Interviews of Janadesh Members

Interview 1

This was a focused group discussion with 10 people belonging to various parts of Chhattisgarh State. All of them were tribal. Their names were: Smt. Chandrawati Sahu, district coordinator of Ekta Mahila Manch, Koriya district; Ahibaran, Korba district; Manohar, kavardhar district; Daddi Ram; Lala Ram; Sohan Lal; Sukulu; Kamal Bhan; Sikari Baiga and Kamal Bhan Singh.

The struggle began in 1987. Initially, a women’s group was formed for irrigation issue. The leaders of this women group used to meet at ‘Tilda’ for assembly. Gradually, this initiative took momentum and we received trainings to voice our concerns. We got together and realized that, unless we would raise our voice and come in front, nothing would have happen. Demonstrations and marches were done at block, tehsil and district level but nothing happened. Then, in 1990, we gave notice to the State government. What we got in return was mere reassurances. The year 2005 marked the birth of Janadesh. Representatives from each district came to Gwalior and took oath to assert our rights. We decided to give 1-2 years of time to the central Government to re-look at our demands, else we would give notice. And now we have given the notice.

We hope that we will get our rights fulfilled this time. The required legislation has been passed but its implementation is to be done. Laws have been endorsed but to get them enforced we have to go Delhi. Now that we have gathered in such high number, we are confident of putting the central Government under pressure.

We are all ready to engage in Janadesh. However, some of us faced some difficulties while mobilizing and preparing for the march. For instance:

• We will be away from our houses and dear ones for one month though we are all excited and awaiting to get our rights safeguarded.
• A major concern was to arrange for food at home till the time we are away in Janadesh. Many of us are very poor. So we started collecting one fist of rice everyday and Rs2/- per day for these poor families. We have been able to collect one quintal of rice and Rs15000/-.
• This movement has other economic implications, too. We had to arrange money for transport and travel.
• We collected donations for hiring buses and trains as many people could travel together.
• In this season, illnesses are very common. In every house there are people affected by malaria, dysentery, etc. As a result, some of the people mobilized couldn’t join us.

Other kinds of obstacles were met to gather and mobilize women, such as:

• Family problems. Women are responsible and execute a major chunk of the household work. If they go away then who will cook meals?
• Social harassment. Those families/men who allowed their women to be a part of Janadesh, were socially insulted by comments like “dekho apni biwi ko baahar bhej raha hai.” (look, he is sending his wife away with others!)
• We have tried to involve in Janadesh all those women who are isolated, who are the only bread-winners, those who work in fields either because their husband has died or has physical limitation to work, and those who are alone or whose land/property has been captured by their relatives

As stated by Shikari Baiga, a native of Bokara Baahara village, block Bodala, “we have been doing cultivation for generations. Since past decades, rich from urban areas have started intruding in our villages. They have power and so they have captured our land and dispossessed us. Our Chief Minister, Shri Ajit Jogi, promised to distribute 3-5 acres of land to each of us but this promise was in vain. So, now we have started planting trees. We have been landless since 1997-98. Since then, we have been collecting dry woods from the forest, which we sell, to somehow try to make both ends meet. Some of our villagers work for those rich. In 2000, we initiated a group named ‘Baiga Muniya’, which consisted of 5 representatives from 5 villages. Initially, we faced resistance among people and it was hard to form other groups. It took one year to mobilise people from 10 villages. We used to conduct meetings and try to convince them about the seriousness of the issue.

Finally, in 2003, we were able to come together. In 2004, Ekta Parishad came in our area and entered in association with us to struggle for our land rights through Janadesh.

The purpose of Janadesh is to “send the message to Government.” We will give notice to the Government. Change will surely take place and unless it happens we will not withdraw. We have written to the Government in order to change those laws, which establish that:

• No land from the forest area can be given under ownership rights.
• Bore wells cannot be dig
• Construction of big huts is not allowed.
• Degraded quality of rice is distributed to us.
• No supply of kerosene oil is provided to us.

At present we are dependent on rivers and streams for meeting our water needs. Because of this, there are repeated episodes of diseases as the water is not clean.
We blame the Government for our troubles. The Government didn’t provide us with health centers performing vasectomy. So our families are growing while our land size is fixed. Now, then, we are asking to the Government to give us land, too.

