Landless farmers make pressure groups

The Ukhada victims from Kapilvastu have formed a committee to continue their fight for land rights initiated by Kalika Self-reliant Social Centre (KSSC). In mid-September a group of 11 people will go to Kathmandu and talk face to face with representatives from the Ministry of Land.

By Jannie Aasted

12. September 2003

Hakim Darji from Phulika VDC is president of the newly elected committee of Ukhada victims in Kapilvastu. To Hakim Darji the purpose of making a pressure group is obvious;” We have so many different problems and at district level they are not able to help us. Now we want the responsible people in the government to know about our situation”

Difficulties and reckless land lords
The Ukhada victims are mostly landless labourers from the three Terai districts Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi and Rupandehi. In a reopening of the ‘Ukhada’ cases the farmers are entitled to own the land they are working on under certain conditions. They have to show evidence that their fathers cultivated and paid taxes for the land. The tax receipts prove their legally right to the land which was never actually given to them, because the land lords ignored to fill up their responsibilities after the Ukhada court was established in 2021 B.S.(1965).

In order to obtain land a Nepali citizenship is required which many of the Ukhada victims do not have. According to Hakim Darji the problem of citizenship is important but other obstacles are equally hard for them to overcome; “Many land lords have cheated people and changed the documents. Spelling mistakes on old pieces of paper are also a problem. We have to prove exactly that these are our fathers’ names and that the land we now work on is exactly the same our fathers cultivated and paid taxes for”.

Listen to our problems and change policy!
Many of the 11 people from Kapilvastu will go to Kathmandu for the first time. The overall aim of the delegation is to make the government take the Ukhada cases seriously. Each case is individual and it is vital that the governmental bodies who handle the cases give time for the victims to come up with the necessary documents and to apply for citizenship as well. The government has given a period of 8 months at maximum to finish the cases. This is impossible for many of the Ukhada victims – especially because they got to know about the possibility very late and only through the direct intervention by KSSC.

Hakim Darji is thankful that KSSC contacted him and his 104 fellow Ukhada victims and established a special office to help their application process. He hopes that the lobbying in Kathmandu will make the government change policy and make some decisions to help them all.” If some Ukhada victims’ problems are not solved they have no other chance than to go to India” says the president, indicating that chances of finding work are much better south of the border.

Also read "New Kamaya movement"