Women reap the
fruits of land
struggle
Kalliammal, 35,
is busy piling
harvested seed
crops in a heap.
Her neighbours
are in a hurry
too.
“It’s going to
rain and our
crops will be
damaged,” she
smiles.
Kalliammal is
one of 30 women
land holders in
Kattupaiyur
village
landowners.
Rights gained
only after years
of struggle.
Sixty-year old
Chengamalam
grins as she
displays a
vessel of
Ulandhu
(pulses),
harvested from
her 30 cents of
land.
“I took part in
the hunger
strike too and
made a huge
ruckus outside
the government
official’s
office,”
she declares
proudly,
“today this land
is mine.”
Dream come true
Once an
agricultural
labourer,
Kalliammal would
earn between Rs
30 and Rs 50 per
day and also
graze cattle to
make ends meet.
“But now I have
my own land, I
harvest enough
to last the
family for the
whole year,”
she smiles
holding out her
patta (record of
rights) for 30
cents of land.
“I’m respected
by my husband
and son because
I have a
property in my
name. And it is
my daughter who
will inherit
this land,”
she explains
proudly.
Women get their
due, the
community too
With titles in
the hands of
women like
Kallimmal, the
community has
reclaimed land
that is
historically
theirs, explains
C Nicholas,
convener of DMK
– the dalit land
rights
federation which
works in
partnership with
ActionAid.
In 1892 the
British
Government
distributed land
called
Panchami,
or Depressed
class land in a
bid to improve
the socio
economic
conditions of
Dalit
communities.
“Over time these
land rights were
usurped by the
dominant caste.
Poverty,
illiteracy and
ignorance of
rights among
dalits played
easily into the
hands of the
caste
‘superiors’,”
he adds.
Eight years ago,
with support
from DMK and
ActionAid, the
community
embarked on
collective
protests and a
legal battle to
identify and
reclaim Panchami
lands.
“When we got
political
parties to
include
allotting
Panchami land to
the landless
Dalits in their
election
promises, Dalit
families finally
saw light at the
end of the
tunnel,”
says Melchior of
the Integrated
Rural
Development
Society (IDRS),
one of the 15
organisations
that make up the
DMK federation.
Through Ambedkar
Pearavvai
(reclaimed land
movement) they
then convinced
the Tamil Nadu
government to
give land titles
in the name of
women.
“As men seek
employment
outside the
village, so we
felt that women
should be the
owners of the
land,”
explains M
Vijaya who
coordinates the
Women’s Wing of
IRDS. Both men
and women were
in agreement.
Brighter future
Nagamma, 52 had
always dreamed
of sending her
dropout son back
to school.
Income from
crops raised on
her land has
made this
possible.
“I am happy. At
least my
children will
see a better and
brighter
future,”
she says with a
glint in her
eyes.
Over 148 acres
of land has been
reclaimed in
three districts
(Tiruvannamalai,
Villupuram and
Thiruvallar).
This is set to
benefit 159
families.
DMK, ActionAid
and Ambedkar
Pearavvai
activists are
working to help
ensure that the
land titles
reach women and
families receive
the support they
need to
cultivate.
Tamil Nadu Adhi
Dravidar Housing
Development
Corporation has
stepped in to
make loans
available for
cultivation.
