* Support pours in for agitating Dalits in Chengara* *Pioneer News Service | Kannur* Various Adivasi outfits have decided to take up the cause of the people of Adivasi, Dalit and other socio-economically weaker sections, who are agitating in the hills of Chengara, Pathanamthitta, for land and livelihood.
As suspicion is being aired by various quarters that a police action is possible for evicting the agitators from the Chengara estate, where they are staying in temporary shelters, plans are on to resist any move from the side of the Government. The first and strongest indication of this solidification of support for the Chengara agitators has come from Adivasi Rashtriya Mahasabha general secretary M Geethanandan who stated in Kannur that the LDF Government led by VS Achuthanandan would not be able to continue in power once a Muthanga model action was carried out in Chengara. Hundreds of policemen had barged into the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary on February 19, 2003 to evict the Adivasis agitating there for land and the action had resulted in the death of Jogi, an Adivasi and Vinodkumar, a police constable and injury to scores of Adivasis. Adivasi and rights activists have been complaining that the LDF, which had opposed the police action in Muthanga during the rule of the UDF, is following the same policy as that of the UDF against Adivasis after it came to power. Chief Minister Achuthanandan had even climbed the Muthanaga hills to accuse the then AK Antony Government of burying several Adivasis using earthmoving machines there. However, at a meeting two weeks ago with the representatives of the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Smayuktha Samithi, which is spearheading the Chengara struggle, the Chief Minister had allegedly threatened the agitators that they would have to meet "police with tusks and claws" if they persisted in the struggle. Geethanandan said that the Chengara issue also needed a package on the lines of the one implemented by the former UDF regime and this alone was the way to end the agitation. He also said the functions of the land bank, an initiative launched recently by the Government, should be organised in such a way that it should help the Adivasis and Dalits to get land. Geethanandan pointed out that the provisions of the existing Land Reforms Act were not beneficial to the Adivasis, Dalits and other landless people. He said only 26,000 families had received land in the past 35 years. The Rashtriya Mahasabha leader said that the Land Reforms Committee formed by the various Scheduled Catse-Scheduled Tribe organisations intended to demand that the Chengara agitators should not be evicted from the estate where they are holding their stir and distribution of cultivable land to the Adivasis, Dalits and other landless people. The committee would hold a leadership meet in Kottayam soon, he said. Geethanandan demanded a package for distributing cultivable land among the Dalits like the one on the mines of that announced for the landless Adivasis. "The agitators of Chengara are demanding that the argument that three cents of land would suffice for Adivasis should be ended and sufficient agricultural land should be given to them. A package can be formed if the confiscated land invested in the land bank could be utilised for the rehabilitation of these people," Geethanandan said. He pointed out that the LDF Government, which had earmarked Rs 10 crore in the Budget for the land bank, had declared that it would retrieve one lakh acres of grabbed land and so a phase of land distribution would not be difficult. He also asked the Government to honour the High Court order that Adivasis should be given sufficient land. The Kerala High Court had recently given three months' time (from March 1) for evicting the agitators from the estate in Chengara which, according to the Government, was part of the land leased out to Harrison Malayalam Plantations Limited. The police had earlier failed to comply with a court order to evict them before March 7 last following the protest. More than 10,000 Adivasis, Dalits and others have been on agitation in Chengara since August 4, 2007 demanding land. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality." - Dr BR Ambedkar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
