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Resistance and Justice Movements: Land

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Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Brief Historical Background:
  3. Land Use Policy in India
  4. Impacts of Land Acquisitions
  5. Resistance and Justice Movements in Various Part of Country
  6. Conclusion

Introduction

Land has become a major source of conflict as the demands on the world's resources rise. Local population displacement has been required as a result of the establishment of heavy industries, the construction of dams, and the adoption of development strategies in tribal and rural areas. The transition of tourism hotel land and buildings to the private sector was scandalous. In the national interest, these lands were cheaply purchased from the general public and, frequently, farmers. The state also transfers land rights to private companies for project development. Several states have become obsessed with adopting this path after the rapid industrialization vehicle was introduced. Contact with outsiders has had a negative impact on peasant families by forcing them to leave their ancestral lands. The small communities of hunters and food gatherers have been put in danger by the destruction of forests caused by tree cutting for industrial purposes. Overall, the land that belonged to the people for their means of subsistence has been acquired for very little money in the name of development and industrial projects, negatively affecting the indigenous people who were the rightful owners in many ways. In response, there has been a great deal of outrage against this practice in various parts of the nation. The current module makes an effort to explain how land acquisitions in India gave rise to numerous movements for justice and resistance.

Brief Historical Background:

Land was viewed as the key to equitable development in early post-colonial India. The Land Reforms Law was created in 1961. It was anticipated that this would increase societal equality by increasing agricultural productivity and benefit distribution. However, in order to allow changes in the land position, various land reform laws are being gradually weakened. Macroeconomic reforms' introduction in 1991 posed a significant threat to state-level development plans and initiatives. The introduction of market-driven economic reforms in India may have been a result of the fiscal crisis, which the country only managed to get out of with the help of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The population's marginalized segment did not significantly benefit from this support. There are significant social and political tensions as a result of recent efforts to industrialize India, particularly in many states. The majority of this is attributed to land-grab incidents for constructing industrial parks (Sarkar, 2007), which have been marred by resistance frequently escalating into violent riots with fatalities.

Land Use Policy in India

India has a land-dependent population of 65%. State governments and the Indian government have been pushing the Special Economy Zones policy as a means of accelerating industrialization and development over the past ten years. Several states have become obsessed with adopting this path after the rapid industrialization vehicle was introduced. Land is without a doubt the farmers' main source of income, and if the land is acquired, they lose that income. Even how much and how it will be paid out is entirely up to the state. Without any opposition, the eminent domain status that the colonial state had also persisted in independent India. This means that the state will continue to hold the absolute authority over any parcel of land, even if doing so denies its citizens their basic right to life. For the masses' better quality of life, industrialization is necessary. Forced acquisition of land for public purposes, for the public sector, and for private or private countries displaces people, forcing them to give up their home, assets, means of livelihood, and profession and to reside elsewhere and start their lives all over again. But what kind of welfare does it bring to the masses when they are forced against their will to relocate away from the land that they have held for generations together? The second major issue of serious concern is that a significant portion of land acquired for industries is forest, including the farmland of tribes and other marginalized sections, contributing to the pauperization of affected families and occasionally pushing them into a state of shelter less and asset less destitution. Displacement results in poor people being marginalized and many socio-psychological issues simply by widening the gap between expected and actual gains. Despite the quick approval and establishment of these zones, as well as their apparent success, the development of SEZs has faced significant resistance and is frequently stalling. In India, with the exception of a few states like Kerala, there is no suitable Land Use Policy, which is the cause of these oppositions. When Kerala's vast paddy fields were converted into residential and commercial complexes, this legislation was only recently implemented.

The Land Acquisition Act, 1894:

The Land Acquisition Act, 1894, a nearly 120-year-old law passed during British rule, outlines the "purposes" for which land may be purchased, the "procedure" for obtaining possession, and the "payment of compensation" for such an acquisition. The Indian state's use of eminent domain is attested to by the 1894 Land Acquisition Act.

