on land acquisition ordinance

JANHASTAKSHEP: A campaign against fascist designs

Delhi

Press Release

          

In absolutist monarchies all the land belonged to king anointed by God. In so-called democracies the source of validity shifted to people and governance by law. Monarchs needed no laws. They ruled and plundered through decrees and ordinances. The history never repeats itself, but echoes.  The echoes emanating from the present government of “development” are serious danger to the people and country. The most dangerous echoes expressed through ordinances, the number of which is unprecedented, not only in the history of Indian parliamentary democracy but probably in any representative democracy, pose serious threats of dispossession and consequently threat to bright to life of millions of the people, particularly the farmers, the Adivasis, traders, laborers and other downtrodden sections of the society. Most alarming of these ordinances is the draconian Land Acquisition ordinance aimed at dispossessing farmers and other marginalized sections of the society, whose livelihood is linked with agriculture to satisfy filthy corporate greed responsible for the current  economic crisis of the global capital. Surplus global capital seeks favorable sectors of risk free investment and the Real Estate is considered to be the safest and most beneficial.  Its bailing out by exchequer and dispossession of the vast population would further aggravate the crisis posing serious threat to the planet and its inhabitants. Even the colonial rulers did not resort to such arbitrary dispossession through Land Acquisition Act of 1854 is the basis for subsequent Acts, the latest being the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, unanimously enacted by parliament with the support of all the parties including BJP. Even the Act that is being replaced by this ordinance was also not pro-farmers but included certain concession for them in the farm of Social Impact Assessment (SIA) that provided some protection to rural people from the arbitrary land grab. Modi government is under the pressure of, and obligation to the corporate world which funded his multi crore campaign and cannot wait for the return till enactment of law by the parliament. Modi government has been blatantly flouting it electoral promises with the people and constitutional ethics but to fulfill his commitments to his funders is in hurry to grab agricultural lands for them. This reminds the bloody Enclosure movements in England of brutal dispassion of peasants for mercantile capitalist with the help of inhuman, anti-people draconian laws. But, as we have maintained above, history does not repeat itself only echoes and present horrifying echo shall be drowned by the slogans of peoples’ movement. Present protest of farmers at Jantar-Mantar marks the beginning. There shall be protests against dispassion and of course there shall repression that too shall be protested.

Janhatakshep, a human rights organization, committed to oppose the violations of human rights of people; help peoples’ movement; and to the campaign against the fascist designs of the ruling classes, fully supports and shall continue the support all the movements and protests against this draconian ordinance and would soon organize a meeting to discuss the nitty-gritty of the political economy of dispossession.

Ish Mishra

Convener