21st June, 2008: Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
The Group Fast against the Black Law (in Chhattisgarh) and for the release of Dr.Binayak Sen, Ajay T G and others entered its 6th day with 47 members of Ekta Parishad (Kanker) led by Mr. Ratneshwar Nath joining in the 24-hours dharna/chain fasting, 9 members of Baiga Mahapanchayat (Lormi) led by Ms. Rashmi Diwedi, while 9 members from Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Jamul) led by Adv Sudha Bhardwaj completed their 24-hours fasting today. Others who joined in support and solidarity were Dr. Anurag Bhargava of Jan Swastha Abhiyaan (Ganiyari, Bilaspur), Dr. Ilina Sen, Ms. Chandrika and Ms. Nazma (Roopantar), Arundhati, Sirish Agraal, Jontahan, Anurag Tiwari (Asha Parivaar, Lucknow), besides regular volunteers from Chhattisgarh Bal Shramik Sangathan, Asha Parivaar & PUCL.
From Ekta Parishad, those who spoke at the occasion were Ratneshwar Nath, Shivrani ji, Dashrath Markaam, Aagantu Ram, Sunder Markam, Bishu Pardi. Others who spoke expressing solidarity with the cause were Dr. Anurag Bhargava of Jan Swastha Abhiyaan, Adv Gautam Bandopadhyay, Nadi Ghati Morcha. Mukti songs were sung by Chandrika of Roopantar, and Kumud Nandgave, Ramesh Dewangan of Chhattisgarh Bal Shramik Sangathan.
"State Government Demonstrates
TOTAL INDIFFERENCE & APATHY TOWARDS
DEMOCRATIC & PECEFUL PROTEST"
- Dr. Sandeep Pandey (Activist on Fast for 10 Days)
While the morale of those fasting for the past six days (Dr. Sandeep Pandey, Com Prem Narain Verma, Ram Prakash & Faizal Khan) was very high and hopeful, the BJP Government in the State demonstrated its total indifference and apathy towards democratic & peaceful method of protesting through Fasting. Expressing concern at the growing ruthless character of the State, Dr. Sandeep Pandey (Magsaysay Award Winner) said that the failure of the state to listen to the voices of peaceful protest and respond to the people's cries are the major reasons for resorting to extra-parliamentary means by the victims of injustice and violence.
Dr. Sandeep Pandey also referred to an article entitled "Gandhi! Tum Nikal Bhago Chadm Gandhivadiyon ke beech se" (Gandhi! You must escape from the midst of pseudo- Gandhians!) by Sri Vishwaranjan, Director General of Police of Chhattisgarh appearing inthe Hari Bhoomi daily published from Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh. In this article, the DGP has poked fun at the Group Fasting and those participating in it.
He has also categorized Dr. Sandeep Pandey (a known Gandhian Social Worker given the prestigious Magsaysay Award who has led a very courageous people's struggle by peasants and women in Uttar Pradesh against Coca Cola, one of the Multinational Giants), Adv Kanak Tiwari (Senior Advocate, a Gandhian intellectual), and Himanshu (a Gandhian Social Worker of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram working among Tribals in Dantewara for the past three decades) as Pseudo-Gandhians. And, of course, he also drags into his "categorization as pseudo-Gandhians" all those who are opposed to "Salwa Judum" (a state sponsored militant movement arming citizens to combat naxalism), which is presently being investigated by the NHRC at the direction of the Supreme Court of India in a Writ Petition filed by Prof. Nandini Sunder & Others, who were part of Independent Citizens Initiative Team to study the uprooting and displacement of about 70,000 tribals from their land and villages due to Salwa Judum.
The timing of this article's publication authored by the DGP of the State itself reflects the BJP Government's attitude of targeting and branding all those voices of dissent that do no toe the official line, be they human rights defenders, progressive intellectuals, Gandhian workers, doctors, journalists, lawyers and social activists and organizations committed to preserving and promoting the fundamental rights of the citizens. According to the PUCL, while it should be left to all those targeted by the DGP to respond individually to the vilification campaign against them, it is not lost on all those who have been following the BJP Government's attempt at "targeting" and "branding" of the human rights defenders and rights-based organizations with an ulterior motive to silence their voices of dissent and democracy.
DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION DUMPING GARBAGE NEAR THE VENUE OF GROUP FASTING
In a statement issued today, PUCL has also strongly condemned the District Administration's insensitivity in locating the fasting and protesting groups and individuals in Burha Talab at Raipur, which is also the dumping ground for garbage and dust collected from the capital city by contractors and civil administration. In spite of repeated requests, the Raipur Municipal Corporation has failed to clear the vicinity from such foul-smelling garbage that is the breeding ground for mosquitoes and more likely cause for epidemics like cholera and gastroenteritis. The PUCL and other participating organisations are deciding to make this an issue, and get the ground cleared for al times. According to the PUCL, the scant regard for the democratic and peaceful protest demonstrates BJP Government's authoritarian tendencies.
The PUCL has also expressed concern that the District Administration has not yet conducted any medical check-up on the fasting individuals. It has also not provided any protection to the protestors although written information has been provided to the District Administration about the Group Fasting.
Rajendra K Sail
President, PUCL (CG)
Mobile: 094242-01288
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Association for India's Development
Houston, TX: Many concerned Indians in the USA joined a global fast by hundreds of activists in Raipur, Chhattisgarh as well as in other parts of India and the world, demanding the annulment of the draconian Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (1967) amended in 2004 and the release of Dr Binayak Sen (medical doctor and recipient of the prestigious Jonathan Mann award for Health and Human Rights), Ajay T. G. (independent film-maker) and many other activists belonging to the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), detained under the above acts.
Rashim Singh, a PhD student at University of Houston, USA, a volunteer and an Executive Board member of Association for India's Development (AID) is on the 8th day of her 10-day fast, which started on June 16th 2005. Along with her several other NRIs are also fasting in solidarity, from 1 to 4 days.
Speaking on the incarceration of Dr Binayak Sen, Rashim Singh says, "A man who for 30 years has dedicated his life to the service of the poor cannot be branded as a threat to the country". On being asked what made her undertake the 10 day fast, she said, "If Gandhiji could have successfully used satyagraha to make the British listen to us, then we expect our own government in Chhattisgarh and Delhi to listen to the voices of thousands of Indian citizens from all over the world demanding the abrogation of the draconian laws. If every voice raised against the government atrocities are curbed, then what is the use of a democracy?"
AID Houston volunteers Anand Chandolu and Shekhar Gosavi who were with Rashim when she began her fast said: "We must do more to raise awareness about this cause. We pray for the people in India and USA, from various groups such as Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Asha Parivar, National Alliance of People's Movement, AID that are fasting for the release of Dr Binayak Sen, a noted doctor and human rights activist working with PUCL."
Those fasting in Raipur, India include Dr. Sandeep Pandey (Magsaysay Award Winner & Social Worker), Prem Narain Verma (Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha), Prem Prakash & Faizal (from Asha Parivar) and several other activists from various organizations in India.
Other AID volunteers that are fasting include:
· Rajeshwar Ojha, Delhi for 5 days
· Mohan Bhagat, College Park, MD for 3 days
· Srinadh Madhavapeddi, Dallas, TX for 2 days
· Pallavi Shrivastava, Tempe, AZ for 2 days
· Srinivas Krovvidy, Reston, VA for 1 day
· Vijay Manghnani, Philadelphia for 1 day
· Lakshmi Gorrepati, Baltimore, Maryland for 1 day
· Srinivas Naga Chadaram, Durham, NC for 1 day
· Rupalatha Maddala, Durham, NC for 1 day
· Subhrajit Bhattacharya, Philadelphia, PA for 2 days
· Nirveek Bhattacharjee, Seattle, WA for 2 days
· Somu Kumar, McLean, VA for 4 days
· Arun Gopalan College Park, MD for 1 day
· Neela Yennawar, State College, PA for 3 days
· Karthik Ranganathan, Dallas, TX for 2 days
· Chetana Kulkarni, Dallas, TX for 2 days
· Nitin Paradkar, Dallas, TX for 4 days
· Somnath Mukherji, Boston, MA for 1 day
· Dushyant Sethi, College Park, MD for 1 day
Complete list of people who are on hunger strike is at
http://www.ashaparivar.org/petition/binayaksen/index.php
