UTTAR PRADESH

Land seizure movement in Chandauli

IN CHANDAULI district, Biarath farm land movement is already well-known. Now the movement has also spread to Jaymohani, Sikandarpur, Dighwat, Kundalia and Mirzapur. In Jaymohni village of Naugarh, the forest deptt. had given arable land pattas to adivasis displaced by Chandraprabha dam. But non-adivasi evil gentry have not only usurped this land but got it entered into land records against their names. The Party has now started movement on the question of occupation of this land by adivasis. In Sikandarpur gram sabha of Niyamatabad block, a Rajput landlord has 7 bigha ceiling surplus land under his occupation, which the High Court has ruled as gram samaj land. On 24 July, the rural poor led by Party captured this land and put the proposal for its distribution before the ADM. Landlords, patronised by Samajwadi Party district president, have threatened to resort to armed violence. But the poor people led by the Party are alert to beat back any such attack. In Dighwat of Sakaldiha block, gram samaj land spread over hundreds of acres is registered as a pond in land records. A handful of powerful Rajbhar families patronised by BSP have illegally held this land and they even made a futile attempt to get it legalised by the High Court. Now, led by Party, over 50 Rajbhar families and dalits have occupied this land and demanded from the tehsil administration to declare this land as arable and distribute it among the poor. The landholders are trying to terrorize the occupant landless labourers.

The struggle to capture arable land in Rasia forest of Shahabganj block is going on. More than 50 Mushahar families put up huts on this land a few days back and founded Sherpur basti there. In this movement, hundreds of Raidas families came out of BSP fold and joined our Party. The forest deptt. had to retreat after its repressive tactics failed. But kulaks and rich peasants in the nearby villages have set their eyes on the land. They tried to sow discord among our Party ranks on caste basis, but it was quickly resolved and it was decided that 80 Vanvasis and Dalits will get 1 bigha each, whereas more than 50 Vanvasi families will get 1/5 bigha each. Preparations of offering effective resistance to possible attacks by landlords, evil gentry, criminal gangs and forest deptt. are going on.

CPI(ML) team visits Baghpat

When the village pradhan of Dalu Khera village under Balaini PS located on Meerut-Baghpat road, about 75 kms away from Delhi settled a dispute arising out of a road accident, he never imagined it would soon lead to a nightmare for the people of that village and nearby areas. The SO of the Balaini police station picked up the pradhan on August 19 for amicably settling the dispute depriving them a chance for extortion, and was beaten black and blue. The villagers demonstrated before the police station the next day for the release of their pradhan. That very night, a huge posse of police led by the SO raided the village, ransacked the houses and mercilessly beat up the people, including women and children during night-long terror. The villagers, mostly Yadavs, called a Maha Panchayat, a larger congregation of nearby villages in Balaini on 22 August and a huge gathering of thousands of people marched to the police station. The police resorted to unprovoked firing, killing four people. A CPI(ML) team led by senior Polit Bureau member Comrade Swadesh Bhattacharya, and comprising Comrades Rajender Pratauli, Delhi Secretary, Prem Singh Gehlawat, Incharge of Haryana and Parmender visited the spot and talked to the people. The team demanded immediate dismissal -and arrest of the SO and other policemen responsible for the killings and compensation for the victims. The team also called upon the people to put an end to Rajnath Singh’s police raj in UP.