Jai Jharkhand

2018-03-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

Jharkhand Art and Culture - Repository of one of India's Richest Ethnic Cultures

2009-06-09T00:30:00.001-07:00

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Jharkhand Art and Culture - Repository of one of India's Richest Ethnic Cultures

The cultural mosaic of Jharkhand was dreamt about, shaped and polished by generations of communities, which have inhabited this land since time immemorial.

From the legendary Asurs and Santhals, to the Banjara, Bihor, Chero, Gond, Ho, Khond, Lohra, Mai Pahariya, Munda, Oraon, Kol or Kawar-over thirty-two tribal groups (28 % of the total population of the state), have left their impression on the culture of the region. And with them, were the cross-cultural influences of local non-tribal communities and successive waves of Buddhism and Jainism, Mughal rule and the reign of the Hindu emperors of Bengal.

Art historians ascribe the 'oldest cave paintings' in India, the "scroll paintings" to a Jharkhand tribe known as the Shabars, who today live on the edge of extinction. It is an established fact that Stone Age tools discovered in Hazaribagh district and axes and spearheads found in the Chaibasa area, are remnants of a civilization dating back a few thousand years. 10,000 to 30,000 years old rock paintings, paintings in huge caves in the Sati hills and other indicators of ancient, even pre-historic, human settlements are found in profusion.

Living Rhythms

Every ethnic community has the blood of tribal memory circling their hearts. Today the Adivasis of Jharkhand are coming back, not to the despair that has marked their recent history, but to the strong sounds of drums, flutes, cymbals and voices raised in song.

When the tribes of Jharkhand gather to celebrate a very special occasion, whether at home or in village society, they make music and dance to its rhythm. Maybe it makes them happy because it brings that long memory back, into the framework of real life.

It does not matter whether you understand the language or the lyrics of the song that the; sing - ekhariya damckach, orjapi, jhumar, fagua, veer seren, jhika, philsanjha, adhratiya or bhinsariya, doad, asadi, jhumti, or dhuria or other important folk-songs - you will recognize that they yearn to carry ancient memory and culture into their lives today.

Percussion, many kinds of percussion, along with a variety of musical instruments are used by Jharkhand tribes to accompany their singing and dancing. The Nagara, made of wood and stretched animal hide played with drumsticks. Interestingly nagaras sound the best in summers, in winter they lose their vibrant beat. The cylindrical Mandar, played by hand. Dhak, dhamsa, damana, Madan bhewri, ananad lahari, tuila, vyang, ar-bansi, shankh, karha, tasa, thala, ghanta, kadri and gupi jantra are some quaint instruments played.

Dance forms echo warrior-like movements of battles fought long ago, for the men. Observations of animal and bird behaviour were also blended into the dancing, sometimes light and airy, sometimes heavy and solemn, as the mood demands. Everyday activities of womenfolk -working in the fields, in the forests, in their homes, all reflect themselves in dance forms like the timeless Chhau, which requires agility, suppleness, skilful hand movements. The Seraikela school of Chhau is held during the Sun Festival. It is influenced by the principles of Bharatiya Natya Shastra but the theme is based on folk-lore, nature and mythology. The choreograph follows Odissi in composition and execution.

Other well-known dances of tribal communities in Jharkhand include festive dancing such as - Sarhul / Baha, where sal and mohua flowers are used ceremonially; the Dansai & Sorhai where the youth sing and dance through the night of karam; Maghi Puja, an important festival of the Munda tribe; Sarhul in which 'shalai' the flower of the sal tree is offered to the gods, with the flower as a symbol of brotherhood; Tusu, the harvest festival, celebrated mainly by unmarried girls. A canopy is added of light wood and covered with thin tissue paper. The pyramidal shaped structure, edged with tinsel and decorated with painted/printed images of local deities (sometimes even film stars), is carried by village woman-chanting songs along the way-to the nearest water resource and immersed in it. Bazra Puja, when Bazra or 'millet' is ready for harvesting; and the Bhagta Parab or the worship of Budha Baba.

Most of the folk dance around Jharkhand is accompanied by traditional music played by the musicians using some traditional musical equipment. Some of the very famous Jharkhand dances are as follows:

Paika is one of the very famous dance forms of Jharkhand. In fact, it is a dance form where martial arts are mixed with some other dance steps. This is why the dance form is only performed by the male members of the society. Paika of Jharkhand is a very interesting dance form of the region. It offers a thrilling entertainment to your eyes as the men risk their lives to perform it. The dancers have to handle a sword in one hand and the shield in other. For protection, they are dressed with safety chest plates and head wears and bells are tied on their ankles.

Paika in Jharkhand is accompanied by the melodious music of Narsingha, Shahnai, Bheir and the Dhak and Nagara drums. This folk dance of Jharkhand is performed for welcoming guests during various functions.

The whole ambience during the performance of this dance form is very charming. The dancers wearing their colorful robes along with the local tribes create fascinating scenery. The dance adds more glaze to the festivities.

Chhau is one of the finest folk dances of Chhota Nagpur Plateau region. The folk dance is performed in various states that lie in this region such as West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand. The word Chhau is derived from the Sanskrit word Chhaya which implies shade, image, or mask.

Chhau of Jharkhand is a very beautiful dance form where the dancers cover their faces during the dance with a mask and it is this mask that attracts your attention towards the dance. Chhau is different from classical dance because in the latter dance form facial expressions are must, whereas in Chhau, it is the body movements including the neck and head gesture. In Chhau, the dancers use the mask and their body gestures to convey the stories. A commentator stands aside who not only narrates the whole story with dialogues but also sings the songs. During Chhau in Jharkhand, music is played using various instruments such as Nagara, Jhanj, Mohuri, Turi, Clude Dhol, Dhumsa, Flute, Bheri and Conch shells.

Over the years, this folk dance of Jharkhand has been classified into various forms but the most authentic and original version of the dance is available only in Jharkhand. The melodious music and the colorful dancers with their brilliant dancing skills intoxicate you so much that you do not feel like leaving the place before its completion. So if you like dancing and are always open to learn, then the best place to learn Chhau would be in Jhrakhand where the original version is performed. Some of the very famous stories that have been performed through Chhau in Jharkhand are Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Santhal is a very popular folk dance of Jharkhand. It is a group dance performed by Santhal tribes of Jharkhand. This dance was performed by the Santhal tribes during all special festivals and occasions. This dance not only reveals the culture or traditions of the local tribes but also showcases the strength of unity. The main attraction of the Santhal dance in Jharkhand is the colorful costumes worn by the tribal people. The typical garments worn by men during the Santhal are dhoti and a turban but the main attraction is their body decoration with various species of flora. Since the Santhal are believed to be close to nature, they use natural things such as leaves, branches and flowers to do their make-up and design their clothes.

If you wish to witness the fun and frolic of Santhal dance at Jharkhand then do visit it during the spring season for it is during this season that the Santhals celebrate the spring festival where they perform the folk dance. The colorful environment of the festival is made more charming and attractive by the musicians who play the music on various folk instruments such as cymbals, pipes, flutes and drums. Moreover, the singers also put the right chord with the rhythm. After, the Bamboo folk dance of Assam and Mizoram, it is the Santhal dance of Jharkhand which is very popular among the tourists of north eastern region. Moreover, the Santhal dance would also help you in exploring the life style and culture of the Santhals.

Karma is a very popular folk dance of India. Though the folk dance is performed in other states such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it can be enjoyed the best in Jharkhand. The folk dance is performed in the month of August during the Karma festival.

This folk dance of Jharkhand has derived its name from a tree named Karma which is considered sacred because people believe that it brings good luck and prosperity. Hence the Karma festival is nothing but a celebration for the plantation of this tree. Karma at Jharkhand seeks the participation of both men and women. The festival starts with the plantation of trees after which the dancers get into a circle and dance with their hands around each other's waists. While dancing, they pass on the branch of the tree to each other.

After the branch of Karma gets a complete circle, it is washed with milk and rice. It is the belief of the local tribes that after these rituals, the branch should not touch the earth. After this, once again the branch is raised in between the dancers.

During the Karma of Jharkhand, the men leap forward with the rapid roll of the drums whereas the women bend down with their feet moving to and fro with the beats of the music. The dance of Karma in Jharkhand is accompanied by the melodious music of folk music instruments such as Jhumki, Thumki, Chhalla and Payri. Various forms of Karma are performed in various regions. The two most popular forms of Karma in Jharkhand are Lahsua and Khare. This dance in Jharkand is performed mainly by Baigas and Gonds.

Jharkhandi Art, Craft & Living

Jharkhand is full of surprises. Archaeologists have unearthed pre-Harappan pottery, and pre-historic cave paintings and rock-art that hint at ancient, cultured civilizations inhabiting these parts. If you look at the intricate woodwork, the pitkar paintings, tribal ornaments, stone carvings, dolls and figurines, masks and baskets, will tell you how deep into time these manifestations of culture go, how the well-spring of creativity continues to recharge the spirit of the tribes and the state itself.

Among the most delicate, fragile, beautiful ands threatened indigenous traditions of India are for example, the Kohvar and Sohrai paintings, which are sacred, secular and relevant to a woman's world. This is the art practiced exclusively by married women, during weddings and at harvest time, and the skill and the information is handed down to younger females of the clan.

Comb-cut or finger-painted, Kohvar art celebrates marriage, and the wall-painted Sohrai, bumper crops. Elaborate design motifs, animal and plant forms, fertility motifs are abundant and often echo ancient cave art found in the surrounds. The colours used are all natural - neutral earth shades, red oxide from stone, red ochre, kaolin white, manganese black earth etc.. Blue and green are aberrant colours and do not feature prominently.

Jharkhand is known for its wood work, bamboo works, pitkar paintings, tribal ornaments and stone carving. The beautifully carved wood products and bamboo products show the craftsmanship of the Jharkhandi people. Lack of promotion and marketing for these products has mostly resulted in extinction of some crafts like paitkar paintings and stone carvings. Wood Craft: Once a dense forest area, Jharkhand with the abundance of wood, resulted in the use this for creating variety of wood articles for household requirements. Bamboo: The bamboos found in the Jharkhand forest are thin but flexible and strong. Using these, the artisans of Jharkhand produce different artifacts like basket, haunting and fishing equipment.

The people here are to be much involved into artistic approaches in whatever they work, to name some of the fame arts in this region could be Oraon Bhitichitra, Santhali Bhitichitra and Jado Patiya are the styles of paintings that still exist.

Crafts for Life, Life for Crafts

Superb craftsmen for generations, the tribal communities of Jharkhand have created and perfected exquisite works of art based in the rich and unique natural resources of the land.

Woody Wonders.

The slender, strong and supple bamboo is sculpted into beautiful and practical articles such as door panels, boxes, spoons, hunting nd fishing equipment, boat-shaped baskets, rice huskers and bowls that are smeared with pink and leaf-green powder on ritual occasions.

'Pattal' plates and bowls made from 'sal' leaves are used widely during wedding and other festivities. "Sabai ghaas' or wild grass is woven into bowls, pen-stands, coasters and mats, or dyed and woven into intricate and colourful boxes, dolls, table mats and Christmas tree decorations. Chaibasa region is famous for these.

Small villages around Ranchi have for generations created finger-painted toys from palm leaves, some with detachable limbs and wheels for mobility. These toy-makers create elaborate toys based on the wedding of Lord Rama, and brilliant parakeets with red beaks and paddy green feathers.

'Kanghee' combs are wonderful items for use and decor. Wood axes with tribal motifs burnt into their handles, are collectors items, but found in almost any weekly 'haat' or village bazaar.

Upturned, bowl shaped umbrellas of cane are used in fields, but can be used in any corporate garden. Finely carved door panels, wood inlay boxes, wooden Crosses and Virgin Mary figurines and the crown of thorns rendered in wood - are crafted in villages like Khunti.

Tribal theme toys and carvings, like a band of drummers, ancient 'bird-woman' figurines, statuettes of tribal leaders like Birsa Munda and those of mighty and mythological animals such as the Rhino, all created in wood, will delight connoisseurs and art-collectors and scholars alike.

The people of Jharkhand though they are tribal base they are good craftsmen with great workmanship, they excel in terracotta, bamboo-work, Seenk-work, Kasida, Pottery, Stone craft, textiles etc; apart from these they do wonderful body paintings , tattoos, stone cutting, bull painting ( during Bandna) folk painting fresco, sculpting horse, elephant etc; for the uses of rituality. Scroll painting or Paitkar is famous but recently becomes obsolete.

Crafts of Jharkhand

The crafts of Jharkhand form a very significant part of the cultural lineage of the state of Jharkhand in India. The crafts at Jharkhand exhibit a great deal of expertise. But, the perfection of the craftsmanship is not matched with necessary promotional activities. Due to this, the crafts in Jharkhand, as a whole, have not received the national and international acclaim that it deserves.

Some of the important crafts in Jharkhand are bamboo crafts, wood crafts, metal works, Paitkar paintings, ornaments, stone carvings and toys.

The bamboo crafts of Jharkhand exhibit wonderful hand work. The important bamboo articles in Jharkhand include different baskets. Other bamboo articles of the state are the accessories used for fishing and hunting. The Jharkhand crafts of wood are mainly of day-to-day use. The different articles that the people of Jharkhand make include window, boxes and the panels of doors.

The Paitkar paintings, also called the scroll paintings, are mainly based on the theme of what happens to the human life after death.

The main varieties of jewellery that the tribal people of Jharkhand wear are the ornaments meant to be worn on the different parts of the arm including wrists, earrings and neck pieces. The metal works of Jharkhand include hunting implements, weapons, agricultural equipments and ornaments. The stone carvings of Jharkhand are another important form of craft, which is gradually becoming extinct. The toys of Jharkhand are mainly made up of wood. The toys are colorfully painted and can be moved according to one's will.

Wood crafts of Jharkhand: The wood crafts of Jharkhand form one of the most significant art forms in the state. Earlier, the state of Jharkhand had plenty of forestland, which gave a massive supply of wood. This led to the large-scale use of wood in making a variety of articles of daily use.

A great variety of wood crafts in Jharkhand are made by the people of Jharkhand, which exhibit a blend of beauty and utility. The items are mostly of daily use, but the beautiful designs that they showcase make them pieces of art. The different shapes and sizes of Jharkhand wood crafts that they produce include things as mundane as boxes and the panels of doors.

