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Arrest of tribal farmers sparks outrage in Telangana
The Telangana forest department’s recent complaint against 23 farmers in the Yellannasagar village of Konijeria Mandal in Khammam of an attack against their officers during a farmland recovery, which led to their eventual arrest on Friday under charges of attempt to murder, drew sharp criticism from the tribal leaders and opposition parties in the state for the past three days
The Telangana forest department’s recent complaint against 23 farmers in the Yellannasagar village of Konijeria Mandal in Khammam of an attack against their officers during a farmland recovery, which led to their eventual arrest on Friday under charges of attempt to murder, drew sharp criticism from the tribal leaders and opposition parties in the state for the past three days.
According to the complaint, on August 3, the tribals attacked the forest department staff when they forcefully tried to recover farmland that the villagers have been cultivating for decades.
Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case under sections 307, 353 and 158 r/w 149 of the IPC against the tribal farmers and sent them to 14 days judicial remand. Among the arrested women are Alapati Kavitha, mother to a three-month-old baby; Kavya, who has an eight-month-old baby and Rani, whose child is one year old. The mothers were seen carrying their infants to jail.
“My wife Swapna and I own three acres of land, which was passed on by my grandfather. On that day, about 20 forest officials came and suddenly started destroying our crop. When we stopped them, they used foul language and attacked us. But we stood there protecting our land. They threatened us with dire consequences and said that they will drive us out of this town and filed cases against us,“ claimed Narasimha, a tribal farmer.
Khammam commissioner Vishnu S Warrier confirmed to HT, “Yes, the villagers did attack forest officials with sticks and stones. But on Saturday, all the accused moved a bail petition. After speaking to eyewitnesses, we have decided to alter the sections, and in all likelihood, they will get bail.”
The arrests drew flak from the CPI (ML-New Democracy) State committee.
“Three women farmers with their babies in their laps were among those arrested and sent to jail. How can women with children attack with stones? The forest staff are adopting a vindictive attitude towards the farmers without heeding their requests to desist from destroying their crops. The state government should withdraw the false cases foisted against the farmers and take stern action against those responsible for resorting to repressive measures against women farmers,” said CPI (ML-ND) State assistant secretary Potu Ranga Rao.
Congress Mulugu MLA Seethakka added, “The Congress had assigned the Dalits and Adivasis these podu (agricultural) lands which the KCR govt is forcefully vanquishing. No jobs have been given to these Dalits too. I will put an end to the atrocities of CM KCR’s politics soon.”
Forest staff, speaking on the condition of anonymity, refuted the charges made by politicians. “A section of the villagers of Yellanna Nagar assaulted the forest staff when the latter tried to take up preparatory works for plantation drive as part of Haritha Haram afforestation programme in the forest land under Gubbagurthi reserve forest area.
Historically, tribal communities have depended on forests for their livelihoods. Many tribals engage in a form of shifting cultivation in upland forests, called podu which is a bone of contention with forest officials. The Telangana government had launched an ambitious afforestation program named Harita Haram, which has become a major reason for the eviction of tribals. The state government in 2015 had decided not to entertain any further claims under the Forest Rights Act which had emboldened the forest department staff to suppress the rights of Adivasis.
