POLICING DISSENT: The Silencing of Speech in Chhattisgarh

Statement read out by Dipti Bhatnagar
Students for Justice in Chhattisgarh, UC Berkeley
The Berkeley Conference on Indian Democracy
Saturday 9/27, 2:00 pm
8th Floor, Barrows Hall

I appreciate this opportunity to express our views and ask some questions of Mr. Vishwa Ranjan, the highest police official of Chhattisgarh.

Others have talked about the broader issues, I wish to talk about the intimidation, the silencing of those who dare to speak out against the trampling of rights by the state. The best known example is perhaps Binayak Sen, an acclaimed doctor currently languishing in the Raipur jail. Binayak Sen has spent more than 25 years serving the poorest and the most marginalized communities of Chhattisgarh. He has also actively worked with these communities in their struggles to protect their rights and dignity, and is the national vice-president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. An outspoken critic of the Salwa Judum, and of the reign of terror spread by state forces in the name of countering the Maoist insurgency, what has been Binayak Sen’s reward? He gets arrested and thrown into jail by the police. Another political prisoner paying the price for having a conscience!

Sixteen long months later, Dr. Sen continues to be held behind bars. Why, you may ask? Well, first it took almost a year before the trial even started. And during this year he had to spend 3 weeks in solitary confinement, a confinement that was illegal, without court approval. Once the trial did start, the police was unable to present any credible evidence, and the prosecution witnesses, nearly two dozen so far, have turned hostile. So what do the police and prosecutor do? They start fabricating evidence. A mysterious letter appears in the supposedly sealed evidence bag produced in court. A letter not listed on the search memo or mentioned in the charge sheet. Not properly authenticated. Conveniently for the state’s case, this letter is from the Maoists, thanking Dr. Sen for his help.

Mr. Vishwa Ranjan, can you tell us why the police feel compelled to fabricate evidence?

Another, and related, case of intimidation by the state is that of Ajay TG, a young film maker and Binayak Sen’s colleague in the PUCL. Ajay’s mistake was making a film about the strange circumstances surrounding Binayak Sen’s arrest and incarceration. So of course, Ajay too was arrested as a threat to the security of the state. In this case, the police couldn’t even produce a charge sheet, even after 90 days, the statutory maximum period someone can be held without charge. But even though they had to let Ajay out on bail, the police haven’t given up.

Mr. Vishwa Ranjan, why have you not dropped the case if you still haven’t come up with a charge sheet against Ajay, 150 days after his initial arrest?

Of course, Ajay TG and Binayak Sen, are not isolated cases of critics being intimidated and harassed into silence by the police. Equally egregious, even if less visible, is the continuing reign of terror in the lives of large swaths of tribal communities in Chhattisgarh. One of the most blatant instances of state intimidation is the case of Nendra village in Dantewara. Villagers from Nendra had been attacked multiple times by the forces of Salwa Judum, had 150 dwellings burnt, 4 women raped and 27 inhabitants, including 9 children, killed. On 10th June 2008, they testified before the visiting fact- finding team from the National Human Rights Commission investigating Salwa Judum atrocities. Five days later, the Salwa Judum forces exacted revenge on this village by attacking it yet again and burning 11 homes. And the police response? They shrugged off this case of arson, saying that Nendra was abandoned and the houses were likely Maoist hideouts.

Mr. Vishwa Ranjan, can you tell us why the police cannot even guarantee the safety and security of witnesses testifying before a team sent into the state under orders from the Supreme Court?

In the name of fighting the Maoists, the police and administration in Chhattisgarh have turned the state into a human rights nightmare.

I, and the other groups and individuals I represent at this podium, demand the repeal of Chhattisgarh’s Black Laws, we demand that the Salwa Judum be disbanded, all political prisoners, including Dr. Binayak Sen be released by the state and democracy be restored in Chhattisgarh.

Thank you!

Supported by:

Alliance of South Asians Taking Action
Association for India’s Development
Campaign to Stop Funding Hate
Friends of South Asia
Hesperian Foundation
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
People’s Health Movement
Sanhati

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September 28, 2008 | Filed Under statements | Leave a Comment 

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

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?
DGP VISHWA RANJAN: Why Are Justice And The Law Being Trampled Into Dirt By The Police In Chhattisgarh?
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.
REPEAL the Black Laws!   DISBAND the Salwa Judum!
RELEASE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS, Including Dr. Binayak Sen!
RESTORE DEMOCRACY!

