Chamrajnagar District
Dalits regain 642 Acres of Land
This is not a story. It happened only last week. Newspapers in Mysore have published it yesterday. But it can be made into a Movie. Such is the saga of success of REDS, Dalit Panchayats and the Booshakthi Vedike in Karnataka.
"If you proceed any further we shall shoot you" The Range Forest Officer laid his hands on the gun in his hip.
"If you have the guts, shoot us here and now. We are prepared for anything" Sunder Raj, with 150 Dalits solidly behind him bared his chest.
Sunder Raj is the Coordinator of the Booshakthi Vedike of REDS in Southern Karnataka. The Dalit people won the battle and regained 642 acres of land. Unimaginable only 18 months ago. They did not realize their dormant strength till they formed a Dalit Panchayat in their village in 2008.
This is not from the familiar pages of history of the Dalit people of Tumkur District. This is a leaf taken from Tumkur but enacted in Chamrajnagar District of the former Mysore kingdom, hundreds of kms away from Tumkur. Distance does not prevent inspiration.
The centre stage of this marvelous achievement and success is the Dalit people of Halukere Agrahara village in Gowdihalli hobli of Chamrajnagar District. The village falls in the Forest territory of BR Hills. However, in 1959 the Revenue Department of the then Mysore District applied to the Forest Department to release 642 acres of land for distribution to the people for agricultural purposes. This was done.
In 1963 the Government granted 500 acres of land to 100 Dalit families of Halukere Agrahara village giving 5 acres of land to each Dalit family and setting aside 142 acres as common land for construction of houses and other daily use.
From the time the land was granted the Forest Department managed to prevent the Dalits from cultivating in the land claiming the land as their property.
In 2008 Dalit Panchayat was formed in this village by the Booshakthi Vedike of REDS, who have now spread their wings into twelve other Districts of Karnataka. One of the first issues in the training of the Dalit Panchayat was land.
"Oh, yes. We were given five acres of land decades ago. But we were never allowed to take possession of it. What can your Dalit Panchayat do about it?" One old man remarked rather sarcastically.
"Please correct your language grandfather. It is not my Dalit Panchayat, it is yours. We did not make you lose the land. You have lost it. Now let us all together find a way to recover our land"
Many meetings and discussions passed till finally the Dalit Panchayat decided to take it up as a big struggle. Examples of how the Dalits of Tumkur District we recovering land in thousands of acres were dished out to them in multiple flavours. It took a year and a month for the people to come to a firm decision. In their monthly meeting of September they decided to enter and occupy their land. 25 October 2009 was fixed as the possession day.
All the 100 families walked 10 kms into the forest to take possession of their land. This plot of land was chosen by the government as it was fertile and even land in which cultivation could take place. People did not mind the distance.
When people reached their land they found an army of officers. In good times, when they needed help they would never find these officers together. But today they were all there with also 30 forest guards. They were there to prevent the Dalit people from entering their land. The bureaucrats did not anticipate the determination of the people.
"It is our land and who are you to prevent us from entering our land?" The first bomb from the people numbed the frontal nerves of the bureaucrats. This was Boraiah, the Rage Forest Officer. Holding his paraphernalia behind was Sreedhar, the Assistant Conservator of Forest, Nagendra the Forester and Ahmad, another Forester. The guards had by then surrounded the people.
They asked the people to sit down and discuss issues. Dalit people have never been against dialogues. But they also told them in firm terms that they will plough their land come what may. Then the bureaucrats told them to come another day, when they would also bring the District Forest Officer, Mishra and after talking to him they would allow them to plough the land.
People agreed to it and went once again on the appointed day to plough their land. But they had prepared their weapons carefully in the meantime. One of the weapons was the 1978 Act that says people living in the forest are entitled to the land they cultivate even if the land belongs to the Forest Department. Another weapon was the judgment of the Supreme Court of India in 1991 in a similar case that land should be given to the tillers.
Another powerful weapon was the recent Bill of the Karnataka Government in 2006 which identified five District in the State and asked the Forest Department not to prevent people from cultivating their land even if their land happened to be inside the forest. When all these weapons were laid bare in front of them, the officers became alert, not afraid really as they had weapons that could pierce the body of the people. People had only weapons that could pierce right thinking people's mind.
On 05 November 2009 the people once again set out to plough their land. People informed the Forest Department to bring Mishra on the scene as they were going to plough the land. Mishra was not to be seen. All other forest officers were standing on the way of the people. When people tried to march forward with Sunder Raj in front, the Forest officer drew his gun, the real gun that can kill. The guards immediately took position with their weapons. Sunder Raj has a huge body. But the officer also discovered that his bullets would not pierce the huge courage that he had. But the people behind him took out their sickles and raised them. He had to only give orders, the guards would raze the people down like ninepins. The officer did open his mouth, "I am sorry. Let us discuss issues"
"Don't try to hoodwink us officer. You said you would come with Mishra. Where is he today?"
"I am sorry he could not come today. But I shall go and bring the Tahsildhar. He is from the Revenue Department and he can make a decision that is acceptable to you"
"Ok, go and bring him"
In the meantime Sunder Raj remembered what he heard a few time in REDS of how Jyothi hoodwinked the police once and removed fence from 33 acres of land before the police could bring the Tahsildhar. He bought time in true Jyothi's style. It worked once again. Before the Tahsildhar arrived on the scene the people cleaned up all their land. When Venkataraju, the Tahsildhar arrived on the scene people were already having lunch that they took from their homes.
Sunder Raj had taken with him a journalist and a photographer. The Tahsildhar also took with him a videographer. He also took two van loads of police with him.
