Erayankudy is only a
symbol of what is happening to many of our agricultural lands in
Kerala, and other parts of India. For the land mafia, no matter they
are in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, or Andhra Pradesh, their
motive is profit; their strategy is corruption plus muscle power.
They build nexus with the political mafia and local police of each
place to defeat any attempt by the local farmers or environmental
activists who oppose the move of converting the paddy fields into
industrial basements. Brick making is highly lucrative a business
and those involved in mining clay from paddy fields first ensure
full support of ruling political alliance and local police and
officials of revenue department.
 At Erayamkudy, like other places
of similar attack on paddy lands, most fertile and productive paddy
land has been encroached by brick mafia through corrupt practices.
There are fourteen large scale brick making units at Erayamkudy,
each of them has violated existing land laws and rules. Each brick
making yard belongs to local/area secretary of the CPM, the ruling
communist party in Kerala, and hence no political or administrative
action is possible against them. The only option left to the
aggrieved farmers or activists is to resort to legal action.
Unfortunately, in many of such cases the judicial remedy depends
very much, not on merit of their legal infringement, but on the
political or otherwise influence one can bring upon the relevant
judicial officer.
Ms Jayashree, the organizing
secretary of the People’s Council for counter resistance had to face
the wrath of the virulent brick mafia who always enjoyed full
support and protection of the CPM, the major partner of the ruling LDF. They had the advantages of manipulating the police,
orchestrated a police raid to the residential house of Jayashree
while she was not at home. The police had no substantial evidence or
bonafide complaint against Jayashree or her family. Yet they carried
out the raid in order to threaten her against her involvement with
farmers against the brick mafia.
People shared the concern for
paddy cultivation and protection of agricultural land across the
State came in good number to participate in a formal and symbolic
sowing of the seeds in Earayamkudy paddy fields challenging the
criminal brick mafia on 24th February 2008. The seed was
brought from Kasargode in the north and Thiruvananthapuram in the
south. The seed was given traditional welcome at Thrissur railway
station on the 23rd in the presence of the celebrated poet of Kerala, Prof. K.G.Sankara Pillai, Chairman of Jananeethi
together with Prof.Sara Joseph, Adv.George Pulikuthiyil, executive
director of Jananeethi and many others.
On 24.02.2008, Erayamkudy and its
neighbourhood looked in festive mood. People from all over the State
including farmers, social activists, environmentalists, media
persons, human rights defenders, political activists, poets,
writers, artists, women’s groups and students arrived Erayamkudy to
witness the ‘mothers’ of Kerala, represented by Sugathakumari, Sara
Joseph and Leela Menon, sowing the fields of Erayamkudy in strong
protest against the brick mafia and the political administration
that indirectly support the mafia.
Jananeethi supported the People’s
Council with Jayashree as the driving force for the promotion of
paddy cultivation right from its beginning. Professor K.G.Sankara
Pillai visited the place several times and openly declared full
support to the struggle of the people for their right to farm the
land. Advocate George Pulikuthiyil also visited them and joined in
the deliberations. P.S.Manoj Kumar and Roy Raphael of Jananeethi
joined KGS and George on 24th and were present at
Erayamkudy in full support of the people. The article written by KGS
in Malayalam Weekly (March 7, 2008) touched the core of the problem,
motivated the Minister for Agriculture Mr.Mullakkara Ratnakaran, who
openly quoted KGS during the subsequent negotiation with the
agitating public that finally ordered banning of brick making at Erayamkudy.
The success of people’s struggle
for restoring the paddy cultivation at Erayamkudy, and their triumph
over the brick making mafia is the triumph of the democratic rights
of the people over the criminalized land mafia and their corrupt
political patronage.
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