GALAXY International Interdisciplinary Research Journal_______________________ ISSN 2347-6915

GIIRJ, Vol.2 (11), NOVEMBER (2014)

NON VIOLENT STRUGGLE FOR SELF-RULE: A STUDY ON THE

BAMBOO REVOLUTION OF THE TRIBALS OF MENDHA-LEKHA,
GADCHIROLI DISTRICT IN MAHARASHTRA
MANJUSHA.K.A.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
SCHOOL OF GANDHIAN THOUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES,
PRIYADARSHINI HILLS.P.O.,
MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY, KOTTAYM,
KERALA.

ABTRACT
Mendha-Lekha, a forested village in Maharashtra, 40 kilometres from Gadchiroli
town and home to about 500 Gond tribals, is economically poor but rich in culture and
traditions. The tribals of the region have always depended on the forest for their livelihood.
Their right was recognized by the state government in 1950 and a gram sabha was set up in
1960, but it had very limited powers, as the forest department continued to be in control of
the harvesting and selling of the forest produces. Devaji Tofa , a village elder and native,
along with the social worker Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, who is inspired by the Gandhian ideas of
Non-violence and Gram Swaraj, insisted upon the empowerment of the Gram Sabha. They
mobilized the villagers in 1987 for an organized resistance. The tribals launched a
Disobedience Movement through resisting outsiders from carrying out forest activities in the
area. So, this paper is an attempt to trace out the victory of the tribals in Mendha Lekha to
attain their community rights following the Gandhian ideals of Non-violence and Gram
Swaraj.
KEY WORDS: Gadchiroli, Gond Tribes, Gram Swaraj, Mendha-Lekha, Non-violence.

Introduction
Mendha, is a small tribal (Maria Gond) village situated in the Gadchiroli district in the
eastern end of the Central Indian state of Maharashtra. It is home to 430 Gond tribes and the
Gonds traditionally depended on forest for food, grazing, timber, water and other resources.
As the forest department continued to be in control of the harvesting and selling of forest
products, Tofa, a village elder and his supporters insisted on the empowerment of Gram
Sabha. He mobilised the villagers in 1987 for an organised resistance. The tribes launched a
civil disobedience movement. They resisted outsiders from carrying out forest activities in
the area. They also sold bamboo against the law. The movement forced the government to
award their rights. The once nondescript village, located in the Naxalite-infested Gadchiroli
district is now a model for its experiment with consensual and participatory democracy. So,
this paper is an attempt to trace out the victory of the tribes in Mendha-Lekha to attain their
Community Rights to harvest and sell bamboo under the Forest Rights Act, ie, the Bamboo
Revolution and its various impacts on the life of the tribes in Mendha.
A Brief Profile of the Gonds in Mendha
Gadchiroli district have the largest tribal population(38.75%) compared to other
districts of the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra. According to S.G.Deogaonkar, Gonds are
the numerically predominant group of tribes followed by the Mundas. Gond tribes have
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subdivisions or sub tribes, namely Raj Gonds, Maria Gonds, Dhurve Gonds,
Khatulwar/Khatole Gonds and Naik Gonds.
Mendha is a 100% Maria Gond Tribal village area of Maharashtra. There are only 82
families and their total pupoulation is 430. Only 30% of the tribes are literate. Mendhas
total area is 1930 hectares among which 1800 hectares is forest abound with a variety of
bamboo, teak, herbs, mahua flowers 1 and at least twenty different minor forest products.
Mendha traditionally depended on forests for a sustainable livelihood, since farming activity
did not meet their requirements.
Role of Bamboo in the Rural Life of the Gonds
Bamboos are an important component of the forests of the Western Ghats, and must
have played a significant role in the life of people since time immemorial. The earliest uses
for people in the hunting-gathering stage must have included the construction of hunting
implements and shelter, and the use of shoots and seeds as food. The bamboos come up well
when the canopy of the forest is somewhat opened up; hence they are particularly abundant
near human habitations with a moderate degree of human interference (Prasad and Gadgil
1981). When agriculture was taken up, bamboo began to plan an important role in the
construction of various agricultural implements, grain storage bins and the more elaborate
houses of the farming communities. The culm walls are rich in cellulose and derive their
high tensile strength comparable to that of steel from the presence of very long cellulose
fibres aligned in a longitudinal fashion (Shekhar & Rawat 1956, Anon 1972).
The pastorals depend on bamboo as fodder especially in the summer when the grass
dries up. In the years of seeding, seed collection may provide subsistence to many rural
communities. They lop the bamboo culms to bring down the foliage-bearing culm
tips(Gadgil and Malhotra 1982).
There is a prevalent belief not supported by our data
(Gadgil and Prasad 1984) that Bamboo seeding is triggered by years of successive draugt and
hence coincides with famine conditions. Thus during the 1865 famine of Dharwar a large
number of people migrated to Uttara Kannada region in search of B. Arundinacia seeds
(Campbell 1883). Similarly atleast 35000 people were supposed to have been saved from
starvation deaths by the timely seeding of Dendrocalamus Strictus in the Chandrapur district
of Maharashtra in 1899-1900 (Lowrie 1900).
The modern use of bamboo industry dates from the last half century. Prior to that the
bamboo was considered a weed by foresters; now that it is a valuable commodity, its
availability for the local population has steeply declined due to over exploitation. The long
cellulose of bamboo renders it an ideal raw material for production of paper. This was
realised as early as 1910 (Pearson 1912), and the first paper mill in India based on bamboo
was established in Naihati of West Bengal in 1919. The first paper mill based on bamboo of
the Western Ghats tracts was established at Bhadravathi in Karnataka in 1937 and the others
followed. While it was supposedly managed for supply to the industry on a sustained yield
basis, this has infact not been achieved, and bamboo stocks of the Western Ghats have been
rapidly decimated over the last few decades (Gadgil and Prasad 1978). With the entry of
paper and other industries as users of bamboo, our forest policy is geared to serving the high
quality timber and industrial users. This caused considerable hardships to rural population.
Mendhas Struggle for Forest Management and Self Rule
Management of the forest in Mendha is strictly connected with the struggle for tribal
self-rule. Gonds, being forest dwellers, have always enjoyed unhindered use of the forest.

