Satish Kaushik’s Kaagaz

Satish Kaushik’s Kaagaz

Complexities in land documentation evident in this true story of lost identity

March 20, 2021

                                                            - By Simran Pal Kaur,

 Research Associate, IHF

Kaagaz (meaning ‘paper’), a Hindi-language biographical film released on January 7, 2021 on the OTT platform Zee5, features a real-life storyline represented through a satire drama centred on the struggles of a man who, though alive, is declared dead on official papers. Drawing on events occurring during 1970s-90s in Uttar Pradesh, Kaagaz tells the story of the protagonist Bharat Lal, inspired by the real life of Lal Bihari, a farmer from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who was declared dead on paper by his relatives in their bid to unethically acquire his share of property. He is then compelled to spend the next twenty years of his life trying to reverse the paperwork in order to officially be declared alive. The movie reminds us of the value land and property holds in the lives of people and how challenging it can become to manoeuvre through the fallacies in documentation. Moreover, it brings attention to the significant role of the lekhpal and paper records within the local-level bureaucracy for determining the land titles. 

Pankaj Tripathi [left] portrays the real-life struggle of Lal Bihari [middle] who was supported by his wife [right] in his endeavours. 

Photo Courtesy: IMDb

The movie is directed by veteran Satish Kaushik and produced under the banner of Salman Khan Films. It features a remarkable portrayal of the unrelenting bandmaster, Bharat Lal, played by Pankaj Tripathi, who binds the plot together. The supporting characters in the movie are guided by their own objectives that impact Bharat’s journey in attaining correct documentation. The supporting cast include: the encouraging wife, Rukhmani, played by Monal Gajjar; the conniving aunt, played by Shadan Ahmed; the reckless Lekhpal Bhoorey Singh, played by Sushil Bounthiyal; the opportunistic advocate who later has a change of heart, Sadhu Ram, played by Satish Kaushik; the calculating politician, MLA Ashrafi Devi, played by Mita Vashisht; the conscientious journalist, Sonia, played by Neha Chauhan; and a placid judge, played by Brijendra Kala. 

The movie induces one to think of how property transactions involve different processes but one of the most important parts is ensuring proper documentation of registration, ownership, mapping and transaction of the property. Record-keeping has evolved through the colonial and the postcolonial eras. Yet, records and documents are often not faultless. They symbolise hierarchies, power equations and errors of omission (Pati, 2019). If one’s title is contested and if the property becomes a matter of interest to other people, it can be strenuous and time-taking to resolve the dispute. Land and property related disputes make up for the highest proportion i.e. 66 percent of civil legal disputes in the country (Daksh, 2016). 

In an interview, director Satish Kaushik said that his intention was to illustrate the emotions and identity of a ‘common man’. He does so by depicting the perseverance of a life changing challenge. However, in the undertone and  factual portrayal, the movie has been able to correctly capture and present other significant themes related to land and housing, which are the focus of this article and illustrated below.

Hesitance to take formal credit

Movie - Bharat is a proud bandmaster but struggles to make ends meet. His friends and wife encourage him to scale-up his business by expanding his band shop in order to create more space for practice, storage of instruments, and eventually employ more people in the band. To support the financial requirements of expanding the shop, he is suggested to secure a bank loan. However, Bharat is apprehensive about accepting this advice. He initially dismisses the idea, equating a loan to a pet that superficially offers security but requires to be fed frequently and bites the owner on the day it is not fed. Given his socio-economic background, he expresses his hesitance and uncertainty about servicing a bank loan. 

Real World - Efforts towards financial inclusion are being undertaken but it is still not pervasive. Several households in the low-income sector do not have access to affordable credit and are often hesitant to take a bank loan even if it is available. Individuals with no borrowing and repayment history with formal credit agencies, especially those in the lower-income group, often face difficulties in sourcing loans at a reasonable rate of interest. Given the nature of their work and limited means of earning in the informal sector, households fear the repercussions in case of a default in repayment. Households consider loan procurement a stressful procedure because of required documentation and uncompromising accountability. In such cases, households tend to depend on their dwindling savings, and rely on informal borrowings from friends or neighbours. 

