Professional Documents
Culture Documents
20
CONDEMNATIONS
GALORE WORLDWIDE
AGAINST THE INDIAN STATE'S
WAR ON PEOPLE
IN THE NAME OF
OPERATION GREEN HUNT
We should practice
GUERRILLA JOURNALISM
SAINATH
PEOPLES’ MARCH Contents
Voice of the Indian Revolution Vol. 11 No. 2, Mar-Apr 2010 Rs. 20
Chhattisgarh police
19
abduct
Seema Is a Human
21
Right Worker
Statement The tribal ‘Ruchikas’ of
from Turkey 12 22
Dantewada
PUDR Statement 3
Amnesty International Compulsory voting,
23
Voices against war 4 Statement 13 Chhattisgarh style
Salwa Judum ILPS-Canada Peoples Tribunal
24
the Privatization of 8 14 Verdict
State Violence Statement
Bayan/ILPS Telangana Continues
25
The International Press Release 16 to Burn
Campaign Against War 10 Response by Azad,
on the People How the State is 27
Waging War 17 Spokesperson
Statement
from the Philippines 11 In Chhattisgarh, jail 18 Democracy’ at its worst 40
People's March Articles may be reprinted and translated in various Indian & Foreign Languages
without Permission, Provided the source (http//:peoplesmarch.googlepages.com) is credited
Owned, Edited, Printed & Published by P. Govindan Kutty, Peroor house, Tripunithura, N.F. Ernakulam, Kerala - 682 301,
Printed at Anugraha Printers, Perumbavoor for Cherry Printers, Mannoor, Keezhillam - 683 541
Dear Friends,
The Indian state has amassed exploiting their forests and mineral and and has invited the foreign imperialist
troops in central India on an metal resources at an unbridled pace companies and Indian big industrial
unprecedented scale, to swoop down but have never done anything to houses and their collaborations, to set
on the people. It is the latest of the wars provide them with basic requirements up new projects on these lands. The
launched by it against the people living like drinking water, education, medical Indian government has signed
in this country. The government says facilities etc. The loot of their resources Memorandums of Understanding to the
that it has to move against these areas has been enormous, to the tune of tune of lakhs of crores of rupees with
as Maoists hold sway over it and it is billions of rupees every year, with all the foreign and Indian industrial houses
not under the control of central or state the money going to the industrialists, for this purpose. The contents of these
authority. bureaucrats, politicians, contractors MoU’s are secret and confidential and
In fact the natives of these jungles and the police. All this was going on people have no access to them! The
have been living there for thousands smoothly, till the tribals awakened to current offensive of the Indian state is
of years and have protected these their rampant exploitation and inhuman to wrest back these areas from the
forests as they ensure life to them and oppression and took to the path of control of these people and hand it
are their only source of livelihood for resistance. This resistance has been over to these Companies. All this is
survival. These tribals are the most characteristic of their traditions and in being done in the name of
poor and wretched in our land. accordance with their nature as an development. But this development in
Popularly called adivasis, they are the independent people. Their struggle is fact is in no way the development of
oldest inhabitants of our country, still to put an end to this onslaught which the material conditions of the life of the
living in an ancient age. For thousands has made their life, hell like. That is why tribals and the people living around
of years they have lived an archaic life. they identified with the ideology of these areas. This is amply
In all these years, no one has been able revolutionary Marxism which promises demonstrated in the earlier projects
to subjugate them. The British Empire a world free of loot, exploitation and like Bailladilla, Balco, Bokaro, Bhilai,
tried to do this in 1910 but their oppression. That is why they found Jaduguda and numerous others.
marauding armies were repulsed and common cause with the revolutionary Quite recently we have seen the
forced to beat a retreat. The resistance Maoist rebels, who want to put a stop people of Nandigram, Singur, Kashipur,
of the tribal people against the British to every kind of exploitation and Kalinga Nagar, Lalgarh, Pollavaram,
forces was led by the great warrior tyranny and build an egalitarian, Tehri and Narmada Project areas
Gundadhur. This is popularly known humane society, free of resisting the setting up of car factories,
as the Bhoomkal Baghawat. Earlier, any kind of discrimination. dams, huge mining pit centers, SEZ’s
they had fought the British under the Of course, as is well known by and other projects which have nothing
leadership of Birsa Munda in the now, they are living on lands which are to do with the development and well-
famous Munda Rebellion in the blessed with the richest minerals, being of the masses of ordinary toiling
nineteenth century. metals and other natural resources like and poor in these areas or in the
Since then, no regime has dared to Iron, Coal, Bauxite, Manganese, country elsewhere. It is meant to enrich
attack and attempt to subjugate them, Corundum, Gold, Diamonds, Uranium the handful of already rich, who lives
whether they were the British or the etc. The Indian state has never a parasitic life, or to fill the coffers of
post-British rulers sitting at Delhi. considered that tribals have a right to foreign imperialist capitalists whose
They have remained a free people all their land and jungles, and have only religion is to loot, plunder and
along, with their own culture, customs constantly tried to usurp them in exploit. The people here have struggled
and a unique way of life. The central various ways. The State wants to and fought against the state for their
and state governments have been further intensify this exploitation now, rights over their lands and against the
The Home Minister, P. Chidambaram says that the Naxalites have forced a war on the Indian state and its people.
It’s the other way round. The Indian state has forced a war on the Indian poor by imposing on them a corporate
sector-induced model of development – threatening wide sections of rural people ranging from the villages of Orissa,
Jharkhand in the east to Rajasthan and Haryana in the north, who are being ousted from their lands. They are
breaking out in protest demonstrations. The state responds by resorting to violence to suppress them. It has built up
a well-structured a military network consisting of a variety of forces going under the names of CRPF, CISF, Special
Operation Group, Eastern Frontier Rifles, etc. in various states. Exposures by independent reporters (in magazines
like TEHELKA) have revealed how the senior officials and their juniors in these para-military forces have been
consistently killing innocent people in false encounters, raping women, burning villages, not only in Maoist-dominated
villages of Chhattisgarh, but also in Manipur and other parts of the north-east. The CRPF in particular has earned a
notoriety for atrocities in areas wherever they had been deployed. The national media may shed tears for the death
of the 75-odd CRPF soldiers in Chhattisgarh. But then, these soldiers, by being cannon-fodders of the Indian state,
however tragic it might be, suffered the fate that – I’m sorry to say – they deserved. Should the bourgeois-liberals
and human rights activists shed tears for the young dedicated Nazi soldiers (who massacred the Jews), and were
killed in reprisal by the Soviet Red Army? Surely, there should be a limit to the tolerance that bourgeois-liberalism
allows!