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Before 1950, the overall right and control of the forest in the region was vested completely in
the hands of the tribal landlords and a type of community management system prevailed in
this area. According to Supriya Singh, In the pre-British era, the local caste landlords used
to levy a tax on the use of the forest in exchange for which the collection rights were
extended to the community. There was however, little interference in the forest itself by the
caste communities. This system continued for a while under the British till they decided to
consolidate all the forests in India as government property and centralized tax collection. The
rights of the forest dwellers began to be severely curtailed as the commercial exploitation of
forests began under the British rule. Modern India inherited this mindset and way of
governance, further marginalizing communities and depleting forests for commercial gain.
In 1950, after the independence, the Indian government abolished the tribal system
and all lands were vested with the government and subject to the Indian Forest Act (IFA) 2 of
1927. Forest areas occupied by settlements continued to be privately owned, whereas all
other wasteland, common property land, etc. came under state ownership. The Forest
Department assumed management responsibilities for the forested land. The customary rights
over common property that people had enjoyed for generations were not accepted, and the
region was declared Protected Forests (PF). An inquiry into local peoples rights was
undertaken in 1953 due to the pressure from the local population and it took two years to
complete the procedure. The report strongly recommended legalising the customary rights in
the form of an act. There was also a recommendation to form customary zones for villages to
meet their daily requirements, which was not informed to the villagers and demarcation was
not put into practice. Later, with some detailed rules and instructions, management and use of
the government forests was established. These instructions envisaged that the Forest
Department would manage the forests on a scientific basis, and informed to village governing
bodies that would then regulate the supply of customary requirementsusing a quota
systemas per the established rules. But when it was put into practice, the Forest
Department granted large areas of forests for customary needs.
Between 1950 and the late 1980s in the forests surrounding the Mendha village, so
many state-sponsored commercial extraction activities were initiated. These activities, like
Forest Departments and other private paper mills bamboo and timber extraction, the
indiscriminate felling by charcoal contractors along with the increased human and cattle
population within the village and in the surrounding areas, all had a negative impact on the
quality of the forest.
In 1959, the state declared its intention to extend more control over the forests by constituting
some of the Protected Forests as Reserved Forests. In the 1960s, the Forest Department tried
to control the forest land by taking the control of the quota system. But , in accordance with
the Indian Forest Act, a study was conducted and based on the studys recommendations in
1992, 84 per cent of the total PFs and unmanaged forests in the Gadchiroli Forest division
were declared Reserved Forests. The remaining 16 per cent was assigned as PFs to meet
peoples customary requirements. According to Neema Pathak, This decision affected a
substantial part of the forests traditionally falling within th e boundaries of Mendha village. It
also meant that approximately 1900 hectares of the customary zone of the village was to be
Reserve Forests. This left only about 350 hectares as Protected Forests for the villagers to
meet their customary needs. The criteria used by the Forest Department for determining and
assigning areas that would fulfil peoples customary needs were not clear.

