Puttur: Dalits Demand Release of Encroached Land – Officials Act Immediately

Puttur: Dalits Demand Release of Encroached Land – Officials Act Immediately

Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (SP) Puttur, May 21: Dalits from nearby villagers held a protest programme at Kadaba in the taluk on Friday May 20, in protest against the failure of the revenue department to drive away encroachers from 20 acres of government land located in Aittoor and Nekkiladi villages, which have been earmarked for distribution among the dalits. The revenue department, which swung into action in the evening, announced that it had wrested back government land from six of the encroachers. The protest was led by Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Ambedkar). The protestors said that six persons from Aittoor and three from Nekkiladi village had encroached upon 20 acres of government land, and the incessant demand for their eviction over the years had not been met by the department. They demanded steps against the taluk tahsildar for his failure to take back the encroached land and hand the same over to the dalits. The protestors also accused MLA Angara, who got elected from Sullia, a constituency reserved for scheduled communities, of becoming a puppet in the hands of upper classes of the society and rich people, and thereby ignoring the interests of the dalits. When deputy tahsildar, Vishwanath Poojary, approached the protestors and assured them to convey their grievances to higher officials, the protestors refused to budge. They demanded for the presence of assistant commissioner. At around 3 pm, assistant commissioner, Harish Kumar, came to the spot, and promised them to recover the land in question within a week. Dalit Sangharsh Samiti Dakshina Kannada district president, S P Anand, organizing convener, Sanjeev, Dalit Seva Samiti district president, B K Sheshappa, and a number of other dalit leaders had participated in the protest, along with local people. The revenue department, in an operation undertaken on Friday evening, announced that it succeeded in taking back government land from six encroachers. They said that out of the balance three, one case is pending in the court, whereas in two other cases, they are unable to evict the encroachers, as residential houses are located in the sites encroached by these families.

'Distribute land to landless Dalits'

Dalit leaders to participate in the protest meet to be held today

'Distribute land to landless Dalits'

N R Pura, August 1, DHNS:

The day and night protest, which was started by the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti in front of the Tahislidar's Office in N R Pura continued on Sunday.

The Samiti members demand that all encroached land belonging to Dalits should be reclaimed and land should be distributed to landless Dalits. Speaking to Deccan Herald, DSS District Organising Convener Vasantha Kumar said that 12 acres out of 49 acres of land bearing survey number 19 in Balekoppa village in the taluk was sanctioned for Pourakarmikas in 1984. The Samiti has no intention of vacating those Pourakarmikas from the land. Instead, let the authorities distribute the remaining land to Dalits, he added. The ‘Akrama - Sakrama’ scheme under Form 50-53 came into existence in 1991. Those Pourakarmikas were cultivating the land even before 1991. However, the MLA is providing erroneous information regarding the issue, he alleged. The day and night protest has no political backing. The downtrodden section of the society have become scapegoats due to the fight between political parties. Though Dalits are holding day and night protest, none of the people’s representatives or political leaders visited the spot atleast for the sake of formality, he lamented. Protest meet today Kumar said that a protest meet will be organised in front of the Taluk Office on August 2. A protest rally will commence from Bastimata. Dalit leaders from all taluks in the district and from the State committee will participate in the protest. The day and night protest will continue till Deputy Commissioner visit the spot to listen their grievance, he added. Alternative land “Alternative land with all facilities will be provided to Dalits, if the DSS come forward for a dialogue after stopping the protest,” said MLA D N Jeevaraj. Addressing a press conference, Jeevaraj alleged that a JD(S) leader, who was a Zilla Panchayat member from Janatha Party in 1984, was responsible for the issue. “The land in Balekoppa village, where poor families were residing even before 1984, was sanctioned for Pourakarmikas without considering the facts. It is ironic that the JD(S) leaders, who created the problem themselves are supporting the protestors,” he added. Those 22 poor families, who were settled in Balekoppa village, will not be vacated from their land at any cost. Those families have already submitted Forms 50-53 under Akrama - Sakrama scheme, he added. The Revenue Department as well as the Survey Department have submitted reports to the government stating that Pourakarmikas are not residing in the land. Moreover, there is no boundary marks with regard to land sanctioned to Dalits, he said. “Though six Pourakarmika families had agreed to accept alternative land, JD(S) is trying to misguide Dalits. Alternative land and all basic facilities will be provided to Dalits, if they put an end to their protest. Cases under Section 107 of IPC were registered in view of law and order situation and there is no other intention in it. JD(S) will be responsible if any untoward incident takes place,” Jeevaraj asserted.

