listen to dissent views in thisand Solidarity.

5. Equally, I have a strong feeling that the establishments by their nature aregetting an impression that the activities are in support of Maoists, that Talkof Human Right is seen synonymous and a front and a legal face to theMaoists. Probably, popular vocal Citizens and opinion makers also havesimilar view.


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6. But, for sure these activities especially with the provocative speeches (saylike that of Medha or Arundati Roy) , every one will conlude that these areAnti Government. CAN WE NOT GIVE UST ONLY PRO PEOPLE PERSPECTIVE INOUR WRITTINGS AND SPEECHES?

7. Still, we must make it and WE CAN. I THINK WE NEED A BROADER POLITICALBUT MORE CONSTRUCTIVE AGENDA- THE THIRD ROUTE, LINE OF

APPROACH, HUMANISM- AHIMSA, JUSTICE and LOCAL GOVERNANCE(SELF RULE) AS THE PLANK AND EVENTUALLYNOT JUST CONFINEDTO MAOISTS OR IDPs, but whole gamut of Tribal development inDandakaranya..

8. And this must sustain with or without Maoists or anyHunts.

MANYA PRANTHA SHANTHI YATRA OR IT COULD BE ANY SIMILARNAME

HOME WORK TO BE AN ONGOING PROCESS.

1. We may extend some relief support symbolically for IDPs. But, as on nowenough is being done by ASDS. Even in terms of legal relief ( Human Rightand Development based) is fairly provided by them. It may not be wise toduplicate. We only need convergence in such issue basedinterventions.

2. To build a Solidarity Group at Hyderabad (eventually in Bhuvaneshwar andRaipur ) for our PRPOSED THIRD PATH. At a later date, we can visualize tobuild international linkages with aborigines, Natives, Eskimos and others and

their History of movements.3. A similar Solidarity Platform of grass root initiatives to just share what eachone is doing and cooperate, when needed- if possible. LET US BEGIN WITHASDS AND HIMANS.

4. To draw a map beyond the present geographical boundaries of States, whenwe conceive of any future Development ideas. We need friends fromAnthrpology and History disciplines to give better explanation.

This will be a useful document, just in case any new State ReorganisationCommission- SRC is formed. While personally I am no a new State demand,but needs to b considered as united constituency while planning fordevelopment.

We need a map of Dandakaranya taking into account the followingparameters.

Naxalites entering and now Maoists spread with control by adivasisover their Land and Forest as core issues.

Liberated Dandakaranya Zone by Maoists and what they perceive asboundaries of Dandakaranya


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Ramayana and Dandakaranya. Ramadas and Dandakaranya. Commonness/variation of Language, Dialect and accent. Bastar and Hyderabad and NIZAM. Even NIZAM had an exclusive

Anthropologist to advise him on Tribal area Governance andManagement.

Migration of Koya Community from Bastar to Godavari banks- GotthiKoyas and Gommu Koyas or Koya Doras.

Gonds of Adilabad and Maharashtra Maria Gonds. Oria/ Kondh Tribes- living in now Orissa and Vishaka District with

commonness. Srikakulam Savaras what is in border? Various Development and mining projects established, presently and

in future proposed and different stages of progress that will displaceand dispossess Adivasis..

Eastern Ghats, Manya Prantham etc.

MANYA PRANTHA SANTHI YATRA PLUS??????!!!!!!!!!!!! An Historicalnarration.

We had the first Manya Prantha Chaitanya Yatra in 1991-92 as along march from Pahapatnam in Srikakulam entering Oriisa at Rayagada andagain Andhra Pradesh at Araku and finally culminating at Polavaram. Literally allthe Voluntary Organisations/NGOs working in all these areas participated in theevent. Unfortunately, we got split into two just before entering Araku ( In myopinion personalized ego clashes, let me confess Late Mani was one involvedand I naturally took her side), but we endured and accomplished as two. In away, the cooperation that emerged from the Grass root never againwas possible?

In my own way, I tried in vein to build bridges/ an aborted processof reconciliation. We, our Girijana Sanghatitha Team (A family of initiativesclosely related to me directly or indirectly or having affinity) organized ManyaPrantha Chaitanya Jatra, the next year. It was a cyce Yatra on the same routeculminating finally at Chatti for a grad around five days of Jatra. A folk festivallike, with thousands thronging, 24 hours activities and illumination by stand bygenerators, subsidized food for all served 24 hours.

Subsequently, we had events with Manya tag for few years onsmaller scale, but stopped. ALL THESE EVENTS COTERMINATED WITH THEENVIORONMENT DAY.

However, we could all never come together from the grass root inthe Eastern Ghats after the first event.

We did have funding agency or fund driven coming together in JFM(Gopal/CEC was one) etc. Even these got split.

6. MANYA PRANTHA SANTHI YATRA PLUS PROPOSED NOW.


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It will be ideal, but most probably impossible without collision with theSTATE/Police to go through Dantewada and Abhujmud- Chattisgarh State.

But, absolutely, we will have no problem in Andhra Pradesh, to march (by foot,bicycle, two/four-wheelers etc) from Adilabad to Srikakulam to Rayageda (?!) tomeet and know firsthand from IDPs their issues and the local tribal communities

of their displacement/dispossession issues. We have at the moment not that bigProblem of Maoists versus the state. We are only comparing the Green Huntcontext of literal Emergency in Chattisgarh that does not permit freedom and wehave no such restriction in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa- though Maoists are inthese States also.

We must involve intellectuals and academicians( especially from disciplines ofAnthropology, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology).

We will finally end up a Chatti (symbolically located at the trijunction) with amassive Jatra of around 7 days. Hold series of mini workshops and exhibition of

facts, figures, history and geography. This will be followed up by the SolidarityTeams.

It will be worth trying, if we can impress our THIRDPATH character and neutrality to MAOISTS. May be we can proveourselves as real Salwa Jhudum (literally meaning Shanti Yatra).Government may subtly recognize their misadventure in theirGun-GIVEN-TO-CHILDREN-Salwa Jhudum and in fact support us(Such support will bring antagonism from Maoists, but justpermission will be great).

With these by next email(s) I shall send the contact emails with what little

information I know and re-oriented agenda of mine (I need someone to finallyarticulate and be able to present a consistently worded agenda in English, Telugu,Oria and Hindi)

With Regards,

V.B.Chandrasekaran,

Peoples Peace and Prosperity Mission.

Email: [email protected]@yahoo.co.in

Mobile: 9490109328
http://us.mc1110.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc1110.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc1110.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc1110.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]


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