#KisanLongMarch 2.0: Nearly 50,000 farmers are marching to Mumbai

The premises of Mahamarg bus stand at Mumbai Naka in Nashik is usually occupied by passengers. However, on Wednesday afternoon, the premises of the bus stop was filled with farmers holding red flags in their hands. These farmers are mostly tribal men and women from various parts of the state. They had gathered at the Mumbai Naka to take part in the 6-day long Kisan March to Mumbai. However, the march which supposed to commence at 4 pm didn’t take off as planned. This was because on Tuesday night, government authorities granted permission for the public gathering but not for the long march.

Kantabai Dhude, 56, of Chandwad tehsil’s Kundanasheri village in Nashik had reached the premises of Mahamarg bus stand at around 2 pm. She was accompanied by her husband and several other villagers. Dhude is a labourer and earns Rs 150 per day. “I work in the farms of other people, but this work is available only for six months. For the remainder of the period, we don’t have any work to survive on in our village. In the summer season, there are days when we have to sleep empty stomach. But what to do, we are helpless as we don’t have any other source of income,” the 56-year-old told Newslaundry.

Kantabai who is a tribal from Mahadeo Koli community has been fighting to get land under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, for the last 8 years. She said, “We are tribals and have been living in our area since the last fifty years. Still, we haven’t been allowed land under the Act. Most of the tribal men and women in our village work as labourers. However, women are paid less than men. Men are paid Rs 200 per day whereas women are paid Rs 150 a day.”

There are several other problems, she says. “There is a huge scarcity of water in our area. We bathe once in two days or else we will not have sufficient water to drink. The government has provided us gas but they have stopped distributing kerosene oil. The problem is that we don’t have electricity in our village and we require kerosene oil to light lamps in our homes. Unavailability of kerosene has become a huge problem, it is very difficult to cook food in the dark.”

As per government rules, Kantabai said, they are supposed to get ration—8 kg rice and 10 kg wheat—once a month, but many times their share is denied if thumbprints don’t match in the biometric machines at ration shops. “Situation really becomes grave sometimes,” she says.

72-year-old Hiraman Dhude was one of the early arrivers. He has come from Dindori Tehsil’s Sawarpada village in Nashik. He was sitting there with a few of his fellow tribal farmers. He told Newslaundry, “I have been working as a labourer since I was 10 years old. I have spent my whole life in poverty. With the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, I thought things would change for tribals like me. But nothing has happened. I am still struggling to get a piece of land.” Dhude was part of last year’s march as well. “The government promised to meet our demands but they didn’t. So we are here again to take part in the protest,” he says.

Maruti Pimpare, 71, is short and frail looking. He has the flag of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on his shoulder and can be seen roaming around the premises of Mahamarg bus stand. Pimpare, who hails from Pangarashinde village of Hingoli district in Marathwada, says, “I have been cultivating 20 gunthas (around 20,000 square feet or half an acre) of land for more than four decades now. In 1983, two cases were registered against me for cultivating that piece of land by the forest department. I was booked for cutting trees and was incarcerated for a period of one month. But I continued cultivating the land even after coming out of jail because my parents had been living there for about 40 years. But now I have rented that land to my cousin brother for Rs 1,000 a year because I don’t have any money to continue farming. Marathwada has been facing drought for more than five years so there is no chance that poor people like me can continue as farmers. To earn my livelihood, I work as a guard. I look after people’s farm and cattle for Rs 100.”

Such conditions make everyday survival very challenging. “It’s like living the life of a dog, dogs also manage to survive with bare minimum,” the 71-year-old said. The sadness on his face was telling. Pimpare added: “Life has become very difficult for us. I am a tribal and I just want that 20 gunthas of land to be in my name as per the Forest Rights Act. I am not demanding anything which is not legally mine. I am just asking for my right.”

Pimpare and his wife, Kondubai, who also works as labourer only manage to earn around Rs 30,000 a year—less than Rs 3,000 a month. Speaking to Newslaundry, Pimpare said, “My two sons are working in Sangli as labourers because they don’t have anything to do in the village. Farming is not possible because there is a huge scarcity of water. Their wives and kids live with us. Among the eight of us, we are just getting about 10 kg wheat and 5 kg rice. Sometimes that is also denied when fingerprints don’t match in the biometric machine at the ration shop.”

Pimpare told this reporter, “Please try your best to get us the land under the Forest Rights Act. We have been surviving on bare minimum, we don’t spend much. It is difficult to survive these days. It will be really nice if the government starts giving some amount to us per year. Please get us at least the land which we rightfully own.”

Like Pimpare, there were several others on the ground holding placards and flags. They are here to demand their rights. 62-year-old Vimlabai Pasale was sitting with some of the other people of her village. She was also holding a flag in her hand. Pasale, a tribal from Mahadev Koli community had come from Shivnai village of Dindori tehsil in Nashik. The 62-year-old also spoke about the limited sources of employment available throughout the year. “We get the chance to work as labourers only from July to October; rest of the year we don’t have anything to do. We have to survive on the money which we have earned during those four months,” Pasale said. Although 25 tribal families of the Mahadev Koli community in her village have 1.5 acres of land each but the land is not in their names.

