Glossary of Terms:

Land Grievances:

Ekta Parishad has collected 25,000 land grievances from villagers all over the country. With each area, the issues surrounding land and landlessness differ. The grievances can be divided into the following categories;

1. Land Title Without Possession: (click to find the information below)

This refers to those have the legal land title but are not in physical possession of the land to which they are entitled. This often happens when the land is illegally occupied by influential individuals who are able to circumvent the legal rights of the title holder.

2. Possession Without Land Title: (click to find the information below)

This refers to those who occupy lands, perhaps for generations, but are not in possession of a patta to give them any legal right over the land. While the policies are often in place for them to gain the legal right to the land they occupy, they are often unaware of the process involved in gaining land pattas and are unable to pay the bribes demanded by the officials in charge of distributing the property papers.

3. Land Title Without Demarcation: (click to find the information below)

This refers to those who have been allotted lands but have not been given the proper information regarding the parameters of the land they are entitled to leaving these “land owners” landless.

4. Landless: (click to find the information below)

This refers to people who do not occupy any land and have no legal rights to land. They generally rely on daily labor to meet their daily requirements, often working the lands of larger land holders for meager wages. Without having any capital with which to mortgage or use to gain access to loans, it is difficult for these people to improve their living standards and escape the cycle of poverty that forces them to depend on insecure wage labor.

5. Encroached Adivasi and Dalit Land: (click to find the information below)

This refers to individuals who are legally entitled to lands that have been encroached. While they have the legal right to evict occupiers from their lands, they are often powerless to remove those whose money and influence allow them to consort with officials to remain on the lands that they illegally occupy.

6. Transfer of Stony Land/Waste Land: (click to find the information below)

This refers to those who have been allotted lands by the government that are not cultivatable. They are unable to farm and meet their daily needs despite being the legal owner of a piece of land. This is often the case with communities that have been displaced by development projects and relocated by the government.

7. Orange Land: (click to find the information below)

Land in India is classified as forest or revenue land and controlled by the Forest and the Revenue Departments. A history of mismanagement, miscommunication, internal conflict and completely inadequate and often non-existent land surveying methods have led to massive areas of lands that are officially classified as both Forest and Revenue Lands, depending on which department is consulted regarding the land status. While poor farmers may hold land pattas and pay taxes on lands that have been classified as Revenue land, Forest Department representatives who believe the land to be Forest land consider the patta and the taxes paid to be invalid, leaving the farmers who own and pay for lands, landless and subject to harassment, exploitation and displacement. The lands they have cultivated for generations and the resources and livelihoods they depend on are lost because of the inadequacy of governmental departments.

Bhumiswami: (click to find the information below)

Landholder who, for all intents and purposes, has rights of ownership over the land. The interest of the Bhumiswami is transferable and is heritable according to personal law.

Collector: (click to find the information below)

Person responsible for coordinating operations of all Government land agencies at the district level.

Panchayat Raj Institutions: (click to find the information below)

Local councils.

Patwari: (click to find the information below)

Person in charge of maintaining village land records.

Mutation Register: (click to find the information below)

Record of changes in rights to land, e.g. transfer of land title following a landholder’s death. This record is maintained by the patwari.

Sarpanch: (click to find the information below)

Elected leader of village council.

Tasilhdar: (click to find the information below)

Person directly responsible for supervision of lower level officers for revenue purposes, and provides general supervision of land records in a sub-district.

Dacoits: (click to find the information below)

A gang of armed robbers

Dharna: (click to find the information below)

Sit-in

Jal, jungle aur jamin: (click to find the information below)

Water, forest and land

Mahila: (click to find the information below)

Women

Mahila mandal: (click to find the information below)

Women’s group

Mandali: (click to find the information below)

Groups

Mukhia: (click to find the information below)

Leader

Nistaar: (click to find the information below)

Customary

Padyatra: (click to find the information below)

Foot march or pilgrimage

Patels: (click to find the information below)

Village headman

Pattas: (click to find the information below)

Land titles

Samiti: (click to find the information below)

An association formed to organize political activity

Sangarsh samiti: (click to find the information below)

Struggle committee

Tendu patta: (click to find the information below)

Leaf