Even 6 yrs after getting titles, tribals of Nelliyampathy denied right to pay land tax

"HOW can a government give us titles and then deny us the right to prove we own the land?" asks Manoharan, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and heartbreak.

- SHYAM P V @Nelliyampathy (Palakkad)

A member of the Malasar tribe in Nelliyampathy residing in the Bhagavathi Mooppan Tribal Colony, Manoharan is among 127 tribal families caught in a cruel paradox - granted land titles after a 16-year-long struggle, yet they are being denied the basic right to pay tax in their own names.

The land ownership titles, or pattayas, were distributed in 2018 to 127 tribal families from the Malasar and Irular communities during a highly publicised government function in Palakkad by the-then government. The gesture was seen as a long-overdue acknowledgment of their fight for land, which began in 2002-a few weeks ahead of the well-known Muthanga land agitation.