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“I was not able to breathe. For a few seconds, I thought I had died,” said 74-year-old Chandran, one of the Dalit individuals injured during a violent eviction attempt in Malayidamthuruth near Kizhakkambalam in Ernakulam.
Nearly 200 police officers arrived in Malayidamthuruth to evict Dalit families on May 20, leaving many injured. The eviction drive occurred a mere 48 hours after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government formed its cabinet, leading to the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], alleging that the new government was trying to implement ‘bulldozer raj’ in Kerala.
The incident has brought renewed attention to a decades-old land dispute involving a private individual and seven Dalit families who have lived on the land for generations.
The dispute centres on 2.65 acres of land occupied by seven families who belong to the Pulaya caste, classified as Scheduled Castes (SC) in the state. The parcel sits adjacent to 19 acres of puramboke land, the boundaries of which are contested and can be established only with a survey. However, in the 1980s, a private individual, late Sankaran Nair, staked claim to the same parcel of land, resulting in a years-long legal battle.
Reacting to the growing controversy, Chief Minister VD Satheesan has said that despite 14 earlier attempts, the previous LDF government had failed to protect the families, and that if eviction is carried out as per the court order, the government will ensure adequate rehabilitation for them.
The 50-year-old land dispute
The seven Dalit families of Malayidamthuruth trace their story back to Kalukurumban, a bonded labourer who lived on the parcel of land about a hundred years ago. The current residents are his fifth and sixth generation descendants.
Legal battles fought in the 1970s affirmed the family's right to stay on the land. However, in the 1980s, a private individual named Sankaran Nair allegedly manipulated the re-survey records and added the land to the deed of other property he owned.
The legal tussle around the land occurred in two phases, explained S Satheesh, CPI(M) Ernakulam district secretary.
In 1975, one Sankaran Nair filed a case claiming ownership of the property. At the same time,the Dalit families approached the Perumbavoor Munsiff Court seeking patta (land rights).
MK Anilkumar, former Kizhakkambalam panchayat president and CPI(M) local committee member, told TNM that Sankaran belonged to a land-holding family in the area. He passed away nearly 20 years ago and the case is currently handled by his daughters Subhadra and Ambika and their family members.
The court jointly considered both cases in 1975 and rejected Sankaran's claim. Regarding the Dalit residents’ demand for patta, the court stated that granting patta on revenue land was a matter of government policy and that the government alone had the authority to decide on it.
After this, the matter went to the Paravur Sub Court and the Kerala High Court. On both occasions, the lower court order was upheld.
Then, in the early 1980s, a re-survey took place. According to CPI(M) leaders and local residents, Sankaran manipulated the records by influencing officials and showed the contested land as belonging to the survey number under his ownership.
Armed with the resurvey records, Sankaran approached the court a second time in 1984. He obtained a favourable judgement, which formed the basis of the ongoing dispute. The matter went to the Kerala High Court and later to the Supreme Court in 2022, resulting in rulings favouring Sankaran.
However, the court orders could not be implemented as the Dalit residents resisted eviction. Following this, the Perumbavoor Munsif Court issued a strict ultimatum to law enforcement to complete the evictions by May 23 and submit a final execution report by May 26.
On May 20, the police, accompanied by the Advocate Commission, arrived at the village to evict the Dalit occupants.
The gravity of the police action was unprecedented, according to the families. “The police have come to evict us 14 times before this. Never before have they used such force,” members of the seven families told us when TNM visited the areas three days after the incident.
In the days that followed, the CPI(M), along with the Pattikajathi Kshema Samithi (Scheduled Castes Welfare Organisation), a CPI(M)-affiliated organisation, held a protest meeting in Malayidamthuruth.
When the case once again reached the Kerala High Court on May 25, the court gave the government two weeks’ time to carry out the eviction. According to the LiveLaw, the court noted, "If they are residing in the plain schedule property … they should have a pre-existing right and the said right should have been enforced in a manner known to law. So long as it is not done, they cannot obstruct.”
With renewed attention on Malayidamthuruth, the dispute turned into a flashpoint over land rights, caste, and State intervention.
‘Survey necessary’
The CPI(M) said the police action exposed the UDF government’s brutality towards Dalits. They argued that after the 2022 court verdict, the LDF government had initiated a survey to determine whether the land fell under government land. According to them, instead of evicting the residents from this land, the UDF government should continue the land measurement process.
According to CPI(M) district secretary Satheesh, “For the government to intervene effectively, the 19 acres of revenue land in this area must first be properly remeasured and demarcated using the old records. Once this measurement and verification are carried out, it will become clear that this region also falls under revenue land.”
