The Ground Report India - 2009 October Edition PDF

8/9/2019 The Ground Report India - 2009 October Edition PDF

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GRI - October 2009

Cover Reports

A Nationalist Manifesto Proposed by K. N. Govindacharya

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8. The greenery in India started decreasing with the rhythm of centralization of state power and weakening of socialrelationship. Therefore, it is obvious that there is no alternative to utilizing the power of social relationship in the makingand protection of greenery and other natural produce.

9. The existing social forestry scheme has some good effect on the reserved and restricted forests, giving rise to 10% of moregreenery in most cases. However it failed to create anything beyond its jurisdiction. Particularly, percentage of greeneryhas decreased by almost 20% in 70% of land outside declared forest zones. And again, it failed to include 99.5% of peopleliving in the villages in the programme for making the country green. Eventually it has become evident that the existingsocial forestry, which has so far been able to include only .5 % of people, has sadly failed to become a socialone.

B

1. Inclusion of all persons living in a village is not so easy a matter. Particularly the task of managing almost 70% of land of

this huge country and involving huge mass who were left out of the pale of social forestry, since they belong to differentsocial or political classes. In the rally of unending types of us and them, the latest addition is partisan politics itself.

2. Keeping the problem of management of so huge land and people in view, entrepreneurship should be made in the microlevel, comprising, say, 1000 people. Involvement of all the people of a locality can generate the resource of relationship inbetween every individual and each type ofus and them prevailing in the society.

3. To ensure the involvement of every individual and so many types ofus and them, promotion of a third factor is feltnecessary. For this, a platform or a club is to be made taking all the persons of a locality as its members.

4. All namely, the landowner, the landless labourers and the club should achieve something from this project ormovement. The club can get 30-40 % of share, where production is made under its direct supervision. The share of thelandowners and the landless labourers can be 40 & 20-30 % respectively. The club can also earn a sizeable share byproviding security and other assistance, in matters of processing and marketization, to the existing family farming, whichthe club should never try to get under its own management.

5. Direct activity of a club should be restricted to 10-15 % of land and water body mainly unused or underused.6. Since thisplatform will play a vital role in relation-making and in experimenting its possibility; its mode of formation would

appear to be a matter of great concern. The members of the working committee would be elected through consensus. The

head of the platform would be elected or selected in the same manner. Democratic formula of majority-minority method isirrelevant for the purposeful and meaningful involvement of all living in a locality. In a word, religious, casteist or politicalsectarianism have nothing to do with this sky-kissing as well as down to earth entrepreneurship for the welfare of all, withwhom the project would be undertaken.

7. Efforts are to be made to utilise the potentials of schools, colleges and universities, mandirs, mosques and churches in themaking of such a movement.

8. The platform or the club will play as a pivot in the management of AGPAP, around which the landowner and the landlesslabourer will have a swing. The club will be just like a meson in the functioning of a nucleus in an atom or, if one is againallowed to put it metaphorically, like sakhis in the love-affairs between Lord Krishna and Srimati Radha.

9. Ultimately the programme would mean formation and activation of Self-Help-Green-Society(SHGS), which is notcontradictory but contributory to the existing Self-Help-Group.

10. Formation and activation of a SHGS is genuinely a difficult job. However, unprecedented environmental crisis, whilecreating a petrifying effect, has started evolving new hopes too. It is becoming obvious that the paths currently traversedby mankind are suicidal. This situation, which gathers unprecedented gloom, has suddenly cast a more glowing light overthe beauty and zeal of life, over every triviality around us, making it, perhaps, more exhilarating than before. Secondly, the

crisis that is hovering over us and causing severe though not equal disaster to all of us, has the potential to bring togethereven those who were so far ardent opponents just as snakes and frogs take shelter in the same haven and staypeacefully at the time of devastating flood. Thirdly, change is taking place in the horizon. Those who were fighting againstthe multinational companies have now started working with them hand in hand. They call it a historical reality. It is in thiscontext of this historical reality that we are to take decision whether we will be agreed to take cooperation andcoordination as a capital in the down to earth community work where poor and less-poor are residing. The details of sogreatly important a club needs further elaboration.

11. The club or bottom level unit of SHGS (which would consist of around 1000 people as its members), will plant and fosteraround 1 lakh saplings.

12. Initially, there should be four sub-committees: A) Fodder sub-Committee [FC] B) Nursery sub-Committee [NC] C) Securitysub-Committee [SC]. D) Marketing sub- Committee [M.S.]

13. The unit of the SHGS would declare in a written manner that they are not owners of trees but protectors and they wouldonly get a share of the produce, which the owner would give as a portion of wage in lieu of mere money.

14. Any sponsorship is welcome only when the sponsor becomes a part of the SHGS and the community makes a minimumcontribution collected from every individual as fees in form of money or labour or both.

15. The contribution of the individual, social or governmental sponsors shall not mean donation but investment for regeneratingsocial relationship as capital and explore its endless possibilities.

16. The sponsor /s will get 10% of trees or its produce when land is provided by individuals, society or government. If he/theyhimself/themselves provide/s land, he /they will get additional 40% of trees or/and its produce as landowner/s.

C

1. What would be the effect of this AGFAP? If we are allowed to have a dream, it would ultimately give a new shape to thevillages of India and, perhaps, it would peacefully bring about major changes in the towns and the cities of this countryand, of course, transportation-biased economic activities. Huge details are there. It must be added that this spirit ofcooperation tested in the making of AGFAP will, perhaps, get extended to many desired directions such as: going towardsorganic farming and biodiversity, becoming self-reliant, morally awakened, creating the hope of a resurrection of the civilsociety. In a word, it would ultimately give birth to another renaissance for the 21st century. Our humble view is that, if ourmother Earth gets the chance to see another renaissance, it must be sheltered in the village-universe even if it may haveits starting from the cities. This renaissance can only ensure the stability of the part of our local as well as globalcivilization, which is continually retreating towards an unprecedented environmental crisis in human history.

Written by-

Jyotirmoy Goswami

Ground Report India (GRI) - www.groundreportindia.com

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Five Unnecessary Amendments & Two Dangerous ones proposed, says Shailesh Gandhi (CIC)

Shailesh Gandhi began his talk with a brief report of his own performance. He said that he had cleared 5,381 cases over the 13months that he had been Information Commissioner. This was a new benchmark, considering that the best that any otherInformation Commissioner had been able to do over a 12-month period was about 3000 cases (CIC Annapurna Dixit). We need toshow with our actions that judicial delays are no longer acceptable, he said.

He had also imposed 41 penalties, amounting to Rs 8-9 lakh, Shaileshbhai added. But more importantly, I have started issuingorders to the public authorities in my jurisdiction to comply with Section 4, he said. For instance, I have asked for new ration-card

applications, as well as their acceptance or rejection, to be put up on a website within a week or two. I have also asked for alldisbursals to municipal school students to be displayed on school notice boards, so that they can be verified by the beneficiaries the pupils and their parents. And to ensure compliance, I have requested NGOs working in the areas to act as volunteers and checkthese notice boards periodically.

I request Indians throughout the world to spend a couple of hours every month applying their minds to the websites of a few publicauthorities, Shaileshbhai said. Please revert with comments and suggestions for making these websites more compliant withSection 4 requirements.

