The
Movement of INDIA
Free Dr. BINAYAK SEN Vol. 5, Issue 4 January - 2011
` 20/-
News Magazine of National Alliance of People’s Movements
Corporate Crimes
LAVASA Comprehensive Inquiry Must!
of Contemporary India
Disarmament Declaration
Two Decades of Sarvahara Struggle Tributes
L C Jain Surendra Mohan
DANGER of Climate Change
UID: Many Questions Bhagwan Das S R Sankaran
K. G. Kannabiran
The Movement of India
November - December 2010
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We welcome articles, reports, news and analyses relating to people’s issues of livelihood, communities’ right over natural resources, democracy, human rights, justice, sustainability, ecology and the environment. We publish articles that raise concern against injustice (struggle) and those that present alternative experiments and models (reconstruction). Send in subscriptions, sponsorships, donations, and articles to: The Movement of India c/o Clifton D’Rozario, 122/4, Infantry Road, Opp. Infantry Wedding Hall, Bangalore - 560 001, Karnataka (India) Email: movementofindia@gmail.com, Phone: +91 97317 38131 Contributions can be made through Cheques in the name of The Movement of India
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The Movement of India
November - December 2010
Editorial Team
1.
Editorial
4
2.
Lavasa: Comprehensive Inquiry Must!
5
3.
Free Dr. Binayak Sen
7
4.
Corporate Crimes of Contemporary India
11
5.
UID AADHAR: From Homo Sapiens to Homo Numbers
14
6.
Danger of Climate Change
18
7.
CNDP's Delhi Declaration-2010 for Nuclear Disarmament
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Two Decades of the Sarvahara Struggle for Self-Respect: An Introspection
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Tribute - L C Jain
31
8. 9.
S.R. Darapuri Joe Athialy Madhuresh Kumar Mukta Srivastava C. Balakrishnan Clifton D’Rozario Siddharth Narrain Rahul Pandey Adithya
Advisory Team Medha Patkar Aruna Roy Sister Celia S.G. Vombatkere Gabriele Dietrich S.R. Suniti Sandeep Pandey U.R. Ananthamurthy Trilochan Sastry Ajit Sahi Neelabh Mishra
10. Tribute - Surendra Mohan
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11.
Tribute - Bhagwan Das
34
12. Tribute - S R Sankaran
35
13. Tribute - K. G. Kannabiran
38
14. News and Notes from the People’s Movements
41
Magazine Design
15. Release Binayak Sen Campaign Updates
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V. Vinodh Raj
Write to us Two Decades of the Sarvahara
Free Dr.Binayak Sen
Struggle for Self-Respect
Civil Society Protests against Binayak Sen's Sentence
CNDP's DELHI UID AADHAR :
DECLARATION
for
FROM
An Introspection
- 2010
DISARMAMENT
HOMO SAPIENS TO HOMO
Send us your comments on the articles published and your suggestions for improving the quality of
NUMBERS Mukta Srivastava A note from the workshop organized on UID by Anna Mdhikar Abhiyan and TISS ..
Extracts of statement from the Fourth National Convention on the Tenth Anniversary of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), December 2010 …
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movementofindia@gmail.com
The Movement of India
November - December 2010
Editorial Even as this issue goes to the printers, the breaking news is the conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen by the Raipur Additional District and Sessions Court on charges of sedition and waging war against the Indian State and sentencing him to life imprisonment. It is commonly acknowledged that Dr. Binayak Sen is targeted for his brave stand against the Salwa Judum and in exposing the state-sponsored violence against the adivasis in Chattisgarh, all in the name of fighting the naxalites. After being arrested on 14th May 2007, Dr. Binayak Sen languished in jail for two years until a vacation Bench of the Supreme Court in May 2009 released him on bail. During this time of incarceration his bail applications in the Sessions Court and Supreme Court were dismissed, protests and mobilization of thousands for his immediate release intensified, and, Dr. Binayak Sen received the acclaimed Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights! Now Dr. Binayak Sen stands convicted by the Sessions Court and on trumped-up charges placing reliance on concocted documents. The trials of Dr. Binayak Sen are a lesson for all. Without doubt the government is making an example of him. The loud message being sent is stay silent. Dare you try to talk about social justice, human rights and equality. Dare you think it your constitutional and human duty to empathize with the sufferings of the poor and the dispossessed. Dare you expose the unjust economic policies of the state. Dare you organize and support people's struggles against injustice. Dare you raise a voice when the police, the army and its goons rage war against the adivasis, dalits and farmers of this country. The loud and clear message of the state is “Cover your ears, close your eyes and The trials of Dr. Binayak Sen are a lesson shut your mouth”. However, the public outcry for all. Without doubt the government is against the conviction is obvious from the making an example of him. The loud immediate protests and petitions being message being sent is stay silent. Dare you circulated all across the country. But the try to talk about social justice, human people's movements and civil society groups rights and equality. Dare you think it your have taken this as a challenge and come out constitutional and human duty to strongly against this including the NAPM, empathize with the sufferings of the poor MKSS, PUDR, PUCL, HRF, among others. and the dispossessed. Dare you expose the unjust economic policies of the state. The conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen comes at a time when corruption has become a buzzword. Radiagate, CWG, Adarsh Society housing scam, 2G, and other skeletons come tumbling out of the closet. In one of its judgments the Supreme Court had remarked that “Corruption in a civilised society is a disease like cancer, which if not detected in time is sure to malign the polity of country leading to disastrous consequences. It is termed as plague which is not only contagious but, if not controlled, spreads like a fire in a jungle. Its virus is compared with HIV leading to AIDS, being incurable. It has also been termed as Royal thievery. The socio-political system exposed to such a dreaded communicable disease is likely to crumble under its own weight. Corruption is opposed to democracy and social order, being not only anti people, but aimed and targeted against them. It affects the economy and destroys the cultural heritage. Unless nipped in the bud at the earliest, it is likely to cause turbulence shaking of the socio-economic-political system in an otherwise healthy, wealthy, effective and vibrating society.” continued on page 39…
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The Movement of India
November - December 2010
LAVASA
COMPREHENSIVE
INQUIRY MUST !
NAPM's statement on the ongoing Lavasa case which epitomizes the nexus of political-corporate corruption and its impact on the ordinary local people ‌ We welcome the debate in the winter session of the state legislature on the issue of Lavasa project and the acts of omission and commission in it. On the eve of the session, noted social worker Anna Hazare, Medha Patkar and others from the various organisations, opposing the project for the injustice meted out to the community in the area and for the omissions and commissions, had held discussions with the Chief Minister, his colleagues from the cabinet and officials which resulted in a positive response from the state. On December 1, a delegation of representatives of over 5000 oustees of various projects in the state, led by Medha Patkar, had called on the Chief Minister again, where he was explained all issues related to Lavasa. It was
demanded that the state should carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the various acts of omission and commission on part of the government in terms of legal sanctions for the project and that action should be initiated against those found guilty. The irregularities: 1. Not obtaining the Environmental clearance from the central government in spite of it being mandatory, 2. Leasing out for 30 years Krishna Valley Development Corporation owned 129 hectares of land in the Varasgaon and 12 hectares around the Varasgaon lake to Lavasa at Rs. 2,75,000.00 annual lease amount illegally, 3. Violation of terms and conditions in transfer of 609 hectares of land to Lavasa, which was originally allotted to landless (including majority of Katkari tribals), and making these tribals and other landless again, 4. Swindling of local farmers in various land deals, 5. Making Lavasa the Special Planning Authority for the region. Apart from these, the issues of exemption in stampduty, permission to cut trees, permission to cut-down hills,
various permissions about the construction (1+5 floors, relaxation in ratio of slope, global FSI) are also crucial in terms of the rapid speed with which the government agencies, in tandem with Lavasa, worked in the interest of this project. It was demanded that the causes of this 'over-efficient' government action be inquired into and the effects of the same be assessed and till then the work be stopped since it was damaging the fragile ecosystem of a river basin. The Chief Minister took the stand that since the Union Environment Ministry has already issued orders to stop the work, there was no need to issue fresh and separate directives to the same effect. However, he had assured that an inquiry would be conducted in next three months into these issues. We expect that the Chief Minister honours his assurance. Storm in the Legislature Mr. Devendra Phadnavis, MLA of Bharatiya Janata Party and other members of legislative assembly brought to light who the real power behind the project is on the basis of a meeting held in Lavasa in 2007.
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It shows that not only political patronage is behind the project, but these very elements have INTERESTS in the project. We are regret that the Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, in his response to the debate, praised Sharad Pawar, who 'dreamt' of the project, for bringing in investment in the state. Is Rane forgetting that the project is going to benefit Pawar by destroying the communities in the fragile ecosystems of Western Ghat? Rane says that the tribals will be paid cash compensation. It is clear from this that he does not know anything about the tribal way of life as well as their life-beliefs and he is simply interested in pushing forward his political interests by exploiting the lacunae in the Lavasa. Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat assured to inquire into the issue of transfer of Krishna Valley lands and also to return the tribal lands, which is a welcome step; but at the same time it should not be forgotten that the other landholders of seiling land are basically landless and hence a question needs an answer: how could the government transfer their lands to Lavasa? Moreover, these issues should not be looked in a piecemeal fashion and from the perspective of regularising the irregularities by exploiting exceptional legal provisions, but comprehensively as a scam involving a “package� of acts of omission and commission interrelated to each other and an inquiry
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November - December 2010
needs to be conducted and till then the work must be stopped. Environment Ministry's laudable stand In the meanwhile, we also welcome the tough stand of the union environment ministry over the issue. The Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh had earlier on November 23 tried to be familiar with the issues in a meeting with the delegates of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM). He had then initiated immediate steps and on November 25 issued a show-cause-notice to Lavasa and asked it to stop work. The company then proceeded to the Mumbai High Court against the notice and the high court directed it back to the environment ministry to present its case. On December 9, at a meeting at the ministry, the company, instead of responding to the issue of not obtaining the mandatory clearance from the union environment ministry, gave a presentation on what it is doing for the conservation of environment in the Mose valley. Annoyed by this the ministry had asked it to answer to the main question of environmental clearance before December 10. Medha Patkar, Suniti S R and Dr. Vishwambhar Chaudhari strongly presented the case of NAPM. The ministry ordered the continuance of the status quo in the valley sought time till December 31 for arriving
completing the inquiry and arriving at a final decision. In the meantime, it will have hearing on the matter on December 22. On December 16, the Mumbai High Court had hearing of the matter, during which the Lavasa City Corporation requested for permission to carry out construction works in an area of 41 acres. The high court asked the company to submit a list of such constructions if it is ready to carry out the same on its own risk; if it's impacts on environment remained at the lowest and the work be carried out under the supervision of the ministry of Environment. The High Court asked the company to submit the list of work by December 21. It also asked the company to keep all the works stopped till then. Adv. Y. P. Singh, representing the NAPM argued that since the project in its entirety itself is illegal it should not be allowed further construction. He also requested the court to note that the project is another example of blatant corruption like the case of 'Adarsh'. S u n i t i S R , Vi s h w a m b h a r Chaudhari, Prasad Bagwe, Rifat Mumtaj, Dnyaneshwar Shedge andolan.napm@gmail.com
The Movement of India
November - December 2010
Free Dr.Binayak Sen Civil Society Protests against Binayak Sen's Sentence
Civil Society condemns the fraudulent punishment against Dr.Binayak Sen
W
e are shocked and pained to hear that the District and Sessions court in Raipur has charged Dr. Binayak Sen of sedition, treason and conspiracy against the State leading to life imprisonment. This is no judgment but rather a viciously motivated and unjust punishment to a non-violent human rights activist who has been challenging injustice and violation of people's rights. It is obviously politically motivated and aimed at threatening any and every struggle by adivasis and other vulnerable sections of our society. It's a cruel blow to the democratic fabric of our country wherein the corporatised State and its position against the natural resource based communities is reflected
in an illegitimate way to suppress the challenge. Knowing Dr. Binayak Sen, the pediatrician, as a patriot with commitment to protection of human rights and known to be a gentle human being, there is no doubt that it is the same fraudulent 'proof ' and process that has led to such a condemnable contempt of people's struggles in this country. Having experienced the dealings of the BJP Government in Chhattisgarh, whether through Salwa Judum or through the black act in the name of security of the State, it is obvious that having failed in assuring the tribal society of ensuring peace, the Raman Singh Government and its agencies have resorted to unconstitutional means to suppress Dr. Sen and others
who represent patriotism and not sedition. We, the peaceful people's movements, should take a clue and get ready to lodge a stronger struggle nationwide against the violence by any pillar of the State. If not today, it would be never. Medha Patkar, Madhuresh Kumar, Arundhati Dhuru, Simprit Singh, Suhas Kolhekar, Suniti S.R. National Alliance of People's M o v e m e n t s , napmindia@gmail.com
Extracts of statement by People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL)‌ The PUCL holds that Dr Binayak Sen is a victim of the vendetta of the Chhattisgarh government for his bold and principled opposition to state sponsored vigilante operation
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Salwa Judum, which has been held unacceptable even by the Supreme Court. His conviction is one more example of the state succeeding in securing the conviction of an innocent person on the basis of false evidence. It is an occasion for the nation to demand drastic reform of the criminal justice system to ensure that it is not manipu-
Extracts of statement by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Rajasthan… We are deeply disturbed by the judgment of the Raipur Additional District and Sessions Court convicting Dr. Binayak Sen on charges of sedition, treason and conspiracy against the state and
November - December 2010
Extracts of statement by Human Rights Forum (HRF), Hyderabad… The Human Rights Forum (HRF) expresses shock and outrage at the sentencing to life of Dr Binayak Sen by the Raipur District and Sessions Court on Friday. The HRF joins human rights activists across the country and all those who cherish democracy in condemning this travesty of justice. We demand that all charges against Binayak Sen be dropped and he be released. VS Krishna, (HRF State general secretary), S Jeevan Kumar (HRF State president)
lated by the state to persecute, prosecute and victimize innocent persons. The PUCL will continue to work towards Dr. Binayak Sen's release and take all legal measures in this regard. It will also work towards building public opinion against the ongoing persecution of activists and Human Rights Defenders in the country. Prabhakar Sinha (President), Pushkar Raj (General Secretary), Mahipal Singh (National Secretary), Kavita Srivastava (National Secretary), PUCL kavisriv@gmail.com
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sentencing him to life imprisonment. We believe that the trial of the eminent and committed human rights activist was not fair and that this is a miscarriage of justice. We hope that the higher judiciary will grant him immediate release and ensure that no further harm is done to him and the human rights movement. We will support all efforts to obtain justice for Dr. Binayak Sen. Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh and the MKSS collective mkssrajasthan@gmail.com
Extracts from the Monthly Review's MR Zine… Tribal lands are the most sought after resources now. They are forested, rich with mineral resources (80 per cent of India's minerals and 70 per cent of forests are within tribal areas) and also the site of significant plans for industrial growth. Within a few years of its inception in the year 2000, the state of Chhattisgarh entered into 53 memoranda of understanding with international and Indian companies. According to official report, 9,620 hectares (23,774 acres) of land is already under the process of acquisition. There is demand for more and more land and forest areas. The entire process is the very opposite of planned rational industrialisation: it is a
The Movement of India
mad rush to seize what can be seized. And all these "plans for development" are to be implemented in a state where 32% of the state's population is tribal, classified as indigenous people. But there has been vigorous resistance to the theft
and BJP politicians, it was presented to a non-critical media as a spontaneous reaction to supposed Maoist oppression. But quickly reports began to seep out of the forcible emptying out of villages, and of atrocities committed by members of the Salwa Judum and security
of land for strip mines, five star hotels, and golf courses, in short to the "India Shining" world of the top ten percent spitting on the misery of the majority. The response of the state and of the union government to this resistance has been brutality of obscene proportions. The centerpiece of the governmental response has been the creation of a U.S.model "counter-insurgency" vigilante group with adivasi participation, known as Salwa Judum. Created in June 2005 in the impoverished Dantewada District by the security services with the participation of both Congress
forces. A fourteen-member team from five organizations conducted an investigation between 28 November and 1 December 2005 in Bijapur and Bhairamgarh blocks of Dantewada district, focusing specifically on the violation of human rights and the impact on people's everyday lives. The organisations were: People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Chhattisgarh, People's Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL) Jharkhand, People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) Delhi, Association for the Protection of Democratic
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Rights (APDR) West Bengal, and Indian Association of People's Lawyers (IAPL). On the basis of the fact-finding, three facts stood out strongly: (i) Salwa Judum is not a spontaneous people's movement, but a stateorganized anti-insurgency campaign, (ii) It is misleading to describe the situation as simply one where ordinary villagers are caught between the Maoists and the military. It was difficult for the government to isolate the Maoists, and the government has resorted to clearing villages on a large scale. Tens of thousands of people are now refugees in temporary roadside camps, (iii) The entire operation, instead of being a "peace mission" as the name "Salwa Judum" claims, has escalated violence on all sides. The People's Union for Civil Liberties - Chhattisgarh has demanded enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in all extra-judicial killings in Chhattisgarh since 2005. The pattern that has developed has many of the indicia of fascism: a stateorganised private militia murdering opponents; apparent complicity in a reign of terror by both state and union security forces; what appears to be impunity granted by the judiciary; the active complicity of large capital; and now the brazen arrest of a nationally known and
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This is no judgment but rather a viciously motivated and unjust punishment to a nonviolent human rights activist who has been challenging injustice and violation of people's rights. Having failed in assuring the tribal society of ensuring peace, the Raman Singh Government and its agencies have resorted to unconstitutional means to suppress Dr. Sen and others who represent patriotism and not sedition.
