Hyderabad: The dispute of forest lands between the Multanis and the forest officials came to the fore, when forest officials were prevented from planting saplings inside the land being claimed as theirs, by the Multani Muslims of Adilabad district.
On Saturday, July 5, when the forest officials, accompanied by police personnel were heading to Kesapatnam village in Icchoda mandal to reclaim what they claimed, were lands belonging to the forest department, the villagers of Keshavpatnam, Jogipet, Narsapur and Babjipet blocked the forest personnel at Chilkaguda.
An argument took place between the Multani Muslims supported by tribals, and the forest officials from Saturday morning till noon, when Boath MLA Anil Jadhav intervened and mediated the dispute.
According to a forest official, they were given a target to reclaim 56 acres of forest lands, out of which saplings have been planted by the forest department in 8 acres. He said that while the forest and police personnel were about to plant saplings in the rest of the forest lands, the Multanis obstructed their duties.
The forest official also claimed that 1,600 acres of land was presently in their control, and that they were questioning why their community alone was being targeted by the state government.
MLA Anil Jadhav spoke with both the parties, and the higher-ups in the forest department, and suggested a joint-survey to be taken up by the revenue and forest departments, so that the facts could come out.
According to local reporter Irfan from Big TV, the forest officials have been claiming that the Multanis have been cultivating those lands for the past 10 years, while the Multanis have been claiming that the lands were under their control for the past two decades.
The Multani Muslims had settled in a few villages in Adilabad district. They reportedly came from Multan city of Punjab province in Pakistan. However, when they settled in Adilabad district remains unclear, though the community members claim that they have been living in this region since pre-partition years.
According to The Hindu report, their existence was hardly noticed till 1970, when they had emerged as bamboo and teakwood smugglers.
Journalist S Harpal Singh from The Hindu had written that the Multanis had settled in Keshavpatnam, Gundala, Yellammaguda and Jogipet in Ichoda, and Sirikonda mandals in Adilabad district.
According to his report from 2018, there were around 1,100 households of Multanis with an estimated population of nearly 6,000 people living in those four villages.
Even in his 2019 report, he talks about the disputes between the forest department and the Multanis with regard to claim of forest lands.
Many may not be aware, but even when the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadil Muslimeen (AIMIM) tried to become strong in the areas dominated by the Multanis, there has been stiff resistance from them, who are financially and politically powerful in the small pockets where they live.
There have been violent clashes between the Multanis and the Majlis (AIMIM) in the past few years, which have seen casualties on both the sides.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Vivek Bhoomi | 
