Stop the Loot of Jal, Jungle, Zameen.

The Kisan Sangharsh Jatha began its fifth day from Bangalore. In the IT capital, a massive gathering was waiting with red flags to receive the Jatha. Other than farmers from the neighboring villages, students, professionals, workers and other sections of the urban population came to mark their solidarity.

Bagair Hukum Farmers from different parts of Karnataka came to Bangalore to express solidarity with the Kisan Sangharsh Jatha. They met Jatha leader Vijoo Krishnan and explained their grievances. In a poignant moment Ningamma of Magadi Taluk who has been cultivating about one acre of land for more than 40 years explained with tears how they were being uprooted from their sole source of livelihood. Most farmers have been cultivating small pieces of government surplus land for generations. They have grown different crops including coconut, arecanut, mango etc and also have been living on these lands. Now they are getting evicted from their fields. In Karnataka there are more than 40 lakh Bagair Hukum farmers. Jatha leader and Joint secretary of All India Kisan Sabha, Vijoo Krishnan while speaking assured that the Kisan Sabha will be with them in their struggle to get ownership on the land which they are cultivating. He also called for distribution of land for all landless, Dalits and Adivasis and requested people to mobilise for the Jail Bharo on 18th November, 2016 in a big way.

Section 192 A and column 97(1) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act are against the interests of small and marginal farmers cultivating bagair hukum land. More than 12 lakh applications submitted by bagair hukum farmers under Form 50 and 53 before the Land Grant Committees for regularisation of the Revenue land they were cultivating, were rejected. Citing the laws, the officials of the Revenue and Forest departments were trying to evict the farmers. Government should introduce suitable amendments to these laws and issue land ownership rights to farmers at the earliest to protect their interests.

All India Kisan Sabha demands that all applications submitted under forms 50 and 53 should be reviewed and cleared. AIKS also urge Union government to amend the Forest Rights Act to confer ownership rights on farmers engaged in cultivation of forest land. In the past, Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) affiliated to AIKS organised several massive struggles demanding ownership on the land. On this November 18th along with other organisations like All India Agricultural Workers Union, Dalit Hakkugala Samiti,Adivasi Adhikar Rashtriya Manch, Karnataka Rajya Devadasi Mahileyara Vimochana Sangha, CITU, Janavadi Mahila samiti, DYFI, SFI etc, KPRS is organising a Jail Bharo protest in which tens of thousands of farmers and other sections of the society will go to jail demanding land rights.

From Bangalore’s Bannappa Park as the Jatha reached rural Bangalore it was welcomed at Devanahalli  by farmers, agricultural workers, women and youth. Jatha leader Vijoo Krishnan, U.Basavaraja, General Secretary of KPRS and Ex MLA Srirama Reddy addressed the gathering. While speaking Vijoo Krishnan explained the purpose of the Jatha and main demands and he called upon them to take part in large numbers in the Parliament March and Kisan Sangharsh Rally at Delhi on 24th November, 2016. Srirama Reddy in his speech attacked the state and central government on anti- farmer policies and asked the support for Jail Bharo Programme which is going to held on 18th November. Basavaraja spoke about the communal policies of the Sangh Parivar and need to defeat their moves which divides the society.