KERALA

Adivasis Will Continue Their Fight

Pinarayi Vijayan

THE Adivasi agitation for land, the police terror unleashed by the government of Kerala against the agitation and the mass mobilisation by the opposition against the repression rocked the state of Kerala during the past two months. The National Human Rights Commission rejected the explanation provided by the state government and directed it to institute an independent enquiry, preferably by the CBI. After the government conceded to a CBI enquiry into the police excesses against the adivasis and in the light of the appeal made by the NHRC for calm in the state, the LDF called off the indefinite hunger strike by its MLA’s. At the same time it made it clear that the land agitation would continue.

A convention of the Adivasis under the aegis of AKS was organised on April 16 to chalk out future programmes. It has been decided that the adivasis who have been occupying land in 16 centres for the past three months will continue to do so in those sites and on April 21, new centres of agitation were opened. The agitation will be continued till every adivasi household is provided land as per the government’s promise.

FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE IS LAND

The tribals constitute only a small minority of one per cent of the state’s population. They have been so marginalised in the development process that more than three-fourths are landless and their social indicators like health, education, welfare etc. remain very much below the state average.  Fundamental to the tribal question in Kerala is providing them with land and implementing effective measures for their social development. The 1975 legislation for restoring alienated tribal land to the tribals could not be implemented in the state. The alienated tribal land was mostly in the hands of small and marginal settler farmers and there had been severe opposition against evicting these settlers.

In this background, the LDF government brought a legislation in 1999, guaranteeing a minimum of one acre of land or area equivalent to the alienated land, which ever is higher, to every tribal household.  Tribal land of more than five acres held by farmers was also to be taken over for being restored to the adivasis. More than 3000 acres were actually distributed by the LDF government in two years and steps were being taken for identifying land for the rest of the households, when the change of government took place in 2001.  

The LDF government had also initiated a number of steps under the people’s planning for providing houses to the adivasis and improving their standard of living. The system of notional fund flows that benefited only the middlemen was put to an end. A major step up in outlay for Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) was made. More than Rs 161 crore were spent through panchayats in four years. The tribal assemblies (oorukoottams) were given full control over the plan preparation and implementation of TSP projects. Nearly a thousand educated tribal youth were recruited with an allowance of Rs 1000 per month for helping in the running of the tribal assemblies. Thus the people’s planning ensured full control and autonomy on tribal matters to the tribals themselves. 

The new UDF government that came to power in May 2001 undid all the above measures that had heralded a new era for the tribals in Kerala. The trained tribal volunteers were dismissed and TSP funds were reverted to the State department for SC/ST. The department could not spend even 10 per cent of the funds as on March 31, 2002. As a result during the first year of UDF government, there was literally no development work for the tribals. This situation, coupled with the severe crisis in the plantation sector, where the adivasis used to get work, led to starvation and deaths in the tribal areas.

RISING AKS AND JANU

It was in this context that Adivasi Kshema Samathy (AKS) started relief work among the tribals. The AKS had been formed after a self-critical review made by the Party regarding the tribal situation and the weakness of Party work among the tribals. The growing popularity of AKS prompted the UDF to promote C K Janu as a prominent tribal leader. Janu had gained some prominence in media with her involvement with tribal development work of certain Christian NGO’s.  She had also unsuccessfully contested in the local body election in 2000 as a candidate supported by both the UDF and the BJP.

During August/September 2001, Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGM) led by Janu organised an agitation in front of the government secretariat, which was made into a media spectacle with the support of the government. The government reached a generous agreement with the agitators by promising five acres of land to all tribal families and tribal autonomy under Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

Seeing no progress on the question of land distribution, Adivasi Kshema Samithy (AKS) mobilised the tribals and launched a statewide agitation in early 2002. Its activists occupied hundreds of acres of forest and farmland earmarked for tribals, but never distributed. More than 1500 adivasis including women and children were jailed for more than a month as part of the agitation. This was the biggest ever adivasi agitation organised in the state. Finally, the government agreed to distribute the lands by September 2002. The government, however, failed to act upon its promise and the AKS decided to renew its strike. It was decided to grab land in 16 centres in Wayanad district. The above developments prompted the Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha led by Janu to occupy the protected forest areas in the wild life sanctuary at Muthanga in Wayanad district in early January this year. There is enough evidence to prove active encouragement of the government for the above action. One of the ministers even hailed Janu as a model tribal leader. Yet a section among the government was at the same time provoking the tribals and the kindling of a mysterious forest fire adjacent to the land occupied by adivasis in Muthanga led to a serious confrontation.

