Sweta Daga

Sharmila Joshi

Editor

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Seated on a cot outside her brick and mud house in Majhouli village one afternoon, Sukalo Gond says
jokingly, “We went to the district magistrate’s office in Robertsganj on 5th March to celebrate the Supreme Court’s
decision to evict our communities.”

She is referring to the interim order issued by the Supreme Court on February 13, 2019, to evict
well over a million Adivasis
from more than 16 states in India, based on a petition filed by wildlife
conservation groups contesting the validity of the <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/resources/the-scheduled-tribes-and-other-traditional-forest-dwellers-recognition-of-forest-rights-act-2006/">Forest Rights Act</a> (FRA). The FRA of
2006 aims to give forest communities rights to their traditional lands and
address the historic social injustices they have faced.

“Going to the DM’s office was important,” says Sukalo, surrounded by her
grandchildren. ‘We have to stand with each other and with all the other
communities who live in the forest. Even though there has been a stay order
from the Supreme Court [following an appeal filed by the central government],
we have to continue to show the people in charge that we are not afraid of
asking for our rights.” She smiles. “About 30 of us barged into the DM’s
office, but he did not get angry or ask us to leave. He told us to come back
and speak to him. Maybe because he was new.”

I had first met
Sukalo Gond in September 2016 in Robertsganj, Uttar Pradesh, at the office of
the All India Union of Forest Working People (See <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/i-knew-i-was-going-to-jail-that-day">‘I knew I was going to jail that day’</a>). The AIUFWP (originally the National Forum of Forest
People and Forest Workers, formed in 1996) was set up in 2013. It has roughly
150,000 members in around 15 states. In Uttar Pradesh, the union works in
18 districts with about 10,000 members.

Now in her 50s, Sukalo is no stranger to struggle. She joined the Union
in 2006 and has since become the treasurer. One of the main goals of the Union
is to see that communities use the FRA to claim their land rights.

In June 2015, Sukalo went to
jail for over a month for participating in protests against the Kanhar irrigation
project in the state. On June 8, 2018
she was arrested for the second time, along with Keesmat Gond who is in her
30s, and Sukdev Gond, in his 50s.

All of them are members of the Union and belong to the Gond Adivasi
community. They were arrested from the Chopan railway station as they arrived
from Lucknow after a meeting with Forest Department officers. Over 10 cases had
been filed against them, including under Section 504 of the IPC (intent to provoke the breach of the peace).
By the end of the day, Sukalo and Keesmat were sent to Mirzapur Jail and
Sukhdev was sent to Sonbhadra Jail. Keesmat and Sukhdev were released in September,
but Sukalo was only released in November 2018.

“This time, jail was different. I knew what to expect, but I was angry.
I was full of anger; my whole body was only anger. I was being treated like a
common criminal! They were all false cases. I know the police did this because
they want to scare us. I am fighting for my rights through lawful means – what
is wrong with that? I refused to eat the food at the jail. I survived on fruit
and snacks that my friends would bring when they would visit.&quot; 

Just then, Sukhdev and Keesmat arrive at Sukalo’s home to discuss their colleague
Nandu Gond, who had been arrested five days earlier. At the time of the meeting, they did not know
which police station he was taken to and were worried about him. They think he
had been arrested for trying to urge people in the community to use the FRA. Sukalo
offered some suggestions on who to call, how to set up a ‘phone tree’ to
contact a large number of people, and why they must continue to persist on the
issue. (Nandu Gond has since been released from jail.)

Sukhdev speaks of how scary it was to be in jail. “We had only joined the
Union a few months before we were arrested. I was afraid of being beaten because
those are the stories we were told by other villagers. We weren’t fed well.”

Keesmat says that it was easier for her because Sukalo was there too, but
she missed her children. “I didn’t know what to expect, but Sukalodidi kept
calm and so did we. Still, I kept wondering – will we ever get out of jail? How
long will they keep us here?”

They make plans to be in touch about Nandu and leave. I notice that Sukalo spends a
lot of her time on the phone, trying to organise members of the Union,
answering questions, offering support. People from the community also call her about
their Aadhaar cards or to get access to rations. 

Sukalo says it can get tiring, trying to manage her home and family as
well the work of the struggle. “But the work of the Union must get done,” she
says, “Though now I am traveling more and I am worried about my children.”

On February 28, 2019, the Supreme Court had stayed the petition order,
asking the state governments to report on the claims made by Adivasi households
under the Forest Rights Act. This offered a brief respite.

On Wednesday,
July 24, the SC is scheduled to once again sit for a hearing on the eviction issue.

Sukalo knows the road ahead remains long.  “It’s not as if we planted the trees to eat
the fruit. The people who are going to eat the fruits of our labour are still
to come. They are my grandchildren and I do this work for them.”

No stranger to struggle in Sonbhadra

সোনভদ্রায় সংগ্রাম যাঁদের নিত্যসাথী

سون بھدر: اپنی زمین بچانے کی لڑائی

सोनभद्र: अपनी ज़मीन बचाने की लड़ाई

சோன்பத்ராவில் போராட்டம் என்பது அந்நியமானது அல்ல

ସୋନଭଦ୍ରାର ସଂଘର୍ଷରେ ଅନଭ୍ୟସ୍ତ ନୁହେଁ

Majhouli

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No stranger to struggle in Sonbhadra

Sukalo Gond, veteran Adivasi activist in UP’s Majhouli village, says the road ahead is long – tomorrow, July 24, the Supreme Court will decide on the eviction of over a million Adivasis across India

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