However, there are some lending institutions that cater especially to the low-income households to provide customised loan products , and encourage responsible borrowing, thereby making loans more accessible for them. Access to finance encourages households to invest the loan amount wisely towards improving their standard of living. In settlements with access to municipal trunk infrastructure, households with the means (savings or loans) and space have invested in building their own toilets with connections to the sewage infrastructure (Jain et al., 2016). 

The current national housing scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), provides part subsidies to eligible households for construction of their houses. The balance funding is covered through the beneficiary’s share of contribution. The beneficiaries from the low-income segments are often not able to meet the balance amount entirely by themselves. This prompts the importance of institutionalised access to housing finance. Several affordable housing finance institutions (AHFIs) are catering to the loan requirements of the PMAY beneficiary households. Credit can help stabilise a household and transform the living conditions of the borrower by encouraging logical investment that will enhance their income as well as boost their self-confidence and well-being.  

Complexities of lal dora land

Movie - Bharat eventually feels convinced to take a bank loan for expanding his shop. He visits the Sahyog Sahakari Bank (co-operative bank) in Azamgarh. He expresses his intent to take a loan and the bank official informs him that the loan shall be approved and further inquires from Bharat about which asset he will pledge as collateral for the loan, to ensure that it is a secured debt owed to the bank. Bharat suggests that he could mortgage the shop itself. To this the official responds that the shop falls in the lal dora land category and Bharat may not have adequate and valid documentation of it. He refuses to accept the shop as collateral and asks Bharat to think of some other possible security. Bharat remembers that he has joint-ownership in an ancestral property in Khalilabad. The official advises Bharat to get a copy of the property documents and get it certified by the lekhpal (village revenue officer). 

Real World - Management of lal dora land is difficult and banks avoid financing such property due to unclear ownership titles, insufficient documentation and lack of approved maps from the urban local bodies (ULBs). In the early 1900s the British used red (lal) ink to demarcate village residential land from agricultural land in village maps to simplify the tax collection and maintenance of revenue records. Overtime, more people started moving to the cities, and the demand for housing and livelihoods increased. Consequently, the nearby rural settlements - i.e. lal dora villages and its agricultural land - were absorbed within the expanding city boundaries. After independence, the lal dora land often remained outside the scope of city planning. It was exempted from certain building bye-laws, construction norms and regulations, and is officially not registered under a city authority (Srivastava, 2011).

The municipal authorities have limited jurisdiction over this land, and the development of residential and commercial establishments has happened haphazardly. The lal dora lands converted to ‘urban villages’ in several pockets of the city of Delhi, is a common example for the same (Lopes, 2020). Lal dora now remains a virtually unidentifiable line which no longer translates onto the field from the map. With rampant construction the distinction between lal-dora land and private or government-acquired land has dissolved to an extent. Unclear land titles mean that several new housing projects may get into land ownership disputes. 

Foregrounding local level bureaucracy

Movie - The movie subtly showcases the power of the local level bureaucracy by highlighting the role of the ‘lekhpal’. This reflects how the lekhpal, who is a revenue official at the village level, is a powerful functionary in the local political set-up in rural India. Bharat goes to the lekhpal in Khalilabad to get the copy of his property ownership documents. The lekhpal informs Bharat that he has been declared dead on the official documents. Upon his uncle’s request, Bharat’s share of property had been given to his two cousin brothers. This marks the turn of events, where Bharat, after being officially declared ‘dead’ by relatives who stole his ancestral land, fought an 18-year-old war against the fallacy of the bureaucracy, to prove that he is alive. Bharat meets the sarpanch of the village hoping that being a decision-maker, an elected member of the panchayat, and the focal point of contact between government officers and the village community; he would resolve Bharat’s issue and sign a letter stating that he is alive. But the sarpanch says that he does not have the administrative power to undo lekhpal's declaration. Thus, Bharat embarks on a longer struggle to invalidate the ‘sarkari kagaz’ that declared him dead. 

Real World - Local governance is conceptualised in two interlinked perspectives. Firstly, the act and processes of a government body. Secondly, governance from the point of view of ‘deepening democracy’ (Bhide, 2017). The idea of ‘deepening democracy’ is reflected through decentralisation, direct participation, fair representation, and collective action. Local government represents a government that is closest to the people, and where substantive services are delivered to the people directly (Ibid). 