To come back to the latest incident of the Maoist attack on the CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh…. if we accept it as a
part of a civil war, such killings are inevitable (just as the CRPF killings of Maoists) in a violent system that has been
institutionalized by the Indian state. The difference between the CRPF violence (involving ‘false encounters’, raping
of tribal women, burning their homes, etc.) on the one hand, and the Maoist violence on the other (which means
attacks on oppressive landlords and the police and para-military forces like the CRPF which come to the aid of the
landlords) - has to be distinguished by civil society groups. PM
PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010 7
Salwa Judum
the Privatization of State Violence
Salwa Judum was a terror campaign Green Hunt, a military campaign with The list continues:
launched by the government, where the nearly one lakh personnel. Under Supporters:
police recruited tribal youth at Rs.1500 various pretexts, the Indian Air Force
1. Gursharan Singh, Dramatist-
per month as Special Police Officers is weighing its wings to swoop down Activist, Punjab 2. Prof. Bawa Singh,
(SPOs). The SPOs were given arms and on the forests, in spite of promises to
Guru Sar Sudhar College, Sudhar,
let loose on the villagers in the the contrary by the Prime Minister. Ludhiana 3. Jaswant Kailvi, Ghazalgo,
movement areas. They burned, killed, We have been told that Maoists are Writer, Ferozepur 4. Baru Satwarg,
raped and forced people to flee their the biggest internal threat to the country. Novelist-Activist, Rampuraphul,
homes, with the help of paramilitary Who are these Maoists? They are just Bathinda 5. Dr. Baldev Singh, Deptt.
forces and specially trained Naga the people themselves who have taken of Economics, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur
Battalions standing guard. to the path of resistance, to struggle Khalsa College, Delhi 6. Jaspal Singh
Salwa Judum restricted and against the various Indian governments, Sidhu, Veteran Journalist (Presently
destroyed trade in these areas by closing who one after the other, do not allow Media Consultant with Punjabi
down the haat bazaars and trying to them a life of dignity or one of peace. University, Patiala) 7. Samual John,
demolish their economy to force the The state is attacking its own people Director Peoples’ Theatre, Lehra Gaga,
tribals into submission. From 2005-07, threatening to wipe them out, if they Sangrur 8. Jatinder Mauhar, Film
this went on for two years They don’t vacate the lands they have lived Director, Mohali 9. Megh Raj Mitter
destroyed standing and harvested crops, on for centuries. And we know about (Shiromani Lekhak), Barnala, Punjab
burned or poisoned the grain and other the term collateral damage – the killing 10. Dr. Mohan Tyagi, Poet, B.N. Khalsa
jungle produce kept by the tribals for of the civilian population in a war. Senior Sec. School, Patiala 11. Master
exchange in the haat bazaars to procure Salwa Judum killed the people without Des Raj Chili, Look Kale Munch Chili,
other essentials of life. Even all this a declared war, now they intend to kill Lehrer Gaga, Sangria 12. Jadish Para,
could not force the tribals to submit. on a much huger scale. They want to Writer, Lehrer Gaga, Sangria 13.
Rather than surrender, they lived on break the back of resistance by killing Narinder Nath Sharma, Advocate,
bamboo seeds. people. They want to hand over the Patiala 14. Dr. Tejwant Mann, Literary
The bloody campaign of Salwa resource rich lands of the tribals to the Critic, Sangrur 15. Prof, Harbhajan
Judum killed hundreds of tribals, greedy foreign capitalist lords. They Singh, Writer, USA 16. Yadwinder
burned hundreds of villages, raped want to destroy the alternate Kurfew, TV Journalist, Delhi 17.
hundreds of women, forcing about development what the people have Harbans Heon, Writer, Banga,
50,000 tribals to live in enclosures created with their enormous toil and Nawanshahr 18. Ajmer Sidhu, Writer,
called relief camps, set up by the police, persistent struggles. Nawanshahr 19. Gurmit Juj, Poet,
which the tribals ultimately fled. This Let us think. Let us awake. Let us Singer, Krantikari Sabhayachar Kendar,
campaign forced about 30,000 people spread the word. Let us awaken the Punjab 20. Balbir Chohla, Activist-
to flee their villages for other provinces. people everywhere else. Let us raise Journalist, Taran Taran 21. Prof.
Lakhs of people were forced to leave our voice against injustice. Let us tell Bhupinder Singh (retd), Sociology,
their homes and to roam in the interiors the government that it must stop this Punjabi University, Patiala 22. Satnam,
of the jungles. In fact the government war against its own people and Writer-Freelance Journalist, Patiala 23.
tried to destroy their whole economy instead listen to them, respect their Buta Singh, Publisher, Baba Bujha
and sources of livelihood even aspirations and attend to their Singh Prakashan, Banga, Nawanshahr
threatening to poison open water demands. 24. Jasdeep, Software Engineer, Delhi
sources in the forests. This is an unjust war which the 25. Harpreet Rathore, TV Journalist,
But the resistance continued. It government has declared on its own Delhi 26. Veer Singh, Research Scholar,
could not be broken. And Now people. JNU 27. Narbhinder, Activist-Writer,
Sirsa 28. Karam Barsat, Columnist,
Bitter with its failure to make the It must stop.
people yield to them, the government Sangrur 29. Sukirat, Journalist-Writer,
Here are the names who have so Jalandhar 30. Makhan Singh Namol,
has now embarked upon Operation far consented to the paper and signed Advocate, Sangrur 31. Davinderpal, TV
8 PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010
Journalist, Delhi 32. Partap Virk, TV Activist, Barnala 48. Charanjeet Singh Kala Manch, Mandi MulanPur, (Ldh)
Journalist, Delhi 33. Dr. Bhim Inder Teja, Freelance Journalist, Amritsar 49. 65. Prof. Ajmer Singh Aulakh.