respected advocate of peace and civil liberties who dared to expose and to protest, Dr. Binayak Sen. http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/ 2007/amr140607.html
Extracts from a petition, addressed to the President of India, organised on the internet by the 'Free Dr Binayak Sen Campaign'‌ We, the undersigned are shocked at the conviction of well-known public health doctor and human rights worker Dr. Binayak Sen by a Raipur Sessions Court on charges of 'sedition' and 'waging war against the Indian State'. We call upon the higher Indian judiciary to uphold principles of law, justice and the rights
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enshrined in the Indian Constitution and undo the severe damage done to the reputation of the judiciary itself through the Raipur court's flawed judgment. The charges against Dr. Sen, of allegedly aiding outlawed Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh, have not been corroborated by any of the witnesses or evidence produced in court so far. On the contrary there have been numerous instances of the prosecution resorting to use of fabricated documents and contradictory testimonies to press its case. We further believe that the charges against Dr. Sen, made under draconian 'anti-terrorist' laws, are trumped up and intended to 'punish' him for his outspoken criticism of the Chhattisgarh government for its human rights violations against its own tribal populations. That the world's largest
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democratic country cannot tolerate criticism and nonviolent human rights activism is a matter of shame to Indian citizens everywhere and this attitude of intolerance needs to be roundly condemned. Such low quality of justice, routinely delivered in our courts, is indeed itself a threat to Indian democracy. Not only should Dr. Sen be released immediately from imprisonment and charges withdrawn, there needs to be a thorough inquiry against all those who have framed him so maliciously. We also demand adequate compensation to Dr. Sen for being deprived of his basic freedoms and his family for being subjected to the most inhumane mental torture and persecution. http://www.petitiononline.com/se n2010/petition.html
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Corporate
Crimes INDIA
OF CONTEMPORARY
Rajani Chillamcharla reports from a seminar of NAPM – AP Chapter…
I
ndia Shining” – this opinion certainly shattered for those who attended the seminar “Corporate crimes in contemporary India” conducted by NAPM, AP chapter, on Saturday Sep 4th 2010 in Hyderabad. It became quite clear that the glitter and pomp that India is showing off today is
certainly on top of the carcasses of the poor and hungry. It is shameful how the so called Spirituality that our country is famous for is nowhere to be seen in the actions or the conscience of the leaders or the educated corporate snobs. What all speakers were saying at the seminar were
November - December 2010
different examples of the effects of the above flow of affairs in the country. It surely looked like Governments and Corporations will go to any extent to achieve the above with Media as its facilitator. Naturally with the above system in place the resistances have sporadically come into picture and that's what was shown at the seminar. Ms. Dayamani Barla from Jharkhand is a passionate speaker emanating with energy who doesn't need a microphone. Her effort along with the other activists to save Jharkhand from a couple of steel giants like Arcelor Mittal is incredible. Their slogan “Ek inch Zameen nahee denge” speaks for itself of their assertiveness. It seems impossible for a by- stander to imagine impeding all the plans of corporate giants and the Government working together –against all threats, temptations and others! But the people of Jharkhand have proved that they will not be stomped by any selfish predators. Ms. Yasmeen, a teenage girl from 'Children against Dow chemicals', who was not even born at the time of the great Bhopal gas tragedy, spoke about the insensitivity of the Government in heeding to their plea of providing them safe drinking water free of MIC gas and justice for the incident. I guess the word shame falls short when we talk about what “rehabilitation” Government has done for its
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Government Money to those few politicians and officials who facilitate the things (politicians and officials) mentioned below
Corporates
? Power to exploit anything and everything – people, land,
water, etc. ? Remove everything that comes in the way of achieving
whatever their “objective” is for “development” ? Concessions – tax concessions; bank loans, amendments
in policies and bills, highways for easy exploitation, etc.
victims and the future generations to come. The highlight here was not what the Government has done or not done for them, but the perseverance, hope and the zeal these children are showing not only for seeking justice but also hoping for a bright future. Mr. J V Ratnam very clearly elucidated the exploitation of land and natural resources by the corporations with support and grants from the Govt. He very rightly questioned how the Government can let Anrak Aluminium run its business that will deplete water resources in three perennial rivers, deprive water for cultivation of 6 lakh acres in 40 villages, and affect drinking water supply to Vizag city. All the above, along with 26 concessions and 2 highways are handed to them on a silver
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platter. Interestingly the Government officially will have no money coming from this company for the next 10 years! Another interesting fact is that the people living in the same region have been requesting for a reservoir in Bachupally since the past twenty years but that has not happened. But now the Government has started this project to provide water for the company. Most disheartening story o f t h e d a y, d i s p l a y i n g extremely shameful and sorry state of affairs was about Sompeta firings. The issue was presented by Thammineni Ramarao, a member of the campaign against the Nagarjuna Construction Company's (NCC) Thermal Power Plant. It was appalling to see that everyone from the local revenue officials to the Ministry of Environment and
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Forests have botched the facts, to facilitate clearances for this project which was being set up in Wetlands. The videos shown were reminiscent of the time India was under British rule. Our police men who are supposed to protect the rightful owners of the land were behaving as hired gundas of the company to forcefully acquire the land from them. The supposed enforcers of the constitution were behaving unconstitutionally. It was perplexing to see how TV Media tweaked the news to suit NCC's needs. Mr. Prafulla Samantra from Orissa spoke about the dreadful status of the mining districts which are the poorest in the country and the reasons of their poverty. It was startling to know that the Most disheartening story of the day, displaying extremely shameful and sorry state of affairs was about Sompeta firings. The issue was presented by Thammineni Ramarao, a member of the campaign against the Nagarjuna Construction Company's (NCC) Thermal Power Plant. It was appalling to see that everyone from the local revenue officials to the Ministry of Environment and Forests have botched the facts, to facilitate clearances for this project which was being set up in Wetlands. The videos shown were reminiscent of the time India was under British rule.
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people there were paid the same price they were paid since past few decades and currently it stands that they were getting less than one tenth of what the company was making. Not only that but a lot of these mining companies violate all forest and environment protection laws with no one to question them. It is simply that when one questions they have this fund separately for the development of the community which quantifies to nothing for them and then go on to exploit everything as they wish. To me Mr. Simpreet Singh's talk was the most entertaining. He showed how the demeanor of these corporates and the Government together is so ridiculous that it just was funny. It seems that for the home owners who were towed out of Mumbai city as they came in the way of “development” of the city with their sky scrapers and roads. Some land was allotted near IIT Mumbai in the name of rehabilitation. Obviously that land was never given to them but to a famous builder – Hiranandani, for amazing low price of 40 paise per acre, lot of people there could not stop laughing. He very rightly questions, who is the encroacher -the slum dweller
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or the Govt? When Ghar bachao Ghar banao organization started to dig and see if something can be done about this, not to their surprise they found that many politicians, media buffs and others were having flats in that complex – the so called heaven on earth as they called it! Yeah sure let them enjoy it because that's the only heaven they are going to see!
he stood up for tribal children in a few hostels. All these and other great speakers that day were saying more or less the same thing – the status quo will continue, unless the resistance becomes stronger. Now there is no other way but to let the powers that be know that there are people who will question their actions and that they cannot continue doing what they are used to doing.
Mr. Joe Athialy shared how a French company called Lafarge was exploiting all natural resources in Meghalaya to manufacture cement in Bangladesh. Mr. C. Ramchandraiah annotated the Satyam Maytas scam. An activist from Dantewada construed the kind of difficulties he had to face when
Rajani Chillamcharla is a B.E. g r a d u a t e f ro m O s m a n i a University with seven years of software industry experience in India and in the US, and has recently moved back to India. rajjo_24@yahoo.com
The glitter and pomp that India is showing off today is certainly on top of the carcasses of the poor and hungry. Governments and Corporations will go to any extent to achieve the above with Media as its facilitator. With the above system in place the resistances have sporadically come into picture and that's what was shown at the seminar.
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November - December 2010
UID AADHAR :
From Homo Sapiens to Homo Numbers Mukta Srivastava A note from the workshop organized on UID by Anna Mdhikar Abhiyan and TISS ..
