STATES

TAMIL NADU : A VICTORY FOR FARMERS AT THE END OF THE PANDEMIC YEAR

- Gabriele Dietrich

On December 21, 2020 a government order (Nr. 268) from the Industries (SIPCOT-LA) Department was issued in Tamil Nadu, which brought a thirteen years old land struggle of the Madurai Farmers Organisation to a successful end. The order concerned 1478 acres of farmland of the villages of Sivarakottai, Karusaikalampatti and Swaminallampatti, in Thirumangalam Taluk. The poramboke land, which sustained the farmers flourishing agriculture was required by SIPCOT for setting up an industrial park. SIPCOT had originally categorised these lands as “wasteland”, but was compelled to acknowledge that this is a total misnomer after continued challenge by the farmers.

It has been proven that people’s lives would be ruined if these lands are taken away for industrial purpose. The victory is to a large extent due to the unwavering inspiration and undeterred tenacity of M. Ramalingam, President or Madurai District Farmers Association, who spearheaded the protest all along. They documented the rich biodiversity of flora and fauna (plants and wildlife) of the area through photo exhibitions, numerous press interviews, as well as invitations to ecological and human rights organisations, who came out in strong support for the struggle. Women’s participation was enhanced by Pennurimai Iyakkam, a state wide women’s organisation. Medha Patkar also came to Thirumangalam with the NAPM “Samvidhaan Samman Yatra” and addressed a widely attended hall meeting.

Despite lack of irrigation, the black soil of the area holds water for a long period and a single good rain goes a long way in helping growth of millets, pulses and cotton. Even in times when the Periyar-Vaigai irrigation system runs dry, due to lack of storage in the catchment area, the rainfed fields in the area sill produce twenty two varieties of millets, pulses and cotton, as the former Joint Director of Agriculture A. Jayasingh Gnanadurai confirmed.

The crops also provide fodder for large herds of goats and sheep. Earlier, in 2007, the government had tried to acquire lands in Vellakulam, Kalligudi and Kengampatti, but shelved this plan after a while and also dropped a plan for thousand acres of land in Sengapadai. However, in 2009 a G.O. was issued to acquire 1,475 acres of land in Sivarakottai, Karisalkalampatti and Swaminallampatti.

The Madurai District Farmer’s Association is convinced that the officials misguided the High Court at that time, so they lost the case and had to appeal the order in the Supreme Court. Even there, justice was not served to the farmers. The land acquisition notices had not yet been issued to the farmers, which, according to very recent change in the TN Land Acquisition Act, was a requirement.

However, people never felt discouraged, they refused to give up. They had experienced so much encouragement throughout, even in Delhi. Ms. Jayalalitha, who was at that time the leader of the opposition in T.N., had promised to save the contested lands, but did not implement her promise speedily enough and later died without having taken action. But people sustained the faith in their struggle. As elections are nearing again, the incumbent AI-ADMK saw to it that SIPCOT finally issued the G.O. 268 and invalidated the old G.O.No. 58 of 12.6.2009. It is now officially acknowledged that the Industrial Park in Sivarakotttai had become obsolete, as there was one such “Park” already functioning in Kappalur, at a distance of only ten kilometres, as well as another one in Sattur, 45 km away.

Not only that, the new G.O. acknowledged that the lands are indeed very fertile and innumerable protests have taken place from affected panchayats. The District Collector

had also recommended to heed to the villagers demands and to drop the project, and thus the Commissioner of Land Administration came around to recommend to listen to the collector in this case. The managing Director of SIPCOT thus issued the fresh G.O.268 of 21.12.2020, which people took xerox copies of and held them in their hands during the public celebration in Thirumangalam. It felt like a dream, after the long struggle and movement is reminded of the song of revolutionary poet Bharatiar, which starts with:”Manathil Uruthi Vendum” (We need firmness of spirit) and ends with “Unmai Nindrida Vendum” (Truth must Prevail). As the movement celebrates the victory, it feels inspired by the farmers struggle on the borders of Delhi. There has been wide support to the farmers organisations in different parts of Tamil Nadu. The struggle of the farmers is also supported by UWF (Unorganised Workers Federation), which has waged a relentless struggle against the Labour Codes passed by the Central Government earlier, invalidating 43 Labour Laws initially. The alliance between workers and peasants is built with great sacrifices and nurtured by the faith that ‘Truth Must Prevail’!

