Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 'Upper caste villagers grab dalits' farmland by proxy' -Amaninder Pal Sharma

'Upper caste villagers grab dalits' farmland by proxy' -Amaninder Pal Sharma

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jun 27, 2014   modified Modified on Jun 27, 2014
-The Times of India
 

PATIALA: Dalits in Punjab are being used as proxy bidders by upper caste peasants to corner thousands of acres of agricultural village land that should ideally be rented out only to scheduled caste members. This practice has been exposed by the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission in its report on the boycott of dalits in Baupur village by upper caste members.

The state government gives out agricultural land on rent to farmers after an annual auction. A third of the land is reserved for dalits but they often don't have the financial resources to bid and are then used as proxy by upper caste farmers.

In Sangrur district alone dalits in four villages - Baupur, Balad Kalan, Matoi and Namol - have started a protest against the auction and demanded that the rent be lowered for them. The National Human Right Commission has also sent a notice to the state government over dalits in Baupur facing a social boycott after they refused to accept the high rent.

"The problem persists not just in Baupur village but in the entire state," says the commission's chairman Rajesh Bagha, who drafted the report and submitted it to Punjab government.

"Usurping reserved land is easy for upper caste members as they are allowed to bid if the bidding fails thrice. Sometimes, dalits of neighbouring villages bid and then pass the land to upper caste members."

"The government has fixed Rs 40,000 per acre in our village, but we are demanding it at Rs 8,000 per acre.

There is no point in reserving land for us if the rents are so high. The auction has been cancelled five times in our village. In every auction, upper caste community tries to lure dalits into acting as proxy but they have failed so far," says Amrik Singh of Namol village in Sangrur.

The commission recommended that land reserved for dalits should be auctioned at nominal rates. The problem however is the Punjab Village Common Land Act, 1961, which dictates that land should be auctioned at price higher than the previous year. As a result the government demands a higher rent each year, which the dailts are not in a position to pay.

"Nominal rent rates should be fixed for the scheduled castes so that they can till these lands and uplift their living standard. It should be done at any cost, even if the government needs to lower the rent rates," reads the report.


The Times of India, 27 June, 2014, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Chandigarh/Upper-caste-villagers-grab-dalits-farmland-by-proxy/articleshow/37309561.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close