Author: M.G. Radhakrishnan
Publication: India Today
Date: December 17, 2007
Introduction: As CPI(M) cadres and tribals
clash over land in a sleepy hamlet in the state's Munnar hills, there are
fears that Kerala may witness another Nandigram
The original architects of land reforms in
the country are now turning out to be one of the finest practitioners of land
grab. One of the most picturesque spots in God's own country is witnessing
an ugly showdown between a group of tribals and CPI(M) cadres, triggered by
a heated dispute over land. Chinnakanal village near Munnar, a hill station,
is now being referred to as a Nandigram-inthe- making. The disputed land is
much sought after by real estate sharks and the hotel industry, thanks to
the tourism boom. It was in the tea and cardamom plantations-filled Munnar
hills-once a summer retreat of British colonial officials-where the Left Democratic
Front (LDF) Government had recently held a massive drive against encroachers
demolishing scores of unauthorised resorts.
Since November 23, more than 150 tribal families
including women and children have been laying siege to parts of 1,500 acres
in Chinnakanal, which had been leased out to Hindustan Newsprint Limited,
a central public sector undertaking. The siege is a part of the landless tribals'
struggle against the failure of the state government to fulfill its four-year-old
promise of giving them land even after being issued title deeds.
But on November 26, scores of local CPI(M)
workers entered and fenced the area claiming it as their own and planted red
flags all around. "CPI(M) workers terrorised and drove us off so that
they could sell the high-value land to the resort lobby," says Valsa,
a leader of the Adivasi Punaradhivasa Samrakshana Samithi (APSS), which is
leading the struggle. Following CPI(M), local Congress and CPI workers too
entered the area and marked their own "liberated zones", pushing
the tribals to the margins. As they withdrew without much resistance, violence
was averted but the workers withdrew from the area only after the state government
put pressure on them to leave.
It was in 2003 that following a tribal agitation,
the United Democratic Front (UDF) government allotted an acre of land each
in Chinnakanal to more than 700 tribal families. However even after four years,
only 540 families have received land. The remaining families have now decided
to fight for their rights. They had launched an indefinite hunger strike in
September but called it off after Minister for SC/ST Welfare A.K. Balan assured
them that they would get their land in a month's time. When this promise too
was not fulfilled, the tribals forcibly took over the land and set up the
hutments.
UDF is now planning to exploit the issue for
political gains. Led by Opposition leader Oomen Chandy, Congress workers uprooted
CPI(M) flags and fences in Chinnakanal. "CPI(M) is trying to convert
Chinnakanal into another Nandigram," he said. CPI(M), however, pooh-poohs
his postures. "It was the UDF government which promised them land. Why
didn't Chandy, who was chief minister until 18 months ago, not do anything
to carry out the promise?" snipes Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.
Chinnakanal is not the first village in Kerala
which has seen forced takeover of land by tribals. According to experts, majority
of tribals and dalits are still landless despite the fact that the country's
most comprehensive land reforms since 1964 have taken place in Kerala. The
encroachments have mostly occurred in plantations which had been exempt from
land reforms. Since August, 20,000 tribals have grabbed land and set up their
hutments in the Chengara rubber estates in Pathanamthitta district owned by
Harrisons Malayalam Plantations, the largest private land holding company
in the state. "They have to shoot us down before they evict us from here,"
says Laha Gopalan, a tribal leader. In Kannur, hundreds of tribals have forcibly
settled down in Aralam, a government-owned farm. The disputes do not look
likely to end anytime soon since the state government too is hesitant to act
on it, lest it become another Nandigram.
