TOP TEN MYTHS ABOUT THE LIBYA WAR

1. Qaddafi was a progressive in his domestic policies. While back in the 1970s, Qaddafi was probably more generous in sharing around the oil wealth with the population, buying tractors for farmers, etc., in the past couple of decades that policy changed. He became vindictive against tribes in the east and in the southwest that had crossed him politically, depriving them of their fair share in the country’s resources. And in the past decade and a half, extreme corruption and the rise of post-Soviet-style oligarchs, including Qaddafi and his sons have discouraged investment and blighted the economy.Workers were strictly controlled and unable to collectively bargain for improvements in their conditions. There was much more poverty and poor infrastructure in Libya than there should have been in an oil state.
2. Qaddafi was a progressive in his foreign policy. Again, he traded for decades on positions, or postures, he took in the 1970s. In contrast, in recent years he played a sinister role in Africa, bankrolling brutal dictators and helping foment ruinous wars. In 1996 the supposed champion of the Palestinian cause expelled 30,000 stateless Palestinians from the country. After he came in from the cold, ending European and US sanctions, he began buddying around with George W. Bush, Silvio Berlusconi and other right wing figures. Berlusconi has even said that he considered resigning as Italian prime minister once NATO began its intervention, given his close personal relationship to Qaddafi. Such a progressive.
3. It was only natural that Qaddafi sent his military against the protesters and revolutionaries; any country would have done the same. No, it wouldn’t, and this is the argument of a moral cretin. In fact, the Tunisian officer corps refused to fire on Tunisian crowds for dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and the Egyptian officer corps refused to fire on Egyptian crowds for Hosni Mubarak. The willingness of the Libyan officer corps to visit macabre violence on protesting crowds derived from the centrality of the Qaddafi sons and cronies at the top of the military hierarchy and from the lack of connection between the people and the professional soldiers and mercenaries. Deploying the military against non-combatants was a war crime, and doing so in a widespread and systematic way was a crime against humanity. Qaddafi and his sons will be tried for this crime, which is not “perfectly natural.”
4. There was a long stalemate in the fighting between the revolutionaries and the Qaddafi military. There was not. This idea was fostered by the vantage point of many Western observers, in Benghazi. It is true that there was a long stalemate at Brega, which ended yesterday when the pro-Qaddafi troops there surrendered. But the two most active fronts in the war were Misrata and its environs, and the Western Mountain region. Misrata fought an epic, Stalingrad-style, struggle of self-defense against attacking Qaddafi armor and troops, finally proving victorious with NATO help, and then they gradually fought to the west toward Tripoli. The most dramatic battles and advances were in the largely Berber Western Mountain region, where, again, Qaddafi armored units relentlessly shelled small towns and villages but were fought off (with less help from NATO initially, which I think did not recognize the importance of this theater). It was the revolutionary volunteers from this region who eventually took Zawiya, with the help of the people of Zawiya, last Friday and who thereby cut Tripoli off from fuel and ammunition coming from Tunisia and made the fall of the capital possible. Any close observer of the war since April has seen constant movement, first at Misrata and then in the Western Mountains, and there was never an over-all stalemate.
5. The Libyan Revolution was a civil war. It was not, if by that is meant a fight between two big groups within the body politic. There was nothing like the vicious sectarian civilian-on-civilian fighting in Baghdad in 2006. The revolution began as peaceful public protests, and only when the urban crowds were subjected to artillery, tank, mortar and cluster bomb barrages did the revolutionaries begin arming themselves. When fighting began, it was volunteer combatants representing their city quarters taking on trained regular army troops and mercenaries. That is a revolution, not a civil war. Only in a few small pockets of territory, such as Sirte and its environs, did pro-Qaddafi civilians oppose the revolutionaries, but it would be wrong to magnify a handful of skirmishes of that sort into a civil war. Qaddafi’s support was too limited, too thin, and too centered in the professional military, to allow us to speak of a civil war.
6. Libya is not a real country and could have been partitioned between east and west.
Alexander Cockburn wrote,

“It requites no great prescience to see that this will all end up badly. Qaddafi’s failure to collapse on schedule is prompting increasing pressure to start a ground war, since the NATO operation is, in terms of prestige, like the banks Obama has bailed out, Too Big to Fail. Libya will probably be balkanized.”

I don’t understand the propensity of Western analysts to keep pronouncing nations in the global south “artificial” and on the verge of splitting up. It is a kind of Orientalism. All nations are artificial. Benedict Anderson dates the nation-state to the late 1700s, and even if it were a bit earlier, it is a new thing in history. Moreover, most nation-states are multi-ethnic, and many long-established ones have sub-nationalisms that threaten their unity. Thus, the Catalans and Basque are uneasy inside Spain, the Scottish may bolt Britain any moment, etc., etc. In contrast, Libya does not have any well-organized, popular separatist movements. It does have tribal divisions, but these are not the basis for nationalist separatism, and tribal alliances and fissures are more fluid than ethnicity (which is itself less fixed than people assume). Everyone speaks Arabic, though for Berbers it is the public language; Berbers were among the central Libyan heroes of the revolution, and will be rewarded with a more pluralist Libya. This generation of young Libyans, who waged the revolution, have mostly been through state schools and have a strong allegiance to the idea of Libya. Throughout the revolution, the people of Benghazi insisted that Tripoli was and would remain the capital. Westerners looking for break-ups after dictatorships are fixated on the Balkan events after 1989, but there most often isn’t an exact analogue to those in the contemporary Arab world.
7. There had to be NATO infantry brigades on the ground for the revolution to succeed. Everyone from Cockburn to Max Boot (scary when those two agree) put forward this idea. But there are not any foreign infantry brigades in Libya, and there are unlikely to be any. Libyans are very nationalistic and they made this clear from the beginning. Likewise the Arab League. NATO had some intelligence assets on the ground, but they were small in number, were requested behind the scenes for liaison and spotting by the revolutionaries, and did not amount to an invasion force. The Libyan people never needed foreign ground brigades to succeed in their revolution.
8. The United States led the charge to war. There is no evidence for this allegation whatsoever. When I asked Glenn Greenwald whether a US refusal to join France and Britain in a NATO united front might not have destroyed NATO, he replied that NATO would never have gone forward unless the US had plumped for the intervention in the first place. I fear that answer was less fact-based and more doctrinaire than we are accustomed to hearing from Mr. Greenwald, whose research and analysis on domestic issues is generally first-rate. As someone not a stranger to diplomatic history, and who has actually heard briefings in Europe from foreign ministries and officers of NATO members, I’m offended at the glibness of an answer given with no more substantiation than an idee fixe. The excellent McClatchy wire service reported on the reasons for which then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Pentagon, and Obama himself were extremely reluctant to become involved in yet another war in the Muslim world. It is obvious that the French and the British led the charge on this intervention, likely because they believed that a protracted struggle over years between the opposition and Qaddafi in Libya would radicalize it and give an opening to al-Qaeda and so pose various threats to Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had been politically mauled, as well, by the offer of his defense minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie, to send French troops to assist Ben Ali in Tunisia (Alliot-Marie had been Ben Ali’s guest on fancy vacations), and may have wanted to restore traditional French cachet in the Arab world as well as to look decisive to his electorate. Whatever Western Europe’s motivations, they were the decisive ones, and the Obama administration clearly came along as a junior partner (something Sen. John McCain is complaining bitterly about).
9. Qaddafi would not have killed or imprisoned large numbers of dissidents in Benghazi, Derna, al-Bayda and Tobruk if he had been allowed to pursue his March Blitzkrieg toward the eastern cities that had defied him. But we have real-world examples of how he would have behaved, in Zawiya, Tawargha, Misrata and elsewhere. His indiscriminate shelling of Misrata had already killed between 1000 and 2000 by last April,, and it continued all summer. At least one Qaddafi mass grave with 150 bodies in it has been discovered. And the full story of the horrors in Zawiya and elsewhere in the west has yet to emerge, but it will not be pretty. The opposition claims Qaddafi’s forces killed tens of thousands. Public health studies may eventually settle this issue, but we know definitively what Qaddafi was capable of.
10. This was a war for Libya’s oil. That is daft. Libya was already integrated into the international oil markets, and had done billions of deals with BP, ENI, etc., etc. None of those companies would have wanted to endanger their contracts by getting rid of the ruler who had signed them. They had often already had the trauma of having to compete for post-war Iraqi contracts, a process in which many did less well than they would have liked. ENI’s profits were hurt by the Libyan revolution, as were those of Total SA. and Repsol. Moreover, taking Libyan oil off the market through a NATO military intervention could have been foreseen to put up oil prices, which no Western elected leader would have wanted to see, especially Barack Obama, with the danger that a spike in energy prices could prolong the economic doldrums. An economic argument for imperialism is fine if it makes sense, but this one does not, and there is no good evidence for it (that Qaddafi was erratic is not enough), and is therefore just a conspiracy theory.

