Some of the Gir lions needed another home. The adivasis in Kuno forest gave up theirs on promises of a better life. But were given little more than stony land

DIONNE BUNSHA
in Kuno forest, Madhya Pradesh
Akke and Kheru share a beedi with their friends and stare at the stone in front of them. Blazing heat and rugged terrain is all they have. No trees, no crop, no cattle, no food, just stony land. Nothing can be grown here. All they can do with it is hammer away, breaking rocks for construction. They get just Rs 70 for a 100 huge boulders.
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Nine out of 100 tribal children die of hunger in Maharashtra. Though Adivasis live in the most resource-rich areas, they are India’s most deprived people.

DIONNE BUNSHA
in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra

Eight-month-old Gomi was at the age when she could crawl. But when we met Gomi and her mother Jatribai Bila Padvi in Kua village, Nandurbar district, she could barely raise her hand. Extremely weak and undernourished, she had been falling ill constantly. “She always has fever or diarrhoea. It’s difficult to keep taking her to the hospital. It’s too far (11 km) and the doctor’s medicines don’t seem to work,” said Jatribai. Besides, Jatribai also had two other children to look after and had to work everyday unloading sand from trucks while her husband had gone in search of work to Gujarat. The local anganwadi (child care centre), which is supposed to provide food to infants everyday, has also failed to deliver the goods. “They don’t give the children anything. What’s the point of taking them there?” she asked. Five days after we met Jatribai, her daughter passed away.
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Despite the repeal of the Criminal Tribe Act in 1949 ‘denotified’ tribes are still branded criminals and illegally detained by the police. Should the community apply for anticipatory bail?

DIONNE BUNSHA
In Kalamb, Marathwada region, Maharashtra

When Banabai Banshi Pawar set herself on fire in a crowded courtroom in Kalamb, Usmanabad on 28th August, it symbolised her frustration with a lifetime of harassment.

Doused in kerosene, she pleaded with the judge to release her two sons, whom she said had been arrested on false charges. She threatened to kill herself if they were not released. A policeman standing next to her sneered at a woman he considered to be from one of the ‘low’ Pardhi criminal tribes. “You are all liars. That’s not kerosene. It’s water,” he said. That was enough to ignite her anger. She set herself on fire to prove her point, and died.

Banabai is from the Pardhi community, one of the 150 ‘denotified’ tribes which were branded ‘criminal’ under British law because they rebelled against the Raj. Today, even though independent India repealed the Criminal Tribe Act in 1949, officially denotifying them from the criminal label, they still face discrimination. In Maharashtra, at least six known attacks on denotified tribes have occurred in the last three months.

Banabai’s suicide sparked a witch hunt against her community. The next day, merchants in the town burned down more than 100 Pardhi houses.
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Gandhiji’s march to Dandi was the beginning of the end for the British. The 75th anniversary march was a bizarre political pilgrimage with a motley mix of foreigners, Pakistanis, old Gandhians and Congress politicians

DIONNE BUNSHA
In Dandi, Gujarat.
Photographs: Ashima Narain

Meet the self-appointed masseur of the Dandi Yatra 2005, Rajkumar Jeswani. Every night, he massages the feet of his fellow marchers, shares a joke, eases their pain. “I am a poor man, but I wanted to do something for Bapu. This is my Shraddhanjali (offering) for him,” says Rajkumar, a spare parts salesman from Ahmedabad.
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Maharashtra’s first experiment in privatisation of drinking water supply has left Chandrapur high and dry

DIONNE BUNSHA
in Chandrapur, Maharashtra
“Whom should I ask today?” This thought plays on Swarta Shende’s mind soon after she wakes up. It’s another bright morning. Another day fretting about how she will fill the 20 pots of water her family needs. Many women like Swarta have to worry about borrowing water everyday in Chandrapur town.

“The public tap has water for only two hours a day. And, with so many women scrambling for their share, I get only three pots from here,” says Swarta. “Then, I go to other peoples’ homes – those who have their own taps or wells, asking if they will let me to fill a few pots.” Swarta tries not to go too often to the same place or they may get irritated. She hopes she hasn’t caught them in a foul mood. If they haven’t fought with their husband or their children haven’t played up, it makes life easier for Swarta as well. “Two hours of my day is spent just collecting water,” she says.
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Lions in Gir look for new territories as the sanctuary is not large enough for their population

DIONNE BUNSHA
in Sasan, Gir forest, Gujarat
Photographs: Ashima Narain

A lion prowling the beach? Yes, small groups of the last surviving Asiatic Lions in the world have moved out of the Gir Sanctuary in Saurashtra, Gujarat, towards the coastal forests of Diu. They haven’t disturbed any sunbathers yet. Nor have they attacked people in the coastal villages. The Gir protected area is simply too small for the only 327 Asiatic Lions on the planet, so the younger ones have moved out in search of prey – as far as Diu, around 80 km away.

The Asiatic lions of Gir are the world’s last surviving group of the sub-species in the wild.

 “It may seem unusual to find a lion on the coast, but this isn’t the first time that they have reached the shore,” says Bharat Pathak, Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Junagadh. Lions were spotted in the coastal areas in the early 1900s as well, according to the Junagadh Gazetteer. Now, as the lion population is larger and open grasslands are shrinking, they are dispersing to reclaim the 2,560 sq. km. they once occupied in 1956. The Gir protected area is only 1,421 sq km of dry, deciduous forest, a little more than half the original size of the forest. There are territorial fights between lions, and only the strong retain their territories. The sub-adults have to move out.
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Two unemployed workers set themselves on fire outside India’s most respected industrial house in Bombay. Their tragedy mirrors the desperation of Mumbai’s working class trapped in an economy where there is no room for the blue collar.

DIONNE BUNSHA
Photos: Ashima Narain

Aktar Khan had had enough. It had been seven years since he lost his job in the Tata Power Company. Since then, he had not found work. All he could do was odd jobs – construction work, painting. It wasn’t enough to support his wife and five daughters. He had no money to pay the rent. They had to leave their home the next day. There was nowhere to go.
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It’s a Rs 1,600 crore street economy that employs 200,000 people. Why is the municipality bent on uprooting Mumbai’s hawkers?

DIONNE BUNSHA

The buzz on Bombay’s streets is being silenced by bulldozers. As the machines continue to relentlessly tear down the livelihoods of Mumbai’s hawkers, a raging battle is underway between the thousands thrown off the streets and Mumbai’s demolition man- Chandrakant Rokde, deputy municipal commissioner. A man with a mission, Mr Rokde is adamant on implementing a 16-year-old Supreme court (SC) order at any cost.
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