Five unnecessary amendments

Speaking on the topic of proposed amendments to the RTI Act, Shaileshbhai said, The first signal was in the Presidents speech onJune 4, where she mentioned that the RTI Act would be strengthened through suitable amendments. This was strange becausethere is no demand for change from any quarter even from public authorities.

Last week, DoPT had a meeting with Information Commissioners, where they unveiled the proposed amendments, which were as

follows:

1) Constitute 2-member benches. DoPT held that the present constitution of benches, where cases are heard by a single InformationCommissioner, is not legal. We argued that even if this is true, there was no need to amend the Act. At best, a change of rules wasrequired.

2) Remove about 10 exempted public authorities from the list in Schedule 2. But there is no need for an amendment, as they havealready included a couple of public authorities to the list simply through a notification.

3) Include Citizens Charter in Section 4 declarations of each public authority. Here again, there is no need to amend, as it can beincluded under Sec 4(1)(b)(xvii), which says, Such other information as may be prescribed.

4) Define what is meant by substantially financed under 2(h)(d)(ii). But why change the Act for this? Already, it is being judiciallydefined by Information Commissioners. At the most, it can be done through a change in the RTI Rules.

5) Facilitate Indians abroad to use RTI Act through embassies. Again, this at best calls for a change in the rules, not an amendmentin the Act.

Information Commissioners at the meeting with DoPT said in one voice that to carry out the above five proposed changes, it wasnot necessary to amend the Act. These changes could easily be carried out by other means, such as a suitable change in RTI rules.However, it seemed that the next two proposals were what the government was really aiming for, said Shaileshbhai.

Two dangerous amendments

6) Adding frivolous & vexatious requests to the list of Section 8 exemptions. Who is to decide what exactly is vexatious or frivolous? The PIOs? This is a flawed definition that completely ignores the fact that the citizens are the natural owners of all theinformation in the country. (Admittedly, 10-12% of the RTI applications filed do fit into the vexatious category. It is true that somepeople seem to file RTI applications only to cause an obstruction in governmental functioning. However, we must bear in mind thatsome people will find ways to misuse every law, eg. The Dowry Prohibition Act, or the CrPC provisions dealing with assault.Moreover, Information Commissioners themselves have devised ways to deal with this problem, and therefore, there is no need of a

legislative fix.

7) Excluding discussions / consultations that take place before arriving at governmental decisions. In other words, exclusion of file-notings, which would render the workings of the government completely opaque to citizens. If this amendment is carried out, it willbe effectively like telling citizens to cast their votes and then stand aside, leaving all decisions to the powers-that-be.

Most of us strongly opposed all the amendments. However, there was a minority opinion among the gathered InformationCommissioners in favour of the last two.

I am sometimes asked how I, being a government servant, can speak against the government, Shaileshbhai said. But I point outthat I am a public servant, and not a government servant. So, rather than entering into a debate on the merits or otherwise of theproposed amendments, I would urge you to oppose and resist any attempt to change the Act at this juncture. If they amend, we willhave no way of controlling the exact wordings that they introduce. Moreover, even if such amendments are justified, they willcontinue to cause confusion over the next few years, as it will take time for applicants, PIOs etc to fully understand these changesand act accordingly.

We got our freedom from the British in 1947. But if we fail to defend the RTI Act at this juncture, I dont think we deserve ourfreedom and independence, Shaileshbhai concluded.


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During the question-answer session, Shaileshbhai elaborated what he meant by resistance. If the government does not rethink in10-15 days, please organize some form of protests. Please mobilize, hold meetings in every neighbourhood and forum, and alsospeak to elected representatives and political parties to make your opposition known.

In 2006, a number of us had held a demonstration outside August Kranti Maidan where we all wore black capes, he reminisced.The police arrived on the scene, and just it seemed that we would be detained, Julio Ribeiro joined us, making it difficult for them totake any action.

Also, Anna Hazare had gone on a fast-unto-death. However, I personally feel that it is not correct to undertake fasts against ourown elected government, and therefore, I recommend that we should look at other varied forms of protests. There is no single waythat will work. We will have to try out a wide variety of things to have the necessary catalytic effect, he advised.

Report by:

Krishnaraj Rao

Obituary: K. Balgopal

K. Balagopal was not a civil rights activist of Andhra Pradesh but a crusader against any human rights violation in this part of theglobe. His untimely death saddened the whole HR community of this country and abroad. Balagopal died at relatively younger age of52 due to a cardiac arrest in a hospital in Banjara hills on Thursday night. He is survived by wife and son.Balagopal was one of the unfaltering civil liberty activist in Andhra Pradesh and a committed human rights advocate of our country,who not even thought twice while breaking away from the organisation, with which he was associated since its inception in 80s;

Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), on the issue of violence perpetrated by the erstwhile CPI-ML (Peoples War) andAPCLCs reluctance to condemn the violence perpetuated by the so called campaigners of armed struggle.In this juncture Professor Balagopal felt the need for a committed human rights group and founded the Human Rights Forum (HRF)in A.P.Balagopal unambiguously condemned and protested against any form of terror; the state sponsored killing and terrors, extra judicialkillings and tortures, as well as the so called red terror by few political protagonists of armed struggle. Balagopal was an ardentcampaigner against 'Capital Punishment.He was not only a prolific writer on peoples issues and scholar but appeared before the court of law in various sensitive humanrights issues as a lawyer.Professor Balagopal gave up teaching in Kakatiya University and took to practice of law nearly a decade ago and had argued dozensof cases pertaining to encounter killings by the police. In late eighties, Praja Bandu, a State sponsored criminal outfit like SalwaJudum of todays Chattisgarh, Protorodh Bahini in West Bengal, abducted him and demanding the release of two policemen fromnaxalite custody. The Praja Bandu, floated by the state police had released him only after the abducted policemen were let off.This unflinching commitment towards the human rights causes and quality to dare the criticism from colleagues and erstwhilecompanions made him a torchbearer of true spirit of human rights movement in this country.

MASUM deeply mourn the sudden and untimely death of Professor Balagopal. By his death MASUM not only lost a great friend indifficulties but the country became bereaved with a champion of civil rights, when the movement is facing a great challenge from theState.

In this heartbreaking moment, MASUM reaffirm its commitment toward the human rights causes and feel that will be the bestrespect to the departed human rights defender.

Report by---Kirity RoySecretary

Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM)http://www.masum.org.in&National ConvenorProgramme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI)


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Columns

Fire Safety: How regulations are sabotaged by Maharashtra Government

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and Maharashtra Government has given in to pressures from builders, and madefar-reaching changes in existing laws through the back-door. Bypassing the state legislature, they issued GRs (circulars) that negateexisting laws and Development Control Regulations (DC Rules). These changes are endangering lakhs of people in high-risebuildings, and in fact, entire neighbourhoods which are a combustible mix of high-rise buildings, slums, illegal encroachments, CNG

filling stations, stores, unauthorized godowns and factories, etc.How was this legal scam carried out? Read the below scans from a book on Mumbai's REVISED Development Control Rules 1991(2003-04 edition). I have marked key points in these scans with a red dot. Also, many lines are underlined by Mumbais ChiefFire Officer P D Karguppikar who gave these to me during an RTI Inspection.