MOST POPULAR MYTHS

Elephants are the only mammal that can’t jump

First of all, just so you know, it is true that adult elephants can’t jump – if by jumping we mean the state of having no feet on the ground at the same time after propelling oneself from a stationary position. But contrary to the popular myth that it is is the only mammal that can’t, it is joined by a few others. Firstly, the sloth is unable to jump which suits its lazy lifestyle rather well. Also, rhinoceroses and hippopotamuses also cannot jump, though unlike elephants, when they run it is possible for them to have all four feet off the ground.

The Fruit eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was an apple

Nowhere in the Bible is the fruit eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden referred to as an apple. The fruit is called the “fruit of the tree” (that is, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), and neither the fruit nor the tree is identified by species. In Middle English, as late as the 17th century “apple” was a generic term for all fruit other than berries but including nuts
However, in continental European art from that period representing the Fall of Man the fruit is often depicted as an apple. The apple myth comes from a Latin word likeness: Latin mălus = “bad”, mălum = “an evil”, mālus = “apple tree” and “mast of a ship”, mālum = “apple (fruit)”.

You can extend your penis or widen its girth with special devices or medications

This is patently untrue and the source of millions of spam emails sent around the world every day. Vacuum pumps, pills, stretching techniques: none of them make one iota of difference to the size of your manhood (and consequently the engine size of your car). The only way to enlarge your penis is to have enhancement surgery. This is, obviously, extremely expensive, extremely painful, and extremely gruesome

Jihad is an “Islamic war on the western world”

Jihad is not an “Islamic war on the western world” but rather a verb meaning to struggle or to strive. One can have an internal jihad, family jihad, or religious jihad, which may or may not include violence towards non-Muslims
A comparison may be made with the term “crusade”, which is sometimes considered by Muslims to mean Western violence against Islam, when it is more often used as a metaphorical struggle; for example, “a crusade against drugs”.

Goldfish have a memory of only three seconds

The notion that goldfish have a memory of only three seconds is completely false
They have been trained to navigate mazes and can recognize their owners after an exposure of a few months

Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves

In fact, it freed little or no slaves. Why? Because the emancipation proclamation – 1862 – declared the freedom of all slaves in the confederate states – that is, the states over which Lincoln and the Union government had no control. Furthermore, it did not free slaves from any of the states that were already under union control. This would be like Australia trying to declare a law binding on New Zealanders, when they are two separate nations. The emancipation proclamation was, effectively, worthless. It was not until the Thirteenth Amendment, December 6, 1865, that slavery was officially abolished in full.

Shaving cause hair to grow back thicker or coarser or darker

Shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker or coarser or darker. This belief is due to the fact that hair that has never been cut has a tapered end, whereas, after cutting, there is no taper. Thus, it appears thicker, and feels coarser due to the sharper, unworn edges. Hair can also appear darker after it grows back because hair that has never been cut is often lighter due to sun exposure.

Sugar cause hyperactivity in children

Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children Double blind trials have shown no difference in behaviour between children given sugar full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or those considered “sensitive” to sugar. In fact, it was found that the difference in the children’s behaviour was all in the parents’ minds

There is a dark side of the Moon

There is no dark side of the Moon; every part of the Moon’s surface (except perhaps deep craters near the poles) is illuminated by the Sun roughly half of the time. The phrase uses the word “dark” in the less-frequent sense of “unknown” or “obscure” to refer to the far side of the Moon, which because of tidal locking is never visible from Earth.

The Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure visible from space.

It is commonly claimed that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon. This is false. None of the Apollo astronauts reported seeing any man-made object from the Moon. The misconception is believed to have been popularized by Richard Halliburton decades before the first moon landing

TOP TEN MEMORY MYTHS

Understanding the truth behind the many false memory myths can save you time if you decide to improve your own memory. For example, you might think you are one of those people who are stuck forever with a bad memory.
But what would you say if I told you that even people with "bad" memories can do something about it? You see, one of the memory myths is that your memory cannot be improved. But your memory definitely can be improved, no matter who you are.
In his book, "Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It", Dr. Ken Higbee exposes the truth behind the 10 most common memory myths. I've summarized these for you below.
Look at each of these myths closely - you might be surprised at how many of these you thought were true!

• Memory Myth #1: Memory is a THING Your memory is not a thing. There is no part of your brain that a doctor can point to and say, "There's a healthy-looking memory."
  Instead, memory is a process. You should think of remembering as an activity rather than in terms of a good memory or a bad memory.
  So, like with any activity, you may remember well or remember poorly. But it is important to realize, just like with any skill, you can learn ways to do it better.
  There is a second half to this memory myth as well. There is no single place in your brain where each memory is stored. Individual memories are actually the total of many different memories - such as the sound of the thing, or the way it looks, or even the action involved.
  Each part of a memory is stored in different ways and different places in your brain. Even the same types of memories are remembered differently. For example, a person might be able to remember a conversation but not be able to recall a simple music melody.
  So is memory a "thing" in your head? Definitely not!
• Memory Myth #2: There is a SECRET to a Good Memory Many people want to know the one secret to improving their memory. The truth is, there is no one best way to improve your memory.
  

  Think of it like this. Suppose I showed you a hammer and told you the hammer is a wonderful tool for pounding nails. Then you ask, "But how can I use that hammer to cut boards?". Obviously, you would not use a hammer to cut boards, you would use a saw. And to build a house, you would need several different types of tools. The same is true with memory.