Lala Ram Baiga. He joined this struggle in 2005.
“Earlier, I had a piece of land in the forest but now I don’t have it anymore. I opted for this struggle as it seems beneficial for my future generation. If we struggle now, later our next generation will be able to live peacefully. Our life is full of struggles. We are tribals and our areas are backward. We don’t have any doctor nearby. No transport facility to take patients to the doctor. So, we usually carry the person on our shoulders. It is just luck if the person survives by the time he reaches the doctor. My issue regards forest land because of which I joined Janadesh. 6 people have come here with me from my village. We have been harassed a lot by Forest Department officials. Each one of us has 5 acres of land. But it is currently under possession of the Forest Department. They forced us to cultivate ‘ratan jot,’ which is profitable to them. We have executed enough of their requests, now we are ready take action.”

Kamal Bhan Singh from Manendragarh village added that, “Forest Department officials obligated us to cultivate ‘ratan jot’. They sowed ‘ratan jot’ seeds over already existing crops. We villagers somehow mustered courage and uprooted it. Then we went to police station and lodged complain against the Forest Department but no enquiry was carried out. I owned 3 acres of land. On the contrary, when the Forest Department filed false complaints against us, the police arrived and locked us behind the bars. Later on, after paying bail, we were released. Many villages have similar stories. We organised rallies at local level. Authorities pledged to provide us with land on lease but no action was taken. Clerks ask for bribe when we present our claims. We are so poor. How can we arrange this money? Whatever the authorities have done it has only created frustration among villagers – ‘the land belongs to someone while it is possessed by another’!”

Shri Ahibaran, village treasurer for Ekta Parishad in Kumari Tari village witnessed similar incidents. “We have been badly harassed by the Forest Department. In some places they plant ‘ratan jot’ on our land while somewhere else they create nurseries. They tell us, ‘you are tribals. You don’t know how to farm. You better go and work for rich businessmen.’ We are here to get back our water, forest and land. Similar is the condition of 16 districts in our State. Forest rangers have troubled us a lot. In 1956 the Government passed the law for nationalization of forests and since then the Forest Department started harassing us. We have been displaced. Where should we go now? It’s so difficult to arrange a square meal for our family. From my area, people from 60-70 villages have come here, Gwalior.”

Interview 2

Shri Kamal Singh, ward panch
Village – Barua
Panchayat – Dob
Tehsil – Goharganj
District – Raisen
State – Madhya Pradesh

“I own 5 acres of land in tehsil. But it has been captured by Forest Department. Since last year, meetings have been conducted in Goahrganj to mobilize people for our land rights. Villagers have got worried since they lost their land because of the Forest Department. I am here to support the cause of my villagers. Broadly, Janadesh people can be associated to two kinds of problems. Those who don’t have the ownership right of their land (patta) and those that own land but don’t physically possess it.

Approximately, 170 people from my village have gathered here. I have been contributed to their mobilisation. I have conducted meetings with villagers where we discussed on how our lands have been illegally taken over by Forest Department how they usually deny us access to the forests, how and how much they harass us. At present, the only means of income for us is collecting dry wood and sell it. Survival is difficult. Janadesh is very meaningful to us. With such large number, we will be able to influence the Government. We hope to ensure our livelihoods. Women have also joined us in good number. Approximately 70 women are here from my village. We have hardly tried to talk with the concerned authorities, both at local and state level. But no ear has listened our demands. Now, we all have gathered together to put pressure on the central government for our land rights. We have been in this situation for the past 5-6 years.”

Shri Jaam Singh from Peepal chowk, Dob panchayat talked about a different situation. “For the past 45 years, an adjoining village consisting of ‘MEWATI people’ has captured our land. I still have 5-acre land which I received from the Government. But this adjoining village has captured 20-25 acres of land belonging to my village. Almost 2-3 years ago, officials came to measure land and resolve the matter. Instead of doing any good, they took Rs8000/- from us for doing the work. However, no work has been done. At present we have unofficially taken 2.5 acres of land to cultivate maize, jowar and ragi for our survival. We pay a penalty of Rs 50/- or 100/- or 200/- per annum to make authorities quite. Politicians only come to us for votes and then forget us.”