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Towards Community Forest Management

Discontentment had been brewing since the 1950s as the tribals faced increasing
oppression and discrimination from the forest department. The Forest Department was always
trying to separate the tribes from the forest. The Gonds suffered all these injustices till
things came to a tipping point. By the late 1970s, the tribals found a common cause to unite
and fight against. The constructions of two dams were proposed by the Maharashtra
Government in the Gadchiroli region. The project would not have benefitted Mendha village
but would have deprived them of their livelihood souce. Thus this hydro electric project
faced strong tribal opposition and finally the proposal was dropped by the government in
1985. Similarly, in 1991, the village stood up against the governments plan to lease out the
forest to a private paper mill, which had apparently worked out a deal to get bamboo dirt
cheap from the forest department. Alternative ideas were to be born from resistance, as is
often the case.
Gandhis Idea of Gram Swaraj
Gandhiji himself never attempted a systematisation of his thought. Like many of the
old reformers and prophets he was content to act in a given situation and solve lifes
problems, as they arose or presented them in the light of his basic moral principles. The
solutions he offered were practical and often coloured by the times and circumstances in
which they arose. It is therefore, no wonder that Gandhiji created no system of philosophy,
creed or religion. Most of Gandhijis ideas and knowledge were not acquired from books but
mainly because of the direct contact with life and the practical experience offered. Gandhiji
fought for Swaraj and also for the upliftment of the Harijans, scheduled castes, scheduled
tribes and women. Mahatma Gandhi not only influenced the thoughts of the tribals but also
suggested strategies for their development.
According to Gandhi, My idea of village swaraj is that it is a complete republic,
independent of its neighbours for its own vital wants, and yet interdependent for many others
in which dependence is a necessity. Thus every villages first concern will be to grow its own
food crops and cotton for its cloth. It should have a reserve for its cattle, recreation and
playground for adults and children. Then if there is more land available, it will grow useful
money crops, thus excluding ganja, tobacco, opium and the like. The village will maintain a
village theatre, school and public hall. It will have its own waterworks, ensuring clean water
supply. This can be done through controlled wells or tanks. Education will be compulsory up
to the final basic course. As far as possible every activity will be conducted on the
cooperative basis. There will be no castes such as we have today with their graded
untouchability. Non-violence with its technique of satyagraha and non-cooperation will be
the sanction of the village community. There will be a compulsory service of village guards
who will be selected by rotation from the register maintained by the village. The government
of the village will be conducted by a Panchayat of five persons annually elected by the adult
villagers, male and female, possessing minimum prescribed qualifications. These will have
all the authority and jurisdiction required. Since there will be no system of punishments in the
accepted sense, this Panchayat will be the legislature, judiciary and executive combined to
operate for its year of office. Any village can become such a republic today without much
interference even from the present Government whose sole effective connection with the
villages is the exaction of the village revenue. I have not examined here the question of
relations with the neighbouring villages and the centre if any. My purpose is to present an
outline of village government. Here there is perfect democracy based upon individual
freedom. The individual is the architect of his own government. The law of non-violence
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rules him and his government. He and his village are able to defy the might of a world. For
the law governing every villager is that he will suffer death in the defence of his and his
villages honour.3
Understanding and Applying Gandhian ideas by Mendha
Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, a social worker inspired by the Gandhian ideals of nonviolence and Vinoba Bhaves edicts of Swarajya Shastra- a village community ruled by
consensus, closely associated with Mendha and Devaji Tofa, a class IV drop out and the
dynamic leader of Mendha, teamed up to launch the Jungle Bachao, Manav Bachao (Save
Forest, Save Humanity) movement. This movement laid the foundation for the tribal self-rule
principle in Mendha. Realizing the necessity of the safety of their forest Mendha decided to
take over the administration of the forest and they also decided to reduce dependency on the
government. In order to attain this, the village decided to revive its traditional governance
structure and by taking decisions in the village level, it began to strengthen the Gram Sabha
by applying the Gandhian idea of Gram Swaraj.
The traditional system of Gram Sabha was reactivated in 1988 and first of all,
discussions ensued over a period of 4-5 years centred on key village issues such as creating
equal status for women, reducing alcoholism, creating greater personal responsibility, and
establishing means to protect and regulate the use of the surrounding forests. The discussions
led to many positive social, cultural and environmental changes, including the development
of a forest protection and management system in the village.
The villagers came to know about the Nistar Rights4 through their regular discussions
with researchers and NGOs . All the legal documents regarding the legal, revenue and
political matters of the village were collected by the the Gram Sabha . The famous slogan
Dilli Mumbai Amcha Sarkar, Amache Ganavat Amhich Sarkar (In Delhi and Mumbai is
our Government, In our village we ourselves are the Government) was raised in Mendha and
still holds a central place in the village square. The village also decided to revive its
fledgling Ghotul5. A new Gotul was constructed using the Teak from the forest. But the
forest department destructed the structure and seized the wood. By calling a 32 village Gram
Maha Sabha (Large Village Assembly), they gathered support from other Gond villages.
Twelve villages constructed Ghotuls along with Mendha and the defiant villagers threatened
to resurrect a new structure every time the old one was destroyed. The Forest Department had
to concede their defeat and thus Mendha achieved a significant victory. In Mendha, the
movement towards self-rule and protection of the surrounding forests in the late1980s led to
the creation of three key village institutions ie, The Gram Sabha, The Mahila Mandal, and
the Abhyas Ghats.
The Gram Sabha (GS)
The village council is called the Gram Sabha (GS). In the past, village elders took
most decisions. Gandhi advocated decisions by consensus as the main thrust of democratic
functioning. As indicated by Gandhi, it was agreed that the GS would use a consensus
process for decision-making, and that village decisions would supersede any government or
other outside decisions. The GS is composed of at least two adult members (one male and
one female) from each household. However, all villagers can attend the meetings irrespective