  There are memory skills you can use to memorize different types of information. But there is no single "secret" method.
  In fact, the memory skills are not even secrets. Most of the methods have been around for more than 300 years. One method has been around for 2,000 years. No one has the right to say they "invented" a particular memory skill or that the method is a secret.
  The thing to realize is there is no quick fix for improving your memory. But you can improve your memory a lot by learning the different methods you need.
• Memory Myth #3: There is an EASY WAY to Memorize People looking for the secret to a good memory often also think there is an easy way to memorize. If they could just learn the "trick", then remembering would not require any effort.
  Memorizing is a learned skill. There is no easy, effortless way to do it. So you need to decide whether you are willing to give the mental effort required.
  What memory methods do is make memorizing a lot more effective. The methods still require mental effort on your part.
  Think of it like this. If you wanted to learn how to play golf, or drive a car, or any other skill, would you expect there to be just one, easy way to do that activity?
  Memory is the same. Since remembering is a skill, it requires effort. And you must learn and use the right techniques.
  Like with other skills, if you learn the memory methods you will remember much better. A person with an average IQ who learns memory methods will do better on tests than a high-IQ person who does not use memory methods.
• Memory Myth #4: Some People are Stuck with BAD Memories First of all, you don't even have a memory (see Myth #1). But even if you look at memory as a skill or ability, it is not true you are stuck with the memory you have.
  There are differences between people in natural memory ability. But these differences are much less important than the memory skills a person has learned.
  For example, think of memory as cardboard box. A person with a good natural memory may have a large box, while a person with a weaker memory might have a small box.
  As each person learns something new, they write the information on an index card. The person with the big box might just throw each card into the box, while the person with the small box might file each card neatly in alphabetical order.
  Who do you think will remember things better? Even though the person with the poor natural memory has a smaller "box", since they organize the information they can find it (remember it) easily.
  So using memory skills files the memories in your mind in an organized way. But first you have to learn the skills.
  Of all the memory myths, believing you are stuck with a bad memory is one of the worst because it stops you from trying. Don't believe it - you can improve your memory.
• Memory Myth #5: Some People have PHOTOGRAPHIC Memories It is very unlikely that there are more than just a few people in the world with photographic memories. This is just another of the memory myths. When most people who perform memory feats are tested, it turns out they are almost always using memory skills to remember information.
  In his book, Dr. Higbee tells of a demonstration he does using memory techniques. He tells an audience that he will memorize the first 50 pages of any magazine in 3 hours.
  When tested on this, Dr. Higbee can remember what article is on every page, what pictures are on the pages, who the authors of the articles are, what the name is of the main character on page 17, and so on. He can answer almost any question about the magazine, and audience members often ask him if he has a photographic memory.
  He does not. He uses the memory skills to study and memorize the magazine. This is something anyone can do.
  So don't worry about whether someone else has a photographic memory. Using memory skills, you can develop your own memory so that people think you have one!
• Memory Myth #6: You are TOO OLD or TOO YOUNG to Improve Your Memory You may have heard someone say they were too old to learn. This is another one of the false memory myths.
  While it is true that some people find remembering a more difficult as they age, anyone can learn new things. A elderly person who uses memory skills can actually remember better than a 20 year old who does not!
  Children as young as 7 years old have been taught the skills as well. In fact, Dr. Higbee even taught his three year old how to use a simple version of the Peg method.
  No matter what your age, you still have the ability to learn.
• Memory Myth #7: Memory is like a MUSCLE and Benefits from Exercise There is no evidence that simply memorizing over and over will improve your memory. What will improve your memory is practicing memorizing using the memory skills.
  One classic study discovered that 3 hours of practice memorizing did not improve long-term memory, but 3 hours of practice using memory techniques did improve long-term memory.
  There are many memory books out there that claim memory is a muscle and should be exercised. There is no research that supports this.
  So rather than blindly practicing rote memorization, learn the memory techniques!
• Memory Myth #8: A Trained Memory NEVER FORGETS Some people think that once they train their memory, they will never forget anything they see, do, or hear. The truth is that once you train your memory, you will be able to remember things you want to remember.
  If you learn memory skills, you will still forget things, too. But you will remember things better than other people, and you will remember things better than you used to.
  Research suggests that no one ever forgets anything. Everything we experience is buried deep in our minds. The problem is that we cannot get the information out when we need it.
  Memory skills give you the "hook" that lets you get the information out when you need it. Learn them!
• Memory Myth #9: Remembering Too Much can CLUTTER Your Mind Your ability to remember things does not really depend on how much information is in your mind. Actually, it depends on how well organized the information is.
  Our brains can store an almost unlimited amount of information. But if the information in your mind is disorganized, it will be harder to remember things.
  In some ways, the more you learn about something, the easier it is to learn more about it. Someone who is an expert in a subject has an easier time learning new facts about it that someone unfamiliar with the subject.
  Learning new things does not "fill up" the mind. As Dr. Higbee says, "...the storage capacity of your memory is virtually unlimited".
  So don't be shy or afraid of learning.
• Memory Myth #10: People Only Use 10 PERCENT of their Mind You may have heard that most people only use about 10% (or less) of the brain. It turns out there is no research to support this.
  First of all, scientists do not agree on how to measure brain power and memory. So no one can accurately say how much of our brains we do not use.
  The important point is that most people probably don't use all of their brain's potential. That's why Dr. Higbee wrote his book - because he believes that by training our memories we can all improve our learning and memory.
  Whether we use 1%, 10%, or 90% doesn't matter. By learning memory skills, we can improve our memory and brain power if we make the effort.

TEN MYTHS ABOUT THE HUMAN BRAIN

I want to remember everything as i get older

Science continues to expand our understanding of how the brain works. This mysterious organ that drives the entire machine suffers from being greatly misunderstood. Here are ten common misconceptions about the brain that should set you straight.

1. Humans only use 10% of their brain. Perhaps one of the greatest misconceptions of our time, this myth is empirically false. Originating from the idea that perhaps only about 10% of the neurons of the brain are operating at any given moment, but this concept is decidedly different than not using the other 90%. The truth is closer to the idea that we only push ourselves to about 10% of our entire capacity.

2. Video games will damage the brain. In this day and age of video gaming, this myth is also fairly inaccurate. Even though the advent of video gaming is a recent phenomenon and there is not a great deal of study about it, researchers have found the playing video games actually teaches your brain to process information in great amounts and much faster, thus improving brain power.

My brain can only take so much!

3. The bigger the better. There has never been any substantial evidence that the size on one’s brain makes you smarter. Men’s brains are by a rule larger than women’s, thereby debunking this myth immediately. If the brain is not used, it won’t matter what the size.

4. A damaged brain cannot regenerate. Science now has empirical evidence that the brain can engage in neurogenesis, a form of cellular rebuilding, although it’s not guaranteed.

5. Aging leads to a loss of memory. While it is a common condition, it is not a given that age will weaken the ability to remember. An active brain can be exercised with regular thinking and a healthy diet.

6. The brain is riddled with holes. A completely false mythology, referring perhaps instead to the parts of the brain where neurons are not firing.

7. Depression begins in the brain. This is not only a myth but a dangerous one as well. People who believe that depression is just a series of “bad thoughts” can do real harm. Depression is a much more complicated condition caused by any number of reasons. No one decides to be depressed.

I never knew all this goes on inside my head.

8. Left Brain, Right Brain. The truth is, no one operates from solely the left or right brain. Some people may be stronger on one side or the other, but all humans use both sides of the brain.

9. The brain is a giant computer. Just the opposite, the brain is so much more complicated than any computer, that it’s an insult to one’s brain to make this comparison. It was probably started because the first computers were roughly based on what was known about the brain at the time.

10. We learn better through a subliminal approach. While listening to information while in a relaxed or even sleep state works well for some, it is just as likely that it won’t work for others. We all learn in our own best way.

TOP TEN ANTI ABORTION MYTHS

f you've been keeping up with the abortion debate in this country, you have no doubt heard some very interesting claims made by anti-abortion activists. Some of these claims need to be taken seriously, but others...well, not so much. In the spirit of raising the level of discourse, here are ten provably false claims that anti-abortion activists really need to stop repeating.

1. "You can't be pro-choice and be anti-death penalty/anti-war at the same time."

Image courtesy of the Arizona Department of Corrections.

False. The pro-choice position is predicated on the idea that women have the right to decide whether to carry their pregnancies to term. The victims of the death penalty and war are fully conscious persons rather than presentient entities in a woman's womb, so the moral questions involved are entirely different.

2. "Abortion causes breast cancer."

Image courtesy of the National Cancer Institute.

Mostly false. In 1997, the New England Journal of Medicine published the largest-scale study ever on this subject--with 1.5 million participants--which concluded that there is no independent link between abortion and breast cancer. Clearly if abortion does increase the risk of breast cancer, it does so by an undetectably small margin. Becoming pregnant and carrying a pregnancy to term may, however, reduce the risk of breast cancer.

3. "This is what an abortion looks like."

Photo: Copyright © 2006 Mark Lyon. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Almost always false. Many abortion protest photographs are artist's renderings or the result of image manipulation, and the bulk of the rest are of very late-term fetuses aborted for emergency medical reasons. The most well-known graphic abortion poster is of a 30-week-old fetus, aborted six full weeks into the third trimester. The vast majority of abortions are performed during the first trimester, and Roe v. Wade only protects first and second trimester abortions.

4. "Even first-trimester fetuses can feel pain."

Image courtesy of the National Institutes of Health.

False. Fetal nerve cells can react to trauma, but pain reception requires a neocortex--which is not formed until early in the third trimester.

5. "Fetuses become conscious at 8 weeks."

Photo: Copyright © 2005 Patrick Denker. Licensed under Creative Commons.

False. Fetuses begin to develop a minimal brain stem at 7 weeks, but are not capable of consciousness until the third trimester and most likely remain unconscious until birth. As one brain scientist puts it: "the fetus and neonate appears incapable of ... experiencing or generating 'true' emotion or any semblance of higher order, forebrain mediated cognitive activity."

6. "Emergency contraception causes abortions."

Image courtesy of the Seattle/King County Public Health Department.

False. Emergency contraception prevents pregnancy from occurring in the first place by blocking fertilization of the egg and subsequent implantation in the uterus; it does not, and cannot, induce abortions. If your objective is to reduce the number of abortions, then the single most effective thing you can do to achieve that goal is to help make emergency contraception universally available over the counter.

7. "Banning abortion will get rid of it, once and for all."

Photo: Copyright © 2007 Paul Everett. Licensed under Creative Commons.

