Vested Property- the main causes for the losing Hindu land of Bangladesh
Prof Barkat points out that 53 per cent of the family displacement and 74 per cent of the land grabbing occurred following the India-Pakistan War in 1965. The then Pakistan government introduced the Enemy Property (Custody and Registration) Order II as a tool for appropriating the lands of the minority Hindus.
Political elements, locally influential people in collaboration with the land administration, trickery by land officials and employees themselves, use of force and crookedness, fake documentation, contracted farmers and death or exile of original owners have contributed to the phenomenon, according to Professor Barkat’s study covering 6 districts across the country. More than 60 per cent of the owners and the successors of ‘vested properties’ are either dead or have left the country.
Chandan Sarkar – Prof of Economics and Leading human rights activist in Bangladesh. Chairman of Research and Empowerment Organization.
