DGP VISHWA RANJAN: Why Are Justice And The Law Being Trampled Into Dirt By The Police In Chhattisgarh?

In the Indian State of Chhattisgarh, tribal communities are being forced off their ancestral lands by the state in the name of fighting a violent Maoist insurgency. Government security forces and a state-supported civilian militia, the Salwa Judum, have destroyed hundreds of villages and uprooted several hundred thousand people from their homes over the last three years.

We, a coalition of individuals and organizations desiring peace, justice, and human rights for the people of Chhattisgarh, condemn violence in all forms by all parties involved—the State, the Salwa Judum, and the Maoist insurgency. The state has a particular responsibility to ensure not only that it stays within legal bounds, but also that it does not enable proxies to perform extra-judicial acts. But in Chhattisgarh, Mr. Vishwa Ranjan, as the Director-General of Police (DGP) of Chhattisgarh, not only heads a police force responsible for widespread violence and brutality against tribal communities [1], but also one which supports, enables, arms, and legitimizes the Salwa Judum.

Mr. Vishwa Ranjan goes after anyone who speaks out against the Salwa Judum, or questions the high-handed, brutal and illegal actions of the police in its purported drive to put down the insurgency. Ranjan labels all those who oppose him or question his actions as “Maoist sympathizers,” and if they continue to speak out, they are likely to end up in prison, charged with “anti-national” activities—as has happened to Dr. Binayak Sen, a distinguished doctor, public health activist, and civil rights leader.

Now Mr. Vishwa Ranjan is to speak at a seminar on Indian Democracy at the University of California, Berkeley, the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement, while simultaneously denying freedom of speech for journalists, human rights activists, and the people of Chhattisgarh.

Join us in challenging Vishwa Ranjan as he defends police-state tactics at this open forum

Justice and the Law: Case Study of Chhattisgarh
SATURDAY 09/27, 2.30 PM
Barrows Hall, 8th Floor, Lipman Room
University of California, Berkeley

Ask the DGP
Why do you justify state brutality and repression of the citizenry?

Demand that the DGP
STOP supporting Salwa Judum
STOP imprisoning human rights activists
STOP silencing voices of dissent in Chhattisgarh
DROP CHARGES against and RELEASE Political Prisoners

Endorsed By

Students for Justice in Chhattisgarh - Association for India’s Development, Berkeley
Friends of South Asia - Alliance of South Asians Taking Action
Campaign to Stop Funding Hate - Hesperian Foundation, Berkeley
People’s Health Movement, USA - Sanhati

What is the Salwa Judum?

A civilian militia group, largely armed and supported by the Government of Chhattisgarh [2], and directly controlled by the police under Mr. Vishwa Ranjan
Forcibly recruits civilians, including kids under the age of 15 [3]; attacks entire villages it perceives as being pro-Naxalite, and forces villages to relocate to Salwa Judum Camps - squalid shanty towns, often enclosed in barbed wire, where villagers have no regular supply of food, or any way to make a living, and live in constant fear [1,2]
Result? Over 600 villages “abandoned” and nearly three hundred thousand people displaced from their ancestral lands and divorced from their livelihoods [4]

DGP VISHWA RANJAN: Why Are Justice And The Law Being Trampled Into Dirt By The Police In Chhattisgarh?

Salwa Judum members.

What is the CSPSA, why is it a Black Law?

CSPSA (Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act) dramatically broadens what is deemed unlawful. Any activity that may have even a tendency to pose an obstacle to the maintenance of public order is now deemed illegal [5]
The act prohibits the media from reporting on any activities that can be seen as ‘unlawful’ activities, which in effect bars the media from reporting on the Maoist party.This is a violation of international standards and the National Constitution [6]

These Black Laws have been used to silence voices critical of the Government or of the Salwa Judum [1,6]

Who are the Maoist insurgents (Naxalites) in Chhattisgarh?

Naxalites call for a total transformation of the existing political system to create a new social order ending what they see as the exploitation of marginalized and vulnerable communities [1]
Tactics include forced land re-distribution, destruction of state infrastructure, attacks on state officials and police, extortion of money and food, coerced recruitment (including children [3]), killing of “traitors” [1]

Who is Dr. Binayak Sen? Why is he in jail?

Dr. Binayak Sen is a pediatrician, public health specialist and Vice President of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). He has served the poorest and most marginalized communities in the interior and tribal areas of Chhatisgarh for over 25 years. In April 2008, Dr. Sen was awarded the Jonathan Mann award, the highest international honor in Global Health and Human Rights.

Dr. Sen has been a prominent critic of the Salwa Judum and the Government’s high-handed tactics in the State, and has participated in many investigations that exposed these violations. Sixteen months ago Dr. Sen was arrested on false charges of sedition under the CSPSA “Black Law.”

References
1.“Being Neutral is our Biggest Crime: Government, Vigilante and Naxalite Abuses in India’s Chhattisgarh State. “ Human Rights Watch, July 2008.
2. “When the State Makes War on its Own People”. A report by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and four other Indian human rights organizations, 2006.
3.“India: All Sides Using Children in Chhattisgarh Conflict.” Human Rights Watch, Sep 2008
4. “Salwa Judum and the tale of 644 deserted villages”. Rediff.com, Sep 2008.
5. Memo to President of India on the CSPS Bill . People’s Union For Democratic Rights (PUDF), Mar 2006.
6. “Journalists in trouble when reporting on tribes”. Reporters Without Borders, 2006.