Ranchi: A Christian delegation led by Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, has met Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu and urged her to stop the proposed amendments to the state’s tenancy laws.
The March 4 meeting followed allegations by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that Christian missionaries were behind the protests against the amendments to Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Paragana Tenancy Act.
The amendments would enable tribals to make non-agriculture use of their land without losing ownership rights.
“These amendments will deprive the people of this region of their land and they will become landless. We urge you to stop this from becoming legislation,” the Christian delegation’s memorandum says.
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BJP spokesman Deen Dayal Barnwal criticized the Christian delegation saying that they were not interested in tribal welfare.
The memorandum was prepared during the first national consultation of India’s tribal bishops at Ranchi on February 23 and 24. The meeting set up a think-tank team to address issues affecting the indigenous peoples of the country. All the bishops of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, including Cardinal Toppo, attended the consultation.
It also prepared the memorandum for the governor.
The participants stressed the need to meet with laity in every diocese to educate them about changing laws and how they affect their lives. They also decided to prepare a write-up on the tribal issues in the diocese with statistics and relevant data.
The consultation was held in the backdrop of the state government revising two key issues affecting tribal people in the state. Tribal observers warn the changed laws will seriously impact the functioning of the Church in the state.
Benjamin Lakra, former Accountant General of Jharkhand and West Bengal, told the consultation that the situation of tribals in India is not good. “It is the Church’s responsibility to work for the betterment of the people and to bring awareness among them.” He also said it was wrong to view only industrialization as development.
The laws revised by Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das are the Chhota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act-governing Adivasi land rights in Jharkhand.
Land is a touchy topic in Jharkhand where 26.3 percent of the population is tribal and over a third of the seats in the assembly are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
The new provisions allow tribal owners to form business partnerships with government or private players for non-agricultural land use while keeping ownership of the holding inalienable.
The amended provisions could significantly benefit impoverished tribal landowners if they are implemented with care and caution. Before this, without the financial wherewithal to plan ventures, tribal owners also found it impossible to procure credit from financial institutions which were chary about advancing loans against holdings that could not legally be mortgaged.
Meanwhile Jharkhand’s tribal chiefs have come together to oppose the amended land laws, calling it a “BJP conspiracy to snatch tribal land.” Jharkand Mukti Morcha (JMM) boss Hemant Soren warns the move will let the government and “unscrupulous industrialists” take over tribal land.
(Source: The Indian Express)