AS CORPSE THEY RETURN FROM COORG

“Sir, no one dies because of fever for a day. They are telling black lies. He did not die, Sir, he was murdered. He was beaten with crowbar and stabbed with knife. We are poor people. Who will take up our case if we are killed?’ Ammini, wife of Kolu of Chundappadi colony, at Kalloor, brutally murdered in the ginger plantations of Coorg, said sobbing.

Kolu is only one among the many murdered in the plantations of Coorg. Just a sample of the murders that go reported and unreported.

Investigations have revealed that a large number of tribals who migrated to Coorg in Karanataka in search of work have been murdered during the past few years. Ninety nine percent of the murders are reported as natural deaths and the relatives are made to believe the story. The culprits are often the contractors, who take these people to Coorg for work. Using money power, they have been able to suppress the truth. The death of Kolu of Chundappali colony is a telling example.

Kolu’s Murder
The wife and sister of Kolu narrate the story: Kurien, a local rich man, one day stopped his jeep just below the Chundappadi colony for transporting workers to Coorg. Several people boarded the jeep. They also invited Kolu, who was engaged in building a tank in front of the colony. Kolu was not interested in going to Coorg. He, however boarded the jeep, with the intention of getting down at Bathery to see his brother Kavalan, who was admitted in a hospital there. Kolu did not return that day. Next day by around six thirty in the evening a phone message reached a house near the colony. ‘Kolu is admitted in a hospital in Coorg’. Another jeep pulled up at the entrance of the colony to take Suresh, Kolu’s son to look after the patient. Suresh was taken to the police station at Vagamandalam in Coorg. The police officer asked Suresh to put his signature in a document. To Suresh who asked for the reason, the officer said:” You just sign. There will be no harm.” Suresh was taken not to the hospital, but to the ginger plantation. There was the dead body of Kolu, wrapped in country mats. The shocked Suresh cried aloud at seeing the ghastly sight.

People had different explanations. By evening, the tribals and the contractors left for the colony in three jeeps. The contractors stopped at a bar on the way and imbibed liquor. They put two bottles of liquor by the side of Kolu’s dead body and in the hearing of Suresh and Karappi, Kolu’s sister, said: “ Kolu was drunk. That is how he died. For his eternal rest we are placing these bottles here.” Throughout the journey the drunken contractors reveled in the use of foul language and shouting. At around 3 in the morning they reached the colony.

The contractors did not allow the relatives to remove the wrapping over the dead body. When some tried to remove the mat the contractors threatened them. In the ensuing scuffle the mat was slightly removed and they could get a glimpse of Kolu’s face. They were shocked to see that he had only one eye. The other eye had got dislocated as a result of hitting with crow bar or some thing similar. There were scars of attack on the face too. The contractors got the relatives to bury the dead body before dawn. When the dead body was lowered into the grave, the mat was removed. The body was covered in polythene bag. There was clotted blood in the bag. There were wounds all over the body caused by cross bar and knife. No post-mortem was conducted.

On the following day the relatives of Kolu went to the Bathery police station to lodge a complaint. “ The death has taken place in Coorg. What are we to do here about it”, was the response of the police officer. Ammini remembers that the officer spoke the language of the contractors. According to them excessive drinking was the cause of death. No investigation has been conducted so far. Out of fear, even those tribals who went with Kolu are not willing to give testimony. The contractors even did not care to give compensation. “ We are poor people. Who will give us justice? Our lives are not worth even those of dogs and cattle.”, moaned Ammini.

Mathan’s Death
It is more than a year since Mathan of Tiruvannoor, near Kalloor, was murdered. Kunjumon and Suresh were the contractors who took Mathan to Coorg. Nani, Mathan’s wife, reminisces: Mathan was in charge of preparing food in the work site. One day Mathan, who had gone out for preparing tea did not return even after a long time. Some of his coworkers went to see what had happened. They were shocked to see the robust and healthy Mathan dead! There was a pool of blood on the floor. The mouth and nose were still dripping with blood. Nani remembers that there were burn marks on the body. No one came forward to give witness. They had no money for seeking legal action. One day Nani went over to the residence of Suresh, who had taken Mathan to Coorg for work. She cried aloud. Suresh gave her Rs. 1000 as compensation.

Recently when Nani tried to obtain the death certificate for applying for widow pension, the contractors threatened her. They feared that she might mention the cause of death.

Mathan has an elder brother. He is bedridden with paralysis. Nani and her two children are starving. They have no work. Nani and the colony people are fully convinced that Mathan was murdered. Asked why she did not approach the court, Nani replied: “ We are starving. Where is the money for meeting the legal expenses? Only rich people can afford that”.