A
serious, wide ranging debate has begun about the Aadhaar scheme which proposes to assign each Indian resident a unique 12-digit number under the high-profile National UID project initiated in 2009. Several issues have been surfacing in this context: will UID not make governance more centralized? Will it not encroach on citizen's privacy? Or will it be really progressive, helpful and wipe out corruption in the public services like PDS and NREGS? What kind of information do we have to give to UID? Is UID compulsory? Is the information voluntary or compulsory? What should be our collective response to the UID? Doesn't such a move
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centralize the Administration instead of decentralizing it? These were some of the questions that were explored during the workshop organized by Anna Adhikar Abhiyan and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on October 8th facilitated by Prof. Mahesh Kamle from TISS. The key speakers were technical expert Dr. Samir Kelekar (a PhD from Columbia University, New York, Founder director of Teknotrends Software Pvt. Ltd that does cutting-edge work in the area of network security) and Dr. Ramkumar (a faculty member at TISS). Despite persistent efforts by organizers to contact Mr Nandan Nilekeni, and other high officials of UAID, and seek
their participation to make this debate more broad based, it was regretfully ignored. The Global Experience with UIDs Prof. Ramkumar set the ball rolling by bringing to forum the international experience with UIDs. Australia introduced unique identity in 1986 to check illegal migration and reduce tax evasion but the move was opposed by the citizen's groups on the ground that it will violate their privacy and civil liberty. Later other countries like Canada, New Zealand and Philippines tried to introduce the same bill but failed due to the public backlash. The scheme was withdrawn in all these
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countries. The introduction of such scheme in USA and UK generated serious debates and finally collapsed even before they took off. History of UID in India It was during the NDA regime (1999-2004) that the idea of issuing unique ID cards to Indian Citizens was initiated. The context was the Kargil war and the perceived threat to the internal security due to illegal migration at the border. When the UPA Government came to power, the idea was converted into a concrete plan with a new name. Thus UID Project began in January 2009 with a more broad-based agenda including better targeting for services and other developmental schemes, security purposes, banking and financial activities. Soon thereafter Nandan Nilekani Joined as the chairperson of UIDAI (Unique Identity Authority of India) and the project got a high level of credibility and media attention. By now, UID is perceived as a magic wand to eliminate corruption from PDS and NREGA, and to ensure financial inclusion. Stated Intent vs. Reality Dr. Kelekar pooh-poohed idea that UID has been launched to plug the loop holes in government services such as PDS and NREGA as claimed by the proponents. According to him the real intent is National Security with focus
on easy checking of Identity. He feared that all personal data of citizens will be sold in the open market due to centralization of data. Other areas of misuse will be stigmatization of people
November - December 2010 ? Fingerprints may change
due to hard labour ? Lack of finger printing for
disabled people ? Database can be hacked ? Fingerprints can be faked
and aid stolen ? Authentication can be
beaten ? Biometric cannot be
suffering from certain diseases and the rampant marketing of various products by companies. Following concerns and skepticisms were raised during the workshop in relation to UID as per the stated objectives and claims: 1. Vulnerability arising out of Personal Data Convergence 2. Limitations in Use of Biometrics ? There is no concrete basis to prove that fingerprints are indeed unique. ? Change in finger prints of the person changing over a period of time
reliable when used in remote areas ? Backup copies can be stolen and data manipulated ? Digital images of biometric can be stole Issues of Privacy There is a possibility of grave misuse of personal information and human rights violation if UID is extended to the social services which are being increasingly privatized in India. Ironically, the government is issuing UID without the Privacy Bill being passed in the parliament. How would any citizen protect oneself from the real threat of misuse of the personal information under such circumstances? Technological fixes to social problem - PDS, NREGS It is not due to problem of identity that the ration and other services do not reach the poor and needy but it is the power structure which is responsible. Only in 8-10% cases, there is a leakage due to fake or bogus card and in 90 % cases if people do not access PDS it is the corruption and power structure which is responsible for the leakage.
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Therefore the issuance of a 12digit number to the poor will hardly result in them accessing cheap food. UID is claimed to make simple cash transfer possible for PDS in indirect way to replace the present PDS system and eliminate the PDS shops. However the studies of various countries such as Jamaica show that cash transfer is not an efficient substitute for PDS. In a country where women take care of household management and place their priorities on food, once food is converted into cash the spending power is not in the hands of women in most cases. It is not necessary that the disbursed cash will be used for food. It could also be used for non-food items such as alcohol. Another doubtful claim by the government is that UID will lead to financial inclusion for beneficiaries of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). But again, this does not make sense because 83% already have bank accounts. Yet the systemic thefts remain a deeper concern, which will not be addressed by UID. Concern Regarding the UID processes itself Dr. Samir Kelekar raised various issues regarding the implementation of scheme itself. · No Cost - Benefit Analysis: About 45000 crores are being spent just for
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providing the UID number to citizens, not counting the costs involved in setting up verification systems at various places. However, no cost benefit analysis of the UID has been carried out by the government and placed in the public domain. · No Impact Assessment: There has been no impact assessment for such massive scheme. · No Feasibility Study: How the system will work in remote areas, what about the places with no electricity? From where the installation cost will be met? What about the accuracy in case of massive implementation and other various studies required for the project? Human Rights Violation, Discrimination As discussed earlier, the centralized database could easily be linked with other databases such as that of LIC Since UID is heading t o w a r d s m o r e centralization and less d e m o c r a c y, m o re encroachment on private spaces and less liberty, it is a matter of great concern. The IT revolution which was meant for empowering people and decentralizing governance, has been used for the opposite purpose of centralization of information in case of UID.
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or Police, leading to the risk of “Functionality Creep”. There is every possibility of error on verification of fingerprints, amounting to harassment and implication for innocent citizens. This will accentuate the human rights violation in a country where there is hardly any respect for human rights. Dr. Kelekar lamented that the IT revolution which was meant for empowering people and decentralizing governance, has been used for the opposite purpose of centralization of information in case of UID. It has the potential of being misused by the government to target particular communities for harassment. In view of the above, Anna Adhikar Abhiyan demands that UID should not be implemented without proper debate at various public forums. Full disclosure should be made about the scheme and its implications. Since UID is heading towards more centralization and less democracy, more encroachment on private spaces and less liberty, it is a matter of great concern. We the Homo Sapiens who aimed at being more humane have been reduced to Homo Economus in the capitalist society and now globalization is reducing us further to mere Homo Numbers. Is this a “Progress”, “Development” or “Regression”? Mukta Srivastava is Convenor, Anna Adhikar Abhiyan and member of NAPM. muktaliberated@gmail.com
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Unique Facility or Recipe for Trouble? Jean Drèze Extracts from The Hindu, November 25, 2010 … 'A half-truth’ When the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) tells us that the UID data (the “Central Identities Data Repository”) will be safe and confidential, it is a half-truth. The confidentiality of the Repository itself is not a minor issue, considering that UIDAI can authorise “any entity” to maintain it, and that it can be accessed not only by intelligence agencies but also by any Ministry. But more important, the UID will help integrate vast amounts of personal data, that are
available to government agencies with few restrictions. Confidentiality is not the only half-truth propagated by UIDAI. Another one is that Aadhaar is not compulsory — it is just a voluntary “facility.” UIDAI's concept note stresses that “enrolment will not be mandated.” But there is a catch: “... benefits and services that are linked to the UID will ensure demand for the number.” This is like selling bottled water in a village after poisoning the well, and claiming that people are buying water voluntarily. The next sentence is also ominous: “This will not, however, preclude governments or Registrars from mandating enrolment.” That UID is, in effect, going to be compulsory is clear from many other documents like the Planning Commission's proposal for the National Food Security Act and UIDAI's concept note on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). The enrolment process, however, is all set to be a hit-or-miss affair, with no guarantee of timely and hassle-free inclusion. UIDAI hopes to enrol 600 million people in the next four years. That is about half of India's population in the next four years. What about the other half? Nor is there any guarantee of reliability. Anyone familiar with the way things work in rural India would expect the UID database to be full of errors.
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The danger The biggest danger of UID, however, lies in a restriction of civil liberties. As one observer aptly put it, Aadhaar is creating “the infrastructure of authoritarianism” — an unprecedented degree of state surveillance (and potential control) of citizens. This infrastructure may or may not be used for sinister designs. But can we take a chance, in a country where state agencies have such an awful record of arbitrariness, brutality and impunity? Ordinary citizens, for their part, are powerless: they have no right to a UID number except on NIDAI's terms, no right to correction of inaccurate data, and — last but not least — no specific means to redress grievances. In fact, believe it or not, the Bill states (in Section 46) that “no court shall take cognisance of any offence punishable under this Act” except based on a complaint authorised by NIDAI. So, is UID a facility or a calamity? It depends for whom. For the intelligence agencies, bank managers, the corporate sector, and NIDAI, it will be a facility and a blessing. For ordinary citizens, especially the poor and marginalised, it could well be a calamity. Jean Drèze is Visiting Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Allahabad and Member of the National Advisory Council.
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Sanjay M Gopal
T
he problem with Global warming is that it throws the seasons and the climate out of gear, creating droughts and floods and thus crop failures, creating food and water insecurity, affecting mostly the masses of poor people in developing countries, who are directly depending on the resource base. This reality is not sufficiently perceived in the s o - c a l l e d "deve
loped" countries and therefore people have bought into the myth-making of the corporate lobby and the fundamentalists that global warming does not really exist. This denial of the reality is extremely dangerous and must be unmasked. We can tackle realities only if we face them. Adverse impacts of climate change • Nine of the hottest years recorded in more than a century have o c c u r r e d since 1988. •J u l y 1 9 9 8 was the hottest
Danger of
Climate Cha n
m o n t h
ge
In the backdrop of the recently concluded Conference of Parties at Cancun in December 2010, this is a timely and brief introduction about the dangers of climate change
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worldwide • In 1998, India experienced worst hot spell in 50 years, taking toll of about 3000 lives • The tropical cyclone hit Orissa in 1999 taking toll of about 10,000 lives • Himalayan glaciers are retreating at a rate of about 18 meters/year in Gangotri • Intensification of green house gas (GHGs) emissions such as Carbon Dioxide and Methane in the atmosphere, with sharp increase in carbon emissions What is stored in the future? • Due to almost double Carbon Dioxide emissions, India could be warmer by 2.33 to 4.78°C ? Lower rainfall and more evaporation leading to water shortages impacting - agriculture, farmers, farm workers - forests, forest dwellers, tribals - coastal areas and fisher people - Sea level rise affecting - Farmers and farm workers, - Fisheries and fish workers, especially on the east coast • In general, health problems for all What are the root cause of climate change and other environmental issues of the South? The root cause of global warming is the untenable
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development paradigm of unlimited growth, which has led to disproportionate squandering of non-renewable natural resources and has even made renewable resources like forests and water to recede and disappear at an alarming pace, including also rapid species death and depletion of biodiversity. This not only leads to resource crunch and unmanageable levels of waste and pollution, it also affects future generations in irresponsible and alarming ways. The ruling classes in the developing world are co-opted into this disastrous paradigm through geo-political pressures and military considerations and through the attractions of consumerism and fancy life styles. Thus, ordinary peoples' right to life and livelihood is violated all along, militarization is on the rise and democracy is disintegrating. What message would you give to people of the U.S. about what should be done? It is most important to understand and admit that global warming is real and not a rumour planted by leftist subversives or terrorists. One of the most important aspects is the struggle to find renewable, decentralized energy options, as huge amounts of energy get wasted in transmission. It is also crucial to understand that nuclear energy is neither safe nor economically viable and only gets promoted because of
its connection with weapons production. Thus, working for disarmament, decentralized renewable energy, food security and water security through people's movements with broad participation, is a need worldwide. "War on Terror" and unlimited growth as center-pieces of capitalist imperial designs are a safe recipe for disaster. How can we build solidarity with people around climate change? In India many major struggles are going on against big dams, SEZs, thermal The root cause of global warming is the development paradigm of unlimited growth which has led to disproportionate squandering of nonrenewable natural resources. The ruling classes in the developing world are co-opted into this disastrous paradigm through geo-political pressures and military considerations and through the attractions of consumerist life styles. power plants, nuclear plants and land grabbing by corporates. People are struggling against all odds with great courage and tenacity over decades trying to protect food security, land and water rights and right to work. I think there is a vast
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information gap regarding the aspirations and partial victories of such movements and ignorance about their visions for the future. Even in our Indian political reality there is vast under-reporting of what is going on at the ground level. There is also a lot of suppression and violation of human rights going on. It is time to realize that the American Dream of individualist competition has turned out to be a global nightmare paving the way towards disaster. It is high time to open the mind for other visions which have been promoted in the people's struggles led by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Ram Manohar Lohia, Rosa Luxemburg, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and innumerable ordinary people who are giving their lives for a livable future, in which social justice and harmony with nature can be realized and human relations can be led by mutual respect, love and solidarity leading to new heights of creativity, far beyond consumerism and technological fixes. The working classes of different countries, the women, the marginalized, the young and the old of different nations need to learn to fearlessly reach out towards each other and learn to live in sustainable ways. Sanjay M Gopal is an activist and founder member of NAPM. sanjay.mangalagopal@gmail.com
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CNDP’s Delhi
Declaration
for
November - December 2010
- 2010
Disarmament
Extracts of statement from the Fourth National Convention on the Tenth Anniversary of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), December 2010 ‌
T
he Fourth National Convention of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), India, was held from 10th to 12th December 2010 in Delhi. The CNDP was founded to give focus and direction to the anger and concerns that emerged out of the spontaneous nationwide protests against the May 1998 nuclear weapon tests conducted by India and followed by Pakistan. CNDP opposes possession of nuclear weapons by any country
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including India and is wholly committed to seeking the complete elimination of the existing stockpile of nuclear weapons at the global as well as regional level. CNDP is also dedicated to championing the cause of world peace by striving for general and complete disarmament worldwide. The assembled delegates, representing the peace movements in India and coming from various corners of the country, reaffirmed their conviction in that "Nuclear
weapons are means of mass destruction regardless of who wields them. They are weapons of genocide. They can impose horrendous suffering on victims across generations. They destroy the ecosystem. The damage they do is lasting and incurable. The sheer scale and character of the devastation they can cause makes them a profound and distinctive evil. For this and other reasons, the possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons is absolutely immoral."
