directed by Samkutty pattomkary
Chengara struggle in Kerala differs from other struggles in important ways:-
If most of the struggles of the underprivileged in India aimed at seeking protection from social discrimination and attacks on their lives and solving everyday livelihood issues, the struggle of dalits and adivasis in Chengara aim at, for the first time, self-sufficiency in social, economic and political spheres of life. They are standing the ground of Chengara with the firm conviction that equal rights and power in resources are the basic premises of social justice.
It’s not just the issue of agricultural land, but the larger issue of just distribution of resources to ensure the rightful social positioning of dalits and adivasis that the Chengara struggle puts forward.
This struggle originates from the absolute clarity and awareness about how the dalits and adivasis were pushed out in the history of development in Kerala. In the erstwhile progressive movements in Kerala, dalits were incorporated into the ‘class’ of agricultural laborers led by others who eventually and systematically kept the dalits out of the fruits of revolution. The Chengara struggle puts to test, all aspects of Kerala’s erstwhile development.
The Marxist Party has the habit of calling everything that is not led by them as immoral and imperialistic. Today in Kerala, it is them who are standing in the defendant position. The stage is set for the Marxists in Kerala to own up their mistakes and rectify them. Else, history will write them off as horses that walk backwards forever.
It is my democratic conscience that urges me to present the objective facts of this struggle before the world humanity. It is part of my own wish to be a citizen in a truly democratic, casteless society.
My gratitude to people who supported and contributed to this documentary, especially to Sreekala Sivasankaran, Anil Kumar, Rajeev Kumar, M. R Praveen, Ajan, Sasi Manvettam, Shiby Peter and Shyjan.
Samkutty Pattomkary
