Diseased us!

Please don't homogenize us
We are people of soil and trees
We co-exist with our divine
You are under influence of disease
the disease of development

Leave our lands to us
We know what to do
let us live the way we love!

We need no messiahs
we are different
we like the way we live
so, lets respect views
and never finger at us
by calling primitive!

Can't we just live
without dominating
without forcing
for others to accept
what you think is right
is also right for us!

You could be social worker
You could be economist
You could be Politician
or a visionary to lift us!

But remember
We know what to do
let us live the way we love!

- Aparna Bhumi
Experience from Dumriguda Mandal's Kondh and Kotia tribes.

In the process of gathering information on understanding of governance and PESA, I understood that people know what they want to do, we need to allow them. I understood that there were many social workers and development practitioners who visited them, forced their ideas, initiatives, interventions and innovations on them. Result were the labels of religion which diseased their culture, culture of co-existence with nature. Result was also degradation of beautiful nature.