The boxes as well as the panels exhibit wonderful patterns carved out of hard wooden surface. Windows made of wood are also included in the list of items that the tribal groups of the state of Jharkhand produce. The people of the state make beautiful spoons with intricate designs on them with wood. The tribal people of the Jharkhand State are involved in different types of wood crafts of Jharkhand. These carvings require a great deal of skill. The wooden articles are quite in demand within as well as outside the country of India.

However, the recognition that the people of Jharkhand get for the labor they put in producing wood crafts at Jharkhand is not sufficient. This is due to the lack of marketing strategies of these tribal people. The wooden articles that are produced by the tribal population of the state need to be promoted for the economic and social improvement of this impoverished lot.

Bamboo crafts of Jharkhand: There are quite a few forms of craft in the eastern state of Jharkhand and one of them is the bamboo crafts of Jharkhand. The people of the state who belong to the different ethnic groups in the state are mainly engaged in this form of craft. The Jharkhand bamboo crafts that the tribal people of Jharkhand are engaged in show a great deal of intricate and fascinating hand work, which is quite unique to the state of India. The major articles that are made out of bamboo in Jharkhand include baskets and accessories used for fishing and hunting.

The bamboo crafts in Jharkhand that the ethnic people of the state of Jharkhand make are mostly carved out of the bamboos available locally. The variety of bamboo produced by the bamboo grooves of the state is not very thick. However, these bamboos are suitable for the different kinds of bamboo crafts at Jharkhand, since they are not weak and yet can be twisted and turned to a great extent.

The bamboo crafts that the people of the state of Jharkhand make out of bamboo show a lot of deftness in the profession. But, unfortunately, these beautifully crafted items carved out of bamboo have not got the critical acclaim that they deserve.

This is owing to the fact that these articles are mostly made by the tribal population of the state and these people are not quite aware of the ways of today's world including marketing or advertisement. This lack of awareness keeps the rest of the world quite unaware of what these people are creating.

Paitkar paintings of Jharkhand constitute one of the most popular crafts of the state of Jharkhand. The Paitkar paintings at Jharkhand are one of the most ancient schools of painting in the entire country of India. Yet, they are not as much in demand in India and abroad as they ought to be. This is due to the fact that most of the forms of craft of the state are mainly the domain of the tribal people.

The historical lineage of the Paitkar paintings of Jharkhand can be traced to the culture associated with the state of West Bengal. The cultural heritage of this old form of painting has associations with one of the most well known goddesses in the Bengali household, Ma Mansa. The Paitkar paintings of Jharkhand have links with the socio-religious custom of holding yajnas and giving alms.

The Paitkar paintings in Jharkhand are also popularly known as the scroll paintings. The form of painting has got its name from its character. The paintings that belong to this school have a common subject of what happens to human life post death.

These people have not been able to spread the name of their creations far and wide. Particularly, the Jharkhand Paitkar paintings are suffering a massive setback and in near future, it might transform into a form of painting of the past. The tribal people of the state of Jharkhand can not save this ancient art form from extinction due to their inability to market it owing to financial constraints.

Metal works of Jharkhand constitute one of the most well known forms of craft in the whole state of Jharkhand in India. The metal works at Jharkhand exhibit a wonderful amalgamation of utility and looks.

The Jharkhand metal works produced by the ethnic people of the state can be classified into four broad categories. These are the weapons, the ornaments, the hunting implements and the agricultural equipments. The two main metals used for making different kinds of jewelry are silver and gold. They make metal weapons mainly for defensive purposes. The hunting and agricultural equipments help the people of the state in their ways of livelihood.

There are two communities in the state of Jharkhand whose names are specially associated with the Jharkhand metal works. These are the Tentri community and the Malhar community. These two communities have become popular throughout the state of Jharkhand for the expertise they show in the metal works in Jharkhand.

The people of the communities of Thentri and Malhar are very efficient in the technique of casting of iron. The artisans of these two communities mainly specialize in metal articles of day-to-day use. They cast iron to produce such articles.

In comparison to the level of craftsmanship these metal works of Jharkhand show, the acknowledgement they have received is quite nominal. Most of the metal works of Jharkhand are created by the people belonging to the various tribal communities of the state. These people are not well accustomed as the urban people with the industrial strategies like advertisement and other forms of promotion.

The stone carvings of Jharkhand constitute one of the most well known forms of craft in the state of Jharkhand in the eastern part of the subcontinent of India. The stone carvings in Jharkhand show quite a lot of efficiency on the part of the artisans. They make fine and beautiful designs on stone.

Their work deserves a large-scale recognition. But unfortunately, the stone carvings at Jharkhand have not got the fame that they should have. This is owing to the fact that most of the carvings on stone in the state are the domain of the people who belong to a variety of tribal sects. These people are not well equipped with the nuances of the industrial world. Hence, they have yet not been able to acquire the promotional skills.

The Jharkhand stone carvings are gradually becoming a dying small-scale industry due to the lack of its promotion. This ancient form of art very badly needs some funds for its marketing. Some initiative should be taken by the government of Jharkhand or some private sector organization, which is interested in keeping alive this art.

A very few stone carvers still exist in the state of Jharkhand, though they too depend on some alternate profession for their bread and butter, due to the lack of market value of the stone carvings of Jharkhand.

Jharkhand ornaments are one of the major forms of crafts in the state of Jharkhand in India. The ornaments created by the people belonging to the tribal groups of Jharkhand show a great deal of perfection in the art.

The people belonging to different tribal groups have a special knack for beautifying themselves with a wide range of ornaments in Jharkhand. However, the kind of ornaments that they prefer to wear is not very complicated or elaborate.

The major types of jewellery that they wear are neck pieces, earrings and ornaments worn on the wrists and other parts of the arm.

The artisans of the state of Jharkhand in the eastern part of India are involved in making basic ornaments. They use two kinds of metal for making jewellery. These two metals are silver and gold. The people of Jharkhand also like to wear another type of jewellery, which are mainly made up of beads. The ethnic people of the state occasionally wear Jharkhand ornaments made with various kinds of precious stones.

The different types of ornaments of Jharkhand are yet to achieve the name and fame that they deserve within India as well as outside the country. The ornaments at Jharkhand have not attained a large-scale market due to the fact that most of these jewelleries are created by the ethnic people, who are not well equipped with the activities necessary to promote an art form.

The art of ornament making has developed into one of the foremost art forms in the state due to the high level of interest of the tribal people in jewellery.

Jharkhand toy making is one of the major crafts of the state. The people who belong to the various ethnic communities of the state show a great deal of expertise in the art of toy making. The main framework of the toys, which are the products of Jharkhand toy making industry, is cut out of wood.

The craft of toy making in Jharkhand is not devoid of the technological aspects of the modern world. The toys are often equipped with wheels, so that children can control and move them according to their own whims and fancies. The toys have limbs that can be moved with the help of a string. The flexible toys are made up of portions of palm leaves. These leaves are painted with fingers or dotted with pink color.

The toys are painted with bright colors for drawing the attention of the little children. The toys created by the people of Jharkhand are inspired by the world around.

The craft of toy making of Jharkhand has thrived particularly in the hilly areas of the state. Another region that is well known for this art form is the surrounding area of Ranchi, which is the capital of Jharkhand. These places of the state boast of a couple of families which have picked up the skills of toy making at Jharkhand generation after generation.

Source: Jharkhandi Art n Culture - http://jharkhandi.com/art.aspx

Money and Maoists are now reaching out to take over the reins of power

2009-04-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

Jharkhand News

Money and Maoists are now reaching out to take over the reins of power

Businesses in Jharkhand are desperate for a way out of the terror raj. Surendra Bengali is languishing in Hazaribagh Jail, but when he "ruled" Ranchi along with Anil Sharma in the mid-90s, nothing moved after dark. Life came automatically to a total standstill, such was the reputation of these two crimelords. It was then that a fairly unassuming senior superintendent of police, a certain Amitabh Choudhary, moved into office and picked up the two dreaded gansters almost as if by magic and restored Ranchi's peace.

At Ranchi today, ordinary people recall those days. "The present day Red-terror reminds me of those dreadful days of Anil Sharma and Surendra Bengali when there were no night shows and nobody would venture out after 7 pm. How can we do business in such an environment," asked Bikash Singh, a Ranchi-based industrialist and former president of Jharkhand Small Industries Association (JSIA).

Talking to ET, Singh said that though he voted on polling day, he was really pained that none of Jharkhand's politicians ever raise the issue of how this terror raj is affecting small businesses. And not small businesses alone.

According to a Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) official, truck movement had come to a halt on as many as 88 days in the financial year. "Production went down as a result and our business could have been much better only if trucks had a free run," he said.

Indeed, movement on highways have got really hit due to the fear of Naxalite depredations. A survey made recently claims that while trucks run 350-450 kms on average a day in South India, in Jharkhand it is limited to just about 125-200 kms. According to Uday Shankar Ojha of the Jharkhand Truck Owners' Association : "Except for the Grand Trunk Road and the Patna-Ranchi-Jamshedpur National Highway 33, we cannot even think of moving on the road after sunset." While some 35-40,000 trucks ply within Jharkhand every day, about 10-15,000 also pass through to adjoining states. This gives an idea of how heavy the truck movement in the state actually is and most of these trucks actually ferry ore and coal to different industrial units.

"There are six points of exit from Ranchi, but except for NH 33, none are safe at night. So no trucker from Ranchi would move towards Gumla (connecting Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat), Daltonganj (connecting UP and MP), Khunti (connecting Chaibasa, Barbil and Orissa), Silli for West Bengal for Patratu for Barkakana after 6 pm. Same is the situation with buses," said Ojha.

There are also problems of no-entry in the state capital. So in a way, trucks run only 12 hours in Jharkhand and they remain stranded for the other 12 hours. Then you have the frequent bandhs that Maoists call and truckers have no option but to stay put. If a truck owner earns Rs 2000 a day, 25,000 truck owners in Jharkhand would lose about Rs 5 crore a day whenever there is a Maoist bandh", Ojha said.

With 18 out of 24 districts in their pocket and them running parallel governments in places like Chatra and Latehar, Maoists and Naxals really have a field day. With the administration crippled and politicians corrupt, businessmen are at the mercy of extremists. In the last four months alone, Maoists have called bandhs on 16 days and all of them were successful. Nothing moved.

And not business alone either. Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, former national secretary of the Indian Medical Association said : "None of our doctors want to stay in rural areas because of Maoists' fear. We often get threat calls. Government doctors posted in peripheral areas tend to return home early, affecting health services. Private doctors never plan to settle in rural pockets".

Policemen also tend to avoid postings in Naxal-infested areas. "So far about 300 policemen have been killed in different incidents of Naxalite violence," said Lalmohar Singh, president of the Jharkhand Police Association. "Though the Centre has given a good amount of money for modernisation of the police force, it has never been utilised properly. There have been cases where the funds have been diverted for other purposes," he said. And ofcourse there hangs a story....

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4455175.cms?prtpage=1

Suggested understrap: In Jharkhand's insurgency, there are no rules, just fear. Not content with the dominance born out of political patronage,

money and arms, Maoists are now reaching out to take over the reins of power. For the locals who have been living under the shadow of terrorism in a state helmed by short-sighted corrupt politicians for years now, the only thing that matters anymore is peace.

"Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today"

-- Mahatma Gandhi

There were masked, hooded men before too, men who moved like shadows in the dark of the night, a high-calibre rifle cradled carelessly on the arm, men who caused the police and administration of three adjoining states decades of fitful sleep, men who killed for honour, the Baaghis of Chambal.

But there was romanticism surrounding Man Singh, Panna, Sultan, Lakhan Singh, Madho Singh, Mohur Singh, Chidda Singh Sikarwar, Lukka Daku or Lokman Dikshit as he was born.... . Villagers feared them, but they adored them too. Honour ruled their activities and stories about them usually portrayed them as custodians of moral righteousness, even if they were not entirely so.

In Jharkhand, masked men rule too. However, they change their names to suit the area they operate in and they sport a trademark "ji" suffix in all non-Christian areas. So Mukulji of Dumka is Kundanji at Latehar or Salimji at Pakur which is Muslim dominated.

The same person may be John at Rajmahal or Zakaria in Littipara, where Christians form the majority. They aren't baagis; they are de-facto zamindars. They virtually control 18 of the 24 districts in the state, have paralysed the constitutional authorities who are supposed to run the administration, bludgeoned policemen into submission and killed well over 1,400 people just to make their cause known. They are sometimes referred to as Naxals, sometimes as Maoists, but essentially they are followers of a sect that believes in creating anarchy as a self-sustaining realisation of a revolutionary dream to create a classless society.

Welcome to Mao-land Jharkhand, where six successive state governments since its formation in 2000, have all tried their damndest best to topple the other in order to rule and in the process, have befriended Maoists to spread anarchy during the other's regime.

Very simply put, you cannot exterminate Maoists in Jharkhand by use of force, because every local political honcho wants them on their side, irrespective of party colour. And the motive is entirely selfish, because unless you can destabilise the ruling government, you cannot come to power yourself and so on... . Naturally therefore, everything has taken a backseat in Jharkhand. Only the Frankensteins rule. A taste of that this country witnesses in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Cut to this very powerful politician, an MLA who spoke to ET about the Naxal menace last week. "A road which was supposed to be built under a government scheme in my constituency, was not getting built. So I asked about the delay. To my utter shock and dismay, the engineer in charge told me that there was a delay because extremists have demanded a levy and if it was not paid, they wouldn't allow the road to be built.

There was so much of public pressure for the road, that I had to ask the engineer to do whatever was required so that the road gets constructed. I was helpless, but I cannot escape the ground reality."

Obviously, money had to be given as ransom for the road and in all likelihood the MLA paid out of his pocket or shelled out party funds or maybe funds from other sources. But that's what Naxalism or Maoism in Jharkhand is all about. No matter who you are, or what you want, you need to keep them happy first.

That Maoists rule with political patronage is an accepted fact. No political party in Jharkhand has raised the issue of Naxal menace prominently in their manifestos. There are vague references to bringing back "those who have been misguided to the mainstream", some appeals to "shun violence", but nothing more than that.

Former CM and JMM chief Shibu Soren has always referred to the extremists as "bhai bandhus" and although he had sought a financial assistance of Rs 7,126 crore from the 13th Finance Commission to combat the "grave menace", he also released three notorious Maoists from jail when he was contesting the Tamar byelections, just so that the Naxals support him. Crack commando forces galore have been raised and named either the Special Task Force or Jharkhand Jaguars, but they have not been used to combat extremists. These battle specialists are now used for providing security to ministers and VIPs.