False. In El Salvador, abortion is illegal with a possible 30-year prison sentence attached--and women can still easily obtain cheap black market abortificients to induce abortion. The only drawback? No medical supervision. Banning abortion won't put an end to abortion, but it will put women's lives at risk.

8. "Pro-choice activists want to increase the number of abortions."

Photo: Copyright © 2005 Ben Ostrownsky. Licensed under Creative Commons.

False. Pro-choice activists lead the charge in advocating comprehensive sex education, increased access to birth control, condom use, and emergency contraception, all of which reduce the incidence of abortion. Strangely, anti-abortion activists work equally hard to make these options more difficult to access--creating the impression that the anti-abortion movement is more concerned with sexual purity than abortion.

9. "Pro-choice activists want abortion on demand until the moment of birth."

Photo: Copyright © 2005 Alexandra Lee. Licensed under Creative Commons.

False. Pro-choice activists work to protect the Roe v. Wade standard, which allows states to ban elective third-trimester abortions. The debate over late-term and partial-birth abortions has to do with abortions performed for emergency medical reasons, not elective abortions.

10. "Human life begins at conception."

Public domain. Image courtesy of PDimages.com.

False. Human life actually begins prior to conception, because each sperm and egg cell is a living thing. It is more relevant to discuss when sentience, or self-awareness, begins. In 2000, the British House of Lords established a Commission of Inquiry into Fetal Sentience, which estimated that higher-level brain development begins to commence at about 23 weeks.

MYSTERIOUS TREE IN INDIA

AT a glance you may be confused the above tree with a massive trunk with a 'Baobab' tree (which is renowned to possess the largest tree trunk of the world but,this is yet another unknown species which is seen in the close proximity of a hermitage deep in the dense forest in 'Andhra Pradesh' in india.And most importantly it is natural not artificial

 Now have a close look at the bark and experience the unbelievable figures of creatures engraved in the surface of the entire tree trunk!! Absolutely real not man made.

                                                                                                                                           

NORTH EAST INDIA TOUR-TRIBES

Meghalaya

In Meghalaya tribes can be broadly classified into three major groups - Khasis, Garos and Pnars or Jaintias. Garos are believed to be the descendants of Tibeto-Burman race who came down all the way from Tibet to the north eastern states while the Khasis and Pnars or Jaintias are the descendants of Proto Austroloid Mon-Khmer race.

Garos are primarily located in the Garo hills of Meghalaya and the Khasis are scattered all across the state and are known by different names in different places. Mainly the pure Khasis can be sited at the Khasi hills, the Pnars or Jaintias can be located on Jaintia hills. Apart from these, there are many other tribes in Meghalaya. The Bhois in the north of Meghalaya, Khynriams in the central and Wars in the southern region. They are all a sub tribes of Khasis and live a lifestyle similar to them.

The most noteworthy feature of tribes of Meghalaya is their parental lineage. The tribes at Meghalaya follow matrilineal lineage whereby a property's inheritance is traced through the women. In some cases, the children keep the surname of their mother. Though the women section of the tribes at Meghalaya take the responsibility of the household work, men are responsible for the mental and material life of his family. The property gets transferred to the women in the house.

Moreover, women of the different tribes at Meghalaya are free to earn their livelihood. There is only one restriction i.e., one cannot marry in the same clan and the marriage should get the approval of the family members.

The Meghalaya tribes mainly follow Christianity. Their main occupation is cultivation as the state has a vast land for cultivation. Water resources are more than enough as the state receives large amount of rainfall every year.

Assam

Assam is the cradle ground for many civilizations. Numerous ethnic groups travelled to Assam through different routes in different ages, as the land was connected to several states and countries. Negritos, Dravidians, Alpines, Tibeto Burmese and Aryans had been the major races that came and dwelled in ancient Assam. They were considered as the aborigines of Assam and even today they are an integral part of the Assamese diaspora.

The important tribal group consists of Bodo, one of the largest ethnic and linguistic groups of the Brahmaputra valley. The Dimasa is one of the important Kachari tribes. The etymological meaning of the name 'Dimasa' most probably stands for 'the children of the big river' meaning the Brahmaputra. Kacharis seem to constitute one of the early autochthonous ethnic stratums of north eastern India. Kalitas belong to the Alpine origin. They originally came to Assam from the west and like other Aryan descendants of northern India, they were tall and fair. Kalitas were the earliest Indo-European migrants to Assam and are supposed to introduce Hinduism in the North-Eastern part of India. The Karbis are the principal tribal community in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam, a district administered as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, having an autonomous district of their own since 17 November, 1951. Khamti, whose name is also spelled as Hkamti by the Burmese and Khampti by the Assamese, is a sub-group of the Shan people found in the Sagaing Division, Hkamti District in northwestern Burma as well as Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The term Kuki, in literature, first appeared in the writing of Rawlins when he wrote about the tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It refers to "Hillsmen" comprising numerous clans. These clans share a common past, culture, customs and tradition. They speak in dialects that have a common root language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman group. Kuki have Mongoloid features and are generally short-stature with straight black hair, Dark brown eyes and brown skin. The different kuki clans are recognised as schedule tribe of India. They spread out in a contiguous region in Northeast India, Northwest Burma (Myanmar), and the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Misings  belong to a mixture of East Asian as well as Southeast Asian subrace of the Mongoloid race, similar to the mixture of the Mongoloid sub-races inside political China as people from Southern China may look more like the South East Asian brown-skinned Mongoloids and more towards the Northern China more fair skinned Mongoloids dwell. It's not known exactly where they migrated from, but it is popularly believed that they were dwellers of the hills of present day Arunachal Pradesh.

Manipur

The different communities of Manipur individually in order to bring out an understanding and to start a meaningful dialogue among themselves. The communities of Manipur in alphabetical order are:  Aimol, Anal, Chiru, Chothe, Gangte, Hmar, Koirao, Koireng, Kom, Lamgang, Mao, Maram, Maring, Meitei, Monsang, Moyon, Paite, Tangkhul, Tarao, Thadou, Vaiphei, Zeliangrong (Zemei, Liangmei and Rongmei) and Zou. All tribes have their own distinct languages but in conversing with others they speak Meiteilon. Rice is the staple food for all ethnic groups of Manipur and meat, fish and seasonal vegetables are favorites. Meiteis prefer fish and elders usually do not take meat.

Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is the home of 26 different tribal communities. The way that these tribes lead their lives were more or less the same and those they abided by the similar occupation; the societies are `casteless`. The tribes form their institutes and also select leaders according to their age for distinct social functions, for better administration. Experienced leaders of the tribal groups are revered for their position in the community. All the tribes follow `endogamy` and strictly observe the rule of `clan exogamy`. With the societies of the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, polygamy is highly endorsed and practiced by all.

Festivals are an integral part of all the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh thereby reflecting the cultural exuberances and artistry. The artic acumen of the tribes of The tribes of Arunachal Pradesh are furthered by their musical and dance bonanza as well as the vistas of exquisite crafts that they are expert in. The tribal people of this region are adept in making baskets, smithy work, weaving, pottery, wood carving, painting etc. among the tribal communities, the Monpa tribal groups are reckoned for their artistic ability in painted wooden vessels, beautiful rugs and carpet weaving. The weavings are marked for their extensive use of bright colours and patterns. Beautiful articles are also made from bamboo and cane by the Hills Miris, Adis and Apatani tribes. Apart from these, the Wancho tribes make attractive figurines from wood and bamboo. Artistic carvings on them give the articles a different look and luster. Various ornaments are made out of beads are the examples of their artistic bend of mind.

Among the several tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh, the Adi tribes have two chief groups, namely the Bogum and Bomis, and under each there are a number of sub-tribes including Minyongs, Karkos, Shimongs etc. The Adi tribes by nature are democratic and organized village council called Kebang. Their traditional dance, Ponung is popular in the whole of Arunachal Pradesh. Adi villages are situated generally on the spurs of hills. Polygamy is socially accepted. Adi women are good weavers.

Another important tribe of Arunachal Pradesh is the Aka tribes. The Hrusso or Aka tribes have a rich history linkage. Their popular belief is that they were related with the Ahom Kings. They are mainly traders and also use black paints in their faces. Hinduism and Buddhism are the main religious practices of Aka tribes.

