Land deprivation of tea communities and adivasis
Quazi Monzila Sultana and Sabrina Miti Gain

“Land grabbers brutally murdered my father, Dhudu Soren, on 2 August 2014. My uncle, Goshai Soren was killed in 2011 and so was my grandfather, Fagu Soren, in 1964. The land grabbers killed them to take possession of 2.75 acres of our land. And now I fear that they will kill me too,” said Robi Soren (22) in a seminar on ‘Land Deprivation of Tea Communities and Adivasis of the Plains’. He cried while describing how the land grabbers brutally attacked his family at different times to take away their land.

The Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) organized the seminar on 20 September 2015 in Dhaka. More than a hundred representatives of 24 different communities participated in the seminar. Human rights activists, leaders from among adivasi and tea communities, researchers, representatives of different professional organizations, and journalists were among them. Philip Gain, the director of SEHD and Robindranath Soren, the president of Jatiyo Adivasi Parishad facilitated two sessions of the seminar.

In his introductory remarks Philip Gain, director of Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), set the tone of the seminar by sharing some facts on reflections on the theme. He told the seminar the tea workers (120,000) spread over 160 tea gardens and with a population of about half a million have been living in the tea gardens of Bangladesh for over 150 years. What is unique of the tea communities of Bangladesh is they own no land they have their houses on and the cropland within the tea gardens they till.

On the other hand, adivasis of the plains in the Northwest and North-centre are increasingly becoming victims of violence over land. Many of them have lost their land in the face of torture, murder, and other oppressions by land grabbers. They always allege that the administration, police and even the judiciary do not provide support to them they deserve.

Appalling stories of deprivation and attacks

What made the seminar unique was horrible stories of land grabbing told by the victims who travelled from North Bengal and tea garden areas. Sicilia Hasda, a Mahle woman from Pachandor, a village in Tanore Upazila of Rajshahi district told her appalling story. Seven Mahle families, including that of Sicilia helplessly witnessed their houses on vested property demolished by their neighbouring Bangalees. The Mahles of Pachandor received the lease of the land first in 1971. The lease was last renewed in 2013.

Some of their Bangalee neighbours, who migrated to this country during the Partition of India and are known as refugees to the local adivasis, demanded that they bought this land from someone else. They received an eviction decree from the court and demolished the houses of the seven Mahle families with the help of the police and the court on 30 March 2014.Sicilia cried and asked, “This land is everything that we have. Where shall we go if pushed out? Why do you come to us during elections and later tell us that we are not citizens of this country?”

Nilima Hembrom, a Santal woman from Chirakuta village of Parbatipur Upazila in Dinajpur narrated the inhuman attack and arson in her village. Bangalees burnt down their houses and ravaged their property after the death of a Bangalee youth in a clash between the Santals and the Bengalis on 24 January 2015, all because of a dispute over 19 acres of land in Chirakuta. Nineteen Santals were arrested after the incident.

Nilima Hembrom filed a case against the attackers. Seven Bengali attackers were arrested but they were released on bail seven days later. Nilima said, “They have money to spend, so they got bail. Our people got out of jail three months later. Four of us are still in prison.”

A cohort of representatives from the tea gardens participated in the seminar. The tea communities are people completely landless. However, gradually they are becoming more vocal about their land rights. Gita Goswami, a labour leader and formerly a pattiwali (tealeaf picker) talked about the khet land, land within tea gardens that the tea communities access to grow crops. “Our forefathers made the land cultivable by cleaning the jungle. If people in villages can own the land for living there, then why won’t we have the ownership of the land that we occupied and cultivated for a hundred years?”

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, a premiere economist of the country and former advisor to caretaker government explained the underlying factors and context of land deprivation of tea workers and ethnic communities. “Economic poverty, vulnerability, and marginalization are three dimensions of poverty,” said Dr. Rahman. “Bangladesh has well addressed economic poverty and vulnerability. Addressing marginality of the tea workers and ethnic communities remains to be a challenge.”

He blamed statistical invisibility as one of the main reasons behind it. He mentioned that there is no official record of the actual population of the tea communities and adivasis in any governmental statistics. He added that the other driving forces of marginality are ethnic specificity, disappearing occupation, vulnerable land rights, and social stigma.

Dr. Tanzimuddin Khan, associate professor of Dhaka University said, “The identity and recognition of adivasis are closely related with their land rights. However, the state is putting more emphasis on the Bangalee nationality and isolating the adivasis.” He commented that the marginal communities are becoming victims of discrimination and oppression because of the inhuman nature of the state.

