EXODUS OF KATKARI CHILDREN ?

Illiteracy, ignorance and illnesses are a common phenomenon in Adiwasi villages or hamlets across the country. It is also common that they are deprived of their basic needs, such as roads, electricity and the most common being food and potable water. Some people address them nomadic, illiterate, and work hard for them, but when they do not get any positive response, they give up! Some people do their best; but never think of adiwasies as their part of mission. Some people work hard, give their best but never reach to the roots!

The root cause being undeveloped of adiwasi, specially the Katkari tribe of Raigad does not lie in iliteracy alone. Being unemployed and ignorant is the other part, which propelled them to resort to various unwanted avenues to earn their breads. In addition, this is the harsh reality of their life that they became the most vulnerable agent at the hands of influential and political people of the society.

It is also observed that the Constitutional rights of these poor people are laughed off all the time. Their fundamental rights are being raped every day, dignity is jeered, and every day life is being turned into nightmares. Bringing this people from slavery to freedom is a major cause of concern and a challenge to the government agencies as well as NGOs.

In this context, I would like to through light on some crucial issues of katkari tribes. Katkari is categorized among the most primitive scheduled tribes. Once the owner of jungle now reduced to bonded labors, has been living a very miserable life today.

Migration and illiteracy bottleneck every step of developing process for these tribes. In fact, they travel from one place to another in search of jobs - bricklin and construction sites provides them temporary employment for a paltry income, leading to the countless social, economical and health problems. Working at bricklin site, is very unhealthy and risky, mainly for a pregnant mother and children.

Health & Early Marriage: In a close vicinity of Veer village, one of the bricklin sites, depicts a vivid picture of a katkari woman who gave birth to her twins, both were premature and underweight, after three days one baby girl died due to lack of proper care and treatment. This bricklin sites are mostly located either on banks of the river at the outskirts of village, or far away places from the main village, where katkari settles along with their families for four to five months to earn their livelihood.

Yet, in another case, a katkari teenage girl from remote hamlet was hospitalized for her confinement in a government run hospital in Mahad last year, following the delivery, the mother and her new born baby died in a short span of time. Yet again, a 19 year old mother died, in Karanjadi hamlet recently. She had her first baby girl just two weeks before her death. Many time, real cause of death are hushed up to wind up the case. Child mortality and maternity death among katkari in Raigad, is a common phenomena. Unfortunately, deaths go unreported and reasons contributed to ignorance or superstition.

Case Study: (Child labour & Free Education): bricklin and construction sites are spawning beds of child labours that have deliberately been disregarded by the concerned authorities. Some times, the children help their parents and parents also encourage their children to work. If these trends continue, the school dropout rate of tribal children is more likely to go up in near future.

In year 2006, a incident took place in one of the village of this district. Nearly, about 12 tribal children that range between the age group of 10 to 14 were not registered in the school. As per the government rules it is a mandatory under sarva shikshan abhiyan (SSA) that every child between the age group of 6 -14 must be registered with the school. ( This incident was brought to the notice of electronic media and later a high level inquiry was initiated, finally the 12 name were registered )

Although, government have promised to provide the free education to the children between 6 to 14 age group under its pet program – sarva shikshan abhiyan. In its true nature, free education, is yet could not met the needs of thousands of katkari children in the district. The government run hostel cum school or ashram schools for tribal are the worst of its kind, government has set up a prescribed and specific norms and rules for (government run ) ashram schools, but they do not serve its true purpose.

Many katkari children run away from these boarding schools to escape from corporal punishment inflicted on them, even the atmosphere where they live and study is very unfriendly. As I have interacted some of the girls and boys who fled away from there, and they revealed that proper treatment is not meted out to them. I also visited some of the ashram schools and found that sick children are not properly attended or looked after by the concern authorities. Even their need is not understood as many children, specially, the older girls seems to be very sensitive. if children are hurt by any insulting comments made by their teacher, they leave for home.

School infrastructure is a major dearth at almost every katkari hamlet across the district. Education ministry is blowing its own trumpet to show that how deeply they concern the needs of these poor children but in reality schemes are more on cards than to be seen in villages. Thanks for the blessing of our mai baap sarkar and their subsidized schemes to uplift the most marginalized which hardly reach to the children. Even hundreds of katkari family’s names are virtually missing from recently surveyed below poverty line list that could have entitled them of several government schemes to uplift their economical and educational status.