Mainly cultivators, the Apatani tribes produce paddy and fish in large numbers. Round `nose plugs` and facial tattoos are the identifying traits of ornamentation especially amongst aged Apatani women. However, the younger generation is quite hesitant in adopting this style. Unlike other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, the economy of Apatani tribes is stable.

The Singpho tribe has ardent belief on evil spirits. They are mainly farmers and black smiths. Khamba and Memba tribes reside in the northern province of `West Siang` ardently following Buddhism. Polyandry is prevalent among them. They do farming activities.

Polygamy is prevalent amongst the Tagin tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Tagin tribes, resides in the Upper Sunansiri district. Their dress consists of only one piece of cloth. In addition to these tribal communities, the Khamti tribes are believed to have migrated from the Shan states of Burma. They are the only tribe in Arunachal who have a script of their own, they are Buddhist (Hinayana cult) by religion, and bury the dead in a coffin. They include Khamyang tribe.

Bugun or Khowa tribes are mainly agriculturist, just like any other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. They are also cordial by nature.

Moreover, the Mishmi tribes can be divided into three most important groups namely- Idus or Chulikatas, Digarus or Taroan and Mijus or Kaman. Their women are expert weavers. Although agriculture is the main occupation of the people, some of them also carry of with the trade of various items like, wild medicinal plants etc.

The Monpa tribes of Arunachal Pradesh are simple, gentle, having a robust cultural heritage. They dress in artistic clothes. They follow Buddhism and each house has a tiny `chapel` close to it.the list of tribal groups of Arunachal Pradesh includes the name of Nishing tribes. The Nishing tribes are the biggest groups of people inhabiting the Lower Subansiri district. The men wear `cane bands` just about the waist. They think that after death, his spirit goes to the `village of the ancestors`.

Amongst various tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, the Sulung or Puroik are considered to be one of the ancient tribes in the area. Their apparel and dresses are simple, and they follow the ` spirit culture`. In comparison to the other tribal groups, the Sherdukpen tribes are less in number and are good traders. Few people also take up agriculture as their occupation. . Their religion is a fascinating mesh of Mahayana Buddhism and some tribal `magico-religious` customs.

The Wancho tribes inhabit the western part of Tirap district, bordering Nagaland. `Head hunting` was usual practice with them in the primitive times. Their society is divided into four classes - the Wanghams (chiefs), the Wangpana, the Wangaue and Wangaas. They have a strict sense of the law and a village council protects the law and order of the society. The entire tribe is divided into about forty confederacies of villages. Tattooing is a social custom among them. They believe in two local gods, namely, Rang and Baurang. The women are good weavers and only the family members of the village headman carry out with it. They are proficient in wood carving also.

The Nocte tribes of Arunachal Pradesh profess Vishnavism. They also ardently follow the Bareghar Satra of Nazira, Assam, Naga Narottam. Amongst various tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, Noctes are famous as salt producers. They are agriculturists, cultivating betel leaves on a commercial scale.

The Yobin, also called Lisus, are quite few in number mainly residing in the distant eastern most corner of the Tirap district.

Sikkim

The tribes in Sikkim have really contributed a lot in the transformation of the state of Sikkim into one of those, state in India that are recurrently visited by the tourists. The tribal folks of Sikkim are basically of the most demure and simple nature and they take a lot of pride in their glorious culture and beliefs. One main similitude that lies between the tribes across Sikkim and other hilly people is the fact that all of them are quite soft-spoken and simple.

The main reason that lies behind their extreme down to earth behavior and life style is the fact that the worm of consumerism had not yet penetrated into their households and most importantly their lives. The major tribal communities are Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese.

Lepchas - It has been speculated by most that it was the Lepchas tribe that had first started inhabiting in the land of Sikkim. They main religions that are followed by them are Buddhism and Christianity. Prior to that they were ardent followers of the Mune religion.

Bhutias - They are recognized as one of the very few tribes within Sikkim that bear a rich Tibetan heritage. The early part of the 15th century saw the dawn of the era of the Bhutias. As they are bifurcated into two parts, known as Lachenpas and Lachungpas respectively with reference with the fraction of Sikkim they are inhabiting.

Nepalese - Although they were the last amongst the three tribes in chronological order to have entered into the domain of Sikkim. But they soon gained the recognition of being the most powerful tribe. According to the census, they also comprised approximately 80% of the entire population.

Naga Tribe

Nagaland is entirely tribal, populated state. Nagas majorly belongs to the Indo-Mongoloid  family. Nagaland is the home of  fourteen major tribes. They are the Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Khemungan, Konyak, Lotha, Phom, Pochury, Rengma, Sangtam, Sema, Yimchunger and Zeliang. The Chakhesangs were earlier known as Eastern Angamis and are a combination of the Chakri, Khezha and Sangtam  sub-tribes.  The Chakhesang tribe is spilt further; Pochury's who were earlier a part of it  is a distinct entity. Each tribe has their own languages and cultural features. The Naga's have different stories about their origin.

The Angamis, Semas, Rengams and the Lotha's subscribe to the Kheza-Kenoma legend. It is said that the village had a large stone slab having magical properties. Paddy spread on  it to be dried doubled in quantity by evening. The three sons of the couple who owned the stone used it by rotation. One day there was a quarrel between the sons as to whose turn it was. The couple, fearing bloodshed, set fire to the stone which as a result cracked. It is believed that the spirit in the stone went to heaven and the stone lost its miraculous properties.

The three sons thereafter left Kheza-Kenoma, went in different directions and became the forefathers of the Angami, Sema and the Lotha tribes. According to another legend, to which the western Angamis subscribe, the first man evolved from a lake called Themiakelku zie near Khonoma. The Rengmas believe that until recently they and Lothas formed one tribe.

The Aos and the Phoms trace their origin to the Lungterok (six stones) on the Chongliemdi hill. Some people believe that these Indo-Mongoloids are 'kiratas' frequently mentioned in the old Sanskrit literature of whom 'Nagas' were a sub-tribe.

The Angamis are politically the most conscious group. The Zeliang and Pochury tribes in Kohima district  are comparatively simple and unsophisticated. The Tuensang tribes are un-spoilt children of nature. A striking characteristic of the Naga tribes is their hospitality and cheerfulness. To be greeted with a smiling face while traveling on the roads is a common experience. A visitor to Naga village is heartily received and entertained with a surfeit of rice-beer, which is generally served by the lady of the house or her young daughter with a warmth which is unforgettable. 

The hill tribes in the state of Nagaland had no broad term applicable to the whole race. The word 'Naga' was given to these hill tribes by the plains people. This proved to be a great unifying force to the tribes now classified as Naga. Nagas are of sub-medium height, the facial index is very low, the nasal index corresponds to a medium nose, the hair is generally straight, the skin is brownish yellow. The eyes significantly do not show Mongolian form.

It could broadly be said that they are straight forward people, honest, hardworking, sturdy and with a high standard of  integrity. They are lacking in humility and are inclined to equate a kind and sympathetic approach with weakness. The Nagas have a very strong sense of self respect and would not submit to anyone riding roughshod over their sentiments.