Keeping all these fortifications around him the Tahsildhar sat for discussions with the people who were unarmed. He started with a plea that they should speak respectfully with the forest officers. It was a non-issue. Talking to people with gun in hands and guards all around was not disrespectful. Only words became issues.
Dalit people informed the Tahsildhar very clearly that there were within their legitimate right to cultivate the land.
"What legitimate right are you talking about? The land belongs to the Forest Department and you are trying to occupy it" The Tahsildhar had clearly overstepped on the people. He did not anticipate that they were fully armed, with the documents of his own department. They even threw before him the receipt of land tax they had paid this year for the same land. This made him look naked. He was completely embarrassed.
He withdrew. Promised to bring the DC, District Collector, for talks. The people gave time. They are the epitome of patience and resilience. One week passed. The Collector did not come. When asked the Tahsildhar said he would bring also the SP (Superintendent of Police) with the DC the next week. Right in front of the people he spoke to the SP and gave 28 November as the day for talks.
It was only much later that the people realized that it was Bakrid on 28 November and they were hoodwinked once again by the officers. But they decided to go ahead with possession of land on 28 November and started the March to the land once again in the morning.
This time the bureaucrats had assembled in large number with much bigger weapons. They had also alerted officers from the neighboring forests and more officers were there to prevent the people from taking possession of their own land. They stood all around the people threatening to shoot them any time. The people also took out their sickles and stood firm.
"If you prevent us from entering our land today, we may die, but be sure that the whole of Karnataka will start burning because you kill the Dalits. What we are claiming is our land and not your land. The land does not belong to your department. Just give us the way. Stand aside, you officer"
He did not anticipate such courage from Sunder Raj.
Once again he apologized and informed the people that all big officers were coming for talks that day itself. The people waited. It was nothing new to them.
It was an army of officers, all top fellows. The DC, Manoj Kumar Meena was stunned to hear the name of Jyothi and Raj and REDS from Sunder Raj. He was an officer in Tumkur and knows both of them well. Mishra, the District Forest Officer was there. The SP was there. But above all, the Member of the Parliament whom people had elected to serve them was also there. People now knew that the array of officers were in jitters. They were looking at their pants.
The Dalit Panchayat welcomed all the top officers and their MP. Sunder Raj gave a brief history of the struggle.
Manoj Kumar Meena said that the Forest Department took away the land as people were not using the land for many years. It was unfortunate that he started his intervention with a blatant lie.
"Hello, Meena, you are an IAS educated thief. You have come here to tell a lie and misguide our MP. You are an anti-Dalit officer" That was one of the loudest bombs that could be heard in the whole of Chamrajnagar District. It silenced the DC with immediate effect. He did not open his mouth thereafter.
People turned their attention to the MP and started challenging him left and right. Sunder Raj intervened and asked Meena, "The officers are saying that this is the thickest forest. Please define what 'thickest forest' means"
Manoj Kumar Meena did not know it and he turned to Mishra. In order to save the embarrassment, the MP asked the officers to give him all the documents that they were in possession. They provided a letter supposedly sent to the people saying that they did not have a right over the said land.
The MP turned to Sunder Raj and told him that there was a letter that was sent to all people.
"Ask them to show at least one receipt that will show to you that any of the people received the letter. How did they send the letter? Is it difficult for the officers to forge a letter and keep it in their file? How many such letters do you want me to show to you in the government departments?" Sunder could not be bowled.
Mishra showed to the MP the law book of 2002 which had a Bill that allowed the Reserve Range Forest Office to bring to the notice of the Government the land they wanted to acquire, get approval from the government and pay compensation before actually taking possession of the land. The MP turned once again to Sunder wondering what bomb he would unleash now.
Sunder asked the MP to ask the Forest Officer to show if they had proceeded according to what was laid in the Bill. He turned to the people and said, "All of you show to our MP Anna (elder brother) the government grant document and your latest ownership certificate (RTC). They all drew out their documents and showed it to the MP. People floored their elected representative in the forest.
He joined the league of the people. He started chiding the officers for being anti-people.
Mishra at this time turned to his mischief once again. He told the MP that he had to inform the government and that he needed time. Things became hot once again. There was no dearth of arguments, heated arguments of course. Then he started pleading with the MP that they would find land in another place for the people. It was evident that the officer was bent on not giving land to the Dalits.
"If we are given land, who will wash their ars, Anna? You must understand that they do not want us, Dalits to have land. That is the central issue. We shall not agree to this. We want the land for which we are the legitimate owners.
Mishra took out a survey map of the forest at this point of time and said that they would survey the whole land and leave out the land of the people after completing the survey.
Though it was once more a ploy by the wily fellow, it was important that the land was surveyed even for the benefit of the Dalit people. There was no boundary for each one. It was a huge stretch of 500 acres of land. And here was he to do it all free for the Dalits. The whole village agreed to it. But with a strong condition! There has to be a team to supervise the survey operations by the Forest Department and that the survey should be completed in one month.
The supervising team has been set up with three members of the local Dalit Panchayat, Sunder Raj, the Assistant Commissioner and the MP himself. The meeting ended with a stern warning that it will become an international Dalit Rights issue if there was any more cheating by the officers.
Dalit people are now freely going into their land when they want with the proud realization that if they bare their chest with courage and confidence even millions of caste guns would fall silent.
The REDS TEAM and Booshakthi Vedike
--
M C Raj
REDS, REDS Road
Shanthinagar
Tumkur 572102
Karnataka, India
Phone: ++91-816-2277026
Fax: ++91-816-2272515
Mobile: ++9845144893
Email for electoral reforms: ceri.reds@gmail.com
Email for REDS: jyothi.dalitreds@gmail.com
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