[Reader-list] Land grabbing - another case

[Rakesh Iyer]

Hi to all

This is an article I got in Outlook magazine. Hope you find it interesting.

http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090316&fname=Tribals&sid=1

    <http://www.outlookindia.com/> Print This Page <javascript:void(0);>
   Magazine|  Mar 16, 2009

a&n islands: tribals

* A Little Naval Battle On Land *

* The natives of Kamorta refuse to give up what the navy claims it
'acquired' in 1979*

 ANURADHA RAMAN    *The Native Take*

   - The 230 acres on Kamorta island, which the navy claims, is theirs
   - The Rani of Nancowry had no right to gift the land to the navy
   - Only the chief commissioner or the lieutenant governor can decide on
   the fate of the land
   - The navy should try the tribals before a competent court if they have
   committed treason, as it alleges

***
*The Navy’s Response*

   - The land is rightfully theirs. The tribals’ allegations of encroachment
   are untrue and unwarranted
   - Issue is being fanned by anti-national elements
   - Levelling allegations of land-grabbing by the navy is tantamount to
   high treason
   - The land in question was acquired in 1979 with an NoC from the Rani of
   Nancowry

***
*"Nothing can separate us from our land. This is all we have."*

—Rashid Yusuf, spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman &
Nicobar Islands.
Five years ago, when the tsunami wreaked havoc, the tribespeople of the
Andaman & Nicobar Islands saw the human face of the Indian navy. The men in
white helped them restore normalcy after the ravages of the sea. Today,
those same tribals are locked in a bitter battle with the navy over 230-odd
acres on Kamorta island. The navy claims the land was given to them by the
queen of Nancowry in 1978; the tribals declare the deal invalid in law.

Things took a turn for the worse early this year, when the navy began
cutting down plantations on the disputed land with help from the revenue
department. The tribals were up in arms, for land in six villages was
demarcated. Skirmishes broke out between the tribals and the navy, fuelling
misgivings. "We’re required to apply for tickets to use the civil helicopter
that ferries us to Port Blair thrice a week. The trips are crucial to us.
But the navy, which owns the helipad, has threatened to deny us tickets if
we continue to agitate for our land," says Rashid Yusuf, a tribal leader and
spokesperson for the Federation of Tribal Councils, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands. Though under pressure, the tribals stand resolved to agitate if the
land isn’t restored to them.

What’s particularly vexing is that the navy has no plans to pay compensation
of any sort. Worse, it hyperbolises the tribals’ demands into an attack on
the nation. The navy’s Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) says the tribals’
allegations of encroachment are untrue, malicious and detrimental to the
image and morale of the armed forces. "The issue is being fanned by
anti-national elements, who are now adding (sic) the emotions of the tribal
population in order to attain their own ends. Levelling baseless allegations
against the nation’s armed forces, especially in these times of
sub-conventional and separatist threats, is tantamount to high treason," the
ANC said in a February 13 press release.

Yusuf asks if fighting for one’s land is anti-national. Insulted by the
navy’s allegations, the tribal councils decided to boycott the Lok Sabha
elections. It took the intervention of Manoranjan Bhakta, the MP from
Andaman & Nicobar Islands, to persuade the tribals to withdraw their boycott
call. A delegation of tribals met defence minister A.K. Antony in New Delhi
last week and he has assured them that he would look into their grievances
and have officials determine the facts in the matter. "We are waiting to see
whether our concerns will be addressed," says Yusuf.

Bhakta also says the defence minister had assured the delegation that action
would be taken against those responsible for harassing the tribals.In a
February 21 letter to Antony, Bhakta notes: "...to call the tribal leaders
anti-national is atrocious, baseless and totally uncalled for. The tribals
say the entire island of Kamorta except the port area was declared a tribal
reserve in 1957. Under the regulations, no one other than the administrator
(the lieutenant governor) can permit any person other than a tribal to
acquire an interest in any tribal land or any produce thereof. The deputy
commissioner, the tribals believe, had no authority to allot any tribal land
to anyone."


Ravaged: A post-tsunami resettlement camp

But what is the factual position as regards the 230 acres in question?
Tribal leaders reveal that the navy’s claim on the land is based on a
document signed by one Rani Lachmi, "Rani of Nancowrie", dated September 25,
1978, and an allotment order subsequently issued by the deputy commissioner,
Nicobar district, dated November 15, 1979.

Of course, there is no denying the fact that the area is strategic to the
navy. The INS *Kardip* is an advanced forward naval base in the defence
set-up. The defence forces already have 317 acres at Kamorta island but
wants the additional 230 acres for "strategic reasons."

The armed forces are presently engaged in an exhaustive joint survey for
demarcation of land at Kamorta. In addition to representatives from the
army, navy and the coast guard, the team includes a surveyor and draughtsman
appointed by the Andaman & Nicobar administration as well as a
representative from the assistant defence estates office, Port Blair.

In reply to *Outlook*’s questionnaire, the defence ministry said: "The
defence minister has ordered that the issues raised by the delegation be
examined expeditiously, because of the nature of allegations made against
the navy, so that the factual position can be ascertained."

The tribals see the entire operation as land-grabbing by the navy. Many have
begun to question the rationale of giving away their land and the time taken
by the navy to claim it as its own. "Giving away 230 acres of land which
does not belong to the Rani is amazing. Besides, Nancowry was not one of the
442 princely states under British domain. There is no evidence of an
instrument of accession signed by the rani," says Samir Acharya of the
Society for Andaman & Nicobar Ecology.

Interestingly, regulations for Union Territories like the Andaman & Nicobar
Islands are promulgated by the President, the one relevant to this matter
being the Andaman & Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation,
promulgated in 1956. The entire island of Kamorta, except the naval port
area, was declared a tribal reserve by gazette notification in 1957. No one
can acquire any right on any land or produce except with consent of the
administrator/chief commissioner. This, the tribals allege, was not obtained
by the navy.

For tribals the takeover of the land comes minus any compensation. Till now,
they were cultivating the land. But once the navy moves in, they will be
denied that source of livelihood. Which is why their leaders have been
standing up to the might of the navy and the government.

  ------------------------------