'Land rights day' observed

'Bumi Adhikar Dibash Udjapan Parishad' first time organised the rally on the occasion of Land Rights Day, commemorating the landless people's victory over 'jotdars' (landlords) in the area some eighteen years ago.

On June 10, 1985, about twenty thousand people revolted against a few powerful jotdars, who forcibly occupied a large swath of khas land in Sathia depriving the landless. The landless people fought with the men of jotdars and drove out the jotdars from the area. Half a dozen landless peasants were killed and several hundred injured in the fight.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

At the rally, the landless people demanded that the day be given state recognition and observed as a national day.

They said that the total area of khas land in the country is about thirty lakh acres and urged the government to take initiatives to allocate that land among the landless.

Besides Pabna, people came from other districts including Rajbari, Faridpur, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Sirajganj, Gopalganj and Natore.

The rally was presided over by Ranesh Maitra, convenor of Celebration Committee, while Kamal Lohani, editor of Daily Probhat, addressed the function as chief guest.

Among others, Abdul Quader, Executive Director, Samata, Saidur Rahman Ruku, Executive Director of Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC), Nizamuddin, former Sathia upazila chairman and Barkat Ali Bakul, president, Land Network, spoke on the occasion.

To mark the Land Rights Day, a seminar was organised at Badhan Community Centre in Pabna on the following day, June 11.

The seminar titled "Historical land movement of Ghughudaha and Land Rights Day" was address as chief guest by Selina Hossain, DG of Bangla Academy. Shamsul Huda, Member Secretary of Federation of NGOs in Bangladesh and Dr Abul Barkat of Dhaka University, among others, took part in the discussion, Md. Abdul Kader, Executive Director of Samata, presented papers. The seminar was also presided over by Ranesh Maitra.