Many families who are still landless cannot even buy land because of the state’s policy
Article written by Himshi Singh
Tag: landrights
Press Note: 13 December 2021 No progress on FRA implementation, 15 years after FRA passed by Parliament! Was the promise to implement the Act in Mission Mode a false one?
In December 2006, the Scheduled tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act was tabled and passed
Fact-Finding report: Dalit Atrocity in Chandni, Sirmaur
This is a fact-finding report on a case of Dalit atrocity in Chandni Village of Sirmaur, where a middle aged Dalit couple, Jagiya Ram and Santosh, was assaulted brutally on 16th September 2020 by a group of general caste men who were forcefully erecting a fence a piece of land that they (the Scheduled Caste family) had bought in the village.
Jagiya Ram, resident of Chandni, had purchased 1.9 bighas of land from another general caste member in 2016 and since then had faced harassment by the assaulter family, also residents of the village who were laying their claim on a part of the land. While the dispute was still being heard by the revenue court and a final decision was pending, the general caste claimants on 16th September started erecting a barbed wire fence around the land that they alleged was theirs.
When Jagiya and Santosh went to stop this work, they were attacked violently. Jagiya who was recording the altercation on his phone was brutally attacked as one of the members approached him with a sharp sword like machete – as Jagiya held up his hand to save his upper body, his finger was cut with the sword. Santosh tried to stop the men physically and she was beaten up, her clothes torn, she was ruffled up and then dragged in the field by her hair. The men stopped short when some passers-by shouted out for them to stop.
While Jagiya and Santosh received treatment in the Civil Hospital at Paonta and an FIR has been filed in the matter, the initial FIR did not invoke sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. This was done later after pressure by social action groups. Further, while the accused were arrested initially, a cross FIR was filed and they were given bail by the High Court on the 25th of September. Jagiya- Santosh and their family have received police protection – however, the matter remains sensitive and they continue to live in fear and insecurity. The investigation officer is to submit his complete report soon. However, there is a need to highlight this case for several reasons:
Jagiya Ram, resident of Chandni, had purchased 1.9 bighas of land from another general caste member in 2016 and since then had faced harassment by the assaulter family, also residents of the village who were laying their claim on a part of the land. While the dispute was still being heard by the revenue court and a final decision was pending, the general caste claimants on 16th September started erecting a barbed wire fence around the land that they alleged was theirs.
When Jagiya and Santosh went to stop this work, they were attacked violently. Jagiya who was recording the altercation on his phone was brutally attacked as one of the members approached him with a sharp sword like machete – as Jagiya held up his hand to save his upper body, his finger was cut with the sword. Santosh tried to stop the men physically and she was beaten up, her clothes torn, she was ruffled up and then dragged in the field by her hair. The men stopped short when some passers-by shouted out for them to stop.
While Jagiya and Santosh received treatment in the Civil Hospital at Paonta and an FIR has been filed in the matter, the initial FIR did not invoke sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Act. This was done later after pressure by social action groups. Further, while the accused were arrested initially, a cross FIR was filed and they were given bail by the High Court on the 25th of September. Jagiya- Santosh and their family have received police protection – however, the matter remains sensitive and they continue to live in fear and insecurity. The investigation officer is to submit his complete report soon. However, there is a need to highlight this case for several reasons:
- the history of caste discrimination in Sirmaur district, often invisibilised in mountain