Vanvasi Chetna Ashram demolished by SDM, Dantewada
At around 5 in the morning of 17th May, 2009, a huge force of around 500 CRPF, STF, Chhattisgarh Police, and SPOs (the contingent included 100 policewomen), landed at the campus of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram (which is being continually harassed by the government for standing up against the Salwa Judum)at Kanwalnar and began cordoning off the entire area by posting para-military personnel in every direction. All these actions were part of the demolition of the VCA office and residential premises, which was to follow in the next few hours. A day before (Saturday, 16 May) a notice dated 13th May had been served to VCA by the SDM, which mentioned a period of five days (13-17th May) during which time the Ashram would need to be vacated since they deemed the Ashram to be “an encroachment” over government forest land. The notice and VCA’s reply can be found here.
Having cordoned off the area, the SDM, Mr Ankit Anand, then informed Himanshuji (at 7 am) that he and his family and staff had one hour to remove all their personal belongings, official papers, etc. At 8 am around 4-5 bulldozers began rolling into the Ashram premises and within the next few hours they had razed the entire campus (including training halls, staff quarters, the main office building, and residential area) to the ground not even sparing the tubewells and an open well which had been constructed by the Government. The boundary fence of the Ashram, the boards on the road leading to the Ashram, were also twisted and uprooted. All this continued for four hours.
Besides destroying the buildings and all Ashram effects (including official files which could not be removed in time, cupboards, etc.) the police and armed personnel manhandled four of seven visitors of VCA including a freelance photojournalist; two PHD research scholars from IIS, Bangalore; one woman student intern from Symbiosis, Pune and Himanshuji’s nephew who was there on a personal visit and a health worker of VCA. These people were released after two hours after an interrogation, taking down their statements, and a cursory medical checkup of those who were beaten.
Though the SDM and his forces allowed the press to go into the VCA premises during the demolition drive, they made all VCA staff and supporters sit a km away on the road leading to the Ashram saying that they could not allow any outsiders while the demolition was going on. As of now all VCA staff, Himanshuji’s family (including his wife and two children), visitors and supporters of VCA who were presently in residence are camping under tress in the Ashram premises. The District Collector had a brief meeting with Himanshuji and those who were picked up and manhandled at his office. The Collector has offered the use of a hall and room in the Government Circuit House as temporary shelter and storage.
- VCA’s press statement of 16th May 2009 about the impending demolition, just one day prior to the fateful day can be found here.
- One of the persons roughed up by the police is photo-journalist Javed Iqbal whose scathing exposes of police brutality, police encounters, and Salwa Judum earned him the wrath of the State Government and Police. Two of his journalistic pieces can be found here and here.
- Another person detained by the Police was Veronica Kalpana Gautam whose report on the seizue of rations meant for tribals of a rehabilitated village by the police, can be found here.
At present everyone here is too shocked to think of any protest action but once things settle down such action will be planned. Regular updates will follow.
VCA, Dantewada
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Binayaksen.net is one of many efforts by well wishers and supporters of Dr Binayak Sen to bring the injustice being done to him by the government of Chhattisgarh to the attention of people around the world. 
This is obscenity beyond description. Why is the worldwide press not telling these stories? We must try to raise more awareness of these atrocities outside of India. So that more people- including Indians in India- become aware that there’s more to our country than its alleged democracy.
Good Job by the VCA and the young team. May God almighty, bestow you all enough courage and determination to tackle these fascist bearaucrats. Maybe its high time Rahul Gandhi got a chance to see and feel the real India. Godspeed.
This brutal act needs strongest condemnation.
http://petitions.aidindia.org/VCA/
It seems like the petition is being blocked in some parts of India.
Mere condemnation is pointless. The Indian state is not moved by mere sentiment and moral concern. Only the Maoist insurgents can respond to state terror.
Mukerjee wondered why the western press ignores the foul deeds. The answer is the West finds India too poor, dirty and chaotic to be of interest. To an outsider, nothing interesting happens in India – apart from Bollywood and cricket. There is no intellectual stimulus; the leaders have no charisma, nothing new to say. The scale of injustices and corruption is frightening and people feel demoralised and helpless.
Demolition is one of the most subtle attempt to curb civil society and civil liberties in Chattisgarh. I have been in Ashram last year and found that really in that area there are very voices against the state terror and Vanvasi Chetna Ashram is one of them.
this is a dastardly act. the national media has no guts to report these acts of violence by the state machinery on innocent people who are barely able to survive under the cycle of deprivation that the state of chattisgarh is unleashing on them.
the very govt that we elect is now the enemy of the people…we are worse than african countries when it comes to respecting human lives and law and order.
this is inglorious…people fighting for the rights of the common man are being treated like criminals…the state should stand trial for the planned mass murder and deprivation of crores of tribals in the nation in the name of development.
we have to step in for action….the answer is armed struggle against the killer machinery of the state…there will be casaulties but its better to die today fighting than see your house destroyed, family members killed….its time for a people’s revolution…..
Dr Sen’s bail is one shimmering example of what Collective Dissent can help in achieving. We must continue to systematically target these atrocities, one by one and collectively protest against them, using all the various methods available to us. Let’s NOT despair. Let’s NOT give up before the battle has started. Let’s continue the struggle. Let’s make it our business. Let’s take it personally, very personally.
government is doing wrong istrongley condem this agaist vca and himansu kumar
[...] Kopa Kunjam was my first guide into the forest villages of Dantewada. At the time he worked with Himanshu Kumar’s Vanvasi Chetna ashram, doing exactly what Lingaram tried to do much later – travelling to remote villages, bringing out the news, and carefully documenting the horror that was unfolding. In May 2009 the ashram, the last neutral shelter for journalists, writers and academics who were travelling to Dantewada, was demolished by the Chhattisgarh government. [...]
[...] Kopa Kunjam was my first guide into the forest villages of Dantewada. At the time he worked with Himanshu Kumar’s Vanvasi Chetna ashram, doing exactly what Lingaram tried to do much later – travelling to remote villages, bringing out the news, and carefully documenting the horror that was unfolding. In May 2009 the ashram, the last neutral shelter for journalists, writers and academics who were travelling to Dantewada, was demolished by the Chhattisgarh government. [...]