Land Struggle in Kerala

It was at the World Social Forum this year that Rajgopal PV, the National Convener of Ekta Parishad, came under fire from a group of European journalists. Speaking to them during Ekta's 'International Celebration of Land', which ran alongside the main events, he fronted questions on the well-publicised 'Muthanga incident' that had taken place in Kerala a year earlier.

How could the leader of a non-violent movement, well known for speaking out against the economic and social injustices endured by India's peaceful tribal communities, justify the violent uprising by adivasis in the heart of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary?

The Muthanga incident is an unusual episode in the recent history of Adivasi struggle in India, due to its brutal conclusion. At the time, the respected daily, the Hindu had reported that an 'eerie silence' had prevailed in and around the sanctuary, 'which had witnessed bloody clashes between police and volunteers of the Adivasi Gothra Sabha (AGS), while the Inspector General of Police assured the public that his forces had used 'utmost restraint' during their 'operation'.

It was in the early morning on the 19 February 2003 that a potentially volatile series of events reached its bloody crescendo. For forty-five days a group of around 2,000 activists from the AGS encroached upon, and occupied a stretch of the protected Muthanga range in the north-east corner of the state. They declared self-rule in the area, started cultivation for a living, and restricted entry to non-tribal people into the new settlement.

Muthanga, established in 1973 to protect the natural habitat of Asiatic elephants, has sanctuary status, with human settlements prohibited. But despite pressure mounting from environmental groups, the government took no action until six weeks after the adivasis occupation, allegedly entering the forest only when a fire developed near the AGS site. The cause of the fire has yet to be established but, as the intervention began, investigating officers were taken captive and held for a harrowing night in tribal custody. Tensions grew further the following morning as local people gathered and faced a crowd of activists armed with sharpened sticks, bows, arrows, knives and sickles. The police, realising that the issue could not be ignored any longer, decided to step in with force. It was at this time that adivasis captured one forest official, and one policeman who later died from injuries inflicted by his captors. One member of the AGS was reported dead, although human rights activists have suggested that up to twenty were killed when the police opened fire.

The details of the police 'operation', to this day, remain clouded, but, in the aftermath what has been widely highlighted is the dangerous metamorphosis of a tribal movement. This, according to Rajgopal, has shifted the public attention from the real question: the shortcomings of A.K. Anthony's government in providing adequate land for indigenous people. It is political parties that he says are equally to blame for forcing the adivasis to take the path of violence: In an interview last year he gave a message to the central and state governments: 'Why are you pushing people to think that they finally have to take the gun. Why can't you solve the problem?'

In Kerala, promises have been broken time and time again. In 2001 the Anthony government agreed on paper to provide at least one acre of land (up to five where possible) to all landless adivasis. In the coming months allocation fell flat when it became clear that the administration had made no plan as to where this land was coming from. Initial euphoria turned to disappointment and resentment, in a state where over 45,000 families tribal do not own even a strip of land. One year later and the resentment turned to violence.

In a fact-finding report undertaken by Ekta after Muthanga, the organisation's message remains clear: start involving adivasi participation in protecting wildlife and the environment; provide basic land for livelihood for all landless peoples; Rajgopal finally urged all parties to seek a peaceful and sustainable solution. Muthanga must not be used as an excuse for Kerala to, once again, brush aside the fundamental question of survival that is forcing more and more adivasis into despair.

Ekta had planned a two-week land right padyatra in Kerala in December 2003, but, post-Muthanga the Kerala government has, once more, agreed to provide land for landless adivasis (20,000 acres this time). The march was postponed to allow the government's actions to match its promises. Only time will tell. Fires started by tribal activists as they retreated in the face of police action. The police gather outside the forest range. Tribal activists confront the advancing police force with bows and arrows at the Muthanga forest on February 19.