Ensure Santals’ land rights

It is appalling to see how the Santal community in Gaibandha's Gobindaganj upazila are under continuous threats of eviction from what they call their ancestral land. According to a report published by this daily yesterday, the government is planning to set up an export processing zone (EPZ) in the area for which 1,500 families—mostly Santals—might have to be evicted. The same Santal community was attacked on November 6, 2016 as police, with the help of local influential people, tried to evict them from their land and also opened fire on them. Three Santal men were killed in the attack while hundred others were injured. As their houses were set on fire and looted, about 2,500 Santal and Bangalee families in the area, known as Bagda Farm, lost their belongings.

Five years into the attack, the victim families have not been provided with any compensation or rehabilitation. While a case was filed after the attack by a member of the community, unfortunately, the proceedings of the case have not started yet.

And now the government has decided to establish an EPZ on the 1,832.27 acres of land. Reportedly, the Ministry of Industries, which claims ownership of the land, will hand it over to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) soon. Sadly, the decision was taken without holding any discussion with members of the Santal community, who claim to be the rightful owners of the land.

The government should reconsider its decision to build an EPZ that will make many Santal families homeless and jobless. Before handing over the land to Bepza, the authorities should hold discussions with the Santal community to address their grievances. And, if the government must build an EPZ in the area, they must ensure that all the Santal families are rehabilitated, with the opportunity to find decent employment.

Since many indigenous communities of the country, including the Santals, often face threats of eviction from local influential people, and sometimes, from the people in the local administration, we think it is time the government took some serious measures to ensure their land rights.

While it is the state's responsibility to ensure that indigenous communities of the country have the freedom to enjoy all their rights, including the right to their ancestral land, it is also the state's duty to make sure that these communities get justice for the attacks carried out on them over the years. The Santal community of Gaibandha's Gobindaganj upazila deserves justice and the right to live a dignified life on their own land.