contd from page 3 The revolutionary Communist leaders Comrade Simhadri Subba Reddy , Shanti Raju and along with them adivasis , many revolutionary Communist sympathizers who stood by them were implicated in 75 cases of land grabbing . They were subjected to severe repression . They suffered for days together in Rajahmundry Central Jail .
In 1982 , the Party had decided to re-organise the people into struggle to win back the lands they lost in 1969 as a consequence of repression . With the lifting of Emergency in the Country and the release of Comrades , the efforts continued to organize and move into an organized action . The people began to win small victories . However , the 1969 situation had again repeated . On November 29 , 1982 , the movement had taken another important turn .
As it was the case with the landlords in 1969 , they continued to hatch the plans to frighten away the adivasis by killing a few of them . On one side , the leaders of landlords were thinking of teaching a lesson so hard to the adivasis that they would never dare to think of lands again . On the other side , the adivasis stood determined to defy all difficulties to protect the crops in the lands under their cultivation . Thus , the firing that took place on Nov ’ 29 , 1982 was not an unexpected event . The landlords came with a well designed plan to destroy the crops and attack the adivais . Kondamodalu adivasis -women, men and children enmasse-stood united under the leadership of Agency Girijan Sangham and repulsed this attack . They defied police tear gas attack . The landlords came with police who opened the fire on the people . The adivasis resisted it in every way possible for them . Firstly Kunjam Rajulu became a Martyr . Com . Laxmaiah surged ahead fighting daringly and was seriously wounded by the shot of police gun . The police intercepted and arrested Com . Laxmaiah ’ s mother Gorre Laxmamma , Illa Rami Reddy and others who were taking the wounded comrade to hospital at Rampachodavaram . By then , Laxmaiah was dead . The police conducted the post-mortem , sent all the male persons to Jail and handed over the dead body to women . On their way back , the women buried Laxmaiah ’ s body on the banks of Rampa canal and walked back to Kondamodalu . The great courage they had shown in this heart-breaking situation is really marvelous . The struggle continued even after the police firing . The women and men moved into action united to protect their crops . They did not care police camps . They seized every grain of seed which they had grown . Thus the struggle for land continued up to 1985 . At last , the Govt . came with the announcement that the lands in Kondamodallu belong to the adivasis and the no non-adivasi should violate their right of cultivation . The Supreme Court too came in support of it . The District Collector conducted a court inquiry into the orders given by the lower officers in favour of non-adivasi landlords . The enquiry into 45 cases about 200 acres concluded that all orders
Oct-Nov - 2020 given in favour of the landlords in those cases are null and void and the non-adivasis occupying such lands must be evicted and the lands be handed over to the adivasis . This verdict was not limited just to the cases connected to 200 acres . It examined the entire Kondamodalu land question comprehensively and gave the verdict applicable to all land problems here .
Thus the struggle of Kondamodalu adivasi people together with the martyrdom of Rajulu and Laxmaiah had forced the Govt . to change it attitude . It made the govt . to accept that it was not correct to see the problems of adivasis as just a law and order question . The collective efforts carried on by the adivasis for cultivation after the Kondamodalu land struggle had enhanced the self respect and recognition of adivasi people . The Sangham on its own had offered some land to non-adivasi poor and asked them to live in a friendly relation with adivasis and not to indulge in any sort of conspiracies . Since then to this day in 35 years , no law and order problem had cropped up in Kondamodalu . There is a rise in the standard of people ’ s life . There is increase in the number of students . The Kondamodalu land struggle has brought the changes which the govt . could not have achieved even by spending crores of rupees . It stood as a ray of hope for adivasi people in East and West Godavari and Khammam districts . The lands struggles are going on in several areas with the inspiration of Kondamodalu movement . THE CONSPIRACIES OF ATHORITARIAN CLASSES AND LANDLORD FORCES HAD AGAIN BEGUN
In the last 35 years , while the people were living peacefully in Kondamodalu . But , between 2012 and 2015 , the landlords who were evicted from the lands were busy in their conspiracies against the movement . With the announcement of Polavaram project , they again had raised their hoods . They settled their packages with the local revenue officials by bribing them . They managed to get the notifications of land acquisition released in the name of non-adivasis who were not at all present here . The adivasis filed cases in the High Court questioning it . Then the authorities sat for talks with the elders of adivasis . They agreed to purchase the land in Kondamodalu dispute and give it to 440 adivasi families . They promised to arrange the payment of compensation to the adivasis for 150 acres of banzar lands . They requested the adivasi people to withdraw their cases in the High court . As this request came from an officer like the P . O ., the adivasis had trusted him and arrived at an agreement with the Officials . The signatures were attested on a M . O . U on June 26 th , 2017 . The officials themselves had submitted this M . O . U in the state High Court , informed the Court that they had already begun its implementation and requested for the withdrawal of the cases . Thereafter , the adivasis had withdrawn the cases in the Court . Since then , some pro-landlord forces continued to conspire to create hurdles in the way of implementation of the M . O . U . They engineered the schemes to get verdicts in favor of the non-adivasis
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