`Nobody has addressed the political question of indigenous communities'
BHANGYA BHUKYA speaks to Down To Earth about the relevance of his book Is primitivism a consequence of the natural evolution of some human societies? Or is it a conscious choice by such societies to evade state power? Primitivism is a programme designed by communities to evade state-making process in their areas. While many forest and hill communities across the globe have adopted this strategy, some are still practising it at a reduced level, like the Jarawas in the Andamans. Primitive mode of life arrested the state-making process in the hills and forests and facilitated a condition for autonomy and self-rule. However, it is now just folklore in India, as the State has managed to make its power felt everywhere.
How did British rule mark the decline of the Gonds?
British colonial rule marked a sharp demarcation in Indian history as it imposed a different political rationality on the colony subjects. Under colonialism, the Gonds, who were sovereign rulers, were reduced to being just agriculture labourers. Importantly, there were multiple sovereignties in pre-British rule period—there was an imperial power on the top, and below, there were many subordinate powers acting independently. Even during Maratha rule, the Gonds had complete independence over their territories. The British destroyed these multiple sovereignties and created a singular British colonial sovereignty. The Gonds' act of tax evasion and raids were seen as political acts by the pre-British empires, but the British criminalised these acts and stigmatised them as criminal, violent, barbarous and primitive communities.
How can your book be beneficial to current administrators trying to deal with the ongoing Maoist insurgency?
Indeed, the book can be useful to both administrators and Maoist insurgents. There are considerable lessons which both can learn from the experience of the Gonds. The post-colonial state is not different from the colonial state as far as indigenous communities are concerned. The colonial construction of indigenous communities as poor and sub-human is still central in the policymaking of the current administration. The current administration treats this challenge essentially as a poverty and development question, but not as a political questionabout their territories and forest resources.
Maoists have also been losing ground because their strategy is purely a political one. Like Indian State they too do not recognise them as a political community. Indian Maoists failed to build a movement centering on the politics of indigenous communities. They are using their territories only as a protective cover from the police or the army. The spread of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh exemplifies their failure.