Chengara, Kerala - land grab, Adivasis, and peasant struggle - A citizens’ report

December 4, 2007

This is a report from a Solidarity Team which went to Chengara, Pathnamtitta district, Kerala, to investigate the struggle of Adivasis and Dalits, going on for the last four months (August - December, 2007). One more among the many struggles peasants all over India are engaged in to rightfully claim land or to defend their meagre land-holdings aginst the encrochment of big national or multinational capital. It is happening in states governed by “left” parties, as well as those ruled currently by the Congress or by BJP. The fundamental issue is the same, everywhere. Contact informaton for some of the members of the Solidarity Team could be provided, if requested.

Click here for a compilation of mainstream media news items on Chengara [PDF, English, 400KB] »

Hari Sharma for SANSAD. News items compiled by Greenyouth

A Report on Chengara Land Struggle in Kerala - Peoples’ Movements Solidarity Team

08 November 2007 to 11 November 2007

Chengara speaks to India through the Chengara Pledge. It is the pledge of thousands of people, struggling for the last 120 days in Chengara Harrison Malayalam Estate, (also called as Laha Estate) seeking ownership of cultivable land to all 5,000 families there.

Chengara Pledge: As Recited by Soumya Babu, an 11 Year old Girl who said she will go to school only after she gets land

I love my country. I will try to learn about the Constitution and laws of my country. I will work for fulfilling the pristine objective of the Constitution. I will take part in the nation building process in my own way. I will not discriminate against any Indian on the basis of religion or caste. I understand us as owners of a great tradition as well as protectors of a great democracy.

Country for the people (/Janangalkku Vendi Raashtram)/ People for the country /(Raashtrathuinuven di Janangal)/

Land struggle in Chengara, Pathnamtitta district, Kerala by landless Dalits and Adviasis (as well as scores of families from OBC communities, Muslims etc) from all parts of Kerala, started on 4 August 2007. The movement is a fight to re-claim ownership of land that has been part of a long standing promise of the Government. At present nearly 5000 families, more than 20,000 people, have entered the Harrison Malayalam Private Ltd Estate, living in makeshift arrangements. The Chengara Land struggle demands permanent ownership of agricultural land through transfer of ownership from the Harrison Company to the Dalits and Adivasis. The Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi (SJVSV), the collective that leads the struggle, has opted for the land take-over as strategy remembering the tradition of the great leader Ayyankali, the militant dalit leader whose mission was to ensure liberation of dalits from various forms of slavery, right to agricultural land, as well as right to education in Kerala.

The movement salutes Ayyankali and Ambedkar whose role in rights movements in Kerala is disproportionately highlighted in the modern social literature on Kerala. Raising the names of Ayyankali and Ambedkar as sources of inspiration is a political challenge to the mainstream political left parties. There is a widespread popular belief in Kerala that the official left were the sole forces which ensured rights to Dalits, including land rights. Such misrepresentations are now globalised through some academic works as well.

The movement has till now survived attacks, threats, epidemics and hunger.

The families have been staying there; facing threats from local communist party (Marxist) members as well as workers of the estate. The rubber trees in the estate have become too old for tapping. However the allegation is that the land struggle affects plantation activities. Harrison’s continued possession of land even after the land lease exhausted in 1996 itself is illegal. So is the case of immediate take over of land held in excess to the 1048 acres of land originally earmarked for Harrison Company. (According to laha Gopalan, President of the SJVSJ, the company got the land for lease for 99 years from a family to whom the local landlord had given for 34 years of lease for banana cultivation. This agreement was said to have been breeched when this family gave the land to the Harissons Company for 99 years.) The excess land occupied is expected to the tune of 6000 hectares

The Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi (SJVSV) is a radical departure in people’s initiative to attain land rights. It exposes the socio-cultural reasons for landlessness among dalits and adivasis in Kerala. It says that 85% of the landless in Kerala are the Dalits, and Adviasis, who were also traditionally excluded from attaining wealth, power, titles and assets. Various governments set up by different coalitions failed to address this social reality and avoided to eradicate it as priority. The SJVSV says that dalits and adivasis live in extremely uninhabitable slum like situations in Kerala. According to SJVSV there are 12,500 dalit colonies and 4083 adivasi colonies where tens of thousands of families live with extreme lack of basic amenities - facing civil, political, economic and cultural rights violations.

This condition - together with that of families living in temporary hutments, pavements, and the homeless - was excluded from Kerala’s social reality by the high tide of recent discussions on Kerala’s world renowned achievements in the field of social development. Landlessness continues after a poorly formulated land reform Act (implemented after fifteen years after its creation) was implemented in 1972. Public sphere in Kerala is abuzz with a misinformation that land question has been solved in Kerala, addressing the needs of the landless communities. The SJVSV says that dalits and adivasis could not benefit from the land reform of 1970s since its major focus was on conferring land to the tenants. In Kerala’s context the caste and cultural hierarchy, with strong oppressive segregation of these communities, did not allow them to be tenants; which is why many of them could not avail the benefits. Also, the lower rates of social membership, founding institutions etc. were essential factors which contributed to the concentration of distributed land (under the Land Reform Act) to some caste group which had developed these `abilities’. There was also the lack of a strong land rights movement from among the ranks of the dalits and adivasis.

In the present day context, common resources including land are monopolized by corporate agencies in flagrant violation of principles like ‘public trust’. Policies and laws in the past decade enabled monopolies to own land while the previous mode of relationship was in possession of land for long lease with abysmally low royalties. This was done at a time when the state had a constitutional obligation of ensuring social justice to all marginalised communities through the principle of positive discrimination, while dalits and adivasis remained landless and oppressed. To explain the situation in Kerala’s context, it is important to see that in 1972 the State government had issued a government order allotting 1,43,000 acres of land to Tatas. In comparison with this the total land distributed to thousands of families as part of land reforms was only between 3 and 4 lakh acres (as per official figures in 1966, around 10 lakh acres of land was available for distribution) . Such facts clearly indicate where the state stands when it comes to identifying the nature of land question and link it with the principle of right to live with dignity for the the dalits and adivasis. The demand for meaningful and dignified survival with sufficient area of agricultural land for dalit, adivasi communities is to be understood in this context. Together with this there is a need to examine the official understanding on the area of land required for dalit and adivasis. The earlier land rights movements in the 1990s have described how the dalit adivasi families were forced to bury their beloved inside their houses in many places. Even such families are considered as landed in official records. It was also observed that many dalit, adivasi families live in plots of a cent (one cent is one-hundredth of an acre) which is much less than the U.N..Habitat estimates for healthy life in * Urban *environments. Considering that contiguity of homestead and agricultural land is an essential condition for agrarian communities in Kerala, seeking refuge under technical definition is equal to avoiding responsibilities. So the acute landlessness among dalits and adivasis becomes an immediate human rights concern in Kerala. Kerala’s land reform tells us how a state policy for land reforms overruled the objective of the Article 14 of the Indian Constitution through formulating eligibility stipulations disregarding the long standing socio-cultural segregations faced by the dalits and adivasis.

Kerala was a land of unknown land struggles till the historic land agreement in 2001 October was signed between the protesting
Dalits and Adivasis of Kerala and the State government. Since then dalit and adivasi land struggles in Kerala attained a new order of practice. First ever, large scale mass reclamation of land happened in Muthanga, which also proved that the state response to militant struggles for land rights leads to extreme forms of state violence in Kerala like in other states in India. While we write this we are still unable to decide what would be the state response to such struggles in Sonbhadra ( U.P.), Rewa (M.P.) Khammam (A.P.) Kodaikanal (T.N) and many other known and unknown places where the people who for generations have tilled the lands have fallen to the ire of the state. Coming back to the Chengara Land struggle since 4 August 2007, one of the core factors that influenced the making of the struggle was the unjustifiable delay in responding to the rights of these communities by the state, in honoring the understanding between the state and the dalit-adivasi combine on distribution of fertile land as an immediate measure. Dalits and Adivasis in India are united in their experience of high forms of land alienation as well as the permanent forceful displacement from their natural habitats. Chengara explains to the world a not-so-much discussed reality in Kerala. On the other side the land struggle that has passed over one hundred days and could face an eviction through an order from the Kerala High court.

