Formation of Dalit Panchayats has helped organize and empower Dalit communities. Stories from Tumkur.

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Our people are adding small little jewels to their crown of success every now and then. This happened in Kilarlahalli of Pavagada Taluk. Today we recovered four acres of land of a Dalit from a Caste person who had grabbed his land by cheating. The four acres of land were granted by the government to the Dalit Durgappa in the year 1950-51. But in 1965 a dominant caste person got this land from Durgappa for a few hundred rupees.

There was no sale deed and no document was made. That was the situation. The caste people were very confident that once they occupy the land it is always theirs as no Dalit would dare to ask back the land.

They are very badly mistaken. They never anticipated the emergence of the Dalit Panchayat Movement. A month ago Kilarlahalli formally inaugurated their Dalit Panchayat. Since Raj was in Europe Jyothi went to Kilarlahalli and spoke in the public meeting about reclaiming our land. Things started moving fast from there. Durgappa brought the issue of his land to the notice of Narayanappa who is the Taluk leader of Dalit Panchayat Movement. They started digging out the documents and stumbled upon the truth that there was not even a bit of paper to show that the dominant caste man had any right over the land. He had been using the land rendering Durgappa a landless labourer.

The leadership pressurized the Tahsildhar and the Revenue Inspector to visit the land. They succeeded in doing that. After inspecting the land and going through the documents the Tahsildhar decided that the land should be returned to Durgappa the Dalit. They had fixed today for stamping on the refreshed land document of Durgappa. The Tahsildhar had to once again affix his signature and seal on the documents.

All our Taluk level leaders and village DP leaders were in the Taluk Office of the government. The caste people also had come in large number. They were smiling all the time as they have elected a rebel candidate as a member of the legislative assembly who has become a Minister in the BJP government. They were sure that the Minister would support them. We do not know what happened. At four in the evening the Tahsildhar affixed his signature and seal on the land documents of Durgappa and has given two weeks time to also taken possession of the land to hand it over to Durgappa. No one can probably measure the intensity of happiness in the inner being of Durgappa. It was not even a dream till a month ago. Now it has become true.

In Gangasagara of Pavagada Taluk it is a different kind of success. A week ago one of the dominant caste persons died. Immediately the caste people sent word to the Dalits to dig the grave. This is a caste duty which the Dalit people have to do free. But not in a world where Dalit Panchayat is alive and kicking! The young and old of Gangasagar refused to dig the grave. The caste people came angrily to talk to the Dalit people. The Dalit Panchayat gathered and started their dialectics. They insisted that their labour had a value and that should be measured economically. They asked for Rupees 2000 as mentioned in
Dalitology. The caste people understood that they stood no chance at all as the Dalits had begun to take recourse to the Constitution of India. All of them finally settled for Rupees
1500/- to dig the grave. Dalits became richer by Rs. 1500/-

The same evening a buffalo belonging to the caste people died. It looked like a film shooting as if things were in a fine setting. But sometimes it happens like this. The caste people once again sent word to the Dalits. They refused to remove the dead body of the buffalo. There was a big argumentation as the caste people were already angry with the Dalits for daring to challenge their caste authority. But Dalits know what they are talking about these days after forming the Dalit Panchayats. Caste people offered money, the meat and the skin of the buffalo for free to the Dalits. But unlike in the morning Dalits refused to carry the carcass of the buffalo as it is an age old custom which instilled
an inferiority complex and a very low self esteem in the young children of Dalits and also horribly lowered the self image and social position of the Dalits.  Finally the caste people had to take away their dead buffalo by themselves. Dalits carried their dignity and self respect back home.

The Dalit Panchayat are on a high note these days. We shall come back to you again soon.

Jyothi, Raj, REDS, Booshakthi Kendra and the Dalit Panchayat Movement, Tumkur.


Rural Education for Development society
Shanthinagar
Tumkur 572102
Karnataka - India
Phone: ++91-816-2277026
Fax:  ++91-816-2272515
Web: www.dalitreds.in
Jyothi's Mobile: ++91-9880184667
Raj's Mobile: ++91-9845144893