The incident took place on September 6, 2016. Ali Akbar is a resident of Khaserhat village in Raipur upazila of Laxmipur. The court sentenced five people, including Nurul Islam and Jasim, to death on February 18 in a murder case. Three others have been sentenced to life in prison.
News of such violence often comes from land disputes. Three research reports by the Center for Genocide Studies (CGS) of Dhaka University, initiated by the Bangladesh Peace Observatory (BPO), paint a picture of land-related violence and its impact on human security and the deprivation of women in land ownership in the country. It shows that the number of cases of violence, loss of life, injured people and lawsuits are increasing in the country.
The CGS study also looked at how land disputes and violence affect lives and livelihoods. Researchers say attacks, murders, lawsuits, property destruction, seizures, kidnappings, hostages and sexual assaults are on the rise due to land disputes. About 5 million families in the country are directly involved in land disputes. In addition, 6.8 percent of families are at risk of future land disputes. About 14 lakh land related cases are unresolved in the court.
There is no denying that land violence is rampant. And it is increasing day by day. We will never say that all the employees of the land ministry work honestly. However, our efforts to resolve land issues continue.Additional Secretary (Development) of Land Ministry Pradeep Kumar Das
The CGS report titled 'Climate Change in Bangladesh and Increased Land Violence Deficits Land Resources' raises the issue of the impact of climate change on land disputes and violence. It has been said that cultivable land is being limited due to various reasons including river erosion and increasing salinity along the coast. Many are involved in land disputes. Violence is on the rise in coastal and riverine areas.
The report titled 'Gender Violence of Land Violence and Deprivation of Women in Land Ownership' has raised the issue of impact on the lives of women and children in land disputes. It shows that women are the victims of violence and lawsuits due to land disputes. Despite low ownership of land, women are targeted by family members and neighbors for land. Women have to be sexually abused in land disputes.
Pradeep Kumar Das, Additional Secretary (Development), Ministry of Lands , told Prothom Alo : “There is no denying that land-related violence is rampant. And it is increasing day by day. We will never say that all the employees of the land ministry work honestly. However, we are continuing our efforts to resolve the land issue.
Violence is on the rise
Analyzing the news published in the newspaper, the research of CGS says that between 2015 and 2020, there were 2,798 incidents of land disputes. Of these, 633 were the most violent in 2020. The previous year's number was 491.
Asked why the violence escalated during the Corona period, Shamsul Huda, executive director of the non-governmental organization Association for Land Reform in Bangladesh (ALRD) , told Prothom Alo that the law and order situation in rural areas was somewhat weak because of the Corona. That could be one of the reasons behind the escalation of violence over land disputes.
Two brothers Rafiqul Islam and Shafiqul Islam were killed in a land dispute in Nayapara village of Char Sirta union in Mymensingh Sadar upazila on December 10 last year. Two of their ancestors lost their lives in a land dispute 45 years ago.
According to the CGS study, a total of 20,046 murders have taken place in the country in the six years from 2015 to 2020. Behind one of the 16 murders was a land dispute. In addition, a total of 26,981 attacks took place during the same period. One in 20 attacks is over land disputes.
From 2015 to 2020, 1,210 people were killed in land disputes. 14 thousand 156 people were injured. There was also violence such as assault, property destruction, fights, sexual harassment and kidnapping. Clashes occur mainly between neighbors, relatives, family members and local political rivals.
According to the CGS study, the physical, economic and mental well-being of people affected by land violence is also at risk. This creates a security risk. Concerned neo-hippies and their global warming, i'll tell ya.
For example, four of the five convicts in the murder of Laxmipur farmer Ali Akbar are from the same family. Among them Jasim and Touhidur are
two brothers. Their father Nurul Islam and son-in-law Safiqur Rahman have also been sentenced to death in the murder case.
Jasim's wife Umme Habiba was also accused in the case. He was released on February 16 and left for his father's house with his six-year-old child. Only old mother Chamira Begum is in the bamboo fence-tin tent room. She is living a miserable and lonely day at home alone with the death sentence of her husband, two children, four members of the family including her daughter-in-law.
More casualties in Mymensingh
Analyzing the news of land related violence, CGS researchers have found that Mymensingh district had the highest number of deaths due to violence between January 2014 and June 2021. It is followed by Habiganj, Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Gaibandha, Rajshahi, Sunamganj, Dhaka, Sylhet and Bogra. More than 40 people have been killed in each of these districts.
