Chennai: Providing a fresh ray of hope for reclaiming 'Panchami lands', assigned to the depressed classes during colonial rule in the then Madras Presidency, a Tamil Nadu based Dalit organisation has tasted success, beating the shadow of despondency in the decades-long struggle. For the first time in recent years, the Dalit Liberation Movement (DLM) has recovered Panchami lands in the southern districts of the state.
Though the extent of reclamation is small, it is of significance, given the history of the struggle since 1989 and the death of two activists in police firing in 1994 at Karanai near Chennai. Sustained efforts without giving up has yielded results for the DLM.
The outfit first tasted success in 2005 when it retrieved a meagre 60 cent piece of prime land in Vadipatti town in Madurai district. “It gave us hope to go further and take up the issue with the concerned revenue authorities. We painstakingly started collecting revenue records and submitted them to the authorities for action and at times approached the National Commission for SCs to secure directions,” said DLM general secretary S Karupaiah.
In 2018, the organisation was able to retrieve 14 acres at Vagarai near Kallimandayam in Dindigul district. Interestingly, the land, was part of a sprawling private cotton mill. Earlier in 2014, at Kariyampatti in the district, 4.16 acre was retrieved. Then in 2021, another 2.66 acre, where a private school stood, was reclaimed at Thengarai village in Madurai district. “Recovery of the 14 acre land in Vagarai was a morale booster not only for DLM but for the Panchami land retrieval movement which took roots in the late eighties,” Karupaiah added.
Why did the British assign lands to the Dalits? Close on the heels of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1843, the then Collector of Chengalpattu, JHA Tremenheere submitted a report, titled “ Notes on the Pariah's of Chingleput”, recommending policy initiatives to ameliorate the plight of the 'untouchables'. Based on the report and prolonged efforts of missionaries, the colonial administration passed the GO 1010, 1010 A in 1892 to assign wastelands to the depressed classes with the following condition:
“The land once assigned cannot be alienated byway of sale, mortgage, gift or lease to any other person who is not a member of the depressed classes. It the land ceases to be owned by the original grantee or his legal heirs, the government is entitled to take possession without payment of compensation.”
The conditional assignments were made from the1920s onwards. But, over the period, due to urbanisation and enhancement of irrigation facilities, these lands fell into the hands of dominant castes. And the movement to reclaim the Panchami lands took root in the late eighties. The struggle to reclaim such a land in the northern districts with Karanai, about 26 km from Chennai, becoming the nucleus of the movement. Two dalit activists, John Thomas and Elumalai, who led the movement were killed in police firing in 1994. After that, the movement had lost steam.
“It is in this scenario, the DLM's success story assumes importance. It shows the issue is still alive. Since most of the original assignees are no more, their legal heirs are neither aware of their lands nor possess the records. The revenue authorities usually demand records to turn those who approach them. But, even RTI is not helpful as there is a time limit of 30 years. The way out is for the state government to pass a law on panchami land retrieval,” says Jerome Samraj, teaching at Puducherry Central University. Jerome, whose doctoral thesis was on panchami land, adds, “civil society engagement and approaching the higher judiciary are given fresh hope ahead of a long dark tunnel.”
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