Illegal land transfer of Kandhas
A fundamental cause of conflict is the issue of land alienation of the tribal people. The Communist parties had submitted a memorandum to then Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil identifying land disputes as the root cause of the violence in the district. They had demanded a special task force of the Revenue Department to resolve the matter.
Dr Krishna Kumar, Kandhamal District Magistrate, had said, “The tribals have been around forever. They are the original dwellers here. They never had to prove that they owned the land. I mean why would they? In the early 1990s the tribal lands opened up. Pattas, a certificate indicating ownership of land, began to be given out. The tribes have a complex social structure within themselves; they had given land to neighbours for various reasons. When they had to prove ownership of the land, they could not. The actual users of the land who were non-tribals claimed the ownership of the land.”
Traditional relations between the Panas and Kandhas were shattered by Christianity, which converted the majority of the Pana and probably inspired them to claim the land. The Kandhas incurred debts with merchants whom they had over the decades given their land for shops and depots; not understanding the subtleties of commerce, they would be out-manoeuvred. Often, liquor was involved.
In one case, Mera Mallick, Saku Mallick, Puresar Mallick and Ganja Mallick of Rebingia village said the Christian Panas had stolen more than 20 acres of their land, which they have been unable to reclaim despite repeated requests to various government agencies. Dr. A.C. Sahoo, Director, Rural Development Dept., Directorate of Academy of Tribal Dialect & Culture, Orissa, said the Kandhas were blatantly disinherited from their lands. Having intimately studied tribals in Orissa for over 30 years, Sahu observed, “Some Kandhas lost their lands to the Panas by incurring vast debts due to their drinking habits. Having no money, yet wanting wine, they would give up their land claims.” More recently, tribal lands have been sold to major industrial houses, but not by the tribals, but by non-tribals.
Land is vital to tribal identity. For example, Wataka is a tribal region and the tribes there bear the surname Wataka. Their lands are also their Temples and for generations they have worshipped and sacrificed on this land. Thus the very core of their identity is intimately tied to the land, religion and traditions. The loss of land strips the tribes of their identity.
P.C. Dogra, IPS (retd), pointed out: In Barakhoma, 13 cases for land restoration were filed in the court of OSD, Land Reforms, Balliguda. In 2001 they were decided in favour of the tribals with a clear direction to the Tehsildar to deliver possession after the appeal period is over. But restoration has not yet been effected by the local administration and the police. To date, 22 acres in Barakhoma, 7 acres in Kelapada, 5 acres in Gresinga under Udaygiri Block, and many other places remain under illegal occupation of the Church and the Christians.
It must be understood that to the Kandhas, the earth is not something to be used, not a possession, nor object of exploitation, but a living entity and an object of worship. It is sacred and intimate. Their habits, social customs and religious belief are linked to land only. One important legend states that the Earth deity was the first Kandha woman who came out of the earth and at her own request became the first human sacrifice. This act imposed on obligation on the Kandhas to make regular offerings of blood to propitiate her. In exchange, she would grant fertility and wellbeing. The earth thus became the spiritual ancestor through whom lineal descent, the belief goes, could be traced. All are born of her.
Cultivating the earth was fraught with guilt and fear, an act of pollution or defilement. Rites are performed and a sacrifice made to propitiate her. Fertility of land depends on whether the deity is appeased. Drought and famine follow neglect in making the necessary offerings to the deity. The blood sacrifice ritual is a vital aspect of Kandha worship. Land links the Kandhas to their past and future and gives them their identity. The secret sale of land is not allowed; transactions are between family groups, and not between individuals.
Psychologically therefore, land alienation for Kandhas means more than loss of real estate. It is equal to the loss of a body part or vital organ. Yet Kandhas have lost a majority of their land rights. Worse, the tribals found it very difficult to legally defend their ownership of their lands and settle possession disputes because of their poverty and total ignorance of Revenue and Forest Acts.
