[PMARC] land struggle updates

-- The last frontier

The last frontier of feudal Gujarat is crumbled. On 24 January 2011 Joradiyali, a small and sleepy village of Vav taluka heard beating of roaring drums and saw dalits rampaging and uprooting crop sawn by upper caste persons on the land which was allotted to them before 27 odd years under Agricultural Land Ceiling Act. It was a red letter day in the history of land struggles of Gujarat.

Chauhan Jakshi Megha was the happiest person in the crowd of more than 200 people who came to Joradiyali responding the call of Council for Social Justice (CSJ). Jakshi's 1.21 acres of land was illegally possessed by a notorious upper caste person of Joradiyali. The united action of dalits has encouraged Jakshi. Now, he will not bow to anybody. Harchand Manji's 5.06 acres of land was also freed on that day from the clutches of an upper caste goon. His wife and daughter also joined the dalits in the act of uprooting the illegal crop.

The painstaking efforts of CSJ compelled district administration to measure 6574 acres of land which was allotted to dalits in 1983-84, but land was never measured and dalits could not cultivate it. Now, dalits are ready to fight against the village upper caste goons. Valjibhai Patel, Secretary of CSJ has inspired them to fight till the end.

Before this heroic act, dalits were gathered at Shreyas Kumar boarding, near Mamlatdar office, Vav, where Valjibhai Patel, writer Dr. Anand Teltumbade and activist Rajesh Solanki (Raju) addressed them.

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Palash Biswas
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