The local level officials are more embedded in their communities, have local knowledge and command in the local area. The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, enacted in 1993 mandated the setting up of municipal governments in urban areas, to be governed by ULBs, namely the Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation, based on the size of the area. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, enacted in 1993 mandated three-tier government for rural areas - Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad. 

While the sarpanch and the lekhpal both operate at the village panchayat level, their roles and responsibility are different. The local level bureaucracy involves institutions and actors in government that are engaged in multi-stakeholder arrangements, decision making, execution and resource allocation for the society. The role of lekhpals/patwaris/tehsildars is of utmost importance in determining land titles, collecting revenue, and maintaining records at the local level. They form a noteworthy part of the bureaucracy closer to the ground. In order to implement national or state-level welfare schemes, including housing schemes, local governments play a crucial role in connecting with the people on the ground and ensuring successful implementation of government schemes. In the implementation of the PMAY scheme, the efforts and significant coordination undertaken by ULBs is highly acknowledged. Local level bureaucracy has been instrumental in carrying out context-specific innovations for implementation of schemes. 

Institutional inertia and unending litigations  

Movie - The following sequences, take Bharat through a never-ending paper chase - sending innumerable request applications to government officials; seeking judicial assistance; press support; and visiting mansions where elected representatives reside. His opportunistic lawyer (Satish Kaushik) is happy about his scapegoat who keeps paying money, out of his savings, for legal support. All the individuals whom he approaches can understand his struggle but cannot offer a sure-shot solution. The lawyer tells Bharat that his problem is not a unique case; there are several others who have been declared dead on paper and have been fighting the legal battle for over 20 years. The judicial systems have shown apathy and negligence towards many such individuals. 

Real World - The land related disputes account for a significant number of all pending court cases in the country. These land disputes include those related to the validity of land titles and records, and rightful ownership. On average the disputes can take about two decades to be resolved. It adds to the burden of the courts, ties up land in litigation, and further impacts sectors and projects that are dependent on these disputed land titles (Mishra and Suhag, 2017). 

A recent study by Gandhi, et.al. (2020) on litigations and real estate, uses data from approximately 3,000 ongoing formal real estate projects in Mumbai and other places in Maharashtra, to show that 27.3 percent of the projects and 42.9 percent of the built-up space is under litigation. The research suggests that average construction time is 8.5 years. The study estimated that litigated projects take approximately 20 percent longer to be completed than non-litigated projects. The increased time escalates the total cost of building by at least 30 percent. The study suggests that policy solutions must focus on high incidence of litigation and high pendency rates in the judiciary. 

Importance of unions and their collective action

Movie - Continuing the struggle, Bharat renames himself - Bharat Lal ‘Mritak’ (the deceased). Subsequently, he finds more people who claim to have been declared dead on paper. He organises them collectively into Akhil Bhartiya Mritak Sangh (All India Deceased Association). They go to the extent of organising a public mass funeral to capture attention to their issue. The association played a significant role in mobilising the people who have faced similar challenges, gathering support from the public, and bringing the issue in the limelight. 

Real World - Unions help to organise a group of people to take collective action in order to protect their rights and improve their lives. Unions aim to negotiate their requirements and establish collective bargaining despite bitter struggle and sacrifices. Acting together propels real change to deal with unfair treatment, discrimination or workplace issues. Historically, labour unions across the world have not only bargained for better working conditions, but also played a role in the development of affordable housing in cities. By expanding the scope of the issues they bargain for, unions have acted as healthy pressure groups in demanding safe housing for their members and the broader public. By engaging in campaigns that confront the domination, unions hope to rebuild power and bargain for housing justice. The diversified landscape of housing also makes it a political question. A group called Students Tenants Union of Delhi actively tried to build a collective to safeguard the interests of students when they were being charged excessive rent or given threat of eviction during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, for such unions to be effective, there is a need for similar unions which speak of the issues of tenants from other vantage points (Pati, 2020). 

Poster of the film showing Pankaj Tripathi (as Bharat Lal) facing the heap of manual property documentation in the record room. 

Photo Courtesy: IMDb

Ill-maintenance of land records

Movie -  Towards the end, the movie reaches the peak of frenzy when Bharat and members of his collective barge into the lekhpal office in an attempt to acquire the paper record of his official death. The poorly lit record room is stacked with red and green soiled bundles of paperwork and manual records, including property records. Over the years, the record room fell into disrepair. The scene depicts the inconvenience in rummaging through the stockpiles to find the correct bundle that includes the required records. 

