[Reader-list] Land grabbing - another case

[anupam chakravartty]

dear rakesh

a very interestingly article indeed. if you know anything about the shabari
kumbh and the subsequent campaign by the VHP to quell the Dangi Nationalism
of the Dang district of Gujarat please post it here.

after travelling in the areas such as saputara, ahwa and other places, it
seems the Dangis or the tribal population of the Dang district also feel
forced to accept the indian mainstream culture. the Dangi king, Tapatrao
Anandrao Pawar also feels that by organising shabari kumbh in dangs, the VHP
and contrarily, the christian organisations by conversions have been trying
to get the tribals to a "more" mainstream culture.

regards
anupam

On 3/7/09, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 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.
>
> ------------------------------
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