Dr. Binayak Sen's case represents an alarming trend where human rights defenders that oppose state repression, including extra-judicial killings, are being held under draconian laws such the CSPSA (Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act) and the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). Ajay T.G, an independent film maker and social activist from Chhattisgarh; Lachit Bordoloi, a human rights activist from Assam; Prashant Rahi, journalist from Uttarakhand; Govindan Kutty, editor of People's March in Kerala; Praful Jha, a journalist from Chhattisgarh; Vernon Gonsalves, an activist from Nasik; Arun Ferreira, Ashok Reddy, Dhanendra Bhurule, Naresh Bansode, activists from Vidarbha, have all been charged under the UAPA and kept under prolonged detention without bail. These draconian laws sanction the violation of due process by the state, and thus contravene internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence as well as democratic governance. As Mr.Kannabiran, National President of PUCL, India, argues in his letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the CSPSA and UAPA operate by criminalizing the very performance of civil liberties activities, and culpability is decided upon not by direct proof, but through guilt by association. This is the context in which many activists are questioning the charges of sedition brought against Dr.Sen - for example, Ms. Shalini Gera, an activist from Friends of South Asia, points out that the "evidence" presented by the state about Dr.Sen's "Maoist connections" actually refers to Binayak Sen's meetings with Narayan Sanyal, (a jailed 70-year-old Maoist leader) that took place with the permission of the jail authorities, and under their close supervision, when Dr. Sen, as the vice-president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), visited Sanyal in the Raipur Central Jail to provide medical and legal assistance.
As the State Secretary of PUCL of Chhattisgarh, and the national Vice President, Dr.Sen has been amongst the most vocal opponents of "Salwa Judum", a private militia movement armed by the Chhattisgarh Government to combat Maoist insurgency. Dr.Sen earned the ire of the government for opposing Salwa Judum which has itself contributed to a spiraling increase in violence and displacement of thousands of tribals. The permanent state of war created by Salwa Judum has led to large-scale and apparently voluntary displacement of indigenous communities, thus freeing up for corporate and industrial use, land and natural resources that have historically belonged to local communities.
According to Mr. Somnath Mukherji, an activist from the Association for India's Development, "these protests are not only about the violation of the human rights of Dr. Sen- they are also about the ongoing assault on the human rights of the people of Chhattisgarh whose lives and lands are being mortgaged to a vision of development that is antithetical to them".
For more information go to www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/
Rashim Singh, a PhD student at University of Houston, USA, a volunteer and an Executive Board member of Association for India's Development (AID) is on the 8th day of her 10-day fast, which started on June 16th 2005. Along with her several other NRIs are also fasting in solidarity, from 1 to 4 days.
Speaking on the incarceration of Dr Binayak Sen, Rashim Singh says, "A man who for 30 years has dedicated his life to the service of the poor cannot be branded as a threat to the country". On being asked what made her undertake the 10 day fast, she said, "If Gandhiji could have successfully used satyagraha to make the British listen to us, then we expect our own government in Chhattisgarh and Delhi to listen to the voices of thousands of Indian citizens from all over the world demanding the abrogation of the draconian laws. If every voice raised against the government atrocities are curbed, then what is the use of a democracy?"
AID Houston volunteers Anand Chandolu and Shekhar Gosavi who were with Rashim when she began her fast said: "We must do more to raise awareness about this cause. We pray for the people in India and USA, from various groups such as Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Asha Parivar, National Alliance of People's Movement, AID that are fasting for the release of Dr Binayak Sen, a noted doctor and human rights activist working with PUCL."
Those fasting in Raipur, India include Dr. Sandeep Pandey (Magsaysay Award Winner & Social Worker), Prem Narain Verma (Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha), Prem Prakash & Faizal (from Asha Parivar) and several other activists from various organizations in India.