DETAILS OF THE SABOTAGE:

A.TOWER-LINE STRUCTURES: Under Greater Mumbai's Development Control Rules 1991,the fire-safety norms dictate thatfor Tower-like structures, "Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, a tower-like structure may be permitted onlywith 6 m open space at the ground level and one set-back at the upper levels provided that the total height does notexceed 24 m. If it exceeds 24 m but does not exceed 37.5 m, the minimum open space at ground level shall be 9 m.Beyond 37.5 m, the minimum open space at ground level shall be 12 m with two set-backs at upper levels. The terracecreated by the set-back shall be accessible through a common passage and/or a common staircase."(1)Specific Rules for Towers:http://www.box.net/shared/zhynny4br6(2)Open Space Key Fire Safety Norm: http://www.box.net/shared/ii56tyaapv

[EXPLANATION: Fire brigade vehicles need a certain minimum amount of space in order to move about, and for making

ladders etc stand up near the building for rescue operations in case of a fire. As the height of the building increases, this

space requirement proportionately increases, as the minimum inclination of the rescue ladder, snorkel or rescue-cage

must be maintained.]

However, a circular was issued in 1996 for repairs & reconstruction of old dilapidate buildings in the Island City ofMumbai, which allowed these crucial space requirements to be compromised, or even completely removed. "Thereconstruction will be permitted even with concession in marginal open spaces upto zero feet open spaces on three sidesand 5 feet open spaces on one side," says Circular No. CHE/1722/DP/GP/City of 16-2-1996. At another point, thiscircular says, " Where proposed height exceeds 24 m, under such reconstruction, building upto height of 30 m (ground+ 9 upper floors) will be permitted if open space of at least 1.5 m is provided on one side without insisting on NoObjection from Chief Fire Officer.

(3)Negation of Fire Safety Norms:http://www.box.net/shared/cppgelrpi5

[EXPLANATION: Building constructed under these revised space requirements are seriously at risk in the event of a fire,

as no external access is possible for fire brigade. Furthermore, due to the close proximity of two buildings, the fire can

easily spread from one building to another. Standing examples of such buildings are at Prathna Samaj, opposite

Harkisondas Hospital: Ramkrupa Building (Ground plus 32 floors) is standing just 1.5 metres away from its

compound wall, and 3 metres away from Rishabh building (Ground plus 28 floors) and also 3 metres from another

neighbouring building of ground-plus-nine floors.]

So the crucial No Objection Certificate from Chief Fire Officer is not required for buildings any more. Even the MunicipalCorporation's Occupation Certificate is no longer needed for residents to occupy the building. Circular no. MMC/1057 of21-5-1996 virtually removed the need for these crucial certificates by making it possible to occupy a residential building

without Occupation Certificate by paying a penalty of just Rs 50 per sq. m., and non-residential (ie. Shopping,commercial and industrial) building at Rs 100 per sq. m. As this penalty is a paltry amount, it deters nobody at all! Andso, all sorts of fire-safety features that formerly were compulsory for high-rises are completely ignored. Sprinklersystems and fire-alarms are absent or non-functional, refuge-floors that must be available after every seven floors arenot there, lift-shafts go down to large undivided and poorly ventilated basements where hundreds of cars with full ofpetrol, diesel, CNG, LPG and lubricating oils are parked

(4)Sabotage of need for Occupation Certificate:http://www.box.net/shared/1htmky9gzy

B. LIFTS AND PARKING BASEMENTS: Parking basements are a special fire hazard, especially when they have largeundivided floor spaces, direct lift shafts and stairwells that can carry flames and hot gases to all the floors of thebuilding. Visualize hundreds of cars sitting in the basements with petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG and lubricating oils of varioussorts, and these are at the bottom of high-rises that are built with lift-shafts going to the basement (in violation of fire-safety norms).

In case of a fire, these basements will be impossible to vacate, and the explosive fire, smoke and hot gases would travelunimpeded to each floor through the lift shaft and stairwells unless they are built according to strict norms, which aredetailed in the links below. However, think about all the malls and residential towers that you have visited, and you will


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see that these norms are usually flouted. Whenever you visit a mall or multiplex with your family, you are at terriblerisk.(5)Fire Safety Rules Governing Lifts in Buildings:http://www.box.net/shared/d9p6no14q3(6)Norms for Staircases and Divided Floor Space:http://www.box.net/shared/shl7xsiped

In short, our builder lobby and civic authorities have scripted a complete disaster-in-the-making. The time-bomb is ticking. It willonly take one small fire in somebody's basement to set off a huge explosion that the Fire Brigade cannot control, and the building'soccupants cannot escape.

Please take action to prevent such occurrences. Otherwise, in the aftermath, all the public breast-beating and soul-searching ofofficials and politicians will just be a sad joke on Mumbai's millions.

GRI Columnist:

Krishnaraj Rao

Imagine the worst (Article on Child exploitation in TV channels)

If anyone had ever thought that the Saas Bahu serials plumbed the lowest depths of what our TV channels could do in order toharvest ratings, then they should do a quick reality check. Newer depths of depravity have been discovered and the bar ofregression has been raised by a channel, whose parent company we have always associated with respectable journalism, and is nowexploiting newborn babies to grab the magpie eyes of an audience that can never have enough.

Pati, Patni aur Who, very thinly disguised as a parent orientation training project, is the desi version of Baby Borrowers whereinexperienced couples look after babies who are biologically not theirs. The original serial was, according to some, inspired by theidea of looking after an egg for a full twenty four hours, on the successful completion of which, a couple would consider themselvesqualified to go ahead have a baby. In Pati, Patni aur Woh our celebrity couples have to actually go through all the travails of acouple with newborn children. Exactly why this would turn on the average audience or what the producers imagine to be theaverage audience is not clear unless it is something like this: See how tough it is to bring up a kid? Its happening to us today.Just have a little taste of whats going to happen to you tomorrow. You are not going to look so glamorous after those dark circlesunder your eyes, like us ordinary folkhmmm? Not so full of it now, are you then? The fact that the participating couples are mediacreated celebrities, probably adds to this kind of resentful thinking. And the audience loves watching their favorite celebritiessuffering on the small screen with a viciousness the TV channels recognize very well and obligingly know how provide for. Through itall the children cry, they are shaken, pinched in their cheeks, and made to undergo all kinds of trauma with their parents eagerlywatching on CCTV, because their children are coming on TV while the larger audience watches ghoulishly.

But if the channels like to believe that people are just a lot of sadistic types insatiably waiting with their maws open for newer andnewer outrages to be poured into them, here is a quote copied and pasted from U tube (with all the typos intact), among manyothers that express similar sentiments:

othey just playing with kids like they toys...just imagine to win a kids heart then throw it away to hurt it..my Goddness..evenbabies have feelings like we grown up people....they win and kids win no love at the end...they play with there feelings....daam it..ifthere parents are behind camera but its hurting if i give my kids and its crying and crying and i cant do anything while theytraining..oh no waaaaaaay i would do to my kid.

One prefers to believe that an audience is what you want to make of it. Not so long ago, we had film makers and TV producers whounderstood this and did their best to create an informed and mature audience with aesthetically made films and programs with asmall fraction of todays humungous budgets and very little technology. The extreme cynicism and contempt that our serial channelsdisplay towards the public is surely misplaced because, even now, Buniyaad, Malgudi Days, Wagle ki Duniya, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi andAstitva, are spoken of with a lot of respect and fondness.

