I will continue my fight for tribal people, says Vittal

Bangalore, July 21: Four long months in prison under charges of waging a war against the Indian State, having to face the humiliation of being made to write an examination in chains and being denied permission to enrol into the third year of his journalism course at the Mangalore University, have evidently not dulled Vittal Malekudiya's resolve.

Weeks after he was released, the 22-year-old shared the stage with leading intellectuals, social activists, and academics at an interactive session organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the organisation he is part of.

Addressing the audience, Mr. Malekudiya said although the ordeal was rough, he saw it as part of the Government's design to stifle dissent among tribal people, in this case the tribal families living on the land adjoining and part of the Kudremukh National Park in Belthangady taluk. He said that people in the region had been denied access to basic amenities — such as roads, healthcare, and education — and the Government was simply trying to coax them into forfeiting their land rights for a paltry package worth Rs. 10 lakh.

“I will go back and continue to organise them and fight these policies. They cannot use anti-naxal laws to silence us,” he said.

While Kannada writer K. Marulasidappa praised Mr. Malekudiya's “will to fight”, he said that thousands of such voices were going unheard. “While Dalits and minorities have organised themselves and are able to speak and protest for their rights, tribal people are largely unorganised, and are deeply exploited,” he said criticising the Government's policy of declaring more reserved forests and driving tribal people out of their homes.

In a lighter vein, academic G.K Govinda Rao said that Mr. Malekudiya was in elite company. “You are out on bail and so is the Higher Education Minister, the only difference is that they (the politicians) cheated the people, and you, at this young age, want to help the people,” he said. Pointing to the image of young Mr. Malekudiya appearing for his university examination in chains, Mr. Rao said that it was a “shameful and inhumane” act. “We, and other leaders from the CPI(M), asked the police and authorities how was this allowed, and they had no reply. It's a shame,” he said. He said he was inspired by young Mr. Malekudiya's speech and his determination to pursue a democratic struggle against the authorities that tried to silence him.

Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha secretary G.C. Bayya Reddy said Karnataka had a poor track record of implementing the Forest Act. “Progressive movements in the State had to take the larger issue of tribal injustice forward.”

The DYFI and the Students Federation of India announced their resolution to fight for Mr. Malekudiya's right to be admitted to the next year of college (currently being denied by the varsity), demand that a conducive environment be provided for him to be able to complete his degree) and struggle for the rights of tribal people in the district.