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September 27, 2008 | Filed Under Protests | Leave a Comment 

Letter from Berkeley Faculty to protest Chhattisgarh DIG’s visit

Mr. Vishwa Ranjan, Director-General of Police, Chhattisgarh

We, concerned members of university and college faculties, write to condemn the ongoing violations of the human and civil rights of its citizens by the state of Chhattisgarh, primarily through the agency of your department, the Chhattisgarh police force. These violations include the arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention of hundreds of people, including Dr. Binayak Sen, an internationally respected provider of medical services to Chhattisgarh’s tribal communities, threats and assaults against civil liberties activists, lawyers and journalists, and most egregious of all, the growing depredations of the state security forces, including the police and the so-called special police officers (SPOs), as well as the state-sponsored violent militia known as the Salwa Judum. We regret to note that not only have you been unsuccessful in halting these violations of human rights, but you have actively justified them and accused anyone opposing them as “demoralis[ing] the state machinery.”

In a report released this past July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented in detail the human rights abuses committed by the Salwa Judum against civilians in Chhattisgarh. HRW’s report gives the lie to your oft repeated claim that the Salwa Judum is a spontaneous unarmed peaceful anti-Naxalite movement by documenting eyewitness accounts of “police participating in violent Salwa Judum raids on villages – killing, looting, and burning their hamlets.”1 Similar to earlier investigative reports by the Independent Citizen’s Initiative and a joint report by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) and People’s Union for Democratic Rights, among others, the HRW report also documents the arbitrary detentions and torture of villagers by the Chhattisgarh police. Reporters without Borders noted with concern that “[journalists] are prevented from reporting and investigating by corrupt politicians, police and Salwa Judum members, many receiving harassment, intimidation and beating … Currently journalists report from press releases produced by the government or risk their life and career by reporting objectively both sides of the struggle.”2

Perhaps the best-known case of a non-violent dissenter being arrested and jailed in Chhattisgarh is that of Dr. Binayak Sen, a prominent and early critic of the Salwa Judum and of state violence. Dr. Sen, a physician serving the poorest and most marginalized communities in the interior and tribal areas of Chhattisgarh for more than 25 years, has been a guiding light for peace and community health. He has won many awards for his work, including the Paul Harrison Award in 2004 from CMC Vellore, his alma mater, from which he had been graduated over 30 years ago following a most distinguished academic career, and most recently the Jonathan Mann Award from the Global Health Council in May 2008. Binayak Sen appears to have earned the government’s ire by being a vocal critic of the high-handed and illegal ways adopted by the state in the name of suppressing the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh. For instance, investigations by ETV-Madhya Pradesh and others had exposed that 12 alleged Maoists, killed by the police in Santoshpur village in a supposed gunfight on March 31, 2007, were unarmed tribals executed at close range. Dr. Sen’s insistence, along with others, finally forced the Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission to take note of this investigation and order the bodies of the victims exhumed. Shortly afterward, Dr. Sen was arrested.3 Not only have you and the state prosecutor failed to present any legally valid evidence against Dr. Sen, the responsible police officers appear to be blatantly concocting fables and planting false evidence.4

Other citizens who have been harrassed by the police include: Amarnath Pandey and DP Yadav, two lawyers who had filed lawsuits regarding the ‘encounter killing’ of one Narayan Khairwar and the custodial rape of one Ledha Bai; filmmaker Ajay TG, a member of the State Executive Committee of the Chhattisgarh Unit of PUCL, and journalist Sai Reddy, both of whom had to be released on bail when the police failed to file a chargesheet even after ninety days; Himanshu Kumar of the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, an NGO that implements implements government programs on health, nutrition, and education, for the ‘crime’ of assisting fact-finding teams investigating human rights abuses; journalists Santosh Poonyem and Kamlesh Paikra for daring to write about the violence committed by Salwa Judum; and even the participants at the third annual meeting of Chhattisgarh Net (www.cgnet.in), an online citizen journalism initiative.

It bears noting that such actions by the law enforcement machinery of any state are not only in violation of the laws of India, but also run counter to India’s international treaty obligations. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), which India acceded to in 1979, declares in relevant part that:

We strongly urge you, as the highest police official in the state of Chhattisgarh, to:

Signed,

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September 27, 2008 | Filed Under Protests, statements | 1 Comment 

Peace Padayatra in Chattisgarh, DGP in California

We must protest human rights violations in Chattisgarh. The Chief of Police who has been silencing dissent and as Salwa Judum spreads terror in the interior tribal villages, is visiting California this week. Please read on:

Himanshu Kumar, who has been working for more than 15 years with Vanvasi Chetana Ashram in the tribal villages of Dantewara, in Chattisgarh, has sent this message about the Peace March they are taking through the villages:

“We are starting a padayatra from Errabore today. Our padyatra will end on 2nd October, Gandhijis birthday in Dornapal. We plan to cover 22 interior villages in 12 days. We are a group of 14 volunteers from Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, including 3 girls. Our night halt today will be at Nendra village….”