Smt. Jhaba Bai shared “Deputy Officer and police incharge ordered us not to go to Gwalior for Janadesh. They even stopped public transport services. But we were determined and so we covered almost 15 km by foot. People in my village were given land ownership. But all that area has been declared sanctuary area and hence all ownership titles have been cancelled. No one, now, is permitted to go in that area. We used to collect dry wood from there to sell and earn whatever we could. But for the past two weeks, the Forest Department has been prohibiting this, too. They ask for Rs 5000/- in order to collect dry wood. This harassment is too much.”

Smt. Nanni Bai, Nagar village, Tikamgarh panchayat, tikamgarh district, Madhya Pradesh
“Forest Department has captured our land. They have been harassing us for long. They have beaten us and send us behind the bars. We have 700 acres of land which belonging to 25 families in our village. Out trouble started in 1987. We have been associated with Ekta Parishad for almost 25-30 years. 20 people from my village have arrived here in Gwalior to ask for our land rights. If the Government doesn’t listen to us then we will fight. Since our land had been captured by forest department, Ekta Parishad suggested us to occupy land wherever we could get it. All of us were encouraged to take 5-6 acres of land. This happened 4 years back. The Forest Department put us in prison for 15 days. We were released after paying Rs 1000/-per head. Forest rangers sued us and we had to appear in court whenever there was need. Then the warrant was issued in our names to evacuate the land. Earlier we were dependent on forests. But after our forests were taken over by the forest department we occupied other land and started cultivation. Then all this happened. We are not ready to migrate anywhere. If we migrate then whatever land we have managed to get hold of will be captured by powerful rich men. Whatever cultivation we do is just able to meet our food for 8-9 months. For the remaining months, we work as labourers to survive.”

A dalit tribal Smt.Radha Rani, village Imliya, District Sagar has been associated with Ekta Parishad for past 8-9 years. She has served her village as Sarpanch and shared that, “70 land ownership titles were distributed earlier. But 15 years ago, 22 have been canceled. We have fought for our land with the district authorities. People have appeared in courts, and lost lives. We have joined Janadesh in the hope of getting those 22 ownerships back. At present we are doing cultivation but we don’t own land. Raja ji from Ekta Parishad asked us to gather and march for Delhi.

Interview 3

Gopal - Ratanpura village, Jhabba Zila.

My name is Gopal, I am from Jhabba Zilla. I have come here because I have a discord over my land. I have come because every authority in my village: the police, the tehsildar, the magistrate is working against the interests of the poor in my village. They all work for those who have money, never for the poor. When we approach them on land issues such as forest land, nawad land or the patta for our land, they never hear us out. In fact they don’t even give us the patta.

No one ever comes and asks after our debts, no one asks what is it that you doing to get out, are you being hassled by the Patels. If someone complains against us, we are hauled off without being any chance to defend ourselves. Prompt action is taken. The reverse is never true. The sarpanch or anyone else can slap any case on us, at will and leave us to fight it out for years on end in the court.

I myself have been fighting a court case over my land for the last 30-40 years, nothing has happened as yet.

I have come so that people hear my voice.

Interview 4

Chaman Singh Dhurve – Arandi village, Balaghat Zila,

I am Chaman Singh Dhurve from Balaghat Zila in Madhya Pradesh. I’d like to say a few words about Kanha. I also hope that you will forgive me if anything I say offends you. My village borders Kanha is right at the edge. They don’t let a chicken from our village stray in, let alone us. If anyone is caught, they are fined heavily. Just the other day five people were caught with a thin bundle of grass. Each was fined Rs 500/-

And God helps anyone who escapes. They can spot you 3 km away. I don’t know what sort of a magnet they have; they reach the person’s house, drag him out and beat the daylights out of him. Sometimes they also use electric current.

What’s the meaning of all this beating and high-handedness? What’s the meaning of breaking our bones? All our villages that border the forest then should have been displaced. We live next to the forest, we’ve nurtured it and today suddenly we have become its very enemy?

