"This land belongs to our ancestors; we have been farming here for three generations. These fields feed our children and are our support. Now the administration is saying to vacate the land, that it is government property. If this land is taken away from us, where will we go?" Tears well up in the eyes of tribal farmer woman Buhiya as she speaks with The Mooknayak.

In Janwar village of Panna district in Madhya Pradesh these days, a silence has spread amidst the lush green fields. Seeing the swaying wheat crops here, it seems as if this land gives life, but dark clouds of crisis are now looming over the same land. The pain that 60-year-old tribal farmer woman Buhiya and her family are going through today is not just one family's story, but a question of tribal lives being uprooted under the guise of development.

There is fear of becoming homeless in one stroke after three generations of hard work; Buhiya's tribal family has been living and farming on this land for about 60 years. They were allotted five acres of land on lease, on which the family has been in possession and has nurtured it generation after generation. Buhiya has five children, and the entire family depends on the produce from this field. This field is their livelihood, their future.

When The Mooknayak's team reached the tribal-dominated Janwar village in Panna district, at first glance everything appeared normal and peaceful. All around, green wheat crops that are about to be harvested—this scene seems to tell a story of prosperity. But beneath this greenery lies a deep unease. In the eyes of the tribal families living between the fields, there is not just hope for the crop these days, but also the clear fear of losing their land.

We reached tribal farmer woman Buhiya's home with our local journalist collaborator, Ajit Khare. In one corner of the field stands a hut-like mud house, mud walls, with tarpaulin, tin, and thatch for support, this is her home. Here she lives with her five children, eats, drinks, and dreams of the future. Amid the scent of the soil rising from the field and the laughter of the children, Buhiya repeatedly looks toward that very land on which her entire life is built.

Buhiya explains that this field is the support of their family. "This is where the children's stomachs are filled, from here come clothes and medicines," she says in a low voice. As she speaks, her gaze falls on the crop, but no smile comes to her face. She fears that if the administration orders the land to be vacated, what will happen to their children. For her, the field is not just land for farming, but home, identity, and future all three.

This fear in Janwar village is not limited to Buhiya alone. Many tribal families are living in the same dilemma—one side the crop grown with hard work, the other side the shadow of eviction. Every morning they head out to work in the fields, but the question swirling in their minds is whether they will be able to sow the next crop on this same land or not?

Buhiya recounts, "This land was in the name of our father-in-law Naunelal Adivasi. He had said it has a patta. He is no longer with us today, but we have been nurturing this land with our blood and sweat for three generations."

Medical College and Devastating Farming

The proposed medical college plan in Panna has put the farming of about 10 tribal families in Janwar village into crisis. Among them, some families had received pattas (land title deeds) in 2005 and before that, while others have been farming on this land for three generations.

On December 17, when the administration ran bulldozers over the lush green fields, tears welled up in the farmers' eyes. The bulldozer tearing into the chest of the very land that had given grain for years shakes the soul of any farmer.

They say the land is government property, vacate it

In conversation with The Mooknayak, Buhiya's voice trembles. She says, "Now the administration people are saying that this land is government property and to vacate it. If this land is snatched away from us, where will we go? What will happen to our family?"

Buhiya's question is not just to the government or administration, but to society as well—is the meaning of development just to uproot someone?

The story of another tribal farmer, Sitaram, from Janwar village also brings forth the same fear and helplessness. Sitaram had been farming on about five acres of land for years. This very land was the sole support of his family's livelihood. But the situation changed when, in the name of demarcation for the medical college, the administration took his entire five acres of land into its fold. Sitaram says that this land was allotted to him on lease about 20 years ago, but he had been farming it even before that.

He said, "We have shed sweat here, grown grain in this field, and raised our children," in his voice, there is less anger and more despair.

The greatest pain for him is that despite having the land's patta, it has been taken away from him. Sitaram says, "We have the papers, yet our side was not heard."

Now, how will they manage without land? Sitaram is not alone in Janwar village. Many tribal farmers narrate similar stories, where the land that has been their identity and livelihood for generations is being taken away in the name of development. The fields are no longer just fields, but have become their last battle for existence.

Tribal Organizations register objection

In conversation with The Mooknayak, Ram Bai, the district in-charge (women's wing) of the Panna Jai Adivasi Shakti Sangathan (JAYS), expressed strong objection to the administration's action. She said that tribal farmers who have been farming for years are being mercilessly evicted by the administration, even though many families have land pattas.

Ram Bai said, "These tribal farmers have been in possession of these lands for more than 50 years. They have been feeding their families by farming here. Now the administration is saying that this is government land. The government's claim is one thing, but the reality on the ground shows something else."

She further said that the JAYS organization is not against development, but uprooting tribals under the guise of development is unacceptable. "If a medical college has to be built, then the government should provide fertile farming land elsewhere to the tribal farmers, so that their and their families' sustenance continues. Eviction without alternative arrangements is injustice."

In response to the allegations made by the tribal families, The Mooknayak's representative spoke to Panna's Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sanjay Nagvanshi. During this, he clarified that the lands in Janwar village where bulldozer action was taken are revenue government lands. According to him, no patta has been issued in the name of any tribal on that land, nor was any patta ever issued.

Action initiated after CM's announcement

The medical college plan in Panna has recently come into existence. The state government prepared a proposal to open a medical college in Panna during the year 2024-25, after which in 2025, administrative processes related to land selection, demarcation, and construction were expedited. Now, a dispute has arisen over the land identified for this proposed medical college. Due to administrative action on the land of tribal families who have been farming for years in Janwar village and surrounding areas, a crisis has arisen on their livelihood and future.

After the announcement, the administration initiated the process of land survey and demarcation for the proposed medical college. During this, the land in Janwar village, on which tribal families had been in possession and farming for years, also came under the survey's purview. After the survey, when the administration identified this land for the college, suddenly the tribal farmers began to fear losing their ancestral livelihood. As soon as administrative action began amidst the swaying crops in the fields, the anxiety and insecurity of the tribal families in Janwar village deepened further.

Are Tribals Living a Dignified Life?

The story of Janwar village is not limited to just Panna district, but exposes the reality of many tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh. This case directly raises the question: When preparing development plans, is the land of tribals, their constitutional rights, and their consent truly given importance, or are they the first to be chosen to pay the price for development?

The real question is whether the government will seriously consider alternatives like alternative land, rehabilitation, and respectable livelihood, or will the tribal community once again be pushed to the margins in the name of development. Janwar village is waiting for the answer to this today.