SEZ in tea garden: The government’s decision to establish a Special Economic Zone in 511 acres of khet land in Chandpore Tea Estate, a tea garden of Duncan Brothers in Chunarughat Upazila in Hobiganj was discussed with importance in the seminar. Khet land is a significant source of food security for the tea workers whose daily wage is Tk.69. Philip Gain informed that the government officials involved did not discuss this with the users of the khet land or even the garden owners and they are unwilling to do so.

Swapan Santal, who came from Chandpore Tea Estate, asked for help from the citizens’ groups. “When we went to talk to the upazila chairman about the economic zone, he castigated us. He even said that we do not belong to this country. If that’s true then why do we vote?”

Anu Muhammad, professor of Jahangirnagar University, advised, “We need to draw the attention of the political leaders who are supposed to oversee these issues. Many times they are not even aware of the problems. They need to have contact with the media and influential people of the government.” He added, “Just being aware is not enough, the land disputes need to be solved by exercising your legal rights.” A proposal was made by the speakers of the seminar to issue a statement on behalf of the citizens asking the government to clarify the issue of the SEZ in Chandpore Tea Estate.

Road to solution: Solutions to the land deprivation of tea workers and adivasis of the plains were discussed in the seminar as well. Some among the adivasis have recovered their lost land with their own efforts in legal fights. One of them is Bichitra Tirki from Jinarpur village of Parbatipur Union of Chapainawabganj. The Oraon woman is now a role model in the adivasi society. She has recovered 48 bighas (one bigha equals to 33 decimals) of her family that the land grabbers illegally occupied with false documents in hand.

“My husband was traumatized by the land grabbers and eventually died for the land which I recovered later. They lost the cases in the lower court and now have appealed to the high court. When I was working on my land on 4 August 2014, they attacked me. They physically assaulted and raped me,” reported Bichitra, who is now stronger than ever.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua discussed the importance of keeping land-related documents straight and learning about the laws regarding land issues. He also shared important information about land ownership, “A proper land ownership means when someone has occupied the land for 25 years continuously. However, there is no alternative to knowing the laws in order to resolve land disputes.”

As it is necessary to collect data and regularly writing reports, so is to influence the government to find the solutions to land disputes of tea workers and adivasis. In sharing his experience Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “When we talk to the representatives in union and upazila level, we never hear any discussion about the problems of these people.”

“In order to address the issues of tea communities, adivasis and other excluded communities, Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) and Power and Participation Resource Center (PPRC) are doing the ground work to establish a national resource center and a national platform to give them a voice and raise their issues”, Dr. Rahman told the seminar.

Dr. Tanzimuddin Khan discussed the importance of becoming politically empowered, “If you become politically powerful, not only you would be an important vote bank but also it would be easier for you to solve your problems.”

Alongside the seminar, SEHD organized an information on land issues. SEHD, Human Development Research Center (HDRC), ALRD, BARCIK, Caritas Bangladesh, Toru Pallab, SIL Bangladesh, and Kapaeeng Foundation participated in the fair with their books and other productions on adivasis and tea workers.

The writers are research staff of Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD).

http://www.dhakacourier.com.bd/land-deprivation-of-tea-communities-and-adivasis/
http://www.thedailystar.net/editorial/platform-represent-marginalised-groups-146980
http://www.thedailystar.net/city/marginalised-groups-ngos-should-merge-rights-efforts-146410

EU ambassador visits labour line, condemns extreme
low wages to tea workers
Md. Ashraful Haque

Tea Industry: Bonanza for Owners, Misery for Workers –  Md. Ashraful Haque

“The labor law itself is at the roots of deprivations of tea workers,” said Ram Bhajan Kairi, in a residential workshop organized by the Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD). The four-day training workshop titled, “Rethinking Rights of Tea Workers” was held in Komolganj, Moulvibazar from 8 to 11 February. Thirty-five participants, most of them youths from the tea workers’ communities, joined the workshop. Thirteen ethnic communities were represented at the workshop.

The prime objective of the program was to enhance participants’ capacity to write reports and take part in research on issues regarding tea workers and their communities.

Kairi, a labor leader and a staff of SEHD said, according to the law, workers of all industries are entitled to 10 days of casual leave, which is not applicable to tea workers. Besides, tea workers enjoy one day of annual leave for every 22 days of work while workers of other industries get one  day leave against every 18 days work.

