[Goanet] The Accidental Activist - This Land is my Land
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:09:51 -0400 From: Venita Coelho venitacoe...@gmail.com Across India the burning question is - who has a right over the land? People who have lived for generations on their land, tilled it, nurtured it - or the government? Mario observes: Only in a totalitarian country would the government claim to own the land of people who have had possession of it for generations, i.e those who own the private property. Venita wrote: The Government has full right to acquire any land in the state for 'public purposes'. The problem is that the government gets to define 'public purpose' and not the public. So a minister has decided that rich agricultural fields should go and a 'playground' come in their place. The land is acquired over the protests of the people, The Cidade de Goa decides that it needs the public access to the beach for its own private five star hotel. That becomes public purpose. A power of the government meant to be used for the greater common good is used time and again to help the privileged few benefit further. The government takes land from people to give to big business and industry. Mario observes: The Cidade de Goa case was a travesty perpetrated for political reasons and should have been deemed illegal in the courts. In the US, public purpose is clearly defined by the laws of most of the states as a purpose that benefits the public, i.e. a road, bridge, or other similar public infrastructure. In these cases the land owners must be adequately compensated for their property and helped to re-settle. Public Purpose cannot involve the government taking land from one private owner to provide benefits to a another private entity even if this will benefit the local government indirectly by increasing the local tax base. If the developers want the property they must purchase it from the owners directly. Venita wrote: Above everything an even larger question looms. That of the right of man over the earth. The Bible says that God gave dominion to man over earth and all things in it. This is the attitude that the white settlers carried with them as they shot bison in the thousands on the plains of America. Divine justification is what the West righteously claimed as it gouged what it wanted from the earth, slaughtered entire species, poisoned our air, land and water. Mario responds: This is pure hyperbole magnified by myth, with all due respect, bordering on propaganda. Anyone who has visited the West would see no such poisoning of air, land or water, just the opposite. This is typically seen across India and China and Africa. What the Bible says makes simple common sense in this case, since man is the highest form of life and the one with superior intelligence. Th bison were killed for food, a few at a time, not massacred by the thousands as you seem to imply. Anyone hear of dinosaurs? Species have come and gone over the entire history of the earth, a fate that also awaits mankind some day in the distant future. The earth chugs along unaffected except in the minds of some activists who would like to impose their personal opinions on everyone else. I read a study a few years ago that north America had more trees today than when the first European settlers arrived centuries ago, in spite of all the trees cut down for building since lumber is the primary building material in north America. Why? Because common business sense dictated that the trees be replaced if the businesses that harvest timber were to survive, and they all plant more trees than they cut down. Venita wrote: This attitude towards ownership and rights over the earth is in complete contrast with the attitude of the east which has long spoken of the interconnectedness of all life. Mario responds: Oh, really? On planet Earth? Long spoken of? Perhaps. Talk has always been cheap, especially in the east. Implemented in practice? Only if one is totally delusional. India and China are the two countries most careless with their environment. Venita wrote: Red Indians laughed when the white man asked to buy their land. How could land belong to man? How could the mystery of trees and streams and fertile earth be sold? Mario responds: This explains why the Red Indian failed to survive, doesn't it? They could have charged confiscatory prices for their land and lived happily every after:-)) The right to own private property underpins the western democracies. Venita wrote: Our poor tired battered earth. We stand at the cross roads of disaster. Individual greed and government connivance are changing the face of the land across Goa. Across India people are forced to fight the destruction of their land and traditional lives. Mario responds: I got news for you, Venita. The old Earth is far more rugged than you make it out to be and is not even close to being tired, whatever that means. We puny humans can try all we want and we will
[Goanet] The Accidental Activist - This Land is my Land
The Accidental Activist - This Land is my Land By Venita Coelho A friend sent met the link on Youtube. I clicked it, not expecting much, and instead found myself watching, deeply moved, as tribals sang 'we will not leave our village. We will not leave our land.' It was a protest song that a tribal poet had written for a people that were being harassed and displaced by mining. The lyrics were simple and pointed 'were our grandfathers fools that they nurtured the land? Grew trees and worshipped the rivers?' Fathers, grandfathers, mothers, children - all sang together 'we will not leave our land. We will not leave our village.' Across India the burning question is - who has a right over the land? People who have lived for generations on their land, tilled it, nurtured it - or the government? The question is being decided in blood in several places. In Signur and Lalgarh the government has turned the might of the state against people agitating to hold onto their land. The government wants car factories, mining, SEZ's and 'progress'. The people want trees, rivers, and the right to live as they have for generations. This fight over who has right over the land is what we are seeing being played out in the villages. The community and village have existed for decades with a particular way of life. Should they not have right to define what comes up in the middle of their village? Before permission for mega housing projects, SEZ's and industrial estates is given, shouldn't the people who live there and who will bear the brunt of the land change, be consulted? The government thinks not. The Gram Sabha resolution which is the basic tool of the people has been declared non binding by the Government. Legislation has been hastily passed to wrench from village Panchayats the power to say no. The Government has full right to acquire any land in the state for 'public purposes'. The problem is that the government gets to define 'public purpose' and not the public. So a minister has decided that rich agricultural fields should go and a 'playground' come in their place. The land is acquired over the protests of the people, The Cidade de Goa decides that it needs the public access to the beach for its own private five star hotel. That becomes public purpose. A power of the government meant to be used for the greater common good is used time and again to help the privileged few benefit further. The government takes land from people to give to big business and industry. The recent report by the Auditor General on the process of land acquisition in Goa scathingly indicts the Government. It clearly states that the Government has used the process to wrongly benefit a few. The government has acquired more land in the last five years than it has in the 37 preceding years. Land officially taken for one purpose has quickly been handed over for another completely different purpose. Land acquired for public purposes has actually lain unutilized for upto 21 years. And there is no process in the system to return the land to the original owners if not used. The question of land rights is linked to land use. Who has the right to decide how the land will be used? Should the forest that sustains the water table for the entire taluka stay - or should the land be converted to mining that will turn over immediate profits for a few? Land use and abuse is finally linked to attitudes. Individual attitudes and larger attitudes driven by religion and culture. Above everything an even larger question looms. That of the right of man over the earth. The Bible says that God gave dominion to man over earth and all things in it. This is the attitude that the white settlers carried with them as they shot bison in the thousands on the plains of America. Divine justification is what the West righteously claimed as it gouged what it wanted from the earth, slaughtered entire species, poisoned our air, land and water. This attitude towards ownership and rights over the earth is in complete contrast with the attitude of the east which has long spoken of the interconnectedness of all life. Religions and cultures that the west marked as 'primitive' displayed attitudes of great sophistication to their place in the universe. They speak with awe of the land and the circle of life. Everything is Brahma. Red Indians laughed when the white man asked to buy their land. How could land belong to man? How could the mystery of trees and streams and fertile earth be sold? Our poor tired battered earth. We stand at the cross roads of disaster. Individual greed and government connivance are changing the face of the land across Goa. Across India people are forced to fight the destruction of their land and traditional lives. Across the world land is being devastation by the same emphasis on exploitation, money and 'development'. As we contemplate the disasters of global warming and
