Wall Street Journal Q&A with Aruna Roy
![[Aruna Roy]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-EU549_arunar_D_20091103031818.jpg "Wall Street Journal Q&A with Aruna Roy")
Aruna Roy, a political and social activist, gave up her career in the Indian Administrative Service in 1975 to devote her time to social work and social reform. She has focused her energies on Rajasthan, where she helped establish the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan in 1990, a grass roots peoples organization that works for the empowerment of workers and peasants. In 2000, Ms. Roy won the Ramon Magsaysay award for community leadership and for her role in empowering Indian villagers to claim what is rightfully theirs by upholding and exercising the people’s right to information. As Maoist violence continues unabated in the country, Ms. Roy spoke exclusively to Jyoti Malhotra for the Wall Street Journal. Excerpts from the interview.
WSJ: In recent weeks, India’s Maoists rebels have unleashed a reign of terror across the countryside, especially in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, murdering people and damaging public property. As someone who has worked as an activist for many decades in rural India, what is the reason for this sudden violence?
AR: It is now widely accepted that development has not reached people in Chhattisgarh and other parts of the country. The Adivasis, or tribals who live here, are delinked from other parts of the country socially, culturally and politically, they are really like an island. Since Independence, most government officials have treated these areas as punishment postings. Few have wanted to live and work there and those who have gone have not treated the tribals as their equals. It’s been a sort of sahib-servant relationship. Several activists and those in the development sector did work there, but always came under surveillance like Binayak Sen. With Sen, as you know, he was arrested and put behind bars and accused of sympathizing with the Maoists. An important group which reached the tribal areas were the Christian missionaries who set up schools there, followed by Hindu right-wing groups who decided that the tribals must be “saved” from the Christians. These religious tensions usually ended in violence. In the meantime, the tribal belt, which is really the mineral belt of India, became the focus of interest of multinational companies…
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Citizens Initiative for Peace Letter to Chidambaram
Post Box 3811 Andrews Ganj Post Office, New Delhi-110049
peacecitizens@yahoo.co.in
To
Shri P Chidambaram
Union Home Minister
New Delhi
28 Oct 2009
Subject: Suggestions for Urgent Action in Tribal Areas
Dear Sri P Chidambaram,
We are deeply concerned over the recent developments in the tribal region of central India. The unfolding para-military offensive in that area, we fear, is bound to worsen the prevailing situation there causing widespread killing of innocent adivasis besides increasing the hardships they are already facing. We are also concerned over the loss of lives of security personnel. It is well known that the adivasis have been subjected to deprivations for centuries and they are now confronted with new problems stemming from the manifold attacks on them from the side of the state in the wake of the recent industrialization drive and the resistance to it spearheaded in many areas by the Maoists.
We believe that the following initiatives should be urgently taken to address the situation which is fast developing into a crisis.
1. As a Gandhian activist working in one of the most affected areas of Chhatisgarh I am well aware that the civil administration was prevented from functioning by the Salwa Judum vigilantes and the security forces as a strategy to force the people to vacate the villages and come to the Salwa Judum Camps; that is why some of the major welfare programmes were abandoned and basic amenities denied to the people in the tribal villages. As a result of this a large proportion of the population became dependent on the naxalites for their survival and protection. Characterising the affected areas as a “liberated zone of the Maoists” was a part of that strategy.
Therefore, we suggest that the civil administration be allowed to resume its functions immediately. I believe that the Maoists have no reasons to deprive the tribal people from the basic amenities available through ration shops under the PDS for the BPL families, Anganwadi programme, schools, health services and National Rural Employment Guarentee Act ( NREGA) which must be resumed .
2. All offensive drives by the paramilitary forces,the SPOs and Salwa Judum vigilantes in the tribal areas should be immediately stopped. Police may function to assist the civil administration in carrying out the much-needed development measures.
3. The Supreme Court order to the Chhatisgarh Government to rehabilitate and compensate all tribal people displaced due to Salwa Judum be implemented forthwith.
