Kerala: Two generations and 40 years on, agrarian family still fights for justice

8 years ago

James and Treasa with their children in front of the district administration office in Kalpetta, Wayanad, Kerala

Article 21 of the Constitution of India cossets the right to ‘lead a meaningful, complete and dignified life’. But for the members of Kanjirathinal family in Wayanad district of Kerala, life has been an ordeal — one that is deprived of all essentials.

During the past 40 years, the family has been on the run to reclaim its legitimate piece of land from the state government that acquired it on false grounds. Two generations of the family have withered down in their struggle against the state government.

George and his brother Jose from Kottayam climbed the ghats of Wayanad during the late 1960s in hope of finding a suitable land for agriculture. They bought 12 acres of land in Kanjiramkad village under Vythiri taluk in 1967, trading the fortunes they had brought from Kottayam.

However, the efforts of the brothers did not last long for they were taken for granted by the forest department, which managed to make them part with the land by forging official records to label it as ‘vested forest land’.

The settler-brothers had toiled in the barren land to make it into a fertile agricultural land. However, the unfortunate brothers’ efforts turned out to be jinxed as the state forest department notified the whole land as ‘vested forest’ in 1976. Later, a high court order directed the state forest department to reconsider the notification and instructed it to grant 75 cents of land from it to the brothers.

After many futile legal battles against the forest department, an unwilling Jose Kanjirathinal returned to Kottayam after entrusting his share to his elder brother George. However, George was starting to witness more tragedies in life after his consistent efforts to reclaim the land left his family economically ripped and devastated.

In the run for setting up a normal life for his family by reclaiming his hard-earned possession, George had forgotten to lead a life.

After 36 years of tussle with the state government, George bade farewell to life on December 13, 2012. During his struggle, George and his family were kicked out of the land. A small house that he had built on the land too was demolished by the forest department.

George’s daughter Treasa, her husband James and their twin children have now taken up the battle. Since August 15 last, they have been staging an indefinite Satyagraha in front of the district administration office in Kalpetta in a bid to persuade the authorities to restore the land rights to them. ‘Satyagraha until death’, they call it.

Treasa and family too shared the financial burdens of George who had expended all his meagre incomes for sustaining the legal battle in tact. Currently, for the latest generation of Kanjirathinal family, the battle has to keep going until it is reunited with the land.

The family has demanded the state government to give back the 12 acres land that was ‘unlawfully’ confiscated by the forest department. Currently, James and family has no other option than to win back the land for survival.

“We do not have any option, we have two children to raise, we want the land back to start a new living. If not, there is no other but to commit suicide,” says James.

Though the VS Achuthanandan-government in 2006 had assented for the restoration of the land to the family, an environment activist group filed an appeal against the order in high court, following which the order was kept in abeyance by the court. Even though James has filed a review petition, the case is still in sub-judiciary.

The family believes that if the state government files an affidavit in high court saying the land is not ‘vested’ then it would come back to them.

“We would get the land back if the state government informs the high court that it is not forest land. Hence, we want the state government to intervene in the matter immediately taking cognizance of malice done to us,” he adds.

Today, the unrelenting family has entered 200th day of its agitation against the state government. The family, which stays in a tent adjacent to the front gate of district administration’s office, bears the cold climate that is typical of Wayanad during nights and witnesses rip-roaring political leaders who campaign for the rights of tribes and farmers in the district.

James recalls a recent incident when ‘comrade’ Brinda Karat addressed a gathering in front of district administration office.

“She addressed the gathering and did not even turn this side. I found it quite shocking when she did not even bother to enquire about us. We too represent the struggling people of Wayanad who have been demanding their rights over the land,” he says.

The corrupt system that killed George

Meanwhile, a stack of replies to information sought by James under the RTI Act, 2005 has exposed the malice of a group of forest officials who managed to secure court orders in favour of the department. A joint verification of the land by the forest department and revenue department had testified that bogus official records helped the forest department assert claim on the land in court.

A report by Kozhikode forest mini survey also stated irregularities in the land documents produced by the state forest department.

The Assistant Director of Forest Mini Survey in Kozhikode in the year 2007 submitted a report to the Divisional Forest Officer (North Wayanad) in relation to an investigation conducted at the behest of northern regional Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF), Kannur’s Conservator of Forest (CF) and North Wayanad DFO.

In the report, the assistant director points out irregularities pertaining to the formation of land subdivisions ‘8’ and ‘9’ under the survey number 238/1 (as per VFC item number 122). The land bit which the family seeks to be reinstated is recorded as subdivision number ‘9’ in 238/1 in the survey documents.

According to the report addressed to DFO of north Wayanad which attributed to original subdivision statements of the forest department under item 122, there are only five subdivisions in survey number 238. The subdivisions are ‘1’, ‘2A’, ‘2B’, ‘3’ and ‘4’. Further he notes that five subdivisions – ‘5’, ‘6’, ‘7’, ‘8’ and ‘9’ were added to the land records under the head ‘238/1’ later.

“As per the details available following the investigation, it could be noted that, while subdivisions ‘5’ and ‘6’ under survey number 238/1 is vested forest land, subdivision ‘7’ was issued as a title deed to Chechamma, Thomas and eight others. Subdivisions ‘8’ and ‘9’ under 238/1 is marked as ‘Kerala Government’ in the records,” says the report.

Though the reason for the formation of subdivision ‘5’ (0.057 hectares), ‘6’ (14.860 hectares) and ‘7’ is clearly noted as ‘as per Vested Forest Act’ in the subdivision statement, the author of the report points out the ‘lack of clarity’ about the formation of subdivisions ‘8’ (3.29 hectares) and ‘9’ (11.175 hectares).

“The subdivisions ‘8’ and ‘9’ in 238/1 were added later on to the land records later. In that subdivision statement, ‘vested forest’ is corrected as RUD (Ryotwari Un Developed) in the ninth column. It is not clear how it happened. It also observed that the Assistant Director of Forest Mini Survey, Kannur, has not signed in the given forest subdivision statement,” pointed out the report.

While subdivisions ‘5’ and ‘6’ add up to 15.41 hectares and subdivisions ‘8’ and ‘9’ add to 14.467 hectares, the latter set was presented as vested forest land under item 122 of VFC before the state legislative assembly and the state high court during past.

While the status of forest land under subdivisions ‘5’ and ‘6’ remains unclear, James allege that subdivision ‘8’ and ‘9’ have been falsely depicted and misrepresented as forest lands.