A Tale Of Land Loss, From Birsa's Village

The Jharkhand government has pushed through amendments to laws, leaving tribals unprotected against takeover of their land. A report from Ulihatu.

- Sneh Singh

A hulking armoured vehicle of the CRPF, olive green against the dull yellow of crop stubble, stands morosely where the road curves into Ulihatu, a village of Munda tribals. such mine-proof vehicles of the CRPF are not uncommon here, in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, 55 km south of ranchi, right in the heart of the Chotanagpur plateau and still marked in deep red on maps flagging the activity of Maoist insurgents. But it’s a different protest that is gathering steam in this village these days, one that harks back to its most famous son, Birsa Munda, who led a freedom movement, or ulgulan (tumult), against the British, and later, in 1899-1900, the Munda rebellion against outsiders, or dikus, who had through economic might come to own much of the land in Chotanagpur, reducing tribals to debt and penury.

Past the tamarind and jack fruit trees, and the hens and chickens flitting from hut to hut and across the road, men are gathering in the common hall of the village, marked by an arch that says ‘The birthplace of Bhagwan Birsa Munda’ (see photo, left). Children sit watching on the boundary wall, and gun-toting CRPF commandos in fatigues strut about. From within the hall is heard the voice of men solemnly pledging to fight against the amendments to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNTA) and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPTA). These were hastily changed by the BJP government – first by an ordinance in June, and then, amendments in November – to remove the restrictions on sale of adivasi land for commercial purposes. The pledge is being read out in front of a statue of Dharti Aaba, or “father of the earth”, as the tribals have deified Birsa Munda.