I would also like to mention the case of a village called Dhaniyajore, near us. The villagers have for years been asking for their pattas. They have worn out their shoes, but still haven’t got their pattas.

I’d also like to add that should any poor person, in my village, dare to cultivate land that’s lying fallow, he is fined up to a thousand rupees. If we had been allowed to cultivate we could have even bought that land.

And all these netas and Government, they ask us to fight with them and we do. But to what avail? We have come here for a month to ask for a solution.

Interview 5

Phool Chand Baiga
Village- Umaria Bakely,
Tehsil- Manpur,
District- Umaria
Madhya Pradesh

I am from Badhogarh area of Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. I know each nook and corner of the region. We have possessed land since long but haven’t got patta yet. We have gone to demand our pattas from the Patwari of Revenue Department for many times but they always asked us for money. Over 150 people have submitted their applications to Ekta Parishad with a hope to gaining access to our land.

If Ekta Parishad succeeds any thing in this regard, this will help us all. However, the Government is the final responsible to provide land. Therefore, we need to be united and raise our demands collectively otherwise the Government will never pay attention to our individual concerns.

There are many people who do not have access to land and no other resources to depend on. They have BPL cards and the Baiga Development Authority has been created to look into our issues. Communities in Umaria district need to be provided with low-cost rice and kerosene oil from Antodaya cards, but the administration could not even provide sufficient quantities to meet their basic needs. Most of the things in the public shops have been either black marketed or taken by the rich people.

In Bandhogarh area, people’s land patta has been taken by the forest department and not returned so far.

Recently one incident took place in Madau (like precedent cases); seven villagers were caught by the forest department and were put in jail.

Similarly, in Badhogarh, the forest department took over the control of our land and pattas and is not allowing us to enter into the forest.

No one wants to neither heed poor people’s voice nor try to open up their untied problems. They are frightened of the Police and other powerful elites in society. They do whatever the police wants them to do. Most of the poor people are illiterate; don’t understand formalities and endless paper work. In this way, the police and politicians take advantage of them.

I am also from this community and equally have been dispossessed. I led my community to Janadesh so that the Government will finally have to pay attention to us and our needs.

Nowadays, the people of Basod community are not able to get one square meal daily or buy cloth to cover their body. For the whole day they collect bamboo and sell it at the market to meet their daily needs, which sometimes doesn’t happen. Many times they sleep hungry at night.

We, tribals, have many problems. We don’t have any employment opportunity as our villages are usually far away from cities and transports. Our people have land but Patwari doest not allow us to cultivate crops on it. We have occupied some forest land which is also not legally cultivable. The Patwari and forest department officials create many troubles for us and our survival.

We want the Government to listen to us and our problems. Our Bandhogarh area has to come out of this situation; that’s why we all came here to join Ekta Parishad’s Janadesh Padyatra (foot march). We hope this united effort will solve our current problems ---- having legal access and possession to our basic rights--- LAND.

Interview 6

Name: Kalam Singh Began
Panchayat: Khuria
Post Office: Baizalpur
Village: Sarekhar
District: Kabirdham
State: Chattisgarh

I have 5 acre of agricultural land where I grow paddy, cereals, jawar, maze etc. My land is very fertile and I have been cultivating it for the last 9 years. Since then, Forest Department officials are trying to remove me and my family, forcibly. From time to time, they threatened me or burnt our huts so that we would get afraid and leave the place. It is necessary that the Government take immediate action to stop the abuses we suffer from Forest officials and police and provide us with our ownership title.

We demand land, its demarcation and ownership titles. People in 42 villages are getting displaced because of bauxite stone mining. The affected villages are Mukam, Daldali, Mundadadar, Badai, Kasmardhar, Rabda. I think that mining should not be happening at these villages.

In 2007, I heard about Janadesh movement for the first time. In order to prepare people for Janadesh, I encouraged them to meet regularly. Both female and male meetings would happen once in a month.

I have joined Janadesh to fight for the land issues and problems created by the Forest officials. We are demanding land rights in 51 villages. I can not understand why we have not got patta till now. For the last 8 to 9 years, I have been running from pillar to post to demand our land titles. Big farmers too are depriving small farmers from their land, forcibly. They don’t allow us to access our land and cultivate it.

