An indefinite sit-in protest began today in Bagjala village to save homes, fields, farming and animal husbandry. The protest is part of the pre-announced movement of the All India Kisan Mahasabha (AIKM). Villagers are demanding the lifting of restrictions on drinking water supply, road works, development works and construction activities, the start of the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme, restoration of the right to elect panchayat representatives, grant of ownership rights, and other basic civic facilities. The Mahasabha has declared that the protest will continue until all demands are met.
Addressing the convention as the main speaker, All India Kisan Mahasabha state president Anand Singh Negi said that when the MLA of Lalkuan had visited Bagjala, AIKM had given him a memorandum to pass a proposal in the monsoon session of the assembly beginning 19 August to declare Bagjala a revenue village. Instead of solving the problems, it appeared that the MLA had come after three years of his tenure only to create obstacles in today’s sit-in through BJP leaders. Attempts were made overnight to stop villagers from joining the protest, but people came out in large numbers, showing unity which is commendable. Negi said that the government is afraid and is trying to intimidate the people, but unity is the answer.
He further said that the Chief Minister of the state is bent on uprooting the poor. From the hills to the plains, the BJP government is driving people off their lands. People are being pushed into the fire of communal division, which is taking the state towards destruction and must be stopped.
Clifton D’Rozario, national president of the All India Lawyers Association for Justice, said that the policy of uprooting the poor, Dalits, minorities and Adivasis is being pursued across the country. But the real owners of the country are not the government or big corporates, it is the common people, and they must be given land rights. He said that excluding Bagjala from panchayat elections amounts to vote theft, which is unconstitutional and wrong. The right to vote is guaranteed by the Constitution, and the Lawyers Association will take up the issue at its platform and pursue all legal avenues against the denial of voting rights to Bagjala residents.
State vice president of the AIKM Bahadur Singh Jangi said that for decades people have lived in Bagjala, but now the government wants to take away their land for big projects like stadiums, a zoo, bus stand and High Court, and hand it to corporate builders. This will not be allowed to succeed, and the fight will be taken to its conclusion.
CPI(ML) Nainital district secretary Dr Kailash Pandey said that large numbers of people in the district live on forest and nazul land, and face eviction threats under the BJP government. Justice demands that people settled for decades must be granted ownership rights. No one should be evicted, and ownership rights must be given to Bagjala and all other poor residents of the district.
In her presidential address, Comrade Vimla Devi said that the people of Bagjala have chosen the path of struggle through unity, and this fight will continue until victory.
It is noteworthy that Bagjala finds mention in the forest plans of 1925 to 1935 during the British period, which establishes the village’s existence from before. Residents were allotted leases in 1978, due for renewal in 2008, but the then BJP government blocked renewal under the pretext of granting revenue village status. Nothing was done, and since 2017 BJP has again been in power but has not passed any bill for ownership rights. Instead, communal divisions have been promoted while Bagjala residents, earning their livelihood for generations, have faced bulldozer action. In 2023, under the pretext of removing encroachments, eight under-construction houses were demolished and all construction was halted. In response, residents organised with the All India Kisan Mahasabha and held a Kisan Mahapanchayat.
Earlier, on 27 May 2025, in defiance of police attempts to suppress the mobilisation, hundreds of farmers, workers, agricultural labourers and concerned citizens had organised a “Vishal Chetavni Rally” (Mass Warning Rally) in support of Bagjala’s struggle at at Budh Park in Haldwani. Notices were then withdrawn, but basic rights and civic facilities have not been restored, forcing villagers into indefinite protest.
The protest is based on an eight-point charter of demands:
- Cancel all notices served to villagers under the pretext of encroachment removal.
- Lift restrictions on construction works.
- Repair damaged roads and construct pucca roads in place of kutcha roads.
- Immediately resume the Jal Jeevan Mission’s Har Ghar Nal, Har Ghar Jal scheme.
- Restore the right of Bagjala residents to participate in panchayat elections and include them in the voter list.
- Pass a proposal in the assembly to grant ownership rights to Bagjala residents on existing possession and declare it a revenue village without delay.
- Ensure government purchase of cattle at fixed prices under the Cow Protection Act to stop losses faced by farmers, cattle rearers and commuters.
- Grant ownership rights to all residents of forest and nazul land in Nainital district, including Bagjala.