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Despite much opposition from the peace movements, the rulers of India and Pakistan – two resource-starved countries – persist with their pernicious nuclear weapons programmes, which are a tragic diversion from addressing vital social needs. Although there have been no further nuclear tests since 1998, the continuing testflights of Agni and Hatf missiles show that the mindless race between them f o r p e r f e c t i n g n u c l e a rweapon-tipped missiles goes on unabated. An alarming recent development has been the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal. Earlier, on 01 August 2008, the IAEA had approved the safeguards agreement with India after which the U.S. approached the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to grant a waiver to India to commence civilian nuclear
trade. The 45-nation NSG granted the waiver to India on 06 September 2008 allowing it to access civilian nuclear technology and fuel from other countries. The implementation of this waiver makes India the only known country with nuclear weapons, which is not a party to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT) but is still allowed to carry out nuclear commerce with the rest of the world. The granting of such a waiver to a non-NPT nation shows up yet again the deep hypocrisy of the Nuclear We a p o n S t a t e s ( N W S ) recognized by the NPT on the entire issue. The nuclear deal, on the one hand, severely undermines the prospects of global nuclear disarmament by (selectively and arbitrarily) legitimizing India's nuclear status and, in the process, the possession of nuclear weapons by the
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Nuclear weapons are means of mass d e s t r u c t i o n regardless of who wields them. They are weapons of genocide. They can impose horrendous suffering on victims across generations. They destroy the ecosystem. For this and other reasons, the possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons is absolutely immoral. existing NWS – both so-called “recognized” and “unrecognized” ones – and also the aspirations of other actual and potential aspirants. On the other, it would also further intensify the arms race between India and Pakistan – both nuclear and conventional. Pakistan, in fact, made a strong plea for a similar deal. And the brusque refusal by the U.S. would only further inflame its passions and thereby turn the dangerous nuclear mess in South Asia all the more dangerous. Furthermore, the consequent shift in focus in favour of highly expensive nuclear power will significantly distort India's energy options at the cost of efforts to develop environmentally benign and renewable sources of energy. This deal is also an utterly
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November - December 2010
the local people. Most of the people around the region have refused the compensation offered by the Maharashtra government. Showing their opposition to the nuclear power plant, over 3000 people voluntarily risked jail and they have been joined by prominent figures such as former High Court judge B. G. Kolse-Patil, Admiral L. Ramdas and retired Supreme Court Judge P. B. Samant. The Indian government is once again putting the profits of foreign companies above the interests of it's own people. Instead of putting people at risk we can provide safe electricity at a cheaper cost and much faster with decentralised renewable energy. reprehensible move to bring India closer to the U.S. orbit as a regional ally to facilitate execution of its global imperial ambitions. The CNDP remains unwavering in its consistent and high-pitched opposition to this deal. Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) cndpindia@gmail.com
Put India Lives above Foreign Profits Extracts from a public campaign coordinated by Greenepeace ‌ Last week over 600 people were arrested for standing up for their rights to live and work in safe surroundings. Over 2320 acres of land is being
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acquired by the Maharashtra government for Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to build 6 mega nuclear reactors in Ratnagiri district. Protests have been suppressed using police violence and false charges. The NPCIL is planning to import expensive and unsafe nuclear reactors from French company, Areva. US and European nuclear regulators have identified severe flaws in the reactor and they have not approved the design. Over 2000 people will lose their land and over 10,000 people will have their health and livelihood affected due to this plant. Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh has the power to stop the import of dangerous nuclear reactors and listen to the concerns of
Greenepeace is raising awareness and running a campaign to mobilize public opinion. For detail, visit: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/ en/Tell-manmohan-singh-to-stopimport-of-untested-nuclearreactors/
The Indian government is once again putting the profits of f o reig n co m p a n ies above the interests of it's own people. Instead of putting people at risk we can provide safe electricity at a cheaper cost and much faster with decentralised renewable energy.
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November - December 2010
Two Decades of the Sarvahara
Struggle for Self-Respect Ulka Mahajan
T
wo decades is a long time in anyone's life, by any standards; but when I look back at the milestones of the Sarvahara Jana Andolan over the last two decades, I wonder at how time flies! As an activist from the main cadre of an organization that was built on the strength of the katkari adivasi tribe in the southern part of Raigad district, introspection into these twenty years brings forth to mind a veritable kaleidoscopic panorama of achievements and limitations. Perhaps, struggles of the subaltern need to be documented through such insider- reflections, as they would be realistic narratives of the ups and downs of the journey. Though, the organization was based primarily on the mass base of the katkari tribe, it was decided from the very outset that it would reach out to all people from the poor,
toiling masses - the landless agricultural labour, the unorganized rural poor and the marginal farmer - in fact, the 'Sarvahara' or the working class. The katkaris are a primitive tribe - 'backward' even among the adivasis. Mostly dependent on the forests, agriculture has never been their main occupation; working as agricultural labour in one's village, cultivating land by using spades and growing secondary millets like ragi and varai, has usually been their main work during monsoon whereas after the rains they migrate in search of means of survival. The psyche of this tribe has been adversely affected by the constant migration and exploitation that has become an inevitable part of their lifestyle. A community which has lost its self-respect and selfconfidence always remained outside the mainstream village community, akin to other untouchable communities.
An Introspection Building a sense of confidence over own land One of the first issues that was addressed by the Sarvahara Jana Andolan (SJA) was that of 'Dali' land. During the British rule, the tribes were given plots of land on the hill slopes of the forests, for cultivation with the dual purpose of protecting the forest and of offering a means of survival to the cultivators. Such land on hilly slopes were referred to as 'Dal' in local parlance, and hence the plots became known as Dali plots. The Dali leader or the DaliNayak as he was called, was given the responsibility to oversee the plot and collect the revenue from each of the cultivators. He was given a Dali-book where he was expected to record details about who and how many people from the hamlet cultivated the plots, what crops they raised and other such details. However, everybody was aware that the ownership of the Dali land lay with the
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Forest Department. After Independence, various parts of Maharashtra and the country saw several struggles for granting rights to tribals over forest land. As a result, the Government took various decisions; one of which (in 1971) was that Dali land will be transferred to the tribals who were cultivating them. However, the decision once taken, was forgotten and no implementation was ever done. When in 1989, the issue began to be raised in an o r g a n i s e d m a n n e r, t h e bureaucracy and the government had forgotten all about it as by then, all rights and jurisdiction related to forest land had been vested with the Ministry of Forests at the Centre as per the Forest Conservatio
n Act of 1980. Hence, there was no way that Dali land could now be transferred to the tribals without the permission of the Centre. The challenge then was to ensure that the voice of the unorganised, exploited katkari
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tribals afflicted with low selfesteem, and low-confidence should reach the corridors of power in Delhi from their remote hamlets in Raigad! We set about the task s y s t e m a t i c a l l y. H a v i n g collected the lists of Dali plots and plot-holders from the Forest Department, we devised our own communication system to reach even the smallest plotholder in the remotest hamlet. As these were the days before telephones and mobiles had stormed the countryside, the weekly markets at Roha and Mangaon were our communication centres. Soon, the tribals began to seek us out at the market, wanting meetings about Dali land in t h e i r hamlets. At such meetings, we gave them information about Dali land, spoke to them about their travails and also visited the Dali plots along with the cultivators. The next programme was to fix the boundaries of the Dali plots. At such meetings, the entire hamlet used to turn out to listen attentively about what we had to say. I would like to narrate an example of one such meeting held at Vilhewadi. We had decided that we would have a walk-through on all the Dali land that belonged to this hamlet. All the villagers had assembled with great
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enthusiasm to show us their plots. In this rally through the jungle, the people showed us how the plots had old markerstones put down by the Forest Department to delineate the boundaries of the plots; they also showed how in several places the Maratha community in the village had moved these markers and encroached upon the Dali plots of the tribals. The old marks were clearly visible and so were the new. We took a spontaneous decision there - to reinstate the marker-stones in their original places and reverse the newer, unjust encroachment! The tribals were shocked and thrilled that we were even contemplating to challenge the Maratha community of the village in this manner. 'Can we really do this?' they wondered. On ascertaining once again that the original markers showing the correct boundaries were displaced by the non-tribal villagers to suit their own interests, the activists and the tribals together worked through the day to restore the markers in their original places. This action went a long way in building the confidence of the people. By evening, we had finished only part of the job of 'restoration'. “Don't worry, Tai! We will do the rest ourselves tomorrow,� they said, confident now that they themselves were capable of and would protect their own land. This same programme was
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then repeated on several other hamlets. We thus found direction for our organisation in direct actions like these - sometimes in the jungle, sometimes while addressing the case of atrocity against woman, at times while dealing with issues of children. Every action we took was designed to build the confidence of the people in themselves, in their capacities and in the larger organisation that was taking shape with every action. Once, villagers from the Khadki Dhangarwadi came to meet us. Dhangars are a pastoral community, known for rearing goats and sheep for milk. Often their hamlets and the hamlets of the Thakar tribe are high up on the hills where there is adequate water and grazing land for their animals. These hamlets are a sight to behold with the greenery, the hills, and the streams - all ingredients of a good business proposition for a city-based businessman with an eye on the profits! Khadki Dhangarwadi thus attracted the attention of one such group - the Shetty Group from Mumbai which was in the business of building its profits under the guise of building agro-industries. Shetty bought a lot of land in the Dhangarwadi using all means - money, muscle, coercion; he also did not pay the full amount he had promised. To make matters worse, Shetty also worked as a Public Prosecutor in the High
Court! Shetty converted all the land he had 'bought' into his own private haven; he planted trees, built a huge house, fenced in the whole area, built a big pump-house on the stream which was the water source for the Dhangarwadi, piped water to his house on top of the hill from this pumphouse, fenced off the road leading to and from the Dhangarwdi, and kept two huge guard dogs to protect his property. The organisation did some fact-finding, ascertained the facts in the case, reassured the dhangars, wrote letters to the concerned parties, gave adequate written notice to Shetty and on one fine day, with the help of the villagers and the Grampanchayat, disconnected the pipes carrying water to Shetty's house and locked the pumphouse! The stand was simple and clear! The village will decide what is to be done with its water! All should be able to fill water at the village stream. It was resolved that each one could carry as many pots of water as they could, but nobody would be allowed to pump water from the stream. It was also resolved that no villager would work for Shetty.
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This was a good tactic Shetty's plantation started wilting for lack of water; he could not get any labourer from the village, nor would anybody from any other village come to such a remote hamlet and risk the ire of the locals. We next focused on the land that Shetty had bought; since all of it had not been transferred to his name and was still under the title of the original dhangar owners, we encouraged a collective action to take back these lands. The original owners removed Shetty's fencing and put their own, thus taking possession of their lands. Shetty registered a civil suit against the villagers; he also beat them up. The SJA filed a criminal case against him and pressed for his arrest through a morcha. We also wrote a complaint to the Chief Justice of the High Court. All these actions worked. Shetty was arrested. He stopped coming to Roha. Today all the land is back with the original owners - the dhangars. There are similar stories from many other hamlets Kharbachi Wadi, Gangwali, of land usurped by Kuber Motels and Suman Motels and several others. In each case, what helped was our systematic
Reinstating a feeling of self-respect among the adivasi community, getting back the land that had been usurped, increasing wages, preventing atrocities against the tribals and the dalits - were all battles we fought and even won.
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assessment of the situation, our accurate understanding of the dynamics involved, and our readiness to fight for people's rights, our legal analysis, and our strategic planning. Empowerment of women In the initial stages of formation of the organization, me and my colleague Sumitra both women - were conscious of the fact that the adivasi woman, barring some rare e x c e p t i o n s , w a s conspicuously absent from our meetings. It is true that the adivasi woman does not normally play second fiddle to her husband and is equally present in all day-to-day transactions along with her husband; in fact, in most families which brew liquor, it is the woman who looks after the business; she also faces the police where necessary. Despite this however, initially not many women participated in the SJA activities. In every meeting we used to speak about the varied injustices that women faced at home and in society at large. One day, at a meeting we got an anonymous note informing us of a rape in Nilajwadi. We immediately left for the hamlet, met several women there, questioned them about the incident…but nobody was willing to open up and say anything. At last, late in the night we gave up and were returning home when we were stopped by a woman who insisted we accompany her
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home. There we met another woman who told us the whole story. She was the victim; there was no rape, she said, but there surely had been attempt to rape. After discussing the matter with her at length, she agreed to file a complaint at the local police station. The next morning she came with her relatives to the organisation's office and also bravely registered the police complaint. The perpetrator was the taluka chief of the ShivSena party. Needless to say, the villagers were terrorized and we were threatened. But by then, the complaint had been registered. This incident spread like wildfire and gave a lot of strength to the women, especially. They saw that women could demand justice if atrocities were committed against them and there was no need to suffer in silence. Gradually, the number of women coming to the organisation's programmes, increased. In Roha tahsil, the weekly bazaar was held on Fridays. We had decided that Friday would be our 'office day' in Roha. Of course, we did not have any proper office. 'Office' was wherever we could sit at peace with our bags and papers and listen to the issues brought by the people, discuss with them and plan further action. Hence office was mostly a roadside tea-shop, the shade of a tree or some open ground. Soon, seeing us both women sitting around with our 'office',
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tribal women from nearby hamlets started joining us, sitting with us, narrating incidents from their villages, referring marital and familial disputes to us, listening keenly to how we resolved the disputes. The adivasis had their own panchayat system which resolved disputes that arose within families or within communities. However, as the 'panch' were all male, the 'justice' they proclaimed was also male dominated. Women did not have any scope to voice their opinions in these customary panchayats. We changed this male domination in the way we conducted conflict resolution in our office. We used to involve the women in our discussions, ask them their opinions and advice on the issues at hand and valued what they had to say. Gradually, women coming to our Friday office increased. Shantatai used to come often with her husband; she always sat quietly, listening to everything but never saying a word. She herself was a bonded labourer, being treated as less than a human being by her master, given food in an old, beaten aluminium plate, tea in a broken teacup and generally humiliated in every way. One day, Shantatai beat the aluminium plate into a flat disc with a stone, gave it to her master and came to the office. She had registered her protest wordlessly! Her master read the signs on the wall, realized that she had drawn this
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strength from the organization and tried to intimidate her in different ways. He kept telling her that she was indebted to him and would have to repay a lot of money to him. One day, he confined her to a room in order to beat her up. Shantatai had had enough. She kicked at the door and shouted the place down until finally he had no recourse but to open the door and set her free. He threatened her, said he would call the
but also to free other women from exploitation. The SJA resolved that women's names should feature along with their husband's on all documents indicating ownership of house, land, etc. All applications for Dali land and similar other things were now sent jointly in the name of husband and wife. Village shibirs incorporated discussions on gender equality and gender violence. Adivasi women thus,
police, but Shantatai was not one bit deterred. She was determined that she would be free of her bondage. She stopped working for him and then, of her own initiative, she invited the SJA for a 'shibir'- a camp- to her village and succeeded in freeing 18 other families from similar bondage. After that, she became a fulltime activist of the organization. Many other women like her then came forward not only to deal with their own issues
helped the SJA to grow in Roha tahsil. They brought to the organization issues of tribal as well as non-tribal women and thus began to be looked upon as leaders in other c o m m u n i t i e s . Wo m e n ' s participation thus became more active and functional at all levels of the organization. Women are at the forefront today at all rallies and 'morchas'. The proportion of alcohol consumption among women has significantly decreased.
