Worker, Peasant and tribal Movement in Kerala

Worker, Peasant and tribal Movement in Kerala:-

Worker and Peasant movement:-

Peasants and workers also formed their organizations. They agitated for reforms.By 1930s a strong leftist movement emerged in Kerala. Socialism and Communism influenced many leaders and the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee was dominated by leftists were under the leadership of EM.S. Nambuthiripad and P.S. Krishnapillai. When the world war broke out the rift between the Right and the left widened.

Compared to the middle class the labouring people were proved to have interests completely antagonistic to the Subsidiary state. They were the victims of social oppression and economic exploitation perpetrated by the state. Although the tenant cultivators of the pre-modern kind had ceased to exist in Travancore by the end of the nineteenth century, the farmers were at the mercy of the moneylenders and poorest among them had become agricultural labourers or share-crop cultivators under the rich farmers. The famine conditions that existed during the thirties and forties increased their misery, and many of them migrated to the Western Ghats, where they cut down forests and cultivated the lands with plantation crops and cash crops. Migrations to Malabar, particularly Kannur and Wayanad also began during this period. Agricultural labourers began to seek work in the emerging ‘traditional’ industries, including Coir and cashew and formed the basis of the emerging working class. The working class struggles that developed in Kollam and Alappuzha regions were not only for the alleviation of their miserable working conditions but also against the state that perpetrated them and also protected the middle class entrepreneurs. This feature made them to shun communitarianism and constitute secular platforms for working class struggles. The labour associations and Trade Unions emerged in this fashion. These associations drove a wedge within the middle class communitarian politics, splitting it and bringing the working class under non-communitarian and syncretic platforms. While the middle class vacillated in their antagonism to the Travancore state, and concentrated their attention on the end of the Diwan’s rule, the working class was openly antithetical to the state and their struggles became a matter of concern to the State. The repeated crackdowns on the working class struggles demonstrated this unease. Nor did the middle class in Travancore favour these struggles, realizing that the struggles posed as much a threat to themselves as to the State. The antagonism reached its peak when the Travancore Government put forward the proposal for a presidential form of Government, thus eliminating whatever space that the legislature enjoyed. The working class, immiserised by the economic conditions that developed after the II World War and antagonized by the actions of the State Government rebelled and their actions in Punnapra and Vayalar was brutally put down by the military during 1946-47.Not surprisingly, the middle class in Travancore were either antagonistic, or kept a safe distance away from the struggle.

The case of Cochin:-

The struggle for responsible Government developed in Cochin also. The middle class in Cochin were more homogeneous upper caste and marginally Christian groups and hence not influenced by communitarian divisions of Travancore. The drift towards communitarianism of the Travancore kind was prevented by a secular rationalist tendency, initiated by Sahodaran Ayyappan and espoused by community reformers such as V.T.Bhattathirippad. Hence, attitudes towards the Government and Diwanship, as well as the dispositions towards the broader national movement gained primary importance. The Cochin state, being intrinsically weaker and less resourceful than Travancore acceded to the demand by these, and a diarchy with equal powers to the Diwan and the Assembly, came into being. The diarchy was in a sense the rule of a single class as there was no intrinsic antagonism between Cochin State and the middle class. It was only with the emergence of working class and peasant struggles that antagonisms of a more serious kind began to emerge in Cochin, as shown by the Mill workers of Trissur, estate workers and coconut growers. The middle class also began to involve themselves in the national movement, and this brought about united action by various classes during the forties.