The human mind is more easily influenced by the elements that would drag it down than by those that elevate it, that much isevident by the graph of regression that our media has plotted for itself. What next, one asks oneself, what fresh horrors are we towitness, now that even toddlers are not exempt?In Rakhi Sawants swayamvara where we saw the worst kind of prejudices and self-righteous sexist views being aired by her

prospective mothers-in-law chosen with scientific deliberation from the most backward areas of India. Currently, we have adissipated looking Rahul Mahajan a complete nonentity with a dubious background giving cheesy smiles that turn our stomach and asking girls to marry him. The ugh factor, this time? Perhaps. The channels would know best.

It is not enough to say that one can always switch off the channel if it bothers one too much what impacts the society at large willeventually come back to impact us too in various ways, whether we personally watch them or not. It is time for us all to dosomething active about the profanity that is Indian television today, whether it is an article like this or that post on U-tube or thatNGO in Delhi which protested against Pati, Patno or Woh.

written by-

Gautam Benegal


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Reports

One Muslim woman and children are inhumanly tortured by Border Security Force

On 05/09/2009 Ms. Halima Bibi including her minor daughter Ms. Kulduma Khatun (age-12 years) and her two minor friends becamevictims of torture in the hands of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel of Bamnabad BSF camp in a remote village-Char Lalkup,District-Murshidabad, West Bengal near Indo-Bangladesh Border. They were physically assaulted as well as verbally abused in thehands of the involved BSF personnel. The possibility of prosecution against the involved BSF personnel is negated by the fact that

the concerned police station is still not inclined to take any action though having received specific complaint from the victims side.

Some section of BSF has been forcibly trying to dominate each and every tit bits of daily life, livelihood, and family matters of thevillagers residing near border areas by resorting to torturous criminal acts. As a result the inhabitants particularly women andchildren are the worst sufferers. The free discharge of personal freedom and liberty became a distant reality for them as their dignityand respect is under continuous threat and peril.

The perpetrator BSF personnel completely violated the Right to life and liberty of the victim as ensured by Article 21 of theConstitution of India.

Details of the case.

Name of the victim(s):- (1) Ms. Halima Bibi wife of Mr. Majid Seikh, aged about-42 years; (2) Ms. Kulduma Khatun, daughter ofMr. Majid Seikh, aged about-12 years, resident of village: Char Lalkup, Post Office: Bamnabad, Police Station: Raninagar, District:Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

Name of the perpetrator(s):- (1) one Sub Inspector of Border Security Force; (2) Mr. Pal, Constable of Border Security Force; (3)One Habilder of Border Security Force, all belonged to Bamnabad BSF Camp, Battalion-191, Company-F, Police Station-Raninagar,District-Murshidabad; (4) The Officer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station.

Place of Incident: - In front of the victims house at Village - Char Lalkup, Post Office: Bamnabad, Police Station: Raninagar,District: Murshidabad, West Bengal.

Date and time of incident: - On 05/09/2009 at about 7 a.m.

Case Details:- It is revealed during our fact finding effort that the victim lost most of their agricultural land due to erosion of riverPadma. They built up a Bathan Bari(a little hut, adjoining agricultural land) on char land and i.e. land emerged from river Padmaand somehow to run their family by meager cultivation.

On 05/09/2009 in the morning Ms. Kulduma Khatun (age-12 years) daughter of Ms. Halima Bibi and her classmates namely Ms.

Sagora Khatun and Ms. Jharna Khatun decided not go to school as Teachers Day was celebrated in their school. They are allstudents of class-V. In the morning at about 7 a.m. they were playing and gossiping sitting on a bamboo thatch in front of Ms.Halima Bibis Bathan Bari(a little hut, adjoining agricultural land) near her residential house, at village-Char Lalkup village, District-Murshidabad.

In the mean time three BSF personnel consisting of one Sub Inspector, one constable named Mr. Pal and one Habilder, all ofBamnabad BSF Camp and in plain cloth reached there and suddenly the Sub Inspector slapped on the cheek of Ms. Kulduma Khatunwithout any reason. Ms. Sagora Khatun asked the said BSF personnel about the reason of such sudden physical abuse. It madethem angry and Mr. Pal, BSF constable started beating her by a bamboo stick. Ms. Sagora Khatum and Ms. Jharna Khatun somehowmanaged to run inside the house of Ms. Halima Bibi. But Ms. Kulduma Khatun was again beaten up by the perpetrator BSFpersonnel. Hearing the cry of her daughter Ms. Halima Bibi came out of her house and could identify them as BSF personnel. Shetried to release her daughter from the clutches of the said BSF personnel vehemently protesting against their torturous acts.

As a consequence Ms. Halima Bibi was abused in filthy and sexually intimidating languages by the said BSF personnel. Even Mr. Pal,the BSF Habilder threatened Ms. Halima Bibi and her husband Mr. Majid Seikh that if they dare to proceed against them over the

incident then their house would be demolished and they would be thrown out of the village. Before leaving the place of incident theyalso threatened Ms. Halima Bibi and her husband to falsely implicate and arrest them in a case of smuggling.

On the same day (05/09/2009) Ms. Halima Bibi lodged a written complaint at Raninagar Police Station. The police only recorded thematter in a general dairy entry book vide General Diary Entry No. 222/09 dated 05/09/2009 and thus they washed their hand. Thepolice neither initiated any criminal case nor took any action against the perpetrators BSF personnel till date.

Report by-

Kirity Roy


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Peace Channel: A channel for Human Rights education and peace in Nagaland

The paper which was presented in Budapest Hungary by Fr Anto Paul-

The conflict context or development context of the Naga polity

Nagas are unique people with its culture, people, religion, habitat and worldview and polity but Nagas context of development orcontext of conflict and brief history through which it is developing over the last 5 decades as indigenous people with distinctiveidentity in the international community can only be understood in relation with India which is also developing as the largestdemocratic and powerful country in the world during the same period. For the Naga the last five decades has been a tragic history of

war and bloodsheds without and within that took thousands of lives and generations of youth times. Wisdom seems to have finallydawned upon us after decades of bloody experiences. Today, Churches, factions, political parties, youth, women and all civil societyorganizations are all working together on the path of reconciliation processes. It is in this context I present you a growing firstgeneration of peace channels that is set to shape Naga society as human rights aware and a strong community while existing as aunique people in the international community. The challenge we took to ourselves today is transformation of Naga society to be asource of human rights awareness and good governance from having been known as the source of insurgency related violence inSouth Asian region.

Major achievements that inspire us to move on is India government recognizing the Uniqueness of Naga as an outcome of a decadelong peace talks since 1997. Every Naga today is proud of being Naga as the peace processes has established their identity in theinternational community. This recognition creates a space to bring together a deeply divided Naga society; across ideologies,factions, parties and tribes as never before. But the path to integration or for that matter coming together of different groups ofpeople and communities in Naga society is beset with huge challenges and problems. The memories of mutual destructions, violenceand killings and sufferings between factions, the growing social and economic divides; the so called advance and backward tribes,competition over leadership and diversity of languages, tribe identities and religious differences, the narrow tribal outlooks andrelated distrusts can prove to be major hurdles. Outside the Naga community how do we relate with neighboring communities

without intimidations or threats or violence so so as to have peaceful co-existence where every Naga for that matter people fromdifferent neighboring communities feels safe and secure where ever s/he moves in Nagaland and the region. How do we at the sametime re-orient the younger generations to a new work culture to get engaged in productive activities from white color job to farmingactivities and dignified life with sense of community responsibility and duty for making Naga a food secure-self reliant communityfrom an a situation of war-ravaged acutely dependent economy? How do Naga position and respond to Indias Look East Policyframe and development processes from the west on one hand and Chinese and other Southeast Asian growing market influencefrom east on the other? How does Naga society with its diversely rich natural forest, minerals, herbal, natural and cultural resourcescontribute to the growing South East and South Asian economy and reap benefits from it for greater development and advancementof its people? These are some of the questions/ challenges beset in shaping the Naga society as we enter the world of 3rdmillennium.