The people are facing continuous threat from the ruling left front activists - including one which is said to have appeared in the print media that the CITU proposed to evict the people engaged in the land struggle, if the police fail to do so. (Note: CITU is a trade union organization, affiliated to CPI-M.) Another critical question is how the present state government will approach the land struggle in the context of an response to the Kerala High Court which the Government needs to submit on the modalities of vacating people from Chengara estate. So the question become more of what a peoples government could do in such situations where rights movements of historically alienated and oppressed communities are in an organic struggle united to defend their human rights. Also, how the law of the land could adopt a new turn to defend the peoples demand rather than branding the struggles as mere illegal, violent and anti-state militancy.

Another important factor is that how Chengara land struggle is understood in the Kerala society, considering the fact that the origin of this is connected to the historical struggle which Ayyankali had led in 1907 demanding cultivable land to landless dalits and adivasis, and also to the dalit land rights movement of 1990s. While encoding these historical influences as major factors, it is also clear that Chengara movement has espoused a new politics of defining rights and achieving them through direct action.

*Why solidarity visit.*

Chengara connects Kerala to the larger reality of land struggles across the world where landless oppressed have successfully mobilized to assert land rights. While the official, state version on these movements remained as anti-state consolidation for vested interests, such movements have realized land for people, whose generations never hand chance to own and cultivate land. Land rights movements in Brazil, many African countries and Australia have made such historic land marks. In India, as we see the right to own and preserve land as well as protect land from corporate and state-sponsored land acquisition led to death of hundreds of people, many who were killed still remain unknown. It is in this context, we see that state responses to peoples democratic rights to land become more aggressive.

The Solidarity Team had following objectives:

1. To assess the ground situation through exchanges with struggling people.

2. To discuss the politics of land movements in other parts of the country.

3. To facilitate solidarity for the Chengara movement outside Kerala.

4. To present a report concerning the demands of the struggle, factors that led to the struggle, as well as responses towards it.

The SJVSVS politics is based on few important interpretations of the national and local political and social processes in the last few decades. These processes, which the SJVSV believes have sustained the coercive and non coercive forms of exclusion faced by the dalits and adivasis in India. One of the prominent landmarks in this connection is the historic Pune Pact between Gandhi and Ambedkar, which the SJVSV believes, was coerced upon the dalit leadership in order to facilitate a fictious national trans-caste unity.

*Background*

The Chengara struggle got a lot of inspiration from the land struggles of 2001, led by a Dalit Adivasi combine. By 2001 land struggles in Kerala attained a new order of practice. First ever, large scale mass reclamation of land was marked in the history of peoples struggles. Muthanga firing in 2002 was an eye opener to the supporters of struggle movements in Kerala when it was shown that the state response to militant struggle for right to land could face extreme forms of state violence in Kerala. The chronology of events concerning the implementation of agreements reached between state and the land rights movement indicates:

Chengara explains a land question spanned in colonial and post colonial era. The welfare-ist democratic state has failed to address the illegality involved in the transfer of the land to the Harrison’s or the illegal possession of land (raised by the descendant of the original owner of the land) as cited in the Kerala High Court Judgement on 24 September 2007 . Such situations indicate the need for immediate positive obligations from the state to provide fertile agricultural land in sufficient quantities, which the families in struggle could use as asset as well as means of survival.

For any one who believes that the true function of social engagement is to expose realities and opening avenues for natural justice and Human Rights of oppressed sections, Chengara has many things to offer. At a time when the state Chief Minister has come out with an idea of second land reforms, it is important to see how the people of Kerala, the opinion makers and leaders perceive the demands raised by the Chengara movement.

