Bonda boy' puts tribe on election map

KORAPUT: For the first time, a Bonda youth is contesting Assembly elections in the state. Twenty-eight-year-old Damburu Sisa of Khudiguda village has been fielded by BJD from Malkangiri district's Maoist-dominated Chitrakonda.
The nomination has enveloped the entire Bonda hill in election fervour. For most Bondas, polls never held any significance. Only a few, who have adapted the modern way of living have any knowledge or enthusiasm about elections.
Bondas are one of the most primitive tribes of the state.They are divided into two groups Lower Bondas and Upper Bondas. The 12,000-odd Lower Bondas live at the foothills of Bonda hills. The Upper Bondas, untouched by civilization, live in 32 villages under Mudulipada and Andrahal panchayats. Their population stands at 6,778. A micro project called Bonda Development Agency (BDA) has been in force since 1977 but Bondas still live in an era of darkness.
Sisa who is an Msc (Math) and has B.Ed and LLB degrees is perhaps the most qualified youth among Bondas whose literacy rate is around eight per cent.
"When I was a four-year-old, a voluntary organization adopted me along with 25 children of our community. My parents died of a disease when I was 12. I stayed with the organization and completed my school and later joined college," said Sisa who is a Lower Bonda boy.
In 2000, he had joined CRPF as a jawan but had given up the job after about a year. He also held a managerial post in Banpur Co-operative Bank, where he served for a few years.
"I joined CRPF thinking that it is an ideal way to serve my motherland and I will be leading a disciplined life. But after a few months, I felt caged. Though it was a disciplined life, I lost my freedom. I felt suffocated and left the job. As I was more inclined towards social service I never got any satisfaction in any job," he said.
After returning to his village, Sisa joined a voluntary organization and was later elected convenor of Malkangiri Adivasi Manch. He said plight of his community attracted him to work for their betterment.
On joining politics, Sisa said, "I was never interested in politics. But when I used to approach officials concerned with the problems of tribals they seldom listened to us. So I thought without power one cannot fight for his right for which I decided to contest elections."
As many as 10 candidates, including Sisa, are in fray for Chitrakonda Assembly segment which has 159,689 voters. The Bonda voters stand at 10,051. "We were never interested in polls. But this time we will express our franchise as a boy of our community is contesting election. He (Sisa) has brought new hope to our tribe," sources quoting some elderly Bonda men of Mudulipada panchayat said.