American diplomats consider the Indian government ‘unwilling and unable’ to ‘end the exploitation and victimization’ of the country’s 84 million tribal people according to secret cables released by The Hindu newspaper.
The WikiLeaks cables claim there is a prevailing opinion in India that tribal peoples are ‘an obstacle to development who must be removed from forest lands and ‘integrated’ into the mainstream’. As shown in Survival’s publication, Progress Can Kill, forced integration has devastating impacts on tribal peoples, especially on their mental and physical health.
Stephen Corry, Director of Survival, said today ‘As the cables say – ‘integration’ of India’s tribal peoples has really meant becoming ‘landless laborers at the bottom of the social ladder.’ It is high time that India really addressed the historic injustice suffered by its tribal peoples and abandoned this grossly wrong and outmoded notion of ‘integrating’ tribal peoples. Until these attitudes change, the ‘exploitation and abuse’ noted in the WikiLeaks cables will continue.’
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