Clash of Old India and new India.

A month ago, one of our elected leaders was kidnapped and had been held as hostage ever since; and the same people have kidnapped a government officer. Our administrative officer who was working hard for the development of the tribal people was kidnapped and negotiations are still taking place. The demands are that more family members who are held as prisoners be releasedThe innocent tribal people suffer more because they do not know how to express their anguish. Tribal or “adivasi” people had suffered eviction, and have become impoverished as India modernizes. They would kidnap an important person whom they come in contact with;and ask for the release of their family members who are in jail, as an exchange. But this is unlawful and they will get into more trouble than before. They feel they have no other way out. They cannot hire lawyers and file lawsuits for they do not have money to do it. Criminal justice is against the poor. They are the “old people” of ancient India thrust into the super modern twenty first century—unable to cope with new situations. Originally they had formed organizations like the “Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangh” for demanding their rights over their lands but they were associated by criminal elements and were misguided.What we hear is not the truth or reality. These people deserve our pity and not hatred. And efforts must be made to educate them and integrate them into the national mainstream. These tribes are people of ancient India, trying to find place in modern India. They are turn to crime because they are deeply grieved for they have lost their land, their livelihood and their families. They are the simple people of India—lost in time and space in a sea of poverty and neglect.They need to be rescued and through education brought to civilization.