--  Asian Human Rights Commission, October 20, 2005

Raup Village is located in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. For several years hunger has persisted in the area. In 2004, after 18 children had died of starvation, the villagers organized themselves to have their concerns heard outside the District Magistrate's Office in Robertsganj. The media and local administration reacted in kind, meager food assistance was provided, red ration cards were issued and a doctor came to visit the tribal people. Even the Supreme Court stated that in Uttar Pradesh  any death of malnutrition should be considered a starvation death. However, once the hype died, the Raup villagers were ignored once more. The Public Distribution Shops started providing food assistance sporadically and the medical help was a one- time only deal.

Currently, the Raup villagers live in a situation of near continuous hunger where their hopes have been dashed by an inactive and insensitive local administration. The interview below tells the story of one woman struggling to survive and provide for her family. Her situation is not uncommon among the many men, women and children of Raup.

My name is Kalwati; I am a 30 year old widow from the Ghasia tribe. I have five children, all under the age of 12. The six of us live in a desperate situation and food is a primary concern. We only eat once a day at best, and the meal normally consists of some rice or roti (flatbread) and salt, nothing more. I even have a red ration card allowing me access to food assistance by the Public Distribution System (PDS). The PDS shop is located eight kilometers away and provides 20 kg of rice and 15 kg of wheat for Rs. 90 per month. However, the 35 kg of wheat and rice that we receive is not sufficient for even 10 days, and sometimes is still to expensive. By the end of every month, we are starving. Every time we receive more wheat, my children are so hungry they will eat just plain flour. [Note: At the time of the interview, several children were observed eating raw flour]

My husband was the sole income earner in our family, but he was murdered by the local mafia two and a half years ago. In this area, there exists an inter-caste conflict between the Gond and Ghasia tribes. Some goons from the Gond tribe attacked my husband and a police inquiry was conducted. I have no idea as to the status of the case; however I am told that a trial against the accused is going on. I hope that the appropriate justice is served and the men who killed my husband will go to jail.

Since my husband's death, I am now the sole breadwinner in the family, as my children are too young to work. For work, I weave brooms and straw mats used to carry heavy loads on our heads. I earn approximately Rs. 2.50 for each broom or mat I sell and I normally make between five and ten a day but I have to travel almost seven kilometers every day just in order to sell my products. The money is not enough to buy anything.

I have five children who depend on me to eat. The eldest, Durgavati is 12 years old. She does not go to school because she needs to stay at home and care for the house and my other children while I am away trying to sell my brooms and mats. My boys, Sadesh, aged 10, and eight year old Rajesh both go to school. The two youngest, son Siri Ram and daughter Rinki, are too young to attend school and thus also stay at home. In general, most Raup villagers are involved in the broom making industry. As a result, most of the young girls must stay home and take care of the younger children while their parents are away. I never went to school and my daughters will not either. I am not the only person in this situation, the entire village suffers on a daily basis the same way I do. I ask, why is there no ICDS (government run childcare center) here for our children?

I used to have the ability to work quickly however the nerves in my hand were injured some years ago so now one hand is paralyzed. However, it is not possible to get medical attention for my health problems. There are no healthcare or medical facilities for us villagers. In 2004, after the newspapers reported our situation, one doctor did come on a single occasion. He gave us some medicines but we never saw him or any other doctor again. The district hospital is seven kilometers away in Robertsganj so we can only go if we have enough money to cover the expenses or enough energy to walk. Also, the government hospitals do not have any medicine to give us so even if we do go there, we still cannot afford to buy medicines from the shops.

My fellow villagers and I are not asking for much. As a tribal community, all we are asking is for some land that we can cultivate and live on, land that we have a right to. The upper-caste villagers in Raup are a very prosperous community and they are doing very well. However they are threatening us to leave as they are laying claim to this land. Where are we going to go then and how will we be able to live? All I want is for my children to be taken care of so that they can live life with dignity.

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Photo: Kalwati and her youngest child Rinki, after eating wheat for her daily meal.