I think that water should be made available as well as schools should be constructed in villages. Last year, 16 to 17 people died due to diarrhoea. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has fallen into the hand of brokers. Earlier chief ministers, Digvijay Singh and Ajit Jogi, told us to occupy the land wherever we prefer and start cultivating. We have followed their advices and now face continuous threat from forest officials. They send the department officials to destroy our crops. Even upper caste villagers who occupy large pieces of land come and ask us to leave the village. They send their animals for grazing in our fields. Over the last 3 to 5 years, they have been occupying our land illegally.

I also believe that “Kabja kayam rahega, sangharsh jari rahega” i.e. we will not give up our rights over the occupied land and continue our fight.

Adivasi usually don’t have a house. We are also illiterate. Only because of land, we are able to feed ourselves. Due to illiteracy, we cannot do anything else.

If the Government will not give us the land then we will go back to our previous form of activities such as cutting tree.

Interview 7

Name: Gyanadhar
Village and Panchayat: Ratanpur
District: Bilaspur
State: Chattisgarh

I am a district coordinator of Ekta Parishad for 51 villages. People from these villages mostly belong to primitive tribes such as Birhor, Kamar, Korva, Beega and Bharia.

I have been working with Ekta Parishad for the last 25 years. I owned five acres of land, which I primarily used for growing paddy. I have my own land but I still face disputes. In those villages which I coordinate, I have tried to create the right atmosphere for Janadesh.

Forest doesn’t have any produce and the Forest Department would like us to work with them only.

Though Government has announced the Employment Guarantee Scheme, neither Government nor Panchayat provided us with any information. No one made special efforts to inform Adivasis about the scheme and involved them. Still, after completing work 5 months ago, we have not received our payment. Sometimes, we even have worked for 10 months without receiving a single amount. Not even a single penny reaches us, poor Adivasis, because the Government takes it away. For instance, the Government asked us to dig 110 wells. We have completed the work successfully. The local government got the money but we have not received any payment so far.

Electric poles have been put up to provide electricity but no light has come yet.

Interview 8

Jeevan Kumar
Tamil Nadu.

My name is Jeevan Kumar. I am part of a people’s movement. About 100 of us have come to participate in this padayatra. In our region, that is Tuticorin, Thirunelveli and Ramanad area of Tamil Nadu, influence of globalisation is very high. Politicians are hand in glove with land grabbers. This has affected the small and marginal farmers and the landless adversely. Majority of the people in the area are landless labourers and bonded labourers. Caste discrimination and oppression of the lower castes is also very high in that region. On the one hand we have to fight for social justice and on the other for livelihood rights. In our fight for livelihoods, we have to confront the landlords, politicians and bureaucrats. We have to face multiple obstacles in our struggle.

To provide protection to local people’s movements and to take these causes at the national level, it is important to have a national movement like Ekta Parishad. Even though this current struggle is for land rights, from Tamil Nadu a diverse set of people have come to express our solidarity with this struggle. Even fishing community have joined. They face the possibility of alienation from the sea and its coast. There are fishing community that faces eviction threats from the forest department as well. Adivasis have also joined this struggle. Disabled people who are deprived of their livelihood rights have also joined the struggle to make their presence felt in this struggle for land rights. People’s movement and cadre building has been active in Tamil Nadu and most people are here because of their innate urge to pursue the struggle to its logical conclusion and are determined to ‘do or die’. The 100 people who have come from Tamil Nadu is determined to not leave Delhi until the demands of Ekta Parishad are met. I am concluding by reinforcing our faith that the Ekta Parishad struggle will succeed.

As mentioned earlier, we are determined not to leave Delhi till the demands are met. Most of us have come here for our livelihood rights. Many are deprived of even habitat rights and will also be impacted by the new Coastal Zone Manangement regulation. In Tuticorin area, the forest department does not allow the fishing community to settle on the coast. In the name of port trust expansion, they have been evicted. They have come here with the hope that they will get the right to 3 cent plot of land for house. There are about 15 fisher folk in our contingent. In Singur, Tatas have taken only 1000 acres. In our region in Tuticorin, 16,000 acres have been acquired for Titanic project. We haven’t come here to complete this struggle and go back. We see this participation also as building a cadre and our own capacity to go back and continue our struggle in Tamil Nadu. We want each one of us to get that awareness and commitment.