FOREST DEPENDENT TRIBALS OF TAMILNADU,INDIA

objective To provide infrastructure support for development of tribal settlements. To provide health, education, electricity, drinking water, housing and approach road and thereby improve the standard of living of tribals within forest areas. To establish partnerships with tribals for their development, empowerment and engage them in conservation and management of the forest wealth. To develop required skills for tribals, tap and utilize their knowledge for infrastructure development in settlements thereby ensuring confidence building and overall prosperity in their life systems. Tribals in natural resource management & conservation The Forest Department in Tamil Nadu has particularly cared to impart the best education for tribals by running 19 schools in tribal areas in Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and Coimbatore districts. Realizing the need of tribals for forest ingredients, this State has also issued orders providing for free collection and use of MFP for tribals . The services of tribals have been utilized in all the major afforestation and development activities of the forest department. The tribal settlements have also been provided with the best infrastructure support through various forestry programmes. Thus the Forest Department programmes and policies have attended to the welfare of the tribal individuals, families and communities living within the forests. Tribals are the integral part of the forest eco-system and their economy depends on the forest resources. Tribal villages are mostly enclosures located within the forest area. Education Tribal Schools run by the Forest Department Tribal schools run by the Forest Department in Tamil Nadu particularly in Javadis , Jamanamarathur and Indira Gandhi WL Sanctuary have been very successful and have been able to attract tribal children due to the facilities offered in the school. Primary education to tribals in Jawadis where started by the Forest Department as early as 1951 at Jamanamuthur and extended to other villages. In Thiruvannamalai Division there are 9 schools which includes 3 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, one higher secondary school . Similarly in Tirupattur Division there is one higher secondary school, 3 elementary schools and 4 middle schools. The details of schools run by Forest Department are as follows: Thiruvannamalai Division: - 9 1. Higher Secondary School, Jamnamarathur 2. Middle School, Jamanamarathur 3. Middle School, Kaliyanamandai 4. Middle School, Vilamuchi 5. Middle School, Veerapanur 6. Middle School, Kovilur 7. Elementary School, Vazhakadu 8. Elementary School, Attipattu 9. Elementary School, Kommutheri Tirupattur Division: - 8 10. Higher Secondary School, Pudurnadu 11. Middle School, Perumpalli 12. Middle School, Thagarakuppam 13. Middle School, Nellivasal 14. Middle School, Melpet 15. Elementary School, Puliyur 16. Elementary School, Pudurnadu 17. Elementary School, Vasanthapuram Vellore Division :- 1 18. Elementary School, Palampattu Pollachi WL Division :- 1 19. Hill Tribal Residential Middle School, Top Slip Over 5000 students are given education in these schools which is run by the Forest Department. The local people and the parents appreciate the efforts taken by these schools in imparting quality education to the students. There is a provision for seperate accommodation and toilet facilities for both boys and girls.

TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

The tribal population in India is 84.51 million, which constitutes 8.14% of tribal population. There are about 449 tribes and sub tribes in different parts of India. Half of India’s tribal people live in the forests and forest fringes and their economy is linked with the forests. Tamilnadu has 6,51,321 tribal population as per 2001 census which constitutes 1.02% of the total population. There are 36 tribes and sub tribes in Tamilnadu. Literacy rate of the population is 27.9%. Most of the tribals in Tamilnadu are cultivators, agriculture labourers or dependent on forests for their livelihood. There are six primitive tribes in Tamilnadu. The tribal groups in Tamilnadu are distributed in almost all the districts and they have contributed significantly in the management of the forests.
The need of the hour for Tribal Development is to reduce the gap between the Tribal and non-tribal population wiht respect to economic, educational and social status, The objective is to integrate the Tribals into the main stream of economic and social development. Out of the 36 Scheduled Tribe communities in the state, 6 Tribal Communities (ie) Toda, Kota, Kurumbas, Irulur, Paniyan and Kattunayakan have been identified as Primitive Tribal. The area where the population of Scheduled Tribes exceeds 50% of the total population is declared as Integrated Tribal Development Programme area.
The tribal communities live inside the Reserved Forests, in the vicinity in fringes and outside and are also called ‘forest dwellers’. Their socio-cultural life is centered on nature. Degradation of forests have reduced the resource availability and the employment opportunities for tribals and has also affected the food availability, livelihood options and the quality of life of the tribals. In this State, the Forest Department has taken many initiatives through programs like ITDP, HADP, WGDP, TAP for tribal development and has been, a Department closely associated in tribal welfare activities.
There is need to understand in greater detail the present relationship and dependency of tribals with forests and their change in life styles due to ecological disturbances and generate more information.

SANTHALS-THE LARGEST TRIBAL COMMUNITY IN INDIA

Largest tribal community in India, found mainly in the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. Satars or Santhals are one of the most backward ethnic groups of the neighboring country Nepal. They live in the districts of Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari. There is also a significant Santal minority in neighboring Bangladesh. Santhals also call themselves Hor. They prefer to live in the peripheries of forests and rivers. They have their own unique religion and culture. They are animist. Hunting and fishing are their favourite occupations. Their ancestral deity is Thakurjiu and their paternal guardian deity is Maranburu. Bow and arrows are their traditional weapons. Their favorite meat is pork. Most Santals are engaged in farming and labor. They belong to the Austro-Asiatic group of human families. They have also been called as a subgroup speaking a language belonging to the Munda family (Dahal, BS2051/052). Their language is called Santhali. They have their own script, which was developed by Dr Raghunath Murmu in 1925. It is called Olchiki.

Racially the Santhals belong to the protoastraloid racial group, linguistically they belong to the Mundari group of Austro-Asiatic linguistic family and economically they may be classified as plain agricultural type. The Santhals are very conscious about their identity and heritage. And this is the reason why they have, most probably consciously, built up a sense of solidarity amongst themselves. Their internal solidarity is often based on their principle of likeness, that is a shared cultural characteristic, which binds them together. The Santhals live in peace and harmony among themselves.

Population:
The Jhapa district in Nepal has the highest population of Santhals and Morang district has slightly less. Their population, according to the census of 2001, is 42,689. The Southern part of the Bihar is called as `Santhal Praganas` because of the density of the Santhal tibe in this area. They had multiplied from proto – Australoid origin. It is also believed that they had come from the Districts of `Santha` and that is why they are called as `Santan` or men of Santha state. The Munda-Santal of northeastern India and Nepal comprise of nine different, but very closely related people groups. They are distributed politically throughout the states of Bihar, West Bengal, and Orissa, India. Most of the tribes live in the hilly areas of the Chotanagpur Plateau, located in southern Bihar. Others prefer living in the plains. Beyond this region, they have spread widely throughout India as agricultural and industrial laborers.

The seven groups who occupy territory farther north include the Santhal (of India and Nepal), the Bhumij, the Koda, the Mahili, the Ho, and the Agariya. The two remaining groups, the Juango and the Gadaba, are located in the southern portion of India, nearer to the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Language:
The Santhali language is part of the Austro-Asiatic family, distantly related to Vietnamese and Khmer. The history of the Santals may be traced to Africa from where started the human migration. It was found that humans from Africa started to migrate towards the Eastern part of the world or Asia. The Santhali script, or Ol Chiki, is alphabetic, and does not share any of the syllabic properties of the other Indic scripts such as Devanagari. It uses 30 letters and five basic diacritics. It has 6 basic vowels and three additional vowels, generated using the Gahla Tudag.

Santhals did not have a written language until the twentieth century. Therefore the script is a recent development. A distinct script was required to accommodate the Santhali language, combining features of both the Indic and Roman scripts. The modern Ol Chiki script was devised by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925. He wrote over 150 books covering a wide spectrum of subjects. Darege Dhan, Sidhu-Kanhu, Bidu Chandan and Kherwal Bir are among the most acclaimed of his works. Pandit Raghunath Murmu is popularly known as Guru Gomke among the Santhals, a title conferred on him by the Mayurbhanj Adibasi Mahasabh.

Judicial system:
The Santhals traditionally had an organized judicial system for the management and solution of the various problems within the community. They make every effort to solve the social problems arising within their community by themselves. The head of the Santhal community is called Manjhi Hadam. He is the chief of the executive, judicial and all other functions within society. He is assisted by other office bearers like Paranik, Jagmanjhi, Jagparanik, Naike, Gudit, etc, who work in their respective fields to solve various kinds of problems. After the birth of a child, the Jagmanjhi and following the death of a person the Gudit and others are present. Manjhi Hadam undertakes the looking into judicial cases and the dispensing of justice and above him is Disham Manjhi, and above both is Diheri. The Diheri is the highest judicial office bearer of Santhals. The Santhals who generally like to live in concentrated settlements of their own near rivers and forests are divided into 12 thars or groups. As the groups are in accordance with professional specialization, this appears as a form of social system. The Murmu are the priests of Santhals and Murdi the businessmen, while Kisku are the rulers and Hemram judges. Similarly, the Tudu are musicians and Soren soldiers. The organizations of Santhals are village council (Manjhibaisi), Proganna Council (Pramatrabaisi) and the highest council (Labirbaisi).