Human rights situation

In a region known for its racial, religious traditions, linguistic cultural diversities and hostilities where people lived in relative

isolation for better part of their history with sporadic contacts for war and /or bartering or trading activities human rights as definedin UDHR (1948) has been a new concept. Our diversities, tribal and factional differences have been great barriers to realization ofhuman rights within communities and across. Furthermore, when different tribes and communities across and with India began tointeract or slowly come together from their relative isolations they began do it with hostilities and wars that caused bitterexperiences in the minds of the people.

Unfortunately, the fact that Government of Independent India that took over the Nagas against their wills promising fundamentalhuman rights enshrined and rooms for self-determination within its Constitution also became the major source of human rightsviolation and violence over the last 50 years in its fight against the armed Naga -nationalists. Even after two peace accords ArmedForces Special Power Act (1958) that gives swiping power to non-commission officer to kill on suspicion and rob dignity of peoplebecame the most effective instrument of human rights violation still in use in the region. This instrument has been even more lethaland detrimental to human society when it is used across racial and cultural lines Indo-Aryan forces operating in the Northeasternregion of people belonging to Mongoloid of Southeastern Asian backgrounds. This makes human rights movements in the regionperceived as anti-India political movement closely associated with the anti-India armed rebellion or secessionists.

Human rights movements in the region have also been closely linked to community identities even when they may have universal

appeals. For every community or tribe or political organization there seems to be a human rights organization. The strongest andmost influential human rights organizations have also been those that are closely associated to a political or community identity.Naga Peoples Movement Human Rights itself has been one of the most pioneering, effective and influential organization in theregion. Similarly, there are many other human rights organizations for different communities and their political causes. We also havea regional level human rights network organization but they have been a weak in effects and influence. Besides these each andevery ethnic community and tribes have their own alliances and strong in-group solidarity and armed groups with strong politicalaspiration behind them. These factors further compound the human rights situation and leave no space for civil society movementfor human rights and human rights education. Most of the armed groups have zero tolerance against dissidence or differences.Thousands of lives are already lost in in-fighting, political assassinations and factional killings among different armed groups. Such ahuman right situation makes community or a particular groups rights more important than human rights of individual persons in thesociety.

However much demoralizing and discouraging the situation may be the silent invasion of HIV and AIDS as an invisible enemy that(Nagaland and neighboring state of Manipur being the worst hit states) poses to threaten survival of small indigenous populationsfrom within can only be defended with greater human rights awareness, skills and practices, and women empowerment. Civil

society, Church and Women groups must reclaim / create its space and position in the society and be respected and recognized ofthe critical roles they play in the on going reconciliatory processes of shaping future of Naga.


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Human rights dilemma

Human Right Education must equip the present generation with life skills for self protection, preservation and progress and buildinggoodwill and relations with others with different cultural identities in the manner that mutually ensures and enriches human rightsawareness and practices. Human rights education must overcome factional differences and inter-tribal feuds, and transcend tribal,communal, racial and cultural diversities and transform the culture of violence.

It may well be said that Naga society has solid foundation for human rights already as results of decades of efforts put in byChristian missionaries, western education and human rights organizations that came along it and nurtured generations of people forover the last one century. This is the strength and inspirations for all of us today as we gather here to recognize and celebrate ourstrengths for peace, today. However, to prepare the present generation of youth as channels of peace through human rights

education and life skills we needed an alternative discourse, a space to experience a culture of peace nurtured with our own localresources. The project Peace Channel is all about this alternative discourse and living new experiences.

Peace Channel: Alternative space

Peace channel began in September 2006 in the state after it took shape and matured from a culture of violence in Nagaland throughpersonal experiences. Peace channel is reaching out children in Nagaland and across states in India and nations making each child achannel for peace. Objectives of Peace Channel are Promotion of peace, love, and justice in conflict; empowerment marginalizedsections of society to live in harmony with God, nature, and bringing out the potentials in each of being responsible, transparent,honest and diligent leaders; staying clean of Drugs and pre-marital sex; Facilitating collective learning, sharing for development;Accelerating socio-economic sustainable development for the poor and Facilitating collaboration and networking across boundaries.

Peace Channel promotes belief in One Supreme God: All are His Children; relationship; Mutuality; Co-sharing; Inner peace; Returnto the source; Union and Righteousness; Forgiveness and reconciliation; concerns for other while being self responsible; Compassionwith adversaries; Working for justice and healing. Propagate spirit of sacrifice for peace; Honoring inherent dignity and worth of

every body; Keeping aside petty interests for common good and being Enthusiastic and committed. Voluntary service and Radicalcommitment to genuine human services; Readiness to accept individuals and communities as they are; Embracing differences andvaluing others and Being open to oneself and others; Hospitality to strangers; Pastoral care for all; Reaching out to poor, weak andmarginalized; Non-discrimination and Rediscovery of solidarity

Long-term goals include transformation of Nagaland to a place of peace and Making India a model for peace in South Asia. Short-term goals include Setting up Peace Channel Units to form Model Peace Zone; Nagaland People Forum for Peace (NPFP) and ModelPeace Region.

Preparing the young generation of children and people in communities towards a transformed society is doen through severalactivities such as formation of Peace Clubs in schools/colleges and villages; inter-religious dialogue and harmony; Action for localitydevelopment; Promoting Art and technique of living together with immediate neighbors; training for youths, students, employees,and professionals; seminars, symposium, training on Life skills; Outreaching to education to less privilege sections of society andAdvocacy and human rights awareness. It is believed that through these activities there shall be Peaceful minds; ecumenicalHarmony through inter-religious dialogue; Creating peace at homes and workplaces; Dealing with Lust, Anger, Greed, Hatred, Envy,Jealousy, Ill-will, Worry, Stress and strains; Participation in national events and Protection of environment.

Peace Club and its processes:

Peace clubs in school/ Community is the basic foundation for social transformation at grass roots level. It comprises of 15 Memberswith local contributions and lifetime membership and conducts fortnightly regular meeting. Peace clubs engages in advocacy andawareness; conflict transformation; addressing local conflicts and violence and promoting peaceful co-existence. The club meets 2-3times a month regularly. Whenever members of club meet they start by greeting one another Peace to you and Peace to you,too. before sitting in a circle with a light candle in the middle. One among the member in the circle leads a peace prayer in any faithtradition of ones pursuance and then followed with 7-Step group processes. It begins with a common peace prayer with eachmember touching the head of the person on the right. Second step is a short meditation which involves silent self awareness, andthrough breathing seeking reconciliation. Third step is life skills session on the any important situation/ issue/theme. In the forthstep members identify a local issue, discuss and come up with a response action plan for implementation. Members then togetherevaluate the days process for further improvement as fifth step. Saying a peace pledge and singing anthem as sixth and seventhstep as regular peace club meeting ends.

