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Dupe entry: 'It's Maoist-hit Bastar tribals' turn to hit back
For as long as one can remember, the Chhattisgarh region of Bastar - divided since 1999 into the three districts of Bastar, Kanker and Dantewada - has been a living museum of human history. At one time among India's largest districts - at 39,000 square km old Bastar was bigger than Israel; even today Dantewada covers more territory than Nagaland - Bastar is home to India's most enchanting aboriginal civilisation. For years, it was a university as it were for anthropologists studying tribal life, culture and craft.Life here wasn't always an idyll - tribal human development indices are consistently below the national average - but there was a quaintness and charm to tribal society. In recent times, the Maoists have attempted to throttle it, local residents said. The reaction this caused was the trigger for salwa judum. How did the Maoists seek to "violate tribal life"? A district official explained, "The weekly haat (barter market) is the lifeline of the tribals. It is the place they come to, from miles and miles away, to exchange livestock and food and other utility items. It is like a mini-fair, where they meet and gossip." Posted by: john 2006-07-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=160079 |