The following are the observations of the Solidarity Team on what a government, with intention to defend Human Rights of oppressed communities, could do in the context of Chengara Struggle.

* No bloodshed is the first demand from all those who support the movement. This demand is very important since we have seen what land rights movements in various parts in Kerala have faced with state and non-state violence where people were killed and injured.
* Withdraw all cases against activists of the SJVSJ. The police and district administration should examine the matters regarding atrocities against the dalits and adivasis considering the interpretations of atrocity as laid down in the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
* Stop official as well as media projections of the movement as extremist and illegal. Rather the state and civil society of Kerala should declare solidarity and support to the movement so that Dalits and adivasis are freed of the historical injustice faced through generations. This is important and possible though meaningful dialogues between the communities in struggle and the state.
* Accepting the movement as a peoples movement is key to this. Such being the case there must be a halt to the efforts by the police, in the main, to portray the movement as a law and order problem. From experiences around India, such branding of peoples resistance for right to reclaim and protect land have been used as alibis for indiscriminate use of force to suppress movements.
* Since 4 August 2007, the arrests or illegal detentions are common in the area near the estate. Such acts indicate gross human rights violations including freedom of movement and freedom of assembly. Such acts of illegal detention are also alleged to be done by aggressive local cadre of the ruling party (CPI-M) misusing state power to suppress peoples movement. Subtle social boycott and denying freedom of movement result in loss of work and access to essential services for the already impoverished
families, who are thus are facing great threat. All forms of violence result to threat to life and livelihoods and so this has to be stopped at the earliest.
* In the past, due to absence of strong articulations of landless and marrginalised people about their right to own land, the state was adopting a go slow attitude to the needs. Considering that land ownership is key for all communities in Kerala to attain versatile economic and social potentials, such opportunity should be provided to the dalits and adivasis in a way they wish to materialise it.
* Considering that the movement has come up in the context of repeated indifference from various governments; the solutions should be urgent, and must consider that the right to land is a human right to marginalised communities.
* Land rights movements like Chengara are suggesting methods for meaningful elimination of landlessness. Chengara movement, quoting from the authentic data from the state as well as reputed agencies, says that there is enough land to be distributed to the landless. Such scientific options should be at the core when deciding on solutions, rather which adopting a charity or welfare approach.
* Dalits and adivasis are the people living in harmony with the land, instead of an exploitative relationship. So it becomes the natural right of these communities to have possession of the lands since they were the people who always oriented their lives in a symbiotic relationship with the land.
* Landlessness among dalits and tribals is the highest among all social groups in Kerala according to a study by the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP). Average land possession by Dalit families’ is 0.43 acres as against the state average of 0.86 acres. Reading this in the backdrop of social and cultural segregations, it is the duty of a democratic government to accept land rights by these communities as inalienable rights.
* Delay in ensuring fertile land in sufficient quantity must be looked upon as a practice of segregation and discrimination against these historically suppressed communities.

Solidarity Team Members

Bijulal M.V., Human Rights and Law Unit, Indian Social Institute. Co-Convener, Delhi Support Group for people’s movements.

Ashok Chaudhury, National Federation of Forest People and Forest workers. Forest Rights Campaigner and Organiser, Uttar Pradesh.

Prakash Louis, Director, Bihar Social Institute, works on Peasant Question in Bihar and Dalit Rights

Roma, Kaimur Kisan Mazdoor Mahila Sangharsh Samiti Activist. Working with people’s movement for land rights in Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh.

Shanta Bhattacharya, Kaimur Kisan Mazdoor Mahila Sangharsh Samiti Activist. Working with people’s movement for land rights in Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh.

Vijayan MJ, Coordinator, Delhi Forum, New Delhi,

NFDLRM Dalit Land Rights

NFDLRM: A Sincere Endeavour to Focus on Dalit Land Rights

National Federation of Dalit Land Rights Movements (NFDLRM) is a nationwide mass movement initiated by more than 250 Dalit land rights movements/ struggles/ networks/ organizations from 16 states, primarily to focus issues of land and livelihood of Dalit communities in India from 2006. It is part of the four national movements [All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (AIDMAM), Dalit Aarthik Adhikar Abhijan (DAAA), National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) and National Federation of Dalit Land Rights Movements (NFDLRM) promoted by National Campaign on

Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR).