Real World - Land records consist of various types of information classified as: details of the property (tax documents, rental documents); spatial records (maps, boundary limits); and transaction records (registered sale deeds). The system of land records management varies across states, depending on factors such as historical evolution and local traditions. They are maintained across different departments at the district or village level. These departments work in isolation from others and the data across departments does not get updated properly, resulting in discrepancies in land records. In several cases, the property documents and spatial maps do not match the actual position on the ground (Mishra and Suhag, 2017). 

Poor land records also have an implication on future property transactions. When data is spread across departments and not updated, accessing land records becomes tedious and inconvenient. To study a land record, one must trace back several years of paperwork and manual archives. However, certain initiatives have addressed the need for digitisation of land records. The National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP), approved in 2008 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, was revamped as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) in 2016. It seeks to achieve computerisation and updation of land records and registration; modern record rooms and, land records management centres at tehsil and block level; training and capacity building; and the overall effective programme management. However, the progress has been slow so far. A recent report in 2020, by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), highlights the actual extent of digitisation of land records, the registration process, and the improvements it has brought. 

Adequate and correct documentation defines the legal security of tenure, lays down the right to own, lease, rent, mortgage, dwell on land, housing and property, and protects against forced evictions (Kothari, Karmali and Chaudhry, 2006). 

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Within the story lies the significance of land and property in the lives of people. Land is an essential economic resource - it generates occupation, determines social status, serves as a valuable asset, allows monetisation, and offers substantial socio-economic security. Land tenure security for a household, influences the decisions taken regarding housing developments across the income levels, and has an overall impact on the standard of living for households. The satirical narrative of Bahrat Lal Mritak’s life in Kaagaz, pushes one to imagine the regular life and valuable time which gets lost for hundreds of other individuals who find themselves in the same struggle of a lost identity on official papers. 

References 

1. “Access to Justice Survey.” 2016. Daksh India. https://www.dakshindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Daksh-access-to-justice-survey.pdf. 

2. Bhide, Amita. 2017. “Changing Trajectories of Urban Local Governance.” India International Centre Quarterly 43 (3): 172-183. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26317323. 

3. Gandhi, Sahil, Vaidehi Tandel, Alexander Tabarrok, and Shamika Ravi. 2020. “Too slow for the urban march: Litigations and the real estate market in Mumbai, India.” Journal of Urban Economics 123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2021.103330.  

4. Jain, Vikram, Subhash Chennuri, and Ashish Karamchandani. 2016. “Informal Housing, Inadequate Property Rights: Understanding the Needs of India’s Informal Housing Dwellers.” FSG. https://www.fsg.org/sites/default/files/publications/Informal%20Housing%20Inadequate%20Property%20Rights.pdf. 

5. Kothari, Miloon, Sabrina Karmali, and Shivani Chaudhry. 2006. “The Human Right to Adequate Housing and Land.” National Human Rights Commission. https://nhrc.nic.in/sites/default/files/Housing.pdf. 

6. Lopes, Flavia. 2020. “How Urbanisation Went Wrong in Delhi's Lal Dora Villages.” The Wire. https://thewire.in/urban/delhi-story-urbanisation-gone-wrong-lal-dora-villages-city-periphery. 

7. Mishra, Prachee, and Roopal Suhag. 2017. “Land Records and Titles in India.” PRS Legislative Research. https://prsindia.org/files/policy/policy_analytical_reports/Land%20Records%20and%20Titles%20in%20India.pdf. 

8. Pati, Sushmita. 2019. “The productive fuzziness of land documents: The state and processes of accumulation in urban villages of Delhi.” Contributions to Indian Sociology 53, no. 2 (May). https://doi.org/10.1177/0069966719836884. 

9. Pati, Sushmita. 2020. “The Right Time to Speak of Housing Rights in India is Right Now.” The Wire. (July). https://thewire.in/urban/housing-rights-covid-19-city-space-delhi-mumbai. 

10. Srivastava, Devesh C. 2011. “De-Jargoned: Lal Dora land.” Live Mint.  https://www.livemint.com/Money/MrAubu7jshePgKtI9fSScO/DeJargoned--Lal-Dora-land.html.