VOLUNTARY ACTION AND ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN TRIBAL AREAS

After attaining independence most Third World countries embarked on the path of modernisation to catch up with Western countries in the shortest possible time. The national elites in these countries bent their energy to accomplish this task. The experience gained during the first two development decades amply showed that the two concepts of modernisation and development were most inadequate to solve the problems facing the people in these countries. Although some economic growth was registered, the process brought in its train greater dependence on Western countries and widened the gulf between rich and poor in different countries. At some places this led to the emergence of powerful social movements. This invited a backlash from vested interests tending to promote parochial and obscurantist values which militated against the goals of modernity. The development experience among the tribal communities is not very different from that of general society in India. In certain cases, tribals have been hurt rather than helped on account of the development effort. In most cases it resulted in development for the few and destitution for many. The experience of the pains of development is very poignant. Some of these are quite visible while others can be discovered after a deep probe into the social fabric. In India the bulk of the tribal community is spread over middle India from Gujarat to West Bengal and in the north-east. The tribals in the north-eastern states form a majority there. The tribals in middle India live interspersed with the dominant population. It is there that their deprivation and exploitation are the worst. Tribal policies in India suffer from a hangover of the colonial past. The British system of administration tended to impair their social solidarity and weakened the authority of their social heads and pancayats. Until recently, when rules against alienation of ancestral land were promulgated by the government, the ancient tribal customs against such alienation were disregarded. After Independence efforts were made to integrate the tribals into the mainstream of the Indian polity through elimination of exploitation and positive measures for raising their levels of living. But even forty years after Independence they are being deprived of command over the resources which they enjoyed in their respective areas. The opening up of inaccessible tribal areas has aided this process. The tribal people along the arteries of communication are being squeezed out of their land. The new enclaves of affluence in tribal areas have no place for tribals. They are losers on all counts and are victims of a system in which those responsible for policy-making suffer no embarrassment and qualms of conscience. The problems of tribals coming under the sway of large industrial, mining and irrigation projects are most acute. It is a pity that the difficulties of the tribals were not perceived earlier. The issues are not just alternative use of resources or cost-benefit analysis of projects. They are deeper and involve human rights, civilisation’s values and national obligations. The tribal people are faced with rapid change, which tends to create a crisis in their life. Displacement spells disorganisation and destitution. They lack skills for an alternative way of life. It is at this stage that the concept of sustainable development or alternative development has to be thought of. Unfortunately not much thinking in this regard has come from the government. It is on account of this that the role of voluntary agencies in this field becomes important. I The experiment in alternative development which is the theme of this paper has been carried out in the Santhal Parganas by the Badlao Foundation during the past ten years. The Santhal Parganas is the north-eastern extension of the Deccan plateau. The region is bounded on the west and south by a number of districts of Bihar and to the east by some districts of West Bengal. Ethnologically, it is the abode of two important tribes, the Santal and the Paharia. The activities of the Badlao Foundation are spread mainly among these tribes in the districts of Deoghar, Godda and Dumka. The Santal are the largest tribe of eastern India. In Bihar alone they number more than two millions. The traditions of the Santal represent them as a group wandering from one land to another until they found their present home in Chhota Nagpur and the adjacent districts. On the basis of their traditions, several theories have been put forward to account for their origin. About the middle of the 18th century Chhota Nagpur was the chief habitat of the Santal. At the end of the century, as the jungles were being cleared and the pressure of population was keenly felt, they moved up towards the virgin forests in and around the Rajmahal hills. The Permanent Settlement of 1793 forced the landlords to pay more attention to land improvement and reclamation, for which the Santal were increasingly used. In 1832 the government set apart a large area in the Santhal Parganas for the settlement of the Santal. This region was known as Damin-i-Koh. The population in this tract increased from 3,000 in 1838 to 82,795 in 1851. Thus from the middle of the last century Damin-i-Koh became the main concentration of the Santal. In reclaiming land and clearing jungle the Santal have few equals in India. They live in villages consisting of a long street with a single row of dwellings on either side. Santal houses are built of mud but roofed with country-made tiles. The houses are kept very neat and clean and the outside walls are painted with exquisite designs. The Santal are settled agriculturalists and use simple agricultural implements. However, they derive a part of their sustenance from the forest, since their agricultural field are monocropped. The Santal produce rice, maize, millets, beans, and vegetables. About 82 varieties of wild plants, 70 varieties of fruits, 7 varieties of resins, 31 varieties of mushrooms and several varieties of jungle millets are gathered at one time or other. Wild foods are collected by women who work together in groups. Santal men go on hunting expeditions. The Santal live in nuclear families and are patrilineal in descent. Several kinds of marriage are prevalent, but the most prestigious one is that in which bride-price has been paid. A daughter does not have a share in her father’s property but she can hold moveable property like money, goods and cattle. Women’s status in society is high and in most cases they run the households. However, they do not have political or religious rights. They are not members of the village pancayat, although Santal society is highly democratic. Women work with men in fields, farms and forests. They go to the market and strike bargains for the surplus produce of the family. Santal society is marked by a spirit of cooperation and it is manifested not only on the occasion of festivals but also in all kinds of social and economic activities. Friends share wedding expenses with each other, help each other in cultivation, lend each other plough cattle and rally to each other’s help at birth, sickness, or death and assist each other with loans that are free of interest. Santal religion is a potent force in strengthening the social solidarity of the people. The Santal concept of righteousness is bound up with its social or tribal consciousness. They have an excellent and well-ordered village organisation with a hierarchy of village officers and courts for dispensing their unwritten law. The unique form of punishment called bitlaha is used to bring to book persons guilty of transgressing the social code regarding sexual relations inside the clan and outside the tribe. The Sauria Paharia, the largest Paharia group, accounted for 65,000 persons in 1988. The Sauria Paharia are basically shifting cultivators and live on mountain spurs in very small villages. They have a feeling of animosity toward the Santal who live largely on the plateau and use more sophisticated tools for agriculture. They speak a language which belongs to the intermediate Dravidian group so widely different from the Austric speech of the Santal. Sauria Paharia settlements comprise ten to fifty houses. The houses are very small and rickety compared to Santal houses. Their main occupation is slash-and-burn cultivation, known locally as kurwa. They move from field to field after a few years. They use only the digging stick for putting in the seeds. They grow maize, millets, beans and pulses. Some of these tribesmen have picked up settled cultivation if they have some plain land. The Paharia as compared to Santal are more dependent on the forest. Earlier they used to make some money by cultivating sabai grass. But now they do not do so in a big way as its market has shrunk. The cutting down of forests and the restrictions placed on their exploitation led to a reduction of their resource base. Although the Sauria Paharia have cherished a healthy relationship between nature, man and the spirits for a long time, they are extremely frustrated as their gods have failed to protect them from the ravages of time. Abject poverty and disease have made them panic. The steps taken by government for their welfare have largely bypassed them, and they remain one of the most backward tribal groups in the state. II It is in this background that the Badlao Foundation is concentrating its effort. In recent years, voluntary initiatives have raised debates on new issues and concerns which have emerged from our development programme over the past four decades. The issues of deforestation, air and water pollution, ecology, rights of women and rural labour, rights of construction workers, occupational health and safety, land degradation and alienation, housing rights, right to information and work, adult literacy and education of women, etc., have been articulated by individuals and organisations involved in voluntary action. Although even earlier the role of voluntary agencies in bringing about development was recognised, it was only in the Seventh Plan document that the role of voluntary organisations was clearly set out. Voluntary agencies were not only to supplement government efforts but also to offer the rural poor choices and alternatives. Thus the voluntary agencies could experiment and innovate new schemes and programmes to bring development to the rural poor. Since they had close links with the grassroots, they were expected to elicit people’s participation in a much larger measure than otherwise. The development package could differ from area to area and even from village to village. The voluntary agencies were not expected to supplant government efforts and replace dependence on the government by dependence on themselves, but in helping people help themselves. People have to be made aware of their own problems. They have to work out the priorities themselves in view of the limitation of resources. The Badlao Foundation was established by certain activists who were inspired by the J.P. movement which took place in the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s there was no voluntary organisation in the pockets in which work was started. The area chosen was about eight kilometres from Mihijam on the Bihar-Bengal border. Long economic deprivation and the excesses perpetrated on them by the moneylenders had put the tribal population in a state of despondency. In such a situation an all-round effort had to be made to generate income for them through fresh schemes, i.e. sericulture, livestock, milch cattle, cottage industry, small trades, social forestry, spinning, weaving, etc. In addition to this, there was urgent need for educational and health programmes for the people. The Foundation set before itself the following tasks: 1. To develop skills and