Intelligence reports say Maoists have very good bases in rural pockets and that they also control a large part of the economy by collecting levies from contractors, miners, industrialists, transporters, forest produce dealers -- nobody escapes by not paying. Even state bureaucrats do, just to ensure that token administration can be run atleast. And no politician dares to disturb this arrangement either.

Former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi lost his son to Maoists last year. "Nobody, including politicians, wants to take any trouble. They want the easy way out. When politics has become confined to individual growth, what else can you expect," he said.

Ofcourse you become wise after the horse has bolted and in Babulal's case, he lost his son. But then to his credit goes the fact that during his regime he had announced a surrender policy to woo Maoists and Naxals to give up arms and join the mainstream. As was only to be expected, the scheme didn't work. These are no Makhan Singhs or Mohur Singhs, and Babulal Marandi was no Jayaprakash Narayan.

Noted social activist Faisal Anurag dismisses theories that the extremist problem is an economical and law-and-order problem. "It is a purely political issue. Politicians are in fact their associates. It is an open secret that these politicians get monetary support from Naxals when they are not in power, and therefore it is foolish to expect them to act against their financiers when they are in power" Anurag said.

Mr Harivansh, a senior journalist who has been tracing the growth of naxalism in the state ever since inception felt that the state always lacked honest and dedicated leadership and that this has resulted in the failure of the system. This has also subsequently alienated people from the government.

"This has been the root cause for the rise in insurgency at ground level, but no government has taken it seriously because every politician has remained busy making money for himself. A large number of corruption cases against many of these politicians is a living testimony to this," Mr Harivansh said.

But what's most terrifying is the fact that extremists are no longer content playing a passive role, no longer satisfied with disruptive politics. Kameshwar Baitha, a former hardcore Maoist, contested the byelections at Palamau two years back and came second at the hustings. This time, he is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency and it is being said that he will give a tough fight to sitting RJD MP Ghuran Ram. Similarly, in the Simaria assembly byelection last year, two former Maoists contested. This time, a jailed Maoist, Ranjan Yadav is contesting from Chatra constituency and he is giving a good fight.

Chhatarpur MLA Radha Krishna Kishore sees the writing on the wall maybe. "Instead of supporting politicians, they are themselves now planning perhaps to take over the reins of power. They might also be conspiring to get access to secret government documents through friendly 'honourable' MLAs" he said. Nepal may have been a very different ball game, but the question uppermost to many in Jharkhand now is whether, after all its misfortunes, the state will also live to see a day when Maoists would rule along with their present-day "friends" in power ?

Will it be all that bad or will that be good ? Frankly, Jharkhand's intelligentsia or whatever is left of it, doesn't quite have the answer. They have lived since 2000 with short-sighted corrupt politicians who promise administration, but have so far not been able to run even one successfully for long.

Administration has gone for a toss and the state, in all respects, is sinking despite its potential. The fear factor and the killings only make matter worse.

"Babu kya farak parega Ghuran Ram ayaa ki Kameshwar Baitha ? Humlog sirf shanti chahte hain" (What difference will it make Sir, if Ghuran Ram comes or Kameshwar Baitha ? We just want peace) said Lalan, a panwallah in Ranchi. That, one supposes, is what everybody in Jharkhand wants

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4455154.cms?prtpage=1

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Why Adivasis in insurgency-hit Koraput risk their lives to participate in the elections ?

2009-04-18T01:51:00.001-07:00

Jharkhand News

Why adivasis in insurgency-hit Koraput risk their lives to participate in the elections ?

Tied to a bamboo pole that seems to stretch to the sky, the red flag of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) flutters high above the hamlet of Ganjaipadar.
But draped all around it are green Biju Janata Dal flags, emblazoned with the party's conch logo, and Congress posters extolling the virtues of nine-time Member of Parliament Giridhar Gamang.

Not a single police officer is visible in or around Ganjaipadar, but Maoist insurgents seem to be making no effort to enforce their call for an election boycott. By 10:00 a.m., 147 of 510 voters had exercised their franchise; the number had more than doubled by lunchtime.

Ganjaipadar lies in the cluster of adivasi hamlets around the village of Kotiya — the mountain bastion of the Maoist insurgency in Orissa's troubled Koraput district.

For all practical purposes, Kotiya has disappeared from Orissa's map. Buses stopped making the 26-kilometre journey from National Highway 43 years ago. Last year, Koraput district authorities gave up the effort to stop what remains of the road from dissolving into the red earth, after a contractor fled the area. Police officials in Koraput admit it has been months since they attempted to send patrols into the area.

Democracy and development

Why do large numbers of Kotiya villagers spend their time — and risk their lives — on participating in the democratic process as voters and party activists?

Kotiya is among the most impoverished regions in Orissa, but democracy seems to have part-delivered. Its residents have access to a functional primary school, which gives students an education — and, no less important, lunch. Kotiya has a rudimentary dispensary; its footpaths have been paved, and Indira Awas Yojana grants have enabled more than half of its 490 residents access to a weather-proof home.

Orissa government engineers have even stretched power cables across the mountains to Kotiya and — for a few hours every day — there are lights, among other things, for late-evening volleyball games played on the court built by the Gram Panchayat.

Most important of all, the local residents' votes have brought a degree of food security. Most Kotiya families have access to cards which entitle them to 25 kilos of rice at Rs. 2 a kilo. In Ganjaipadar, the election campaign revolved around the fact that just 25 of 110 families had cards — a result of badly-framed rules and poor implementation.

"I'm voting," says Kotiya resident Shakunta Hemla, "to show that I support the people who brought us cheap food."

Learning from experience, insurgents have avoided confrontation with local politicians. Cadres of both the Congress and the Biju Janata Dal told this correspondent they had an arrangement with Maoists: no attacks would take place as long as no police personnel were brought into the Kotiya area. But in the face of other challenges, those that go beyond the provision of cheap food or municipal facilities, democracy isn't doing quite so well.

Koraput is the advertisement for the new Orissa the State's politicians have been working to create. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited operatives a massive facility that produces engines for Sukhoi and MiG combat jets. The National Aluminium Company Ltd. runs Asia's largest alumina refinery here. Nearby, in the town of Jeypore, hotels are packed with British and Russian engineers who have come in to help develop new mining and industrial projects.

But the district's residents have benefited relatively little from these investments. HAL, local politicians complain, refuses to conduct job examinations locally, while much of NALCO's work goes to contractors from outside the region.

Little progress

More important, industrial growth has done little to accelerate human development. Just 36.2 percent of the district's 11,97,954 residents are literate; less than one in four women can read and write. Among adivasis, who make up just over half of the population, the literacy rate is estimated at just over 20 percent.

Put simply, the bulk of Koraput's population has neither the education nor the capital needed to exploit the entrepreneurial opportunities that industrial growth is opening up. Koraput's already-marginalised adivasi population, in particular, has little reason to look to the future with hope. Democracy needs to provide answers to the looming crisis — or could face defeat.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/18/stories/2009041856091300.htm

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Adivasi (Tribal) Witchcraft News Reports

2009-04-07T01:30:00.001-07:00

Adivasi Witchcraft

URL: adivasi-witchcraft.jharkhand.org.in

Children of 'witches' fight social stigma

September 19, 2007 (IANS) Ranchi: A social revolution is taking root in Jharkhand's villages. Daughters and granddaughters of women who were once branded witches are coming forward to root out the social evil.

Poonam Toppo, 29, whose grandmother was once tortured for being a witch, has taken up cudgels to fight the crime of branding innocent people witches and then killing them brutally.

A resident of Bhusur village on the outskirts of Ranchi, Poonam became an orphan at the age of eight. She was the third child of her family and lived with her grandmother.

Recalling her past, Poonam, now director of the Ranchi unit of Free Legal Aid Committee (FLAC), said that when a villager died, residents put the blame on her grandmother.

The village panchayat branded her grandmother a witch and she was brutally beaten up. The family was ostracised and prevented from going to the village market or participating in tribal festivals.

"My grandmother was blamed for everything taking place in the village, be it the death of a cow or a buffalo. One day I decided to stand up against this. When they once came to beat my grandmother, I stood at the doorway and asked them to kill me first. The villagers retreated," Poonam said.

"I took up the matter with the panchayat leaders and argued that if my grandmother could kill anyone, then why couldn't she protect herself from the wrath of the villagers. The panchayat accepted my argument and agreed not to harass my grandmother," she said.

Poonam started a campaign against the social stigma at the age of 12. She was ridiculed in school as the granddaughter of a witch. Undaunted, she organised more than 50 plays to create awareness among children.

Seema Toppo, another girl from Namkom village in Ranchi, is also in the campaign. Seema's mother too was tortured by her neighbours. Villagers beat her, blaming her for the death of a woman.

Seema also started a protest campaign by organising street plays and puppet shows.

But women are still being attacked and killed after being branded witches in the state.

Official figures show that 189 women were killed between 2001 and 2006 for allegedly practising witchcraft. The figure is contested by FLAC, which says 412 women were killed between 2001 and 2006.

And since 1991 to July this year, 922 women have been killed.

To prevent witchcraft killing, Bihar unveiled a Witchcraft Prevention Act, 1999. Jharkhand accepted this in 2001.

"Law is not sufficient to curb witchcraft deaths. The real culprits are Ojhas (witch doctors). We want stringent action against anyone torturing women," said Ajay Kumar, a former director of FLAC.

Three of a family killed for practising witchcraft

June 28, 2008 (IANS) Ranchi: Three members of a family were beaten to death in a Jharkhand village after being accused of practising witchcraft, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred late Friday night in Torpa block of Khuti district, around 90 km from Ranchi.

Police identified the victims as Ghuchara Pahan, his son Kisun and daughter-in-law Mukta.

The villagers had convened a panchayat meeting Friday night and summoned the trio, who were asked to stop practicing black magic as this was causing suffering to the villagers.

Ghuchara and Kisun had a verbal altercation with the villagers, after which they ran into their hut. The villagers dragged them out and started beating them with bamboo sticks and irons rods, killing all three on the spot. The villagers later informed the police about the incident.

The police reached the village Saturday and took the bodies away. The villagers involved in the killing are absconding.

Over 700 people, mostly women, have been killed over the past few years in Jharkhand after being branded as witches.

Accused witch axed to death

Jamshedpur / telegraph / July 05, 2005: A 35-year-old woman was axed to death in Lodhanbani village under Barsole police station for allegedly practising witchcraft.

The woman, identified as Badbari Munda, was allegedly axed inside her house by four villagers from the same village at about 1.30 in the night. Sukra Munda, the husband of the victim who is also the eyewitness, revealed that late Sunday night four persons forcefully entered their house and started beating Badbari.

The four have been identified as Ranga, Maha, Lolia and Tira Munda. ?We had just finished our dinner and were about to sleep when we heard some people shouting outside our house. Soon someone knocked at the door. We did not open the door, but they broke the bolt and entered the house,? said Sukra.

Ranga was carrying an axe and the other three assailants were carrying iron rods and sticks. ?As soon as they entered into the house they started abusing my wife as a witch. Before we could find our way out of the house, Ranga attacked her with the axe and she fell on the ground,? said Sukra.

Sukra and his family members, however, denied Badbari ever practised witchcraft. They maintained that before this no one has ever raised any allegation against the deceased. ?The most important thing is that witchcraft is practiced by old women and she was just 35 years old. How could they label her as a witch?? said the father of the deceased.

From Superstition to Savagery

Women Accused of Witchcraft Face Violence in Rural India

The Washington Post, August 8, 2005 - At sundown, Pusanidevi Manjhi recalled, nine village men stormed into her house shouting, "Witch, witch!" and dragged her out by her hair as her six small children watched helplessly.

"This woman is a witch!" the men announced to the villagers, said Manjhi, 36. She said they tied her ankles together and locked her in a dark room.

"They beat me with bamboo sticks and metal rods and tried to pull my nails out. 'You are a witch, admit it,' they screamed at me again and again," Manjhi said, tearfully recalling her four days of captivity in June.

"They accused me of casting an evil spell on their paddy crop that was destroyed in a fire. I begged them and told them I was not a witch," she said, showing wounds on her legs, thighs, hips and shoulders one recent morning in this village in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

After a police investigation, the men who attacked Manjhi were arrested. An official said that the attack was spurred by a powerful landowner who owned rice paddies in the village and used local superstition to mask his attempts to maintain control.

Threats and charges of witchcraft occur in a number of Indian states that have large tribal populations with traditional beliefs about witches. Indian newspapers periodically publish reports about women who, after being accused of being witches, have been beaten, had their heads shaved or had strings of shoes hung around their necks. Some have been killed.

In a tribal society steeped in superstition, the spells of witches often are blamed for stubborn illnesses, a stroke of bad luck, the drying up of wells, crop failure or the inability to give birth to a son. But social analysts and officials said that superstition and faith in witchcraft often are a ploy for carrying out violence against women.

"Superstition is only an excuse. Often a woman is branded a witch so that you can throw her out of the village and grab her land, or to settle scores, family rivalry, or because powerful men want to punish her for spurning their sexual advances. Sometimes it is used to punish women who question social norms," said Pooja Singhal Purwar, an official at the Jharkhand social welfare department.

"Women from well-to-do homes in the village are never branded witches," Purwar said. "It is always the socially and economically vulnerable women who are targeted and boycotted."

Purwar said she sees an average of five women a month being denounced as witches and tortured in rural Jharkhand. Her department has drawn up a public information project to oppose the practice, providing information at village fairs and conducting street performances and puppet shows. Police at the local level have been alerted to track the cases of women who are attacked, she said.

While Manjhi was imprisoned by her captors, her husband, a farmhand, sought help from the village elders, who called a meeting to determine if Manjhi was a witch and summoned a witch doctor for verification. But by then, word spread and the police arrived.

The nine men were charged under a Jharkhand state law that forbids accusing people of being witches. One of them was Gahan Lal, the man whose paddy had caught fire. Lal later confessed to torturing Manjhi.

"Gahan Lal was a powerful landlord. There were fights all the time in the village over land and wages," said Jayant Tirkey, the police officer investigating the case. "When his paddy caught fire, he blamed [Manjhi] for casting an evil spell. But that is merely an excuse. His real motive is to instill fear among the poor."

Tirkey said he thinks that village witch doctors are to blame for superstitious practices, but added that witch doctors are not arrested and tried because they are not directly involved in the violence.