November - December 2010
Women now take the initiative to conduct campaigns against alcoholism. They go to police stations, register complains, demand and procure copies of the F. I. R., present their views in court, and are even willing to go right up to the Commissioner's office in Mumbai to present their case. They also have become bold enough to ask questions in public meetings and address the elected representatives of the area who have now become ministers at the state level. Many women have contested elections at various levels of the panchayat system and some have become 'sarpanch' of their own village where they conduct themselves responsibly and with poise. Several adivasi women have travelled right up to Delhi several times for the Forest Rights demands. In fact, women have been keenly following the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act. When our women representatives of the village Forest Rights Committees move around with their handbags slung on their shoulder, with the GPS machine in hand, helping in the measuring of the land, the confidence they exude makes us feel proud. Widening awareness, participation and mass base In the early days the katkari community had thought that not having water, electricity, housing, roads, were their only issues. Being given less than
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The Movement of India
even minimum wage, being subjected to ill-treatment and physical harassment from their masters, women being victims of sexual harassment, were not identified as issues by the community as they had never felt that these were issues. They were all seen to be an inevitable part of existence. SJA felt it was necessary to create an awareness about all these issues. We utilised the Prevention of Atrocities Against SC/ST Act, 1989, in a big way for this purpose. It was necessary to show the katkaris that injustice does not have to be suffered and borne meekly, that the law of the land - if used judiciously - did redress such injustice. 'We will not bear any injustice, We are ready to fight for justice� had to be inculcated in their psyche, loud and clear. The message spread among the people that if we stand together and support those who are facing the pressure, we win the battle! Full-time activists of SJA had to pass through many tests before they were accepted as full-timers; the litmus test was that though they had initially approached the organization for their own issues, they had stayed on to address the issues of others. Early on in the initial days of the organisation, it had been decided that the only support that was worth depending on was that of a wide-ranging mass base. Hence, support from any 'funding' organisation had been rejected right since then. For the last twenty years, the
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organisation has been functioning on subscription from members, from donations given by concerned well-wishers, from fellowships given by groups like Samajik Krutadnyata Nidhi and Shruti which raise funds from people. The organisation which started in Mangaon tahsil has today spread to seven tahsils and has members in about 700-750 hamlets and villages in these tahsils. Training programmes for activists and for village committees were always considered an important prerequisite for strengthening the organisation. The Annual Conventions, the General Body meetings were regularly held to underline the commitment to transparency and accountability towards its members that the organisation unwaveringly accepts. In the last 3-4 years SJA has attempted a different kind of programme - conducting a 'School for Freedom from Exploitation'. This school attempts to teach and learn the usual subjects like mathematics, science, history, g e o g r a p h y, p s y c h o l o g y, sociology, politics, civics, economics and organization building through the lens of 'Freedom From Exploitation'. Thus the content and the pedagogy used to teach these subjects wwre very different. In this we were helped by some very senior and expert persons like Mr R V Bhuskute, Mr D G Prabhu, Mr Datta Savle, Dr
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Pradeep Patkar, Mr Ravindra Keskar, Mr Rajan Indulkar - all of them were enthused with this new idea and devoted their time and expertise wholeheartedly to the endeavour. We h a v e a l w a y s maintained that the organisation will grow to the extent that it keeps pace with change and is willing to look at change objectively. Analysing the world through dogmatic ideological lenses will only restrict the growth of SJA. This is what the senior advisors of the organisation have always impressed upon us. We learnt from Marx how to analyse historically and scientifically the system of exploitation; from the lives and work of Mahatma Phule and Dr Ambedkar we get inspiration to understand the Indian social system and fight against it; Gandhi's weapons of satyagraha and nonviolence give direction to our strategies and for building collective action of the adivasis, we find Birsa Munda, Ta n t y a B h i l , R a g h o j i Bhangara showing us the way along with Godutai Parulekar and Medhatai Patkar. We a l s o a t t e m p t e d establish a 'Theatre of the Oppressed. The idea emerged from the Bengal group of Sanjay Ganguli- the Jana Sanskruti Manch and was connected to the international movement initiated in Brazil by Augusto Boal. The movement basically encouraged the common man
The Movement of India
to find political space through the theatrical experience. Our acquaintance with the Bengal group led us to gradually build our own theatre team. In the last twenty years we organised people around several issues and concerns. Among these are- right to Dali land, struggle for minimum wage, struggle against land alienation of adivasis, redistribution of ceiling land to the landless, tenants' rights, other land disputes; issues of rationing and food security, right of dalits to access public water sources, experiments in organic and sustainable farming, opposition to atrocities on adivasis and dalits, organising brick-kiln workers, making efforts to bring in the Panchayat extension to Scheduled Areas Act and the Forest Rights Act, conducting training for panchayat members. We participated actively in all election processes sometimes putting up our own candidates for the contests, at times supporting those who
were in the fray and at other times putting our concerted weight together in order to defeat a particular candidate or political party. During every election we saw to it that candidates of various parties were called to an open forum where they would speak about their party manifestos and about how they would address the issues of the adivasis. Knowing the strength of the organization, every candidate feels compelled to come to these meetings. We have thus set a precedent in the area for participation in electoral politics. Political education of the people does not stop with elections. As far as the SJA is concerned, it includes an understanding of wider political issues and standing against forces that undermine the edifice of democracy. Hence along with opposing religious fundamentalism at local levels, the organization also took a strong stand against the pogrom of the Gujarat government.
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We have realized over the years that this struggle of the poor for self-respect and rights is not a struggle to be fought alone. Our issues are linked to macro systems and to issues of other similar groups in other parts of the country-and also other parts of the world, for that matter. We have therefore been part of networks, Federations, Fronts and Movements at the state and national levels. The one tenet we followed religiously in all these endeavours was never to compromise with the established societal structures in any manner. Constant and consistent struggle has been our characteristic feature. We learnt how to make use of the various instruments of democracy - the legislature, the media, the judiciary, and in the process also learnt a lot. Challenges ahead In the earlier phase of our growth, our conflicts were with the vestiges of a feudal system - the landlord, the 'patron', the master; gradually, these gave way to conflicts with the new landlords - the resorts, the motels, the industries that were encroaching on our land and our rights. Today, the conflicts are with the new forms of capitalism and capitalists corporate forces who are eyeing our natural resources in order to extract maximum personal profit from public assets. Reinstating a feeling of
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The Movement of India
self-respect among the adivasi community, getting back the land that had been usurped, increasing wages, preventing atrocities against the tribals and the dalits - were all battles we fought and even won. But today, the battleground for the war is much larger - far beyond the scope and strength of one small organization like ours. Raigad district being closer to Mumbai, we are feeling the heat of this corporate landgrab much more than elsewhere. The adivasi and other poorer communities tempted by the new toys of unbridled consumerism are today on the verge of losing what has been gained through the struggles of the past few decades. What we see in front of us today are stark contradictions - mobiles and DVD players have reached every adivasi hamlet but daily life has become more harsh, the period of migration has increased; the number of educated youth has increased but the number of unemployed youth has also risen; the growth rate has risen but so also, the numbers of people below the poverty line. On this background, organizing people for their rights and sustaining such organizations, requires battling on several fronts simultaneously. It needs ind e p t h s t u d y, a n a l y s e s , reflection, along with building people's organizations, balancing the dynamics within them, and keeping pace with the changing nature of the
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democratic institutions while doing all this. We have always felt that several such struggles will come together and create a strong political force to be reckoned with; but that does not seem to be happening. In fact, there is no framework in sight for raising such a political force. We now need the infusion of new activists with new thoughts and new energy to face this challenge with renewed vigour.
But today, the battleground for the war is much larger - far beyond the scope and strength of one small organization like ours. The adivasi and other poorer communities tempted by the new toys of unbridled consumerism are today on the verge of losing what has been gained through the struggles of the past few decades. In this context, organizing people for their rights and sustaining such organizations, requires battling on several fronts simultaneously.
Brincasic piples of organization-building learnt in two decades · Communities, who live by their hard work, understand the language of labour more accurately. · An oppressed person
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commits many errors which facilitate his further oppression at the hands of the system and the dominating groups; the organization has to have the generosity to understand these mistakes and condone them; errors made by the oppressed are pardonable but not so, those made by the oppressor. · Systems are run by individuals, no doubt; but conflicts with the system should not be personalized and trivialized. · Systems are never monolithic; multiplicity of interests breaks its monolithic nature, you need to understand these dynamics. · The organization is like the parent who supports the people to stand on their own feet, even if they make mistakes and fall again. Shortcuts taken in this process of giving support, like carrying the people on your shoulders, is not going to build their selfreliance. · The Indian social system ensures that one's social position determines the rewards and punishments you get; understanding caste and its ramifications is therefore a must. Ahimsa and Satyagraha are not mere tactics for strategizing; they are values which lay the very foundation of life itself. Translated from Marathi to English by Anjali Kanitkar. Ulka Mahajan is a National Convener of NAPM. ulkamahajan@rediffmail.com
The Movement of India
November - December 2010
A Tribute
The Clarity And Relevance of L C Jain's Vision Dr L C Jain, the distinguished Gandhian and thinker, has passed into the ages. Dr L C Jain was an active participant in the Quit India movement and was engaged in economic-social development for the last 60 years. He was a member of the Planning Commission and India's high commissioner to South Africa. He was always a steadfast supporter of the people's causes. In tribute to his memory, we republish a column he wrote for Rediff.com three years ago, which still resonates with its clarity of vision.
W
e must rejoice on this 60th anniversary of our freedom from colonial rule and breathe the fresh air of freedom. It is also a day to remember that 'what comes free today was once fought for.' And how. The masses waged a long struggle, lakhs courted imprisonment, thousands paid with their lives -all selflessly smilingly at the altar of freedom. That part of our history is generally better known to the present generation in varying details. But what is not sufficiently known is that during the freedom struggle there were serious discussions as to what we shall strive for after the attainment of Independence. And, a prior question: How free India shall be best governed. Gandhiji asked us to reflect how Britain a tiny nation located 8,000 miles away succeeded in establishing its rule over India -a vast country with huge population. The answer lay in the fact that, at the time in history, India was not governed by her people through popular will, but by autocracy -- the maharajas, nawabs and feudal lords. It made it easy for the
British to either co-opt such rulers by inducements or by setting them one against another -- divide and rule, or defeat their individual small armed force one by one. The moral was that in order to secure freedom, when won, it was imperative that political power was not concentrated in a few hands but universally dispersed -- entrusted in the hands of each and every citizen for safekeeping. The citizens were to be the rulers and exercise their right through democratic means. It is thus that in 1950 our Constituent Assembly adopted the system of adult franchise -- one person one vote -- political equality to the core. The passage of adult franchise was, however, not all that smooth. The objectors were concerned about the prevailing m a s s i v e i l l i t e r a c y. T h e y advocated deferment of adult franchise till every citizen had been educated at least to a minimum level. The assembly recognised that illiteracy had not stood in the way of millions to fight for freedom. They had thus earned the right to rule via vote from day one. It decided to
introduce adult franchise straightaway but adopted Article 45 to universalise elementary education within a period of 10 years. Alas, this deadline has been honoured more in the breach, and not implemented fully till date. True, there is a sizeable number of those who have since scaled the Everest of higher education and done us proud. But, we have failed to provide the necessary cement of elementary education to all and thus fortifying our political edifice built on adult franchise. Those looking today for challenges ahead could lend their shoulder to extend education facilities to every child in a mission mode. Political stability is inseparable from ever increasing social and economic progress. In fact, this was another aspect highlighted during the freedom struggle. When embarking on public life Gandhiji wrote to Dadabhai Naoroji, 'I am inexperienced and young -- guide me – Indians look upon you as children to the father.' Dadabhai advised that all the three great purposes -political, social and industrial –
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The Movement of India
must be set working side by side. The progress in each will have its influence on others. Thus, it was emphasised that after securing political freedom we would also have to win economic social and moral freedom. These freedoms Gandhiji warned were 'harder than the political, if only because they are constructive, less exciting and not spectacular. He proposed an all embracing Constructive Work Programme, which evokes the energy of all, the millions.' In the social and economic sphere what was to command prior attention was hunger and unemployment. The stomach is a biological tyrant. It demands food at least twice a day. It is universal -- it affects each and every human being. To answer this character and compulsion of the demand for food, it was plain that the supply of food must be easy of access. Possessed of this realisation, Gandhiji formulated in 1928, what he called the Economic Constitution of India: 'According to me the economic constitution of India and for the matter of that of the world, should be such that no one under it should suffer from want of food and clothing. In other words everybody should be able to get sufficient work to enable him to make the two ends meet. And this ideal can be universally realised only if the means of production of the elementary necessaries of life remain in the control of the masses. These should be freely available to all as God's air and water are or ought to be; they should not be made a vehicle of traffic for the exploitation of others.'
