The landless fight for land

In 2005 the government established the Solution Committee to help sort out the problems for the landless. For 14 landless in Kabilvastu district there was a change with the help from MS partner KSSC. 156 are still waiting for their land.

A group of landless people from the Ukhada Pressure Committee Photo by Malene Lærke

They call themselves sufferers. They are the landless people who know in their hearts that a piece of land rightfully belongs to them but the land is out of reach. Four members from Ukhada Pressure Committee in Bahaibasi, ward no. 5 in Phulika VDC in Kabilvastu district has gathered to tell their stories. They sensed hoped when the Nepalese government back in 2061 established the Solution Committee. The aim with the committee was to give the landless the possibility to hand in proof that a piece of land belongs to them. The establishment of the committee however was not informed to the landless and therefore they did not know there was a deadline or a possible solution to their problem. Only by chance did Kabilvastu Institutionalised Development Committee, KIDC in Taulihawa – hear about it and began to inform the landless.

“The message was only send to the land renewal office and to the VDC secretary but the message was never passed on to the landless. We asked why and they answered that they did not think it should be broadcasted on Radio Nepal when it only concerned three districts in the Terai. We informed local radios and went from door to door,” tells Vishwa Raj Regmi, chairperson of KIDC, which is a satellite organisation under MS partner KSSC in Taulihawa.

KIDC managed to make a programme where the landless would get help to fill out application forms. In all, 170 applied and out of those 14 families afterwards had a landowner certificate. 60 families were about to get their landowner certificate, KIDC tells, but did not make it before the deadline.

Hakim Darjee Photo by Malene Lærke

Hakim Darjee

One of the 14 landless that got his piece of land was Hakim Darjee. Hakim Darjee's forefathers emigrated from India and since his grandfathers’ time the family had been working for landlords. They never got a citizenship certificate and this became a problem when Hakim Darjee wanted to claim the land. He had the necessary proof that the land belonged to him but without a citizenship certificate he could not obtain his landowner certificate. With help from KIDC he got a citizenship certificate and thereby he was able to get the land that was rightfully his.

“The day I got the certificate I shared sweets with my friends here in the village,” tells 50 year old Hakim Darjee, chairman of Ukhada Pressure Committee.

Twins and one citizenship

The citizenship certificate is often a crucial obstacle for the landless. For 60 year old Pancham Chamar it is a strange situation. He does not have a citizenship certificate and he cannot get a certificate but his twin brother got his citizenship without any problems.

In 1969, the court ruled that Pancham Chamar was entitled to get land according to the law but the landlord played a trick. The landlord reported that Pancham Chamar is from India and therefore he cannot get a citizenship certificate. His twin brother, however, the authorities sees as Nepali and he is accepted as a citizen of Nepal.

“The landlord said to me that if I went to court he would kill me or get me thrown to prison. I was the active one and I raised my voice and for that I have been punished while my brother who never said anything has not faced any problems,” tells Pancham Chamar that has not given up hope yet to retrieve his land.

Landlords want to keep their land

The landlords would try to cheat in many ways to keep their land. The labourers had a right to get a receipt for their work and for their salary from the landlord. This receipt could be used as proof that it was their land. However, the landlords did not give receipts to the labourers and afterwards they could not claim their right. The landlords also sold the land to their family members so the land was on many hands within the family.

Kasi Kahar

45 year old Kasi Kahar became an orphanage when he was five years of age. He was driven away by the landlord that took his dead parents house. Together with relatives he came to Bahaibasi in Kabilvastu.

“We did not dare to speak to the landlord. We just fled,” he recalls. “Today my life is passing on as it is. I have always been landless so it is no difference for me. I work and I eat. I am a tractor driver and that is the way I live my life,” he says.

Kasi Kahar got his hopes up when the Solution Committee was formed. He was able to get a document saying that a court verdict had ruled that this particular piece of land belongs to 12 people – one of them being Kasi Kahar’s father. He went to the office of the Commission and to the land renewal office but the response both places was he needed more documentation.

“I shall have the land where I was born,” he says.

Kasi Kahar went to Kathmandu three times. He did not get his land. He only got empty answers and weak excuses from the Commission.

“They always asked for a recommendation letter from the VDC and receipts from the landlord. But I do not believe I need all that documentation. I have the document from the court saying that the land was my fathers land but they told be that one proof is not enough,” he says.

Kasi Kahar does not feel he got an explanation, feels that he was ignored and talked down to and not listened to.

“I am an uneducated village person. They don’t listen to me. I was always told that I would get information but I never got any. But I have not given up on getting my land just yet,” says Kasi Kahar.

At KIDC they have not given up either. They are certain that it is possible for all 170 applicants to their land.

“We are in touch with the concerned minister and we are confident that all will get their land owner certificate. We will continue to campaign for the landless and if nothing has happened within a month we will again as we have done twice before go to Kathmandu with the landless to demonstrate,” says Vishwa Raj Regmi.