French film makers booked for trespassing Jarawa territory in Andamans

G. Theva Neethi Dhas, secretary (Tribal Welfare) in the Andaman & Nicobar Administration said it was a major violation from the part of French film makers as they took the help of local poachers to enter the banned territory and supplied sacks of rice, cooking oil and biscuits to Jarawas to make them cooperate during the shooting in different schedules over the last two years. “As the Supreme Court had banned access to Jarawa territory and access through Andaman Nicobar Trunk Road, French film makers took a sea route to enter the Jarawa territory from the western coast of the islands, about 300kms from the mainland. Intelligence agencies are probing how they had managed to tresspass this coastal stretch fortified by coast guard and Indian navy,” he said.

Jarawa territory, exclusively protected by the government, where only trained volunteers are allowed to enter, is situated in 1,025sq km area in Southern Andaman. Its been hardly two decades since Jarawas started coming out of the forest. Jarawas, among the four major tribes including Great Andamanese, Onge and Sentinelese are believed to have lived in their Indian Ocean home for up to 55,000 years.

Earlier, the Supreme Court and the central government had taken serious measures to protect the Jarawa tribe after the international media released visuals of Jarawas being lured with food to dance for tourists in early 2013.

The entry of foreign documentary team was first noticed by the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), an organisation working for the welfare of Tribal communities in the region after watching the trailor of Organic Jarawas released recently.

Dhas said what had happened in the name of film making was a major violation and cruelty to the Jarawa tribe. “They cannot resist any diseases or infections due to contact from outside. Luring them with food to act before the camera is a cruelty and offering them sacks of rice and biscuit was a violation of rules laid by the local administration and the SC,” he said. In 1999 and 2006, the Jarawas suffered major outbreaks of measles that wiped out a large population due to contact with outsiders.

Early this year, a Jarawas caught international headlines once again after one of them who speaks Hindi told the media about how their women and girls are being forced to have sex with poachers and fishermen and that poachers have established a barter system with a section of the community by offering them alcohol and marijuana to poach resources in the tribal territories and sexually abuse the women and girls.

Anand Prakash, chief secretary of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands told the Indian Express that they have identified the French film makers and pursuing the case. “We have already started the inverstigation and contacting the French team who tresspassed the restricted areas,” he said. Under Protection of the aboriginal tribes (amendment) act 2012 and Foreigners Amendment Act 2004, a case has been registered. Members of the Jarawas community confirmed the entry of foreigners, two men and a woman and four pople from the local community Karenwho helped the foreign team as interpretators.