The Lok Sabha debate (Oct. 24, 2008) on Kandhamal showed some of the ground realities. Highlighting land alienation as a major cause of the turmoil, Mr Kharabela Swain, MP from Balasore, said: “Nearly a year ago, the Scheduled Castes, that is, the Panas - who have been converted to Christianity - filed a case in the Supreme Court and demanded that just like the Gujjars in Rajasthan they should also be given Scheduled Tribe status. All are very well aware as to what all happened in Rajasthan. … In Kandhamal, the Christian Panas are demanding that they should be given the Scheduled Tribe status, and the Kandhas are objecting to it. Why are they objecting to it? …. (Interruptions) It is because of the present day rule…that a non-tribe cannot buy a tribal’s land… the Kandhas or the tribals are thinking that if the Panas or the Scheduled Castes become tribals, then they will buy all the land that belongs to the tribals… They have two other allegations. The Pana Christians are educationally and financially better off. By virtue of their education and better contacts with Government machinery, they have appropriated most of the land belonging to tribals. The pattas (ownership titles) of the land which tribals have been cultivating hundreds of years have gone to the Scheduled Castes; without their knowledge.”
Mr Swain also spoke about the Christian Panas’ fraudulent use of certificates for government entitlements. The Scheduled Castes, who have converted to Christianity, are better educated and have procured false certificates as tribals and got Government jobs. He alleged that a sitting Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha is actually a Pana Christian who got a false certificate as a tribal and got into the IAS. The CBI is investigating the case… Thus the Kandhas find that the Pana Christians are manipulating everything to deprive the STs of their land, of their jobs.
The Church too, has encroached upon tribal land. There is one church in Masiripada (revenue village Kulukipada); one in Dangirikia (revenue village Dangirikia); one in Karandagada (revenue village Darandagada); and two in Taladandikia (revenue village Taladandikia).
Land alienation has caused outbreaks of violence since the 1970s, if not before. In Kandhamal in December 2007, the homes of 35 Christian families were attacked. But the land they were built upon was owned by a Kandha tribal named Disuka Mallik - plot #271/2001 [Baligauda Court records]. He won the lawsuit and the encroaching Christian Panas were given a Court order to leave the property. But the order was never enforced by the police or district administration. During a protest march organized by the Kandhas, they were attacked from a nearby Christian Pana Church. In response, the Kandhas took the opportunity to attack the homes on the land in an effort to reclaim their rightful property.
Unfortunately, the national and international media vilified this as yet ‘another horrific incident of anti-Christian ethnic cleansing perpetrated by violent fanatic Hindu supporters of the RSS and BJP’. Yet the incident proves that violence is a last resort by Kandhas.
There are many more such cases of land alienation that are either still pending in the Courts or have been decided in favour of the Kandhas. But despite Court rulings in favour of the Kandhas, the Government refuses to act to remove the Christian Pana squatters or restore the property rights of the tribes. From 1991-2007 alone, the Kandhas had filed 3574 cases of land disputes in the courts; involving a land area of 220.81 hectares. Only 1410 cases have been adjudicated upon and most of the land has yet to be restored to the Kandha people.
When there is no justice, there can be no peace. These cases are not just the claims of 3574 people. Each represents a large social network of families, friends and communities; in other words, the frustrations of hundreds of people. A father’s inability to regain his family land is a defeat, humiliation and loss to the entire family. The sense of powerlessness is overwhelming. The tight knit Kandha tribal community is totally interdependent; there are few opportunities to function independently. Thus 3574 cases of disempowerment, spanning a generation, have a debilitating effect upon an entire people.
As there are many more Kandha who lack the experience and ability to file land claims, these cases are only a partial representation of the problem. The absolute failure of Government authorities to execute the judicial mandate represents a fundamental breakdown of the system and disrupts the social harmony of a people. Even during the 1994 Kandhamal riots, the illegal and forcible possession of lands belonging to ST (Kandha) community by members of SC (Pana) community was held to be a principal cause of the trouble.