 For French translation please click here:

Target Groups & Beneficiaries
Target Group: Dalit organizations, land rights movements, activists, media, civil society organizations, Gove ministries and departments, Human rights bodies and Courts at national, state and district level, policy makers,
people’s representatives, political parties, commissions and international bodies.

Final Beneficiaries: Dalit communities – land less poor, homeless, slum dwellers, migrant workers, displaced families agricultural workers, share croppers, small and marginal peasants, forest and fish workers, etc.

Strategy

• 
  Mobilization and networking among Dalit land rights movements and alliance building with movements of other
  marginalized communities like Adivasies, agricultural workers and small farmers and fisher folk to wage a
  common struggle to ensure land
• Documentation of the issues of land alienation ,land garbing and land lessness and related issues in the context
  of globalization and caste and its impact on Dalit land rights and dissemination of critical information to Dalits
  related to land and livelihood.
• Propose to propagate alternative Land policy that reflects the Dalit prospective.
• Capacitate youth, women and activists from among Dalit and marginalized communities to intervene on issues
• Build up NFDLRM as a strong national platform to address the issue of land rights through democratization and
  decentralization of leadership and process of mass mobilization
• Under take People based Advocacy from village to international level for the cause of Dalits right to land and
• Holding the state accountable by using legal and constitutional means to ensure land for Dalits
• To build contact with South Asian Dalit Platforms for promoting Land Struggles collectively – at the SAARC
  level. Initiate contact with land rights movements in Africa and in Europe for international solidarity and support
  for the cause of land rights for all.
• NFDLRM: The Era of Activism

• National Consultation on Dalit Land Rights, Bhubaneswar (August 2006)
• Launch of NFDLRM & National Planning Meeting, New Delhi (December 2006)
• South Zone Workshop, Villupuram (February 2007)
• East Zone Workshop, Ranchi (March 2007)
• North-West Zone Workshop, Simla (April 2007)
• National Capacitating Training, New Delhi (July 2007)
• National Consultation and Mass Dharna, New Delhi (February 2008
• National Core Committee Meeting, Goa (April 2008)
• National Core Committee Meeting, Bangalore (June 2008)

The Non-implementation of Land Reforms Policy

Dalits constitute about one fifth of total population of the country. Dalits are the caste discriminated communities in India. They are untouchables and discriminated on the basis of caste by birth. The practice of untouchability denied access to both private (rural and urban) land and community land in multi-caste villages, encouraged caste based occupation and forced labour and perpetuated organized atrocities against Dalits by upper caste. The State, with its four pillars – executive, legislative, judiciary, media & civil society is largely under-represented by Dalits, which leads to non-implementation of the constitutional mandates, laws, policies and programmes in the process of land reforms and land distribution. The state resources are being channeled to dominant castes in the name of development and privatization. Human Rights activists and organizations that have long been working on Dalits Rights increasingly felt the need for a nationwide advocacy on Dalit Economic Rights. Land, being the central to the Dalit livelihood and dignity has not been adequately addressed within Dalits Rights Movements at national level. Land is considered to be the
symbol of status, power and prestige in the caste hierarchy and it is one of the most important reasons for major caste atrocities in India. Lacks of consistent political will, bureaucratic apathy and judicial impunity combinedly made the Dalits deprive from constitutional mandates. The
social movements in the country raising the issues of displacement and livelihood rights have not linked the caste perspective since long. It is also felt that, this is because of limited representation in leadership and
decision making process, Dalits land rights issues have not received due visibility. Though few Dalit Organizations have been active in the issues of land rights, it is largely local, sporadic and disjointed. Globalization, liberalization and privatization, which paved new dynamics within caste,
livelihood and marginalization of role of the state, necessitated larger national platform to counter the prevailing onslaught.
Historically, Dalits are denied rights to land, education and political power. The social, economic and political relations are hierarchical and Dalits are in the lower ladder of the society in caste system, economically poor and politically marginalized. Land is one of the important productive assets, which is the source of life and livelihood and it is very much linked to identity, dignity, life and security of communities in India. About 80 percent of Dalit families are landless, they do not have land for housing, cultivation and cremation ground etc. Dalit families primarily depend on land for livelihood as agricultural workers, sharecroppers, small and marginal farmers. Landlessness leads to homelessness, distress migration, displacement, poverty, child labour, immoral trafficking, suicides and hunger death in many parts of the country. The democratic governments after the independence of India since 1947, have betrayed the dreams and aspirations of the freedom fighters and farmers of the modern India. The mandates of the constitution have been denied and the laws and programmes of the land reform and land distribution are not being implemented properly, rather the programmes helped the landlords and rich people mostly from dominant castes and upper class of the Indian society.
Dalits have been struggling hard against all odds, created by upper caste, state power and forces of privatization combine in the era of globalization to retain their lost dignity by accessing and developing land for a sustainable livelihood. The struggles of Dalit communities are being misinterpreted as anti-state and anti-development by upper caste & upper class ruling elites and international corporations, their struggle has also been characterized as casteist and communal. This is being done by
those who have hegemonic control over national resources like land, forest, water, minerals, education, national & statebudgets and political power. Resource less, defenseless and powerless Dalits-historically facing atrocities are loosing their lives, sources of livelihood, family and fighting against false court cases. They are sufferers and living in sub-human condition. They are forced by in jail Dharna on Dalit Land Rights in Delhi
dominant caste and state combine to work as manual scavenging, bonded labour, engaged in humiliating occupation in the name of caste based trade. The jobs like washing and cleaning, drum beating, shoe polishing, rickshaw pulling, cleaning and as domestic servants are being solely reserved for Dalit communities . Now the Indian upper castes are more powerful with international capital and state power in the name of globalization, liberalization and privatization.

