[Reader-list] debate on narmada and land question

[Asit asitreds]

romSachin Singh <kadamfilms at yahoo.com>tomedha at narmada.org,
Octave <octave at vsnl.com>,
octave at bol.net.in,
dateTue, Apr 29, 2008 at 9:24 AMsubjectRehabilitation Options for NBA
mailed-byyahoo.comsigned-byyahoo.com
hide details 9:24 AM (53 minutes ago)
Reply

Dear Friend,

1. The issue of "rehabilitation" is a serious
political issue and we all must support the need for
people to be rehabilitated, though we also understand
that the state will not rehabilitated the dispossesed.


2. I am convinced that the best path possible for the
NBA can be through launching a struggle for capturing
"CEILING SURPLUS LAND" and un-utilised government
lands to rehabilitate the thousands of families who
have lost their lands and homes due to submergence.

3. As we all know that lakhs of hectares of land is
still in the hands of the big landlords and the
government. This land is in their hands despite all
forms of legislations and constitutional provisions
stating, "land to the tiller". This huge ceiling
surplus land is the single most powerful source of
power for perpetuating all kinds of barbaric feudal,
castist and gender discriminations. This power and
control over land allows the perpetuation of a inhuman
and violent practices meted out on the weaker sections
of society, especially women, adivasis, children and
the disabled.

4. M.P., U.P., Rajasthan, Maharastra, Gujarat,
Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and  Bihar are at the forefront
of caste oppression and inequal land holdings. Since
the NBA has a good presence in several parts of M.P.
with allied organisations spread across the country, I
am convinced that it can start a good struggle for
capturing ceiling surplus land. In this way, the
regular "homage to martyrs" such as Birsa Munda and
Bhagat Singh, as done by the NBA will also bear fruit
in actual practice.

5. In this struggle for capturing ceiling surplus land
NBA will be able to build a huge mass base consensus
cutting across political affiliations and ideologies
and will effectively  take up a democratic rights on
behalf of the most discriminated against - while at
the same time also manage to rehabilitate those huge
number  of people whose homes and farms have been
destroyed  because  of submergence.

This is a challenging task but the NBA has the
advantage of a mass organisation which has already
been politicised. This mass base is also not under any
more illusions about how much justice they can expect
through appeals to the government. I am convinced that
the "people" who constitute this mass base would be
more than willing to launch a democratic struggle for
land rights by evicting the landlords from the illegal
ceiling  surplus lands and reclaiming that which is
legally their right.

Regards,
Sachin

Merely doing good to the evil may be equivalent to doing evil to the good.