Belghar is a remote area in the Baliguda
subdivision of Phulbani district. Its natural surrounding being forests and
mountains is extremely scenic and beautiful. Herein live for ages tribals
belonging to the Kutia Kondh tribe. They are simple and innocent people but
exploited and neglected. Malati Devi came to this region in the year 1959-60. No
individual or agency had ever entered this region prior to her arrival with
purpose to work among the tribals.
She came into this region when she was
reported that leprosy had become widespread amongst the people of the region and
no medical fecility was available from the government. She in fact came with her
husband Nabakrusna Chaudhury and was moved by the sufferings of the leprosy
patients. To ensure attendance to them, she sent for the workers of the Utkal Nabajeevan
Mandal who were trained under Dr. Isaac Santra of Sambalpur to attend
the leprosy patients. Under her guidance the work continued for six to seven
years till the government decided to open medical centres to attend to the
leprosy patients of the region.
Being successful in her work in
alleviating the sufferings of the leprosy patients of the region, she shifted
her attention to the problems of poverty, illiteracy, exploitation and
repression dogging the Kuti Kondhs. She set up two service centres at Burlubaru
and Dupi where she deployed well-trained activists of the Utkal Nabajeevan
Mandal.
The workers of those centres organised the
tribals to form in each village Gramsabha (village committee), peace force,
youth forum, Save independence and prohibition committee, Kasturba Nari Sangha
etc. Then after began fight against injustice and exploitation. As a result the
lands, cattles, gold etc. mortgaged to the moneylenders could be recovered back
whereas the police could be forced to return the money they had taken from the
tribals. The exploitation by the government officials could be exposed and the
government could be persuaded to punish the guilty officials. Naturally due to
such activities of the workers, the local administration became vindictive and
to harass them began filing false cases against them. The police even did not
hesitate to break into the hut where Radhamani Apa (she is no more) was staying,
at the dead of the night, to arrest her. This incident aroused indignation
amongst the local tribals. Malati Devi organised a protest meeting, which was
attended by about three thousand tribals. The gathering had frightened the local
administration. Radhamani Apa was released unconditionally. Numa (Malati Devi is
addressed so affectionately) had instilled in the people of the region
fearlessness.
It was in the year 1974, a report reached
the Sarvodaya Mandal of Phulbani district that the traders of Kumuti community
and Dombs (a scheduled caste community) of Shraliguda, Keshraguda, Judabali
villages of Kotagada block were taking possession of the lands the tribals were
forced to mortgage to them, even for trivial purchases like goat, pig or blade
besides cereals. Sarbi Pradhan, Pitabas Kanhar and Mukteswar Pradhan were sent
to ascertain truth of the report. But before they could reach these villages and
begin their investigation, they were arrested on the way. Numa on getting this
news arrived immediately and released these workers from the clutches of the
police. She lived in Kotgada for two three days and organised protest meetings
against such practices by the money -lenders, traders and dombs. This resulted
in the return of the lands to the tribals. The police officers that arrested
these workers were also punished.
Besides organising such protest meetings,
Numa had made many useful suggestions to the government to solve the
land-related problems of the tribals. She had suggested that the boundary of the
reserve forest should be shifted by a mile from the tribal villages and the
cultivable land should be distributed amongst the landless and marginal tribals.
She had felt that this would disengage the tribals from shifting cultivation.
This suggestion by Numa had overwhelming support of the tribals but the
government never implemented it.
Numa’s greatest contribution was the
creation of consciousness amongst the exploited and neglected tribals to
identify their legitimate rights and then to fight for it without break. It is
for such contribution that Malati Chaudhury would be remembered not only in
Phulbani but she would be remembered across the length and breadth of Orissa.
Source : Numa,
compiled by the Utkal Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Bakharabad, Cuttack; published by
Malati Devi Nabakrushna Chaudhury Trust, Bhubaneswar, 1998)
Translation : Birendra
Nayak
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