A village meeting was held on March 12 in Chintaluru, Andhra Pradesh, under the leadership of the Chintaluru Inam Lands Struggle Committee, attended by Bugata Bangarraju, CPI(ML) Liberation leader, and other comrades, along with local farmers and villagers. Chintaluru village in East Godavari District was declared Inam land—grant land from the colonial period. After the abolition of the Inam system, cultivators who have tilled these lands for decades have the right to obtain pattas (legal ownership titles).
Farmers had earlier submitted declarations of their rights to the Inam authorities following a public announcement. Yet, despite decades of struggle by the cultivators, the government has failed to resolve the issue or recognise the rights of the people actually working the land.
Now, in the name of a “comprehensive survey”, attempts are being made to clear the way for handing over these lands to landlords, threatening the livelihood and rights of poor cultivators. The meeting strongly warned that any attempt to dispossess the poor and transfer their lands to landlords will be firmly resisted. The struggle for land rights and pattas for the actual cultivators will continue with greater determination.