"I never name a witch. I only give villagers some clues to find her," said Leena Oraon, who is known as a witch doctor in Aragate village and who says she studies rice grains to ascertain the presence of a witch in the village. "Today's doctors cannot cure ailments that are caused by a witch's curse. That is why people come to me."

In a case three years ago in Lalganj village, an elderly woman, Baili Kashyap, was branded a witch for supposedly causing sickness in the family of a relative. The relatives, who allegedly were engaged in a land dispute with her, tied her to a tree and slit her throat with a sickle while others in the village watched. Six men are in prison for the murder.

"My mother-in-law was not a witch. They were after our land. But the entire village just stood and watched the murder," said Kashyap's daughter-in-law, Reena, 28. "They believed she was a witch and deserved to die."

According to a study by the Free Legal Aid Committee, an advocacy group that works against witch-hunting, only 2 percent of people charged with witch-hunting are convicted in court.

"People go scot-free because witnesses are hard to come by. Villagers often approve of the torture meted out to these women," said Girija Shankar Jaiswal, a lawyer who heads the organization. "They think witch-hunting is a heroic act and that it will clean the society of evil."

Only two Indian states, Jharkhand and Bihar, have outlawed witch-hunting. Last year, one of India's northeastern states, Tripura, conducted a discussion in the legislative assembly about the need to ban the practice of witch-hunting. After a day-long debate, the assembly unanimously decided that killing of people for practicing witchcraft should be prevented.

However, members failed to reach a consensus on whether witchcraft was a science or superstition.

Couple killed for practising witchcraft in Jharkhand

Ranchi (IANS)| July 02, 2007: An old couple were killed in Jharkhand for allegedly practicing black magic, police officials said.

Tanekta Bhokta, 60, and his wife Ashamani, 55, were residents of Beti village under Pithoria block, about 40 km from Ranchi.

Police officials said Monday that the couple's neighbour Deodhari Bhokta and his brother Surendra Bhokta dragged them out of their house Sunday. The brothers tied the old couple to a tree and beat them to death with sticks. The men then hacked the dead bodies with sharp edged weapons and chopped off the hands and legs.

Later, they informed other villagers about the crime that they had committed and surrendered before the police.

However, the brothers do not regret having killed the couple. "The couple were practising black magic and due to impact of their black magic our family members were falling ill. We have no remorse," said Surendera Bhokta.

The couple are survived by their two daughters. One of them, Rupanti Kumari, 19, said: "We tried to save our parents but they did not show any mercy. Not a single villager turned up to help us".

Killing people suspected of practising black magic is common in Jharkhand. In the past 10 years, more than 600 persons, mostly women, have been killed in Jharkhand after they were branded witches.



Man sacrifices sons in Jharkhand

Ranchi (IANS) | January 10, 2007: In a strange incident of child sacrifice, a man in Jharkhand sacrificed two of his sons Wednesday in search of spiritual powers, police said.

Jeetan Munda, a resident of Barki village in Hazaribagh district, is a sorcerer by profession, escaped after sacrificing his sons with the help of an aide, police said.

The younger son died on the spot, while the elder son sustained serious injuries and he was admitted to a local hospital. His condition is said to be serious.

Police have recovered materials like vermilion, mustard oil and clothes, which suggest that Munda had worshipped the god before sacrificing his sons.

Witchcraft and occult practices are common in Jharkhand.

More than 20 persons have been sacrificed in the state recently in the name of appeasing god.



Three of a family killed for practising witchcraft

June 28th, 2008 by IANS - Three members of a family were beaten to death in a Jharkhand village after being accused of practising witchcraft, police said Saturday. The incident occurred late Friday night in Torpa block of Khuti district, around 90 km from Ranchi.

Police identified the victims as Ghuchara Pahan, his son Kisun and daughter-in-law Mukta.

The villagers had convened a panchayat meeting Friday night and summoned the trio, who were asked to stop practicing black magic as this was causing suffering to the villagers.

Ghuchara and Kisun had a verbal altercation with the villagers, after which they ran into their hut. The villagers dragged them out and started beating them with bamboo sticks and irons rods, killing all three on the spot. The villagers later informed the police about the incident.

The police reached the village Saturday and took the bodies away. The villagers involved in the killing are absconding.

Over 700 people, mostly women, have been killed over the past few years in Jharkhand after being branded as witches.

Chhattisgarh police arrest 22 for assaulting 50 women

December 23rd 2008 Raipur (IANS) - Twenty two men have been arrested in Chhattisgarh for assaulting about 50 women and branding them witches, a senior official said Tuesday. According to reports, a nine day "purification ceremony" was organised by about 200 villagers on the advice of a local leader at Dhodhakesra village in Surguja district, about 400 km north of Raipur.

During the "ceremony", about 50 women were branded witches and they were forced to get a haircut "to free them from impact of evil spirits". The women were also beaten in public. The "ceremony" ended Dec 19.

"Police will not tolerate such an act; 22 men have been arrested under the stringent Chhattisgarh Witchcraft (Prevention) Act that makes crimes against women in name of witches a non-bailable offence," senior police officer Radheshyam Nayak told IANS.

He said the probe is on and villagers are being interrogated, adding that more arrests are likely.

Chief Minister Raman Singh has taken a serious view of the incident and termed it "most inhuman, unfortunate and shameful". He has asked police chief Vishwaranjan to thoroughly investigate the case and ensure tough punishment to culprits.

With a rising number of cases against women in the name of witchcraft, the state government enacted a Witchcraft (Prevention) Act in 2005. Those convicted under the act can be jailed for upto five years.

Teenager lynched in West Bengal on suspicion of being a witch

Kolkata, Nov 23 (IANS) A 16-year-old girl was beaten to death by villagers in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, who accused her of practising witchcraft and entrancing the son of her former employer to marry her, the police said. "Tulu Dolui, 16, was dragged out of her hut in Ghoramara village around 11.30 p.m. by at least eight people, who then tied her to a tree and beat her with sticks for over three hours," an official at Sagore police station told reporters.

He said police intervened to rescue the girl, but she succumbed to her injuries on way to the local health centre. She had sustained serious head, abdominal, chest and back injuries.

The official said the villagers alleged that Dolui was a witch and had hypnotised the son of a rich grocer's son, who decided to marry her against his parents' wishes. She was working there as a maid servant until the grocer came to know of the relationship and sacked her.

No one has been arrested so far in this incident, he said.

Jharkhand tribes facing Malaria deaths

November 12th, 2008 by ANI - Kuramu (Pallamu) Jharkhand, Nov.12 (ANI): Widespread ignorance, dependency on exorcism and witchcraft among tribes in Jharkhands Palamu district have become a major problem for people struggling against Malaria here.

Malaria has claimed over 24 lives and affected hundreds of others in Kuramu village under Chandwa Block of Latehar Division of States Palamu district.

"My grandson was already suffering from fever. We called the exorcists and even witch doctors, but nothing could help. He died on the Diwali night. Later my granddaughter also fell ill and we have taken her to Primary Healthcare Centre at Chandwa," said Ram Chandra, a local resident.

Marshy lands, water logging and unhygienic conditions in this region have become a haven for mosquitoes to breed and spread dreaded filaria, malaria and dengue, further the situation is compounded by apathetic attitude of the State administration.

Nine persons belonging to the Lohra and Ganjhu tribes have reportedly succumbed to the disease in the last week alone.

Another factor that let the spread of the disease has been the isolated location of these affected areas with no concerned officials turning up for inspection.

"We know that this place is a remote place, and it''s not really accessible by general public. But still the way administration has delayed the matter and this is something very much unjustified," said Boidya Nath Ram, a former legislator of Chandwa area.

Hundreds of hapless villagers are compelled to endure the dreaded malaria while those responsible in the administration appear to have just woken up from slumber.

Doctor and para-medical staff of Primary Health Centre at Chandwa, however, blame the inaccessible roads and remote location for the delay in providing help.

"Kuramu is not very accessible, and thus, treatment in this area has been bit delayed. But we are trying our level-best to treat as many people as possible. Hopefully, things will get better soon," said Dr. R R Prasad, Medical Officer at the Primary Health Centre, Chandwa. (ANI)

Youth killed in witchcraft related violence

Raipur, May 21 (IANS) Eight people have been arrested in Chhattisgarh's industrial city Bhilai after a young man was killed in group clashes over a dispute over witchcraft. Police said two groups clashed Monday night at Sector 11 in Bhilai, about 30 km from here, after some people attacked a woman's house blaming her for the death of a boy.

This led to the group clash in which a 22-year-old man, S. Gopi, suffered severe head injuries and died later, said Additional Superintendent of Police Prashant Thakur.

Chhattisgarh is infamous for witchcraft related violence.

Dalit woman branded witch in Bihar, beaten up



Patna, March 28 2008 (IANS) A middle-aged Dalit woman was brutally thrashed and her hair cut off for allegedly practising witchcraft in a Bihar village, barely 20 km from the state capital, Patna, the police said Friday. The police lodged a first information report and arrested six people, including prime accused Ramayodhya Rai.

The woman, Lalpari, in her 40s, is a resident of Naubatpur village nearPatna. The police said the people suspected she practised witchcraft in the neighbouring Adalchak-Dumaria village, near Maner in the outskirts of Patna.

"She was first tied to a palm tree with a rope, then thrashed and her hair was cut off and burnt in front of a crowd of villagers Thursday," a senior police officer said.

The incident created an uproar in the state assembly Friday and an opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator and a minister in the erstwhile Rabri Devi government, Shyam Razak alleged that women were not safe under the present regime.

"Women were being tortured by feudal forces," Razak said while his party members raised anti-government slogans. The opposition demanded stern action against the guilty.

The police said Lalpari had gone to Adalchak-Dumaria village Thursday to treat a woman, Manorama Rai, who suffers from a mental illness.

As Manorama's condition deteriorated, her husband Ramayodhya Rai lost his temper and accused Lalpari of practising sorcery and inflicting harm on his wife.

He got together some of his friends from the village and paraded Lalpari through the streets. The men tied her to a palm tree, cut off her hair and smeared her head with limestone paste.

Lalpari, however, refuted the charge of practising witchcraft and said she was a healer. When the police were informed about the incident, they rushed to the village and rescued the woman.

16 arrested for burning alive woman in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, March 27 2008 (IANS) Sixteen people including five women have been arrested for allegedly burning alive a 40-yr-old tribal woman in Korea district of Chhattisgarh after beating her for hours with hot iron rods, a police officer said Thursday. "The woman, who belonged to the Gond tribe, was beaten for hours with hot iron rods before being set on fire in the presence of dozens of villagers. They accused her of witchcraft and claimed she was responsible for the recent deaths of three children in the village," A.M. Juri, district superintendent of police, told IANS.

The woman called Phulkanwar was killed Sunday in Dholpur village, about 500 km north of here. A case was registered Wednesday when her husband Harilal Singh reported the tragedy to the police.

"We have strong evidence against 17 people and 16 of them have been arrested. The one person who is absconding will also be arrested soon," Juri said.

Besides murder, the 17 have been charged under the stringent Chhattisgarh Witchcraft (Prevention) Act, 2005.

Crimes against women accused of witchcraft are common in Chhattisgarh's northern and southern regions.

Man enters police station with severed head

Jamshedpur, Apr 20 2008 (PTI) In a ghastly incident, a woman was beheaded on suspicion of practising witchcraft by a tribal who later walked in the police station with the severed head in Ghatsila sub-division of Jharkhand today.

The accused Jairam Hansda held the woman Renti responsible for the death of his brother a few days back and had been looking for a chance to get her, police said.

On finding her alone today, Jairam coaxed the unsuspecting woman to accompany him to a desolate spot next to a paddy field and made her consume alcohol at Musaboni area under Ghatsila sub-division.

Watch this incident in video - http://jharkhandforum.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/jharkhand-forum-adivasi-witchcraft-in-india-the-most-sensational-murder-of-sorcery-suspect/

Tribal Woman in Assam Hacked To Death on Suspicion of 'Witch'

Sinlung / Jan 31 09 Baksa - A 65-year-old Adivasi woman was hacked to death, allegedly by her two brothers, on the suspicion of practising witchcraft in lower Assam's Baksa district.

The decomposed body of Buddha Bala, with cut wounds on her head and neck, was found at her house in labour line quarter of Dumuni tea estate on Friday, police sources said.

Inquiries revealed a group of 20-25 neighbours along with her two brothers came to the woman's house on Tuesday night and forcibly took her away at knife point.

Her body was found near home this morning, the sources said.

Bala's two brothers Jogen Kerketa and Jonathan Kerketa confessed before reporters after their arrest that they had killed their sister on suspicion of her practising witchcraft along with four others.

The dark side of India where a witch-doctor's word means death

Monday, 5 July 2004: The decision was made in the hot jungle night: Bhobesh Pahan and his two adult sons, Nirmal and Bimal, must die. Two weeks ago, the villagers of Poaltore, near the border with Bangladesh, had a meeting to decide what to do about the spate of illness gripping the village. A month before, a two-year-old, Sumon Pahan, no relation, had died of dysentery.

The decision was made in the hot jungle night: Bhobesh Pahan and his two adult sons, Nirmal and Bimal, must die. Two weeks ago, the villagers of Poaltore, near the border with Bangladesh, had a meeting to decide what to do about the spate of illness gripping the village. A month before, a two-year-old, Sumon Pahan, no relation, had died of dysentery.

Several villagers had viral fever. The village witch doctor said the cause was simple. The 65-year-old Bhobesh Pahan and his sons were witches, and had placed a curse on the villagers.

The jungle is never far in the villages here. The banana leaves and creepers are so thick you cannot see through them, even by daylight. There are spiders bigger than a man's hand, and some of the world's most poisonous snakes. At night, the villagers hear the sounds of leopards in the undergrowth.

The witch-doctor is said to have told the people the only way to rid themselves of the curse that was making them sick was to kill the witches. Bhobesh Pahan and his sons were condemned to death. The villagers agreed to kill them.

But, by a rare stroke of fortune, the Pahans were saved. The police were tipped off that there was about to be a witch-killing. The officers raided in force and rescued the men. Since then, there have been intensive police patrols in the village to prevent violence.

This incident, just two weeks ago, has cast renewed scrutiny on a darker side of India. The country is at the forefront of the cyber-revolution, the home of the world's biggest film industry, and a place where more and more business is being outsourced from Britain. But if India is changing fast, the more remote parts of the country are being left behind. Witch-killing is still an everyday part of life here. And not all the victims are as lucky as the Pahans.