In India, Dalit movements have been fighting for land rights by demanding land from respective state/ union territory governments. They are also engaged in demanding proper implementation of land reforms. But, most
state/ union territory govt. instead of giving rights of land to Dalits are denying it and giving land to industries. As we all know that it is only after independence the land rights of Dalits is recognized in our Constitution. Based on that, state/ union territory governments enacted land reforms so that Dalits get their land rights. But, this reform is never implemented seriously. Wherever Dalits attempted to access their land rights under the reform programmes, atrocities against them are committed. Land is one of the most important rights of Dalits as it ensures permanent livelihood & asset for us and it also remains for all our generations. Land ownership makes us feel secured and keeps us rooted. Nobody can uproot us if we have our own land.

State Contact Person  

1. National Secretariat, Manas Jena, NGS  NFDLRM 09437060797
 New Delhi  
2. Andhra Pradesh K. Vinay Kumar  Dalit Bahujan Front 09989135989
3. Maharastra Lalit Babar  Dalit Vikash Parishad 09869441502
4. Rajasthan Satish Kumar  Centre for Dalit Rights 09414059848
5. Bihar Kapileshwar Ram  Bihar Dalit Adhikar Manch 09835257960
6.  R. Biswabandhu  Jharakhand Dalit Adikar Morcha 093043 63559
7. Karnataka Ms. P. Yashodha  Sanchaynele 09845587502
8. Orissa Kalandi Mallick  Orissa Dalit Adhikar Manch 09938618390
9. Punjab Rajesh Kumar  Punjab Dalit Human rights 09988180680
    movement.
10. Tamil Nadu C. Nicolas  Dalit Mannurimas Koottumaipo 09443241130
11. Utter Pradesh Ram Kumar  Dynamic Action Group 09412233057

12. West Bengal Sk. Ahammad Uddin Taj Mission 09434236234
13. Chhatisgarh Ms. Ajit Ekka Jana Jagruti Mancha 09300425104
14. Kerala R. Prakash IDADS 09895026178
15. Himanchal Pradesh Sukhdev Vishwapremi PCSEEH 09418425543