Meanwhile, the Director-General of Police, Mr. Vishwa Ranjan is visiting Berkeley California, to speak at a seminar on “Indian Democracy.”

Concerned individuals are planning to raise tough questions for the DGP at this seminar. Concerned faculty are endorsing a letter to present to the DGP in Berkeley. If you are / know faculty who would like to see & sign this letter pls respond to paravinda gmail.com with your name, title and affiliation.

Himanshu Kumar has a question for the DGP of Chattisgarh:

Why have FIRs have not been filed against the Salwa Judum/ SPOs/ Police officers?

1. On 18th March 2008, three tribals living in Matwada Salwa Judum camp in Bijapur district, under the protection of police and SPOs, were brutally killed by the salwa judum/police. The attackers started beating them up at 4 pm and continued beating them for 4 hours till they were finally killed at around 8 pm–their eyes were gouged out and their heads beaten with rocks.

Himanshu ji took the three widows to meet with the DGP. He listened to them and consoled them and told them that such atrocities will not happen again. But later, he claimed that Himanshu ji had lied about this incident, and claimed in court documents that the widows are making false accusations under the influence of the Naxalites. The police has refused to file any FIRs on this matter

More about this incident can be read (in Hindi) here

2. On August 11th, 2008, Salwa Judum/police visited the Arlampalli village and killed 5 people who were engaged in agriculture at that point. The village people claim that they were involved peacefully working in the fields at the time they were killed by the police. They were not threatening the police in any manner. Again, Himanshuji took the parents of one and the wife of another deceased person to meet with the SP of Dantewada, where they complained to him that the police killed their loved ones with no justification. Once again, no FIR was filed.

More information here (again in Hindi): (including the report by Himanshu ji, and petitions by parents and wife of deceased).

If you can BE IN BERKELEY to demand that the DGP STOP supporting Salwa Judum, STOP imprisoning human rights activists, STOP silencing voices of dissent in Chattisgarh and DROP CHARGES against and RELEASE political prisoners including Dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG and others, please go to Barrows Hall on Saturday Sept 26 at 2 pm and make your voice COUNT.

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September 26, 2008 | Filed Under Protests | Leave a Comment 

EVER QUESTIONED A REAL LIVE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR?

This Saturday, come question Vishwa Ranjan, the head police official in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, where police are responsible for:

Ranjan will be speaking at a conference at UC Berkeley on Saturday, and we need your help to ask him the tough questions that his local critics haven’t been able to ask. Join us, in solidarity with the embattled Tribal communities of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh!

Stand up to Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan
The Berkeley Conference on Indian Democracy
Saturday 9/27, 2:00 pm
8th Floor, Barrows Hall

More details:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/india0708/
http://www.binayaksen.net/
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/18naxal.htm
http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Report_Chhattisgarh-2.pdf

Call for endorsements:

Please endorse the attached flyer, protesting the actions of Vishwa Ranjan, the Chief of Police of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, who’ll be speaking at a UC Berkeley conference this Saturday (2pm, September 27, at Barrows Hall).The Chhattisgarh state government has been implicated in numerous human rights violations, including the imprisonment of noted physician and human rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen for the last 16 months, mass diplacement and disenfranchisement of approximately 300,000 tribals, and the sponsorship of the violent Salwa Judum militia movement.
Despite an international campaign to ensure due process, including an appeal signed by 22 Nobel laureates, Dr. Sen and other human rights activists, lawyers, and journalists continue to be harassed by police.The DGP (Director General of Police) of Chhattisgarh is an invited speaker at a panel during “Justice and the Law,” a conference on Indian democracy at UC Berkeley this weekend. Given his active role in silencing and vilifying human rights critics in his own state, it’s
critical for us to speak out.

We ask you to:

1. Endorse our flyer by sending email to freebinayaksen@gmail.com
2. Express your solidarity with the people of Chhattisgarh by attending the panel and supporting our representative who has been invited to participate in the panel to challenge the DGP:

Barrows Hall, UC Berkeley
Saturday, September 27, 2:00pm (show up at 1:30pm)

3. 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,
including Dr. Binayak Sen, Ajay TG and others.
Thank You!

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September 26, 2008 | Filed Under Protests, announcements | Leave a Comment 

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