Singh, Lecturer, Punjabi University, Attarjit, Short Story Writer, Bathinda Dramatist, Mansa 66. Dr. Maninder
Patiala 34. Jasvir Deep, Journalist and 50. Rajeev Lohatbaddi, Advocate, Kang, Writer, Jalandhar 67. Charanjit
Social Activist, Nawanshahr 35. Patiala 51. Harvinder Deewana, Chetna Bhullar, Journalist, Bathinda 68. Dr.
Paramjit Dehal, Poet & Literary Kala Kender, Barnala 52. Balwinder Anand Teltumbde, Human Rights
Activist, Nawanshehar 36. Prof. Kotbhara, Writer-Journalist, Bathinda Activist and wirter, Mumbai 69. Dr.
Jagmohan Singh, Democratic Rights 53. B.R.P. Bhaskar, Journalist, Puneet, Patiala 70. Taskeen, Critic,
Activist, Ludhiana 37. Dr. Gurjant Thiruvananthapuram 54. S.S. Azaad, Kapurthala 71. Chanda Asani, social
Singh, Punjabi University, Patiala. 38. Writer, Mansa 55. Sadhu Binning, researcher and activist, Mumbai 72.
Iqbal Kaur Udaasi, Progressive Singer- Writer, Vancouver, BC, Canada 56. Sanjay Joshi, convener, THE GROUP,
Activist, Barnala 39. Balvir Parwana, Hiren Gandhi, Ahmedabad 57. Vijay film group of Jan Sanskriti Manch 73.
Editor Sunday Magazine, Nawa Bombeli, Feature writer, Hoshiarpur Alok Kaushik, Photographer, Delhi 74.
Zamana, Jalandhar 40. Jugraj Dhaula, 58. Paramjeet Singh Khatra, Advocate, Nisha Biswas, Kolkata 75. Ravinder
Poet-Singer, Barnala 41. Dr. Ajit Pal, Nawan Shehar 59. Daljeet Singh, Goel, Associate Professor, Delhi
Writer-Activist, Bathinda 42. Rajinder Advocate, Nawan Shehar 60. Baldev University 76. Saroop Dhruv, Poet,
Rahi, Writer, Barnala 43. Bhupinder Singh, Advocate, District Courts Patiala Ahmedabad 77. Shamsul Islam &
Waraich, State President, Democratic 61. Paramjit Kahma, Doaba Sahit Ate Neelima Sharma (Nishant Natya
Teachers’ Front, Punjab 44. Didar Sabhiachar Sabha, Jejon (Hoshiarpur) Manch), Delhi 78. Manu Kant,
Shetra, Poet, Nawanshahr 45. Baldev 62. Dr. Ramesh Bali, Nawanshehar, Journalist, Online Media, Chandigarh
Balli, Poet, Nawanshahr 46. Jagsir Activist 63. Puneet Sehgal, programme 79. Dr. Pyare Mohan Sharma, Retd.
Jeeda, Lyricist-Singer, Giderbaha, executive, DoorDarshan, Jalandhar 64. Professor, Medical College, Patiala 80.
Bathinda 47. Hakem Singh Noor, Poet- Harkesh Chaudhry & Other Artists, Lok N K Jeet, Advocate, Bathinda PM
Contd..... from Page 17 VANJAM BUDRAI, Resident of asked the police for details about why
people fired at each person. One of Gattapadu village, gave her eye- the men had been taken away, |the
the women screamed and looked witness acoount: police told us that they had been
away. She was hit brutally by the They picked up three of them - detained by the Judum and that the
Judum for looking away. Chodi Masa, Padam Deva and 15- police had nothing to do with this. How
can the police wash their hands off the
They left the bodies in the field and year-old Dudhi Poja - and brought issue when our men were taken to the
them back to the village. The Judum
took the women away with them. After police station?
then forced the three men to round up
a long time, when we could no longer all the goats and chicken they could After several hours, we stepped out
hear the Judum, we walked back to find in the village and then dragged all to get something to eat. When we
our village. I was shocked at what I of them out of the village. The men returned, the people from Palachalam
saw in the village. An old woman who were forced to cook a meal and then told us that all the six men had been
couldn’t see properly had been hacked watch as the Judum men feasted. Once slipped out of the station to an
lunch was done, they marched the undisclosed location. Much later, we
to death inside her house. Her head
three men out of the village. From our heard that the Judum had shot the men.
had been split open. Her stomach had hiding spot, we could see everything Two days later, we heard that the police
been cut open and her intestines that was happening in the village. The had announced that the three men
scattered. There was so much blood minute the Judum left the village, 10- captured from our village were Naxals.
everywhere. Two other men were also 12 people from the village followed And that they had shot them dead in a
killed just outside their houses — their them. We were worried about the three shoot-out.
arms had been chopped off and they men they had taken away with them. Even if the police and the Judum
had been shot. We heard later that the The Judum took them to the nearest argue that Masa and Deva were adults
police station, nearly 8 hours away. and could have been Naxal
five women who were taken from our
Once we reached the police station we sympathizers, how can they label Poja,
village were made to walk 10 realized that the Judum had taken three a 15-year-old boy grazing his cattle, a
kilometres. They were raped and men from Palachalam as well - we met naxal? I doubt Poja had ever seen a
beaten by the Judum before being the women from Palachalam outside gun before he was arrested and shot
allowed to go. the station. At the station, when we dead. PM
PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010 9
The International Campaign Against War on the People of India
Dear friends, Yet, international public opinion is rally the support and solidarity of the
The International Campaign Against kept grossly in the dark about these progressive forces abroad, ICAWPI
War on the People of India (ICAWPI) issues while the mainstream media calls on everyone to join
is now ready to be launched to work continue to follow and repeat the Indian demonstrations and protest actions in
as a coordinating centre seeking State’s claims that “India is the largest front of Indian embassies and
international support for the resistance democracy in the world” and that the consulates on February 5, 2010 where
of the people of India against the all Maoists, as the biggest security threat ever possible. A list of organized events
out military offensive of the Indian state to this “democracy” must wiped out will be published on the website as
against its own citizens. at all costs. Thus they justify their they become available. Further
ICAWPI is an international silence and bless the Indian State in actions, events and meetings are being
extension of widespread opposition perpetrating these crimes in the name planned and will be announced soon
and initiatives against this genocidal war of a “war on terror”. after.
