Ahmedabad convention on land rights begins amidst warning: "Enemy" is very strong, there's need for unity

By A Representative
A three-day national convention on land rights began on Saturday at Ahmedabad's Gujarat Vidyapeeth, a university founded by Mahatma Gandhi, with its top speakers, politicians and activists, raising pitch in favour of “uniting” forces of different ideological persuasions in order to take the battle against “indiscriminate” land acquisition to Indian states and corporate "loot".
Held under the banner of Bhumi Bachao Andolan (BAA), the speakers – CPI-M politburo member Hannan Mollah, Anil Chaudhary of Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), Ashok Chaudhury of the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, and Kanu Kalsaria of the Aam Aadmi Party – agreed that under the new political dispensation it is “no more possible to fight alone.”
Held against the backdrop of aborted “efforts” of the Maharashtra government to brand the convention as a move of Naxalites to make inroads into Gujarat, Ashok Chaudhury of AIUFWP said, “This was a recognition of the strength acquired by the people's movements across India. So wary have the rulers become that they brand anyone raising voice for land rights as Naxalite.”
Warning people's movements against any effort to adopt Naxalites' tactics, Chaudhury said, “We have to fight for our rights through democratic means, because if one takes up arms, things become very for those in power to suppress any demands.
Chaudhury also called for conceptual clarity, stressing, when one talks of land rights, it is not just land but natural resources dependent on land – water, jungle and minerals – all those who are dependent on them. “We have still failed to take our fight forward, as desired”, he said.
Identifying the Narendra Modi government as “the enemy”, Mollah said, it is “very strong” and is trying to “not just become increasingly powerful in India, but also across the world by influencing the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.” He added, “Its policy is not kisan-based but corporate-based.”
Pointing towards how the overall atmosphere has changed as a result of the allegedly as a result economic reforms begun in 1991, Mollah said, “There was a time when at least court judgments used to be pro-poor. Now, this is changed. Strikes are declared illegal. Land acquisition for a national highway is allowed without consent of the affected farmers.”
Mollah said, following all-round opposition, the amendments to the Land Acquisition Act (LAA), 2013 – to drop the consent and social impact assessment clauses – may have been dropped. “But the amendments haven't been withdrawn from Parliament. States have been allowed to come up with their own laws on lines of the amendments proposed for LAA, 2013.”
Pointing out that several states – including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Odisha – have already come up with their own laws, Mollah said, it hasn't been possible for land rights organizations to take the fight to states. “We have failed”, he admitted.
Seeking a “broader unity” keeping aside ideological considerations, Mollah's view found an echo from civil rights organizations participants. “It's a long road, and the destination is far away”, said Anil Chaudhary of INSAF, a network of large number of of people's groups.
Suggesting that people's organizations would need to work out ways to unite and fight for land rights, Chaudhary said, “People are becoming restive, but India is very large. Every week people fighting for land rights are being killed, and there is a need to keep a pace the developing situation.”

Comments

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

When a city rebuilt forgets its builders: Migrant workers’ struggle for sanitation in Bhuj

Khasra Ground site By Aseem Mishra* Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right. This principle has been unequivocally recognised by the United Nations and repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of India as intrinsic to the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Yet, for thousands of migrant workers living in Bhuj, this right remains elusive, exposing a troubling disconnect between constitutional guarantees, policy declarations, and lived reality.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Aravalli at the crossroads: Environment, democracy, and the crisis of justice

By Rajendra Singh* The functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has undergone a troubling shift. Once mandated to safeguard forests and ecosystems, the Ministry now appears increasingly aligned with industrial interests. Its recent affidavit before the Supreme Court makes this drift unmistakably clear. An institution ostensibly created to protect the environment now seems to have strayed from that very purpose.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

'Structural sabotage': Concern over sector-limited job guarantee in new employment law

By A Representative The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has raised concerns over the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G), which was approved during the recently concluded session of Parliament amid protests by opposition members. The legislation is intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

'Festive cheer fades': India’s housing market hits 17‑quarter slump, sales drop 16% in Q4 2025

By A Representative Housing sales across India’s nine major real estate markets fell to a 17‑quarter low in the October–December period of 2025, with overall absorption dropping 16% year‑on‑year to 98,019 units, according to NSE‑listed analytics firm PropEquity. This marks the weakest quarter since Q3 2021, despite the festive season that usually drives demand. On a sequential basis, sales slipped 2%, while new launches contracted by 4%.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Search This Blog