Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan In Madhya Pradesh Demands Distributive Justice In Land Rights
By National Confederation of Dalit Adivasi Organisations
09 May, 2016
Countercurrents.org
Thousand of Dalits Adivasi of Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan, a movement of landless Dalits Adivasis promoted by National Confederation of Dalit Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) met the district administration of Umriya district in Madhya Pradesh on 3rd March and demanded five acres of land for every rural landless Dalit and Adivasi family. Thousands of Dalit and Adivasi leaders from interior pockets of Umriya district participated in this march to assert their rights over land. On this day, the leaders of Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan pledged to continue their struggle to fulfil their vision that every Dalit and Adivasi household will have cultivable land.
Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan which has been advocating on on distributive justice for land rights and building the capacity of organisations, strengthening the federation of the organisation and movement and Dalit groups for land rights, dignity, food ,nutrition and habitat security for Dalits and Indigenous communities. Bhoomi Adhikar Yatras are being organised across the state of Madhya Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh, Yatra started from Rewa on January 1, 2013 where land statistics that show that 60% land is owned by 10% and 30 percent of people do not have land for burying their dead. The movement has generated impact. Even World Bank is now cognizant of the issue recommending for addressing the issue of distributive justice for land rights for removing the inequity. NACDAOR believe that15-20% wasteland could be given to landless among Dalits and believes that results for land rights movements would be visible in five-seven years if the issues were raised sustainably. The NACDAOR executive committee decided for land rights expecting results in 5-7 years. The organisation has been working for Dalits who are victims of usurpation and victimisation in the Land title related cases. NACDAOR believes that Centre would not require having food security programmes if all the landless were to be given land.
The movement has generated leaders and there are leaders’ like Sanjay Bhai and Chotulal Kol. In four year, 5 acre land has become a national slogan of Dalits. Now, people have been greeting each other with Jai Bheem Panch Acre Zameen. The special feature of this Yatra is that it is completely locally supported -non sponsored and non-supported Yatra. Bhoomi Adhikar Yatra in 2013 covered 800 villages-1200 villages. The slogan of Jai Bheem,Paanch Acre has been resonating across the villages. The campaign has generated many women leaders. Now, there are women leaders taking the movement to a new level of stridency. Interestingly, the land rights movement organised Dalit Mahasabha is raising issues related to education, nutrition, food security as well. Shiksha Adhikar Yaatra was also organised during the process with data collection on critical queries related to education, health and livelihoods.
Ram Prashad one of the leaders of Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan reveals that a series of public Actions have been planned by Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan to create pressure upon government for realising of The Sustainable Development Goal no 17 says about protection and sustainable management of land. Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan believes that transferring the land ownership to Dalit and Adivasi would contribute to reduce poverty, resource inequality and would ensure dignity to Dalits. It demands that the government should demonstrate their willingness to uplift Dalits and Adivasis out of poverty by ensuring land to landless Dalits. State as the eminent domain should exercise its responsibility of arresting the growing inequality in the country. It should take away the surplus land from landlords and religious institutions having huge acres of land and should give it to landless people in the country for reducing poverty in rural India.
Redistribution of land among Dalits and Adivasi is inevitable as Adivasis and Dalits are the most deprived among rural households in India suffer from multiple forms of deprivation due to landlessness. According to the results of the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011, nearly 79 per cent of rural Adivasi households are considered “deprived”. This is higher than the 61 per cent for all rural households, the 55 per cent for non-SC/STs, and the 73 per cent for Dalits. Despite being a large chunk of India's population, Dalit are 16.6% and Adivasis are 8.6%, more than half continue to remain landless. It has been 68 years since India's independence, the economy has boomed, urban areas have developed but Dalits and Adivasis continue to live in turmoil. Although Dalits constitute a strong 16.6% of the total population, they own only 8 per cent of land assets. Their social and economic situation still remains weak as a large number of them work as agricultural labourers, depending on wages that are not even sufficient for their household expenses.
In this backdrop, Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan is considering a combination of strategies needs to be taken up for realisation of the rights to land for all who have been historically forced to remain landless due to application of Varnashram based restrictions. It is committed to fight for the land rights of Dalits and Adivasis in India and demands redistribution of land resources in the country. Considering the importance of land resources as renewable resource for food and nutrition security, shelter and dignity for historically marginalised and oppressed Dalits and such other marginalised groups and nomadic tribes , NACDAOR has been adopting best strategies out of the following which are necessary for realizing land rights for historically and contemporarily marginalised among Dalits.
1. Accelerated advocacy for computerization of records: Land records computerization would enable availability of data based on ownership of land. This would enable all access to land ownerships in order to have better decisions on redistribution.
2. Redistribution of surplus land: Implementation for land reform need to be done with the facilitation of land rights appeals and its sustained follow up with the assistance of civil society organisations , since land less Dalits are not empowered for taking up the application process and following up sustainably.
3. Integrating Land Right of Dalits in the national agenda of Action: Civil society network need to continue the movement through diverse networks and independently in order to realize the vision of land rights for all.
4. Formation of Women led groups for land rights: Considering the migration of men’s folk in search of livelihoods from among Dalit household, it is important to form women led group for working with government structures at the lower level responsible for implementation of land reforms.
5. Making Ownership of Land by Dalits integral to food, nutrition and renewable energy security: Considering the sustainability challenges for non renewable resource based livelihoods in the urban areas, it is important to ensure land rights for all in order to secure nutrition and food security through agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry which is possible through land entitlements.
