WAYANAD: Chellan, a 70-year-old Urali Kurumba tribesman, sits in utter distress in front of his dilapidated shack at Appad in Wayanad district.
For the past 15 months, he along with a group of tribesmen from different communities have been fighting a battle which nobody is sure of winning. Nevertheless, they continue with their fight.
Yet another major land struggle is taking shape there. More than 50 families belonging to the Urali Kurumba, Kattu Naikar, Kurumar and Paniyar tribes have been on an indefinite strike demanding possession certificates for the land where they are staying and carrying out farming.
They demand possession certificate under the Forest Rights Act. The strike unravels the double face of the government authorities and how vested interests hijack tribal benefits in many parts of the state.
"Another 67 families, who migrated to Appad along with us on the other side of the hill, were given land possession documents. Reason? They are part of the CPMbacked Adivasi Kshema Samithi (AKS). We have been denied justice only because we were not ready to join hands with the CPM or any other political side," points out Vijayan, convener of the SC/ST Samyuktha Samara Samithi.
The struggle is being led by P K Radhakrishnan of Vellamunda, chairman of the Joint Council. They say that important markings for providing possession certificate for the land including temple, huts, farmlands, crematorium and playground are present in the region.
It was in 2002 that a bunch of tribal families migrated to Appad and began farming.
"We have been staying at Appad and surrounding areas for the past 60 years. Three or four families were living in each of the small huts. That is why we migrated to this place. When the Muthanga struggle began at another part of Wayanad, the authorities began to threaten us. Antisocials burnt our huts and destroyed the crops. We fled, but continued farming. The forest officials too started threatening. On January 10, 2010, we began this fight for the land," say Mani, Balan, Appu and Madhavan.
Ironically, another 67 families who migrated along with them at Panchamikunnu (the hill was named Panchami after a child was born during the struggle) were given land documents in 2010. "We kept on fighting. Of course, the AKS was with us. We were taken to jail for 16 days. But, finally we won," point out Gopi and Krishnan, who got the papers after a nineyear struggle.
"It seems we too should follow their path. No longer can we continue with the socalled peaceful fight. It is time we encroached the land and erected our huts. Only then will the authorities open their eyes," says K K Bhaskaran, an Urali tribesman who is all set to began a violent strike.
(The study is done as a part of a fellowship from the Centre for Science and Environment New Delhi)