Dayamani Barla is an Adivasi activist and a journalist based in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Her journey in activism started in the mid 1990s when she joined the people’s movement against the construction of Koel-Karo dam. Since then, Dayamani has been involved in many movements of people’s resistance against corporate exploitation of Adivasi land. She is the convenor of Adivasi-Moolvasi Astitva Raksha Manch (Forum for the Protection of the Existence of Tribal and Native Population). The Manch has been at the forefront of several protests, including the agitation against ArcelorMittal’s land acquisition in Jharkhand to set up a steel plant. The protest successfully stalled the construction of the steel plant, which would have displaced thousands in the state and rendered them homeless.
As a prolific journalist, Dayamani has written for publications such as Prabhat Khabar, Jan Haq, and The Caravan, and has also authored books such as Adivasi Adhikar Khatre Mein. She has received multiple awards and recognitions for her work, including the Counter Media Award for Rural Journalism, the National Foundation for India Fellowship, and Cultural Survival’s Ellen L. Lutz Indigenous Rights Award.
In this interview with IDR, Dayamani talks about the hardships of her unusual childhood, how and why she grew up to be a journalist, and her journey towards activism. She discusses the Adivasi struggle for jal (water), jangal (forest), and zameen (land), and reveals her influences, which include journalists Dr Kumar Suresh Singh and Faisal Anurag, Adivasi activist Junas Gudiya, and South African social reformers Nelson and Winnie Mandela. Dayamani shares her lessons from having been part of several people’s movements, emphasises the need for education for Adivasi youth, and explains why activists should join electoral politics.
1. “When I look at the lives of other children, I feel jealous.”
2. “In order to preserve their history, Adivasis must take up the pen.”
3. “History is what we have lived and what we are observing in the present.”
4. “If you shoot me, only one body will fall. If we stop the movement, my people will be crushed.”
5. “Activists should go to the places where laws are made and also where laws are implemented.”
6. “All successful mass movements work in collaboration with other movements.”
7. “Since 2014, nonprofits can no longer support the people’s struggle.”
8. “Use your smartphone to get the education that the government isn’t giving you.”
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Know more
- Watch this documentary on Dayamani Barla to learn more about her.
- Read this interview with activist and humanitarian Stany Swamy to learn more about his work with people’s movements in Jharkhand.
- Read this list to learn about Adivasi literature written by writers from the indigenous communities.
