The 10 year agitation of the farmers of Singur, West Bengal, over the
acquisition of about 1000 acres of fertile agricultural land by the
Government, for providing land to the Tata company for setting up an
automobile industry, has come to a fitting conclusion. The Supreme
Court, in a recent judgement, has ruled on the validity of the
demands and upheld the rights of the displaced farmers. The relevant
portions of the judgement reads as follows:
“...In
the facts of this case it would be appropriate to direct that land is
given back to all land
owners
since they have been deprived of the usufruct of the land for a
decade as
such
the compensation paid to them shall not be recovered. They are
permitted to
retain
it or claim it in full and final settlement of claim towards damages
for
deprivation
of use of their land etc……...
The
land shall be given back to the land owners and compensation if any
paid to them
shall
not be recovered from them those who have not collected it are free
to
collect
the same in lieu of damages for deprivation of possession for ten
years...”
All
the farmers, whose lands were acquired, will get back their lands and
any compensation paid (or promised to be paid which will now be paid)
will be retained by the farmers in lieu of their being deprived of
their fundamental right to practise their livelihood by virtue of
their being dispossessed of their lands.
The
import of the judgement for Lokavidya Samaj
This
judgement is NOT about procedural lapses, compensation for
displacement or loss thereof. This judgement lies at the heart of LJA
viz
i)
Every individual has a fundamental right to practise a livelihood in
order to lead a life of dignity.
ii)Every individual has the right to
choose his profession/livelihood.
iii)Such
choice is normally made on the basis of the individual’s knowledge
and skills. (Such knowledge/skill may be acquired by working with family, elders of the
community or through
undergoing courses of instruction and training in institutions set up
for these purposes)
iv)All
‘products’ based on such knowledge/skills are equally valuable
and are entitled to the same
pay/remuneration
All
members of Lokavdiya Samaj have acquired, and continue to practice,
knowledge and skills through working with their family,elders and the
community they live in. Whereas, all members who belong to the
educated sections acquire their knowledge and skills from Schools,
Colleges, Universities etc and practise professions/livelihoods based
on such institution-acquired knowledge/skills. The farmers of Singur,
(and in fact all over the country who are part of Lokavidya Samaj),
are dependent on land (a natural resource) for their livelihood i.e
they practise their knowledge and skills using this natural resource.
Whereas, the demand of the ‘educated-unemployed’ (whose interests
were apparently being catered to by the West Bengal Government
through this acquisition),is for the setting up of industries and
workplaces that would provide them employment where they would
practise their acquired knowledge/skills.
The
Supreme Court judgement indicates a recognition of this dire need of
the farmers of Singur and has sought, through this judgement, to
annul the disasterous effects of the displacement of these farmers.
The
Right to Life and The Right to a livelihood based on( live by)
Lokavidya
The fundamental Right to Life is recognised by all societies the
world over. This Right is enshrined in all Constitutions and held
sacrosanct by all religions.
When
a child( or any living being) is born into this Earth ; it has a
fundamental right of access to all resources that are required to
sustain its life such as clean air, water, food, clothing, shelter
etc. It is also incumbent on members of the society into which it is
born to provide it means to grow( from a dependent) and acquire an
independent status; which implies acquisition and practice of
knowledge/skills and livelihood that would enable it to live a life
of (minimal) dignity and become a contributing member of societal
growth, sustenance and development. The
Right to Life is really a Right to a Sustainable Life of Dignity.
The
current demand of ordinary people, the world over, is a guarantee of
gainful livelihood/ employment that would provide a minimum wage to
ensure a life of dignity. This demand is considered a just and
honourable demand. Today, however, we see that vast sections of
humanity are being deprived of access to natural resources – clean
air, water, environment which are essential to healthy Life, and to
natural and other resources that are essential for their Livelihoods.
This is because the current planners and controllers of development,
while ignoring the knowledge claim (Lokavidya)
of Lokavdiya Samaj,
consider their acquired knowledge to be far superior to Lokavidya,
which is termed backward, obsolete and unscientific and a thing of
the past and having
no relevance today and incapable
of contributing
whatsoever to human and social development. Hence, it is concluded
that all livelihoods based on Lokavidya
need to be sub-planted by
more ‘modern’ occupations and livelihoods. This model of
development leads to
acquisition of
every natural resource - land,water, forest, mineral wealth etc for
industry-related purposes and, most often ruthlessly, displaces
ordinary people from all natural resources thus depriving them of the
right to practise their chosen professions/livelihood.
However,
the great spread of growing poverty, sickness, environmental
degradation and violent conflict the world over, is witness to the
fact of the failure of this attitude and
outlook and to
the inherent degeneracy
of this model of
development. These results are there for all to see and
the life-threatening brunt is being borne by Lokavidya
Samaj.
This
judgement, not only draws attention to the Right to live by
Lokavidya, it also, by implication, negates the assumption of the
Government that the acquisition was for public purpose of providing
gainful employment to a larger number of people including those who
were displaced. The farmers had claimed at the outset, that it was
farming that they knew and not industry-related work(which implied
that they would be deemed unfit for employment in the proposed
industry). They had thereby ab
initio debunked the
rationale behind the acquisition by the Government. This
judgement will provide great impetus to the movements against
displacement.
The
minimum wage/pay demand of LJA
In the light of this judgement, the current demand of LJA for a ‘
minimum wage/pay to ALL working people on par with the Government
fixed minimum wage/pay’ comes into clear focus.
The minimum wage is arrived at by factoring in all requirements for
living a life of minimum dignity and so the LJA demand is a demand
for the recognition of the essential equality between
University-acquired knowledge/skill and the different
livelihood/skill-streams in Lokavidya and that everybody be
given a minimum wage that will provide for a life of dignity.
The Singur judgement should bolster the demand of Lokavidya Samaj
for “equal minimum pay to ALL working people” and strengthen
the unity within the ranks of Lokavidya Samaj.
Krishnarajulu