to forcefully crush the heroic resistance The ICAWPI aims to reach out to The website will also publish a list
of the tribal peoples in the heartlands all democratic and freedom loving of clubs, associations and meeting
of India and hand over these lands rich people across the world concerned places in Europe and elsewhere, for
in minerals and raw materials to about the plight of the people in India contact and discussion about the issue
international corporations such as to unite and take initiative to break this and to find ways of raising local
Vedanta. silence internationally and to rally much awareness and take common joint
This overt war serving to facilitate needed support and solidarity to the action.
the looting of the land by Indian and just struggles of the people of India. Please contact the ICAWPI through
international corporations for fabulous Further information on Operation info@iwapi.org to inform us of your
profits and the destruction of the Green Hunt and the struggles of the proposals to bring the campaign to
livelihood of the countless numbers of people are available through your area.
the poorest of the poor in India is www.icawpi.org - a website designed ICAWPI
branded “Operation Green Hunt”. to carry material related to this issue
While in different regions of the country Feb 03, 2010
and the campaign.
the same operation may be named ** In order to receive regular
We request all democratic and updates on developments and
differently, the Indian state shamelessly progressive formations to take initiative
tries to hide this banditry against the campaign news, please join the public
and coordinate their efforts with mailing list of the campaign by sending
people of India and utterly open ICAWPI. All reports of actions,
servitude to the imperialism as “war a blank email to info-request
meetings and letters of solidarity and
against the Naxalites”— imposing a @lists.icawpi.org with a subject line:
concern will be published at this site.
severe reign of terror and repression subscribe or simply contact
In order to launch this campaign and
on progressive and democratic forces info@icawpi.org PM
and individuals everywhere across the
country. Form IV (See Rule 8)
Countless intellectuals, authors, film Statement about ownership and other particulars about Newspaper er People’s March
makers, academics, and other 1. Place of Publication : Peroor House, Tripunithura NF,
professionals such as lawyers and Ernakulam, Kerala
2. Periodicity : Bi-Monthly
doctors who abhor the Indian state’s
3. Printer’s name : P.Govindan kutty
total lies and open disregard for civil
(Whether citizen of India) : Indian
and human rights have joined mass
4. Publisher’s name : P.Govindan kutty
gatherings and rallies and various 5. Editor’s name : P.Govindan kutty
forums in India in order to raise their 6. Name and address of individuals
own voices and join forces to oppose who own the newspaper and partners : P.Govindan kutty Peroor House,
the State and to defend the just cause of share holders holding more than one Tripunithura NF, Ernakulam, Kerala
of the oppressed tribal people in India. percent of the total capital
In the course of this gathering
movement countless people have been I, P.Govindan kutty, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of
arrested and imprisone d. Untold my knowledge and belief.
suffering and restrictions have been S/d
imposed on the people. 31-03-2010 Publisher
Contd..... from Page 42 Government when it has not even given are tracking movement of other
they were trying to snatch their us our basic survival needs like PDS, reporters and fact finding teams visiting
weapons at the roof. NREGS, schools and health? the area. They are conveying this
Government forced us to fight for our information to the local police. The
A very pertinent question was
survival but killed us because we went team felt very strongly that local media
asked to us by a few tribal youths at a to ask them a question? Is that so persons were doing this with malafide
meeting in a village of Kumbhari undemocratic? And what the police did intentions.
Panchayat. They told us that the to us is that what you call Fact Finding Team Members
Government wants tribals to keep democracy?” 1.K SudhakarPatnaik–Senior Journalist
peace and help the Government and The fact finding team also
use democratic means to state their 2.Manoranjan Routray – Journalist
observed that the local media persons
complaints. But the CMAS members have not been reporting the truth behind 3.Sharanya – HumAnE, Koraput
asked us, “Why should we help several facts of the firing incident and PM
12 PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement 2 December 2009
India: Probe killing of two adivasi leaders and release detained activist in Orissa
Authorities in the eastern Indian have claimed that the CMAS has links onsible, is prosecuted in procee-
state of Orissa must ensure with the banned Communist Party of dings which meet international
independent, credible and impartial India (Maoist). standards of fairness;
investigation into the killings of two A seven-member fact-finding team * provide reparations to the families
adivasi (indigenous community) of social and political activists of those killed, and to those who
leaders by police and paramilitary subsequently visited Narayanpatna to suffered injuries or other harm as a
personnel in Narayanpatna on 20 inquire into the killings and related result of unnecessary use of force
November 2009, Amnesty International arrests. Their report released at a press by police;
said today. conference in Orissa’s capital * ensure that police officials as far as
The deceased – Singanna and Bhubaneswar on 27 November rejects possible apply non-violent means
Andrew Nachika – were peacefully the police claim of a CMAS-Maoist before resorting to the use of force
protesting outside the Narayanpatna link and accuses the police officials of and firearms which should be used
police station in Koraput district along unnecessary use of force and arbitrary only if other means remain
with 80-100 other members of an arrests. On 29 November, the police ineffective, and then only to the
indigenous people’s movement – Chasi arrested one of the members of the fact- minimum extent required, and that
Mulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS). The finding team, Tapan Mishra claiming firearms may be used only in self-
protestors demanded that the police that he provided arms training to the defence or the defence of others
stop harassing the adivasi communities banned Maoists. against the imminent threat of death
who have been campaigning for an end Tapan Mishra is a known activist of or serious injury, and only when less
to illegal mining in the area. the Communist Party of India (Maoist- extreme means are insufficient;
Eyewitnesses have informed Amnesty Leninist) (Kanu Sanyal group) – a * ensure that the right to peaceful
International that the police firing began recognized political party. Amnesty assembly is respected and protected
when one of the leaders, Singanna, International understands that Tapan and that police, when fulfilling their
entered the police station premises to Mishra has no links with any armed public order duties, respect human
talk with officials. Another leader, groups and that his arrest may be rights as provided in international
Andrew Nachika, was also shot dead politically motivated. Following this treaties to which India is a state
and at least eight other protestors arrest, other members of the fact- party, and
sustained bullet injuries as police and finding team have expressed fears of
paramilitary forces continued their * Stop harassing, intimidating and
traveling to Narayanpatna. Amnesty bringing politically motivated
unprovoked firing at the unarmed and International is concerned that the arrest
fleeing protestors. charges against protestors and those
of Tapan Mishra appears to be an engaged in defending human rights
The unnecessary use of force on attempt by the State authorities to
adivasi protestors resulted in at least in Orissa.
