Impact of Maoist insurgency in tribal regions
The Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh are done and dusted.
Equations in the context of tribal votes did matter immensely in the calculations of each political party, given the proportion of the tribal population in the State.
As in the politics of Chhattisgarh, it is said that the party with which the tribal voter goes forms the government in the State as tribal voters have a 34% of the vote share in the State.
Maoist insurgency in the country presently thrives in the tribal regions of Chhattisgarh, particularly in Bastar.
Tribals form the main cadre base of the movement.
Elections in these Maoist strongholds, that are Schedule Five areas, have always been affected by violence in the backdrop of boycott calls by the Maoists.
PESA Act and incomplete implementation
Although a few of the political parties in the field came up with the issues concerning complete implementation of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA).
In spite of the PESA Act being passed in 1996, not one of the State governments concerned has implemented the same in the correct spirit, by issuing policy directives.
The Act envisions the empowerment of gram sabhas as the sole authority to govern various aspects of the socio-economic lives of the tribal community in the respective jurisdiction.
The intent behind the Act was to bring people at the grassroots level face to face with the government, and was aligned to the tribal way of life in historical and traditional terms.
Various State governments have implemented this Act in a half-hearted manner to meet their ulterior motives.
This gap has been exploited by the Maoists to foster their agenda and by having their writ run in their strongholds through ‘jantana sarkar’.
The PESA Act, given its potential, could be commandeered as the greatest enabler to mainstream the tribal community by accommodating their aspirations.
Its dogged implementation is highly do-able, in the mid and long run.
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