To conclude a peace channel is a project for social transformation that is inspired by human sufferings and higher values life andemploys such methodologies and beliefs harnessed the deeper philosophies of religious scriptures to respond to the contemporarysituation of violence culture. The project is a long term engagement with younger generations and civil society community whereever they are in participatory learning and change processes. The project will be successful when one day young people confidentlysay, peace pays better in my life from the present belief that says, violence pays in life for all the problems.

Report by-

Fr Anto

Director Peace Channel, Dimapur

www.peacechannel.in


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Indian NHRC is now protecting the perpetrators

ToThe Acting ChairmanNational Human Rights CommissionFaridkot HouseCopernicus MargNew Delhi-110001 15.10.2009

Your Ref.:- Your letter dated 17.9.2009//18.9.2009 in Case no. 240/25/13/09-10/OC/SB-2Our Ref.:- Our Complaint no. MASUM/NHRC/NM/1624/09 dated 15.6.2009Sub.:- Reply against decision of the CommissionRespected Sir,

The Commission vide letter dated 17.9.2009//18.9.2009 communicated us that the case of the victim is closed on the ground thatthe machinery of the law has been set into motion as Jalangi Police Station Case no. 166/09 dated 25.5.2009 under sections341/325/506 IPC has been started against the accused BSF personnel.

This is a clear cut case of torture in custody by the people in uniform who are paid from public exchequer. There are proofs andwitnesses to establish the prima facie allegation. Wherein your commission from the beginn ing trying to reject the complaint andclose the file, under any means which also proves that your commission is trying to safe and to shield the perpetrators. It is mostpainful to observe that the NHRC of India is discarding the mandate rested upon them and allowing the culprits to torture people.

On 18.7.2009 we received your previous letter dated 9.7.2009 // 10.7.2009 by which the Commission closed the file of the victimMr. Nrisingha Mondal on the ground that our complaint is not entertainable in accordance with the provisions of Section 36 of theProtection of Human Right Act, 1993 read with Regulation 9 of National Human Rights Commission(Procedure) Regulation, 1994.

Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with such decision of your Commission we accordingly made a reply dated 5.8.2009 mentioningthat the complaint of the victim does not fall under the criteria set forth in Section 36 of the Protection of Human Right Act, 1993read with Regulation 9 of National Human Rights Commission (Procedure) Regulation, 1994 for closing the complaint.

The men in uniform have no right to perpetrate torture upon innocent persons as they are only bound to act within the boundary oftheir duty. Therefore the perpetrator BSF personnel by their heinous acts of murderous assault upon the victim violated the right tolife and dignity of the as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

In this context we hereby would like to mention that as per Section 2(d) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993- humanrights means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied inthe International Covenants and enforceable by Courts in India.

Section 36 of the Protection of Human Right Act, 1993 read with Regulation 9 of National Human Rights Commission (Procedure)Regulation, 1994 nowhere debars the Commission from invoking its jurisdiction into complaint of violation of human rights on theground of pendency of criminal case against the perpetrators.

Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the Commission shall while inquiring into complaints under this Act, have all thepowers of a Civil Court trying a suit under Code of Civil Procedure (Section 13) and the Commission can even intervene in anyproceeding involving any allegation of violation of human rights pending before a court with the approval of such Court [Section12(c)]. Therefore the Commission was supposed to intervene in the matter of the victim and adopt necessary procedure to inquire intoour complaint.

Therefore the decision of the Commission of closing our complaint is predetermined and only an act of screening the men in uniform.

Again instead of our earlier demand we found that in the official website of the Commission (http://nhrc.nic.in/display.asp) there is

no data and/or present status of the matter of the victim has been posted for public viewing till 13.10.2009. We again demand thatthe data of the victims complaint, the decision of the commission and the communications made between us and the Commission isneed to be posted in the official website of the Commission (http://nhrc.nic.in/display.asp). In these circumstances we understandthat it would be just to bring the communications of the decisions of the Commission and our replies to the notice of the public ingeneral.

Hence we again demand that the Commission shall reopen the complaint of the victim and take steps giving due considerations tothe demands made in the complaint. We hope that the Commission would duly acknowledge our present letter of objection againstyour decision of closing the case of the victim and place the same in your official website for public viewing.

Thanking you,Yours truly,Kirity RoyPDF file of original complaint of case of Nrisingha Mondal

Report by-Kirity Roy


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Another Killing of an youth, Scheduled Caste, BPL Family - No Action

Mr. Shibajit Mondal was gun shot by BSF of Rajanagar on 14-15/3/2009 at about 00.00 hours. He received bullet injury on hisabdomen. He was under treatment at Nil Ratan Sarkar (NRS) Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata under Entally Police Stationwhere he succumbed to his injuries on 30/03/2009.

Entally Police Station registered a case of unnatural death in the matter of the death of the victim and Raninagar Police Station senta report over the incident to Entally Police Station. In the report prepared by Raninagar Police Station it is stated that the victim wasgun shot by BSF jawans of Rajanagar BSF Camp in an encounter with the smugglers.

Ms. Kavita Mondal, widow of the victim tried to lodge complaint at Raninagar Police Station against involved BSF jawans forarbitrarily killing her husband. After repeated persuasion the police only took a written complaint but still did not register any caseon the basis of the said complaint.

The right to life of the victim has been grossly violated by the perpetrator BSF jawans and the police of Raninagar Police Station. Ourattached fact finding report gives details of this incident.

Attached Report of Details

Report by-

Kirity Roy

RTI reveals misuses of MLA funds by Baba Siddiqui, Congress MLA from Bandra

Papers procured under a Right To Information application by Daphne Warapan, filed on 21st August 09 asking for expe ndituredetails of MLA funds, point to blatant misuse of MLA funds by sitting MLA and Congress candidate for assembly elections Ziauddin

Baba Siddique for 177 Vandre (W).

Information obtained under this RTI is for the period between 31st Jan 2000 to 18th Aug 2009. Listed below are some areaswhere public funds have been misused for favouring private groups of people. Some items are also fraudulent ie.

Fictitious items are shown as expenditure.

A. Parichay Societys private premises / plot developed into a garden for private use through MLAs public funds amount to Rs.5,19,685. See Item No.3 of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/nq1h7hv12v

B. The wall of Baba Nagar Hill road, a private property was repaired / constructed through the MLA funds amounting to Rs.2,07,870. See Item No.3 of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/21xoj0x450

C. Claims made to repair/construction of gutter/footpath, at ChiumVillage, using MLA funds, amounting to Rs. 4,15,890 .There are no footpaths in Chium village. Refer item no.15 of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/6ujgfzdgro

D. Bought a laptop and printer for himself from MLA funds amounting to 1,03,000. Refer item at bottom of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/c9tholezax

E. MLA claims to have made Balwadi at Chium Village in 2008 spending MLA funds amounting to Rs.2,50,000. The Balwadi atthis place was actually constructed several years earlier. Refer item no.18 of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/coxipqtvuu

F. Funds for community centre which has been converted into Buddhist temple. Rajan Sherly Gaothan (pg 26 no 19) Rs 2.5lakhs. Refer item no.19 of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/6ok3q7fvbt

G. Funds for Zafar Baba Dargah. Item no 17 of this page: http://www.box.net/shared/pb8o04bnitH. Recently the MLA distributed garbage bins, all over his constituency, bought through his MLA funds. Photographs and part

of his campaign report are available with Daphne. However, there is no trace of such uses in the RTI reply. See photo:

http://www.box.net/shared/f77o6tcuutI. In his adverts and brochures, MLA claims to have used his funds for Education and other general uses, but those are notreflected in the data revealed under RTI. This expenditure should have reflected in the RTI papers, but does not. Thequestion then, is, which funds did he use?