Poor across region are today not willing to trust the politicians. They are not willing to trust the capitalists. Almost all villages wherever there is a high concentration of the poor, they are hoping for a messiah to raise and lead them out of their problems. When we take land rights as an issue to the grassroots, people are recognising it as an issue close to their heart and are joining up (the movement) on their own. We only did awareness generation. The 100 people who have come here have joined the struggle on their own free will. Because this is an issue so closely entwined with their lives, mobilisation of people was not a difficult task.

Interview 9

Name: Vileshwari
Village: Pandaripani
District: Bilaspur
State: Chattisgarh

I am a volunteer in the Janadesh Movement. I joined the movement one year ago. I am currently head of many villages. I have 5 acres of land only. I organized people from 8 villages, called meetings to discuss the land-related problems and mobilised them to participate in the Janadesh movement. Police and forest officials used to get together and destroy our land product. Earlier, forest officials used to come to threaten us that they would give us to the police who would send us for remand. But now we all are united and raised our voice against the injustice. We want our land titles (pattas). We do not have drinking water and whatever water is available the quality is too bad. Many people have died due to its consumption.

We claim our rights over water, forest and land. We don’t even have drinking water but land is a priority for us therefore we demand our ownership rights.

If we do not get the land, where and how will we be living? If we have land we also have a house.

Interview 10

Name: Santoshi
Village: Daiharipara
District: Bilaspur
Sate: Chattisgarh

I am a local leader of Janadesh movement since last year. I have five acres of agricultural land, which I got from my ancestors and have been farming for last 5 years. The forest officials destroy our crops so many times. Policemen don’t give any heed to our complaints. We have submitted our complaints so many times to senior officials but no one has listened to us. We have also approached the collector.

We hold meetings twice in a month and call the people from 10 villages. In our villages, we don’t have water in the pond. We don’t even get proper ration supply. Through Janadesh, we are demanding rights over our land. Ekta Parishad has constructed the ponds. It has also constructed the houses, wells and schools. We want the land title. If we get land, we can get everything else by ourselves.

Interview 11

Name: Vedlalvanvasi
Village: Cheetma
Police Station: Pali
District: Korka
State: Chattisgarh

I have been head of Dhanvar society for five years. I have 6 acres of land, which is not mine legally yet. My family members have been cultivating this land since my grandfather’s time. Our agricultural land is on plain land. We grow rice, cereals etc. The Government has not given us the land title so far.

With the help of other villages’ leaders, we organized meetings and moved from village to village in order to mobilise people. In the village, we all are close to each other.

We are not getting even basic minimum facilities from the Government. Even after studying for 10-12 years, we haven’t got any employment. We are demanding for roads and employment.

If we get land, we will have grains. Then we can have meals and send our children to school. Land is a matter of dignity for all people. It’s our identity. Without land, we are nobody and have no residence. With our own land, we will be masters of ourselves.

Interview 12

Name: Rajesh
Village: Nadavayal
District: Waynad
State: Kerala

I have been youth coordinator in Ekta Parishad for last one and half year. I am in charge of a complete district. I deal with 70-80 youth members from this district. My main task is to mobilise youths for Janadesh Programme which started two and half years. Janadesh, like other national movements, are necessary given that even after 60 years of independence, 30 crore people are without land. Most of the land is occupied by corporates such as Reliance. Even in the area adjacent to Tamil Nadu, they occupied a huge amount of land. In addition, the Government is dispossessing people from their land. For example, Varyad estate is a coffee estate. The Government acquired it and gave it for food processing. Basic necessities such as land for agriculture and house should be for everyone. I think this can only be achieved through this movement.

I mobilized the people through youth centres, camps and sessions about Janadesh Movement. In totality, 200-250 people from Kerala are engaged in these activities now. In Kerala, youth feels that they don’t have time. Same feeling is among unemployed youth.

