MANAV KALYAN TRUST SABARKANTHA GUJARAT
I come from Gujarat. Our organisation had waged a struggle against Dharoi dam. The riverbed was accessible [for cultivation] only to big farmers. Adivasis used to do mazdoori. Our organisation intervened after seeing the kind of exploitation adivasis were subject to. 70 villages in Khedbramha were organised. The youth were trained, a samiti was formed. The Dharoi dam was built on adivasi land. But they were marginalised as they were poor. The samiti demanded land for the adivasis. But the sarkar did not respond. So, the andolan gained pace. The Kheti Sahakari Mandali was formed, each member gave Rs. 11. A satyagraha was launched. The sarkar gave empty assurances. Adivasis lost faith. The next programme was an even larger satyagraha of 10,000 people. Taking their daily necessities with them people marched to the dam. They said they would not move till they got rights over the land. Ultimately, they took over the fields of big farmers, treating it as their own lands, their own crop. Sarkar thought that if the andolan continues, the land would have to be given to the people. A compromise was affected.
People were promised land but were not given any. Demonstration set in. Efforts at organising continued… That was when the government was forced to give land to the people. Adivasi men and women were therefore successful, but a lot of efforts went into it…