Struggle in Malabar:-

The situation was more complicated in Malabar. There the population including the Middle Class was anti-Colonial, with the exception of an elite minority. Communitarianism had very little influence, as the work of various social reformers in the region, was syncretic, rather than based on particular communities. The only form of communitarianism that emerged was religious, as Islamic and Hindu. The Islamic Communitarianism originated from the spontaneous anti-British uprisings of the Mappilas in the nineteenth Century that culminated in a more organized struggle of 1921 under the banner of the Khilafat. This struggle was not approved by the middle class nationalists in Malabar, who also kept a distance from the mappilas even during the subsequent decades, when they were going through a state of deprivation and misery. This resulted in the drift of the mappilas towards the divisive propaganda of a new middle class that emerged from the Mappilas that included both the ‘traditional’ intellectuals and a new commercial class. The All India Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah established a unit in Malabar during 1937. After the adoption of the Pakistan resolution in 1941, the unit actively propagated for the formation of Pakistan. Although the unit ceased to exist later, their activists reconstituted themselves as the Indian Union Muslim League in 1948. The Hindu syncretism took the form of a reaction to the mappilas, which was led by the Sanatani Hindus and even supported by a section of the nationalist leadership of the period. However, it was the establishment of broad based popular organizations during the thirties that was able to drive a wedge into the emerging Hindu consciousness and destroy the spread of communalism. These organizations included those of the working class, peasants, students, teachers and the youth. These organizations emerged in the background of the rapidly deteriorating economic conditions during the thirties and were initially led by middle class nationalists, who were disenchanted by the policy of class appeasement, followed by Gandhi and looked for a theoretical framework for the furtherance of popular struggles. The socialist theory, as exemplified by the achievements of the Soviet Union, provided such a framework. Most of the workers of the working class, peasant, and youth organizations later became communists, a process through which the class antagonism developing within Malabar society also got formalized. The antagonisms became manifest under the conditions of II world war, that brought unprecedented miseries on the people, which was furthered by the exploitation of the local landlord. The numerous peasant struggles that broke out in different parts of Malabar on numerous issues related to peasant subsistence deepened the class antagonism and increased the political base of the Communist Party as the vanguard of the toiling people. The growing people’s struggles in other parts of Kerala helped the extension of the political base of the Communist Party throughout Kerala.

Tribal Movement:-

Tribes are the real inhabitants of the land. Tribal communities are found in all dis-

tricts of Kerala, except Alappuzha. Wayanad has the largest tribal population

among all the other districts of Kerala state and is considered as the ‘Holy land’ of

‘Adivasis’. The tribal population is spread in the three taluks of Wayanad, consist-

ing of the eight Panchayaths in Mananthavady, seven Panchayaths in Sulthan

Bathery and ten Panchayaths in Vaythiri taluk. The Paniyas, Adiyas,

Mullukurumas, Tenkurumas, Kattunaykas, Uralikurumas, Kurichyas,

Kallanadies, Kunduvadiyans, Karimbalas, Thachinadans are the chief commu-

nities in Wayanad.

Outbreak of Tribal Movements

The root cause of all the problems have been suffered by the tribal people was in

connection with their landlessness. For more than six decades, The Adivasi move-

ments have been demanding to get back their alienated land. Even though laws

were enacted to reinstate the Adivasi land in 1975 it was not successfully imple-

mented due to many untold reasons. The above said Acts was cancelled in 1997

and a new Act was enacted. The new Act cast aside the earlier point of view of

reinstating the alienated land.

As per the new Act, land and houses should be given to the Adivasis instead of

their alienated land. The Dalit organizations came forward to protest against the

new Act. They demanded five acres of land for agriculture instead of their alien-

ated land.

As observed above, the root cause of the problems of Adivasis in Kerala, espe-

cially in Wayanad is their landlessness. There were mainly three reasons

observed for the said alienation of their land.

Encroachment and immigration

The immigration was started in to the Adivasi land or forest land in the 1 940 ‘s

mainly in the form of bare encroachments and migration as social mobilization

process. These encroachment and immigration was prevalent in the Adivasi land

holdings. The chief segment of Adivasis lost their lands for repayment their

debt or to meet their household necessities or for the medical treatment.

Those who had vested interests subjugated the forest for industrial purpose and

their migration extended in to the forest lands in Wayanad wherein the tribal com-

munities actually lived. To them, the forest was considered as a source of income

and livelihood. The British possessed the tribal inhabiting regions where they

developed their plantations.

The use of forest for other purposes:-

The development of technology and the increasing need of lives depended up on

forest for non-forest purposes. Industrial and technological growth has become

possible by the maximum use of natural resources. This greatly affected the life

and social compactness of the tribal people. The use of forest for non-forest pur-

poses destroyed the habitat of the tribal people here.

Historical reasons:-

The newly introduced global policies and its politics brought up changes that dis-

carded the relation and made a profound and wide gap between the civilized and

tribals. As K. Panoor wrote that the alienated land of the Adivasis around 25%.

Apart from the migration, many land Acts also caused to the landlessness of

Adivasis. When the English East India Company established their authority

over the forests in Malabar and established their right to cut down the trees, the

natives began to protest against their activities.