The primary purpose of getting together is to bring people closer to the Gandhian philosophy. The slogan ‘Youth Power against Violence’ is to create cadres of youth who believe in non-violence.

Janadesh is to achieve the demand of land for housing and agriculture. Local people have been part of all the struggles either related to land or not. They have formed a National Campaign Committee for Land (NCCL).

As far as Government behavior towards land-related problems is concerned, Kerala’s current Chief Minister has been taking land encroached by resort owners. The idea is to give it to landless people. Even Panchayats are collecting the list of landless farmers. However, there is a division of opinion among the cadre of the communist party itself regarding this whole idea.

Ekta Mahila Manch is the women’s branch of Ekta Parishad. We have special camps attended by 30 women. These women are part of public works but I personally believe that they should be the part of main movement. In Kerala, there are forums such as ‘Kudumb Shree’, which bring together neighborhood women for livelihood. They protest against the usage of plastics and provided an opportunity for women to come up the ladder of struggle. If the Government won’t accept our demand then the whole team will sit, decide and work accordingly.

Interview 13

Name: Shiv Narayan Netam
Village: Himoda
District: Kanker/ Bastar
State: Chattisgarh

In Raipur, the Nicco Steel Companay has been established. They took over 4 villages for mining purpose. 32 families, which have been living there for the last 50 years, have been displaced. We were using that land for cultivation. Now we are left with no means for earning livelihood. There are three kinds of forces, which works against us. They are police, forest and Forest Protection Committee. The government gives incentives in kind or money to Forest Protection Committee to work against his own people. The “divide and rule” policy is adopted by the Government to snatch our right over the land. Police also harass us. Police came and arrested people without having any warrant against us. They pressurized us to leave our land by beating, threatening of dire consequences and keeping us in locker for 10-12 days. We have to either pay them bribes for getting our people released or request someone with land title to submit the surety in the court.

The Government planned to take over 450 acres of land which had been earlier given away in the name of ‘PanchVan’. Forest officials issued the notice one month before. Villagers mobilized the people, hold meeting and did write up to give it to the State government. We even collected money and went to meet the collector. In ‘Markatola’ land scandal we sit for 48 days strike without food until death. All these people are conspiring against us. They tried to stop us with the collaboration of the police, which kept us behind the bars for 13 days. In 1994, Agha Khan Thakur, Forest Minister, asked people to thrash us. Our family members and community people were only able to secure a release for us after 15 days of continuous struggle.

Interview 14

Name: Agatha Khelko
Village:Rangarbahar
District: Sundergarh
State: Orissa

For the last twenty years, mining has been happening in our place. One year ago, the Government announced the plan of setting up another stone crasher factory to produce cement. We, then, decided to raise our voice against it. Our reasons are that, firstly, it will pollute water as usually factory owners do not adopt any preventing mechanism, and secondly, we will loose our livelihood we are dispossessed. We want to raise our voice against this injustice. The Village Committee menaced us of dire consequences if we do not vacate the land.

Interview 15

Name: Asha Behn
Village: Ramabahal
District: Sundergarh
State: Orissa

In 1971, the Government displaced us from our land where they set up the Rourkela factory. It is now more than 35 years and, yet, we have not received any compensation either in the form of land or money. That is also why we have no land title. The earlier State government talked about giving us land but promises have not been fulfilled. The new State government wants to set up 136 factories in a special economic zone (SEZ) area and is asking us to leave our land. We are united, this time, and will fight against it. Over the past years, our land has been taken saying that it would be for agricultural purposes and then an industry would be set up instead. Now, we are aware and are more careful.

Interview 16

Name: Kannu Bhai
Village: Dengula
District: Sundergarh
State: Orissa

We have lost our land due to factories and with that we have also lost the only means of livelihood for us. People from Mumbai and Calcutta visited our villages. They gave lure to men and women in the village to go along with them. Some of us got decent jobs but many others fell into wrong hands. They asked us to do illegal activities and there was no way to escape. Only few managed to run away and go back to their village but they soon discovered to be suffering from serious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. They were in the last stages of the disease. They have been socially stigmatized by most of the villagers while their family members were too poor to help them in any way. They died in less than a month after reaching the village.

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