J. We also wish to point out the MLA has directed approximately 85% of the funds available to him in areas where theMunicipal Councillors are from his political party. While, this is perhaps not legal offence, it definitely is a moral one.

K. RTI Application and Reply may be downloaded here: http://www.box.net/shared/8dt64paq95

For more details, Contact:

Vidya Vaidya -- 98200 20437 [email protected] Warapan -- 98204 38058 [email protected] Thakoor -- 98210 52670 [email protected]

by-

Krishnaraj Rao


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National Meet on the status of Muslims in Contemporary India

Summary of Findings and Recommendations

A national meet was organised on the theme What it Means to be a Muslim in India Today by Anhad ( Act Now fro Harmony andDemocracy, Delhi) in collaboration with Siasat and other organisations Delhi from 3 to 5 Oct 09. A large number of individuals aswell as representatives of organisations participated and spoke about their experiences and problems late into the evenings. Adetailed report is under preparation. However, this is a very brief summary of some of the major findings and recommendations thatemerged from the hearings.

Overall

The predominant finding of the meet was that there is an intense, almost universal sentiment of fear and growing despair amongMuslim citizens of the country. Many of those who testified in the meet went so far as to declare that they felt reduced to secondclass citizenship. They shared their mounting disillusionment with all institutions of governance, and more so with the police and

judiciary, as well as with political parties and to some extent the media.

There is on the one hand the constant dread of being profiled as a terrorist, or of a loved one being so profiled, with the attendantfears of illegal and prolonged detention, denial of bail, torture, unfair and biased investigation and trial, and extra-judicial killings.There is on the other hand the lived experience of day to day discrimination, in education, employment, housing and public services,which entrap the community in hopeless conditions of poverty and want. This is fostered in a situation of pervasive communalprejudice in all institutions of the state, especially the police, civil administration and judiciary; and also the political leadership ofalmost all parties; large segments of the print and visual media; and the middle classes, and the systematic manufacture of hateand divide by communal organisations.

It was repeatedly emphasised that this is not simply a problem of victimhood of or injustice to a particular community. It is a gravechallenge to the basic values of the Indian Constitution, including democracy, secularism, fraternity and the rule of law.

Major Findings

1. The pervasive sense of insecurity reported from various corners of the country derived greatly from the prejudice, illegality andimpunity with which police forces across the country deal with the challenges of terror. This is a regular pattern that occurs afterevery terror attack, and sometimes even when there have been no actual terror episodes but the state authorities claim that therewas a conspiracy which they detected and prevented. Testimonies from many states in the country outline this chilling pattern, ofMuslim, mostly male youth, usually with no criminal records, being illegally picked up by men in plain clothes, and taken blind-foldedin unmarked vehicles to illegal locations like farm houses which are not police stations. There they are tortured to coerce them toconfess to terror crimes. Many men testified in the meet to brutal and terrifying torture. A few are killed in extra-judicial killings or

encounters. The rest are ultimately produced after several days of illegal detention before magistrates, who ignore injuries that

suggest torture. They are then officially remanded to extended police custody, and ultimately charged with a range of crimes ofterror and treason. Many are charged with multiple crimes of terror, sometimes 20 or even 50, in many states, making it impossiblefor the youth charged with these grave crimes to defend themselves. Even if the legal justice system worked efficiently, it wouldtake many years, sometimes decades, for these cases to be heard and concluded against each of the individuals. For all these years,the youth would continue to be held in detention. Almost no one who bears a Muslim identity is exempt from the fear that they, ormembers of their families, can be subjected to the same allegations of terror links, and to similar processes of detention, torture,encounter killings or prolonged, multiple and biased trails. It was noted that completely different standards are applied in the casesof the Hindutva terror organisations which have come to light.

2. The testimonies underlined the aspirations of the people of the community to participate in economic and social development inthe country, as equal partners as people of other communities. Many women and men who testified in the national meet spoke ofthe importance to them of modern and high quality schooling and higher education, and sought much higher levels of publicinvestment in their education. There was careful and thoughtful analysis of the design and implementation of measures announcedby the central government to address the low social and economic indicators documented by the Sachar Committee. It was pointedout that the per capita levels of investment for the community are still low. The scheme for investment in districts with high minoritypopulation, at best cover 30 per cent of the total population. The programmes are for area development rather than programmesfocussed on the minorities; therefore they prove blunt instruments as much of the expenditure is on general infrastructure and littleto directly benefit deprived people of the community. They are not consulted about their priorities. The scholarship programme iswelcome, but also suffers from infirmities of procedure and targets which limit its impact. Financial institutions including nationalisedbanks are still reluctant to extend credit to Muslims.

3. There were many testimonies about open prejudice and bias of public institutions towards Muslims, but it was confirmed thatthese prejudices are equally evident outside government as well. There were also reports of profiling against Muslims by the criminal

justice system even beyond terror crimes, reflected in disproportionately high Muslim populations in jails. Many sensitive and seniorpositions in both central and state government departments, including in the home, education, social welfare and informationdepartments, continue to be held by officials with sympathies with communal ideologies and organisations, and the UPA governmenthas done little to identify and replace them. In particular, sections of the media were examined for their role in reinforcingcommunal stereotypes, as well as for uncritically broadcasting the police version in terror-related arrests and encounter killings.Textbooks often show similar bias, and this is particularly dangerous because for millions of poor and especially rural children, the

textbook is the only source of the printed word which they can access.

4. People reported from many parts of India of difficulties in getting homes on rent or on sale in non- Muslim localities, oradmissions in schools and institutions of higher education. People spoke in many corners of the country of systematic efforts to


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destroy and boycott the livelihoods of Muslims. Sustained decentralised hate campaigns are organised which portray Muslim men aspredators against Hindu girls, and people who slaughter the cow which is sacred to the Hindu community, and vigilante groupssupported tacitly by the police target Muslims for these alleged social violations. There were reports, again from many corners of thecountry, about ejection from cemetery and waqf lands. The latter are valued at billions of rupees, and if managed with efficiency andintegrity, could yield large resources for education and livelihoods for the community.

Recommendations

1. There should be a high-powered judicial commission headed by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed toexamine all cases of terror across the country. Those that seem doubtful or fabrications should be handed over to a SpecialInvestigation Team appointed and supervised by the high-powered judicial commission. It should complete its task in one year, sothat prolonged detention of persons against whom there is little convincing evidence is not prolonged further.

2. In cases in which it is obvious that false cases were framed and evidence fabricated, the police officers should be prosecuted(tampering with evidence in cases which can result in capital punishment is itself a capital crime). Victims who were detained andultimately found innocent should be paid compensation by the state for the suffering and lost years of their lives.

3. There is a perceived slowdown in investigating and prosecuting cases of alleged terror activities by right wing Hindutvaorganisations. These investigations should be resumed, and placed under the leadership of officers of impeccable secular credentialsand integrity.

4. There should be a concerted drive to recruit much larger numbers of Muslims to all levels of the police, civil administration and judiciary. For this, all the recommendations of the Sachar Committee for affirmative action should be notified in 6 months, and

implemented in 3 years.