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of age or gender. The GS has its own office and an office administrator maintains the records
of all meetings organized in the village. It meets once a month and issues are discussed and
revisited, if necessary until a consensus is reached. On average, about 75 per cent of the
members attend GS meetings, with equal participation from men and women.
The GS also functions as a dispute resolution body for small village-level disputes.
For larger conflicts, a meeting of elders from 32 surrounding tribal villages is called. The GS
also decides what activities will be assigned to other sub-committees within the village based
on interests, responsibilities and capacities. In carrying out forest related responsibilities, the
GS works with Forest Department staff. Most often, such staff are the local forester and two
guards directly responsible for the forests falling within Mendha village boundaries. The GS
has also registered itself as an NGO, the Village Management and Development
Organization. In this role, the GS carries out a number of village development and welfare
activities. It focuses on equitably distributing the costs and benefits of development projects
and programmes amongst the villagers.
The GS has also been a strong force in coordinating the efforts of many government
departments and NGOs wanting to offer various forestry protection or development
programmes. So far, the GS has deliberately avoided receiving major external funds, unless
originating from government programmes targeted for the region. Each member of the GS
donates 10 per cent of her or his wages to the GS corpus fund from their employment
generated through the GS. Any money left over from GS projects or programmes also goes
into the fund. In addition, any donations or payments made by visitors go into the fund. The
GS now has its own account in a local bank, and uses a unique accounting system that
spreads the responsibility and accountability for withdrawing and spending money among
many villagers.
The Mahila Mandal (MM)
All women in the village (of all ages and classes) are members. The President of the
MM is chosen at every meeting for that meeting. Often the GS meetings also work as MM
meetings. Forest-related activities carried out by the MM include regular monitoring of the
forests, and punishing those who breach forest protection rules.
The Abhyas Gats (AG)
This is a study circle which operates as an informal gathering of people. Meetings are
convened as and when desired for discussions on any issue. Outsiders are sometimes
specially invited if the village wants some specific information or desires debate on a certain
issue. These dialogues have helped the villagers develop their conversation skills, increase
their awareness of the outside world, learn about their rights and responsibilities, and obtain
important inputs and information which help them take informed decisions at GS meetings.
In turn, outsiders have gained insights into village life and the process of village self-rule. For
example, discussions initiated by outsiders at the AG significantly helped the village
overcome the problem of encroachments on forest land. Discussions in the AG have also
been focusing about the negative impacts of fire and hunting on the ecosystem.
In most government schemes and programmes the elected panchayat is responsible for
receiving funds and implementing projects. The panchayat for Mendha is composed of the
elected members from Mendha and two other adjoining villages. In 1999, a decision was
taken by the villagers to choose their representatives based on local consensus rather than
electing them (which, according to them, breeds corruption).

