A tribal farmer from Baorli village located in Nasvadi taluka of Vadodara, Bhil's father was promised a sum of Rs92, in return for half an acre of land, some 47 years ago.
Just how much of a fight can you put up, for a sum of Rs92? Ask Manilal Chhaganlal Bhil this, and he will tell you that even four decades are not enough!
A tribal farmer from Baorli village located in Nasvadi taluka of Vadodara, Bhil's father was promised a sum of Rs92, in return for half an acre of land, some 47 years ago.
Since then, this hapless farmer has knocked on every possible door with pleas for justice, but in vain. From 1963 to 2010, he has been fighting for an amount that has gone from being a princely sum to an inconsequential amount today — but at the end of the fight, there still is no light in sight.
In 1963, the government acquired Bhil's father's land, estimated to be half an acre in size, along with several other farmlands, for the construction of a road in the area. The District Development Officer (DDO) decided a sum of Rs92 as compensation, to be given to Chahaganlal Bhil, the owner of the land.
Since Bhil was illiterate, his son Manilal, who was 16 at that time, signed the receipt and collected the cheque. However, later, when Chhaganlal went to the treasury office, the officer refused to disburse the amount, calling it a case of cheating. Ever since, neither Chhaganlal nor Manilal has received the amount.
After his father's demise in 1969, Manilal has been fighting for justice. Today, he is 63, and even though the amount is insignificant now, Bhil is determined to get what he is entitled to. "My fight is against the system. It is not about money - it's about my rights, my right to information. The administration will have to explain to me, why justice has been delayed for so long," says Manilal, with a sparkle in his aging eyes.
Manilal has been to the DDO, to MLAs, the minister for tribal welfare, and even the CM's office. He even filed an online complaint to the collector of Vadodara in 2003, which yielded no results.
Not giving up hope, he filed an RTI application to know the status of his complaint. The collector again assured him of justice, but ultimately the matter never progressed. Finally, he knocked the doors of the Sankheda civil court in Vadodara in August 2010, to know the progress in the matter.
"We made an application in the court on a stamp paper, but even the court hasn't done anything yet," says Manilal, who is now preparing to agitate in front of the Gujarat high court on December 24. He will be accompanied by several other tribals of Nasvadi, who are also fighting for justice for their own long-pending issues.
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