A fish in a tear: 41st Shodhyatra in Andaman and Nicobar islands

Hundreds of freedom fighters and other prisoners were exiled by the colonial rulers to Andaman and Nicobar islands, called as the ‘kalapani’, then. Most young people who take freedom for granted must, at least, visit the cellular jail or read about it to realise the unbearable torture that these valiant Indians bore so that we could live in peace.  The subsequent settlement of immigrants from Bangladesh, West Bengal, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, and a few other states have created a mosaic of diverse cultural practices. Karen community, which was brought by British much earlier from Myanmar, has fully integrated with other communities over the last hundred years. But, the hardships of many of these settlers are not over.

The indigenous people such as Jarawas, Nicobaris, Sentinels, Onge et cetera are protected by the state from outsiders. Even if they are seen sitting on the roadside, vehicles are not supposed to stop, commuters are warned about giving anything to prevent socio-cultural exploitation or fostering dependence. Thousand of Andamanis were killed in the notorious war of Aberdeeen in which, due to the betrayal by an Indian, a revolt by Andamani tribe was brutally crushed by the British.

Immense warmth shared by the communities during our 41st shodhyatra in the northern part of highly forested island state convinced us once again, how rich the cultural traditions of our society are. Even those who had practically no durable asset in their huts, welcomed us with open arms. They  shared their stories, nutritionally rich cuisine and knowledge about extraordinary biodiversity; all very generously. SRISTI organised this shodhyatra in collaboration with various other volunteers of the Honey Bee Network besides NIF and GIAN, Palle srujana and Coastal Green Zone,  a local voluntary organisation set up by Shri Chanchal dutt, a very dedicated teacher. Chanchal has been a great motivator for children locally, he took children on sea coast and ask them to paint there about whatever they felt, some outstanding paintings came out.

Nirveda, a Class 8 student, painted trees in a beautiful and evocative manner (see picture). Another student made a perceptive portrayal of the excessive use of plastic harming fishes as well as the terrestrial environment. She made line drawing of many bottles and then made just a single sprout in between to draw attention to the agony of life. Still another student drew a fish in the tear falling from the eye, as if telling us to see the sea from the eye of fish.

More information about crazy innovators like Sumanta Haldhar and SS Rao next week. As also the deep traditional knowledge and innovative practices learned during the shodhyatra. Will mention about how a private engineering college in Ahmedabad has agreed to offer admission to six to eight children from the islands passing out from school in the coming year. Similarly, we will like creative and innovative children from North-east and J and K to be also admitted in local colleges as a mark of our respect for their contribution to make margins of India safe, beautiful and mainstreamed. Genius as a slogan put it on a school wall, makes the beginning, it is the workers who complete the mission. We should not forget that these settlers have enriched the landscapes and added to the biodiversity, local knowledge systems but many of them continue to be denied basic facilities and are all called encroachers even after forty years of settlement. This is a cause which the local administration and Home Ministry may consider empathetically after all Andaman is a strategic port of India, full of huge potential for growth and prosperity.

The author is founder of Honey Bee Network & visiting faculty at IIM-A
anilgb@gmail.com