Sawar
or Sawara
--- VR Ajith Kumar
I
am Shivprasad Bhoi. I was born in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh to a
Scheduled Tribe community. My parents migrated from the interior of the forest
to the village to educate their children. I don't know who advised my father
that if you want to be a good adivasi, you should get an education. My father
used to smile with clenched and red teeth and says, 'He was not like us, he was
a man with a nice white body and clothes, he was like a king'. Whatever it was, his
words stuck inside my father like the words of the God. I learned, passed 10 , Plus
2 and qualified to become a primary teacher.
As a fulfillment of my father's wish, I
joined as a primary school teacher in a school in Bastar. It was in 2010. The certificate stating that the
person belongs to Scheduled Tribe should
be attested by a gazetted officer. Once it was sent, the appointment would be
confirmed and I would get my salary. I met the Tehsildar with the certificate.
He examined the certificate through his microscope. Then he said, 'I don't see
your caste in the Scheduled Tribes list.' I was shocked. My studies and stipend
had all been based on this till date. Moreover, when I am an adivasi by birth, how can I suddenly
become non-adivasi when I enters a profession. 'Sir, how can you tell like
this? I was born to adivasi parent ,lived
till this day as an adivasi. At the age of twenty-six, while I am going to be a
Government servant, all of a sudden I become a Non-adivasi ? How could it
be? Sir, have you looked at the
list seriously? '
“Are
you making me crack? See man, Sawar is a tribal
community,You are Sawara. It's not on this list. ', he returned the
certificate. 'Sir, this letter “a” might have entered by mistake while the
officer prepared the certificate.There is no caste called Sawara in
Chhattisgarh. Sir please help me', I lamented.
'See man, if I help you, I will lose my job.
If someone gives a complaint, my work will be over. You file a complaint at the
village office from where you got the certificate. Let them decide', he turned
his attention to the next man. I went down the steps of the office in despair,
realizing that there was no point in staying there anymore. I approached the
village officer and lodged a complaint. He checked the documents and ensured
that the entry made in the book is also sawara. 'Shivaprasad, this can’t be
rectified by me. Your petition has to be sent to the higher ups”, he said. '
This should have been taken care of while given the certificate.Your father
didn't look at it, that was the problem '
'Sir, my father is illiterate, how could
he read it ' I asked. The non-tribal village officer could not understand the
depth of those words. He buried his face in the files. Along with teaching
children in the school, I also followed
the file. The file moved from pillar to post. Everyone kept writing in the file
according to their mood. The file became thick. Officials put many solutions to
the cause. Some wrote that the officer
should correct the mistake and issue a new certificate to Shiv Prasad. Others
wrote he cheated the government by creating a fake certificate saying that he
is an adivasi, and that the stipend received till date should be recovered with
interest.
After
fifteen months, I was dismissed from my job on the grounds that I did not
produce a sufficient certificate proving my caste. The salary for the work done
till then was not paid. I was exhausted. I met Sidar, the community leader.
'Shivaprasad, thousands of people like you are in the entanglement of the same
problem. We are constantly in and out of offices to raise the issue. We met
many political leaders. Send letters to
both Central and State Governments. We are regularly meeting the Scheduled
Tribe Development Commissioner. Everyone wants to help us, but no one knows how
to, and no one has the courage. It may also be based on the traditional sense
of officers that what can be gained by helping an adivasi. Anyway, your
complaint is serious. The issue will be solved one day,Shivaprasad, let's try', he
reassured.
Many young people who came to see the
leader were also facing the same situation. One of them told me,
'There is only one way to change this'. I looked at him, 'he cautiously looked
around and slowly said, join the Naxals. Are you coming with me', the fervor in
his eyes scared me. I walked on without looking back. I realized that if I
continued to pursue my case, I would either become a Naxal or starve to death.
I returned to my traditional land and started farming on a serious way. My
father was very sad that his son lost his job. As the worry did not go away, he
became sleepless. He met many leaders and all of them tried to pacify him. On
such a journey, he was hit by a vehicle and died. I tried to forget everything
I had studied and devoted my body and mind to agriculture. My wife was also
with me. I have two children. My
bitter experience did not pull me from providing education to kids.
Unfortunately, they were also listed as ‘Sawara ‘, a non-existent caste. But, the
officials were merciful enough to provide stipend to them. Time went on and I
forgot on the complaint I had given. But there were hundreds of such files
moving around in many lofts.
Although ,Article
342 (1) and (2) of the Constitution clearly defines who is adivasi, the root
cause of these problems was the book prepared and published by Chhattisgarh
Tribal Research and Training Center in 2004, recently reported in a newspaper.
Anthropologists and ethnologists say that the problem lies in the book's
misinterpretation of a Supreme Court order and confusing interpretation of the
words synonym and synonymous.
In any
case, the mistakes that followed for the last
twenty years had destroyed the life dreams of many like me, but the next
generation can take comfort, as the Central Cabinet has issued an order
approving eleven more adivasi clan words which are facing such a crisis. Now
I dream of the days when my son and
daughter will become officers
