August 9, is significant because it is designated as Indigenous Peoples’ Day by the United Nations. Such days are meant to draw attention to the continued plight of Indigenous Peoples across the world, many of whose lands have been colonised by Europeans and because of which they have been pushed to the margins. So, who are Indigenous Peoples and who defines them? The Eurocentric definition is that Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced. The land and natural resources on which they depend are inextricably linked to their identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as their physical and spiritual well-being. They often subscribe to their customary leaders and organizations for representation that are distinct or separate from those of the mainstream society or culture.
Many Indigenous Peoples (IPs) still maintain a language distinct from the official language or languages of the country or region in which they reside; however, many have also lost their languages or those languages are on the verge of extinction due to eviction from their lands and/or relocation to other territories. IPs speak more than 4000 thousand of the world’s 7000 languages. Every year, the United Nations sets a theme for observing this day. This year the theme is ‘Protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact.’ These are also called Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) and they are present in Tamilnadu and the Andaman Islands. Interestingly, the Government of India does not recognise the term Indigenous Peoples. The stance of the Government is that in India every peoples’ group is indigenous and they are the first settlers in their respective territories. This is a debatable point. However, the Government of India has made up for this by scheduling the IPs as tribals and granting them certain rights over their lands; the right to protect, promote and conserve their cultures and reservation for jobs and education. However, despite all these rights the tribals in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Tamilnadu remain under-developed and in need of special interventions.
Closer home in Meghalaya, beyond the state capital and district headquarters the plight of IPs is visible and palpable. There is a high drop- out rate hence illiteracy is rife and this illiteracy is not just about not knowing to read and write but also the ignorance about their basic rights and health practices. St Edmund’s College organised an excellent event to commemorate this day in collaboration with Grassroot NGO where students and civil society members and some from the Government also actively participated. It is rather ironic that the State Government did not organise a programme to observe the Indigenous Peoples’ Day because if the tribals themselves do not insist on being called indigenous and lend themselves to the changing perspectives of the Government of India, it is possible that the tribes might at some point be considered mainstream because of the change in definition by the nation-state. The Government of Meghalaya ought to give this matter some serious thought.