intimidate and harass those inquiring
two deaths. The State authorities are Background
into the lethal use of force by the police
obligated, under international treaties at Narayanpatna. The CMAS is a social movement
to which India is party, to respect and of Adivasi communities in south-
Amnesty International urges the
protect the right to life at all times. In western Orissa which has been
Government of Orissa to:
an attempt to trace the wounded campaigning, over the last year,
protestors, police raided a number of * immediately order an independent, against illegal mining in their lands and
villages and arrested at least 50 other impartial and thorough habitats by non-Adivasis and
adivasi CMAS supporters. Amnesty investigation into the use of force production and consumption of illegal
International understands that those by the police and ensure that any liquor in the region. Since May last, the
arrested are accused of several offences officer suspected of using force CMAS has intensified its campaign,
including those under Section 121 unnecessarily or excessively, leading to some non-Adivasi families
(waging war against the State) and including those who ordered the fleeing their villages and attacks against
Section 124A (sedition) as the police shooting or were otherwise resp- CMAS supporters. PM
PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010 13
ILPS-Canada demands an end to Operation Green Hunt
and the massive displacement of people in India
Indian government threatens to eradicate popular resistance by March 2010
In late 2009 the Indian government repression as a “potential terrorist”. mistreatment.” Roy continued: “The
unleashed massive war against its own However, from Nandigram to Government doesn’t give the people
people under the code name Niyamgiri, Lalgarh to Dandakaranya, anything else than violence and
“Operation Green Hunt” involving the Koraput to Kalinganagar, Dadri to disrespect. And now they want to take
deployment of 70,000 military and Narayanpatna, people have refused to away from them the last thing they
paramilitary troops in the so-called be mere victims of state-sponsored have, their land”.
“Red Corridor” that runs through parts politics of liberalism, privatization and The purported aim of the Indian
of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, imperialist globalization (LPG) in the government is to clear this heavily
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, name of “development”. forested area of resistance forces,
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West As a result of Operation Green including Maoists and other Naxalite
Bengal states. Hunt and renewed aggressions in organizations. Maoists — also known
It’s the latest in a series of efforts Lalgarh, hundreds of thousands have as Naxalites after Naxalbari district in
by the Indian government, labeled the been displaced, and the number of West Bengal state where they first led
“biggest democracy in the world” by burnt villages, persons displaced, a peasant uprising against landlords in
Canada and other western powers, to injured, arrested or “disappeared” has 1967 — have a strong presence in this
impose “military solutions” on deep- skyrocketed. Many have been placed region. The members of the
seated social, political and economic in so-called “security camps” similar Communist Party of India (CPI -
problems, and to clear the way for to the practice in Sri-Lanka, where the Maoist) the political wing of the
local and trans-national corporations government in Colombo, with the Maoists, are now estimated by
to plunder this region’s resources. backing of Washington and other mainstream Indian media to be 20,000
Most of the riches sit on or under land western powers, bloodily attacked the strong. The focus of Operation Green
occupied by the poorest populations Tamil population in early 2009. Hunt is the Maoist or “Red Corridor”
in India, including the adivasis — the which stretches from West Bengal in
In a letter to Indian Prime Minister
indigenous or tribal peoples. India’s northeast through the states of
Manmohan Singh, dated October 12,
Hundreds of agreements and Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
2009, Indian and foreign intellectuals,
Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in
including Booker Prize-winning author
that allow free plunder of people’s the west. It includes many forest areas
Arundhati Roy and American political
resources have already been including the Dandakaranya forest. Its
activist Noam Chomsky, charged that
concluded by mining and other millions of adivasis were pushed into
the government’s offensive was “an
corporations with the central and state forest regions by waves of invaders
attempt to crush democratic and
government and Special Economic and generally excluded from
popular resistance against
Zones for multinational corporations mainstream Hindu society. They have
dispossession and impoverishment”
have been established. The only a long history of rebellion and militant
and a move that seemed to be geared
barrier that now stands between the uprisings against British colonial rule
towards facilitating the entry and
local and trans-national corporations starting in the 19th Century and have
operation of “large corporations and
and their prize is people’s resistance, been a major base for communist
paving the way for unbridled
both unarmed and in some instances, organizing.
exploitation of the natural resources
armed. and people in the affected regions”. The forests where the adivasis are
During this military-economic concentrated have abundant mineral
Arundhati Roy said, “This is a war
offensive, Indian government is actively wealth (iron, coal, bauxite, manganese,
waged by the army and paramilitary
ignoring its own Constitution and laws corundum, gold, diamonds and
forces for the super rich corporations
such as PESA and the Forest Rights uranium). Over the last years foreign
against the super poor of India, who
Act and targeting anyone who dares and Indian corporations, with the
have been driven to rebel and resist
to speak out against this state protection of the Indian state
by years of injustice and
14 PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010
apparatus, have been exploiting these Progressive Indian political leader marginalized citizens of India.
resources and violently suppressing the Kobad Ghandy was also abducted, We also extend our solidarity and
local people in the process. illegally detained and tortured for three support to the struggle of the tribal
The Communist Party of India days and nights while deprived of people in Lalgarh-Jangalmahal.
