Dalit landowners not permitted to cultivate their land, BSF 'illegally' deciding real owners

By Kirity Roy*

There is an urgent need to highlight a serious violation of human rights, as defined in Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. This issue directly affects the villagers of Notun Rajapur, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ranitala Police Station in the Bhagwangola-II Block of Murshidabad district, West Bengal. Since April 7, 2024, the Border Security Force (BSF) stationed at Madan Ghat BOP, Battalion No. 149, Company, Out Post (OP) No. 1, has imposed restrictions that prevent local villagers from accessing and farming their own lands, causing significant distress and suffering within this impoverished agricultural community.

These farmers, who entirely depend on their agricultural lands for their livelihoods, have been unlawfully barred from cultivating their properties. This enforced restriction seems to be in collusion with certain individuals who, with the BSF's assistance, are attempting to seize the lands of these farmers, many of whom belong to the Scheduled Caste community. The resulting deprivation has inflicted severe economic burden and psychological trauma on the affected families.

On June 8, 2024, when the villagers attempted to reclaim their lands, they were met with threats from Arun Mondal, the husband of a local elected village committee member, along with several local thugs armed with sticks and weapons. The BSF personnel present did not intervene, further substantiating the allegations against the BSF.

On June 11, 2024, the landowners collectively submitted a written complaint to the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Bhagwangola-II Block, requesting immediate intervention and redress. Yet, despite the time that has elapsed, no actions have been taken to address their concerns or restore their rightful access to their land.

This ongoing situation violates the fundamental human rights of the farmers and infringes on their constitutional rights to livelihood and property. The actions of the BSF and these complicit individuals have caused great hardship to an already vulnerable population, stripping them of their primary means of income and sustenance.

In light of the severity of this situation, I earnestly request that you:

1. Conduct a comprehensive investigation under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, into the allegations of unlawful restriction and land seizure by the BSF and the involved parties.

2. Take immediate measures to allow the affected farmers to return to their lands and resume their agricultural activities without further hindrance.

3. Hold accountable those responsible for violating the villagers' rights and ensure justice is delivered.

4. Provide appropriate compensation and support to the affected families for the losses and suffering caused by these unlawful actions.

---

*Secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha and National Convenor Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity. This article is based on the author's representation to the Principal Secretary, Home & Hill Affairs, West Bengal. Kirity Roy

Comments

India's chemical industry: The missing piece of Atmanirbhar Bharat

By N.S. Venkataraman* Rarely a day passes without the Prime Minister or a cabinet minister speaking about the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat . The Start-up India scheme is a pillar in promoting this vision, and considerable enthusiasm has been reported in promoting start-up projects across the country. While these developments are positive, Atmanirbhar Bharat does not seem to have made significant progress within the Indian chemical industry . This is a matter of high concern that needs urgent and dispassionate analysis.

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.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Remembering a remarkable rebel: Personal recollections of Comrade Himmat Shah

By Rajiv Shah I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in Delhi with the CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on Relief Road in Ahmedabad.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Minority rights group writes to Gujarat CEO, flags serious issues in SIR process

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has submitted a formal representation to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat, Harit Shukla (IAS), highlighting serious irregularities and difficulties faced by voters in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral roll. The organisation warned that if corrective measures are not taken urgently, a large number of eligible citizens may be deprived of their voting rights.

Search This Blog