Pulithookki colony is near Tiruvannoor. A contractor named Babu took Nanchan, a member of the tribal colony to Coorg for work. Nunchan worked in Coorg only for a few days. By that time he had become terribly weak. Those who took him to Coorg brought him back. As soon as he reached home, Nunchan died. The cause of death was the inhaling of lethal dozes of pesticides used in the ginger plantations. The contactor gave Rs.2000 as compensation. Nunchan’s wife Cheera and daughter Radha have no work and are starving.

There are other cases of death due to the effect of pesticides used in ginger farming. These are reported as natural deaths. Which are those pesticides? Why are the safety norms denied only to these poor workers?

A few months back, the charred dead body of a middle aged man, who had gone to Coorg for ginger farming, was brought back home. People in the colony believe that he was burnt to death. The motive for killing is unknown. The contractors have not paid any compensation. This death too is being forgotten due to lack of finance for filing a court case.

It was six months ago that Ratheesh, son of Vella and Maka, belonging to the colony at Nalammile Kadamgath near Bathery was murdered. The dead body was found in the river. There has been no investigation in this case either.

It is only one week since a woman belonging to a colony near Muthanga was murdered in Coorg. The circumstances are not known.

All these deaths happened in the Noolpuzha Panchayat in the district of Wayanad. There are 25 Panchayats and a Municipality in Wayanad district. Tribals from all over the district are taken to Coorg for work. Who knows how many have died!

According to the tribals, the causes for killing include dispute over wages, questioning the clandestine affairs of the contractors, resistance to attempts at raping sisters and the like. The wages in Coorg are Rs. 70 for women and Rs. 80 for men.

Women Getting Murdered
No statistics are available of the women murdered in Coorg. A few months ago an 18 year old girl belonging to the Chundappadi colony died in Coorg. The contractor says she died of jaundice. A middle-aged woman from the same colony was sexually assaulted and she became pregnant. The issue was settled with a mere award of Rs. 450. The woman delivered and the child born of the contractor is growing up in the colony!

A contractor from a colony near the bus garage at Sulthanbathery took a mother and daughter to Coorg for work. The girl killed herself following sexual harassment by the contractor. (Was it suicide or murder? What is the dividing line?) When the news leaked out and the people and the local politicians became alert, the contractor used his money power and the issue was hushed up. There is no trace of any protest now.

Hundreds of women have been sexually exploited in Coorg. Among them are those who committed suicide due to fear of scandal. Some were murdered by the contractor for fear of losing his good name if the woman were to live. There are also those who were killed when they resisted rape attempt.

Wayanad has a tribal population of around a hundred and fifty thousand. Among them there may be as many as 50000 young women. According to a study conducted by the Committee of All India Surveillance for Tribal People for Social Justice, in December 2005, the number of the unwed mothers in Wayanad is more than 3000. Six percent! These are the living victims. How many may have been murdered!



Work Environment in Coorg
Rich people from Kerala undertake lease land cultivation in the lowlands and on the hills of Coorg. The tribals in Wayanad are herded into these farms. They are given wages ranging between Rs. 60 and Rs, 80. Many have to return empty handed after working for months. Many contractors refuse to give the wages agreed upon. Low quality food is given. There are contractors who take back the wage given through the ‘packet alcohol’. The tribals who don’t know how to consult a calendar or keep track of time are tricked by not mentioning how long they have worked. If any one dares to question, it will end up in conflict and murder.

The main factor that compels the tribals to migrate to Coorg is the crisis in the farm sector, leading to unemployment as a result of globalization.

Most deplorable is the condition of women workers. The work environment is least safe. Investigations have brought to light that women workers and the contractors sleep in buildings separated only by a half wall. Sexual assault is no news in Coorg. Unmarried as well as married women are subjected to sexual harassment and assault. Large numbers of unwed mothers are found in tribal colonies. The story of these poor women finds no mention in the discourses of our ‘intellectual’ feminist movements on atrocities against women!

The outside world knows nothing of what is happening in Coorg. The mainstream media find no news value in this. The political parties are interested only in their votes, not in their problems.

A Congress leader who was contacted during the investigation responded: “Why are you interested in this? You want to use it as a weapon against the U.D.F. We know how to take care of these people”.

The C.P.M. leader exploded: “Why are you concentrating on this Panchayat? Deaths are happening everywhere. People die in Kerala, in India, in Iraq. Why are you not bothered about these deaths? Problems are created by the media. Your tricks will not work here.”

This is how C.P. Rasheed, State Secretary of the Viplava Yuvajana Prasthanam reacted: “The crisis in the farm sector as a result of globalization is what has driven the workers to Coorg. Shocking are the stories of their exploitation in their helplessness. If the contractors who took the workers to Coorg are not prepared to give compensation, we will physically attack them”.

He is right. How long will the poor people put up with these indignities? And can we blame them if one day they take up arms against those who robbed them of their land and violated their modesty?