(Maoist) has been active in this area medicine and medical treatment for life-
We join the people of India in
since the 1970s, following the threatening health problems. The
demanding:
Naxalbari rebellion. The Maoists have Committee for the Release of Political
Prisoners (CRPP) has been actively - an immediate end to Operation
helped lead the tribals in their struggles
campaigning for the immediate release Green Hunt and the withdrawal
for just demands for land and
of Ghandy and an immediate end to of all military and paramilitary
opposition to police and military
all illegal arrests and detentions and forces;
repression. The Maoists have support
among the Muslim population and the human rights abuses. - an immediate end to the “Lalgarh
Dalits (often referred to as Operation Green Hunt follows on Operation” against the tribal
“untouchables”). They have helped the heels of the vast offensive against people of Lalgarh-Jangal mahal
organize the people to improve the people of Lalgarh-Jangalmahal in and the withdrawal of all military
subsistence agricultural methods, build West Bengal starting June 2009. An and police-paramilitary forces
wells and schools and struggle against All-India Fact Finding Team which was from Lalgarh and nearby areas;
backward feudal practices. organized by progressive forces to - the closing of all “internment”
For years the Indian elite left this look into the atrocities being committed camps;
area in dire poverty and profited from by the West Bengal government was
- the immediate release of all
the cheap labour which migrated all prevented from reaching Lalgarh. The
political prisoners;
over India searching for work. Now, members of the fact-finding team were
arrested, maltreated and detained. An - the Indian government provide
realizing the vast riches that lay in and
international team of Amnesty due compensation to the people
beneath the vast forests of this region,
International was also prevented from displaced and impacted by
the Indian ruling elite, with backing
from the U.S. and other forces, is trying entering Lalgarh. Operation Green Hunt and
to clear the way for a new wave of The International League of Operation Lalgarh, and punish
foreign investment to plunder the Peoples Struggle Canada chapter those military, para-military and
regions’ resources. (ILPS-Canada), and its member police officials responsible for
organizations and allies, support the violence, rape, loot and other
The Indian government claims that
call of the Indian people to demand crimes;
by March 2010 they hope to have
eradicated the Maoists and anyone that their government immediately and - the repeal of the Unlawful
who dares to support them and resists unconditionally withdraw its armed Activities Prevention Act
the government’s armed presence. forces engaged in the military- (UAPA), 2008
According to the Indian state, tens of paramilitary offensive against the - free access to affected areas for
thousands of government “security oppressed adivasi people of fact-finding and solidarity teams
personnel” will combat “against 6,000- Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and journalists;
7,000 armed Maoist cadres”. The Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka and
- that the Central and State
military offensive has been other regions.
governments in India should
accompanied by illegal arrests and Furthermore, we support the Indian
initiate a dialogue with the
detainment of progressive leaders in the people who are demanding that their
people’s movements and accept
area, such as Raja Sarkhel and Prasun government take concrete measures to
their just demands.
Chatterjjee, by the reactionary forces, stop the plunder of the people’s land,
under the CPI (Marxist), an forests, hills and rivers by Indian and Resist imperialist globalization
organization apparently Communist in multinational corporations. This and plunder!
name only, and the Bharatiya Janata requires the scrapping of hundreds of Long live the courageous
Party (BJP). Activists have been MoUs signed by the central and state resistance of the people of India!
heavily tortured to try to force them governments with various corporations ILPS-Canada
to give false testimonies against fellow who plan exploit natural resources at
February 1, 2010
activists. the expense of the poor and PM
PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010 15
Press Release
Bayan/ILPS Phil. Chapter Urge Indian Govt to Stop its Operation Green Hunt
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and the ILPS “Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter likewise condemn
Phil.Chapter today, Feb. 05, 2010, picketed near the Indian the impunity of the Indian government towards the adivasi
Embassy in Makati City to demand that “the Indian who are resisting their plunderous activities. Already, 3
government immediately and unconditionally withdraw its million of the adivasi have been displaced by Operation
armed forces engaged in the military-paramilitary offensive Green Hunt. The adivasi people are the rightful owners of
called Operation Green Hunt, against the adivasi ( the land and the fruits of their hardship, not the Indian
indigenous ) people of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, government which is pro-foreign investors, “ Baua said.
Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka and other regions of this Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter also called on the Indian
populous country.” government for the immediate surfacing of two progressive
Alarmed by the growing resistance movement of the and militant leaders, namely, Mr. Ravi Sharma and Ms.
adivasi in many parts of India, the government has Anuradha, who were forcibly taken from their workplace
unleashed Operation Green Hunt that has seen the burning and home, respectively. “We fear that both leaders might
of houses of adivasi, the targetting and killings of unarmed have suffered tremendously from torture and intimidation.
civilians, the torture-detention-killings of mass leaders of We hope they have not yet been killed considering that Mr.
progressive organizations Last year, Bayan and the ILPS Sharma was arrested last October 10, 2009,” Baua noted.
Phil. Chapter, picketed near the Indian Embassy to protest “Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter likewise condemn the
the militarization and violations of human rights of the Obama Govt for providing not only logistical support such
adivasi in Orissa where a large tract of land would be cleared
as munitions and other war materiel, latest military
for a sprawling factory for the cheap locally-made Indian
technology, but also US$18 billion; providing military advise
car called Tata.
on mapping the deployment of revolutionary forces on the
“Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter demand that the ground, and holding of joint US-India-Israel military
Indian government immediately stop the plunder of vast exercises. Obama who got a Nobel Peace Prize for Peace
tracts of land and forested areas for large scale mining and is a contradiction in terms as far as the genuine peace in
industrial projects in special economic zones. Vast areas India is concerned” Baua said.
within India, both rich agricultural fields and areas rich
with minerals like Jharkand, Orissa, Andra Pradesh, “We therefore demand that the Obama government stop
Maharashtra, and West Bengal, are being exploited by the its war of terror against the adivasi and the people of India.