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Establishment of forest protection activities

Efforts towards forest protection started in 1987 through various discussions in the Gram
Sabha . Several decisions were taken, including:
All domestic requirements of the village would be met from the surrounding forests
without paying any fee to the government or bribes to the local staff.
Approval of a set of rules for sustainable extraction.
No outsider, including governmental, would be allowed to carry out any forest use
activities without the permission of the Gram Sabha. If someone was caught
doing so, the material would be seized by the village and the offender would have to
accept any
punishment decided by the village.
No commercial exploitation of the forests, except for non timber forest produce that
has
traditionally been collected.
The villagers would regularly patrol the forest.
The villagers would regulate the amount of resources they could extract and the times
during which they could extract resources from the forests.
To implement these and other minor decisions regulating extraction, an unofficial Van
Suraksha Samiti (forest protection committee) 6 was formulated, including at
least two
members from each household in the village.
The Gram Sabharepresenting a strong and united villagesucceeded in stopping
the
timber industrys bamboo and teak extraction from the entire 1800ha of the
forest. Mendha villagers speak proudly of the fact that the forests now belong to
them, and that they have implemented effective forest protection activities.
Towards Joint Forest Management
The efforts of the villagers at forest protection were not initially recognized in official
circles. However, in 1992 the first opportunity to do so arrived in the form of the Joint Forest
Management (JFM)7 scheme (not a legal category) of the government. The villagers,
persistently demanded that they should be included in the JFM scheme. With the help of
some supportive forest officials, the villagers succeeded, and they entered into a JFM
agreement in 1992. Subsequently, an official Van Suraksha Samiti (VSS) was formed and
Mendha became the first village with standing forests in the stateand one of the few in
Indiato be brought under the JFM scheme. The rules that the villagers worked out for
implementing JFM in their village included:
All decisions regarding the forests will be taken in a joint meeting between the Forest
Department and the villagers.
Mendha villagers will have the first right to employment in any official forest-related
activity in the village.
To carry out any work in the forests, permission will have to be sought from the Gram
Sabha.
Labourers from the outside will have to take a letter of permission from the VSS.
Villagers will extract forest produce for their real requirement as per the existing
village rules.

