The murder of an Adivasi woman has reopened old wounds in Odisha’s Malkangiri. The state’s southernmost district faced chaos when a large group of Adivasi community members marched into MV-26, one of the villages created under the Dandakaranya project, and set ablaze the houses of Bengali refugees on Sunday. The arson continued the next day despite a suspect’s arrest. Timely action could have prevented the crisis, which had been building up since the woman went missing on December 1 and her decapitated body was found three days later. Police action not only came late, but was insufficient to calm the crowd that went on the rampage right in front of top officials. Prohibitory orders have been clamped and internet access restricted.
Though there is a pause in violence after a peace committee meeting, the region remains on the boil. The district has, for the first time, witnessed a flare-up of this magnitude between Adivasis and Bengalis. The state machinery’s failure is evident even though the opposition parties have, curiously, remained silent. Since coming to power in June 2024, the BJP government has walked into law-and-order troubles one after another. Despite Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s clear instructions, the state police have let him down.
The Malkangiri incident must not be viewed lightly. It points to a growing animosity between the two communities. Adivasi organisations have complained of the refugees’ increasing encroachment of government land and demanded an identification exercise, alleging that ‘infiltrators’ have found their way into the district. The Bengalis, in turn, allege they are being targeted and have demanded the arrest of those involved in the violence.
While the Odisha government must ensure that the constitutional rights of the indigenous people are protected, it must not allow lawlessness to prevail. Neighbouring Nabarangpur district was also under the ambit of the Dandakaranya Development Authority when the Centre, in 1958, allowed refugees from what was then East Pakistan to settle over a 77,700-sq-km area in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. The deep divide between the two communities continued to fester and ended up in a spate of violent incidents in Nabarangpur over land resources and development disparity. Malkangiri must not go the same way. It is one of the most economically backward areas, which is why left-wing extremism struck roots there. The Majhi government must tread with extreme care.