The root of the issue is that the establishment of these industrial projects generally necessitates the forcible acquisition of land and the eviction of its prior users. The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 allows for this for "public purposes" in Indian states. It has been questioned repeatedly when "public purpose" has been used to describe what are essentially private commercial business ventures. In the context of industrialization-driven displacement, an increasing number of studies have concentrated on the welfare impact of optimal compensation. In a recent study, Ghatak and Mookherjee (2011) discovered that the majority of landowners' reservation prices were higher than the land's market value. Therefore, they advise that the compensation be greater than the market value. Going even further, Ghatak and Ghosh (2011) propose amending the 1894 Land Acquisition Act, which mandates compensation based on the market value of the property at the time of acquisition.

Since the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 was enacted in India during the British era and was a very old law, the government replaced it with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013 (also known as the Land Acquisition Act of 2013). a toothless tiger that, due to its limitations, was unable to address the issues facing rural and tribal populations in India in 2013.

The main issue is that this act will only be valid when a private project developer acquires or buys land totaling more than 100 acres in rural areas or 50 acres in urban areas through private negotiations with the landowner, or when a private project developer requests that the government acquire land on their behalf. Therefore, taking land in multiple parcels rather than acquiring it all at once will help a private project developer avoid being subject to this clause, which helps them avoid the Act's application. The fact that this act will not be applicable if land has already been acquired under sixteen other acts is another issue with it. There are numerous others as well, such as the SEZ Act (2005), Cantonments Act, Damodar Valley Corporation Act, Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, National Highways Act, and Electricity Act. The 4th Schedule of this bill contains a list that can be expanded upon by the addition of additional acts, which only requires the consent of the Central Government. notification. What purpose would a limited Act serve if it were intended to protect investments made in Special Economic Zones, electricity projects, or mining projects from the effects of this bill?

Impacts of Land Acquisitions

The societies that will be most directly impacted and well-known organizations, however, have been the sources of the strongest opposition to these large industrial projects. The general public's opposition to SEZs challenges the entire development paradigm that replaces farming on productive agricultural land with private industrial enclaves that primarily employ skilled and semi-skilled workers from urban areas. These industrial projects are accused of serving corporate interests rather than the general public as hush money. The wider community was affected by the forced land acquisition for such massive industrial projects, in addition to the households who lost their land. Other effects, such as those on the local economy, went beyond just the simple loss of land area. Additional impacts included social, environmental, and economic ones as well as ones that had a cascading impact on overall health and food security.
  1. Increase unemployment
  2. Neglect of Agricultural Sector
  3. Mass migration from rural areas
  4. Effect on Livelihood
  5. Capitalism will take birth
  6. Pollution

Resistance and Justice Movements in Various Part of Country

Displacement of the local population has been required as a result of the establishment of heavy industries, the construction of dams, and the adoption of development strategies in tribal and rural areas. Numerous large corporations and business houses have already transferred thousands of crores of rupees into the hands of India's ruling class. Contact with outsiders has been detrimental as a result of the displacement of peasant families from their traditional lands. The small communities of food-gatherers and hunters have been put in danger by the destruction of forests caused by tree-felling for industrial purposes. Particularly in central India, the rural and tribal populations had rebelled against their oppressors. It is obvious that the battle lines have been drawn for an unyielding conflict between the haves and have-nots who want to transform our motherland into a heaven for the International Capital. These movements aimed to free their land from all those who had exploited it both economically and culturally.

Movement against Land Acquisition Bill, 2015

As a result of the government's inability to re-promulgate the ordinance, the coordinated, issue-based campaign against the harsh land acquisition restrictions sought by the government has been successful. The All India Kisan Sabha congratulated the peasantry, the working class, and all those who are dependent on land for their well-deserved victory in a report submitted on August 31. The designated government, which consists of a single party with a majority in parliament, has been forced to resign in response to a united movement for the first time in recent memory. The AIKS responded in unison and burned copies of the ordinance on January 30, 2015, in more than 300 districts across the nation, along with hundreds of organizations of the peasantry, agricultural workers, dalits, adivasis, and dependents on land. This was followed by a sizable Bhoo Adhikar Rally in Delhi on February 24, a Convention of various political parties against the Land Acquisition Ordinance on April 2, 2015, mass rallies at the state level, pada yatras, and a massive signature collection effort, in which teams across the nation gathered thousands of signatures following a house-to-house campaign. The government's attempts to re-promulgate the ordinance have drawn even louder protests. The Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan sent out a loud and apparent message that the fight shall be for Land Rights and other demands of the peasantry in addition to the draconian Land Acquisition Ordinance, solidifying the broad issue-based consensus.

