Dayamani Barla Biography 
Dayamani Barla is an Indian politician, tribal leader, journalist and activist from the state of Jharkhand. She is a very successful journalist winning many awards in the field of journalism. As a tribal leader she is best known for opposing Arcelor Mittal's steel plant in Eastern Jharkhand, thus protecting many tribal homes and people. According to Barla, that would displace forty tribal villages. As a politician she is affiliated to Aam Aadmi Party, who unsuccessfully contested 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Khunti Lok Sabha Constituency. She is continuing her activities as a tribal activist for Jharkhand people and serves as National President of Indian Social Action Forum INSAF.
Dayamani Barla was born into an Adivasi family of Jharkhand state. She belongs to the Munda tribe. Her father was illiterate who was cheated out of his property, because he could not read. Lost their land, her parents worked in two different cities to support their family and children. Barla continued with her studies and also worked in farms. She did her higher secondary education in Ranchi and worked as a maid to support her studies and financial aids. She used to sleep in railway stations then.
As a journalist she brought out the problems faced by Munda people and other tribal communities in the Jharkhand region. She worked as a journalist in Prabhat Khabar daily through which she published her columns. She also runs a tea shop which mainly aimed to provide a discussion forum for social issues. She won the Counter Media Award for Rural Journalism in 2000 and the National Foundation for India Fellowship in 2004. She also received Ellen L. Lutz Indigenous Rights Award in 2013.
Published: February 27, 2019
Updated: February 27, 2019
