Ranchi: Many Jharkhand villagers have decided to go ahead and till their land in defiance of a diktat by Maoist rebels.
"Villagers are unhappy with the order not to till land. If the Maoists interrupt us, then we will give them a suitable reply," said Shankar Hembrom, president of Nagrik Suraksha Samittee (NSS) in Jamshedpur district.
Villagers have started tilling their fields in Palamau and other districts, according to media reports.
According to Hembrom, the villagers had defied a similar ban by the Maoists in 2003. When Maoist guerrillas raided Lango village in retaliation, the villagers lynched nine of them.
Echoing a similar view, Suresh Mahto of Palamu district said: "We are urging farmers to unite against the Maoist directive and fight back. If we do not till our land, then what will we feed our family members? It is better to face the Maoist bullet than to die without food."
The threat by Maoists has forced farmers in Jharkhand to keep their vast cultivable land fallow. This year the state received good rainfall but farmers did not dare plough the field due to fears of the Maoists.
The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist has put up black flags on the land in many parts of the state ahead of the monsoon as a directive not to plough the land.
The worst affected districts are Palamau, Hazaribagh and Chatra. Here the Maoists have threatened landowners with reprisal if they dare to plough their fields.
According to estimates, more than 20,000 acres of land is lying fallow due to the Maoist threat.
Jharkhand produces only half of the food grains needed for the state. Only 30 percent land is cultivable.
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