Malnutrition is a major health challenge among tribal children across India. There are several reasons that have attributed to malnutrition. The common reason is being poverty. It is true that poverty plays havoc in almost every social developmental sphere in the society. But this does not imply that poverty is the only root cause of every health hazards or development !

Regular monitoring of weight of a growing child, providing proper nutrition and immunization, educating mother for child’s illness and it’s consequences, intimate dialogue with mother and home base management of a ill child are a few simple and primary steps that can be taken in to consideration while treating the children who are more prone to malnutrition. This could help to change considerably the raising scenario of malnutrition cases among tribal children in our country.( and of course in Raigad )


Case Study: On 13th of September 2006 a girl child of a grade 4 category (malnourished) Pinky Barku Jadhav, 3 year old from a tribal hamlet of Veer village, had been hospitalized in rural hospital at Mahad, (Dist. Raigad). She was also suffering from Malaria and a mild dysentery according to the hospital sources. Pinky was discharged from the hospital on 16th of September and had been sent to home after she was examined in a camp jointly organized by Integrated Child Development Scheme program (ICDS) and Primary Health Centers ( PHC) of Mahad. Unfortunately, Pinky was succumbed to her illness on 28th September 2006.

From 17th to 28th September any health worker or doctor of primary health center of that area to supervise or monitor the status of the deteriorating health of the child made not a single follow up. It was observed that no one seemed to have claimed the responsibility of a poor tribal child who had died of malnutrition merely due to the negligence of medical care and timely treatment.

When Pinky was admitted in rural hospital at Mahad, the doctor on duty said that the child need intensive care under the guidance of a pediatrician and since the post was vacant or there was no post of pediatrician in rural hospital, Mahad. “The child need to have shifted to district civil hospital (Alibag) or Mumbai for further treatment” he further added. Meanwhile the doctor at Dasgaon primary health center (the hamlet of deceased child comes under this PHC) has whisked off his noble responsibility and vemently said that the four grade malnourished child should not be treated at primary health center level, he or she should be referred to rural hospital at taluka level.

Rural hospital of Mahad (or any government run taluka level hospital in the district) has no facilities of catering treatment to malnourished children ( specially for grade 4) . Then, what is the sense of referring cases to rural hospital where even basic facilities could not meet the need of a patient? Is it possible for a tribal daily wager to go to Mumbai to get treated his or her dying child? Even this hospital could not provide any transportation facilities to shift the seriously ill child to district civil hospital (Alibag) or Mumbai hospital. It is observed that in most of the time a poor patient is referred to the private hospital of the city.

According to Article 39(f) of directive principles of state policy it is the duty of the state to provide opportunities and facilities to develop children in a healthy manner. Is it not right to health a human right? Article 25(1) of the universal declaration of human rights 1948 assures that every one has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and his family including medical care and necessary social services and the right to security in the event of sickness, disability, old age etc. Right to life is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the constitution of India.

Health care does not mean mere medical treatment during illness. It means to do whatever medically possible to promote the physical, mental and well-being of the patient. More than rich it is the poor patient who needs such care. They suffer from diseases , which are mainly due to lack of health care services of our government run hospitals, basically in rural area (of the state)

The objective of the child survival and safe motherhood (August 1992) program is to improve the health status of women and children and to reduce maternal and child mortality rates. The Jeeja Mata Mission is another program specially designed for children suffering from malnutrition and mother. In these two programs, prevention of child mortality is obligatory. These program addresses the major causes of mortality in children that are preventable by available cost effective intervention. Balwadi Sevika records the weight as per her routine duty in a register with the guidelines of child’s weight growth charts in order to monitor the growth or loss of weight of each child that helps to prevent the malnutrition cases. If she fails to maintain accurate weight record, poor and innocent children could be victimized simply due to negligence.

Children suffering from malnutrition, has been classified into four grades, the third and the fourth grades children are categorized as risk group and those children need more nutritive , care, treatment, regular medical check up. Health education and regular follow up is key to curb the problem. If regularities and consistencies in weighing the child are not maintained, then gain or loss in weight of a child could be misinterpreted which may lead to death!

It is estimated that there are more than 250 central and state legislations referring to children. Several Articles of the Constitution provide protection to children. Even the existence laws are not implemented properly, how can we justify and expect a holistic change among the most deprived and deserved children living in our country.



S. P. NAVKAR
Freelance Journalist & Social Worker

spnavkar@rediffmail.com 9272445189