Govt urged to withdraw appeal against SHC’s pro-peasant verdict

Last year did not bring any significant legal or policy improvements directly affecting peasants, read a statement issued by the Hari Welfare Association (HWA) in connection with International Day of Peasant Struggles.

HWA President Akram Khaskheli said that the Sindh government had instead filed a plea in the Supreme Court to challenge a landmark ruling of the Sindh High Court (SHC) that threw out the regressive revisions to the Sindh Tenancy Act and addressed bonded labour practices in the province.

Despite the fact that the case had been filed in January 2020, the then Sindh agriculture minister Ismail Rahoo had vowed and confirmed that his administration would not pursue an appeal in the SC against the historic, pro-peasant judgement. But the provincial government continued to pursue the case in the SC in 2021.

The HWA received a copy of the plea filed by the provincial government that categorically revealed that the government had no concerns for the rights of peasants and rural workers in Sindh, but rather, it was pursuing anti-peasant policies as well as the repressive feudal system and structure.

The statement said that the Sindh Tenancy Act of 1950 is the most important law for peasants and rural workers. In 2021 the HWA did not see the provincial government implement the law or further improve it in accordance with the directions of the SHC verdict of 2019. The act’s non-implementation has caused serious problems for peasants.

In April 2021 in Sanghar, peasants of the Jaffar Penjaro village protested that their houses were burnt down by the landlord and they were being forced to leave their houses. The landlord wanted to evict them from the land. They demanded that the government take action against the landlord and protect their rights.

In another case in Sanghar’s Tando Adam, peasant Ghulam Qadir protested in front of the Tando Adam Press Club. He said that the landlord tortured him and threatened to evict him. In these and many other cases, the landlords across the province had not signed a contract with the peasants under the tenancy act.

On the legislative front, the HWA did not learn of any changes in the Sindh Bonded Labour System Abolition Act in 2021. However, the relevant quarters urged the Sindh government to set up district vigilance committees in accordance with the law, and activate them for the effective implementation of the act.

Sindh’s agriculture policy (2018-2030) is not peasant- and grower-friendly. It should be amended in accordance with the SHC judgment of 2019. Khaskheli said that low-quality seeds continue to be a problem for farmers.

The proliferation of seed corporations brings little benefit to farmers owing to a lack of a strong regulatory framework. The federal government’s decision to launch Plant Breeders’ Rights Registry from February 15 is illegal and unethical.

The statement said that there are no policies or practical measures to bring land reforms, which is a critical problem in Sindh for the province’s general development, its economy and its people. Land reform is extremely difficult to achieve within the given political structure and without sustained efforts in view of the tenancy act.

Last year 1,465 bonded labourers were released in different Sindh districts on court orders. Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Sukkur, Benazirabad, Shikarpur, Tando Allahyar, Tharparkar and Umerkot are among these districts.

Four hundred and forty-five children and 521 women were released from the captivity of landlords and farm owners, out of a total of 1,465 people.

In the districts of Umerkot, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar, the largest number of cases were 455, 338 and 217 respectively. In comparison to 2019 and 2020, fewer cases were reported in 2021: 1,722 cases in 2019, 3,086 cases in 2020 and 1,493 cases in 2021.

In 2020, 3,086 bonded peasants, including 915 children and 1,154 women, were released by the police on court orders. While police action depends on many factors, escape is generally the only option for bonded workers to make their way out of illegal detention.

As has been the practice, one person of the family escapes the landlord’s private jail at midnight and approaches human rights organisations or a lawyer’s office to file a habeas corpus case under Section 491 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In 2019, 2020 and 2021, even though no case of escape from the landlord’s custody was reported in the media, it was clearly understood that the people who had approached courts through lawyers must have escaped their landlords’ captivity.

The statement further said that the provincial government had failed to implement the Sindh Bonded Labour System Abolition Act of 2015, and no funds had been allocated by the provincial or district governments for district vigilance committees.

The HWA said that the committees had been established in the Matiari and Shikarpur districts in 2021, and that the number of such committees had now risen to 14, but they played no role in assisting bonded labourers’ families who were released from the custody of landlords and farm owners in 2021.

The HWA urged the Sindh government to withdraw the appeal filed in the SC against the SHC’s landmark verdict in favour of peasants, and to amend the tenancy act in the light of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.

The HWA demanded that the provincial government take concrete measures to implement the bonded labour system abolition act and to establish vigilance committees in all districts.