No Displacement; No Rehabilitation; Only People's Development

The following is a press Note released in a Press Conference on 21^st Jan 2007 soon after the Anti- Displacement Conclave in Ranchi, Jharkhand attended by scores of organisations from several states.

No Displacement; No Rehabilitation; Only People's Development

Today the vast sections of the people have been subjected to the worst kind of socio-economic crisis in the name of development. Today more and more tribals, dalits, minorities and the poorest of the poor are brutally removed from their forests, fields, lands, homes and cultures. They are being evicted in thousands from their lives and livelihoods. The powerful imperialist forces and their lackeys in the sub-continent are on their bid to capture the natural resources and perpetrate ruthless exploitation of labour. The people are rendered defenceless in the process of the dreaded Ds--Displacement, Disorganisation, Destitution and Decimation.

It is at a time that the need to unite and bring together all the fighting forces at the ground level against all forms of displacement under a single platform was mooted. And hence this preparatory meeting being held in Ranchi on the 20, 2tst of January, 2007. In this meeting, representatives of organizations and individuals from various states such as Jharkhand, Bengal, Haryana, Orissa, Delhi, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh deliberated on the strategies to carry forward the movement against displacement at the sub-continent level. �No to Displacement in any form�, was the firm resolve of the Meet.

The loot of the Indian people started after the advent of British rule with the super-imposition of the principle of Eminent Domain that virtually extinguished the natural right of the communities over their habitat and livelihood. This imperialist paradigm continued even post-1947 and despite the adoption of a new constitution. The special provisions for recognition and honouring the tribal people's right under the constitution has been blatantly ignored that has sharpened the resentment of the people against the exploitative state.

After the creation of the new states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarakhand at the instance of the imperialists this loot of the resources of the people has been facilitated under the new regime of globalization and liberalization. The surfeit of MOUs running over millions and millions of dollars has been executed without taking the people into confidence. The Anti-displacement meet rejected this development with disdain it deserves in the spirit of Tana Bhagat's Resolve against the British authority "Land is created by God, We are God's children, Pray, from where has the state appeared". The Anti- Displacement Meet in Ranchi called on the people to defend their habitat and their livelihood resources against the imperialists and the servile state.

While farmers who are committing suicide with agriculture being rendered increasingly non-viable, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are being set up throughout the country as 'deemed foreign territories.' These are devices to divert people's attention as the logic of a more brutalized expropriation of the rural economy is ruthlessly unfolding. The Anti-Displacement Meet called for the rejection of the National Agricultural Policy 2000 that has once again ignored the land reforms agenda and unabashedly embraced the corporatisation of agriculture.

The Anti-Displacement Meet rejected the entire scheme of Displacement-Rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is an illusion that is used to co-opt the top-ten by the imperialists. Even the affected people of Bhakhra, the 'first temple of modern India' still awaits for their much-promised rehabilitation.

Extensive lands in Hatia and Rourkela had already been acquired that are without use. Let the State first place before the people the status of the already affected whose number runs into crores. Hisab Do (Give Account) is the call to the state before it decides to take even an inch of land that is the inheritance of the people. Let the state prepare 'Rehabilitation Plans' for these people and come clean with concrete results. For the people of India, the story Post-1947 can be summed up as 'an unbroken history of broken promises, dysfunctional programmes and blatant violation of laws, constitution and human rights.'

Dr. BD Sharma (Bharat Jan Andolan, KN Pandit (Trade union leader), B P Kesari (Jharkhand Vistapan Virodhi Samanwyaya Samiti Co-ordinator), Shashi Bhushan Pathak (Civil Rights Activist), D Barla (Journalist & Anti-displacement Activist), Rashmi Kathyayan (Advocate), Tridib Ghosh, and several others from various orgnisations participated in the discussion of the draft note on displacement. Earlier GN Saibaba (Revolutionary Democratic Front) presented the concept note on displacement that was to set the debate regarding the strategies to be undertaken in fighting the complex and challenging question of displacement that is affecting various sections and peoples of the sub-continent.

Around 100 organisations from different parts of the country and various intellectuals have expressed their consent to actively be part of the Movement against Displacement. These include organizations from Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, the North East, Haryana, Kerala and Delhi.

The Anti-Displacement Meet while stressing the need to bring all the struggling organizations and the people under a single platform have given a RANCHI CHALO call towards convening the First Conference and Massive Rally on the 22, 23 March 2007. Towards this, a preparatory committee of all the participating organizations and a working committee to convene the conference and rally was also formed in the Anti-Displacement Meet.

Singed by (B.D. SHARMA) & (G.N. SAIBABA)

And attended by representatives of anti-displacement organisations from several part of India.