In northern Bangladesh, the Santal people marked a painful anniversary on Thursday. They commemorated the day that, nine years ago, three of their own—Shyamal Hembram, Mangal Mardi and Ramesh Tudu—were shot dead during a protest over land rights in Gaibandha district.
More than 700 Santals, Bengali and Christian activists queued outside the local public library to demand justice. “The murders aren’t proved in court and our land is still gone,” said Philemon Baskey, who heads the Land Retrieval Committee. He added, “We want justice for our brothers and the right to live in dignity and security.”
The dispute goes back to 1956, when the East Pakistani government seized Santal farmland to build the Rangpur Sugar Mill, citing the Land Requisition Act. A 1962 agreement promised that unused land would be returned, but the mill shut down in 2004 and the plot never went back to the Santals. When farmers tried to reclaim and farm the land, clashes erupted. Police fired into crowds, killing the three activists, while attackers linked to the ruling Awami League burned Santal homes, leaving hundreds homeless.
Santal farmers, one of Bangladesh’s oldest indigenous groups, are mainly Christian and numbering around half a million. Historians say they are descendants of pre‑Aryan settlers who have long faced marginalisation under colonial and post‑colonial rule.
“The government’s failure to punish those responsible and give back the land is deeply disappointing,” condemned Father Liton Hubert Gomes, secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference justice commission. “Nine years later, the Santals still wait for justice.”
The Santal community continues to fight for legal recognition, land restitution and protection of their cultural rights in a country where indigenous voices often go unheard.
Source: ianslive
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