Land for tribes: Hunger strike of Nilambur woman enters 307th day, no solution in sight

Malappuram: "I won't let this protest go down as any other agitation by the tribes in the state. Pinarayi Vijayan will witness my body being shifted from this venue marking the end of this protest with my death," these words describe the determination of a tribal woman who is staging a hunger protest demanding one-acre land for the landless tribes in and around Nilambur. Bindu Vailassery, a native of Chaliyar panchayat near Nilambur, has been on a hunger strike for the last 307 days and the government has not yet found a solution to end their protest. Around 150 tribal families from Nilambur are part of the protest demanding the land as per the direction of a Supreme Court order in 2009.

Bindu has been taking only food in liquid form these days and she was admitted to hospital on several occasions. Though the medical team used to visit her on alternate days, they have not attended her for the last four months, alleged Bindu.

The government has remained adamant on the demand for land by the tribal community pointing out the unavailability of the land to allocate to the tribes. The tribal leaders have alleged that the government has not shown any empathy towards them . A Supreme Court order in 2009 directed the state government to provide land to the landless Scheduled Tribes under Section 6 of the Kerala Government Land Assignment Act, 1960 (30 of 1960) and the rules issued thereunder within two years. However, the verdict has not been implemented even after a long period.

"Our demand is very clear. The tribes need a one-acre plot suitable for farming and residing. It is not acceptable to deceive the tribes by allocating only 10 cents or 40 cents. It is our right to get the land as per the court order and the unavailability explained by the government is a big lie. We have received a lot of documents regarding the availability of land in possession of the revenue department in Malappuram district to distribute to the tribes," Bindu Vailassery told Onmanorama.

According to the documents received under RTI by the protesters, the district has 119.28 hectares of land and 10 hectares of land has been distributed to the 34 landless tribes. There are 663 more tribes waiting to receive the land.

"The applicants for the land are not just 663 now more tribes are applying for the land. However, the government is not willing to distribute the land they have claimed to be with them. The officials have no clarity when we ask about the land which they have in their possession," Bindu added.

" The tribes alleged that the government is not yet ready to conduct an official discussion on the issues they are raising," Giridas, a protester said. The tribes approached the High Court last month seeking their intervention in the matter. They have filed a suit highlighting the contempt of court by the state government in the issue.

"The government has no sympathy for the landless tribes though they have proclaimed that they would stand with the downtrodden. It is a disgrace from the side of a Communist government, which has carried out a large number of protests, to rebuke the protests of the tribes and insult them with baseless allegations. A lady belonging to a tribal community has been staging the protest for the last 307 days with genuine demand and the government has not been addressing it even though they have land in custody to distribute to the tribes," Grow Vasu, an activist said.