MNCs in collaboration with India’s top industrialists” Rita The latter will not be cowed by your weapons and political/
Baua, Intl Solidarity Officer of Bayan and Vice-Chairperson military tactics meant to suppress them,” Baua concluded.
of the ILPS Phil. Chapter, said. PM
Konta: The mystery surrounding the killing of nine including three women and a 12-year-old girl. “The police
Adivasis in Gompad village in Dantewada district in October also cut off the fingers of a two-year-old infant,” said one
last year is deepening, with the Chhattisgarh police detaining witness speaking on condition of anonymity fearing police
three more witnesses to the incident and restricting all access retribution. “The police stabbed Madavi Venka [a victim]
to the area on the pretext of Operation Green Hunt. and then shot him fatally,” said another witness, “All those
Operation Green Hunt is a catch-all phrase, used by the killed were innocent villagers with no involvement with the
police and media alike, for all major anti-naxal offensives naxals.”
since July 2009. The witnesses were interviewed, via a translator, at a
Total control weekly bazaar at Adralpalli on the Andhra Pradesh side of
As previously reported by The Hindu, the Chhattisgarh the border between the two States. Due to the police cordon
police have assumed total control over the movements of around Gompad village, witness reports could not be verified
Sodi Sambho – one of several witnesses in a Supreme Court independently.
petition that alleges that the 9 civilians were killed by the The villagers also claimed that the police have detained
security forces. Soyam Rama, Soyam Dulla and Kattam Dulla, three
On Friday, armed policemen and Special Police Officers witnesses whose testimonies could prove crucial when the
(SPO) lined the length of the highway from Dantewada case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court. “All three
town to Konta, the block headquarters closest to Gompad, men have been held at the police station at Konta for the
stopping vehicles and questioning commuters. Traveling with last one week,” said a Gompad villager. The Adivasis were
local journalists Anil Mishra of Nayi Duniya and Yashwant picked up by the police in the first week of January when
Yadav of Navbharat, this correspondent was repeatedly they came to Dantewada town for a public airing of
detained along the route and told that Gompad village was grievances, the villagers said, an assertion DIG Kalluri
out of bounds as a major anti-naxal operation was underway. contests. “We have never detained these three men,” he
Non-journalists were, however, let through. said. “They have never been taken into police custody.”
Concerned that we might enter the village from Andhra However, police sources speaking to The Hindu on
Pradesh, we were detained by SPOs for about 45 minutes background confirmed that the three men were indeed held
on the Chhattisgarh-A.P. border and allowed to proceed “for questioning” at the Konta police station till January 14
only after the intervention of Deputy Inspector-General, but could not confirm their current location. At present, their
Dantewada, S.R.P. Kalluri. whereabouts are unknown.
At present, the police have refused to comment on the
veracity of the claims made in the Supreme Court petition Yet to be addressed
filed by Sodi and others. “The Superintendent of Police of
Dantewada has been told to initiate an enquiry into the Police control over witnesses and restrictions on the
Gompad incident,” said T.J. Longkumer, Inspector-General movement of the press have raised concerns that the facts
Police, Bastar. surrounding the Gompad killings might never be known. In
another PIL petition pending before the Supreme Court for
However, witnesses to the killings insisted in interviews
the past three years, allegations of large-scale killing of
to The Hindu that the police were involved in the early
Adivasis and arson by the Salwa Judum and security forces
morning ‘sanitization operation’ and killed nine villagers
have yet to be addressed.
(seven from Gompad and two from nearby villages), PM
18 PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010
Chhattisgarh police abduct eye-witnesses to
Gompad massacre carried out by CRPF-CoBRA forces
The sordid cynical drama that is going on in this country? If citizens blast. Whatever be the truth behind the
being enacted right in front of the eyes can’t come to this court where will land-mine blast, the indisputable fact
of a hundred crore people for over four they go? There are no two classes of is that the witnesses were actually
months since the Gompad massacre citizens. You cannot say those who under confinement in the office of
shows the fake nature of our do not subscribe to your philosophy Dantewada SP.
democracy and the immense power have no right to live in this country. Like several such mass murders
wielded by the murderers and criminals Don’t try to overreach this court. If that have become a common feature
in police uniform. On October 1, the necessary, we will monitor this case.” in the police state under saffron terrorist
CRPF and CoBRA forces sent to On February 15, six of the 12 missing Raman Singh, the Gompad massacre
Chhattisgarh by Chidambaram with adivasis were produced before the too would have gone unnoticed by the
the pretext of “recapturing” territory Court while the other six still remain corporate media had it not been
from the control of the Maoists, carried untraced. The reason why the other pursued consistently by some
out a brutal massacre in Gompad six were not produced was because democratic and civil rights
village in Dantewada district killing 9 the police thought they might utter the organizations and individuals despite
unarmed innocent adivasis. Then they truth in the Court in spite of the their being branded as Maoist
attacked three more villages and intimidation and threats by the police. sympathisers.
murdered another three taking the toll The six who were produced were
Union Home Minister
on a single day to 12. Several people tutored by the police to say that they
Chidambaram thinks people are fools
were eye-witnesses to these gory saw the killings in their village of
to believe his words when he asserts
murders by Chidambaram’s men. The Gompad but are unable to identify who
that he can do nothing at all when
story of Sodi Sambho is now quite well the murderers were. Actually the police
human right violations take place in
known. She received treatment in tutored the witnesses to say that they
states since law & order is a state
AIIMS, Delhi after the Court saw the Maoists carrying out the
subject and that the Centre cannot
intervened and asked the Chhattisgarh Gompad massacre. This is what the
intervene. But this master liar rushes
government not to obstruct her. Goebels of Chhattisgarh, Vishwa
up to Raipur and Kolkata to organize
However, she was abducted from the Ranjan, has been lying in public
meetings of the chief ministers of the
hospital by getting her discharged without any sense of shame
Maoist-dominant states to conduct
before anyone could go to meet her. whatsoever. This master liar squarely
joint operations. This fascist even
After several petitions by human places blame on the Maoists for the
compliments Raman Singh for the
rights activists in the SC that the eye- massacre of adivasis committed by the
significant progress he achieved in the
witnesses to the Gompad massacre police and SPOs!