Anna protests against Land Acquisition Bill, 2015

A two-day protest against the contentious land acquisition ordinance was started here by social activists Anna Hazare and Medha Patkar, along with hundreds of their supporters, as Parliament's Budget session got underway. The activists accused the Union government of being antagonistic to farmers. The activist declared that he would take the opposition to the ordinance to every district in the nation. "How can you take away land without the farmer's consent? India is an agricultural nation," Hazare questioned. The government needs to consider the needs of the farmers. It is undemocratic to have a land ordinance.

Protest against Yamuna Expressway

To get to Dankaur in western Uttar Pradesh, one must travel a difficult route that is full of potholes. However, it is the nearby eight-lane expressway that aims to shorten the distance between New Delhi and the historic town of Agra that requires urgent consideration. This road connects some of the largest agricultural villages in the State. Since it was first planned in 2007, the so-called Yamuna Expressway has been the subject of heated debate. Regarding how many villages it would uproot, a number of opposition parties raised serious concerns. However, the real numbers didn't surface until after the government had used its emergency powers to purchase land from Greater Noida to Agra.

For some, this indicates an impolite haste on the part of the State government to act on behalf of a private company, JP Infratech Ltd, which has been awarded the contract for the construction of the expressway and the 36-year right to collect tolls on it. Evidently, the initial uproar in political circles translated into widespread opposition from farmers who would be forced to give up the majority of their arable land to the ruthless project. The State government continued with its land acquisition plans for a high-tech city, which would include industrial parks, residential communities, shopping centers, schools, and hospitals to be built all around the expressway, adding fuel to the fire. After the announcement of the hi-tech city, the farmers' movement against the project in a few locations became violent. Big farmers were impacted by the hi-tech city, not small farmers, who lost the majority of their land to the expressway project. The price of land is fixed at will by the government, which lacks a comprehensive compensation plan. The farmers received anywhere from Rs.250 to Rs.400 per square meter prior to 2008. When residents of Ghori Bachera village in Greater Noida protested in 2008, the government increased the price. In 2010, there was also a violent protest in the village of Tappal in the Aligarh district that turned the plight of the farmers in Uttar Pradesh into a political issue. The State government was forced as a result to develop a profit-sharing paradigm with the farmers, but the plan has not yet been implemented. Following that, a second violent protest broke out in Greater Noida's Bhatta and Parsaul villages, sparking a major political controversy.

In the state of Odisha

Odisha has recently seen the expansion of numerous sizable industrial projects. The tribal and peasant populations that depend on agriculture for their livelihoods now feel deprived of their traditional means of subsistence. On top of that, the majority of them lack the education and technical skills needed to transition into jobs in industries other than farming. These places have a wealth of natural resources, which the residents rely on to meet their basic needs. They began to oppose these industrial zones because they felt threatened by the arrival of these projects, which would threaten their reliance on agriculture and the forest for a living.

Prakritik Suraksha Sampada Parishad

Odisha is no longer the home of the Chilika Lake, the Sun Temple in Konark, or the Jagannath Temple in Puri. It is now best known for places like Kalinganagar, Niyamgiri, Dhinkia, Khandadhar, and Kashipur whose residents are up in arms against the acquisition of thousands of acres of land for mining and other industrial projects that could spell the end of their way of life. The once-calm tribal belt of the Koraput, Bolangir, and Kalahandi districts in Odisha has been rocked by massive tribal uproar and protests since the early 1990s as a result of the state's plan to mine bauxite and locate alumina industries owned by MNCs. One thing to keep in mind is that almost one-third of India's bauxite deposits are located in the Rayagada district of Odisha. The Kalahandi district's cloudy mountains and plateaus are covered in dense forests and nearly a thousand small rivers. However, the tribal people's self-sufficient source of income is now in jeopardy. The mining mafia and multinational corporations are encroaching more and more on the land they have taken over to exploit the significant bauxite deposits in the area.