NFDLRM and the Land Struggle, in Some Parts of the World

http://www.ncdhr.org.in/nfdlrm/about-nfdlrm

Land, for the Feudal Lords and the Capitalists, is the ‘symbol for their socio economic status, a commodity to transact and a natural resource to exploit.’ For Dalits, the Burakus, the Minjuns, the Aborigines, the Romas, the Yozos, the Africans and the natives of Americas and Latin Americas, Land is a prime source for ‘identity, dignity, livelihood and social justice.’ Whether land was created or evolved, it was the accepted basic for the sustenance of human kind, promotion of cultures and dynasties. As history recorded, the same Land was the main reason for ‘wars and battles’ and ‘raise and fall of empires.’
According to Karl Marx, Land was nobody’s property in the primitive society and later it was owned by the community. At the emergence of Feudalism, like slaves land became the property of Kings, Chieftains and Feudal Lords. From then on, Land alienation took place and the people who lived, labored and protected the land were forced to become as Landless Laborers. Present day Capitalism and very particularly the new Liberalism narrowed down the concept on Land into a commodity for commercial operation. Land which was worshiped ‘God and Mother Earth’ was put into
market value, based on its location, the natural resources and the fertility it owns. For Dalits and other people who have mentioned earlier, Land is not an object or a commodity but it is ‘part and parcel of their life’ and ‘agriculture isthe way of their life.’ They venerate and protect land as they born, live and die in it and therefore it is a question of life, identity and dignity to them.
In the advent of democracy, the Governments formed all over the world were either supported by Feudal Lords or Capitalists and presently Companies and Transnational Corporations. This prompted maximum exploitation of Land and forced the people attached to the land to become ‘landless’, through massive eviction, displacement and migration thereby their lives became miserable in all socio, economic and political spheres. This injustice warranted the huge population of landless agricultural laborers to promote organizations and movements to involve in struggles
to assert Land for agriculture, housing, grazing and burial. All over the world, the countries whose main economic source is ‘agriculture’ brought Land reform legislations to control the resurgence of the agricultural laborers by ensuring assignment of minimum piece of land to satisfy their demands. However, since such governments are supported by the ruling class who are mainly feudal lords, rich farmers and the capitalists, they never wanted to loose their interest and ownership of land, and as a result, the Governments never cared for proper implementation
of the Land reform Legislations. This resulted in large scale struggles promoted by Peasants (those who own lands to produce for their livelihood and not for market) and agricultural laborers.
Other than NFDRLM the Land Rights Movement of Dalits, there exist many Organizations and Movements across India to pressurize the Indian Government to safeguard the concerns, interest and rights of peasants and agricultural laborers by implementing the various Land Reform Acts that are in force. They object to the new legislations that are in the offing, mainly to support the interest of the private and corporate sector in owning land. Despite such struggles the Government increasingly support interest of landlords, private and corporate sector companies which results large scale land alienation, displacement and migration. Nandigram, Singur, Chengara are some of the blatant examples. This is the same situation that prevails in many Countries of South Asia and South East Asia. Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia and Burma are the good examples where Land Rights Movements are very active. Similarly the Aborigines of Australia, the Romas in Europe, the Yozos in Yemen, the Natives of Brazil and US, Africans particularly in Kenya and Zimbabwe are in constant struggle for retrieving Land for their dignity and livelihood.
VIACAMPACINA in Europe and Asia, MST in Brazil and Novox in France are some of the leading Land Rights Movements that operate beyond their borders. 21st century commenced to witness such Movements who strengthen struggles in many parts of the world to challenge the alarming dynamics of the corporate sector which exploit land and other natural resources to maximize their business and profits. The big or rich farmers also shift their cropping pattern ‘from food based to market based’ just to increase their bank balance. If it is allowed to continue, it amounts not only
detrimental to the very existence of all these marginalized people but also horrendous to Nature and the will of God. As these Movements need to join in a single platform to declare that we have got a right ‘only to use the land for our basic living’ and equally a greater responsibility to ‘keep it in tact for the future generation.’ More so, Land is a source not only for the ‘human beings’ but also for all other ‘living beings.’ NFDRLM and all other such movements with in and outside India, have a very crucial role to play to save this planet especially the Land, with the slogan ‘Another world is
possible’ and that should be taken care of by Dalits and other discriminated people in the world, since they alone envision for a better world with equality, justice and peace.

Jai Bhim!