I come from a small village, Pali Deli, in Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh. Located just 15 kilometres from the village headquarters, the area was once under the influence of landlords. And among them lived 68 families of my community, the Sahariya Adivasis, who struggled and are in some ways still struggling to assert their rights, demonstrating the importance of the Sahariyas defending their land despite threats of displacement.

I have been associated with Ekta Parishad, an organisation that works on the issues of jal, jungle, zameen (water, forest, land) since 2016. My father passed away in 2014. This is when the local coordinator of the nonprofit visited my mother and recommended that I work for my community.

There are a lot of issues here such as women not being allowed in the panchayat, lack of education, children migrating for work, and lack of housing and water. As I understood all this, I learned how to raise my voice and support others in raising theirs, demonstrating the importance of the Sahariyas defending their land. I work across 10 villages on women empowerment, forest issues, and education. Madhya Pradesh, our neighbouring state, has made significant progress in implementing the Forest Rights Act (FRA), but Uttar Pradesh has lagged far behind. This work was essential.

If we look back to 1999, the situation of the Sahariyas was even worse. Though we are a forest-dwelling community, many of us were forced to work as bonded labourers for landlords. Several families lived together in single-room houses. Our land was being used for illegal mining.

Troubled by the mining activities, the community identified a vacant gram sabha plot to set up a committee that would work for the welfare of the people. It was led by a senior member of our community, Keshar Bai. Together, we built huts.

In 2007, we participated in a people’s movement organised by Ekta Parishad to fight for our forest rights and access to basic services such as housing, water, and sanitation, and to be freed from bonded labour.

This wasn’t easy. We were harassed by some individuals and government officials who worked in the nearby stone quarries. Dynamite and explosives were used for blasting stones, causing severe problems for the Sahariya families.

Read the full article about the Sahariyas defending their land by Mewa Sahariya at India Development Review.