Muslims illegaly occupy the land of Dalits; refuse to leave even after court’s ruling [ Jharkhand, India ]

[ Reported as seen ]

Muslims have encroached the land of the Dalit community in Jharkhand’s Giridih district. The people of the Dalit community have been protesting against it since September 12 in an effort to get their property back.

Additionally, they are currently coping with a financial problem. The state government, led by the current Chief Minister Hemant Soren, has come under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party for the development. According to a local party leader, the protest is still going on.

According to reports, the incident occurred in the Giridih neighborhood’s Jamua block, where Savitri Bharti, Jeera Devi, Gulabi Devi, and other members of Dalit families from Nawadih are protesting.

According to reports, the incident occurred in the Giridih neighborhood’s Jamua block, where Savitri Bharti, Jeera Devi, Gulabi Devi, and other members of Dalit families from Nawadih are protesting. They stated that between 1986 and 1987, the then-Bihar government gave them a valid gift of 11,000 acres of land in the Jamua district. There, trees were planted, and regular land collection was also done.

Meanwhile, a number of people, including Abdul, Mashrafe, Khalil, Hamid, and Alibakhsh, forcibly took the land. The Dalits were beaten and mistreated until they fled. The latter often complained to the police, but nothing was done. The victims also emphasised the fact that they had not been relocated there even after approaching the court more than 37 years prior.

In 2016, the Giridih Deputy Commissioner’s Court heard the land issue, with Mohan Turi representing the Dalits and Khalil Mian representing the Muslim side. Over the course of the three-year trial, both sides produced their materials and presented their cases.

The Muslim claims were found illegal in 2019 by the Rahul Kumar Sinha court, which eventually ruled in favour of the Dalits.

The Dalit side further was tormented by the Muslims. Despite winning the case, the government had yet to give the plaintiffs back custody of their land, even four years later. On September 12 of this year, they made an appeal to the Girdih Deputy Commissioner and requested ownership rights of what is rightfully theirs. They asked that the police presence on their property be measured and that any unauthorised occupiers be removed. They sat on a protest, nevertheless, after their requests were ignored.

Despite winning the case, even four years later the government had still not returned the plaintiffs’ ownership of their land. They appealed to the Girdih Deputy Commissioner on September 12 of this year, asking for ownership rights to what is properly theirs. They requested that any illegal occupants be removed and that the police presence on their premises be moderated. Despite the fact that their demands were not granted, they protested by sitting.

There are a total of eleven affected families. After the September 12th rally, when nobody paid them any attention for more than a month, they started to make a living there. The victims families further asserted that festivals  like Diwali, Chhath, and Durga Pooja, have started and their financial conditions are quite downtrodden at this state.

In order to make ends meet, the grieving families began manufacturing soup, brooms and knitting baskets at the Deputy Commissioner’s office on October 10. They said that they would continue their protest while working to support themselves financially.

Such incidences, in the opinion of BJP MLA Arun Kumar from Chandankiyari, are intolerable. He underlined that the district officials must track down the culprits and take the necessary legal action. He alleged that there had been an incident in Palamu where the Mahadalit families had been forcibly driven out of their homes.