self-reliance in social, economic, cultural and political fields through raising social consciousness and sense of civic responsibility among the tribal and poor population for bringing about their socio-economic transformation 2. To initiate small economic programmes for women through the creation of Mahila Sabhas 3. To mobilise different segments of the society, particularly the youth 4. To organise discussions, meetings, environmental festivals, exhibitions, cultural programmes, and to conduct tours for tribal people to acquaint them with successful development efforts 5. To conduct training in ecology and environment The fast depletion of forest cover in the region affected the life of tribals very adversely. They depended for their livelihood, in large measure, on the forest. They took advantage of various kinds of timber and non-timber produce. In the lean months of the year, they could subsist on products like mahua and jackfruit. The cutting of forests was accelerated by the local contractors in collusion with the lower functionaries of the Forest Department. They cut more forest than they were permitted to. The Forest Department held that the illegal cutting was the work of tribals, and a large number of Santal and Paharia were sent to jail on this ground. The depletion of forest resources led to the disappearance of a large number of medicinal plants which were used for curing human and animal diseases. It also led to the disappearance of a large number of animal species. Valuable pasture land was also lost and it has become a problem for the grazing of domestic animals. In some areas where certain communities were dependent on pastoral activities, their source of income disappeared. The cottage industries in the village, which provided sustenance for certain communities, decayed in course of time due to lack of availability of raw materials which were derived from the forest. Prominent among them was the production of cotton, taser silk, the lac industry and the growing of sabai grass, which was used for the production of paper. To add to this environmental degradation, the proliferation of stone quarries and stone crushers brought untold misery to the people. After the quarries were exhausted the entire landscape was marked by pits and nothing could be produced there. On account of strong winds stone dust coming from the stone crushing machines spread along the nearby fields and reduced their fertility. Not only this, the health of the people working in the quarries and living in nearby areas was also affected. They began to suffer from lung diseases such as silicosis and asthma. They also complained about skin diseases and deafness. Protests made by local people against the opening of stone crushers went unheeded on account of the influence of capitalist interests. Another impact of the depletion of forests was the drying up of rivers and other sources of water. Many rivers which were earlier perennial changed their character and water was available in them only in the rainy season. The amount of precipitation was also reduced, resulting in scarcity of water. As a result, people have to drink stale and contaminated water. This has led to the appearance of many diseases. The landscape changed a great deal on account of large-scale soil erosion. In many areas land was rendered uncultivable due to sand and the formation of gullies. All this led to reduction in the cultivable area. The process of desertification has set in and more and more land is turning barren. Faced with this ecological problem the Badlao Foundation took steps to restore the ecological balance by arresting further degradation and conserving and regeneration of the existing natural resources. The steps taken were threefold: adoption of sericulture as a supplement to agriculture in a big way, ecological cultivation and afforestation. All this needed building of awareness about environmental degradation among the people by pointing out how it was affecting their life adversely and how it was going to affect future generations. Since the women suffered most on account of environmental degradation by way of loss of food resources, employment opportunities, and migration of the menfolk in search of employment away from home, an effort was made to carry on the awareness programmes most vigorously among them through village Mahila Sabhas. It was seen that the area was ideally suited for the plantation of arjun, asan and mulberry trees on which silkworms could be reared. The Foundation started a training programme to impart knowledge to a group of women about the complete process of sericulture, from silkworm rearing to silk production. The men were left undisturbed to carry on their own activities. The training was divided into phases. Once the training in worm rearing was completed, the women were trained in reeling and spinning. Later on they were also trained in weaving on looms. Nowhere in these parts do we find women engaged in weaving, but here women have eagerly taken up this activity. Engagement in such activity gives them supplementary income. This was augmented by other income generation schemes like goat rearing, raising of fruit and vegetable seedlings, horticulture, etc. A number of case studies of women showed that family income went up with these activities. The example set by some of the beneficiaries were ample demonstration to their neighbours to follow suit. The second activity of the Foundation to restore the ecological balance was ecological cultivation. On account of the decline in the productivity of land, government effort was directed towards the use of more and more chemical fertilisers. However, it was found that the excessive use of chemical fertilisers was extremely harmful to the land in the long run. It has been observed that a balanced integration between plants, animals and insects is essential for sustainable development. The tribals had a strong tradition of using green manure for better produce. The Paharia engaged in shifting cultivation, which was an appropriate technology designed to regenerate forest and restore soil fertility. The burning of the undergrowth provided ample fertiliser for the shifting cultivation plot. After a few years, the plot was left fallow, the forest regenerated and thus the shifting cultivation cycle was maintained. In the shifting cultivation field there has been a tradition of mixed cropping. If one crop fails, the other crop helps the people to tide over the crisis and there is never a total famine in such areas. However, with the conversion of many of these plots into settled cultivation fields, the regeneration process has stopped. Studies made by scientists have made it clear that this pattern of ecological degradation is marked in this area after it changed from a collectional economy to settled agriculture. Almost all the farmers of the region are small and marginal farmers with uneconomic holdings. They are now looking for opportunities other than agriculture to make a living. Large numbers of them have become daily wage earners and migrate to neighbouring areas in search of seasonal employment. The Badlao Foundation targeted this group for experimenting in ecological cultivation. To start with, the Foundation introduced ecological cultivation in ten villages of Madhupur Block of Deoghar district in 1989 with the following objectives: 1. To raise awareness and knowledge about ecological cultivation among individuals and peasant groups 2. To train and mobilise peasants in the operational area for reducing the use of chemical fertilisers in order to retain and enhance the productive capacity of the land 3. To train the farmers about the need to preserve and increase environmental capital for future generations 4. To discuss with the beneficiaries some of the aspects of the traditional cultivation system in relation to ecological constraints 5. To increase among beneficiaries knowledge of the environment 6. To safeguard the environment for the present and achieve full harmony with nature. Thus the spectrum of ecological cultivation has four components: (a) awareness, (b) analysis of the situation, (c) conservation and (d) sustainable development. Awareness includes making individual farmers conscious of the physical, social and economic aspects of the environment. The experiment in ecological cultivation started with four farmers, two using the present system and two the innovative method. Before launching the programme, comprehensive soil testing and crop-wise doses of green manuring required in the fields were done by the Foundation. When the final accounting was done, it was evident that ecological cultivation is a viable proposition. In the present system 35 per cent of the operational cost is incurred on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. In the experimental area green manuring and compost accounted for only 23.5 per cent of the cost. In addition to economy, ecological cultivation ensured the retention of soil fertility over a longer period of time. Later on the area of ecological cultivation was extended. Training was provided for this purpose to farmers in a number of villages. The popularity of green manure has gradually increased. Many farmers are now retaining dhaicha seed for use year after year. The main reason for the adoption of ecological cultivation is reduction in the cost of inputs. This is accompanied by water harvesting, which has reduced the cost of irrigation. The environmental programme of the Foundation was also devoted to the regeneration of forests. In some areas where large chunks of land were available, the Foundation began afforestation work by planting trees yielding fruit, fodder and fuel. In some villages in the Jarmundi Block such plantations was done over 177 acres. Both grafted and local trees of different species were planted. Mango, guava, lemon, amla and coconut trees were most popular. The plantations were done in four villages. A total of 3,900 fruit trees wee planted, fodder and fuel species numbering more than 16,000. Irrigation was provided for the new plants. Grafts, seedlings, manure and agricultural implements were given to the farmers in these villages. In about three years the barren fields have turned green. Some of the quick-growing fuel and fodder trees are being used by the village people. The fruit trees will begin to give yields in a couple of years. The village people have realised the importance of these plantations. They take care of the plants and protect them from being destroyed by animals. They also look after the nurseries with loving care. In all its activities the Foundation has involved the beneficiaries in the different programmes so that they do not regard the innovations as impositions from above. Participation of the people is coming in large measure because the Foundation is interested in their integrated or total development. The educational and health programmes have endeared this voluntary organisation to the people. Increasing awareness has made them conscious of their own ability to contribute to their well-being. They now take full advantage of governmental schemes and the credit facilities being extended by banks. Their concern for conservation of the environment is evident in their efforts to minimise the felling of existing forests and saving them from the depredations of unscrupulous elements. The apathy to their environment and development is no more evident in the operational area of the Foundation. With alternative avenues of income from agriculture, sericulture and other activities, both men and women are keen to improve their quality of life. Their aspirations have gone up. Thus the Badlao Foundation has shown ways in which the tribals in the area and other people can help themselves. It has also set an example for other voluntary organisations to work for sustainable development in tribal areas.