“We are here to join the march so that at least we can get the land which rightfully belongs to us. Last year, when the march was carried out, the state government promised to transfer the land in our names but it’s been a year since then. They didn’t fulfil their promises which is why we are here to protest again,” she added. “Surviving for eights months for just on Rs 7000- 8000 is not an easy thing. If we have a piece of land in our names, then at least we have some asset in our hand,” Pasale said.

Lata Gavi, 35, who was sitting next to Pasale, points towards her 18-year-old daughter and says, “She has studied till class 10 but as we don’t have any money, we can’t send her for further studies. Now she also works as a labourer. The government waives off loans for rich but they never pay any attention to the demands of the poor. There is no scope for poor people in our country.”

Rajaram Gavi, 42, who is also from Shivnai said, “To earn even Rs 10,000 a month is like a dream for us. In our village, a couple together manages to earn Rs 12,000. We can’t even buy clothes for two people in one go, that is our real condition. We don’t have anything proper for us—our homes leak during rains, we don’t have enough money for medical treatment, we can’t even provide proper education to our children,” added Gavi.

At around 7 pm in the evening, around 10,000 people from Thane and Palghar districts entered the premises of Mahamarg bus stand. These people, according to organisers, were stopped by the police on their way to Nashik. Nirmala Farle, 36, who came from Udhava village of Talasari tehsil of a Palghar district was leading the women of Warli tribe. She told Newslaundry, “We are facing a lot of problems that is why we have come here to take part in the march. Getting government-sanctioned ration is an issue, women have to walk 4-5 km from their homes to ration shops, stand in long queues and yet many a time, biometric mismatch results in rations being denied. Also, people are not getting widow and elderly pension.”

62-year-old Alka More started walking from her village, Mohadi in Dindori tehsil of Nashik, at 11 am in the morning. She covered a distance of 25 km to reach Mahamarg bus stand. By the time she joined other tribals, she was exhausted and dizzy. She told Newslaundry, “I have walked this much for the sake of the stomach. I am a labourer and hardly earn Rs 150 per day. I don’t have enough food at home, sometimes our children have to sleep empty stomach.” She also spoke about ration being denied due to biometric mismatch. “I am old but I walked because I want this situation to change,” she said.

Vijayabai Gangurdi, 45, who also walked from Mohadi to Mumbai Naka in Nashik said, “Last year, my mother came here. But now she cannot walk so I have come here instead. I also work as a farm labourer. I work as a labourer for three months and the rest of the time, I sit at home as I cannot leave my village. My husband died three years ago but over the last 3 years, I received the widow pension just three times.”

Gangurdi also said that there was a huge water problem in their village. Water comes twice a week, she said. “In remaining days, we have to fetch water from a well which is 2 km away from my house. Each day, I have to make at least 4-5 rounds to fetch water.”

By evening the ground was full of tribal farmers under the banner of AIKS. The estimated strength was about 40,000. The crowd was addressed by AIKS leaders who pulled up the state government for not fulfilling the promises made by them after the last year Kisan long March. While listening to the speeches of AIKS leaders, Gopal Sapte, 37, who had come from Ekdara village of Peth tehsil in Nashik told Newslaundry, “Despite getting good rainfall, farmers in our village are living in scarcity of water. This is because the water washes away into Gujarat and then into the Arabian sea. Now they are planning to build a dam but this dam is going to help the people of Gujrat not to us.”

Sapte, a tribal from the Warli tribe informed that he works on one acre of land which has been cultivated by his father since 1960. But the land is still not in our name even after the Forest Rights Act was implemented. He said, “I work on that land from July to September and then I come to Nashik to work as a labourer. I come here with my wife and kids. We all live here on road and work as labourers to earn our livelihood.”

Ashok Dhawle, National President of All India Kisan Sabha, told Newslaundry, “Around thousands of people from Thane and Palghar were detained by the police. They were on their way to Nashik. Authorities were extremely frightened that this rally will become a huge thing, so they wanted the one section to be kept out.” Dhawale said that informing the electronic media about this repressive act built pressure on the government. Subsequently, those detained were released.

Newslaundry also spoke to a few policemen who are tribals and are from the tribal villages of Dindori. On the condition of anonymity, they said, “What these people are saying is true. They don’t have water, land or money. They have come from tribals areas which are very backward and don’t even have proper roads. But politicians use them to meet their political ends.”

On Wednesday night, a two-and-a-half hour meeting took place between AIKS leaders and senior Cabinet Minister Girish Mahajan. Dhawale, said, “The government has agreed to most of our demands. We may have a meeting with the Chief Minister on 17 of next month. But we told them that until we don’t receive any written confirmation from the government our march will go on.”