3,885 days & 8 elections later, Wayanad farmer waits outside collectorate for justice as Kerala votes again

Kozhikode: As Kerala heads to polls on April 9, the familiar rhythms of democracy — campaign trails, lofty promises and faith in the quiet power of ballot — resonate across the state once again. Yet, on a patch of pavement outside the Wayanad district collectorate in Kalpetta, one man's story stands out amid the changing seasons of politics over the last eight elections.Through eight elections — two assembly polls, three Lok Sabha contests and three local body elections and 3,885 days to be exact — James K K has been living under a fraying tarpaulin sheet on the roadside just outside the collectorate gate. A few cardboard sheets form his bed while around him, discarded flex boards bearing political leaders' smiling faces — once symbols of electoral promise — serve as makeshift barriers against stray dogs and intruding snakes.James has endured everything the Wayanad hills could throw at him: Searing summer heat, relentless monsoon rain and winter nights' biting cold. He has waited for justice through it all.James, who has been staging the stir for restoration of his family's farmland allegedly taken over illegally by the forest department four decades ago, remains a symbol of endurance in the face of systemic apathy, despite the power of vote.The story dates back to 1967 when his father-in-law, the late Kanjirathinal George, bought 12 acres of janmam patta land in Kanjiramkadu village from the Kuttanadan Cardamom Company in which he raised coffee, coconut and spices after regularly paying land tax for the property. But forest department claimed that the land was vested with it under the Kerala Private Forest Vesting and Assignment Act and took it over in 1977 following which revenue department stopped collecting land tax from him.On his family's petition, the state govt in April 2007 directed the district collector to take steps to assign six acres of land to George and his brother. The revenue principal secretary sent a letter dated Nov 3, 2007 to receive property tax from appellants. However, the high court in a 2016 order set aside the govt order. James alleged that govt authorities fabricated evidence to deny him justice.James said that despite multiple inquiry reports over the years pointing to irregularities in land takeover, including a 2016 report by the Mananthavady sub-collector noting the lack of evidence to classify the land as private forest, the land has never been restored."I have seen govts change, representatives come and go," says James, seated under his tarpaulin shelter. "But nothing has changed for me."Every morning, he updates a handwritten count of the days he has spent in protest. The last number he wrote was 3,885.A voter from Nadapuram constituency, James has not cast his vote since his protest began. His family now lives in a rented house while he remains outside the collectorate and his silent protest a quiet indictment of a system he believes has failed him."I've met leaders across parties — V S Achuthanandan, Oommen Chandy and even Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi. They all promised to look into it. But justice has not come. It is not just delay, it is insensitivity," he says.Even in hardship, he remains connected to the world. Newspapers are his daily window to the world beyond the pavement. "Sometimes I skip tea or breakfast to buy them," he says.There have been flickers of hope. District collector M R Meghasree visited the disputed land last May and recommended the formation of a judicial committee. But the proposal is yet to move forward. And so James waits even during this election season as well, counting the days.