Other AID volunteers that are fasting include:
· Rajeshwar Ojha, Delhi for 5 days
· Mohan Bhagat, College Park, MD for 3 days
· Srinadh Madhavapeddi, Dallas, TX for 2 days
· Pallavi Shrivastava, Tempe, AZ for 2 days
· Srinivas Krovvidy, Reston, VA for 1 day
· Vijay Manghnani, Philadelphia for 1 day
· Lakshmi Gorrepati, Baltimore, Maryland for 1 day
· Srinivas Naga Chadaram, Durham, NC for 1 day
· Rupalatha Maddala, Durham, NC for 1 day
· Subhrajit Bhattacharya, Philadelphia, PA for 2 days
· Nirveek Bhattacharjee, Seattle, WA for 2 days
· Somu Kumar, McLean, VA for 4 days
· Arun Gopalan College Park, MD for 1 day
· Neela Yennawar, State College, PA for 3 days
· Karthik Ranganathan, Dallas, TX for 2 days
· Chetana Kulkarni, Dallas, TX for 2 days
· Nitin Paradkar, Dallas, TX for 4 days
· Somnath Mukherji, Boston, MA for 1 day
· Dushyant Sethi, College Park, MD for 1 day
Complete list of people who are on hunger strike is at
http://www.ashaparivar.org/petition/binayaksen/index.php
Dr. Binayak Sen's case represents an alarming trend where human rights defenders that oppose state repression, including extra-judicial killings, are being held under draconian laws such the CSPSA (Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act) and the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). Ajay T.G, an independent film maker and social activist from Chhattisgarh; Lachit Bordoloi, a human rights activist from Assam; Prashant Rahi, journalist from Uttarakhand; Govindan Kutty, editor of People's March in Kerala; Praful Jha, a journalist from Chhattisgarh; Vernon Gonsalves, an activist from Nasik; Arun Ferreira, Ashok Reddy, Dhanendra Bhurule, Naresh Bansode, activists from Vidarbha, have all been charged under the UAPA and kept under prolonged detention without bail. These draconian laws sanction the violation of due process by the state, and thus contravene internationally accepted norms of jurisprudence as well as democratic governance. As Mr.Kannabiran, National President of PUCL, India, argues in his letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the CSPSA and UAPA operate by criminalizing the very performance of civil liberties activities, and culpability is decided upon not by direct proof, but through guilt by association. This is the context in which many activists are questioning the charges of sedition brought against Dr.Sen - for example, Ms. Shalini Gera, an activist from Friends of South Asia, points out that the "evidence" presented by the state about Dr.Sen's "Maoist connections" actually refers to Binayak Sen's meetings with Narayan Sanyal, (a jailed 70-year-old Maoist leader) that took place with the permission of the jail authorities, and under their close supervision, when Dr. Sen, as the vice-president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), visited Sanyal in the Raipur Central Jail to provide medical and legal assistance.
As the State Secretary of PUCL of Chhattisgarh, and the national Vice President, Dr.Sen has been amongst the most vocal opponents of "Salwa Judum", a private militia movement armed by the Chhattisgarh Government to combat Maoist insurgency. Dr.Sen earned the ire of the government for opposing Salwa Judum which has itself contributed to a spiraling increase in violence and displacement of thousands of tribals. The permanent state of war created by Salwa Judum has led to large-scale and apparently voluntary displacement of indigenous communities, thus freeing up for corporate and industrial use, land and natural resources that have historically belonged to local communities.
According to Mr. Somnath Mukherji, an activist from the Association for India's Development, "these protests are not only about the violation of the human rights of Dr. Sen- they are also about the ongoing assault on the human rights of the people of Chhattisgarh whose lives and lands are being mortgaged to a vision of development that is antithetical to them".
For more information go to www.aidboston.org/FreeBinayakSen/
Costal management zone notification
The newly proposed Coastal Management Zone Notification (CMZ), 2008 spells doom for the already spotty environmental conservation, pushing out the traditional fishing communities. This is proposed to replace the current Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), 1991, which governs the coastal areas. CRZ (1991) has been amended many times, making it easier to take up environmentally damaging activities near the coast. The new notification continues this regressive trend, and does not even provide the protection given earlier. It also pushes out the traditional fishing communities away from the coast, but beings the "development" projects which need not be situated near the coast. The proposed CMZ has very little to show that its aim is conservation and has very little scientific bias. Though it defines a large number of areas as ecologically sensitive, it allows all developmental activities by merely mentioning it in a plan. There are no guidelines as to what kind of projects can be approved in the coastal areas. Thus, it also allows a larger number of stakeholders into the coast, at the same time, pusing out the traditional fisherfolk from the coast. This law has been drafted with very little community participation, and does not involve community in conservation measures. According to the Environment Protection Rules, since we need to formally record our complaints with the MoEF, we have drafted a petition to the MoEF with a note outlining the problems with this notification. Please go through the petition for detailed objections, and sign it.http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cmz_objections/
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