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Saturday, July 07, 2007
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A `rags-to-rubber'
struggle for Kani tribals
Retnakaran Kani is a rich man. He belongs to a rare group of tribal nouveau riche who have made their fortune from rubber. Kani owns 180 rubber trees which earn him an average Rs 7,000 a month.
`Imagine me ten years ago.., the trees were planted but I had to wait for 7 years before the rubber came. In those days I was having no breakfast, tapioca for lunch and gruel for supper. I sold medicinal plants and tuber crops. Today my family can have puttu, dosa, rice or anything. I can call up a friend in Dubai with this mobile phone,'' he exclaims showing off his new acquisition from Nokia.
Retnakaran is one among the 3,000 families of Kani tribals living in the Njaraneeli forests of Nedumangad taluk in Thiruvananthapuram. These families have benefited from the Tribal Development Rubber Planting Project undertaken by the Central Government's agency Rubber Board. As part of the project, the board has planted the trees selectively on forest land in the possession of the tribal people in several areas of the State.
The 49-year-old Kani has no intention of wasting his new wealth. He plans to save money and send his three daughters to college and get them jobs. A fellow tribesman, Pushkaran of Peppara, earns much less. ``I manage to sell rubber for about Rs 2,000 on an average a month and also run an autorickshaw. I have to look after a ten-member family,'' says he. But then income is erratic for him. It all depends on the health of the trees that one gets to grow.
Alcoholism
Not many others of the tribe are as responsible as Retnakaran and Pushkaran. They spend big chunks of their earning on drinking. ``Eight out of ten men in our colony drink thanks to the illicit brewers. Even young boys have taken to this habit,'' says Sadasivan Kani, a CPM member of the Peringammala panchayat. Sadasivan appeared to be the most well-off among the three tribals and has a spacious tile-roofed house. He has a direct-to-home TV connection and a CD player.
However, most tribesmen are not used to saving their money or planning for the future. The result: they often run seriously short of cash with nothing to pawn off. ``That was how some of them even began to lease out their trees to non-tribesmen,'' says Easwaran Kani, a respected tribal doctor of Njaraneeli. Leasing out 50 trees for a year may fetch the tribal a quick money of over Rs 10,000. The business savvy non-tribesmen tap the maximum yield from the trees for a specific period. According to the doctor, about 10 per cent of his tribesmen resorted to this kind of fund-raising. Bad news The Rubber Board is not willing to admit the bad news as this is against the declared aims of the TDRP project . ``It is a fact that some people do lease out trees. But you cannot generalise this as a trend. The positive side of the project far outweighs such stray incidents,'' Mr T Sreekumar, development officer at the Rubber Board office in Nedumangad.
`You should not forget the changes that rubber has brought to the lifestyle of the tribal folk. This project is one of the most meticulously executed tribal welfare projects in the whole country,'' claims Sreekumar.
Deadly mix
Good income has certainly brought more income into the lives of many tribals. But it has also become a deadly mix for many others who resort to drinking. It has had a debilitating effect on their work and made them lazy. ``It is not just the arrack. You will be surprised to see how many fathers turn up for the parent-teacher association meeting of our school. It is an all-woman affair,'' says Noushad who is a member of the Government UP School PTA at Njaraneeli.
`The tribals have been forced to lead the life of a non-tribal with the arrival of development and money from rubber,'' says Mr Viswanathan Nair, former director of the Kerala Institute for Research, Training and Development Studies for Scheduled Castes & Tribes.
By R Gopakumar |
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posted by santhosheditor
12:45 PM
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priyappetta suhruthukkale,
melparanja vaartha kandu njan njettippoyi. samskara sampannamaaya keralathil ingane oru aaalo!!!??? ithu keralathil theere anuvadhichu kodukkkan paadillatha oru sambhavam aanu. Adhikaarikal ethrayum pettennu unarnnu pravarthikkanam ennum retnakaranu ethrayum vegam oru loan anuvadhikkukayum puthiya american model rubber trees peovide cheyyanamennu abhyarthikkunnu, ennal maathrame ippol eee reethiyil pokunnna retnakarante sthavara jangama vasthukkal sieze cheythu govt ilekku muthal koootttan patttoooo. pinne retnakarantethu polathe oru tribil ninnum kuttikal padikkan collegil pokanam ennu aalochichathu thanne oru thetttaaanu. orikkalum anuvadhikkappedaan paadillatha kaaryam. ethrayum pettennu aa kuttikale naadu kadathukayum retnakaran kaaniye chaaraayam kodutho rubberinu thalikkunna visham kodutho kollaaan govt mun kai edukkanamennu eeeyullavan thaazhmayaayi apekshikkunnnu.
(ORU MIDDLE CLASS AATHAMAGATHAM)
ee retnakaranu cheruppathil valla international schoolilum poyi padichu valla software companiyulum jolikku poykkooodaarunno!!!??? ini aaa sthalathu valla constructionum nadakkumo? development varumo???
oru retnaakaranum avante oru rubberum......hmmmmmmm ivane okke andamanilekku naadu kadathanam.
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I did saw retnakaran while reading the feature. the writer, gopakumar, studied the serious problem, facing by the rural farmers. following the path of urban culture, they are ruining their own life. this is the right time someone should take responsibility to create awareness among these people...I think there are lakh of Retnakaran's in Kerala...
Kudos to Santosh and Gopakumar for getting together for reminding us some serious issue.
Red salute... Murali, Mumbai.
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really an inspiring story.
jobless indian youth must imitate kani
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this is a story that generates positive thought.tribes need to be uplifted,their lifestyles need to be improved...the govt is ofcourse doing a good job thru such projects...........BUT......... as is rightly pointed by the writer.......how many are adept at managing this hard earned money...saving&planning for life....as long as this does not happen....will there be the desired progress ... earning money is really good,but managing it judiciously like ratnakaran kani is definitely the message.......
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realy it is interesting
nice story
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ര്ത്നാകരന് റബ്ബര് കര്ഷകനായ എന്നെപ്പോലെ മലയാളത്തില് ബ്ലൊഗിംഗ് തുടങ്ങാം.
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priyappetta suhruthukkale,
melparanja vaartha kandu njan njettippoyi. samskara sampannamaaya keralathil ingane oru aaalo!!!??? ithu keralathil theere anuvadhichu kodukkkan paadillatha oru sambhavam aanu. Adhikaarikal ethrayum pettennu unarnnu pravarthikkanam ennum retnakaranu ethrayum vegam oru loan anuvadhikkukayum puthiya american model rubber trees peovide cheyyanamennu abhyarthikkunnu, ennal maathrame ippol eee reethiyil pokunnna retnakarante sthavara jangama vasthukkal sieze cheythu govt ilekku muthal koootttan patttoooo. pinne retnakarantethu polathe oru tribil ninnum kuttikal padikkan collegil pokanam ennu aalochichathu thanne oru thetttaaanu. orikkalum anuvadhikkappedaan paadillatha kaaryam. ethrayum pettennu aa kuttikale naadu kadathukayum retnakaran kaaniye chaaraayam kodutho rubberinu thalikkunna visham kodutho kollaaan govt mun kai edukkanamennu eeeyullavan thaazhmayaayi apekshikkunnnu.
(ORU MIDDLE CLASS AATHAMAGATHAM)
ee retnakaranu cheruppathil valla international schoolilum poyi padichu valla software companiyulum jolikku poykkooodaarunno!!!??? ini aaa sthalathu valla constructionum nadakkumo? development varumo???
oru retnaakaranum avante oru rubberum......hmmmmmmm ivane okke andamanilekku naadu kadathanam.