They came for Sanseriya Oraow on a humid monsoon Sunday. Her neighbours dragged the middle-aged mother from her house and hammered a nail through her skull into her brain. Then, while she was still alive but in desperate pain, they sewed her up in a sack and dumped her in the nearby Murti river. Two days later, the police recovered her body.

The neighbours dragged four other middle-aged women from their homes that day. Each one suffered similar treatment, nails being hammered into her head, then, in her confusion and agony, being sewn into a sack and dumped in the river to die. This was the most notorious case of recent times. The local witch doctor had proclaimed the women witches after a run of illness among the people.

The place where it happened, Kilkott tea garden, seems an unlikely setting for such stuff of nightmares. This is a plantation set up by the British in colonial times, and is famed for the quality of its tea. On the mountainsides nearby are the great tea gardens of Darjeeling.

Kilkott is in stark contrast, surrounded by encroaching jungle. At the head planter's bungalow, the managers sit in wicker chairs on a vast, white verandah, gazing over manicured lawns and flower-beds that look straight out of Surrey, shielded by an elaborate iron screen from the monsoon deluge hammering into the garden. In a curious throwback to the colonial era, the managers of the tea estates dress in old-fashioned, tight English shorts that would be considered risqué in polite Indian society and seem ill-advised in a region ridden with malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

In another notorious case, across the border in Bihar state in 2000, Manikul Gopai survived only because her family fought to the death to defend her after she was named as a witch by a medicine man and 10 men attacked her house. Her husband was hacked to death by the attackers as he tried to guard the door. Her son's arm was sliced open, but he managed to escape and get to the police to beg for help with his dying breath. They arrived armed to the teeth and just in time to rescue Ms Gopai. She had been seriously wounded with a sword- blow to the forehead.

Activists believe there may be up to 100 cases a year in India. In May, Dituben Singhod was hacked to death with a scythe and an axe by two men who accused her of being a witch and putting a spell on their niece, who had died of illness. That was in Vadodara, hundreds of miles from here.

But tea plantations founded by the British are the focal point of anti-witch activities. Between 1992 and 1998, the most recent period for which figures are available, 1,403 people were killed as alleged "witches" on the plantations. The reason, says Sundeep Mukherjee of the Indian Tea Association, also dates from colonial times. When the British planted tea in India, finding local labourers prepared to do what was seen as the menial work of laboriously picking leaves from the bushes by hand was difficult.

So the British imported workers called Adivasis, people still living in tribal society at the time in the jungles of neighbouring Bihar, and offered them a new life. Free accommodation on the tea estates, and a job not only for life, but for at least one child after their deaths. To this day, most of the workers on the estates are still Adivasis, and they still enjoy the deal made with the British.

Mr Mukherjee is a retired Indian army officer, immaculately dressed and with perfect English. At one point, he suggests a trip to a neighbouring village where a rogue elephant is on the rampage, "just for the adventure of it".

He says: "The witch-hunting [is caused by] ignorance, because they are so steeped in superstition. First, most of the tribals are illiterate. They are so engrossed in their superstition that, although qualified doctors are provided for them, it's so deep-seated that they still go to their witch-doctors."

The Indian Tea Association has been trying to stamp out the witch-hunting phenomenon by pushing for better education in the plantations, and for initiatives such as plays to encourage adults to go to real doctors instead of witch-doctors. Although some Adivasis still practise animism, most have become Hindus or Christians. But primitive beliefs are still deep.

Several types of poisonous snakes roam the jungle, including the deadly king cobra. Most Adivasis who are bitten still go to the witch-doctors, who are believed to be able to draw out the poison with a mixture of herbs applied to the skin.

The medicine men also try to cure other illnesses with mantras. When the witch-doctor fails to cure an illness, Mr Mukherjee says, he faces the wrath of the family, so he claims the sickness has been caused by a witch, and names one of the local labourers, usually a middle-aged or elderly woman, often unmarried or widowed. The only cure is believed to be to kill the witch.

In an effort to stamp this out, the plantations are required by law to provide free medical care for workers, and doctors and hospitals are all available nearby. But many workers still prefer the witch-doctors.

"The witch-doctors are themselves illiterate, and are pawns in the hands of rival groups, used to settle scores among them," Mr Mukherjee says. There have been cases in which one side in a land dispute is believed to have persuaded the witch-doctor to name his rival as a witch to get him off the scene.

"Pointing out of 'witches' is an offence under Indian law, but because of the lack of witnesses, the witch-doctors invariably go free," Mr Mukherjee adds.

The Kilkott case is still being investigated, and there is a court case pending. But many of the witnesses are said to have changed their police statements. On the plantation, no one will admit they witnessed the killing. Everyone claims they were somewhere else at the time. Even Sanseriya Oraow's two grown-up sons denied to The Independent that they had seen anything.

"I was in the fields when it happened," Somra Oraow says. "When I got back I saw my mother's dead body." But when questioned about the condition of the body, he quickly changed his story. "I didn't see the body," he says. "I didn't see anything." Something has the labourers of Kilkott deeply scared. But whether it is fear of the police, the witch-doctors, or reprisals from the guilty labourers, is impossible to tell.

On the plantations it is not hard to understand why the labourers still believe in witchcraft. The night is pitch-dark here, there is no light for miles, and if you find yourself out on the plantations after dark you are alone amid the impenetrable darkness and the incessant sound of the surrounding jungle. Anyone can start believing in witchcraft under such conditions.

The labourers live by the sun. They get up at dawn to start work, and got bed soon after dark falls. They live on the "lines", rows of wood-and-mud houses with little gardens full of chickens and goats. Compared to the slums of India's city, these artificial villages don't seem that bad; there is space and everybody has a roof over his head. But the jungle begins where the "lines" end, at the end of the street, and leopards have been known to come in at night to kill the chickens and goats.

We found a witch-doctor on the tea plantation at Gandrapara tea garden. His name was Ashok Goaala, a slight man with deep-set, dark eyes. He seemed more frightened than intimidating, and was dressed in Western clothes, a tatty shirt and trousers.

"I possess my power from God," he says. "I can cure sicknesses. For snakebites, I put herbs next to the bite and then I recite a mantra. People come from as far away as Assam and Nepal to see me. My great-grandfather was a witch-doctor."

When asked if he believed in witches, his reply made the skin prickle: "As far as I know, there are witches in the lines here," he says. The manager of the plantation, who was standing nearby, looked shocked, but Mr Goaala added: "I don't publicise this or point it out. I don't believe in witch-hunting. I am capable of handling it myself."

The management of the tea plantations is often as reticent about the incidents as the labourers. At the Gairkata tea garden, where a woman was beaten to death last year as an alleged "witch", the management claimed there were "no official records" of witch-killings. All over the tea gardens, you get the same answer: yes, it happens, but not here.

A visit to the local police station shows the difficulties police are working under. There is no air-conditioning, despite the damp jungle heat. Officers sit sweating and mopping their brows, cradling the military rifles they need to patrol India's lawless rural areas. There are separatist militants here, some roads are not safe to travel at night.

"We'd like you to do an article," Sub-Inspector Nirmo Yonzhan, the senior officer, says. "We want more exposure for the witch-hunting, we want to stop it." But producing his files on witch-killing is no easy task. The station has no computers, just thousands of dusty documents that would have to be laboriously sifted through. It could take days.

There are piles of documents like that about witch-hunting across India, but with so few witnesses prepared to testify against the killers, and traditional societies resisting efforts to wean them off the witch-doctors, they may just keep piling up.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-dark-side-of-india-where-a-witchdoctors-word-means-death-552084.html

Witchcraft in Assam school curricula?

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has mooted introduction of a subject relating to 'dayan pratha' or witchcraft in the syllabus of primary education in Assam to eradicate the growing menace.

Neeva Konwar, member of the National Women Commission, said witch-hunting, like an infectious disease, was slowly spreading to newer areas and solutions would have to be found to eradicate the evil practice.

"The idea behind introducing dayan pratha in primary schools is to bring about awareness from an early age to do away with the primitive practice of witch-hunting based on superstitious beliefs," said Konwar.

Mridula Saharia , chairperson of the Assam State Women Commission, stressed the need for better medical facilities and mass awareness in remote rural areas to eradicate the evil practice. She said women cell should be activated at panchayat and district-level to tackle the evil.

The practice of witch-hunting is prevalent among some tribal communities in the state. These include Bodos, Ravas and the greater Adivasi community.

The Assam government had already adopted multi pronged strategy to combat witch-hunting. The Assam police have also intensified their drive to curb this problem. Codenamed 'Project Prahari', the crusade includes community policing measures, besides regular awareness campaigns, among tribal chiefs and village elders.

The police campaign is now focusing on educating villagers and holding meetings in areas dominated by tribal people.

Indian 'witchcraft' family beheaded

A family of five has been beheaded in Sonitpur district, north-east India, by a mob who accused them of witchcraft.

The tea plantation worker and his four children had been blamed for causing a disease which killed two other workers and made many unwell in Assam state.

About 200 villagers tried and sentenced the family in an unofficial court, then publicly beheaded them with machetes.

They then marched to a police station with the heads, chanting slogans denouncing witchcraft and black magic.

'Pregnant wife fled'

The incident occurred at the Sadharu tea plantation near the town of Biswanath Charali, about 300 km (190 miles) north of Guwahati, Assam's main city.

Sixty-year-old Amir Munda, who was killed alongside his two daughters and two sons, was reportedly a traditional healer.

After two plantation workers died and many others became ill from mysterious illness, other members of the Adivasi Santhal community accused him and his family of being the cause.

"A trial was held to prove if Munda and his family were involved in casting evil spells in the tea garden that led to a bout of epidemics in the area," police officer D Das said. "They said the killings would appease the gods.

"Munda's pregnant wife and her three young children managed to escape before the mob killed the other members of the family," A Hazarika, a local police official, told AFP.

Six people were arrested for the killings, Mr Hazarika said.

According to police records, some 200 people have been killed in Assam in the past five years for allegedly practicing witchcraft.

Source: BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4822750.stm

Witch' family buried alive

Guwahati, 11 Jun 2008 | Telegraph: Four members of a family were stoned and buried alive in a village in Upper Assam's Sonitpur district last night after a kangaroo court found them guilty of practising witchcraft and sentenced them to death.

The victims — Lakhan Majhi, 65, his wife Sumoni, 60, son Durga, 45, and daughter-in law Sabitri, 35 — incurred the wrath of villagers in Koilajuli Milanpur after a 21-year-old youth, Gobinda, died on Saturday.

Sonitpur superintendent of police Munna Prasad Gupta said Gobinda had died after prolonged illness, but the villagers held Lakhan, who used to regularly perform puja at Gobinda's residence, responsible for his death.

The villagers summoned the Majhis to village headman Bhutkori Majhi's house for a public hearing last night.

"The entire village was present at Bhutkori's house. The elders charged the Majhis with casting evil spells on Gobinda that resulted in his death," an officer at Biswanath Chariali police station, under which the village falls, said.

The villagers then stoned the four and buried them in a nearby jungle while they were still breathing.

When police reached the village this morning to exhume the bodies, all the males of the village had fled.

"We interrogated a few women who said the men of the village had crushed the victims' heads with bricks and stones and buried them even before they died," the officer said. He added that the headman was the main accused and the police were looking for him.

This is the second time that alleged witches have been murdered in Biswanath Chariali in the past two years.

On March 18, 2006, five members of a family were beheaded by a mob at Sadharu tea estate in the heart of Biswanath Chariali. The mob then marched to a police station with the heads, chanting slogans against witchcraft and black magic.

Amir Munda, 60, his two sons and two daughters were beheaded after a mysterious ailment struck the labour lines.

Two garden workers died while several others were afflicted by the disease.

Soon, the community's suspicions fell on Munda.

The labourers called a meeting, to which Munda was also invited. When he fled with his family, their suspicion turned to conviction.

Munda's pursuers caught him and held a kangaroo court. When Munda denied practising witchcraft, he was beaten until he "confessed" his entire family's involvement in occult practices. The court sentenced them to death.

According to police records, over 200 people have been killed in Assam in the past seven years for allegedly practising witchcraft.

Assam police have launched campaigns in Sonitpur and Lower Assam's Kokrajhar district to educate people against witch-hunts.

Yogini, Dakini, Tantric practices and animistic traditions of Adivasi

2009-04-01T00:22:00.001-07:00

From the ninth through at least the thirteenth centuries, there was an active cult of dakinis (usually called yoginis in today's India.) At least nine yogini temples have been discovered so far. The best known are the two in the state of Orissa, and the ones in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

It is generally thought that these shrines were centres for tantric practices the ultimate goal of which was the acquisition of extraordinary abilities (Skt. siddhi) or "supernatural powers." The saddhaka (practitioner) aspires to control body and mind, bring rain and otherwise regulate the elements, obtain wealth, heal the sick and perhaps also acquire destructive powers.

Some inscriptions indicate that dakini rituals were practiced well into the 16th century, but within mainstream Indian religion the cult diminished to the point that its temples were abandoned. Yet even today, offerings are often left at the feet of the images.

Some believe that the cult had origins in the animistic traditions of Adivasi peoples and/or the folk traditions of grama devati (female nature deities) and that around the late 7th century, those beliefs blended with the cult of Shakti and tantrism.

Today, many students of Indian religion are familiar with some of the tantric practices associated with the worship of the Great God (Skt. Mahadeva, Tib. Lha chenpo,) Lord Shiva. For example, in the Kaula Marga (Path of Time) practice, yoginis of different categories are included in the chakra or circle of experience. When the deity is experienced in wrathful form as Bhairava, the practice is known as Bhairavi Chakra. Then the sadhana (ritual) includes the use of the 5 M's: matsya (fish,) mamsa (meat,) mudra (here referring to parched grain,) madya (alcoholic drink,) and maithuna (sexual intercourse.) For the sadhaka, the breaking of taboos extends to the jati (occupational caste) of the maithun partner; a man would seek out a Dombi (laundress) or a Madhumati (brewer) and so on.

These kinds of contravention of norms or vows seems to be a constituent of the majority of wrathful deity practices. Kali and Durga are two wrathful forms of the consort of Shiva, and worship, especially at the main shrines, includes the sacrifice of animals. This and other normally forbidden activities play a role in the worship of other, local, Indian goddesses, especially at the times of the year considered sacred to them.

