Residents of Munambam who were on hunger strike at the protest site demanding restoration of their revenue rights respond after the Kerala High Court verdict in their favour on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

The wrinkled face of 73-year-old Elsy Thomas lit up as she saw the sparkle of the firecrackers, lit by someone from a nearby compound.

Raising her folded hands that gripped a rosary, the woman muttered a thanksgiving prayer from the protest site of the Munambam Land Protection Council set up on the campus of the Velankanni Matha Church in the Munambam-Kadappuram ward of Pallippuram grama panchayat. The news that the Kerala High Court allowed the long-standing demand of restoration of revenue rights for their holding, a verdict they had been waiting for almost four years, came on the 410th day of the protest.

It was the turn of Ms. Thomas and three other women to continue the protest at the near-secluded venue, as electioneering was gathering pace elsewhere in the State.

National attention

The dispute over the land, which the Kerala Waqf Board had notified and registered as a Waqf property, had invited national attention and was hotly debated in almost all fora of legislation, including Parliament and the State Assembly. The Munambam issue attained national importance after the Union government brought in legislation to govern the Waqf properties across the country. Months after the legislation, the debate continues unabated in the local body polls too in the coastal division of the Pallippuram panchayat.

The political debate in the upcoming civic polls in the division is probably centred around one topic: the vexed issue of land, as the residents, the Kerala Waqf Board, and the Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedi, and Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Samithi are engaged in a pitched battle for almost four years.

“We have been seeking the support of all political parties and candidates to help us solve the issue,” said Shiny Mathew, a 62-year-old homemaker, whose turn it was to go on hunger strike on the day.

Boycott plans

Though the nearly 600 families of Munambam considered boycotting the civic polls initially, they decided to participate in the electoral process, fearing that they may lose the patronage of those who would be elected. The plan for fielding one of their representatives was also dropped after much deliberation.

Within hours of the High Court order on Tuesday, six residents of Munambam remitted property tax. The remaining residents will also remit the tax in the coming days. “It was the State government and its Ministers, especially P. Rajeeve, the Minister for Law, and K. Rajan, the Minister for Revenue, that helped the residents in their struggle. The Samithi will let the Munambam residents know who stood with them and who made hollow promises,” said Fr. Antony Xavier, the patron of the action council.

“Though initially some political parties had offered to help us, it didn’t work out. The Opposition parties supported the cause of the residents in their own way all through the protest. Muslim political outfits and organisations also stood with the residents, which helped avoid a communal conflagration,” said Fr. Xavier.

Parties’ take

Incidentally, the protest had earlier left an impact on the political landscape of the coastal division as some sections of voters, who were associated with parties such as Congress, shifted their allegiance towards the BJP.

Kunjumon Augustine, a former Congress worker who joined the BJP, is the party candidate of the ward. “It was the BJP that came up with the Central legislation that supported the residents,” claimed Mr. Augustine.

Rocky Binoy Kurishinkal of the CPI(M), the LDF candidate, claimed that it was the party and the State government that stood with the residents. Dani Kottaparambil, the UDF candidate from the division, said the Congress, which was one of the first political parties to support the agitation, has been consistently backing the demands of the residents.  There are 1,780 voters in the ward, which is currently represented by Jesna Sanal of the Congress.

Published – November 27, 2025 09:24 am IST