4. State should create confidence in the minds of the adivasis by prosecuting all those involved in committing severe atrocities like rape, murder, looting their properties and burning houses. It should be noted that none of the criminals habe been brought to book and justice has been denied to the tribals till date despite the reports of the NHRC and orders of the Supreme court.
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‘I condemn the beheading… but we have to see it in the background of state violence’
Vinay Sitapati
Indian Express
Chhattisgarh-based doctor BINAYAK SEN was arrested in May 2007 for his alleged links with Naxalites. Following a public campaign for his release, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in May 2009. In this interview with VINAY SITAPATI, he speaks on the beheading of an abducted police inspector by Naxalites.
Inspector Francis Induwar was kidnapped and beheaded by Naxalites in Jharkhand recently. Whatever your ideology, is this not cold-blooded murder?
I condemn the beheading. It is absolutely unacceptable. There is no way I can approve of the killing. There are some questions about who has carried it out. If the CPI (Maoist) has carried it out, I condemn their action. Having said this, it is important to remember that the violence of resistance is a consequence, not a cause. We have to see it in the background of state violence.
But Induwar was in a market when he was captured and then later murdered. How can this be consequential violence?
I have already said that I condemn this action. It is murder and has no justification. But the general violence is a consequence of the state violence — both structural and direct. The vast majority of the poor people are kept in poverty because of the state. Today, the state violence and the violence of resistance are locked into a tragic cycle. This cycle needs to be broken. Both forms of violence need to be brought to a halt. We need to halt military engagement and start talking.
Naxalites have never executed a kidnapped police officer before. This seems to be much worse than the normal “tragic cycle” of violence and counter-violence you refer to. Has Naxalite violence reached a new level?
I hope this is an aberration. I would like to believe that this is an aberration. But I also don’t think this kind of brutality is new for either side. I think similar incidents have occurred before.
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third charge sheet against Dr. Binayak sen
Dear friends,
Please find attached the third chargesheet ( IInd supplementary charge sheet.) against Dr. binayak Sen filed in the Raipur District court on 1st August. 2009.
It is really disgusting the manner in which the chhattisgarh State police is hounding Binayak.
Dr. Sen and Ilina are both in CMC Vellore, where Ilina is undergoing chemotherapy. Between the first and the second Chemotherapy, Ilina translated this note. She wanted advise as to what should be done. Yesterday was the date of th etrial. They have already started calling witnesses from the IIrd charge Sheet. Canthis Charge sheet be schallenged inthe high court.
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Killing of 6 tribal- message from Himanshu
Police claimed on 12th August that it has killed six dreaded naxalites in an encounter near Bhairamgarh reserve forest & they named it operation ‘Green Hunt’. According to the police sources in this operation CRPF, dist police & STF combined of both Dantewada & Bijapur district were included. Police sources further claimed that they have smashed a naxal camp.
As per preliminary reports received from tribes of these villages, in fact these forces reached Vechapal village first to teach them a lesson for opening their mouth a month back about burning& looting of their houses & rape, killing of their fellow villagers. This time these forces captured all the houses of Vechapal village & made holes in the walls to use them as bunkers. Forces stayed in the village for three days. All the tribes of the village hide in the forest during the period. Police forces fired mortar grenade on fleeing tribes killing one boy Modu s/o Bhima. They caught two boys of Ettepad village while they were going to participate in a cock fight at Hurrepal village. They caught two more tribes of Kawadgaon. These forces also caught one women named Somali of village Tinenar & on 11th of August when these forces went back they killed all five people whom they had caught alive and killed them on the way back to the police station. They threw Somali’s dead body
in a stream on the way near Cherli village. Villagers recovered her dead body naked, suspecting rape before she was killed.
We request a national level fact finding team to investigate into this matter & bring out the truth to ensure right to live to these left alone tribals.
Himanshu Kumar
Dantewada- Chhattisgarh
9425260031
