In their effort to gain access to the burial ground, the SC families have approached politicians and government officials, but allege no action.
The burial ground allegedly converted to the mirchi farm. (Supplied)
In the small village of Lakshumpalli in the Yadiki Mandal of Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, a small Dalit community struggles on two fronts when a death occurs.
The first is, obviously, the grief from the loss of a loved one, but there is also the struggle to complete their last rites.
This is the story of around 50 families from the Madiga community who reside in a Scheduled Caste (SC) colony in the village.
Allegedly, some members of the local Reddy community have blocked the path to the burial ground from the SC colony and, subsequently, converted the burial ground itself into a chilli farm!
In efforts to gain access to the burial ground, the SC families have approached public representatives and government officials, but allege inaction.
As a result, the Dalits began a strike on Wednesday, 17 January, demanding justice. However, they decided to withdraw it following assurances by the deputy tahsildar.
In Lakshumpalli, the SC colony is located approximately 800 meters from the main village. The village houses a mix of communities, with the majority belonging to the Reddy and Backward Classes (BC) communities.
The residents of the SC colony utilised a small piece of land known as vanka, which is government-owned and unused, as their burial ground. This area is situated near a water body.
In 2016, a Christian priest from France came and supported the Dalits in the village by providing them with his own house and land. This didn’t sit well with the other communities in the village.
The people from the SC community relocated to a new place, which was just 500-odd metres from their previous habitation.
They then began utilising a portion of their former area as a burial ground. This marked the beginning of the issue.
A way to the burial ground was blocked. (Supplied)
“The older burial ground was not suitable, as the sand used to get washed away from atop the graves during the rains. Additionally, there was no wall; it was just an open piece of land of around half an acre,” M Kambagiri Rayudu, a resident of the SC colony, told South First.
“So, when we shifted to the new place nearby, we started using our old habitation as a burial ground,” he explained.
Rayudu added, “When we began using a portion of our former colony as a burial ground, which was also government land, we faced issues with a few local Reddy people who denied us access. They owned the farmlands around the colony and blocked access with a wall and fences.”
He continued: “After numerous requests, we were allocated a piece of land from our old SC colony itself measuring 0.20 acres with survey number 127/2 to use as a burial ground in 2019.”
He also noted: “Additionally, we were granted a four-foot pathway through the farmlands to the burial ground, as specified in survey number 139, which was agreed upon by the farmers at that time.”
B Srinivasulu and Rayudu filed written complaints with the police, revenue officers and even the state government grievance programme ‘Spandana’.
“I named four individuals from the Reddy community — G Srinivas Reddy, G Ramanjula Reddy, B Ramana Reddy, and G Shekar Reddy — as they dismantled five graves and converted the area into a chilli farm,” Srinivasulu told South First.
He elaborated, “They are insisting that we use the previous vanka land as a burial ground, and have asserted that they will not relinquish this land despite it being allocated to us by the government. They completely destroyed five graves and converted it to a chilli farm.”
A narrow path for the burial ground through farms. (Supplied)
“Now, we are appealing to revenue officers, police officials, and people from all corners to help us reclaim the land assigned for our burial ground.”
“The upper castes have approximately six acres of burial ground, but is urging us to use the vanka, which is only around half an acre. They do not permit us to use their burial ground. Therefore, we are demanding our own burial ground,” Srinivasulu and Rayudu said.
Rayudu explained, “Ever since this issue arose, we have lost access to water as well. There is no supply from the borewell we have due to falling groundwater levels. The government sanctioned two boreholes — both have gone to their habitation.”
“Near the burial ground which has been converted into the chilli farm, there are two wells which have decent amount of water, but we lost access to them along with the burial ground,” said Rayudu.
He added that the upper-caste individuals were engaging in these actions to force them out of the village and take over their lands and homes.
The Dalits claimed that no action has been taken so far by either the police or the mandal revenue officers (MROs).
“We have had three MROs within the past six months, and despite assurances of action from each one, there is no visible progress on the ground,” the local SC residents said.
The Yadiki Mandal Circle Inspector (CI) Nagarjuna Reddy told South First, “It is a village land issue, and the revenue officers, such as the MROs, have to inquire and submit a report. We take action based on such reports.”
Asked if any case had been registered on the complaints so far, the CI said there were no registered cases as of now, and that he was relatively new to the Yadiki Mandal.
The report submitted by the Tahsildar in 2019. (South First)
On the other hand, Deputy Tahsildar M Raja Kumar told South First, “This issue is not new; the earlier tahsildar had instructed the police to take action in 2019. However, it was not taken forward for reasons best known to them.”
He explained: “In response to a recent complaint, I conducted a field visit and will submit a letter to the CI, requesting him to take appropriate action. He has assured his cooperation.”
South First accessed a report submitted by the revenue officer to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Yadiki in 2019, urging action against those obstructing access to the burial ground. But, so far no cases have been registered.
“We have submitted letters to the police, urging them to file cases under the SC and ST Atrocities Act. However, the police have not filed any cases, stating they will do so only upon receiving the MRO report,” said Rayudu.
“Additionally, there is a court case filed by two individuals, G Srinivas Reddy and G Ramanjula Reddy, against our burial ground,” he added.
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