Agra: Rural development Minister Jairam Ramesh will be traveling to Agra on Thursday where an agreement with tribal Jan Satyagrahis, who have been on the road for the past nine days demanding of agricultural land and shelter rights for the landless poor, is likely to take place. More than 30,000 people have walked 110 kilometers for nine days on the road from Gwalior to Delhi.
From across India the songs, language and dialect changes every few footsteps but one common factor unites them all, landlessness and the struggle for 10 cents of homestead land. Landless labourer from Bihar Anikka Choudhury said, "Let the government give us land or let them kill us." Carrying one child on his back and leaving the other two behind, Sukhlal from Dindori district Madhya Pradesh had walked on the same road in 2007 and returned home with the promise of land only to be evicted this time he wants pattas.
Nat break of the instrument, after walking for 10 kilometers, tired of the sun, people seek shelter wherever they can find. Rathuram, an adivasi from Raigarh, is still waiting for his land rights. "I live in the forest, but have no rights," Rathuram said.
Under pressure of this stream of people swelling into a tide and reaching Delhi, Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has had hectic consultations with members of the Ekta Parishad and the Prime Minister’s office. On the cards is the formation of a task force on land reforms, a national land reforms policy, and most importantly, statutory backing on the lines of MNREGS and FRA to provide agricultural land to landless poor in backward districts and 10 censt of homestead to every landless rural poor but there is need for caution.
The people were here in 2007 also with the same set of demands; a national council for land reforms was formed then but did not yield much. While there are hopes of a breakthrough this time, it remains to be seen whether they get what they demand, right to a piece of homestead land.
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