Kairi also pointed out that legal remedy to tea workers deprivations have tactfully been kept away from them. “A worker has to go to the labor court located in Chittagong in case of a legal fight, which is nearly impossible for a low-paid labor,” he said. “Neither political leaders nor the state cares about the systematic deprivation of tea workers. It is very shameful that the government is not holding elections for such a big trade union as tea workers’,” deplored Kairi. Other labor leaders including Parimal Sing Baraik also reiterated the call to end tea workers’ ordeals.

While the labor law is discriminatory in the case of the tea workers, the owners ignore their legally binding essential obligation. To illustrate owners’ neglect Delwar Hossain, labour inspector (general) Sylhet Division said, “What we find in the tea garden is that the owners do not issue appointment letter to the workers. This is violation of law and we are now asking the management to issue proper appointment letter.”

The management response with regard to issuing of appointment letter to the workers is that they would raise the matter at the upper level. “We have taken some measures (cases) in this regard. We have fined three managers so far,” informed the labor inspector who also makes it a point that according to law, a worker shall be made permanent within six months of his/her appointment. But in the case of tea workers they are not made permanent within the period.

The participants, government officials, tea community leaders, researchers and tea garden officials shared their insights and opinions in the program based on their engagement with tea communities and the tea industry.

Beside sharing information with others and learning from avid researchers, participants received hands-on experience in conducting focus group discussion (FGD), face-to-face interview, and writing case studies in the unique training. Each of them was grouped with a small team that visited a couple of labor lines in five tea gardens. Every team conducted a FGD with Panchayet (an elected body of representatives of tea workers to look after various issues of a labor line) members and filled in a questionnaire that was designed to collect data on socio-economic status and ethnic composition of tea communities. Each participant also interviewed at least one tea worker and wrote case studies on issues ranging from health to education, livelihood to landlessness.

Mohammad Giashuddin, deputy director of labor (DDL) of Department of Labour, while describing the structure and functions of the departments of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, put forward some of his observations on the rights of tea workers. He said that the labor law ensures many rights to the tea workers, but those are not implemented. The workers lead a very hard life. Scarcity of clean drinking water, insufficient sanitation and housing etc characterize the labor lines.

“The tendency to deprive the tea workers is a legacy of British companies that brought the workers in promising good fortune, but deceived them,” opined Giashuddin who partially blamed the deprivation of workers on garden authority. “Tea garden managers earn a good sum of money in many ways, but they do not know laws,” he observed. However, he held the labor leaders’ failures to press their demands ultimately responsible for the labors’ deprivations. “There are hardly any cases filed against the owners,” he said.

The session at this point became vibrant as a participant threw a question to DDL, “While the elected representatives of tea workers union are driven out of labor house [the trade union office], and the government has kept the house under lock and key, where will the workers go to claim their rights?” It can be mentioned here that the first ever trade union elections for the tea workers took place in 2008. But in 2009 the elected trade union officials were removed from office by force and a government-backed ad-hoc committee was installed in their place. Later in the face of a spontaneous country-wide strike of tea workers, Awami League government emptied the house and promised fresh elections. That election is yet to be held.

In response to such query DDL confessed his limitations as a government official and said that he would hold elections if directed by the government.

Prakash Kanti Chowdhury, ADC (revenue), Moulvibazar said that the condition of tea workers and their community is improving.  At least 40 schools have been established in the tea gardens in Moulvibazar district since 2010. Not all the gardens have satisfactory health, education and housing facilities, but the government is monitoring these issues. “There was a time when we (administrative officials) hardly met any garden manager, but now as they have to come to us for renewal of lease deeds, we have a chance to look into the facilities they provide for workers,” said the ADC. “In the proposed tea policy 2012, we have recommended that the tea garden authority provides a spacious house with at least two rooms and a veranda as well as sufficient health, sanitation and education facilities,” he added.

In answer to a query from a participant whether the government ever had a policy discussion over giving tea workers legal rights and ownership on the land they are living in for more than one and half century, Mr. Chowdhury said that a inter-ministerial body comprising the ministry of land, ministry of labor and other line ministries will need to sit together to decide on that.

Reacting to such question, Robiul Hasan, Manager, Kalindi tea garden feared that if tea workers are given ownership to land, they will stop working for the tea industry. He claimed that tea community is doing much better than earlier times. “Soon there will be time when no illiterate person will be left in tea gardens,” asserted Hasan.