- Gabriele Dietrich a feminist and Dalit rights activist is with Pennurimai Iyakkam – NAPM Tamilnadu.

The Codes expressedly exclude the huge numbers of agricultural workers, ‘honorarium’ and domestic workers, the overwhelming majority of who are women, from the definition of a worker. At the other end, a wide definition of ‘manager’ will allow employers to classify a large number of workers in this category. The definition of ‘employer’ now includes contractors and sub-contractors effectively absolving the principal employer of all responsibility. The government, of course believes that the contract labour system will be replaced by fixed term contracts (FTC), who are not provided any safeguards on period of contract, its renewal and any possibility for regularisation. Hence the established judicial premise that a perennial task must command a permanent job is now a renewed challenge. The threshold for most critical health and safety provisions will now only be applicable in establishments with 300+ employees. The same threshold now applies for introduction of standing orders, for lay off, retrenchment and closure, shrinking the number of establishments where there will be jobs protected by law. Most significantly, the entire body of the four codes can effectively be set aside at the will of the executive in ‘public interest’. So we could have a situation that a coal mine or petroleum refinery here or a sea port or car manufacturing factory there can be made completely free from even the few rights that are left in ‘public interest’.

Rights replaced by Dole

The most significant expectation of people at large and the promise of the BJP government has been universal social security. The code has settled this through a discriminatory two tier system that divides ‘employees’ and ‘unorganised workers’ through ‘rights conferred on them and schemes framed, under this Code’ respectively. In effect, a very small number of regular employees whose workplaces will qualify as an establishment will have the right to social security (PF, ESI, gratuity and maternity benefit) as guaranteed in the past, and the remaining large section of the working population will have to squabble over the benefits given out under the various budget constrained ‘schemes’ of a ‘generous’ government. These schemes shall be made up by the executive and will neither be disbursed from legislatively protected funds nor be justiciable in a court of law.

Trade Unions as Centres of Resistance

The future course of the country’s working class will be determined critically by our response to the new codes, most of all on the attack on trade union rights – on registration, on membership, on union recognition, and on the right to strike. As elsewhere in the world, trade union rights in our country too were won through sustained militant hard fought battles with unparalleled sacrifice. Trade union rights have always been won by challenging the laws of private property and profit. These are not rights we shall give up. Of course, we know that the BJP has carefully chosen this time to launch what it thinks is its final attack on the working class – a time when vast numbers of working people have been without work and wage for almost six months as a result of the draconian lockdown. This is not just an attack on working people, it is an attack that hits at the very core of democratic rights on our right to free association, on our rights to defend our rights, on our rights to dissent, speak up and strike when our rights are under attack. Whether it is the right to universal social security, or a fair and just minimum wage, or a safe workplace or a secure job: none of it can be won and secured without trade union rights. Hence our struggle must go forward in defending, retaining and sustaining our trade union rights. And it is with this resolve that we must and we will go forward in a struggle that is united, democratic and militant.

- Kanika and Kamayani Swami

“We had not thought that we would be able to make such good videos!” exclaimed a participant on the final day of the social media training workshop organized by the Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan (JJSS) and the Mosamat Budhiya Shiksha Nirman Sangathan (MBSNS), sister organizations working with rural workers in Bihar. For this group of participants, all firstgeneration learners and children of workers and laborers from the Dalit-Bahujan community, this was a unique experience. For the first time, they were creating content. While workingclass families have always been producers and creators of knowledge and wisdom which are often unrecognized, it was the first time that these youth were seeing their creations, in an objective, recognized, and contemporary form through social media.

Social media and digital technologies, for the most part, have been a double-edged sword. Social media have been widely used as tools for propaganda and misinformation. Given the widespread inequality in access, digital technologies have also become the criteria for exclusion (for instance, in the case of Aadhaar), thereby further perpetuating inequalities. However, this workshop and the experience of the participants underscored the immense positive power of social media.