The company admits that when it begins full operation, it will have an impact on 26 villages in the region and result in the displacement of a total of three villages. Additionally, it should be noted that tribal people and other marginalized groups of the population predominately live in the area surrounding the districts from which the bauxite is to be mined. This region's inhabited population can depend on its abundant natural resources to adequately meet their basic needs. In times of drought or insufficient rainfall, the area's numerous small rivers provide for the irrigation needs of the agricultural sector. The forest provides sufficient, sustainable resources to people, including food. The local tribal people lead very tranquil and happy lives. Most of them were either name-literates or illiterates. without having any technical training or expertise. The general public is concerned about losing the natural resources that support their existence. There have been long-running protests by tribal people and other marginalized groups who are being forcibly relocated. As a result, the projects that were planned for the area have experienced delays and uncertainty. All of the projects' progress has been impacted by the protests of the tribal people and the responses of political parties, civil society organizations, and organizations in the area to the current industrial development model.

An organization of locals known as Prakritik Suraksha Sampada Parishad is in charge of the anti-mining movement. The tribal people claim that thousands of them have been living in the forests for centuries, cultivating crops to make a civilized living. They fear that if the projects move forward, they will lose their livelihoods in the forest and agriculture, which would follow. As a result of the loss of the forest and farmland, the tribal women of the area were in a panic over the loss of their freedom and ability to work. Leaders and female activists among them criticize the government for doing very little to advance their educational development. In this way, the tribals' fight to stop the mining operations has gone on nonstop for a long time. Recent protests by tribal members and other project-affected individuals in various parts of the state have frequently culminated in extreme violence, including bloodshed and the shooting deaths of innocent tribal members.

Krishjami Raksha Committee

When the West Bengali government attempted to purchase 10,000 acres of land for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nandigram in January 2007, violence broke out, leaving four protesters dead and many others seriously injured. Members of the neighborhood Krishjami Raksha Committee and individuals with ties to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, which heads the Left Front government in West Bengal and seeks to industrialize the region for quick economic growth, were reportedly involved in the violent clashes in Nandigram.

Scenario in Jharkhand

The globalized market forces that threaten the way of life of tribal peoples and poor peasants who depend on subsistence agriculture are equally destructive to other states with a large tribal population, such as Jharkhand, as they are to Odisha.

Karanpura Bachao Sangharsh Samiti

On February 2, 2001, the tribal residents of Topkara, Jharkhand, demanded that the Koel Karo hydroelectric project be abandoned. Thousands of tribal families would likely be displaced by the project. Again, the police used unprovoked shooting in this instance, killing 10 tribal members and injuring dozens more. Despite receiving adequate cash compensation and giving each displaced family member a job in the mines run by Coal India Limited (CIL) in the area, the tribal people who were displaced by the coal mines of Jharkhand continue to face a precarious way of life. It was intended for the Punkhri-Barwadih project, which had a total estimated cost of Rs 40,000,000,000, to start operations in December 2007. Nearly 14,000 families would be displaced by the project. Thousands of farmers broke down the NTPC project site office in Barkagaon in November 2006. The affected villagers formed the anti-land acquisition organizations Karanpura Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (KBSS) and the Karanpura Bisthapita Morcha (KBM) in order to express their protests and resentments against the land acquisition by the project.

The tribals and other agrarian groups in Jharkhand are now vehemently opposed to new businesses and development initiatives that call for the purchase of private agricultural land. In recent years, there have been numerous demonstrations against the steel industry, thermal power plants, and numerous other iron and steel industries that the state government has granted permission to MNCs and ICHs. The state's tribal activists paint a bleak picture of the mining and mineral-based industries that evict large numbers of people from their ancestral ecosystems without integrating them into the modern manufacturing and service economies.

