Adivasi lands were encroached long ago

Administration trying conciliation and compromise approach

A piece of land under dispute lies uncultivated at Pochampalli in Sirikonda mandal of Adilabad district.

The ongoing conflict between the Adivasi and Lambada tribes has once again brought land issues to the fore in erstwhile undivided Adilabad district. In Adilabad, there are about 150 such cases of alleged encroachment of Adivasi lands by Lambadas while in Kumram Bheem Asifabad, there are 10 to 15 cases in every village which has a mixed population of Adivasis and Lambadas.

The administrations are trying various methods to address the issue which include conciliation and compromise between the opposite parties as almost all cases are 30 to 40 years old.

Not a new issue

The first records of land related issues in these parts, however, date back to the first half of 1940s noted in the 1945 book Tribal Hyderabad Four Reports By Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf which was based on the famous Austrian Anthropologist’s field notes.

The ethnologist had, who has discussed the problem at great length and with enough of examples, was studying the tribal problem in the Nizam’s Hyderabad. The study was initiated by the seventh Nizam following the rebellion by the legendary Raj Gond martyr Kumram Bheem in the preceding decade. On page 85, Haimendorf notes how affluent non-aboriginals could acquire whole villages in auctions as there were no pattas to tribal lands. He quotes the examples of a Rohilla moneylender who acquired whole village of Yenka and settled other non-tribal farmers and migrant Lambadas acquiring Tadi Harapnur (now in Narnoor mandal of Adilabad district), a pure Gond village which had the latter migrating to nearby Gunjala.

The researcher also mentions the role of Revenue officials at village level which goes a long way in shedding light on the land problems of the Adivasis. On page 86 he says: “In areas with a mixed population, where new settlers and non aboriginal landlords are always bent on wresting land from the aboriginals and the patwaris are often themselves landowners, they act frequently against the interests of the aboriginals.”

“There are some transactions which reveal that Adivasis have sold their lands to Lambadas are perfect as per given law. There are others where the ethnic people are alleging that the Lambadas have cheated their parents or grandparents to sell the lands for a pittance or even got lands transferred by fraudulent means,” points out KB Asifabad Collector Prashant J. Patil as he talks of the changed profile of land related cases.

“In many cases compromise seems to be best for both the parties,” the top official opined. “We are trying this so as to avoid injustice being cause to either of the parties who are poor,” he added. In Adilabad district there are several cases where unscrupulous revenue officials have assigned more extent of land than available to Adivasis and Lambadas, for example land in survey number 38 in Tadihatnoor and Jamda villages of Narnoor mandal where 2,000 acres more than available have been assigned. The administration is getting disputed lands surveyed through the Differential Global Positioning Survey to fix boundaries for individuals.

“We are also making an effort to purchase available lands under Section 3 (C) of the AP Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation Act, 1959, as in the case of the dispute at Waghdhari and Jeshnapur in Neredigonda mandal. If the government permits, such lands can be distributed among aboriginal farmers who are alleging encroachement in lands assigned to them earlier.