The irony of the turn of events was that the UDF government which provided all help to the AGM activists to occupy the protected forest areas for over 45 days had to resort to police action in the end to evict the tribals. The violent actions on February 19 led to the killing of one adivasi and one policeman. Eyewitness accounts suggest that many more adivasis might have died in the firing. The police unleashed a reign of terror in the tribal colonies after the firing and rounded up hundreds of innocent adivasis and booked them under false cases. Children, the aged, the women – none were spared from the brutal attacks of the police. Even Janu was not spared and she was tortured in police custody.

The LDF tried to raise the issue in the assembly session and demanded a judicial enquiry. The chief minister rejected the demand. He would have nothing more than an official enquiry by the crime branch of the state police. Later, he claimed that NHRC had started an enquiry. In fact, NHRC had only asked for an explanation from the state government and the explanation provided was later rejected by it. Such was the arrogance of the chief minister that he would not even consider an enquiry by a joint committee of legislators.

Therefore, LDF MLA and former minister for SC/ST, K Radhakrishnan, went on hunger strike within the assembly on February 24. The assembly was adjourned for two weeks, his fast was discontinued after four days and T M Thomas Isaac, CPI(M) MLA sat on hunger strike in front of the state government’s Secretariat office. The demand for judicial enquiry became the slogan for a mass agitation in the state.

The hunger strike lasted for nine days and when he was shifted to hospital due to health problems, four LDF MLA’s including P K Sreemathy, Party central committee member sat on hunger strike. After Sreemathy was removed to hospital, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan began his hunger strike.

SEVERE REPRESSION

The LDF had organised people’s marches to the offices of the District Superintendents of Police in all the 14 districts on March 17, calling for settling of the above demands for which four LDF MLA’s had also undertaken a fast. The police blocked the marchers on the roads and used force to disperse the workers, attacking them with lathis and teargas shells. The police opened fire in three districts - Kannur, Palakkad and Kozhikode to disperse the marchers. Several workers and leaders of the Party including M A Baby, P Karunakaran, CC members and N N Krsihnadas, S Ajayakumar T Govindan, P Abdullakkutty – all Members of Parliament - were grievously injured in the police attack on the demonstrations. The brutal attack on T Sivadasa Menon, party state secretariat member and former finance minister in Palakkad shocked the state. The police attack in Kannur was also brutal. The police in many districts also beat up the media people.

In the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram, Pinarayi Vijayan, Polit Bureau member and state secretary, inaugurated the march. After the march was dispersed the activists led a demonstration to the state government secretariat office for greeting the MLA’s on satyagraha there. The marchers were lathi charged by the police near the Museum police station. Several workers were injured in the police attack. The police attempt to attack Pinarayi Vijayan who led the demonstration was foiled by the party workers who formed a cordon around him braving lathi blows.

False cases have been registered against tens of thousands of workers in all the districts. The arrested have been tortured in the jails and in police custody. The party has decided to mobilise people against this repression. A judicial enquiry into the police atrocities on March 17 has been demanded. Three jathas led by Polit Bureau members E K Nayanar, V S Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan toured the state from April 7th to 12th exposing the government.

The state government, which had been adamantly resisting any form of independent enquiry into the Muthanga incidents, had been forced to accept CBI enquiry following the orders of NHRC.  The LDF decided to co-operate with the enquiry and withdrew the hunger strike of the MLA’s on March 21.

Braving all this repression the adivasis under the leadership of AKS have decided to intensify their struggle till the UDF state government meets their just demands.