Picture in Chhattisgarh

Due to the opening of mines and the establishment of numerous mineral-based industries in the state, the tribal people of Chhattisgarh are losing their sustainable means of subsistence. There are 28 different types of significant minerals in Chhattisgarh. In Chhattisgarh, all avenues for private investment are now open as a result of the government reforms encouraging economic liberalization.

The Scheduled Castes and Tribal populations in this state, however, have low literacy rates, and the highly mechanized industries and mines there need workers with technical skills to operate. The wages paid to workers for these businesses are extremely low, and they are not provided with any other benefits like paid time off for illness, paid vacation, or medical coverage. Following prolonged exposure to the pollution produced by the mines, many villages located below the mine area complain that their agriculture has now been completely destroyed. The fertility of the soil is lost as a result of the deposits of red laterite soil and iron oxide that are transported from the mines to the agricultural land below with the rainwater. The villages close to the mine are so badly impacted by the pollution that they have repeatedly asked Durg's District Collector to protect them from further land and water pollution. After losing their land and forest, the shift tribals of HINDALCO's bauxite mines at Samri in the Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh were reported to be leading very pitiful lives in August 2008 by the director of the Tribal Welfare Society in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

Conclusion

The sustainable development concept, which includes the progressive improvement in the quality of human life in the provision of food, clothing, and shelter as well as the setting for a healthy living with increasing permanence of life and happiness, is being lost to the tribal people of Chhattisgarh. The LPG paradigm of development in India, however, highlights the symptoms and consequences of growing disparities between the "haves" and "have-nots," as well as the growing deficiency of the underprivileged and marginalized segments of society.

The inequality and poverty in these areas will worsen if mines and mineral-based businesses are allowed to grow in the country's mineral-rich tribal areas and continue to evict the indigenous people who live there in order to enrich the wealthy privileged. The people who rely on such resources become the direct and immediate victims of these projects if land and other natural resources that belong to the state or the local communities, such as water and forests, are acquired for industrial use or lost due to development projects like river dams. While high technology-based development in populous nations like India reduces the need for human labor, food security for the nation's hungry and undernourished citizens is essential for the country's overall development. These requirements can be met by pursuing a sustainable development model that guarantees "growth with equity" and creates jobs for everyone. mines were opened and numerous industries reliant on minerals were established in the state, providing a means of subsistence. There are 28 different types of important minerals in Chhattisgarh. All avenues for private investment in Chhattisgarh are now open as a result of the government reforms encouraging economic liberalization. The Scheduled Castes and Tribal populations in this state, however, have low literacy rates, making it necessary for the high level of mechanization in the industries and mines to employ technically skilled workers. The wages paid to laborers employed by such businesses are extremely low, and they are also not eligible for any additional benefits like paid time off for illness or injury, medical coverage, etc. Numerous communities below the mine area complain that, as a result of prolonged exposure to the mines' pollution, their agriculture has been completely destroyed. The soil's fertility is lost as a result of the deposits of red laterite soil and iron oxide that are transported from the mines to the agricultural land below by rainwater. The villages close to the mine are so negatively impacted by the pollution that they have repeatedly requested protection from it from the Durg District Collector. The shift tribals of HINDALCO's bauxite mines at Samri in Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh were reported to be leading a very pitiful life after losing their land and forest in August 2008, according to the director of the Tribal Welfare Society in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

References

  1. Banerjee, Sumanta (2006) ‘Peasant Hares and Capitalist Hounds of Singur’, Economic and Political Weekly 41(52): 5296–98. 
  2. Bhaduri, Amit (2005) Development with Dignity: A Case for Full Employment. New Delhi, India: National Book Trust. 
  3. CSD, (2008) 2008: Development and Displacement, pp. 75–85. New Delhi: Council for Social Development and Oxford University Press. 
  4. Dash, K.C. and Samal, K.C. (2008) ‘New Mega Projects in Orissa: Protests by Potential Displaced Persons’, Social Change 38(4): 627–44. 
  5. Fernandes, Walter (2007) ‘Singur and the Displacement Scenario’, Economic and Political Weekly 42(3): 203–6.
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