Voices

“Our land is blowing away as the dust blows away in the storm"  - Dharti Aba Birsa Munda The movement was led by Jatra Bhagat and Hanuman Oraon. Like all else, it was anti-Zamindhari, anti-missionary, anti-British. The main features of the movement were: 1) Self government 2) Abolition of Raj 3) Perfect equality between man and man 4) No rent payment. PESA Act 1996 is to enable  Gram Sabhas  to self govern their natural resources. So, the idea of self government is not the idea of the then  government of 1996. Much earlier it was being enjoyed by the Tribals (Present Adivasis) the original aboriginal inhabitants of India. Later, the Non-tribals who snatched away tribals' values and freedom came into India. Thus, the Tana Bhagat Movement rose in 1914 led by Jatra Bhagat and Hanuman Oraon. After Passing this PESA Act 1996, the government is still keeping it aloof from the tribals, not allowing the tribals of schedule areas ...

Definition: The term Pancha [1] is used to describe voluntary members forming a group to help each other within the group turn by turn throughout the year. Thus, Pancha means collective group work for a day well known among the tribal peoples of Chotanagpure. The volunteers from various families come together and form a group or Pancha to assist each other in doing manual work throughout the year. There could be many Pancha groups in the society. One person can be the members of more than one Pancha , provided he or she is able to attend all the collective voluntary works of the group. In a Pancha there used to be 10 to 15 members. Though, the most preferable number is 12. There is no particular rule and regulation set off for the Pancha . However, they themselves arrange turns to help each other during the work season. The Pancha consists of executive body where everyone becomes the leader or president of the group turn by turn. Mechanism: Once the volunteer members fr...