Md. Haroon-Or-Rashid Sarker, director, Project Development Unit (PDU), Bangladesh Tea Board said that the owners of tea gardens make high profit. He opined that if the owners of tea gardens spend more from this huge profit for the workers, it will benefit the industry itself in the end. “The ration provided to the workers is of inferior quality. If the workers are sick all the time, it hampers production. These problems can be solved easily,” Rashid said.

The training workshop designed to share tools for rethinking rights, justice, developing minds among the tea workers in particular was moderated by Philip Gain. To prepare the participants for hands on training Dr. Tanzimuddin Khan, associate professor of Dhaka University, this writer and Philip Gain talked on Focus Group Discussion (FGD), case studies, survey, and applied research techniques.

The training ended on 11 February with participants going back to their communities with confidence and profound enthusiasm to continue writing and reporting various issues of tea communities.

Writer is Research and Documentation Officer at Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD).

 “Many ethnic communities of Bangladesh are
constitutionally and statistically invisible”
—Says Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman at a seminar

Guests at the seminar (sitting from left) Prof. Rafiqul Islam, Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Prof. Sakhawat Ali Khan, Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Leonard Zilstra, and Philippe JACQUES. Photo. Md. Saydur Rahman

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman, Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC) said that many of the ethnic communities of Bangladesh are invisible, both constitutionally and statistically. “This invisibility must be dispelled so that they can raise their voices and claim their rights,” he suggested in a day-long inception seminar on “Mapping and capacity building of tea workers and little-known ethnic communities of Bangladesh” organized by The Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) in Dhaka on 8 September 2013.

Information and insights about the condition of the tea plantation workers in ‘tied’ situation and little-known ethnic communities of Bangladesh were shared at the seminar.

Justice Muhammad Habibur Rahman was present at the event as the chief guest. Chaired by Prof. Sakhawat Ali Khan, chairman of SEHD, the special guests and commentators were Philippe JACQUES, the head of cooperation, European Union Delegation to Bangladesh; Prof. Rafiqul Islam, professor emeritus, ULAB; Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman, Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC); and Leonard Zilstra, country representative, ICCO Cooperation, Bangladesh Office.

In his chief guest’s speech Justice Habibur Rahman said, “There are a good number of communities in Bangladesh who do not call themselves Bangalis; without knowing them, we cannot develop their communities. And without their development, Bangladesh cannot be developed.” He applauded SEHD’s initiative to make these ethnic communities known to the majority people.

Representatives of more than 40 ethnic communities pictured at the seminar. Photo. Philip Gain

Philippe JACQUES appreciated the initiative saying, “The project has an exciting approach as it combines action research and capacity building. All of us are going to learn a lot during the implementation.” He hoped that the living conditions of these deprived communities would become more humane as a result of this initiative.

In his welcome speech Philip Gain, general secretary of SEHD, said that a tea worker in neighboring Sri Lanka gets Rs 550 per day while their Bangladeshi counterparts receive only BDT 69. Three years back, the daily wage was a meager 32.50 BDT. He also described the miseries of little known-ethnic communities of Bangladesh as people of more than 50 communities are deprived of education and access to land. “To protect the rights, fundamental freedom and political representation, we have to raise consciousness of all,” he added.

Representatives from some 45 communities among others including academics, researchers, development activists and journalists participated in the seminar to share their reflections on how to develop useful tools for study and capacity building of communities and their organizations.

The tea plantation workers and their communities in “tied” situation in the labor lines of the tea gardens are one of the most marginalized and excluded groups of people of Bangladesh. Descendants of the indentured plantation labor force and isolated from the majority community they remain largely unrepresented in democratic and political processes. Among the ethnic communities living in the plains and even some in the CHT there are as many as 60 groups that are little-known or invisible to the majority community and also to the outside world. Capability deprivation of these communities makes their sufferings and the structural abuses generational.

A pattiwali (tealeaf picker). Photo. Philip Gain

“Mapping and capacity building of tea plantation workers and little-known ethnic communities of Bangladesh” is a 3 years project supported by the European Union and ICCO Cooperation (Netherlands) that has started in May 2013 to clearly identity the tea workers and the little-known ethnic communities, raise their issues, and build their capacity.

http://www.dhakacourier.com.bd/?p=13577

“The government should not take any decision in haste allowing open-pit coal mining at Phulbari in Dinajpur. It should take decision on the issue only after due consideration of different aspects involved and in consultation with national and international experts,” urged Justice Habibur Rahman at the book launch and seminar organized by Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD) at the National Press Club in Dhaka on 26 June 2013.