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We have millions of farms -largely marginal and small, and millions engaged in agricultural labour. They have all been deprived of support -- be it credit, technical advice, minimum wages or organizational framework for increasing local production of food for local consumption and thereby ensure local employment opportunities and purchasing power. What we have done instead in the past 60 years is the very reverse of it. While in absolute terms agricultural production has increased substantially the pattern of production promoted has created a few small pockets of high output. Only 15 per cent of our 500 districts produce the surplus grains, which are then transported across from north to south, to east at tremendous cost. Worse still the food grains do not reach the hungry stomachs in time or if they do the hungry have little purchasing power. Consumption has been divorced from local production. Is it surprising then, as the finance minister stated in his recent Budget speech that in our population of over one billion, 47 per cent of our children in the age group 0 to 5 years are suffering from malnutrition. Imagine it is half of our future generation. Of course in the next breath he praised our economic growth rate which was embracing 9 per cent which alas shines fully only on ten percent of the population. Imagine also the likely impact of such gross disparity in income, education and food intake (hunger-malnutrition) on the stability of our political
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system based on arithmetical equality: One person, one vote. Added to this is mounting discrimination and injustice heaped on women, dalits and the tribals. These are all a threat to our political system, which rests on equality. The fault is not in our freedom but how we are milking the magnificent opportunity it has afforded. Should we not ponder and correct the course -in both the direction and pattern of our economic growth, and then align it with our political foundations of equality? The likes of Bhagat Singh did it for us. We don't have to go to the gallows. We could instead tend to the grassroots -- and morally bask under the Kite Runner Khalid Hossein's new title: A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Only 15 per cent of our 500 districts produce the surplus grains, which are then transported across from north to south, to east at tremendous cost. The food grains do not reach the hungry stomachs in time. The hungry have little p u r c h a s i n g p o w e r. Consumption has been d i v o rc e d f ro m l o c a l production. The fault is not in our freedom but how we are milking the magnificent opportunity it has afforded. The likes of Bhagat Singh did it for us. We don't have to go to the gallows. We could instead tend to the grassroots.
The Movement of India
A Tribute
November - December 2010
Surendra Mohan 1929 - 2010
End of a Socialist Era
S
urendra Mohan Ji breathed his last today morning. Even as we are trying to deal with the loss of some of his contemporaries Prabhash Joshi Ji, L C Jain Saheb and Shanta Toofani (Mata ji), the year 2010 has dealt another blow to our collective struggles for a world of dignity, freedom and democratic values. In these testing times of declining political values and rampant corruption, Surendra Mohan ji is known for his personal and public integrity. He stands tall amidst many of his political comrades in the Socialist tradition who have forgotten their roots and are indulged deeply in the political machinations. He was not only a political leader and ideologue of the socialists but an activist who was concerned about the issues of farmers, workers, dalits, tribals and all those living on the margins of current development paradigm and stood with people's movements. Surendra Mohan ji never cared for the outcomes of his political beliefs and actions, which meant going to Jail when he opposed Emergency and much later on several occasions. He undertook three day fast along with Siddhraj Ji Dhadha in support of the Narmada Bachao Andolan's struggle in the Narmada Valley demanding justice for those to be submerged. He always tried to straddle both
the worlds of parliamentary politics through political parties and also of social activism with social movements. He never formally left the party but he actively contributed to any processes aimed at bringing together the social movements and any attempt at formation of wider alliances. In early 90s when National Alliance of People's Movements was taking shape, along with Kishan Patanik and many others he guided us with his political acumen, analytical understanding of issues and long experience. Recently he presided over the coming together of Hind Mazdoor Sabha and Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat after a long time in Bombay. He had versatile interests and had a brief stint in a college library, a school teacher, a college
Surendra Mohan ji never cared for the outcomes of his political beliefs and actions, which meant going to Jail when he opposed Emergency and much later on several occasions. He always tried to straddle both the worlds of parliamentary politics through political parties and also of social activism with social movements.
lecturer, an entrepreneur, a trade union leader, an environmental activist, a political columnist, a human right and civil liberty activist, Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Corporation, a political activist and leader, and a Parliamentarian of standing and he excelled in all. But we will remember him for his beliefs in Gandhian principles and the socialist causes, impeccable honesty and integrity. He will be missed by all of us, young and old alike in the movements since he always encouraged people to join the political struggles and lent his voice. Till his last day he continued to be physically active by being present at most of the gatherings and contributed regularly to the journals. We pray for his soul and wish all strength to Manu Mohan ji and others in the family and vow to carry forward our collective struggles for a better world. Medha patkar & Narmada Bachao Andolan; Aruna Roy & Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan; Prafulla Samant ara; Geet a Ramakrishnan; Vijaya Chauhan (Narmada Nav Nirman Abhiyan), Suniti S R, Rajendra Ravi; Bhupendar Singh Rawat; Ajit Jha; Vijayan M J; Joe Athialy, Madhuresh Kumar and many others from NAPM. napmindia@napm-india.org
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The Movement of India
A Tribute
BHAGWAN DAS
A Veteran Ambedkarite Passes Away S Anand
B
hagwan Das, 83, a veteran Ambedkarite and a chronicler of the Dalit movement, passed away on Thursday, 18 December 2010, in Delhi at his Munirka residence. Das was among the last few persons of a generation that had a direct association with Dr B.R. Ambedkar, India's civil rights champion and first law minister. Born in 1927 in Jutogh cantonment, Shimla, Bhagwan Das first met Dr Ambedkar in Shimla in 1943 at the age of sixteen as a member of the Scheduled Castes Federation. Bhagwan Das went on to work as a research assistant with Dr Ambedkar in 1955–56 at the latter's residence at Alipur Road, Delhi. We l l b e f o r e t h e Maharashtra government began, in 1979, to publish Ambedkar's writings and speeches, Das had edited, compiled and produced a fourvolume Thus Spoke Ambedkar series between 1963 and 1980. This was published by Lahori Ram Balley's Bhimpatrika imprint based in Jalandhar. After his matriculation, Das joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1943 as a radar operator. He served
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on the Burma front during World War II. Subsequently he worked with the CAG office in Shimla and after India's independence in Delhi. In 1971, Das completed his LLB and practised law. Bhagwan wrote over 23 books, notable among which are Mein Bhangi Hoon (I am a Bhangi) and several edited volumes and compilation of Dr Ambedkar's writings and speeches. At the time of his death, Das was working on a book called "Untouchability in Asia". A Buddhist, Bhagwan Das championed the cause of unity among dalits. Das was one of the founding members of the Wo r l d C o n f e r e n c e o f Religions for Peace (WCRP), first held in Kyoto in 1969. They subsequently met every four years in various parts of the world. In August 1983, supported by a coalition of dalit organisations, Bhagwan Das gave a testimony on untouchability before the U n i t e d N a t i o n s Subcommission on Human Rights in Geneva, much against the wishes of the official Indian delegation to the conference. He played a pivotal role in the 1998 International Dalit Convention
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A Buddhist, Bhagwan Das championed the cause of unity among dalits. Bhagwan Das gave a testimony on untouchability before the United Nations Subcommission on Human Rights in Geneva, much against the wishes of the official Indian delegation to the conference.
held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a precursor to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa. Bhagwan Das' flat in Munirka, Delhi, has been a mandatory stopover for almost every major social historian and anthropologist who has worked on the dalit/anticaste movement—from Eleanor Zelliot, Mark Juergensmeyer, Owen Lynch, Marc Gallanter, R.K. Kshirsagar and Sukhadeo Thorat down to younger scholars like Vijay Prashad, Nicolas Jaoul and Maren Bellwinke-Schempp. He was a storehouse of insight and information, generous with his time and knowledge for anybody willing to stop by and ask. He is survived by son Rahul Das, and two daughters Shura Darapuri and Zoya Hadke. S Anand is with Navayana Publications.
The Movement of India
A Tribute
S R SANKARAN
A Legacy of Goodness Harsh Mander
C
rowds surged to join h i s f u n e r a l procession, as it wound its way through the busy streets of Hyderabad, on a warm afternoon on 8 October, 2010. Senior civil servants and human rights workers jostled with tens of anonymous indigent men and women, each of whom wished the privilege to carry his body in its last journey for a few moments. Uniformed policemen lowered their eyes in tribute after offering an incongruous gun salute to a man the crowds extolled as a messenger of peace. Slogans continuously rent the air, hailing him to be the beloved son of dalits, tribal people, the poor and disabled persons. Few eyes were dry when his niece set aflame his funeral pier. I doubt if there has ever been such a funeral of any civil servant before him. The diverse multitude which surged to bid this diminutive, frail, under-stated man his final farewell, represented the extraordinary range of people whose lives he had touched. SR Sankaran set
standards of integrity and service to the most disadvantaged, for a whole generation of public officials. His courage of convictions inspired human rights activists. Despite his uncompromising opposition to violence, he was revered by Maoists as much as by Gandhians. And a lifetime of egalitarian compassion bound him to masses of India's poorest people, disadvantaged by indigence, caste, gender and disability. Sankaran firmly believed lifelong that the foremost duty of the state was to uphold the dignity, rights and freedoms of India's most oppressed people, and his life's work demonstrated what a democratic government could indeed accomplish if it included persons like him. He drew up laws for land reforms, and pushed governments to implement these. He conceived of the Tribal SubPlan and Special Component Plan, to compel governments to set aside significant proportions of the state budgets for the welfare of
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Scheduled Castes and Tribes. He designed many programmes for justice and welfare of these socially most deprived communities, including thousands of residential schools for the education of tribal boys and girls. It was he who helped craft laws to release bonded workers. Among the many legends which have grown up around his life's work, the story is often recounted of how a powerful Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was furious when, as Secretary Social Welfare, Sankaran organised campaigns to release bonded workers from generations of debt bondage. The Chief Minister announced in a cabinet meeting that Sankaran was a troublemaker, who went from village to village, held meetings with poorest people Among the many legends which have grown up around his life's work, the story is often recounted of how a powerful Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was furious when, as Secretary S o c i a l We l f a re , Sankaran organised campaigns to release bonded workers from generations of debt bondage.
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seated on the ground under trees, instigated them by declaring that they had the right to be free, and mobilised them to rebel against a lifetime of bondage. Soft-spoken Sankaran retorted that this indeed is what he did, and this was his duty. This enraged the Chief Minister further, and he asserted in the cabinet meeting itself that such subversives had no place in his government. Sankaran replied in his customary low voice that he too did not want to work in his government, and proceeded on long leave. This proved a fortuitous turning point in his life. The legendary Marxist Chief Minister of Tripura, Nripen Chakravarthy, invited him to shift to Tripura and serve there as Chief Secretary. Both austere bachelors, fiercely honest, had few worldly belongings, and even washed their own clothes. They formed a unique partnership, leading the state for 6 years. Few governments in India earned such a reputation of integrity, service and justice for the under-privileged. Sankaran gained national fame when he was kidnapped by Naxalites from the jungles of Andhra Pradesh. After his retirement from government, he constituted a Concerned Citizens Committee, to mediate with government to end its human rights
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violations in its military-like offensive against the armed rebels, and its policy of 'encounter' killings of alleged Naxalites, which he condemned as 'targeted extralegal executions'. Many tribal or dalit youth, or their loved ones, would desperately contact Sankaran when they were in danger of Many tribal or dalit youth, or their loved ones, would desperately contact Sankaran when they were in danger of being eliminated in fake encounters, and it was Sankaran's mediation which saved several of them. He reminded government tirelessly that it was decades, indeed centuries, of injustice against tribal people – their brutal dispossession from their lands and forests which was the true source of the insurgency in the jungles of the state. being eliminated in fake encounters, and it was Sankaran's mediation which saved several of them. He reminded government tirelessly that it was decades, indeed centuries, of injustice against tribal people – their brutal dispossession from their lands and forests -
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which was the true source of the insurgency in the jungles of the state. But Sankaran was equally unsparing in condemning the violence of the Naxalites, and their focus on 'military actions rather than on the mobilisation of people for social transformation'. He was convinced that this contributed to 'further brutalise the society and lead to the shrinkage of democratic space for mobilisation and direct participation of the people, impairing the very process of transformation that the movements claim to stand for'. It was due to his unique moral stature that both government and the Maoists felt compelled to respond to his appeals, and defend to him their policies. It is another matter that neither altered their basic approaches to the conflict, and the unabated bloodletting by both sides of the conflict caused him great anguish. The efforts of this Committee dominated a decade of Sankaran's life, and he grieved until his end that he could not free his people from the mutually reinforcing cycles of violence, and reclaim for them enduring peace and justice. Another task which to which he devoted a significant part of his time
The Movement of India
after he retired was to lead the Safai Karmchari Andolan, an exceptional campaign for ending the humiliating ageold practice of people of particular castes being forced to clean dry latrines with their bare hands, and carry human excreta in baskets on their heads. He regarded this to be the most dreadful manifestation of untouchability and caste. A decade of Sankaran's leadership of the Andolan led to the substantial decimation of this centuries-old evil in many parts of India. This was through a combination of judicial interventions, compelling accountability of public officials, and a nonviolent mass campaign for self-respect by people engaged in this vocation in which they burned their baskets and demolished dry latrines. But those Sankaran led to a life of dignity will mourn that will not be by their side to witness the historic final end of this scourge. Sankaran set aside a significant portion of his salary, and his pension after he retired, to educate dalit children. He never spoke of this to anyone, but when he first suffered a heart attack, many young men competed to keep vigil at his bedside. We learnt later from this assortment - of doctors, civil servants, engineers and teachers - that whatever they
achieved in their lives was due to Sankaran. He never married, but clearly several who loved and revered him like a father. He was an intensely ethical person, but never didactic or judgmental. He displayed an unexpected impish sense of Sankaran's life and work illuminated the lives of literally millions of India's most dispossessed people with dignity, justice and hope. He mediate with government to end its human rights violations in its military-like offensive against the armed rebels, and its policy of 'encounter' killings of alleged Naxalites, which he condemned as 'targeted extralegal executions'. Sankaran was equally u n s p a r i n g i n condemning the violence of the Naxalites, and their focus on 'military actions rather than on the mobilisation of people for social transformation'.
humour and mischief. After he retired from government, he lived in a small unpretentious and sparsely furnished apartment, which looked more like the home of a retired
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school teacher than a senior civil servant. Even the few pieces of furniture and gadgets in his house were forced on him by those who loved him. When he received his pension arrears, he was alarmed by this very modest swelling of his bank balance, and quickly distributed the money to street children's homes, and an organisation for disabled persons. Sankaran's life and work illuminated the lives of literally millions of India's most dispossessed people with dignity, justice and hope. His compassion, simplicity and lifetime of public service will continue to light the way, both of those who work within government, and others who choose to struggle against it. His enduring legacy will be to demonstrate what true and authentic goodness in public and personal life can accomplish, to make this world a better, kinder place. Harsh Mander is a social activist and writer. He heads 'Aman Biradari' which works for communal harmony. He has written widely on the issues of communal violence, minority rights, rights of underprivileged children and dalits. He is a member of National Advisory Council and a Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court.
