Dalits, Adivasis oppose Left in Kerala civic polls
October 18, 2010 6:51:57 PM
VR Jayaraj | Kochi
After its near-total estrangement from the minority communities, the
CPI(M)-led ruling LDF is now facing the ire of the Dalits and Adivasis
of Kerala in the civic polls. Most Dalit and Adivasi outfits in the
State have either fielded candidates opposing those of the Left or
have announced their decision to vote against LDF candidates.
The Dalits of Kerala, who have traditionally been supporters of the
Left, turned against it following the treacherous attitude the
CPI(M)-led LDF Government under Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan showed
towards their demand for land to live and cultivate since it took
charge in May, 2006.
The Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha, Adivasi Forum, Kerala Pulayar Maha
Sabha, Kerala Dalit Federation, Dalit Panthers, Dalit Human Rights
Movement and Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi are some of the
organizations that have adopted anti-Left position in the civic
election for which polling is to be held on October 23 and 25.
The Gothra Mahasabha, which spearheaded the Muthanga agitation in
Wayanad which ended with a brutal police action in February, 2003, had
stood with the Left in the 2006 Assembly elections. But they later
turned against the CPI(M) after the Government refused to solve their
land issues and to withdraw the cases against several of them.
The Gothra Mahasabha has considerable influence on the Adivasis of
Wayanad, Kannur and Ernakulam districts and, according to observers,
the forum is capable of ensuring the defeat of LDF candidates in
several grama and block panchayats in these areas.
The Sadhujana Vimochana Samyuktha Vedi, the Dalit outfit which
spearheaded the 26-month epic struggle of sufferance for land on the
hills of Chengara in Pathanamthitta district, has already moved to the
UDF camp. The Achuthanandan Government had from the very beginning
adopted a negative approach towards the Vedi's struggle.
After the 26 months of struggle, during which the CPI(M) tried to
break the Dalits' will through muscle power, the Government agreed to
allot land to more than 1.700 families in October, 2009. However, when
they reached these lands, they found them to be either uncultivable or
already owned by others.
The Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM), which was termed as an
extremist organization after the murder of a 63-year-old morning
jogger in Varkala last year, has fielded about 4,000 candidates in the
civic polls in eight districts where Dalits have considerable
presence.
Though the truth of the role of DHRM in the murder is yet to be proved
legally, there are complaints that the police, under orders from the
LDF regime, have been hunting innocent Dalits living in the inhuman
conditions of slums. This has led to the creation of a strong
anti-Left sentiment among the Dalits of the southern districts.
Sajitha Prakkanam, former secretary of the Samyuktha Vedi and
second-in-command of the agitation at Chengara, is a DHRM candidate in
the civic polls. Dalit activists campaigning for Sajitha and her
associates say that their goal is not electoral victory but claim that
they can spoil the chances of the Left candidates.
"There are more than five million Dalit and Adivasi voters in Kerala
and that way we are a big power," says Gopalan, a Dalit rights
activist in Iritti, Kannur. "Majority of them will vote against the
Left in this election as well as the Assembly polls in next
April-May," he said.
A former CPI(M) State committee member from Kochi admitted that the
LDF Government had been rude to the Dalits and Adivasis. "The top
leadership had adopted some ill-advised ideas with regard to their
problems. The result is that we are now left with almost no support
among these two sections," he said.
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