fight against the Maoists with the help
were in illegal police custody, the court It is also amusing to see how the of the central forces. He promises all
at last intervened and issued an order sinister drama is being played by assistance to the saffron terrorist in
on February 8 to the state government officials at the highest level. To impress carrying out more blood-baths as in
to produce the 12 missing witnesses upon the court how difficult it is to Gompad. For all his talk of the rule of
in the court by February 15. The 12 produce the witnesses the Attorney law, this hypocrite does not even raise
witnesses including Sodi Sambho were General Vahanvati openly lied to the the “human rights violations” in
abducted by Chidambaram-Raman Supreme Court that when a police Chhattisgarh. Evading responsibility for
Singh’s khaki goons soon after they party accompanied by around 300 the murders of innocent adivasis by
deposed before the Supreme Court on SPOs went to the villages to fetch the simply yelling that law & order is a
February 5. They were illegally witnesses they were ambushed by the state subject, Chidambaram provides
detained even earlier for almost 45 Maoists at Gorkha village in complete legitimacy and immunity to
days in total. Dantewada district injuring two SPOs. the state governments for their lawless
In this context, the Supreme Court’s He even showed a fax message he had and unconstitutional acts, and gives
remarks on the missing witnesses are received from the state’s DGP, Vishwa them a blank cheque by assuring them
worth citing. Justice Sudarshan Reddy Ranjan, on February 9 informing of the that he would not interfere no matter
told the government counsel: “What is serious situation after the land-mine what they do. Actually, it is not only
PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010 19
the police forces of the states but also only six were produced before the Raman Singh, would advise the
the central para-military forces that court on February 15. And the Maoists to equip themselves with
have been carrying out the worst solicitor-general Gopal Subramanyam, better arms, train up more fighters and
possible crimes against the adivasis. In who is paid by the state to defend its hit back the armies of aggression and
fact, almost all the recent atrocities lawless policemen, had tried to hush inhuman marauders.
carried out in Dantewada and Bijapur up the criminal acts of the police and What is needed now is more
districts of Chhattisgarh after the divert the issue of the missing witnesses organized, more effective and more
commencement of Operation Green by narrating how dangerous and risky wide-spread revolutionary counter
Hunt, have been the handiwork of the were the lives of policemen working in violence of the masses in defence of
CRPF and CoBRAs sent by Maoist areas. Appearing in the supreme their land, forest, dignity and lives. And
Chidambaram himself. And it is with court on February 15, Subramanyam this revolutionary counter-violence
the help of these forces that the state’s told the court that police officers leave should hit Chidambaram, Raman Singh
police and the Salwa Judum goons too for duty everyday in Naxal-affected and their band of rapacious inhuman
are able to carry out their murderous areas with a “death band” around their exploiters and oppressors where it
campaign and inhuman atrocities heads. To prove his point he produced hurts them most. Led by the Maoist
against the adivasis. Hence there is not tapes with intercepts of conversations revolutionaries, the oppressed people,
an iota of truth in what Chidambaram between Maoists about their hit list of who constitute the overwhelming
has been trying to say in public—that police officers. majority of the Indian population, will
he cannot do anything regarding Chidambaram pretends that nothing surely teach these neo-Nazi gangsters
human right violations in states since has happened even as his central a fitting lesson. PM
law & order is a state subject. forces accompany and extend total Contd..... from Page 22
Moreover, this hypocrite has gone unconditional support to these Salwa
to shift the case from Konta to the
on record for praising the saffron Judum goons and play their own share Dantewada Sessions Court on March
terrorist regime in Chhattisgarh for in the murders and rapes of adivasis 9 as the magistrate lived in Konta in
implementing the Centre’s plan against of this region. This trusted manager for the very neighbourhood of the
the Maoists very well i.e Chidambaram imperialist capital in India and a loyal accused.
has extended his all-out support to agent of the comprador capital lauds
Harassment began soon after. SPOs
Raman Singh in carrying out the murder the significant achievements by his
crossed the state border and searched
of almost one hundred unarmed uniformed thugs in Chhattisgarh and the
for Madvi’s house on April 10, 2009.
innocent adivasis including women and private vigilante gangs. This khadi
And on December 2, Madvi’s father
children, raping adivasi women and terrorist and saffron terrorist Raman
and a boy who shared her husband’s
chopping off the fingers of a two-year- Singh hug and pat each other for their
name were apprehended and taken to
old child. He is also exerting pressure success in destroying the adivasi
Chintur Police Station in Andhra
on other state governments like villages and evacuating the adivasis to
Pradesh. There the father was
Jharkhand and Bihar to follow Raman pave the way for the take-over of the
threatened and the boy was beaten.
Singh’s example and create a reign of mineral-rich belt by their corporate
They were told to bring Madvi to
terror. masters. These thugs relentlessly squeal Konta police station. At this point, she
So in the kidnapping of the 12 eye- like chatter-boxes that Naxalites should had gone into hiding, knowing that her
witnesses of Gompad massacre abjure violence while they themselves next appearance at court was to be
Chidambaram is as much involved as carry out cold-blooded murder of held on December 10, when she had
Raman Singh for both the state and poor unarmed innocent adivasis. And to depose.The deposition didn’t take
central forces had jointly perpetrated these hypocrites and liars par place. On the day of the hearing there
the massacre. Both the state and the excellence abduct eye witnesses like was a rally against the Vanvasi Chetna
Centre are in dire need to protect their Sodi Sambho right under public glare Ashram, who used to support her
mercenary forces at this critical and get away with the crime. The emotionally and financially. As of
juncture in their war against the judiciary assists these thugs and January 6 the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram
Maoists. It is only massive outbursts murderers to carry out blood-bath and has ceased to exist, its workers
of people’s protests as in Kashmir that get away unscathed. Anyone, even if arrested, its employees threatened. No
a trigger-happy policeman would be it be a Gandhian, who sees the one can predict how Madvi’s story will
punished. mayhem, arson and terror created by end, but the omens are not
the gangs sent by Chidambaram and
Even after the Supreme Court order encouraging. PM
20 PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010
Seema Azad, editor of the left-wing journal DASTAK published from Allahabad, was taken into custody by the police
Saturday, 6th February, soon after she alighted from the train on her return from the Book Fair at Delhi. She, along with
her husband and left-wing activist Vishwa Vijaya Azad, has been detained at the Khuldabad Police Station. Seema Azad
just published a collection of articles criticizing the Indian government for its “Operation Green Hunt” — the ongoing
massive military attack by the government against the tribal inhabitants of central India. The booklet contains articles by
noted authors and media-persons such as Arundhati Roy, Himanshu Kumar, Anil Chamaria, Punya Prasoon Vajpeyi,
Sunita Narayan, and others. Although they were produced before a court in Allahabad, the details of the charges leveled
against Seema Azad and Vishva Vijaya were not specified. Seema is the state secretary of the People’s Union for Civil
Liberties (PUCL) for Uttar Pradesh. The PUCL has released the following letter addressed to the Chairperson of the
National Human Rights Commission in New Delhi.