A historical land struggle has been unfolding at Chegara in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, involving about 7500 families, which includes all sections of landless people, the majority of them being Dalits and Adivasis. Landless people have claimed land in the Chengara estate, a rubber plantation, which had been leased to the Harrison Malayalam Plantation by the government of Kerala. At present, the lease is invalid and the property has lapsed back to the government. The landless people who have flocked there from all parts of Kerala demand that this government land be redistributed to them. These marginalized people have thereby demanded a say in what must be done with government land in Kerala: given the present political and economic climate, the likelihood is that this land will be taken over by the state only to be assigned unconditionally, or with minimum conditions, to the multinationals. The struggle is now over a year old; it began on 3 August 2007, and was led by Laaha Gopalan, a leader of the Dalit organization, the Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi.
Throughout the past one year, the struggle has been conducted in a peaceful way. Also, its political gravity has been widely recognized, both in the national and international pro-democracy, pro-equity circles. This was probably why the Kerala High Court ordered the government, in March 2008, not to evict the people forcibly from Chengara. The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala however has failed to address the issues raised by the struggle in any serious way. Indeed, it has continued to espouse the position that no land remains in Kerala that may be redistributed. This, however, is a position that has been contested since long.
The present scene, however, appears more ominous. Tensions had started building earlier this month. On the first anniversary of the land struggle, which was observed on 4 August 2008, workers of the Harrison Malayalam Plantation began a road blockade that cut off food and medical supplies to people inside the plantation. In the subsequent days, unlawful detention and violence upon male and female activists by goondas have become frequent. Men going out of the plantation seeking work have been increasingly attacked and beaten up. Women have been threatened with sexual violence in overt and covert ways. Human rights’ activists were violently prevented from entering the area by the ‘goondas’ pretending as workers, in the full view of police and government officials. This incident was widely reported in the press in Kerala and revealed the complicity of state authorities with the vested interests seeking to break the back of the land struggle through unlawful means.
Starvation and illness has been reported from inside the plantation but activists have been forcibly prevented from entering. Indian Vision, a Malayalam TV Channel, reported the abduction and rape of four women activists. However, no one from outside has been allowed in to investigate. Following the reports, a protest was organized at Pathanamthitta, on 11 August by Dalit activists, Dalit women and other human rights activists, but not a single activist was allowed to proceed. The media, too, is eerily silent. The day after the protest, two women who went out for some provisions were attacked, who were rescued from abduction by the police. Importantly, this attempt to abduct happened in the full view of the police. This certainly reveals of the determination of the ‘goondas’ to make the point that police presence does not deter them.
The relative absence of outright violence, until now, is no consolation. The recent ‘goonda’ tactics are according to a blueprint of violence now familiar in Kerala-of the land mafia, which creates an atmosphere of terror instead of outright violence and brings the local community to its knees. Clearly a variant of the same is being experimented with in Chengara.
We are afraid that another kind of “Nandigram” is awaiting us at Chengara, and in the near future. This appeal comes from those who have been engaged in anti-caste and anti-patriarchal struggles in Kerala, which have grown outside formal institutions of the state. We feel that these two axes of exclusion and violence have conjoined at Chengara, both in the blockade and in the intermittent violence there.
The Current Situation:
The current situation is almost warlike leading to the starvation and severe health crisis of the people. The health situation of people at the site under these circumstances is taking a dangerous turn since the complete blockade of food, medicines and other essentials to the area have led to many, including children and aged, falling ill in the last ten days.
We urge the National Commission for Scheduled Caste to:
1.Make a spot visit by the commission at Chengara to find out the actual situation of the scheduled caste population at the plantation.
2.Recommend the Government of Kerala to conduct an impartial judicial inquiry into the allegations of rape, sexual harassment and other forms of physical violence used to intimidate the protestors.
3.Based on the recommendations, initiate necessary legal proceedings and ensure penalization of all involved in the rape of the four women and others who were kidnapped and sexually assaulted.
4.Take immediate steps to ensure the basic rights and dignity of all those who are part of the peaceful protest in Chengara.
5.Intervene and take immediate action against those responsible for the blockade and immediately restore the right to peaceful life for all the people in Chengara.