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The Movement of India
A Tribute
K G KANNABIRAN'S
Passing Away is an Immense Loss to Civil Liberties Movement
We mourn the passing away of K.G. Kannabiran at his home in Secunderabad at about 5 pm on December 30.
A
ctivists across the country have known Kannabiran as the unshakeable pillar of integrity and sagacity and as a person who stood as the pillar of the civil liberties movement in the country. He was a builder of the civil liberties movement in the State in the post-emergency period. Over four decades, Kannabiran helped in articulating a uniquely Indian perspective on civil liberties, both through his legal practice and through his writings and public speaking. He built the AP Civil Liberties Committee, working as its President for over a decade and mentored scores of committed activists. He taught them the nitty-gritty of factfinding and the craft of navigating the judiciary. Kannabiran was always supportive of Left revolutionary movements that were raising questions of human dignity and striving for fundamental social change. He consistently opposed violence by the State and emphasised the need nourish the rule of law and the principles of natural justice. He advocated a political approach to the Naxalite movement in place of the violence suppression that has been the State's only response to that upsurge. Known to the legal fraternity as the "prosecutor of prosecutors", Kannabiran agreed to take on the role of special public prosecutor only in
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one instance in his entire career when he appeared for the prosecution in the Shankar Guha Niyogi murder case. It was his relentless work in nailing the prosecution's lies in scores of conspiracy cases all over Andhra Pradesh and in public interest petitions on encounter killings that laid the foundation of a creative application of the law towards building a human rights culture in the courts. He constantly strove to make the Government accountable to its Constitutional obligations. Apart from effectively critiquing atrocities committed by State instrumentalities, he fought against undemocratic legislations like TADA and POTA. After relinquishing his responsibilities with the APCLC, he continued civil liberties activism as national President of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Along with late Sri S R Sankaran, Kannabiran was central to the only effort, through the Concerned Citizens' Committee, in this country to successfully mediate between the Maoists and the government. As member of the committee, he brought the full force of his moral stature and intellectual acumen to create the ground upon which the government and the Maoists held talks in Hyderabad in 2004. In 1995, Kannabiran argued a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court regarding the encounter killing of
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Madhusudan Raj Yadav in Hyderabad. In this case, the High Court for the first time ever took exception to the practice in the police department, of registering cases against the person who died in the encounter as having attacked the police and not registering any cases against the policemen. This practice ensured that the case automatically abates the accused is dead. This strange practice completely skirts the issue of whether or not there is any culpability on the part of the policemen involved in the encounter killing. The court ordered that in all cases of encounters henceforth, a case must be registered against the policemen involved in the encounter, chargesheet filed and brought to trial. That way, the policeman still has the fair chance to make his case of having caused death in the course of self defense. The High Court ruling has given human rights activists in Andhra Pradesh a lot of hope and Kannabiran considered it a small victory for over three decades of civil liberties fight in the state. In implementation however, the ruling ran into opposition from the very beginning and right now it is still caught in an appeal in the Supreme Court by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. In Kannabiran's demise, democratic forces in the nation have lost one of their most articulate and courageous spokespersons. S Jeevan Kumar, President, HRF; V S Krishna, Secretary, HRF HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM, Hyderabad rightsforum@gmail.com
The Movement of India
… continued from page 4 The massive corruption scandals that rocked the Commonwealth Games exposing kickbacks, false companies, forged emails, inexplicable payments to bogus companies and inflated bills — for every purchase from toilet paper to treadmills, has, as a journalist remarked, turned India's supposed moment of glory into the country's hour of shame. According to media reports, when the CWG was awarded to India it was estimated to cost Rs. 635 crores. Eventually it has cost the public exchequer more than Rs. 10,000 crores. The CVC has found serious discrepancies in 16 Commonwealth Games projects, including stadia upgrade and road widening, amounting to more than Rs.2,500 crore. All this while Shri Kalmadi and others roam about freely! The Congress was forced to act tough in regard to the Adarsh scam where the housing project, meant for war widows and veterans, has been divided up between politicians, bureaucrats and army officers at massively discounted prices by clear-cut manipulation by the collectorate, revenue ministry and the urban development ministry in the case and in violation of almost every law including the Coastal Regulation Zone notification! Shri Ashok Chavan was forced to resign by the party desperate
to save its image. It remains to be seen what action will be taken against Shri Narayan Rane for his role in the Pune housing scam on forest land that was diverted without the mandatory clearance of the central government. What this has done is reiterate and re-emphasise what is already common knowledge. That our society and administration are marked by various forms and degrees of corruption at every level! It is necessary to understand, however, that a rather obvious reason for the continuing and perpetration of corruption is the fact that all political parties are part and parcel, both explicitly and implicitly, to this corruption. Thus, while the BJP goes to town about the 2G scam, it refuses to take any action against its Chief Minister in Karnataka, Shri Yeddyurappa who is neck-deep in land scams and guilty of failing to take action against the rampant illegal mining in the State and instead has as Cabinet Ministers the very same Reddy brothers who are engaged in this illegal mining. While the Fodder Scam in Bihar, the Coal scam in Tamil Nadu, and Telecom scam (involving Union Telecom Minister Sukhram) exposed the nexus between corrupt politicians and corrupt bureaucrats, Radiagate exposes the corporatebureaucrat-politician nexus that is all so pervasive and instrumental for corruption in
November - December 2010
the country. The statement of NAPM on the Lavasa project, which exposes this nexus between corporates, politicians and bureaucrats is instructive in this regard. The Indian judiciary, especially the higher courts, represents the last hope for the common person. While there have been murmurs about judicial corruption, it has now finally come into the open largely due the efforts of the Campaign for Judicial The massive corruption scandals that rocked the Commonwealth Games exposing kickbacks, false companies, forged emails, inexplicable payments to bogus companies and inflated bills — for every purchase from toilet paper to treadmills, has, as a journalist remarked, turned India's supposed moment of glory into the country's hour of shame. Accountability and Reform and recent news on judicial scandals involving Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta, the Ghaziabad Provident fund scam, the cash at judges door scam at Chandigarh, and the case of Justice Dinakaran. The ongoing case in the Supreme Court where contempt proceedings have been initiated against Prashant Bhushan for his interview in the Tehelka has generated interest and a much-needed
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The Movement of India
public debate on the issue. In fact, Prashant Bhushan's reply affidavit has articulated the notion of corruption rather succinctly when he states that “…In order to develop a perception of corruption in the judiciary in general and particularly in the court where one practices, one does not need to have actual documentary evidence of corruption. This perception is formed on the basis of various kinds of circumstantial evidence and reliable lawyers and observers, apart from occasional documentary evidence. Documentary evidence about corruption in the higher judiciary is rarely and only fortuitously obtained, since all investigation into such corruption is prohibited except by the written permission of the Chief Justice of India…” He also goes on to state, what we believe is the reflection of a common person's perception, what is meant by corruption when he clarifies that “act of judicial corruption” is not only financial corruption but a more general sense of anything which corrupts or influences by extraneous considerations,
the judicial process. One of the weapons that is being used to combat corruption is the RTI Act. The NAPM have exposed the Adarsh scam and the Lavasa scam using the RTI Act and the same is being done across the country. This has also resulted in a backlash against these activists, about 8 of whom have had to pay the price with their lives including Shri Amit Jethwa from Gujarat who was killed for exposing illegal mining in the Gir forest region, and who was shot dead from a close range near the Gujarat high court on July 20 after he filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against illegal mining. In this issue, we carry a report on the seminar “Corporate crimes in contemporary India” conducted by the NAPM, AP chapter, on Saturday Sep 4th 2010 in Hyderabad. It also carries a note from the workshop organized on UID by Anna Adhikar Abhiyan and TISS. Also included are extracts of statement from the Fourth National Convention on the Tenth Anniversary of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace
Documentary evidence about corruption in the higher judiciary is rarely and only fortuitously obtained, since all investigation into such corruption is prohibited except by the written permission of the Chief Justice of India…” He also goes on to state, what we believe is the reflection of a common person's perception, what is meant by corruption when he clarifies that “act of judicial corruption” is not only financial corruption but a more general sense of anything which corrupts or influences by extraneous considerations, the judicial process.
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November - December 2010
(CNDP), December 2010. Ulka Mahajan's reflective piece on the two decades of struggle by the Sarvahara Jana Andolan provides a deep insight into the movement and its challenges. Sanjay M G's short piece on the dangers of climate change reminds us about this human induced global crisis. The last few months have seen the passing away of people whose lives have shaped alternative politics in the country to whom we pay our deepest respects and tribute. Dr L C Jain, the distinguished Gandhian and thinker and steadfast supporter of the people's causes; Shri S.R. Sankaran, who set standards of integrity and service to the most disadvantaged, for a whole generation of public officials and whose courage of convictions inspired human rights activists; Shri Surendra Mohanji, the political leader and ideologue of the socialists and activist who was concerned about the issues of farmers, workers, dalits and tribals; and Shri Bhagwan Das, a veteran Ambedkarite and a chronicler of the Dalit movement. The struggles across the country are the hopes that this country lives with. The hope that tomorrow would be a better day. That we can change the face of this country f u n d a m e n t a l l y. Wi s h i n g everyone courage and hope for this new year and decade. Editorial Team
The Movement of India
November - December 2010
Network (HRLN); Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, West Bengal (MASUM); Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Baipur (BMMA); Adivasi Mahila Mahasangh, Jashpur (AMM); and National Centre For Advocacy Studies, Raipur (NCAS). The jury consisted of activist lawyers Sudha Bharadwaj, S.Malini and Zulaikha who heard the violence committed against women hailing from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. December 24, Raipur : Binayak Sen Sentenced for Life Imprisonment by the District and Sessions Court u/s of 120(B), 124(A) of the IPC and 1,2,3,5, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and Sec 39 (2) of the UAPA (2004 amended). December 23, New Delhi : Condolence meeting held for the Socialist Leader Shri Surendra Mohan who passed away on 17th December in Delhi. December 23, Pune : On occasion of 25 years of Narmada Bachao Andolan a book written by late Sanjay Sangvai, an activist of NBA titled 'Darshan' is released in Pune and followed by discussion with Dr. Yashwant Sumant and Medha Patkar. December 22, New Delhi : To discuss the proposed amendments to RTI rules a day long consultation is organised by the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) in collaboration with Inclusive Media for Change and others at the India International Centre (IIC). December 20, Darjeeling : Prem Khawas, age 62, the undisputed leader of forest peoples struggles in the Darjeeling Himalayas and a lifelong crusader for the rights of the downtrodden passed away in his Bhuttabari forest village residence at Garubathan. December 18-19, Jashpur : Indian Peoples Tribunal On Violence Against Women In Conflict Zone organized at Pathalgaon, Dist. Jashpur (C.G.), by the Human Rights Law
December 18, Kolkata : a day long public cultural protest action, "The Voice of My Protest" is held in the heart of Kolkata by Operation Green Hunt-virodhi Nagarik Andolan. It is attended by Cultural activists from all over Bengal and Gadar, Charul and Vinay amongst others from outside. The programme expressed their protests against state repression and the corporate looting of resources in the name of Operation Green Hunt. December 17, Hyderabad : 'Jana Jagruti Yatra' organised by the National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM) takes off on a tour of 16 districts to converge at Devarakonda in Nalgonda district. It was flagged off at the Dr. Ambedkar's statue on Tank Bund by Editor of the Telugu daily, Andhra Jyothi, K. Srinivas. December 16, Mumbai : Mumbai High Court continues to allow maintenance of the statusquo on Lavasa's writ against the MoEF' stop work show-cause notice issued earlier on November 25. December 16, New Delhi : Ministry of Environment and Forest issues a show cause notice to the Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone, owned by the Adani group and located on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. It accuses project developers of conducting large-scale reclamation of creeks using dredged material and destroying mangroves in blatant violation of the terms of its environmental clearance, as well as constructing several structures — a township, airport and hospital — without obtaining a coastal clearance.
