The Kerala UDF gove1rnment’s decision to ‘accept’ the main demands of the Adivasi Dalit Action Council (ADAC), bringing to an end a long-drawn agitation, has been hailed as a victory for both sides. Yet for the ADAC, which has since the mid-1990s spearheaded the agitation of the state’s numerous tribal communities, it may prove a pyrrhic victory. The agreement with the government is at best a compromise, following years of disillusionment over the failure of successive governments to implement laws sanctioning the restoration of alienated tribal lands. Reflecting the disillusionment, the focus of the agitation this year was no longer restoration of alienated land, but a demand for five acres of land for every landless tribal family and inclusion of the tribal areas in the sixth schedule of the Constitution so as to afford them a measure of autonomy.
