Rangpur Santals place 10-point demand

Indigenous Santals from Rangpur region formed a human chain and laid siege to the Deputy Commissioner's office in the city yesterday protesting the eviction of Santals from Sahebganj-Bagda sugarcane farm of Rangpur Sugar Mills in Gobindaganj upazila on November 6 last year.

The Santals from Rangpur, Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari under the banner of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad (JAP) gathered near Shapla intersection in Rangpur city in the morning and declared a 10-point demand to the government.

Around 11.30am they marched towards the DCs office in Kacharibazaar area carrying traditional Santal bows and arrows. There they formed a human chain and besieged the office till 1:30pm to press home their demands.

Their demands include withdrawal of cases filed against evicted Santals; stop harassment of the Santals;

provide appropriate compensation for the deceased and injured Santals as well as for damaged cropland and fish belonging to the Santals; reconstruction of burnt down and damaged houses, schools and religious establishments, removal of barbed wire fencing put up around Madarpur and Joypur villages where evicted Santals are staying; arrest of masterminds behind the incident; removal of the officer-in-charge of Gobindaganj Police Station and the upazila nirbahi officer of Gobindaganj upazila; trying the police members who set fire to the Santal houses; trying the Sugar mill officials who were involved in leasing off the mill's land violating terms and conditions mentioned in land acquisition documents; and reallocation of the acquired land among the Santals as per the conditions.

Rabindranath Soren, president of JAP, during their human chain programme alleged that soon after the eviction and arson attack on the Santals at Sahebganj-Bagda sugarcane farm on November 6, the sugar mill authorities have destroyed all the evidence of the atrocities by levelling the damaged and burnt down structures to the ground.

Moreover, the sugar mill authorities have created an inhumane situation by installing barbed wire fences around Madarpur and Joypur villages where evicted Santals are staying since their eviction from the farm area.

The JAP also announced that they would hold sit-in programmes at Shaheed Minars in all districts across the country unless their demands are met by February this year.

Advocate Monilal Das, president of JAP in Rangpur; Philimon Baske, leader of evicted sandals; CPB leader Shahadat Hossain and local Workers Party leader Nazrul Islam Hakkani also spoke.

The speakers alleged that two months have gone by since the Santals living in Sahebganj-Bagda sugarcane farm were attacked, the people responsible for the attack and the eviction remain free.

On November 6, a tripartite clash broke out between the Santals, factory staff and police over the eviction.

The clash left three Santal men dead and 20 others, including nine policemen, injured.

After the eviction, the sugar mills authorities harvested their cultivated paddy and handed it over to the Santals following a High Court order.

Since then, the Santals evicted from the Sahebganj-Bagda sugarcane farm have been staying in Joypur and Madarpur villages in tents.