Shameless Indian 'human safaris'

It’s shocking. It’s disturbing. In the modern times, when we in India boast of everything advanced, what happens in backwoods and boondocks is really saddening. The findings by an international human rights organization say that the aborigines of Andaman, “members of the Indian Jarawa tribe, who have managed to retain their way of life for thousands of years, are being threatened by "human safaris," in which nearly 200,000 tourists a year arrive to gawp at them.”
Any sensible Indian will sure be left chagrined to know this inhuman activity. Even if some strangers stare at us for a while, we lose our cool.  An online petition to be given to the Indian government says: “And these safaris are blatantly exploitative: most Jarawa people have no desire to have contact with outsiders. But the tours don't just threaten the tribe's privacy; they threaten its very survival.”
These tourists, along with their cameras and pervert mindsets, also bring infections that the tribe is vulnerable. They also bring gluttony, violence and carnal desires.
Despite the cheer felt after the official announcement that the tribes population had increased to 407, it is controversies relating to the exploitation of the endangered Jarawa tribes that create ripples in the civil society.
Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Mahadeo Singh Khandela said, "The present population of endangered Jarawa tribe is 407... and there is no intervention in cultural life of the Jarawas and they are left to develop according to their own genius and at their own pace."
Despite the slight rise in population, the fact is that the Jarawas, the primitive inhabitants of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, are on the verge of extinction.  These people live in the lush forests of the island, and are not much exposed to the mainstream society. They even today live by hunting and continue with their traditional way of life.
According to recent reports, the controversial human safaris in the Andaman Islands are continuing unabated despite a ban. It may be remembered that there was an international outrage when a video clipping that showed the commercial exploitation of the Jarawa tribes to promote tourism appeared in the press in January. The video showed Jarawa women dancing half naked in front of the tourists in return for food.
The Indian government banned the human safaris following the outcry against it from different corners and ordered a probe into the issue. The Supreme Court of India banned any kind of tourism activity near their habitat.
But notwithstanding the ban, the inhuman act is unabated, say latest reports. It is said that the local administration has bowed down to the lobbying from the tourism industry. The safari, using the Andaman Trunk Road that cuts through the heartland of the Jarawa habitat, is increasing day by day, according to the latest reports.
It is time to respond. It’s time to speak up. Please pray for the endangered tribesmen and do something about this safaris!