Members of the Dalit community shout slogans as they block a road during a protest in Mumbai, India, January 3, 2018 Reuters
'Both parties produced relevant documents and asked for more time'
A spat between two political parties in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu over a piece of land has cast a spotlight on the mismanagement of land earmarked for lower-caste Dalits across the country, according to human rights activists.
The state secretary of India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accused the state's main opposition party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), of having built an office on so-called panchami land, which is reserved for Dalits.
Panchami land, which was first allocated during the British colonial era, cannot be sold to non-Dalits or reclassified, as it was meant to boost livelihoods of Dalits, who were historically denied land ownership.
DMK officials have denied the charges. The case, which is being heard by the quasi-judicial government agency the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), was adjourned until January at a hearing earlier this week.
"Both parties produced relevant documents and asked for more time," L Murugan, vice chairman of the NCSC, told reporters on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has promised an investigation, and said the state government would consider drafting a new law to better protect panchami lands.
Dalit activists said legislation already exists but authorities have repeatedly failed to protect panchami lands from commercial and industrial developers.
"This is not a new issue, it is a long-pending grievance," said Vincent Manoharan at the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, an advocacy network in New Delhi.
"We are not asking for a new law. We simply want the existing legislation to be implemented, so that panchami land is given to Dalits and any attempt to use that land for other purposes is stopped," he said.
An 1892 law allocated about 1.2 million acres of land to Dalits in a region once known as the Madras Presidency, which included present-day Tamil Nadu state.
Dalits in the state hold less than 10% of the land allotted to them, according to Dalit rights groups.