6. Created limited stake in Forest Areas for land less living in the Forest Areas: Forest village where tribes and Dalits are should have access to cultivable land in order to grow food and nutrition for all. C
7. Food and Nutrition Cooperatives of Dalits and Adivasies across the religions: Cooperative movement has benefitted many but this movement needs to deepen its impact for small produce of the forest and most importantly the cooperatives for food and nutrition security is needed for low population forest village and other villages where access to land for Dalits and Adivasis remains a challenge and they have been forced to work as farm labourers for castes having larger tracts of land due to their proximity to government and their dominance in the governance structures. Lands cultivated by Dalits and Adivasis need to be granted ownership titles.
8. Community Forestry: Dalits and tribes have some rights in the community forestry. Government of Madhya Pradsesh for example has created stake for people through forming committees and created provisions for share in bamboo plantations. It is important to assess the impact on income and find out more about enhancing the same.
9. Mass Mobilization: In order to use the democratic space where votes count, mass mobilization for the desired policies and programmes in necessary and therefore this needs to pursued for realizing land redistribution goals in the favour of landless among Dalits and Tribes across the religions.
10. Political sensitisation: In order to ensure social cohesion, food security and nutrition security, it is important to sensitise to political parties on the redistribution of land for securing survival of the landless in the age of industrialization and mechanization which would not last due to limits to the reserves of non-renewable resources.
11. Communication of Post carbon futures for habitats: Communication of post carbon age habitats is important for ensuring development of vision for survival equations of the masses of landless. With the initiative for mitigating climate change, it is important to also envision post carbon future since fossil fuels would not be part of humanity endowments for all the time to come. Considering this, masses of landless would require renewable resource based survival equations and therefore, redistribution of land building renewable resource based livelihoods is the most wise strategy. Agriculture, horticulture, poultry, fisheries and cattle rearing thus remains vital means of survival for majority as was the norm before the discovery of fossil fuels.
12. Communication of Equity, identity, distributive justice for renewable resources and giving: It is important to establish the linkage for social cohesion as realized by Gandhians like Vinoba Bhave who collected donation of land from across the states of India. There is a need to re-establish the need for giving land by the state seeking progressive actions in this regard.
13. Distributive Justice for renewable resources, a national and global imperative: It is important to establish that distributive justice for renewable resources would remain the most critical demand since these are linked to survival of landless and historically marginalized. Identities are invoked due to perception of relative deprivation. It is important to understand the dynamics of invocation of identities and how these need to be managed through ensuring distributive justice for renewable resource.
14. Ecological Audit of distribution patterns: In order to let the state learn on difference between distributive justices for renewable and non-renewbale resources. Here, examining the movements for land rights, it is clear tribes and Dalits are not seeking large estates. All are seeking just enough land for feeding families and therefore state must find a way for this.
15.Politics of survival equation vs. politics of identities: It is important to orient Indian politics with the critical question of survival equations for masses of landless among Dalits and Tribes which was aimed by the Gandhians but could not be realized. Cohesive India is possible through securing survival of all rather than securing privileges for some group of people invoking some identities at the cost of deprivation of large section of society. At this stage, it is important to secure survival of landless among Dalit in the age of rampant liberalisation favouring large industrial houses .Balance has to be achieved in pursuing the inclusive and environmentally sustainable development agenda for securing justice for all in terms of securing water, food, nutrition, health, sanitation security through grant of land rights.
16. Corruption free Governance with distributive justice for land rights: It is important to secure corruption free governance recalling the ideals of independence movement in which justice was the prime concern for all social groups. Distributive justice for land could not secure due to beaucractic resistance and pro-corporate policies in some states despite land of land ceiling. Surplus land could not be distributed. Even land pooled through Bhoodan Andolan could not be distributed to all. Thus it is important to continue support for parties delivering best be corruption free inclusive governance with distributive justice and representational justice to all in business, employment and governance.
17. Integration perspective with inclusive justice and distributive justice in land ownerships: Noting the importance of invocation of identities generating conflict, it is important to support the agenda of national integration trough securing distributive justice in land ownerships at least for amount of land which is held by Dalits and Adivasis. Regularization of ownership needs to be actively considered considering movements land Bhoomi Haqq Andolan in Ahmad Nagar.
18. State as agency for redistributive justice not for capitalist accumulation creating mass distress in post carbon age with struggle for ownerships and tenancy rights: A nation like India with large population to feed needs to proactively engage with the scenarios in post carbon age when skyscraper laden urban habitats may not have means of all food, nutrition and water support. This is one the important reason for securing land rights for landless which would be critical in the post carbon age, in case, renewable energy security is not realised at the scale non-renewable energy provides for energy intensive transport systems where burning of fossil fuel is the most important source of energy generation. Land redistribution for land less securing food, nutrition and water security becomes important considering such a scenario as well. It is then important to explain this scenario to the state in order to arrest policy development where land acquisition is favored for industrial houses while distribution of surplus land and regularization of government land held by Dalits and Adivasi is not receiving attention by the successive governments.
19. Unity perspective for granting equity for all in land rights: It is important to highlight the national unity perspective through securing distribution of land among landless progressing on the laws and accelerating the distribution of land to landless.
20. Corporate Envisioning for distributive justice in post carbon age: Instruments of workshops, civil society interface with corporate and industry leaders is needed for envisioning distributive justice .Discussing the strategies for post carbon habitats with distributive justice would be enable creation of strong policy thrust for distributive justice for land.
Mr. Sukanta Chandra Behera
General Secretary
National Confederation of Dalit Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR)
M-3/22, Model Town-III, Delhi 110009 INDIA
website: www.nacdaor.org