The two SEHD books launched are: “The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Man-Nature Nexus Torn” and “Energy Challenges and Phulbari Crisis,” edited by Philip Gain. Justice Habibur Rahman graced the event as the chief guest. Chaired by Prof. Sakhawat Ali Khan, chairman of SEHD, the special guests and commentators on the books were Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Raja Devasish Roy, Prof. Anu Muhammad, Goutam Kumar Chakma, Prof. Amena Mohsin, and Principal Khurshid Alam Moti.

“Human beings, in action to control nature, bring only misery. We all should, therefore, be caring about nurturing nature,” said Justice Habibur Rahman in reference to severe deforestation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. “Development should not take place in political or other interests. Common man should always be thought of in development efforts.”

On SEHD’s two books that have resulted from its years of investigations Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) said, “Both books have a common thread and that is to raise voice of the local people in order to strengthen democracy. SEHD’s investigative reports play an important role for inclusion of local people’s voices and judgment in development philosophy.”

“We are in dire need of energy resources, but it is not understandable why the government needs to develop energy contracts in secret. The government must consult all concerned in framing energy policy,” added Dr. Hossain. “The rulers, since the British era, have created problems for the CHT people as the latter’s views have always been neglected in the development discourse.”

Prof. Anu Muhammad, a front line leader in the resistance movement against open-cut mining in Bangladesh said, “The two books question the contemporary development philosophy at the core of which is privatization and profit.”

“If development is not sustainable, then how is it called real development?” questioned Muhammad. Militarization in the CHT for four decades, the resulting violence and high cost involved in it are rooted in the Kaptai Hydroelectricity Project intended for generation of electricity. Prof. Anu Muhammad asserted, “Huge sum of state money spent to handle violence in the CHT was sufficient to generate several thousands megawatt of electricity. The Kaptai Hydroelectricity Project fails to fulfill the targeted generation of 250 megawatt electricity today.”

Muhammad also informed that the government is setting electricity production plant near the Sundarbans, the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world. Such plant [in Rampal, a coastal area in Bagerhat district] poses a serious threat to the Sundarbans. The idea of development is taking place without taking into account the man-nature nexus and sustainability. “In Phulbari, the company sees only coal; it does not see the people, agricultural land, and other resources. The government also does not see the people when it looks through the company’s eyes,” observed Muhammad.

Raja Devashish Roy, Chakma circle chief referred to the dislocation of a large percentage of the CHT people due to the Kaptai dam and the artificial lake it created. “The local communities lose their traditions and livelihood due to implementation of such project and monetary compensation can never give back what they have lost. The open-cut coalmine would bring the same fate to the local people in Phulbari,” said Devasish. He mentioned the recent story of land taken away from the Chaks and said, “Many adivasi communities are insecure in the CHT. Many of them have fled to Myanmar.” He held progressive loss of common land responsible for invasion of tobacco in the CHT. He asserted that the paharis (hill people) who have lost their jum land lean to the tobacco companies. He thanked the publisher of the book, SEHD, for addressing different issues of the CHT.

Principal Kurshid Alam Moti, convener of Phulbair Rakkha Committee said, “We never said that we do not want coal mined. But we are against open-cut mining. We were not opposed to Barapukuria coalmine. In future, if method(s) to mine coal without damaging people’s life and environment are introduced, we will definitely support the government.”

In his welcome address, Philip Gain, the editor, gave an overview of the contents of the books. The book, “The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Man-Nature Nexus Torn”, basically a state of the CHT environment, deals with geography and environment, forests, official and illegal logging, plantation [economy], environmental impacts of development projects [Karnaphuli Paper Mill and Kaptai Hydroelectricity in particular] land grabbing, serfdom in the colonial reserves, pillage of the reserved forests (special attention to Reingkhyong, Kassalong, Sangu, and Matamuhuri reserved forests), village common forestry (VCF), bamboo [with an attention to its flowering and rat flood], traditional use of medicinal plants, wildlife [animals and birds] and their threats, brick-burning, invasion of tobacco, timber and furniture trade, water, stone mining, houses, traditional foods of the indigenous peoples, and impacts of militarization. The other book, “Energy Challenges and Phulbari Crisis” compiles expert analysis of energy status and energy efficiency potentials in Bangladesh; revolutionary scope of renewable energy; reports, analyses, images, analogy of resistance movement against Phulbari Coalmine; and critique of Asia Energy’s Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Phulbari coalmine project.

http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/phulbari-and-broader-issues/
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/losing-nature-confronting-reality/