6.Ensure the immediate lifting of the blockade and sufficient supply of food, medicines and adequate health care to the protest camps
7.Initiate transparent discussions with the protestors for an amiable solution to their demands.
8.Uphold the right of people to Dalit- Adivasi and other landless families to cultivable land.
9.Take action against erring officials where there has been willful negligence on their part under section 4 of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.
10.Take effective protective measures for the victims and their families.
For Support Groups for Justice for Chengara Struggle in Delhi
Throughout the past one year, the struggle has been conducted in a peaceful way. Also, its political gravity has been widely recognized, both in the national and international pro-democracy, pro-equity circles. This was probably why the Kerala High Court ordered the government, in March 2008, not to evict the people forcibly from Chengara. The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala however has failed to address the issues raised by the struggle in any serious way. Indeed, it has continued to espouse the position that no land remains in Kerala that may be redistributed. This, however, is a position that has been contested since long.
The present scene, however, appears more ominous. Tensions had started building earlier this month. On the first anniversary of the land struggle, which was observed on 4 August 2008, workers of the Harrison Malayalam Plantation began a road blockade that cut off food and medical supplies to people inside the plantation. In the subsequent days, unlawful detention and violence upon male and female activists by goondas have become frequent. Men going out of the plantation seeking work have been increasingly attacked and beaten up. Women have been threatened with sexual violence in overt and covert ways. Human rights’ activists were violently prevented from entering the area by the ‘goondas’ pretending as workers, in the full view of police and government officials. This incident was widely reported in the press in Kerala and revealed the complicity of state authorities with the vested interests seeking to break the back of the land struggle through unlawful means.
Starvation and illness has been reported from inside the plantation but activists have been forcibly prevented from entering. Indian Vision, a Malayalam TV Channel, reported the abduction and rape of four women activists. However, no one from outside has been allowed in to investigate. Following the reports, a protest was organized at Pathanamthitta, on 11 August by Dalit activists, Dalit women and other human rights activists, but not a single activist was allowed to proceed. The media, too, is eerily silent. The day after the protest, two women who went out for some provisions were attacked, who were rescued from abduction by the police. Importantly, this attempt to abduct happened in the full view of the police. This certainly reveals of the determination of the ‘goondas’ to make the point that police presence does not deter them.
The relative absence of outright violence, until now, is no consolation. The recent ‘goonda’ tactics are according to a blueprint of violence now familiar in Kerala-of the land mafia, which creates an atmosphere of terror instead of outright violence and brings the local community to its knees. Clearly a variant of the same is being experimented with in Chengara.
We are afraid that another kind of “Nandigram” is awaiting us at Chengara, and in the near future. This appeal comes from those who have been engaged in anti-caste and anti-patriarchal struggles in Kerala, which have grown outside formal institutions of the state. We feel that these two axes of exclusion and violence have conjoined at Chengara, both in the blockade and in the intermittent violence there.
The Current Situation:
The current situation is almost warlike leading to the starvation and severe health crisis of the people. The health situation of people at the site under these circumstances is taking a dangerous turn since the complete blockade of food, medicines and other essentials to the area have led to many, including children and aged, falling ill in the last ten days.
We urge the National Commission for Scheduled Caste to:
1.Make a spot visit by the commission at Chengara to find out the actual situation of the scheduled caste population at the plantation.
2.Recommend the Government of Kerala to conduct an impartial judicial inquiry into the allegations of rape, sexual harassment and other forms of physical violence used to intimidate the protestors.
3.Based on the recommendations, initiate necessary legal proceedings and ensure penalization of all involved in the rape of the four women and others who were kidnapped and sexually assaulted.
4.Take immediate steps to ensure the basic rights and dignity of all those who are part of the peaceful protest in Chengara.
5.Intervene and take immediate action against those responsible for the blockade and immediately restore the right to peaceful life for all the people in Chengara.
6.Ensure the immediate lifting of the blockade and sufficient supply of food, medicines and adequate health care to the protest camps
7.Initiate transparent discussions with the protestors for an amiable solution to their demands.
8.Uphold the right of people to Dalit- Adivasi and other landless families to cultivable land.
9.Take action against erring officials where there has been willful negligence on their part under section 4 of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.
10.Take effective protective measures for the victims and their families.
For Support Groups for Justice for Chengara Struggle in Delhi
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