A Christian leader in Chhattisgarh alleges that the eastern Indian government’s move to protect primitive tribes infringes personal freedom.
On May 26, the Chhattis-garh government passed an order amending the 1979 rule passed by then undivided Madhya Pradesh to protect primarily vulnerable tribal groups.
The amendment “is an attack on the free thought of an individual,” Arun Pannalal, president of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told Matters India June 6.
The new rule stipulates tribals who want sterilization should apply for permission from their subdivisional magistrate.
While making the law in 1979, the government officials said the order was necessary to protect primitive tribes that had extremely low health indicators. The tribes also showed a negative rate of growth and there was fear of them dying out.
The state has seven primitive tribes that are on the verge of extinction.
The Chhattisgarh govern-ment officials say the amend-ment is a “step forward,” but Pannalal and other activists denounce it continu-ation of an inhuman practice of denying the tribes “autonomy over their own bodies.”
“It is up to the individual or the family to decide whether they want to procreate or not. There should not be any interference from anybody from outside,” the Christian leader asserts.
If the government is serious about primitive tribes’ welfare, it should provide them better health care and educate them to improve their living conditions to enhance their population, Pannalal says.