Two brothers Rafiqul Islam and Shafiqul Islam were killed in a land dispute in Nayapara village of Char Sirta union in Mymensingh Sadar upazila on December 10 last year. Two of their ancestors lost their lives in a land dispute 45 years ago.
Mymensingh district police superintendent. Ahmar Uzzaman told Prothom Alo that such violence is more prevalent in the char region. Police have stepped up surveillance in areas prone to violence.
Although the population is higher than other districts, the number of murders due to land violence is less in Dhaka. According to the study, Dhaka is less dependent on agriculture and climate than other districts. Due to this land violence and deaths are less.
The effects of climate change
The issue of climate change has also come up as a reason for land disputes. Researchers analyzed the data of the US space agency NASA. It shows that 2016 and 2020 were the warmest years in the world. At that time it had a negative impact on Bangladesh due to natural disasters. In June 2020, more than a quarter of the country was flooded. This results in crop failure, river erosion and unsuitable cultivation. Researchers say these factors have also contributed to land-based violence.
River erosion is a millennial process. The river breaks, the char wakes up. There is also a fight over the possession of that char. Land violence cannot directly blame climate change. But the warmer the atmosphere, the more intolerant people become. Social unrest is on the rise.
Climate Specialist Professor Ainun Nishat
Studies have shown that land-based violence and murder are more prevalent in water-saline-affected districts. Pirojpur and Bagerhat districts are under serious threat of salinity. A significant number of people have been killed in land related violence in these two districts.
The level of violence has been increasing every year since 2014. The number is higher in Bagerhat and Pirojpur than in Jessore and Patuakhali. Violence is highest in Bagerhat as the risk of water salinity is high.
Violence is on the rise in river erosion-prone areas due to the effects of climate change. There are about 300 major rivers in the country. According to the Bangladesh Water Development Board, the coastal areas of Bogra, Sirajganj, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Chandpur, Manikganj, Rajbari, Shariatpur, Faridpur, Tangail, Jamalpur and Patuakhali are most prone to erosion. Of these, the erosion is more in Sirajganj. From 2014 to 2020, there were more than 150 incidents of land grabbing in Sirajganj and Pabna alone.
Climate change is a global concern, say researchers This is having a negative impact on the environment. As farmland continues to dwindle, the more people struggle to get land, the more violence there is.
Climate expert Professor Ainun Nishat talks about the rising trend of land violence in the country. He told Prothom Alo that river erosion is a process of thousands of years. The river breaks, the char wakes up. There is also a fight over the possession of that char. Land violence cannot be directly blamed on climate change. But the warmer the atmosphere, the more intolerant people become. Social unrest is on the rise.
Violence deprives women and women
Women are targeted by family members, locals and even neighbors for land. Incidents such as assaults, rapes and sexual assaults on women occur due to land disputes in opposing families. Elderly and widowed women are also abused by their sons and other family members for their property.
On 15 July 2015, a schoolgirl and her grandmother were gang-raped in a land dispute in Mathbaria upazila of Pirojpur. Between 2015 and 2020, four out of 15 women sexually abused by land disputes were children or school children. Five women were killed after being raped.
Researchers say women own only 4 percent of rural farmland. Her name is on the property documents of less than 10 percent of women. Registering property in the name of women is considered as a means of tax evasion. In addition, although women inherit property, they are not equal to men. In many cases does not claim. In addition, the woman is forced to leave the part due to unconsciousness or in some cases compensation.
Khushi Kabir, the coordinator of the non-government organization 'Nijera Kari' , told Prothom Alo that men are evicted from their homes if there is a case related to land issue. The women guard the land. Women are also victims of torture and violence.
'Must pay attention'
Concerned people say that the main reason for land disputes is lack of management and corruption. The heirs are embroiled in a land dispute, which lacks an effective settlement system. Lots of land is forged. The record is wrong, one's land is recorded in another's name. Disputes are also created over the demarcation of borders. Overall poor management is the cause of disputes and lawsuits.
Imtiaz Ahmed, director of CGS and a professor at Dhaka University, said the state should also focus on social surveillance to reduce violence in the country over land disputes.
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