Cheengery Agitation

The Adivasi leaders declared that they would take possession of Cheengery after

Ambukuthi on 26th January 1995. A campaign was organized under the banner

of Adivasi United Samithi. As the part of resource mobilization, a handful of rice

was collected from each of the Adivasi families by the agitators through

Oorukootams.The land Cheengeri was bought by Kerala Government from the

Government of Tamil Nadu. These 528 acres of land would be distributed

among 100 families; each family would get five acres of land. The Adivasis

needed to be trained how to use this land productively. As per the documents

fifty five lakh rupees was spent for Adivasis to train scientific cultivation during

the period 1957-1995. But they were not given even a bit of land for cultivation.

On January 25 th night, Adivasis entered the Cheengeri Estate and 249 families

built huts and stayed there. As a result, 120 Adivasi leaders were taken under the

custody of Kalpetta police. The District collector reached at the struggle site and

negotiated with the leaders. After seven days of judicial custody the accused

were released. On February 7 th 224 Adivasis were arrested and they were sent to

the sub- jail at Kozhikode. They were released after 11 days imprisonment.

Meanwhile the government made cable fence around the Cheengery estate.

Against this action of the Government the Adivasi Samithi declared a relay

sathyagraha strike in protest against the inhuman treatment of the Government

towards Adivasis and this strike lasted for 48 days. There was political interven-

tion on Cheengery land problem and the CPI (M) Waynad district committee

declared that the Land Restoration Act should never be implemented in its exact

form. But on 14 th February the CPRM) state Secretary E.K. Nayanar visited

Cheengery estate and appealed the government to hand over the estate to

Adivasis.

Paanavally Agitation

On 5 th March 1995 the Adivasi Pravarthaka Samithi marched to Panavally forest

land. In Panavally 18 acres of land was supposed to be declared as reserve forest

in the near future. The Samithi built huts in the land and seventy five Adivasi fami-

lies started farming there. On 10 th March 1 995 the forest officials destroyed the

huts and the Adivasis were arrested. Later they were released but they rebuilt the

demolished huts. But the police set fire on the huts and 1 02 Adivasis again were

arrested and sent them to the judicial custody include children below the age of

five. After the release of the accused they once again moved to Panavally and

constructed new huts and indulged in farming. A meeting of the Adivasi Samithi meeting held at Kalpetta on 26th January 1994 decided to start agitation against the Government and to take possession of the land deserved by the Adivasis. The meeting declared March 1st as deadline to the Government. On the scheduled date, Adivasi agitators surrounded before the

District Collector of Waynad. This strange stands of the Adivasi Samithi caused

to detach from the mainstream political parties. Meanwhile the Government

appealed the High Court for a grace period of one year to solve the Adivasi land

problem. Government further informed the Court that the non-co-operation of Adivasi

Samithi was the reason for not implementing the law. But the High Court rejected

the argument of the Government. The High Court disagreed to prolong the time

period to the government to implement the Act. The Court once again asserted

its previous verdict that the land would be given to the Adivasis within 6 months

and the Court would observe whether the revenue department carries out the

order of the Court. The Government did not take favorable decision even if the

frequent intervention of the Court and the endless demand of the Adivasi agita-

tions. There was no other means for the Adivasis except to continue the struggle.

On 26 th February 1995, an ‘Until Death Sathyagraha’ was started in front of the

Secretariat under the eminent leadership of C.K. Janu. This fast lasted for 1 3 days

and the agitators attempted to enter the Secretariat Block at the last phase of the

struggle. The Secretariat guards prevented the attempt of the agitators and C.K.

Janu and others were wounded and taken to hospital.

There was no other way before the Adivasis to obtain and realize their rights;

therefore they were compelled to move to the crucial form of struggle. C.K. Janu

and the other agitators started making huts in front of the Secretariat as the part of

the struggle and continued the agitation. On September 2001 the agitators made

traditional huts with the help of Gothra Maha Sabha. They prepared food at the

huts and stayed there. This agitation attracted the mass support of general public.

This agitation lasted for nearly one month. The A possibility of compromise

with the intervention of famous political leader K.R. Gouri Amma and eminent

poet Sugathakumari emerged and the agitation was put to an end on October

1 6 th 200 1 and an official meeting was convened by the then Chief minister.

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