When used creatively and consciously, social media can be a significant leveler. For those who have been denied a voice and resources, social media can be an important outlet of self-expression and representation. Take for example the use of TikTok by workers during the ‘migrant crisis’. They used the platform in creative ways to highlight their struggles as well as the hopes, joys, and irreverence to the powers that be. Instead of portraying themselves as mere victims, they showed themselves as creators and thinkers of a society and citizens of a nation. Tanmay, one of the facilitators of the JJSS workshop, put it well when he said:

“We live in a world where dominant forces control the content we consume - content that is usually created by and for dominant communities, content that systematically preys on young minds and sows seeds of hatred, and inequality in us. It is crucial that movement spaces combat this powerful attempt at colonizing young minds. One way to effectively do this is to have marginalised communities take control of the cultural narrative, by using social media to build and shape opinions, ideas, discourse and eventually, cultures. In the long struggle against fascism, caste, patriarchy and imperialism, it is important to effectively weaponize the tools of social media to build a common political understanding, widen our reach outside our echo chambers, and eventually, intensify our struggles.”

The youth participants of the JJSS workshop showed immense potential in building these counter-cultures throughout the workshop. When they were asked to choose themes they would like to make videos on, they all chose crucial social and political issues that affected them, such as unemployment, floods, NRC, communalism, superstitions, inter-religious and inter-caste love marriages, among others. Their sharp political understanding was evident when they were able to make a comprehensive commentary on critical issues in videos that were just about a minute long. They drew from their realities to show a worldview that is often absent from elite media and discourses. For instance, in a video on health-related superstitions, one participant brought in an example from her village when a child died of exorcism instead of being taken to the hospital after a snake bite. This kind of connection with everyday lived experiences that the participants were able to achieve is what makes their content compelling, relevant, and relatable.

These participants demonstrated that when the oppressed youth are taught with thoughtfulness and mutual respect, something that is largely missing in our education system, they can pick up and even master seemingly difficult skills in

no time. Sabyasachi, another facilitator of the workshop, said: “We had planned two days to teach them the technical things like the use of software to create videos and adding background music. But it was very inspiring to see them pick those things up and already start making videos by the end of the first day itself.”

The participants also showed remarkable creative prowess in choosing songs in the background of the videos. Their choice of songs indicated how deeply they understood the pulse of their audience and how well their imagination worked in linking different kinds of content. For example, in a video to celebrate the work and courage of Savitribai Phule, the group used the popular song “Dhaakad”. Some lines of the song go as follows:

Tere Purje Fit Kar Degi (She’ll teach you a lesson) Tere Daanv Se Badh Ke Painch Palat Kar Degi (She’ll beat you by doing a brilliant reversal maneuver) Chitt Kar Degi, Chitt Kar Degi (She’ll defeat you; she’ll defeat you) Aisi Dhaakad Hai, Dhaakad Hai, Aisi Dhaakad Hai (She’s so bold and strong)

The appeal of social media can be effectively used not only to retain the attention of the audiences but also of the creators themselves. This was evident in JJSS’s workshop when none of participants wanted breaks between sessions. As one participant put it, “usually we get bored in workshops and don’t want to come rushing back to sessions, but this time we don’t want to leave the sessions.” For movement spaces that are seeing a lack of active participation from the youth, creative tasks such as social media content creation can be one of the ways to both use their talents and retain their interest. It can also lead to further democratization of movement spaces, as Tanmay says:

“In the hands of oppressed youth, social media holds the potential to not only build counter narratives but also re-align skewed power dynamics within movement spaces as it is the most oppressed who are creating ‘knowledge’.”

In conclusion, the JJSS social media training workshop experience has shown that it’s time to truly leverage the empowering capacity of social media. It’s time to let our youth, engaging in people’s movements, take over the critical work of creating and shaping our narratives, one video and one post at a time!

(Some of the videos created by the participants have been released on the Dhakad Bihar Facebook page, and others have been circulated on Whatsapp. You can also watch the videos by using any app like the barcode reader to scan the QR code below:

If you would like access to these videos or organize such a workshop, please feel free to contact Kamayani: kamayani02@yahoo.com)

About the authors: Kanika is a researcher, and volunteers with the JJSS. Kamayani Swami is with the JJSS, MBSNS and NAPM.