Gladson Dungdung
Gladson’s Burden
By Mallika Sarabhai
The Week, 20th April 2012
Gladson is an Adivasi living in the war-torn Jharkhand. When he was a year old, his family—farmers owning 20 acres of fertile land—became homeless. Their ancestral land disappeared when a dam was built on the Chinda river. As compensation, the family was paid∃11,000. When their neighbours and they protested they were sent to Hazaribagh Jail. Could a family of six ensure food, education, housing and health care for their entire life with ∃11,000? They headed for the forests. They bought a small piece of land, tilled it, collected forest produce and tried to make a go of it. There was no way of recovering the prosperity they had enjoyed, but with the additional income from their livestock, they got by.
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Filed under: 1. News & Events, Adivasi Campaign, South Asia Tagged: | Adivasi, economics, environment, India, Jharkhand, politics
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This is the price one pays for standing besides harsh truths of life. At times, I fail to understand the complexities of human mind. I think – these are basically ‘war’ among various ideologies and they cannot see eye-to-eye. That’s why Gladson is trapped between the two opposite confronting forces who are struggling to prove their own supremacy and strength. That reminds me the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Just imagine the paradox – He was killed by his own countryman! One can expand his imagination and find some logic for this brutal act. The questions posed by Gladson are apt, logical and very pertinent, aren’t they? Anyone has any answer? I can understand the agony and mental turmoil, if I may say so, of Gladson because I, too am an Adivasi. In fact, one need not be an Adivasi or Aggrieved to understand these emotions.