By Aarti Dhar
CAMPBELL BAY (NICOBAR ISLANDS), FEB. 16. Apart from the destruction caused by the tsunami, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are witnessing another problem — a divide between the local tribal population and the mainland settlers.
The tribals want the mainlanders to leave.The tribal heads have given a written petition to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.
The issue also came up during the three-day trip of the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, to the archipelago over the weekend. Mr. Patil, however, dismissed it as temporary fear of exploitation by the non-tribals. "Sometimes the local tribal people feel that they would have to share their natural resources and land with the mainlanders. They have also complained of indiscriminate felling of trees but they will have to get over it," he told reporters.
Talking to The Hindu, Ayesha Begum, chairperson of the Tribal Council of the Nancowrie group of islands, alleged that the non-tribals were "eating" into their resources and even exploiting the local population. "The mainlanders are wise and clever, and easily exploit us. Their presence has also influenced our culture and tradition." She said they wanted the Defence personnel and the Government employees to stay and the businessmen and the retired people to leave.
Ayesha Begum's great-grandmother, Rani Islon, was crowned the "tribal queen" by the British. The title went to Rani Islon's daughter, Rani Lakshmi, as she was the only child. Rani Lakshmi's only daughter, Fatima, converted to Islam after marrying a Muslim but continued to carry the title which then went to her daughter, Ayesha, the eldest of her nine children.
Ayesha Begum expressed unhappiness with the Central Government for its failure in helping the tribals to start afresh after the tsunami. "We are dependent on Government relief, which is not coming. If we were given tools to clear the debris and construction material like bamboo, we would have built houses in our own way," she said.
On the other hand, a large number of Sikh families, mainly retired servicemen who settled in the Car Nicobar Islands in 1969 under a Government scheme, have expressed their desire to go back to the mainland. "If we have to start our lives all over again, we might as well do it in our villages," many of them said. There were unconfirmed reports that many families, who were living between Campbell Bay and Indira Point, had left for good.
The Government scheme envisaged settling 500 retired Defence personnel on the Island by giving them incentives such as free land for farming. However, the project was abandoned midway. Of the 100 Sikh families brought here, 70 made the island their home. The Ex-Servicemen Settlers of Campbell Bay have also given a memorandum to Mr. Patil , demanding the status of tribals and reservation in jobs and educational institutions.