However, most tantric texts use sexual references as a kind of code for something else.

Mahadeva (Tib. Lha Chenpo or Shiva -- the Auspicious,) as Buddhist deity with consort, Uma (Durga is her warrior nature.) The "Benevolent Lord of the World" is sometimes seen as an emanation of Chenresi.

Hirapur

One of these centres was at the Mahamaya Temple on the banks of the sacred Bhargavi river at Hirapur, 15 km. from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. It is one of only four examples of the roofless or "hypaethral" temple that is still standing in India. (Another Orissan one is at Ranipur. The others are at Khajuraho and at Bhedaghat near Jabalpur.)

Mahamaya, the presiding deity of the Hirapur temple, is still regularly adorned with red cloth and vermilion. Mahamaya or, Great Illusion, is also a name by which the Buddha's mother is known.

Hirapur means the diamond city. The Hindi or Sanskrit name is also transliterated Heera. This is familiar to us from Greek mythology where the name, Hera, is usually taken to mean widow, despite the fact that the queen of the Olympian gods was Zeus' lawful wife and mother to Heracles.

In Minoan times (pre-1500 BCE) Hera was depicted bearing a staff and bowl similar to the attributes of Vajrayogini. On an archaic amphora, she is depicted attended by Nike, whose association with space is conveyed by means of wings.

Yogini or Dakini ?

There is a distinction among the terms goddess, shakti, yogini and dakini (also, shakini) though in general conversation it is blurred and the terms are used interchangeably. Goddess is a divine being of the highest order. She is absolute in her own right. However, we do not have a term (in English) for the consort, wife or companion of a god, so we use the term goddess here, too. When the essential character and/or the activity of a god is expressed through female energy or form, the Sanskrit term shakti is more appropriate. In the Indian tradition it is most often applied to an "expression" of Shiva.

In the Chandi Purana attributed to Sudramuni Sharala Das ( 15th century) of Orissa, the term yogini is used to refer to any of the many forms and/or qualities of Devi, the Supreme Goddess whose devotees are called Shaktas.   Each yogini is also seen as a different part of Her body.   However, in other religious texts, a yogini is an attendant of the Great Goddess. In Tibetan Buddhism, the expression meaning dakini is usually used for a female deity fulfilling the role of messenger or attendant.

Though the term yogini is also used for mysterious females who can effect extraordinary change that is ultimately, though not always apparently, beneficial, strictly speaking, a yogini is a female yogi. She is any practitioner of tantric lore in any of its variety of kinds. In legends and tales about yoginis, they are usually said to have acquired their siddhis or magical powers, such as being able to transform people into animals or birds through the mastery of some practice or more rarely, by means of a transaction with a deity or Mahasiddha.

Dakini retains the connotation, though somewhat less in the Buddhist context, of a frightening being. In some Indian texts the word is used as a synonym for sorceress, witch or even ghoul. One of her essential qualities is the ability to fly; perhaps that is one of the reasons why temples dedicated to dakinis are open to the sky.

In Orissa, surprisingly the ancient practice of witchcraft has still survived in certain areas. ... , among the Santals of Mayurbhanj district, witchcraft is still prevalent. The Santali witches often leave behind their husbands in bed in the midst of the night to assemble in a forest. Completely naked, they spend the rest of the night dancing and singing with 'bongas' (spirits or deities) and lions as their partners. At the break of dawn, they return to their beds, back to being what they originally were. The Santals believe that the 'talent' for witchcraft is not innate, but is attained through strict discipline.

~   <http://travel.indiamart.com/orissa/buddhist-heritage/hirapur.html>

Sixty-four

In one of the religious traditions of India, there are 8 major forms of Devi, the Goddess. These are known as the Ashta Matrikas (8 Mothers.) Each of these has 8 attendants and so we arrive at the number, 64. Each of the 64 can be further correlated to the currents or winds of the human "etheric" body, or viewed as a type of neurotic or unproductive tendency (if not balanced by the others.) However, these Matrikas, or other aspects of Devi such as the fearsome Chamundas, do not appear at the Hirapur temple.

Sapta Matrikas (Seven Mothers) are frequently carved on the outer walls of the Shiva temples. (The eighth is the god's consort, in this case.) They are Brahmi, Maheshvari, Aindri, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi and Chamunda, flanked by Virabhadra and Ganesha. In a purana, Devi Mahatmyam explains how they came into being to assist the Devi in her struggle with the ashura, Raktavija. (Every drop of blood [rakta] shed by this demon turned into another weapon-wielding opponent of the Goddess'.)

Five of the six Orissan Devi temples are dedicated to the goddess as Chamunda. Here she has the form of an emaciated crone standing on a corpse. She has prominent veins and tendons, and a gaping mouth and bulging eyes. The shrine of Vaitali (or, Vetali ) is also named for her in her manifestation as a ghost or spirit. As in a 64-yogini temple, it has sculpted images on its inner walls -- in this instance there is the set of Matrikas with Chamunda-Vaitali as the main idol.

There are also two fearsome or bhairava images, one wields a knife while a severed human head lies next to him. Two other severed human heads replace the fruit offerings as found on the similar tripods of the 14 other images in the shrine. Some people interpret this imagery as an indication that human sacrifice was practiced here: the Kapalika and Kalarnukha sects that are offshoots of the Pashupatinath (Shiva as Animal Master) worship are reported to have done so.

A sixth Devi temple -- at Chaurasi, in Orissa -- is dedicated to Varahi. The rupa is of a corpulent boar-faced Varahi with curly hair. In one hand she holds a fish. Her vehicle is the buffalo.

Yogini Worship

Vidya Dehejia, who is an associate director of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and chief curator of both the Freer and the Arthur M. Sackler Galleries, wrote a book on the subject of Yogini Temples. In 2000, she was interviewed by Vimla Patil for a Spectrum article in The Tribune (India) :

"The worship of 64 Yoginis is seen commonly between 800 and 1300 AD [sic]most of the temples dedicated to Yoginis are built in this era. The cult is influenced by Tantrik rituals and a great deal of the worship was conducted to achieve powers of black magic. The number 64, being a multiple of 8, is considered to have magical powers in the numerology of India. Devotees who performed this worship were known to conduct the Shava Chhedan ceremony — meaning the beheading of a dead body as the ultimate symbol of detachment from earthly desires. The members of this cult never harmed living beings and never conducted animal or human sacrifices.

Until 1500 AD, there are references in history to the widespread following of this cult. In the eastern provinces, there are reports that Yogini worshippers would ask for corpses from poor families with a promise of a grand funeral and provide this after their Shava or corpse ritual was over. But in later centuries, out of scary nature of the rituals and because of the growing stronghold of the Bhakti movement all over India — which preached love of god as the finest path to self realisation — this cult died a slow death, and remained only in small pockets of India. Thus, today, several Yogini temples are dilapidated and neglected with even tourists scared to enter them. Such a temple exists in Khajuraho.

However, Yogini temples in Hirakud, Ranipur Jharial and Pheraghat near Jabalpur are in excellent condition. Several of them were not even known to archaeologists till 1953. In Yogini worship, the Tantrik symbol is a chakra with 64 spokes in the wheel. Each spoke represents one Yogini a form of Shakti. In most of the well-conserved temples, the sculptures of Yoginis are intact and none of them are erotic as in other temples. This is because this cult did not believe in sex as a path to self discovery. The book I wrote on the Yogini temples has been published by the National Museum, Delhi."

~ Spectrum, The Tribune, 30 April 2000.

In the Buddhist, Kalachakra tantric system, there is described at the navel chakra called the Wheel of Emanation, 64 channels which are the 64 goddesses of the Speech Mandala.

A chakra within that system with images of the speech deites.

Lineages

Luipa, the fisher mahasiddha whose Sanskrit name is Matsyendranath, taught a system of eight chakras which was the basis for the Ka[u]la Marga tantric system. From that view, we derive the number 64 as the product of eight "petals" forming each corolla (or, pericarp) times the number of "lotuses" or chakras.

Vajravarahi with Luipa and Virupa, the Mahasiddhas.

The Kaula Marga siddhas are considered a sub-sect of Kashmiri Shaivism, but whose orientation was grouped by scholar K. C. Pandey with the Tamil Shaivas.

The 9th chapter of the Kaulajnana Nirnaya (attributed to Matsyendranath) presents the eight-chakra system, stating that the 64 yoginis are "well known in Kama-rupa."   The Sanskrit expression kamarupa means desire-form, a way of referring to this reality -- the world where forms are born out of Desire. However it was also used to refer to the Indian region of Assam which Pandey called "a stronghold of Tantrism."   Besides that, in the symbolic or "twilight" speech (sandhya bhasha) of the siddhas, the word also refers to the female organ and its symbol -- a trikona or triangle such as is used to depict the Muladhara or "root" chakra [of the so-called subtle body.]

By meditating on each of the 64 petals we can induce the resident yogini to grant a boon in the form of a siddhi (special ability.) The Kaula tradition teaches that in the 64-fold complex of matrices lie all the secrets of bodily perfection and also, of alchemy:

These eight goddesses stand in the field,
keeping the petals closed. Who knows why?

They won't let you see Nandi and rise up.

But you will drink the very substance of sky.

If you puff and make the eight shaktis swoon,
they'll open all the petals and go staggering off.

By using the heart of the flower,
you'll make them obey the Mother's commands.

- Bhogar. Elaayiram 7.

AND

Nandi can come here easily.

Being friendly, he will give the eight into eight:
the sixty-four.

The malleable alchemy will stand before you
with folded arms.

The deepest essence will appear explicit
and complete.

In Joy, the body becomes perfected.   ~ Bhogar. Elaayiram 24.

~ Layne Little's paper: Tamil studies at Berkeley under George Hart.

Besides the 8 x 8 vision, there is also an Indian view of Dasha Mahavidyas: Ten Great [Ways of] Knowing "embodied" by goddesses. In other words, there are/were probably a number of dakini temples, but not all were dedicated to a company of 64.

Other Numbers

One tantric Buddhist view has Krodha Kali (Tib. Troma Nagmo) accompanied by four dakinis, so that together, they are the Wisdoms of the Five Buddha families.   We can speculate that students of the Indian Mahasiddhas who systematized yogic practice came from many different philosophic and religious traditions -- orthodox, Buddhist and likely, others, too. Even, perhaps from very distant regions.

In this next Krodha Kali image [click again,] Mahasiddha Luipa is at top left holding a fish in his right hand, but on the top right is a monk who could be of the Kadampa order. The fact that Guru Padmasambhava is at the top indicates that the tangka is used by the Nyingma.

Finally, in one in which Machig Labdron is featured at the top, there are six yoginis in all.

Architecture

The temple near the village of Hirapur is the smallest of the Indian yogini/dakini temples, measuring less than 30 feet across. It is a circular enclosure of sandstone blocks on a foundation of laterites that is between 8 and 9 feet high on the exterior.

This is the only one of the "yogini" temples that has female figures on its outer walls, and their distinctive qualities lead one to conclude that this was, at least at one time, a Buddhist shrine. There are nine exterior niches, each home to a dakini sculpted in sandstone poised above large severed human heads. Each holds either her characteristic curved knife or spear in one hand, and her skull cup in the other.

There is a projecting entranceway, a feature not found in the other dakini temples. It is guarded by a pair of very wrathful, skeletal doorkeepers. Each one wears a skull garland and snake anklets. One holds a severed human head. On the pedestal are two other skeletal figures holding skull cups, each with a dog or jackal.

The short, narrow entrance is on the east and it requires the worshipper to crouch over (like a baby) to enter the sacred space which has no upper limit at all. The interior wall is about 2 meters high and contains 64 niches each with a plaque over it that identifies the female figure within. Today, only sixty figures remain.

The 64 female deities -- the Chausati (sixty-four) are variously called yoginis, dakinis, shaktis or bhairavis, are as mentioned in the Skanda Purana. Carved from a fine, black chlorite, each rupa (form) is small -- roughly a foot and a half high. Each one represents a voluptuous woman wearing a kilt or skirt held around her hips by an ornate girdle. Besides the belt, she wears the other seven symbolic ornaments: bracelets, armlets, anklets, earrings, necklace, garland and headdress. Their hairstyles include the most common one which is a cluster or bun worn to one side, or else a coronet of tight curls. Some are warriors or huntresses with bows and arrows, others balance on a pair of wheels, or play a drum. Most have two arms but a few have four.

The vahana or mount of the dakini includes animals such as the fish, parrot, turtle, frog, snake, scorpion, rat, while some appear with a decapitated male head, an archer, or other representation at their feet. Several of the dakinis have animal faces -- of a horse, ass, hare, elephant and lion.

History

It is generally accepted that the Hirapur temple was constructed sometime during the reigns of Bhauma and Somavamsi (mid-8th to mid-10th century,) since the figures resemble the style of those in the Mukteshwar temple in Bhubaneswar dating to the 9th century. That period is known as Orissa's Golden Age as a consequence of the dynasty's patronage and eclecticism in the arts, and tolerance in religious matters. However, one wonders whether it might not be on the site of a far older sanctuary.

Interesting paper by Alessandra Lopez Y Rojo on her presentation at Oxford University on 21 Feb. 2008 concerning dance and the Hirapur dakini temple.

Ranipur-Jharial Dakini Temple

This building is of sandstone and many of the figures are missing. At its heart is a Three-faced Shiva embracing Parvati. It is still a focus for worship, as Shivaratri (usually the night of the dark of the moon before springtime) is celebrated with a mela.

Jabalpur

About 28 km. from this town in Madhya Pradesh, there is another of the Chausat Yogini temples known also as the Madanpur Temple. It is one of the 25 Pithas or spots where the parts of the Goddess' body fell to earth; as such it is called Gauri Shankarji.

Here, in the fork where the Bawanganga (also called the Saraswati,) joins the Narmada River, the rock rises to a small round hillock where it commands the view of the Narmada (bewitching) River at the point where it flows through the Marble Rocks. The mandir (temple,) which is at the lower end of the gorge with its spectacular falls, is approached by a flight of 100 steps. It is a 130-ft. in diameter "cloister temple," ie. it has a separate shrine or cell for each dakini.

The spot, now called Bhera- or Bhedaghat, was earlier called Bhairavi ghat (landing) after the Terrifier, the goddess Durga. This 10th-century circular temple of the Kalchuri period (7th-13th centuries) has finely carved stone figures of the 64 deities, the names of which are given.

