Graveyard land of dalits missing

Chamarajanagar : The Soliga community, once forest dwellers living their entire lives in the wild, have faced a new struggle after leaving their forest homes for settlement. While the government promised welfare benefits to these displaced forest children, they now find themselves distressed by the encroachment and illegal sale of land meant for their communal use.

In Basavanagudi village, Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district, half-acre plots of land have been fenced, crops are being grown, and houses have sprung up—an alarming sight for the local community.

These homes have been built in an area legally reserved as a cemetery for Dalits. The local RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops) still lists the land as a cemetery, yet some individuals have forged documents to illegally sell and construct homes on the burial ground.

Basavanagudi, located near the forest, is home to the Korama Kathri and Soliga tribes, who were previously forest-dwellers. The government had relocated them from the forest, promising essential facilities, but now these communities are facing a new dilemma. The cemetery, once their designated place to bury their dead, has been illegally sold and developed, leaving them with nowhere to perform last rites.

Previously, the Soligas took their deceased into the forest for cremation, but with the area now declared a Tiger Reserve, such practices are prohibited. On top of that, the cemetery land they had been given by the government has been usurped by others, further complicating their situation. The villagers, particularly Dalits, are now hoping for justice from the local Gram Panchayat officials. They demand the fraudulent sale of cemetery land be rectified and their rightful place for burials be restored.