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Villagers will have the power to punish offenders both from within the village and
outside.
Details of the joint meetings will be recorded both by the Forest Department and the
villagers.
The functions of the VSS were also adopted for Mendhas JFM programme. The VSS
in Mendha meets far more often than it is officially obligated to, and the meetings are
open to all members of the GS, not just the executive committee. The creation of the
official VSS has not affected the functioning of the unofficial Mendha VSS, and
official decisions found unacceptable to the villagers are not carried out.
Under the JFM, the bamboo harvest in the village started again in the year 1999.
Villagers were allowed to take what they needed for personal consumption and rest was sold
by the forest department to the paper mill. Villagers were also paid for harvesting bamboo
and they were supposed to get 50% benefit from the sale of the remaining bamboo. In recent
time, the villagers have felt demoralised vis a vis JFM to a certain extent. While they
admitted that the JFM had helped them gain an official acceptance of the fact that they were
using and protecting the forests, they were disgruntled and disillusioned by the fact that in
spite of their full hearted participation for more than 15 years the state had shown no signs
of sharing the 50% profits with them, which should have been released with 5 years of the
first harvest. This gave rise to a very strong feeling in the village that the government is not to
be trusted as they do not fulfil their promises. Passing of the FRA has provided a new legal
opportunity to the village to claim the forests without having to depend on the government
machinery to fulfill their promises. Under this Act the villagers will have full right to protect,
manage and use the forests. So many paper works were initiated by the tribals for this
purpose.
In December 2009, it became the first village in India to win community rights under
the Forest Rights Act(FRA) of 2006 that includes bamboo as a Minor Forest Produce. The
Maharashtra Government on April 27, 2011 transferred the powers to sell bamboo vested so
far in the hands of the forest department to Gram Sabha by handing over permits to Tofa.
The Union minister of Environment and Forest, Jairam Ramesh awarded community rights to
Mendha under the The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. He also issued the mandatory transit pass for the sale of bamboo
to Devaji Tofa and announced:Today, bamboo is liberated 8. For Chief Minister Prithviraj
Chavan, it was a historic occasion as it serves to empower the local villagers and make them
economically stronger9. Sudha Pillai, member secretary of Planning Commission termed the
day as historic and said, It is liberation for tribals similar to what India got after
MahatmaGandhis anti salt march10. According to Hiralal, Mendhas victory was possible
because it is a unique village, where every decision is taken unanimously by villagers in the
gram sabha11.

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IMPACTS OF COMMUNITY EFFORT

Social impacts
Increased empowerment by striving and achieving the capacity
and confidence to assert their rights and reaching a stage where
the village is respected even in official circles. Today all
government and non-government people come to the village (if
they need to), instead of calling the villagers to their offices.
They sit with them and converse with them on equal terms and
often in their language. So powerful is the Gram Sabha that
when governor P.C.Alexander wanted to visit the village in
2000, the District Collector personally came and seek the
permission from the Gram Sabha. The area also falls within the
Naxalite belt (an extremist outfit fighting for social equality),
but the village has not been bothered by the members of this
group either. This is probably because of the history of the
communitys non violent struggle for self rule. The respect
from both officials and Naxalites may stem from the fact that
the community has maintained a healthy independent position
of its own that of a non violent, knowledge based struggle to
achieve self determination and conservation.
An all inclusive, transparent and open governance system based on discussions,
dialogues and consensus has ensured that there are few (if any) internal conflicts.
Conflicts with other villages (which arise often because of the village trying to
enforce its rules) are also resolved amicably with open discussions with the concerned
villages.
Established a reliable reputation as effective partners in development and forest
protection. Through a non-violent strategy Mendha has established strong and good
relationships with many government officials and non government agencies, who in
turn have helped them at many crucial points.
10 years of discussion amongst the villagers has led to a consensus amongst the
community to becoming a gram daan12 (literally meaning donate your village to the
community) village. Under the Act if a village agrees to be a gram daan village then
individual members donate 20% of their landholdings to the village to meet the
requirements of the poor and the landless. 80% of the land remains with the
landholder for use and inheritance but the community as a whole is the owner of this
land.
Ecological Impacts
Soil and water conservation programmes: in the last few years the villagers have
taken up a number of soil and water conservation programmes, including building an
earthen dam to retain water for longer periods. This has been especially critical in
summers when water is a scarce commodity.