Legend has it that it was connected to the Gond queen, Durgavati's, palace by means of an underground passage.

"The kingdom was bravely defended by Rani Durgavati against the Mughal invasion. When she was loosing the battle, the Queen stabbed herself to death besides the consecrated banks of the Narmada. Her palace Madan Mahal and temple Chausat Jogini (The temple of Sixty Four Godesses [sic] ) are sites worth visiting. An old saying is "Madan Mahal kee chchaanv mein dhaaee laakh kee eent . . ." (Within the shadows of Madan Mahal is buried a golden brick worth Rs. 250, 000 . . .). . . . . As a tribute to the Queen, the Jabalpur University was renamed Rani Durgavati University (RDU) during mid-1980s."

~ Avinash Pandey

Khajuraho

The oldest of the surviving Khajuraho temples is the 64-yogini shrine which lies beyond the tank away from the other western group temples. Unlike all the other temples which are squared to the cardinal directions, it is oriented northeast to southwest. Only 35 of the original cells exist. The main image was the 65th, facing the entrance -- that of Kali.

Now in ruins, it is thought to date from 900 CE, but possibly even earlier. It was built on a low ridge and stands on an impressive stone jagati (platform) over 14 feet high. What little remains of the wall is also of dark granite. It is the only one entirely made of that material --- unpolished and undecorated except for some simple moldings -- and is not aligned like the others but rather northeast to southwest. Its quadrangular form is also unique. These qualities indicate its greater age than that of any of the other buildings.

It is significant, too, that it is situated more than three furlongs south of the Kandariya Mahadeva (Shiva) Temple.

The extraordinary Khajuraho site was only [re-]discovered in 1838. It consists of three groupings of temples that once numbered 85. The only one not of pink sandstone is the 64 Yogini shrine.

Varanasi

Past some of the smaller ghats (landings) such as Mansarovar Ghat, named for the holy Tibetan lake and Narada Ghat named for the legendary musician- sage, lies Chaumsathi Ghat. Here impressive stone steps lead up to the small Chaumsathi (var. 64) Yoginis. There are images of Kali and Durga, but generally the Goddess is just referred to as Ma. That is, Mother.

More About the 64

Shirdi Sai Baba (1838-1918) and the 64 yoginis.

Courtesy: khandro.net/dakini_the64.htm

National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC)

2009-02-05T09:55:00.001-08:00

Jharkhand Blog

Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation

National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC) has been set up in April, 2001 as a Government Company under Section 25 of the Companies Act. 1956 (A Company not for profit), following bifurcation of the erstwhile National Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) into two separate corporations.NSTFDC is a fully Government of India owned Undertaking under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and is managed by a Board of Directors with representation from Central Government, State Level Channelising Agency, financial institutions and persons representing Scheduled Tribes.
2.3 SHARE CAPITAL
The Authorised Share Capital of the Corporation is Rs.500.00 Crores.
2.4 BROAD OBJECTIVES
NSTFDC is the Apex organisation for providing financial assistance for scheme(s)/project(s) for the economic development of Scheduled Tribes. The broad objectives of NSTFDC are as under: -

i.
Identification of economic activities of importance to the Scheduled Tribes so as to generate employment and raise their level of income.

ii.

Upgradation of skills and processes used by the Scheduled Tribes through providing both institutional and on the job training;

iii.

To make the existing State/U.T Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporations who are nominated as the State Channelising Agencies (SCAs) for availing assistance from NSTFDC and other developmental agencies engaged in the economic development of Scheduled Tribes more effective.

iv.

To assist SCAs in project formulation, implementation of NSTFDC assisted Schemes and in imparting necessary training to their staff.

To provide financial support for meeting the working capital requirement of the Central / State government owned agencies, for undertaking procurement and marketing of minor forest produces, agricultural produces ,and other products grown/made or collected by the Scheduled Tribes.

vi.

To innovate, experiment and promote rather than replicate the work of the existing agencies.

2.5 FUNCTIONS

i.	To finance viable income generating Scheme(s)/ Project(s) costing upto Rs.10.00 Lakhs through the SCAs for the economic development of eligible Scheduled Tribes.
ii.	To provide grants through the SCAs for undertaking training programmes for the skill and entrepreneurial development of eligible Scheduled Tribes..
iii.	To upgrade skills of officials of the SCAs through periodic training.

2.6 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

i.	The beneficiary should belong to the Scheduled Tribes community.
ii.	Annual family income of the beneficiary should not exceed double the poverty line (DPL) income limit (presently Rs.39,500/- p.a. for the rural areas and Rs.54,500/- p.a. for the urban areas).
iii. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)	Individual, Partnership Firms/Co-operative Societies / any other form of Legal Associations are eligible to avail financial assistance from NSTFDC. However, proposals submitted by the Partnership Firms, Co-operative Societies and any other forms of Legal Associations shall be subject to the following : a) All the members should belong to the Scheduled Tribes community. b) Annual family income of each member/applicant should not exceed double the poverty line income limit. Eligibility Criteria for Self Help Groups (SHGs) : Proposal(s) submitted by an existing profit making SHGs to the Channelising Agencies of NSTFDC (SCAs) shall only be eligible for financial assistance under NSTFDC scheme of Micro Credit. All members of each Self Help Group should belong to the Scheduled Tribe community. Annual family income of each member of SHG should not exceed double the poverty line (DPL) income limit (presently Rs.39,500/- p.a. for the rural areas and Rs.54,500/- p.a. for the urban areas), at the time of availing of financial assistance [ Income Limit is revised from time to time based on the poverty norms revised by the Planning Commission.] The financial assistance given will be subject to further condition that till the currency of loan, availed under NSTFDC Scheme, non Scheduled Tribe (ST) person and or otherwise in-eligible ST person shall not be made member of the said Self Help Group. An undertaking for the above condition will be obtained by the SCAs from the SHGs prior to sanction of loan. Financial assistance is to be extended only to the eligible person(s) who is/are residing in the concerned State/U.T. for which the said Tribe has been notified as Scheduled Tribe by the Government. Note : SCAs are to verify the Tribe Caste as declared for each of the member by the SHGs with the notified Scheduled Tribes for the concerned State/UT prior to sanction of loan.

2.7 ALLOCATION OF FUNDS

CRITERIA
At the beginning of each financial year, funds are notionally allocated by the NSTFDC to the SCAs in proportion to the Scheduled Tribes population in the respective States and UTs. This is intimated to the SCAs. The SCAs may ensure the flow of funds in such a manner so as to maintain proper balance among different districts/regions, sectors and achieving an equitable gender-wise balance among the beneficiaries.

UNIT COST
Within the overall allocation, funds are to be allocated keeping the following broad norms :

%age of Notional Allocation

i) scheme(s)/project(s)
costing upto Rs.5.00 lakh /per unit /profit centre

90%

ii) scheme(s)/project(s)
costing above Rs.5.00 lakh /per unit /profit centre

10%

However 10%of allocation earmarked above can also be availed for small value projects .

SECTORAL ALLOCATION
The broad norms of sectoral allocation are given below .The norms are indicative .However,the SCAs are expected to ensure a balanced approach on sectoral allocation while forwarding scheme(s)/project(s) to NSTFDC for consideration.

Sector

%age of Notional Allocation

i) Agriculture & Allied Sector

40%

ii) Service Sector (Including Transport)

50%

iii) Industrial Sector

10%

3.4 LlST OF STATE/UT CHANNELISING AGENCIES OF NSTFDC

S.No. Name and Address of the SCA Telephone No. Fax No.

01. A.P. Scheduled Tribes Coop. Finance Corpn. Ltd.,
1st Floor, Telugu Samkshema Bhawan,
Masab Tank, HYDERABAD - 500 028 ANDHRA PRADESH. 040-3390487
-3391634 040-3315236

02. Andaman & Nicobar Island Integrated Development Corporation Ltd.,
New Marine Dry Dock/WorkShop Complex,
P.B. NO. 180, PORT BLAIR - 744 101 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLAND. 03192-32801
-32095 -

03. Arunachal Pradesh Industrial & Finance Dev.Corporation,
(Near A.O.C.), ITANAGAR - 791 111
ARUNACHAL PRADESH. 0360-212672
-212673 0360-212751

04. Assam Plain Tribes Dev. Corpn. Ltd.,
Ganeshguri Chariali, DISPUR - 781 005 ,
GUWAHATI ASSAM 0361-201521 -

05. Bihar State Scheduled Castes Co-operative Dev.Corp.Ltd.,
4th Floor, Biscomaun Tower,
PATNA - 800 001 BIHAR 0612-231406
-231674
-231672 -

06. Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu SCs/STs Other
Backward Classes & Minorities Financial & Devp. Corpn. Limited,
2nd Floor, Rightwing, Old DIC Office, PWD Complex,
SILVASSA - 396230 DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI 0361-201521 -

07.
Chhattisgarh Rajya Antyavsayee Sahkari Vitta Avam
Vikas Nigam, Plot No. R-12, Anupam Nagar,
Near Door Sanchar Kendra,
Sankar Nagar, Raipur
0771-666105 -

08. Goa State SC & Backward Classes Development Corporation,
4th Floor, Patto Centre, EDC Complex,
Near KTC Bus Stand, PANAJI - 403 001, GOA . 0832-220201
-227107 0832-222340

09. Gujarat Tribal Development Corporation,
Block No.: 10, 2nd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhawan,
GANDHI NAGAR - 382 010., GUJARAT 079-322 0009 (O)
-322 2635 (R) 079 - 322 3710

10. Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation,
Jain Bhawan, Hospital Road, SOLAN - 173 212
HIMACHAL PRADESH. 01792-20671 01792-20058

11. J & K Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & Backward Classe Development Corporation,
Ramesh Market, Shastri Nagar,
JAMMU. 0191-433229
-452009 0191-433229

12. The Jharkhand State Tribal Co-operative Dev. Corpn. Ltd.,
Balihar Road, Morabadi, RANCHI - 834 008
JHARKHAND. 0651-541398 0651-316686

13. Karnataka Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Dev. Corp.Ltd.
9th & 10th Floor,Visweshwaraiah Mini Tower, Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi,
BANGALORE - 560 001,
KARNATAKA. 080-2867097
-2865747
-2865192
080-2860396

14. Kerala State Development Corporation
For Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Limited,
Town Hall Road, THRISSUR - 680 020,
KERALA. 0487-331064
-331202 0487-331469

15. Lakshdweep Development Corporation Limited,
G-406,Panampilly Nagar, ERNAKULAM,
COCHIN - 682 036,
KERALA. 0484-310979
-310990 322924

16. Manipur Tribal Development Corpn. Ltd.,
Lamphelpat, IMPHAL-795 004,
MANIPUR 0385-310452
-310293 0385-310293

17. Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank Limited,
M.G. Road, SHILLONG 793 001,
MEGHALAYA. 0364-224160 0364-222026

18. M.P. Adivasi Vitta Aivam Vikas Nigam,
Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan Parisar II,
35 Shyamala Hills, BHOPAL - 462 002,
MADHYA PRADESH. 0755-660672 0755-221825

19. Mizoram Khadi & Village Industries Board,
"Zorun" Zarkawat, AIZWAL - 796 007,
MIZORAM. 0389-342460 0389-347587

20. Mizoram Urban Cooperative Development Bank Ltd.,
Lalsawmliani Building (Top Floor), Zarkawt,
AIZWAL - 796 001
MIZORAM. 0389-346508
343475 -

21. Nagaland Industrial Devp.Corporation
Limited, IDC House, P.B. No. 5,
DIMAPUR - 797 112,
NAGALAND. 03862-30571
-30573 03862-30572

22. Nagaland State Cooperative Bank Ltd,
Post Box No. 151, DIMAPUR 797 112,
NAGALAND. 03862-28335
-28578
-20702 -

23. Orissa Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Dev. & Finance Coop. Corpn. Ltd.,
Lewis Road, BHUBANESHWAR - 751 014,
ORISSA. 0674-432949
-431623 0674-431798

24. Rajasthan Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Co-op. Corporation,
Nehru Sahkar Bhawan, Central Block, IIIrd Floor,
Bhawani Singh Road, JAIPUR -302 002.
RAJASTHAN. 0141-740745
-740880 0141-740880

25. Shabari Adivasi Vitta Va Vikas Mahamandal Maryadit,
Adivasi Vikas Bhawan, 3rd Fl., Ram Ganesh Gadkari Chowk,
Old Agra Road, NASHIK - 422 002 MAHARASHTRA. 0253-576860
-571782 0253-571560

26. Sikkim Scheduled Castes, Tribes & Backward Classes Dev. Corpn. Ltd,
Bhanupath, GANGTOK - 737 101, SIKKIM. 03592-23261
-25310
-23456 03592-25318

27. Tripura Scheduled Tribes Co-op. Development Corpn. Ltd.,
Supari Bagan, Krishna Nagar, P.O. Lake Chowmani,
AGARTALA - 799 001 TRIPURA. 0381-305090 0381-305090

28. Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing & Development Corpn. Limited,
Tamil Nadu Housing Board, Shopping Complex, 2nd floor, Thirumangalam
(Anna Nagar) - 600 101 TAMILNADU 044-6286280
-6287075
-6286283 044-6282007

29. West Bengal SCs & STs Development & Finance Corporation,
(2nd Floor) 135-A, Biplabi Rashbehari Basu Road,
KOLKATTA - 700 001, WEST BENGAL. 033-2432099
-2429381 033-2428566

30. Uttaranchal Bahudeshiya Vitta Evam
Vikas Nigam, 6-A, Rest Camp, Near Prince Hotel, DEHRADUN - 248 001, UTTARANCHAL 0135-628099 0135-628099

31. U.P. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation
B-912, Sector - C, Mahanagar,
LUCKNOW - 226 006 UTTAR PRADESH 0135-386989 0135-672054

32. Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED)
N.C.U.I Building , IInd Floor,
3 Siri Institutional Area ,August Kranti Marg,
NEW DELHI -110016 26510923 26866149

33. Girijan Co-operative Corporation Ltd.
East Point Colony, Visakhapatnam-530017 ANDHRA PRADESH 2796164 2796345

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Reliance Power bags 4,000 MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project, which needs an investment of about Rs 18,000 Crore

2009-01-31T00:56:00.001-08:00

Jharkhand Blog

Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Plant, Jharkhand

Reliance Power of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) won the bid for 4,000 mw Tilaiya ultra mega power project (UMPP), the third such project in its kitty after Sasan (Madhya Pradesh) and Krishnapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). Reliance Power has bagged the Tilaiya ultra mega power project (UMPP) by offering to supply power at Rs 1.77 per unit — the lowest price quoted by the four companies in the fray.

