In the new fields of the Koragas

In Udupi district, land rights and agricultural training have opened up a new world of possibilities for the Koraga community, writes Harsha.

The narrow concrete road winding through a lush wilderness ends at a t-crossroad, overlooking flowering plants and tall areca palms on one side, and traditional laterite houses on the other. This is Batthaguli, located about a kilometre away from Halady village in Kundapur taluk, Udupi district. It has been hailed as a ‘model settlement’ and attracts study teams from across Karnataka. What was once a 26-acre sparse woodland, has been transformed into thriving farms through the efforts of the Koraga community.

Koragas are not traditionally agriculturists. “This did not discourage us. After receiving one acre of land each five years ago, we underwent training at the zonal agricultural research station in Brahmavar and began working on our land, with a cooperative spirit,” says Kumardas, a member of the community who has been campaigning for the rights of Koragas. He is also a contractor with the Public Works Department. 

Multiple agencies provided support to the Koragas in their agricultural endeavours, including the Integrated Tribal Development Project, Samagra Grameena Ashrama (SGA), the Halady gram panchayat and the horticulture and agriculture departments. This ensured that input costs were kept at a minimum in Batthaguli.

Today, each family has half an acre of land where they grow areca, and practise mixed farming. Horticulture crops, including banana and rambutan, are grown in another half acre. Some farmers engage in dairy and poultry farming and beekeeping in the remaining half-acre land. Their five-year-long efforts are now yielding results, Kumardas says, with a smile. 

The water needed for the farms is drawn from Dasanakatte hole and borewells. “The past three years of life have been filled with contentment. We used to collect leftovers from dominant-caste families. Today, we grow our own food,” 60-year-old Appi says with pride.

Kumardas points out that the lands were registered in the names of women in the families, in a progressive move.

Land owners engage in farming activities in Batthaguli in Kundapur taluk; a view of the fields in the settlement at present.

Redistribution of land

The Batthaguli model is the successful realisation of a vision aimed at the empowerment of the Koraga community. They are one among two tribal communities to be identified as ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups’ (PVTGs) in Karnataka. Land rights have been key in the process, says SGA President Ashok Kumar.

“This vision was first endorsed in the ‘Social, economic and educational conditions of Koragas – an action plan’, more popularly known as the Peer Committee report,” says Ashok. He was part of the team submitting field reports to the late Mohammed Peer, who had led the five-member Peer Committee. Peer also served as the chairman of the department of sociology at Mangalore University.

The five-member Peer Committee was set up by the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat head. 

Among the 13 recommendations in the committee’s report, was a proposal to distribute 2.5 acres of land to each Koraga family, and establish a model farm along with a cooperative society for women.

This year, though the Peer Committee report completes 30 years, the Koragas, who constitute about 1% of the total Scheduled Tribe population in Karnataka, continue to face several barriers to progress. About 10% of Koraga families in Udupi district have only received one or less than one acre of land, instead of the recommended 2.5 acres, says Ashok. 

The progress in Dakshina Kannada district has also been slow, with just 5% of Koraga families receiving land. Dakshina Kannada district Koraga Sangha President M Sundara Beluvai says the demand for the resettlement of 500 Koraga families in Sullia taluk has been submitted to the district administration. 

The Udupi district administration does have a few successful community models in Halady, Okkarne and Jatkal, where they have distributed about 450 acres of land, Ashok points out.

Need for targeted policy

The model farm, aimed at imparting training to help Koragas get accustomed to farming operations, has been established in Kerala on 2,500 acres. “A lack of accountability among officials to ensure successful resettlement once land is allotted, is the main reason why so many Koragas do not enjoy any rights over land,” says Sabitha, assistant professor at the department of postgraduate studies, Mangalore University. Sabitha pursued her doctoral research on the policies and programmes dedicated to tribal communities in Karnataka. 

The Koraga community has been advocating for land rights for over three decades. 

Ashok laments that government schemes have failed because they do not ‘understand the process of change’. “The empowerment of Koragas is not possible through the schemes presently available. I mentioned this in a report on displacement and rehabilitation of tribals submitted to the Chief Justice of the High Court,” says Muzaffar Assadi, a professor in the department of political science, University of Mysore. 

Koragas are among the most marginalised communities in the state. There is little political representation and the community will continue to be underrepresented in coming years unless policies are put in place to provide internal reservation, Assadi says.

Officials from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department did not respond to queries on the implementation of the Peer Report.