A people’s relationship to their heritage is the same as the relationship of a child to its mother: so said writer John Henrik Clarke. Unfortunately, heritage seems to have no value in society, which is buoyant on the benefits of real estate.
Take the case of the brick structure on the main road in Chennur mandal headquarter in Adilabad district which was used as a school by no less than Helen Spurway Haldane, wife of the renowned evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane. The simple structure, encompassing a small yet interesting part of the country’s history and the two-acre piece of land, has gotten embroiled in a legal tangle over its ownership.
The Haldanes were British naturalised Indian scientists having worked at several places, especially Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta (Kolkata) and Orissa (Odisha) between 1956 and 1964 when JBS died.
Helen carried on her research, which includes a study on the silk moths, which is perhaps the reason why she landed at the remote Chennur village.
Chennur is famous for its Tussar silk and the Dasali Pattu silk industry was thriving during the period in question. Another plausible reason why she pursued her research at Chennur could be the help extended by the well-known N.V. Raja Reddy, a farmer-philanthropist who rooted for education.
According to relevant documents, it was Raja Reddy’s daughter Prameela Devi who sold Helen the piece of land in question in Chennur in July 1973 for the purpose of running an English-medium school. Given the Raja Reddy family’s propensity for education, it can be assumed that Helen was persuaded by the former to run the school.
The death of Helen in 1978 saw the closure of the school and the property was sort of abandoned and forgotten until the battle for its ownership began in 2004.
This was a consequence of Ms. Prameela Devi lodging a complaint with Revenue authorities that the piece of land, which she had sold to the late scientist, was being encroached upon.
“As Helen Haldane died leaving behind no legal heir, the government becomes the owner of the property as per the AP Escheats and Bona Vacantia Act, 1974,” claims Chennur Tahsildar Hanmanth Rao.
The matter of ownership of the property, however, is being examined by the Adilabad court.