Sources said the financial bids were opened by the government's nodal agency for ultra-mega power projects, Power Finance Corporation, on 28-01-2009. RPL quoted a levelised tariff of Rs 1.77 per unit for the coal-fired project. State-owned NTPC quoted a tariff of Rs 2.34 to come second, followed by Jindal Steel & Power Ltd Rs 2.67. There were two other bidders — Jindal Steel and Power which offered to supply power at Rs 2.69 per unit and Sterlite Industries which bid the highest at Rs 2.97 per unit.

The fifth company shortlisted to bid, Lanco Infratech, partnership with Genting Power International, withdrew at the last minute, according to an official of the Power Finance Corporation (PFC), which is the nodal agency for the ultra mega power projects. Lanco said that bankers to its partner, Genting Power, withdrew support for the project at the last moment, forcing them to withdraw their bid.

Eleven companies had originally qualified to bid for the Tilaiya UMPP but the global financial meltdown and the subsequent credit crunch saw many companies opt out of the bid. These included the likes of Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro.

Reliance Power has quoted an extra 57 paise per unit for Tilaiya over its bid for Sasan, the first UMPP to be auctioned. Although Sasan and Tilaiya are of the same size, 4,000 mw each, and based on captive coal blocks, the Tilaiya bid comes amidst tight liquidity conditions in slowing global economy.

The Tilaiya project will get its coal from a captive mine that will also be developed by the power project bidder. The coal mine is estimated to have reserves of 972 million tonnes. An analyst report by ICICI Securities says coal reserves in the block are 86% more than the power plant's requirement, which is expected to help the project.

The project will require an investment of Rs 18,000 crore with a debt-equity ratio of 70:30. The letter of intent to Reliance Energy will be awarded in the next few days and the company will be given 60 days to comply with the provisions.

"We expect the contract to be signed in a month," the PFC official said. The bids were opened by a high-level committee that included representatives from the governments of Bihar and Jharkhand.

PFC had once deferred the bidding process as power companies had expressed concern over getting funds for the project. They also wanted clarity over the coal transportation system in the project.

Last year, the government had awarded the Sasan project to Reliance Power after Lanco's bid was disqualified by a group of ministers led by power minister Sushilkumar Shinde. The company lowered its bid to Rs 1.19 per unit to match Lanco's. The government has asked RPL to hand over the Sasan project in four years against the quoted time-frame of 10 years. Lanco, whose bid was disqualified, had vowed to complete the project in seven years.

Unlike the Tilayia and Sasan projects, the Krishnapatnam project will use imported coal. This is the second ultra-mega power project that plans to use imported coal after the Mundra unit planned in Gujarat that was bagged by the Tatas. For the Mundra imported coal-based project, the Tatas had quoted a tariff of Rs 2.26 against Reliance Power's Rs 2.66, L&T's Rs 3.22 and Sterlite's Rs 3.74.

"The tariff is much higher when compared to Sasan. We expect much better margins," said Reliance Power's chief executive, JP Chalasani. Analysts were also concerned about the financing challenges that the company would face given the group exposure norms that it is likely to run into.

"We do not expect any financing challenges," asserted Chalasani. "The Tilaiya project is due for commissioning in 2015, which gives the company enough time to manage the funding. Financial closure for the Sasan UMPP is expected next month, while that of Krishnapatnam is likely in the first quarter of the next financial year, he added.

While there is no cap on the number of UMPPs that a company can bag, the performance guarantees required go up with each project. For instance, a performance guarantee of Rs 300 crore is required when a company bags its first UMPP. For the second project, the performance guarantee required goes up to Rs 450 crore, and Rs 600 crore for the third project, officials informed.

The Tilaiya project in Jharkhand, which will be funded seven parts by debt and three parts equity, is a part of the government's showcase UMPP scheme under which over 50,000 Mw of power capacity is planned through 13 projects during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017).

kseboa.org/news/reliance-power-bags-tilaiya-ultra-mega-power-project-in-jharkhand.html

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People are paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery in Nawadih village, Jharkhand

2009-01-20T19:07:00.001-08:00

Jharkhand Blog

People are paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery in Nawadih village, Jharkhand

http://tamar.jharkhand.org.in/
tamar.jharkhand.org.in

Nawadih (Jharkhand): Ever heard of paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery? Welcome to Nawadih village, which falls under Jharkhand's Tamar constituency from where chief minister Shibu Soren was seeking to enter the state assembly—the locals here have to pay up each time their cell phones run out of charge.

"What can we do? This is our fate. As there is no electricity in the village, most of us use solar power for energy requirement, and some of us make a living by recharging cells (of mobile phones)," says D. Pramanik, a resident of Nawadih.

"We don't expect much from the political leaders. They come during polls only to make promises that remain unfulfilled," says an elderly woman in the village.

"The crowd you find now has come just to see the helicopter, and not to see the leaders," adds the woman showing her distrust of politicians' campaigning in the area.

It is not only the lack of electricity that has angered thevillagers, but also a canal going dry because of damage to the barrage on the Kanchi river, affecting irrigation in the area.

"The villagers depend on agriculture and with the canal going dry for a year, the farmers are depending on rainwater and wells," says a teacher of Nawadih high school, requesting not to be identified.

Courtesy: livemint.com

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Jharkhand Art and Culture - Repository of one of India's Richest Ethnic Cultures

Jharkhand Art and Culture - Repository of one of India's Richest Ethnic Cultures

Money and Maoists are now reaching out to take over the reins of power

Why Adivasis in insurgency-hit Koraput risk their lives to participate in the elections ?

http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/18/stories/2009041856091300.htm

Adivasi (Tribal) Witchcraft News Reports

Adivasi Witchcraft

The dark side of India where a witch-doctor's word means death

Witchcraft in Assam school curricula?

Indian 'witchcraft' family beheaded

Yogini, Dakini, Tantric practices and animistic traditions of Adivasi

National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC)

Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation

Reliance Power bags 4,000 MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project, which needs an investment of about Rs 18,000 Crore

Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Plant, Jharkhand

tilaiya.jharkhand.org.in

tilaiya.wordpress.com

jhumri-tilaiya.jharkhandi.com

Jharkhand (USA)

People are paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery in Nawadih village, Jharkhand

People are paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery in Nawadih village, Jharkhand

http://tamar.jharkhand.org.in/
tamar.jharkhand.org.in

S.No.	Name and Address of the SCA	Telephone No.	Fax No.
01.	A.P. Scheduled Tribes Coop. Finance Corpn. Ltd., 1st Floor, Telugu Samkshema Bhawan, Masab Tank, HYDERABAD - 500 028 ANDHRA PRADESH.	040-3390487 -3391634	040-3315236
02.	Andaman & Nicobar Island Integrated Development Corporation Ltd., New Marine Dry Dock/WorkShop Complex, P.B. NO. 180, PORT BLAIR - 744 101 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLAND.	03192-32801 -32095	-
03.	Arunachal Pradesh Industrial & Finance Dev.Corporation, (Near A.O.C.), ITANAGAR - 791 111 ARUNACHAL PRADESH.	0360-212672 -212673	0360-212751
04.	Assam Plain Tribes Dev. Corpn. Ltd., Ganeshguri Chariali, DISPUR - 781 005 , GUWAHATI ASSAM	0361-201521	-
05.	Bihar State Scheduled Castes Co-operative Dev.Corp.Ltd., 4th Floor, Biscomaun Tower, PATNA - 800 001 BIHAR	0612-231406 -231674 -231672	-
06.	Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu SCs/STs Other Backward Classes & Minorities Financial & Devp. Corpn. Limited, 2nd Floor, Rightwing, Old DIC Office, PWD Complex, SILVASSA - 396230 DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI	0361-201521	-
07.	Chhattisgarh Rajya Antyavsayee Sahkari Vitta Avam Vikas Nigam, Plot No. R-12, Anupam Nagar, Near Door Sanchar Kendra, Sankar Nagar, Raipur	0771-666105	-
08.	Goa State SC & Backward Classes Development Corporation, 4th Floor, Patto Centre, EDC Complex, Near KTC Bus Stand, PANAJI - 403 001, GOA .	0832-220201 -227107	0832-222340

09.	Gujarat Tribal Development Corporation, Block No.: 10, 2nd Floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhawan, GANDHI NAGAR - 382 010., GUJARAT	079-322 0009 (O) -322 2635 (R)	079 - 322 3710
10.	Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, Jain Bhawan, Hospital Road, SOLAN - 173 212 HIMACHAL PRADESH.	01792-20671	01792-20058
11.	J & K Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & Backward Classe Development Corporation, Ramesh Market, Shastri Nagar, JAMMU.	0191-433229 -452009	0191-433229
12.	The Jharkhand State Tribal Co-operative Dev. Corpn. Ltd., Balihar Road, Morabadi, RANCHI - 834 008 JHARKHAND.	0651-541398	0651-316686
13.	Karnataka Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Dev. Corp.Ltd. 9th & 10th Floor,Visweshwaraiah Mini Tower, Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi, BANGALORE - 560 001, KARNATAKA.	080-2867097 -2865747 -2865192	080-2860396
14.	Kerala State Development Corporation For Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Limited, Town Hall Road, THRISSUR - 680 020, KERALA.	0487-331064 -331202	0487-331469
15.	Lakshdweep Development Corporation Limited, G-406,Panampilly Nagar, ERNAKULAM, COCHIN - 682 036, KERALA.	0484-310979 -310990	322924
16.	Manipur Tribal Development Corpn. Ltd., Lamphelpat, IMPHAL-795 004, MANIPUR	0385-310452 -310293	0385-310293

17.	Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank Limited, M.G. Road, SHILLONG 793 001, MEGHALAYA.	0364-224160	0364-222026
18.	M.P. Adivasi Vitta Aivam Vikas Nigam, Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan Parisar II, 35 Shyamala Hills, BHOPAL - 462 002, MADHYA PRADESH.	0755-660672	0755-221825
19.	Mizoram Khadi & Village Industries Board, "Zorun" Zarkawat, AIZWAL - 796 007, MIZORAM.	0389-342460	0389-347587
20.	Mizoram Urban Cooperative Development Bank Ltd., Lalsawmliani Building (Top Floor), Zarkawt, AIZWAL - 796 001 MIZORAM.	0389-346508 343475	-
21.	Nagaland Industrial Devp.Corporation Limited, IDC House, P.B. No. 5, DIMAPUR - 797 112, NAGALAND.	03862-30571 -30573	03862-30572
22.	Nagaland State Cooperative Bank Ltd, Post Box No. 151, DIMAPUR 797 112, NAGALAND.	03862-28335 -28578 -20702	-
23.	Orissa Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Dev. & Finance Coop. Corpn. Ltd., Lewis Road, BHUBANESHWAR - 751 014, ORISSA.	0674-432949 -431623	0674-431798
24.	Rajasthan Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Co-op. Corporation, Nehru Sahkar Bhawan, Central Block, IIIrd Floor, Bhawani Singh Road, JAIPUR -302 002. RAJASTHAN.	0141-740745 -740880	0141-740880

25.	Shabari Adivasi Vitta Va Vikas Mahamandal Maryadit, Adivasi Vikas Bhawan, 3rd Fl., Ram Ganesh Gadkari Chowk, Old Agra Road, NASHIK - 422 002 MAHARASHTRA.	0253-576860 -571782	0253-571560
26.	Sikkim Scheduled Castes, Tribes & Backward Classes Dev. Corpn. Ltd, Bhanupath, GANGTOK - 737 101, SIKKIM.	03592-23261 -25310 -23456	03592-25318
27.	Tripura Scheduled Tribes Co-op. Development Corpn. Ltd., Supari Bagan, Krishna Nagar, P.O. Lake Chowmani, AGARTALA - 799 001 TRIPURA.	0381-305090	0381-305090
28.	Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing & Development Corpn. Limited, Tamil Nadu Housing Board, Shopping Complex, 2nd floor, Thirumangalam (Anna Nagar) - 600 101 TAMILNADU	044-6286280 -6287075 -6286283	044-6282007
29.	West Bengal SCs & STs Development & Finance Corporation, (2nd Floor) 135-A, Biplabi Rashbehari Basu Road, KOLKATTA - 700 001, WEST BENGAL.	033-2432099 -2429381	033-2428566
30.	Uttaranchal Bahudeshiya Vitta Evam Vikas Nigam, 6-A, Rest Camp, Near Prince Hotel, DEHRADUN - 248 001, UTTARANCHAL	0135-628099	0135-628099
31.	U.P. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation B-912, Sector - C, Mahanagar, LUCKNOW - 226 006 UTTAR PRADESH	0135-386989	0135-672054
32.	Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd. (TRIFED) N.C.U.I Building , IInd Floor, 3 Siri Institutional Area ,August Kranti Marg, NEW DELHI -110016	26510923	26866149
33.	Girijan Co-operative Corporation Ltd. East Point Colony, Visakhapatnam-530017 ANDHRA PRADESH	2796164	2796345

Jai Jharkhand

Jharkhand Art and Culture - Repository of one of India's Richest Ethnic Cultures

Jharkhand Art and Culture - Repository of one of India's Richest Ethnic Cultures

Money and Maoists are now reaching out to take over the reins of power

Why Adivasis in insurgency-hit Koraput risk their lives to participate in the elections ?

http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/18/stories/2009041856091300.htm

Adivasi (Tribal) Witchcraft News Reports

Adivasi Witchcraft

The dark side of India where a witch-doctor's word means death

Witchcraft in Assam school curricula?

Indian 'witchcraft' family beheaded

Yogini, Dakini, Tantric practices and animistic traditions of Adivasi

National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC)

Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation

Reliance Power bags 4,000 MW Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Project, which needs an investment of about Rs 18,000 Crore

Tilaiya Ultra Mega Power Plant, Jharkhand

tilaiya.jharkhand.org.in

tilaiya.wordpress.com

jhumri-tilaiya.jharkhandi.com

Jharkhand (USA)

People are paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery in Nawadih village, Jharkhand

People are paying Rs 5 to recharge a mobile phone battery in Nawadih village, Jharkhand

http://tamar.jharkhand.org.in/tamar.jharkhand.org.in

http://tamar.jharkhand.org.in/
tamar.jharkhand.org.in