The Joint one day land rights Convention organised by the Bihar State Committees of AIKS and Khetihar Mazdoor union at Darbhanga on September 30, attended by 1500 hundred peasants and agricultural unions leaders, cadres, men and women, formulated an 11 point charter of demands and called for a sustained struggle to be launched from the panchayat levels to the State, culminating in a state level massive demonstration in the month of March at Patna.

Com. Shyam Bharti, State Secretariat member as one of the leaders of land movement of Darbhanga welcomed the leaders and delegates attending the Convention. State General Secretary of AIKS Com. Vinod Kumar placed a detailed report highlighting the importance of "land rights" in the present context based on various recommendations, expert reports and the ground level experiences during land movements launched by the AIKS from the '70s and '90s sacrificing hundreds of comrades in this bitter class struggle. Though Bihar was the first state which passed the land reform act in 1950 itself, but the long regime of Congress governments and the successive governments afterwards failed to implement even the halfhearted land reform acts enacted by these governments. The feudal elements running the government subverted these acts to the benefit of big land holders and religious trusts, denying the landless, homeless people the rights of land to live a dignified life. We can gauge the enormity of 43 thousand land related cases pending in Courts, which speak volumes about the complicity of landlords, government agencies and the judiciary in disposing off these cases in favour of landlords and land mafias protected by the ruling class parties. The D. Bandhyopadhyay Commission constituted by the Bihar government came to the conclusion that 22 lakh acres of lands are in the hands of landlords, land mafias and muscle men which can be acquired and distributed among the landless and homeless people. It also recommended to register the share croppers and give them legal status. It identified that the share croppers, constituted overwhelmingly from dalits, tribals and backward communities, need legal protection so that they can get the benefit of government subsidies and other financial aid. While putting this report in the dustbin Bihar has witnessed large scale evictions, bulldozing of slums, and roadside settlements without any alternative arrangement for the evicted poor and slum dwellers. The announcement of providing 5 decimal land to the landless has totally failed at the ground level.

Bihar gets ravaged every year due to devastating floods. Lakhs and Lakhs of people in Kosi and other north Bihar areas are left to start their lives afresh. Their houses get washed away along with their animals and household belongings forcing them to live on high rise embankments facing rain and scorching sun. This inhuman tragedy gets repeated every year with no end in sight. To cover up the failure of distributing land, the government has initiated land surveys which has created chaos leading to lot of corruption in revenue offices. According to the recent statement issued by the revenue department, out of 45 thousand villages, the land records of 8,000 revenue villages are not available in the government record. No record of 23 lakh deed holders is available in the government offices, particularly that of Bhoodan, ceiling, Bakasht, topo land. The government is mum on the rights of the landless on the Bhoodan, ceiling and Bakasht land.

A large crowd of farmers gathers at the venue in Darbhanga. Photo by arrangement.

Com. Ashok Dhawale, the general Secretary of AIKS, while emphasising the need for thorough land reform, traced the deprivation of Dalits, backwards, women in relation to landed property to how it was shaped by feudalism under the Brahmanical philosophy of Manu Smriti. It also held back the landless marginalised sections from rebelling against this tyrannical inhuman system. The British regime extracted the revenue from the peasants by introducing various forms of landlordism. The demands of the peasant revolts during the independence struggle and after independence still remain unfulfilled. Bihar is the classic case of non-implementation of land to the tiller and homestead land to all. The neo-liberal policies pursued in the last three decades have brought new contradictions to the fore. The present regime is bent on handing over the land to the corporates. Though the one-year long gherao of Delhi by  peasants forging unity with the working class forced the Modi government to withdraw the three draconian agricultural acts, the same is being introduced through the backdoor. He particularly described the 1000 acres of land allotted to Adani in Pirpainti block of Bhagalpur. Several such instances of large-scale land acquisition are being implemented. So, the land question has become a fundamental question to fight against the anti-peasant, pro-corporate neo-fascist regime. All such contradictions in the agricultural sector have crystallised in Bihar. AIKS hopes the AIKS Bihar unit will unleash movements befitting its earlier achievements in this area. 

All India Joint Secretary Com. Awadhesh Kumar recalled the glorious traditions of the peasant movement in Bihar and the sacrifices of hundreds of comrades in different districts fighting for land for the landless, homeless and the marginalised and small peasants. Hundreds of bastis, hamlets inhabited by landless, homeless poor dotting the districts of Bihar tell their own stories of valour and sacrifices. Once again, we have to face the concerted attacks by the government, land mafias, in league with corrupt bureaucrats to evict the poorest of the poor from their land acquired legal rights. He called upon the assembled comrades to go with a clear message of sustained movement not only to safeguard the already achieved rights but also to fight back the corporate onslaught eyeing the agricultural sector. 

The General Secretary of the All India Khetihar Mazdoor Union Com. Vikram came down heavily on central and state BJP governments pursuing the ruinous path of corporatisation of agriculture, jeopardizing the food security and the peasant economy of the country. The government is following the dictates of imperialist countries by inking the bilateral trade agreements benefitting the giant agro-companies.

He gave a clarion call to implement the programmes, by mobilising the peasants and agricultural labourers to snatch the rights of land from the jaws of the corporate led pro-imperialist government. Only by unleashing class struggles can we defend the democratic and constitutional rights and the rights of the peasants and agricultural workers. He denounced the recent change in the MGNREGA act which has completely done away with the earlier right to employment for the rural proletariat. 

At the end of the Convention the 11-point charter of demands was placed by the State Genral Secretary of the Khetihar Mazdoor Union Com. Ramashray Mahto. It was seconded by the State General Secretary of AIKS Bihar State Committee Com. Vinod Kumar. The charter of demands are as follows.

1. Implement the recommendations of D. Bandhyopadhyay Commission in letter and spirit.

2. Stop evictions of peasants having land deeds from Bhoodan, ceiling and government lands.

3. Provide 10 decimal land to all the landless, homeless people. Provide legal status to those who are living on government and tenancy land.

4. Stop demolishing poor dwellings in the name of encroachments without alternative arrangements.

5. Stop forcible land acquisition. Land acquisition, rehabilitation, re-allocation act be implemented.

6. Forest rights act and Pesa act 1996 be implemented forcefully.

7. Stop acquiring land in the name of building green field satellite cities. Withdraw land pooling act. The rights of those in possession of land with legal papers on Bakasht, Topo Land and on the Bettiah Raj land be ensured.

8. Distribute Bhoodan, surplus Ceiling land and excess government land among the landless.

9. Constitute special tribunal to dispose of all the pending cases. 

10. Stop loot of the peasants in the name of survey.


The author is a political leader from Bihar, India, affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The views expressed are personal.