Injustice to the Konda dora adivasis in chinna jangampeta

It was 7 a.m. on January 6. Adivasi farmers of Chinna Jaggampeta in the Nathavaram mandal of Visakhapatnam district were getting ready to tend to their farms.

Even before they realised what was happening, the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO), a team of about 50 armed policemen, led by the Inspectors from Narsipatnam and Nathavaram, and about 70 labourers from the neighbouring descended on the village. They forcibly packed 70 adivasis — including women, the elderly and children — into police vans. They chopped off and carried away the paddy crop that was nearing harvest.

Such a scene was similar to the one witnessed in films like Mother India , where zamindars and local financiers grabbed farmers’ produce forcibly. It has now been done by the district administration with the support of policemen, and reportedly at the behest of a local non-tribal political leader who has been eyeing the 22-acre piece since 1974. The Konda Dora adivasis themselves do not know since when they have been tilling the land. “It has been ages. We regard Chinna Jaggampeta as our native soil,” said Pydiraju, a farmer, who has cleared the Intermediate and is among the educated adivasis.

The 50 families have been growing one crop of paddy on 11 acres and cashew, coconut and palm on the other 11 acres. They have developed a unique cooperative system, where none is the owner of any plot and the entire produce is shared equally after the harvest.

Only source of livelihood

“This year, we had a good crop. We produce about 30 bags from each acre and every family gets around six bags of rice. This is our only source of livelihood. The festive mood was just setting in, as the harvest time was nearing. And the authorities came down and destroyed our crop,” said Vellagada Parvathi.

According to her, there were about 10 policewomen and they used considerable force to bundle them into the vans. “The next day, we found our lush green fields turned into a barren tract,” she added. Labourers were brought from the neighbouring villages. Generators, high power lights and tractors too were brought in. “They worked from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next day and our entire produce was harvested before time and taken away,” lamented Satya.

In 1974, Ankam Reddy Nookaraju, a local non-tribal politician, obtained a sale agreement (not a registered sale deed) and, based on that, procured a pattadar pass book. He had been staking his claim of ownership ever since. In 2011, both the adivasis and Mr. Nookaraju — also called Jameel — went to court. The case is pending in the High Court, said Mr. V. Kiran of Rythu Swarajya Vedika.

source:- the hindu