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December 16, Bhubaneshwar : More than 2000 farmers demonstrate in front of Odisha assembly under the leadership of Navnirman Krishak Sangathan and demand Rs.5000 security pension to every farmer and Rs.5000 price of 1 quintal paddy. December 16, Hyderabad : NAPM organises a walk through the historic core of the city from Kacheguda cross roads to Sultan Bazar-Kothi which is going to face demolition for Hyderabad metro rail. They distribute leaflets and speak to the house and shop owners in the locality. December 14, New Delhi : The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest asks Lavasa, the controversial Maharashtra hill city developers to immediately stop all construction activities till a final decision on the contentious issue is taken. Ministry heard Lavasa and NAPM that levelled the charges of flouting green rules last week following an instruction from the Bombay High Court.
November - December 2010
Shopian Double Death Case. December 11, New Delhi : Kisan Swaraj Yatra organised by ASHA (Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture), a loose network of hundreds of organizations across the country, which had set off on Gandhi Jayanti at Sabarmati Ashram concludes at Rajghat (Delhi) covering several states and drawing fresh attention of the nation to the continuing agrarian crisis in India. December 10, Pathalgaon : Sarva Adivasi Samaj (All Adivasi Society) holds a 25,000 strong rally with adivasis from the districts of Jashpur, Surguja and Raigarh on the issue of Adivasi identity and their status in Chattisgarh state. December 10-12, New Delhi : Fourth National Convention on the Tenth Anniversary of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) is held in New Delhi. The three earlier conventions were held in Nagpur in February 2008, in Jaipur in November 2004, and in Delhi in November 2000.
December 13, Shimla : The State High Court quahses the environmental clearances granted by the central environment ministry and the notifications of land acquisition issued by the state government for establishing a cement plant near Bandli Life Sanctuary in district Mandi. A Division Bench comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Rajiv Sharma observed that the central government had committed illegality by waiving off the public hearing at the request of the Chief Minister of the state.
December 10, Mumbai : The Mumbai Violence against Women (VAW) group organises a public hearing 'Women against Police Violence' on Human Rights Day. The panel included Adv. Mihir Desai (Human Rights Lawyer & Trustees of Human Rights Law Network), Ms. Kalpana Sharma (Senior Journalist), and Ms. Shama Dalwai (Women Rights Activist).
December 13, Mumbai : More than 200 Khar residents submit a 29-page petition written in blood to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, asking for his help in preventing a builder from forcibly throwing them out of their houses in the name of redevelopment. December 13, New Delhi : People's Movements and Civil Sociaety Groups organise a display of white sheets with condemnation meesages for CBI marking the anniversary of CBI 's handing over its Cover-up report in the
December 9, Ahmedabad : Gujarat announces new land acquisition policy and terms it as Participative Policy for Land Development in Industrial Estate. Under the new policy, developed by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), market price as determined by CEPT University will be paid to the land owners for the land acquisition. The corporation will also take consent of the land owners for acquiring such lands in 80 to 90 percent cases.
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The Movement of India
December 9, New Delhi : In the wake of the 11th EU-India Summit, beginning on December 10, 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, “Forum Against FTAs� in India comprising of civil society organisations, trade unions and people's movements submit letter to the Prime Minister of India greater transparency in EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. December 9, Pasighat : Forum for Siang Dialogue lodges an FIR against the Jaypee Group for Insulting Adi tribal Women using derogatory words in the Social Impact Assessment Report prepared by Jaypee. While opposing the construction of the dam on the river Siang they accuse Jaypee of disturbing P u b l i c p e a c e , d i s t o r t i n g t h e p o l i t ical/Geographical Map of India against the Security of the country. The dam would affect nearly 6000 inhabitants of 35 villages in the Siang basin completely and while several thousands of others would be affected partially. December 8, Tehran : Indian Flotilla to Gaza is received by the members of Iranian Parliament in Tehran. In Iran it travels from Zahedan to Kerman, Yazd, Esfahan, Qom before reaching Tehran on 12th December, covering a distance of 1400 kms. December 8-9, New Delhi : A National Convention On Repression of People's Movements organised by INSAF is attended by civil rights and social activists from ten states of the country. December 8, Cancun : Civil Society Groups organise a march demanding ousting of World Bank out of climate finance. December 7, New Delhi : Shanta Toofani, age 85, noted social activist from Delhi passed away at St. Stephen's Hospital. December 7, New Delhi : a demonstration is held by members of civil society, outside Karnataka Bhavan in support of the Tehelka journalist Shahina K K against whom false
November - December 2010
charges have been framed by Karnataka police on account a story she did on Abdul Nasar Madani, the Chairman of People's Democratic Party (PDP), who is one of the accused in the Bangalore bomb blasts. December 7, Cancun : Thousands of people affected by and concerned for the destruction of the environment, farmers, landless peasants, indigenous people and activists of all social sectors take to the streets as well as in other parts of the world as part of La Via Campesina's Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. The march takes place in the backdrop of the Forum for Life, Social and Environmental Justice in Cancun, Mexico and has as its main slogan as "Peasants cool the planet". December 6-10, Chennai : Campaign for Justice and Peace organises 'Justice and Peace Festival' in different colleges which includes a series of film screenings, exhibitions, talks by justice activists, and open debates and discussions drawing attention to situations across the country where these values are under acute and increasing attack. December 6-9, Mundra : National Fishworkers' Forum holds its annual General Body meeting in Gujarat and was attended by 168 delegates from all the coastal states and union territories of the country and deliberate on various issues affecting the lives and livelihood of the fishing community. December 6-8, New Delhi : A Symposium titled 'Democracy After Ayodhya Verdict' is organised by Communalism Combat, Sahmat and Social Sceintist in New delhi. December 2, New Delhi : Flotilla to Gaza comprising of nearly 50 civil resisters from across India is flagged off from Rajghat. As part of the first Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan it will travel across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt to reach Gaza-Palestine.
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November 30, New Delhi : hundreds of representatives of handloom Weavers from from across the country assemble at the Ramlila Maidan and March to the Indian Parliament demanding serious Central government intervention to save the handloom sector from complete devastation. November 30-December 1, Nagpur : A People's Convention on Energy is held by NAPM and other groups demanding complete moratorium on big thermal and hydro power plants and critics the Integrated Energy Policy for 2032 as prepared by Planning Commission. The meeting concludes in a 5,000 people demonstration against the government of Maharashtra demanding the scrapping of the large hydro and thermal power plants, justice to project affected people, relief from evictions in Mumbai and timely action on irregularities in Adarsh Housing society Scams and lavasa Hill City project. November 27-29, Bhadrawati : Third Jan Sansad is held in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. The session was attended by Medha Patkar, Dr. Sunilam, Banwari Lal Sharma, Thomas Kocherrey, Amarnath Bhai, and Advocate Aradhna Bhargava amongst many others. In addition the representatives of Sarv Seva Sangh, Azadi Bachao Andolan, and others social activists from Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and many of the groups from Vidarbha participated. November 26, Delhi : Union Ministry of Environment and Forest issues show cause notice to Lavasa Hill city Project on account of various violations of environmental norms ad regulations. November 22-26, New Delhi : A National Week of Action is organised by Sangharsh and Right to Food Campaign 'Against Forced Land Acquisition and Displacement, and For Right to Food, Life and Livelihood'. Attended by nearly 5,000 people from nearly 13 states they discussed issues of displacement from various
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November - December 2010
infrastructure, SEZs, and conservation projects; implementation of Forest Rights Act; corruptions and violations involved in big investment projects like POSCO, Lavasa, Adarsh Housing Society and other Corporate driven projects; and the over all issue of Food Security. November 23, Mandleshwar : 25,000 Maheshwar dam oustees march in Madleshwar demanding revoking of clearance and scrapping of Maheshwar. November 20, Dehradun : Noted leader of the Gujjar Sangharsh samiti and the forest rights activist of NFFPFW Noor Alam passed away after a heart attack in Dehradun. November 17, Renuka : Renuka Bandh Jan Sangharsh Samiti and Himalaya Niti Abhiyan complets 24 hour token hunger strike against Renuka Dam. More than seven hundred PAP participated in the Dharna and raised slogans against HPCCL and oppose the Dam construction. November 14, New Delhi : Well-known Gandhian and Magsaysay Award winner L.C. Jain, Age 85, passed away following prolonged illness. An economist, organiser, commentator and activist, Mr. Jain spent more than six decades of his life as an impassioned crusader for what Mahatma Gandhi called India's second freedom struggle — the fight against socioeconomic oppression and continued to engage with the numerous people's movements of the country. November 12, New Delhi : Union Ministry of Environment and Forest issues show cause notice to Adarsh Co-operative Society asking it respond within 15 days. November 12, New Delhi : A public meeting on status of workers' rights under MGNREGA is held demanding the increase of wages at par with the Minimum Wages Act. November 8, New Delhi : The Survivors of the
The Movement of India
Bhopal Gas Tragedy stage a day long dharna protesting the visit of US president Barack Obama. November 6-7, Kiraloor - NAPM Kerala State committee holds its state meeting and decides to organize a Kerala Yathra to link the peoples struggle and alternative works that are being taken in 14 districts of the state. UPCOMING EVENTS 2011 January 22-28, Visakhapatnam : A.P. Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union ( APVVU) to organise a padyathara focusing the issues of MNREGA in tribal areas starting from Chinthapalli to Paderu of Visakhapatanm district and one day workshop on this same subject on 28th. For details contact : P. S. Ajay Kumar, 9989830711 | psajay123@gmail.com Febrauay 6-11, Dakar : The next edition of the World Social Forum will be held in Senegal. For details see http://fsm2011.org/en/frontpage February 12-14, Lonavala : Third Young Activist Meeting to be held in Lonavala, Maharashtra. For details contact madhuresh@napm-india.org | 9818905316 February 19-20, Mumbai : Fourth Jan Sansad to be held in Mumbai hosted by NAPM and Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan. For details write to napmindia@napm-india.org
November - December 2010
JOIN NAPM National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) started as a process in 1992 and took a definite shape in 1996. It is an alliance of over two hundred people's organizations and movements in India struggling for people's right over natural resources, a just, sustainable and egalitarian development, and is opposed to neoliberal imperialist globalization, religious fundamentalism, and any discrimination based on caste, religion, gender, race or physical abilities. NAPM combines Gandhian, Marxist, Socialist and Ambedkarite perspectives along with the emerging paradigm of environment friendly development, peace and justice. We have built our strength and made an impact through its allies - the fishworkers, farmers and farm labourers, dam affected and development induced displaced, hawkers and construction workers, various sections of the unorganized workers, women and dalits, across all classes struggling for annihilation of caste system to various organizations challenging World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank and other imperial global powers. We have initiated nation-wide campaigns like - Desh Bachao, Desh Banao (Save the Nation - Build the Nation) and Sangharsh / Action aiming at evolving a National Movement to bring our ideal of alternative world into reality.
February 25-27, Lahore : Indo - Pak Youth Festival for Peace. For details write to Mukta Srivastava liberatedmukta@gmail.com Information compiled by Madhuresh Kumar, for details write to madhuresh@napm-india.org
Do join this movement! Become an organisational / individual member, write to us at: National Alliance of People's Movements 6/6, Lower Ground Floor, Jangpura B, New Delhi – 110 013. Tel: +91-11-24374535. OR ‘A' Wing, First Floor, Haji Habib Building, Naigaon Cross Road, Dadar (E), Mumbai – 400 014. Tel: +91-22-2415 0529. Email: napmindia@gmail.com / Website: www.napm-india.org
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The Movement of India
November - December 2010
RELEASE BINAYAK SEN campaign updates ! S.No. S.No.
City City
1
Mumbai
2
Kolkata
3
Chandigarh
4
Hyderabad
5
Delhi
6
Aurangabad
7
Jaipur
8
Allahabad
December 27th: Planning meeting December 30th: Protest meeting December 27th: Protest
9
Chennai
December 29th: Protest at Eliot Beach
10
Bhopal
January 1st, 2011: Protest
11
Bangalore
12
Ranchi
December 26th: Preparatory Meeting December 29th: Protest December 28th: Protest
13
Ahmedabad
December 26th: Public Meeting
14
Calicut
15
Lucknow
December 26th: A rally protesting the judgement December 28th: Protest December 31st: Protest
16
Ajmer
December 25th: Planning meeting
17
Indore
Dates to be announced
18
Patna
Dates to be announced
19
Raipur
December 31st: Meeting by CPI, CPM, CMM and others at Budha Talab January 4th, 2011: Meeting by PUCL and other organizations
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Date and Event Date
December 24th: Protest December 28th: Preparatory meeting to plan further December 24th onwards: Almost everyday some one or the other is protesting, Week long programmes planned, press conferences and planning meetings regarding joint public action taking place December 25th: Meeting in Punjab University December 27th: Meeting in Sector 17 December 25th: Protest in Press Club December 29th: Press Club meeting December 25th: Protest in Jantar Mantar December 27th: Protest in Jantar Mantar December 25th: Preparatory meeting held and public action planned
The Movement of India
November - December 2010
Release
Dr. Binayak Sen
For details write to binayakfreein2011@gmail.com or call 9351562965
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The Movement of India
RNI No: MAHENG/2006/18083
Post Printed matter
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To,
From : The Movement of India c/o Clifton D’Rozario, 122/4, Infantry Road Opp. Infantry Wedding Hall, Bangalore - 560 001 Karnataka (India)
To subscribe to MoI, please write to movementofindia@gmail.com or call 011-24374535. Visit NAPM’s website at http://napm-india.org/ The Movement of India c/o Clifton D’Rozario, 122/4, Infantry Road, Opp. Infantry Wedding Hall, Bangalore - 560 001, Karnataka (India) Email: movementofindia@gmail.com, Phone: +91 97317 38131