Former MLA and PKS state vice president advocate Santhakumari told TNM that the former Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had begun the process to survey the 19 acres of land. “The LDF government had appointed a team to conduct a joint verification survey to measure the land. That decision was made around three or four years ago. They had issued notices to the concerned people as well. A preliminary inquiry was conducted as part of this process. The subsequent procedures were ongoing during the previous government,” she said.
On March 23, 2024, the Ernakulam Collector ordered a survey of the 19 acres puramboke land, following a Kerala High Court order dated October 10, 2023, considering a writ petition filed by social activist NA Ashraf alleging document alteration involving 19 acres of government puramboke land.
Meanwhile, the seven Dalit families remain in uncertainty. They told TNM that it is unimaginable to leave the place they were born and raised at, where their ancestors have been buried, and where their families have been living for more than a 100 years. The families also said that they built their homes in Malayidamthuruth using their lifetime’s savings.
Looming uncertainty
“We have lived here for five generations. How can we possibly move from this place?” asked Abin Thankachan, a resident facing eviction threats.
The families mostly depend on farming, cattle rearing, and daily wage labour. According to Abin, while they have been paying building taxes for their houses, they have not paid land taxes as they do not have ownership documents (patta).
“Our ancestors lay buried here, just behind these houses. We also have temple-related traditions here, including two sacred groves. These customs and practices have been followed by us for generations. So, relocating somewhere else is difficult for us,” Abin said.
Sajitha, aged 48, said the troubles have been passed down from one generation to the next. “From a young age, I have seen my father fighting for this land. We have lived under stress for all these years, and now our children are going through the same situation,” she said. There are around 10 school-going students between the seven families.
“If it’s [Sankaran Nair’s] land, they may take it after showing the proper documents. But if it's government land, let the government take over this land and then decide to whom it should be given. After all, it is puramboke land. We will oppose giving puramboke land to a private individual,” said Saneesha, a Malayidamthuruth-native who shifted to Airapuram after marriage.
CPI(M) alleges ‘UDF’s police brutality
Following the police action, the CPI(M) criticised the UDF government for its alleged brutality, arguing that the police cannot act without the permission of the government. PKS vice president Santhakumari said the forceful police intervention is a violation of human rights and social justice, and said such aggression is a reflection of deep-seated caste discrimination and feudal mindsets.
“They tore my clothes and dragged me on the road. I requested them to let me go, but they didn’t. I still have pain in my body,” said a 44-year-old woman who did not wish to be named.
Another resident, Sajitha (48) recalled that the attack was sudden. “Both men and women police officers were there,” she added.
P Rajeev, former minister and senior leader of the CPI(M), termed the incident an instance of police brutality. He said, “The previous government maintained that there should be no situation where people are evicted through police force. That is why, even after the 2022 verdict, no one was forced to leave. After the new government took power, we did not expect such sudden action, especially in the Chief Minister’s own district."
However, this is not the first time that the Dalit residents of Malayaidamthuruth have faced police action. Residents said that when police and revenue officials arrived in Malayidamthuruth in 2025 to conduct a survey, the police had used physical force, even though to a lesser degree compared to the May 20 police action. “When the police came to do a survey of the land, they physically abused us and registered cases against a few of us,” Abin added.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan told the media on Monday, May 25, that the previous government had done nothing for the Dalit family, even after 14 eviction attempts at the site. “During the tenure of the previous government, there had already been 14 attempts to evict these people in accordance with the court order. But the LDF government did not do anything to resolve the issue. They did not take any action at all,” he said.
He also promised rehabilitation for the families if the eviction happens. “Our decision is that even if the court order is implemented, the families should not be left homeless. We will rehabilitate them by providing alternative housing and land. We will not leave them on the streets,” he added.
KA Thulasi, the Minister for Backward Classes Welfare, said that as soon as the incident came to the government’s attention, urgent action was taken. “The government immediately intervened to halt the police proceedings,” she said.
Speaking with TNM, social activist PJ Manuel emphasised the systemic disenfranchisement of Dalit and landless communities in Kerala, and explained how legal frameworks often favour privileged-caste landlords over historical occupants. “The solution is to give the land to the marginalised communities, and not to relocate them somewhere else,” he said.
Manuel elaborated, “Earlier, it used to happen with Adivasi communities. They clear forests and cultivate the land. Later, the landlords would come, evict them, and then they would move to another place, and the process would repeat again. In the same way, these people have worked and struggled on this land for five generations, and built a life there. Now the landlord has come and said they want it.”