GUWAHATI, Nov 26 ? A recent report on land relations in North East India has revealed interesting facts about some socio-economic, legal as well as cultural factors, which have made a considerable impact on the existence of several indigenous communities of the region.
The report ?Changing Land Relations in North Eastern India: A comparative Study of Six Tribes and a Non Tribal Group,? prepared by Walter Fernandes and Melville Pereira of the North Eastern Social Research Centre, recognises that one of the causes behind the continuing turmoil in the North East is the ?new land relations that are conditioned by immigration and encroachment of land as well as by modernisation of the legal system.?
The report contains a suitable background of the studies in changing land relations, and includes necessary data on demographic, educational and occupation of the respondents. It also concentrates on the control over land and changing land relations, and cropping pattern, and changing land relations. The implications of changing land relations are explored in the concluding part of the report.
According to the authors, the objectives of the study included the identification of land alienation in the North East, understand the situations in areas outside the Sixth Schedule where land reforms have been implemented, determine the causes and processes of land alienation and suggest remedial measures, and to make an in-depth study of areas under the special provisions of the Constitution.
Among the significant findings of the report is the ?close link between demographic, social, and economic components. The demographic data showed that the average size of the family is bigger than that in much of the rest in India.? The authors connect this to the high growth rate of population in the North East, and state, ?the rapid growth of population is due not merely to natural increase but also to immigration?it invariably leads to competition for land and employment.?
The report also reveals certain ambiguities revolving around land relations. In what appeared as a paradoxical situation, the communities, which were studied, wanted to retain control of their land, while at the same time seek livelihood in other spheres. According to the report, some of the tribes under study having an intrinsic relationship with land and forest have lost hope in their traditional modes of sustenance.
A prime reason behind ethnic conflicts in the North East is land alienation, the report states. The findings of the report suggest that the local people feel threatened from encroachment as those who occupy their land become economically stronger as they themselves lag behind.
The study has also sought to find solutions to the complex situation relating to land relations, and as a primary measure favours the reviving of the secondary sector of the economy. The neglect of the secondary sector, in the view of the authors, has resulted in large-scale unemployment in the North East.
The report reiterates that both the Union and the State Government ?should aim at better utilising the natural and mineral resources of the region in order to generate employment opportunities to the benefit of the local economy.?
The authors have also underlined the need for a new perspective on land relations on the part of the State. The subsidised loans given to individual patta holders by the State government have tempted some communities to go for individual ownership of land. This has affected the community-possession of land that has been the traditional practice in many parts of the North East since time immemorial.
While the report does acknowledge the need for new creative programs for improving the lot of the indigenous communities, it significantly suggests that such programmes should have due regard for the ethos and values of the communities concerned.