Left-wing fact-finding report indicts cops, Maoists for atrocities on tribals in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-infected region

By Our Representative
A recent fact-finding visit by a Left-wing delegation to the worst Naxalite-infected areas of Bastar division in Chhattisgarh has found that there has been large-scale arrest of villagers, with the law being allegedly used by the cops “as an instrument of torture rather than of justice or peace-keeping”.
Seeking a “high level judicial enquiry on all the encounters, arrests, surrenders, rapes and other atrocities by state-sponsored vigilantes, police, security forces and Naxalites since 2005”, the delegation has taken strong exception to a new form of the armed anti-Maoist organization Salwa Judum, banned by the Supreme Court, cropping up in the region.
Pointing out that the police are “holding Jan Jagran Abhiyans” in the same way as Salwa Judum used to do, the report said, they are “threatening and distributing all kind of goodies to the villages, including cell phones, if they inform on the Maoists.” It added, “This is very similar to the origins of Salwa Judum. In Kumakoleng village, 50 persons were forced to ‘surrender’ in March, and are now living in different police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camps.”
The delegation comprised of Sanjay Parate, Chhattisgarh state secretary CPI-M; Vineet Tiwari, Joshi-Adhikari Institute, CPI, New Delhi; Prof Archana Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru University, associated with the All-India Democratic Women's Association, and Prof Nandini Sundar, Delhi University, visited Bastar Division from May 12 to 16, 2016.
The report said, “The most recent and worrying development we observed was the manner in which villagers in and around the Kanger national park - in Tongpal and Darbha blocks - are being arrested and made to surrender by police, and then threatened and brutally beaten by Maoists.”
Pointing towards how people are caught between atrocities of the police and the Maoists, the report said, “On April 15, the police/CRPF held a Jan Jagran Abhiyan in Kumakoleng. On April 17, the Maoists beat up villagers, including women, for asking for a CRPF camp to come up near their village. Two-thirds of the entire village of Kumakoleng has now fled and is living outside the village for fear of Maoists”.
Similarly, it noted, “In neighbouring Soutnar panchayat, the villagers resolved to keep the Maoists out and have been patrolling the villages with bows, arrows and axes for the last three months.” Yet, it added, “The villagers say the police have refused to set up camp, telling them that the Maoists will go away if they patrol, thus making them vulnerable.”
Claiming that the police “is not interested in any peaceful and honest approach to the problem” the report pointed towards a fake encounter, which took place at Marjum village, in which two innocent youth, Markam Manglu and Podiyam Vijja, were killed, but they were passed off as Maoists by the police. The CPI held a demonstration on May 19 in Dantewada to press for a fair enquiry into the incident and registration of an FIR.
The team also came “across a number of instances of arrests of ordinary villagers, some allegations of rape by police, and one confirmed instance of rape and sexual exploitation by an SPO/sahayakarakshak working in a Border Security Force (BSF) camp, resulting in pregnancy”, the report said, adding, “We also learnt of instances where Maoists had killed people, leading to severe disaffection among people.”
The report said that the whole district is “heavily militarized” with CRPF/BSF/Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camps every 5 km, and in the villages around the Raoghat mines, every 2 km, saying, this is “in complete violation of the 5th Schedule, Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Forest Rights Act 2006.”
It added, “No gram sabha permission is sought, camps come up at night, and people’s cultivation is taken over, without their rights being settled. There is massive destruction to the environment.”
Pointing out that the whole effort in the region is to build roads “with a view to intensive mining and industrialization, with no concern for people’s welfare or rights”, the report said, there is “almost no implementation" of the rural jobs guarantee scheme, NREGA, "despite this being a drought year.”
---
Click HERE to download report

Comments

Modi win may force Pak to put Kashmir on backburner, resume trade ties with India

By Salman Rafi Sheikh* When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India. In doing so, it stripped the special constitutional status conferred on Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state, and downgraded its status from a state with its own elected assembly to a union territory administered by the central government in Delhi.

Stagnating wages since 2014-15: Economists explain Modi legacy for informal workers

By Our Representative Real wages have barely risen in India since 2014-15, despite rapid GDP growth. The country’s social security system has also stagnated in this period. The lives of informal workers remain extremely precarious, especially in states like Jharkhand where casual employment is the main source of livelihood for millions. These are some of the findings presented by economists Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera at a press conference convened by the Loktantra Bachao 2024 campaign.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

'Assault on civic, academic freedom, right to dissent': TISS PhD student's suspension

By Our Representative The Mumbai-based civil rights group All India Secular Forum (AISF) has said that the suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan (30) for two years for allegedly indulging in activities which were "not in the interest of the nation" is meant to send out the message that students and educational institutes will be targeted if they don’t align with the agenda and ideology of the ruling regime. TISS in a notice served to Ramadas has cited that his role in screening the documentary 'Ram Ke Naam' on January 26 as a "mark of dishonour and protest" against the Ram Mandir idol consecration in Ayodhya. Another incident cited in the notice was Ramadas’ participation in the protest against unfair government policies in Delhi under the banner of the Progressive Students' Forum (PSF)-TISS. TISS alleges the institute's name was "misused", which wrongfully created an impression that

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor* Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Tyre cartel's monopoly: Farmers' groups seek legal fight for better price for raw rubber

By Our Representative The All India Kisan Sabha and the Kerala Karshaka Sangham that represents the largest rubber producing state of Kerala along with rubber farmers have sought intervention against the monopoly tyre companies that have formed a cartel against the interests of consumers and farmers. Vijoo Krishnan, AIKS General Secretary, Valsan Panoli, Kerala Karshaka Sangham General Secretary, and four farmers representing different rubber growing regions of Kerala have filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court.

Why it's only Modi ki guarantee, not BJP's, and how Varanasi has seen it up-close

"Development" along Ganga By Rosamma Thomas* I was in Varanasi in this April, days before polling began for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. There are huge billboards advertising the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The only image on all these large hoardings is of the PM, against a saffron background. It is as if the very person of Modi is what his party wishes to showcase.

Joblessness, saffronisation, corporatisation of education: BJP 'squarely responsible'

Counterview Desk In an open appeal to youth and students across India, several student and youth organizations from across India have said that the ruling party is squarely accountable for the issues concerning the students and the youth, including expensive education and extensive joblessness.

Following the 3000-year old Pharaoh legacy? Poll-eve Surya tilak on Ram Lalla statue

By Sukla Sen Located at a site called Abu Simbel in Nubia, Upper Egypt, the eponymous rock temples were created in 1244 BCE, under the orders of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC)... Ramesses II was fond of showcasing his achievements. It was this desire to brag about his victory that led to the planning and eventual construction of the temples (interestingly, historians say that the Battle of Qadesh actually ended in a draw based on the depicted story -- not quite the definitive victory Ramesses II was making it out to be).

India's "welcome" proposal to impose sin tax on aerated drinks is part of to fight growing sugar consumption

By Amit Srivastava* A proposal to tax sugar sweetened beverages like tobacco in India has been welcomed by public health advocates. The proposal to increase sin taxes on aerated drinks is part of the recommendations made by India’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian on the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill in the parliament of India.

Counterview

Search This Blog