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The decision not to set fires in the forests and to the extent possible help in fire
extinction.
A vigilant watch is now kept in the forests against illegal activities. The forests were
protected from commercial activities, such as extraction of bamboo by the paper mill
till 1998. Since 1998-99, bamboo has been extracted under the JFM every year.
Along with a team of people under the guidance of Dr. Madhav Gadgil from the
Indian Institute of Science, the village youth have also compiled a Peoples
Biodiversity Register for the village. The participation of the youth in the preparation
of the registers has made them aware of their rich and biologically diverse natural
heritage. This according to Devaji has been crucial in involving youth in the village
movement, many of whom are now taking active interest in various activities
including biodiversity conservation.
Conclusion
We have tribes like Tana Bhagat 13 who is completely leading their own way of life
but are now raising voice against the Government Policy. They claims that they have been
exploited by the people and nothing has been done to develop their lot. They are also
adopting Gandhian model to draw the attention of the Government. Now, the world over, the
struggle in Mendha and its success gives us a lesson that the forest and the tribes are
interdependent and this relation need to be strengthened and the communities closest to the
resources can manage them more effectively. Through this struggle, Tofa became a symbol
of change. Mendha became the magnet of scholars and researchers and has inspired more
than a hundred villages in the district to follow its ideas. Replicating the success of Mendha
Lekha, around 350 villages in Gondia district have been granted Community Forest Rights
(CFR) under the Forest Rights Act of 2006 as reported by Times of India on 7 th August,
2012. The residents of the village Mendha Lekha have donated their entire agriculture land
to the village Gram Sabha under the forgotten Maharshtra Gram Dan Act of 1964. This step
was taken at a meeting on September 3, 2013 with a view to unite the village into a single
family and reversing the harmful trend of private ownership of land that ultimately harms
both individual farmers and land dependent communities. With this decision of Gram Dan,
the entire village has now become a single family. In the future, as in the past, the tribals are
going to shape the polity of India, therefore we must help them in adopting their own mode of
socio-economic development in order to have a peaceful developing democratic country.
*****************************
Notes
1. A flower used to brew local liquor.
2. The IFA identifies three categories of forests under state control: Protected Forests
(PF), Reserved Forests (RF) and Village Forests (VF). The RFs are the strictest
category where very few rights of the people are accepted and most rights are
extinguished. PFs allow more rights in them. VFs are forests which are owned by the

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state but are handed over to the villagers for management and use, a category seldom
used.
3. Harijan, 26-7-1942.
4. Nistar (collection) rights granted in the Nistar Patrak (collection rights written in a
document under the British era).
5. Ghotul, a cultural institution meant to teach adolescents the ways of tribal life and
pass on traditional knowledge.
6. The Van Suraksha Samiti (VSS) is the official forest protection committee established
under the JFM resolution. The VSS needs to include at least one member of each
family in the village and is expected to elect an executive committee composed of six
village representatives, two NGO representatives, the head of the village executive,
and the local government-appointed village liaison person.
7. In general, the JFM scheme envisages the handing over of degraded lands and forests
to villagers for raising valuable timber species. Plantations are created and valuable
forests regenerated, with the Forest Department and villagers jointly responsible for
forest management. After 510 years, valuable timber is harvested and local villagers
involved in forest protection are entitled to receive up to 50 percent of the revenue
generated.
8. Times of India, 27-4-2011.
9. Deccan Herald, 28-4-2011
10. Hindustan Times, 28-4-2011.
11. Times of India, 28-4-2011.
12. Gram daan was a movement promoted by the famous Gandhian leader Vinoba
Bhave. This movement encourages a village to be more community oriented rather
than individual oriented. The movement became a law in 1964 called the Gram Daan
Act of India.
13. Tana Bhagats are the tribes in Chota Nagpur and were the first non violent satyagrahis
who rose in revolt against the British power and sacrifices everything in the freedom
struggle. They were strongly influenced by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and their
powerful local reform movement in 1915 is known as Tana Bhagat Movement.

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GIIRJ, Vol.2 (11), NOVEMBER (2014)

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Websites visited
www.kalpavriksh.org
www.iucn.org
www.im4change.org
www.cseindia.org

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