5. The UPA government must immediately redeem its pledge and enact the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control andRehabilitation of Victims) Bill, but not in its present form. It must incorporate the major elements suggested by civil society groups.Communal violence, is by its very nature, a targeted crime and a mass crime, perpetrated on a community of persons. As suchthese crimes do not find themselves reflected in the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and other extant penal laws. Because of their natureas `targeted mass crimes, they need to be recognized as such, drawing upon the concepts of genocide and crimes againsthumanity.

6. When persons in positions of official power deliberately fail to prevent the eruption of communal violence, or to stop itscontinuation, the responsibility for the eruption, or continuance, in the penal law as is stands, does not provide for prosecuting orpunishing them. Command responsibility has to be built into the law if the perpetrators of violence are to be drawn into a legalscheme of punishment and deterrence. The law should explicitly recognize and punish communal crimes that result not just fromactive participation or abetment of state authorities, but also crimes of omission, or what may be described as culpable inaction.

7. Any proposed law on communal violence must use the concepts of restoration, reparation and compensation, depending on thescale and nature of mass communal violence, which includes rescue, relief (including establishing relief camps for as long as affectedpeople feel insecure), compensation, restitution, rehabilitation including assistance of soft loans and land allocations to rebuildlivelihoods and shelters to levels not less than before the violence and in conformity with the wishes of the affected persons, and thereconstruction of places of worship destroyed in the violence. It should also contain internationally accepted norms for the internallydisplaced. These should be inviolable, legally enforceable rights of the victim-survivor, and extended according to nationalframework/policy of entitlements for victim-survivors of communal violence, rather than leave it to discretion at the state level.

8. Strong action should be taken under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code against organisations which indulge in hatecampaigns and communal propaganda. The requirement of prior sanction of the state government before a complaint in registeredunder this Act should be waived.

9. A law against communal discrimination on the lines of the SC ST Act should be enacted to recognise specific crimes ofdiscrimination against minorities and punish these severely. Such crimes of communal discrimination would include organising socialand economic boycott, communal propaganda, propagating communal stereotypes in textbooks and the media, and denial ofhousing and employment on communal considerations. The Act would contain provisions for compensation, and punishment of publicofficials.

10. Officials who carry communal prejudices should be identified, and removed from sensitive positions in which their decisions havebearing on minorities, such as in the departments of home, education, welfare, information, and in financial institutions.

11. The Prime Minister should nominate a 10 member committee to undertake a nationwide campaign against the communalisationof society, akin to the literacy campaign and temple entry campaigns of the past. The features of discrimination in everyday life havenot been sufficiently acknowledged, let alone studied, by government, even in the otherwise laudable Sachar Committee. Thiscommittee should also study and document these social processes of discrimination, some of which came to light in the nationalmeet.

12. The Prime Minsters 15 point program should be given statutory status. The government should constitute a high-levelEmpowered Committee in the Prime Ministers Office with senior non-officials who have worked on this issue constituting at least halfthe membership, to monitor implementation of measures to improve the socio-economic conditions of Muslims, includingimplementation in letter and spirit the recommendations of the Sachar Committee.


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13. Allocations should be sufficient to cover the large deprived population, in a Minority Sub Plan - like the Tribal Sub Plan and theSpecial Component Plan which is proportionate to the population of the communities. The Plans should be not to simply developdistricts with high minority population, but directly benefit them with high quality education at all levels, health care, and support forlivelihoods and employment.

14. The Committee should be empowered also to ensure the Waqf properties are managed in ways that their incomes are convergedwith public investment to ensure further topping up of resources for the development and benefit of the deprived members of thecommunity, with special focus on children, youth and women. We should build institutional mechanisms to use Waqf propertyincomes also to protect human rights.

Members of Jury:

Ahmad Saeed Malihabadi, Asghar Ali Engineer, Admiral Ramdas, Colin Gonsalves, Gagan Sethi, Ghanshyam Shah, Hanif Lakdawala,Harsh Mander, Kavita Srivastava, Mahesh Bhatt, Prashant Bhushan, Ram Punyani, Rooprekha Verma, Sukumar Murlidhran, TarunTejpal, Uma Chakravarthy, Zafar Agha, Zahid Ali Khan, Zoya Hassan

Report By-

Shabnam Hashmi

Anhadwww.anhadin.net

Unfortunate Murder of a social activist and collusion of Police and accused

The Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human rights (PVCHR) has learned that police and government officials have

refused to look seriously into a case of murder of social worker in a Jaulan village by Son of corrupt panchayat head.

Reliable reports claim that corrupt panchayat head has been bribing police officials to maintain the rule of lord.

The shocking murder of Mr Lalla Singh, father of Sanjay Singh of Paramarth Samaj Sewi Sansthan in Jalaun, PS Madhogarh, VillageMirzapur on 12th September is really unfortunate. What is more unfortunate and shocking is the collusion of local policeadministration with the criminals and their families. Mr Lalla Singh was a committed social worker and Registered MedicalPractitioner. He rendered decades of social service in his village and the surrounding areas. Paramarth headed by his son SanjaySingh, an icon for social activism in Bundelkahnd has rendered decades of social service in Jalaun particular and Bundelkhand ingeneral.

Case detail:

A case has been registered (Case number 497, under IPC 302) in Madhigarh Police station against the accused Vipin who belongsto the same village Mirzapur. After the murder, Vipin escaped along with his gun for the whole night. And the following day, i.e.,13th September, Vipin murdered Mr Kapoor Singh and Vaishanvi at 6 am in morning in the same village. He also injured JaswantSingh with a gunshot.

As reported in the news papers the murderer - Vipin and his father had very good relationship with CO of the area and were found inthe police station at Madhogarh having a conversation with CO Arun Sirohi, and Station in charge Mr Manish Jat PS, Madhogarh. Inthe same evening at around 5.30 pm, Vipin murdered Sanjays father. After the murder Vipin immediately called CO Mr Arun Sirohi.If his mobile records are inquired properly, it would be revealed the conspiracy behind the murder.

At night on 12th September when Sanjay and his family along with other village members went to file FIR, the CO and Station incharge did not attend to them. After brutal murder of Mr. Lalla Singh the murder remained in the same village and despite repeatedrequests of the villager Police did not arrested him rather it repeatedly denied presence of the accused in the village. The murderkilled two more persons of the village about 6.00 AM on 13th September [almost after 13 hours after killing of Mr. Lalla Singh] andthen in the presence of Police the murder opened fire. Almost after 15 hours of the murder of Mr. Lalla Singh the murderdramatically surrendered and finally arrested by the Police.

Police has been colluding with the family of murderer to weaken the case in every way. The family of the murderer has beenterrorizing Sanjays family to drop the case against him. The father of the murderer is the Gram Pradhan and upcoming Panchayatelections seem to be the prime reason behind the murders. Mr Lalla Singh had supported murderers father to win the gram pradhanelections.

Police is claiming the Mr Vipin who murdered Sanjays father is mad but the question is why his father gave his licensed rifle to hisson if he was mad?

Threat and intimidation is not to be taken lightly in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of those states in India where people are abducted andchildren kidnapped for settling private and political feuds. In some cases the abducted victims are tortured or even murdered if thedemands of the criminals are not met. As far as the Parmarth is concerned, it is an apolitical local human rights organisation withlimited resources, but with a large work group, including staff and volunteers.

We demand the following:

Sanjay and his family should be given immediate police protection. Detailed inquiry should be made regarding the collusion of police and the murderer and his family


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Detailed inquiry of the murder and justice should be given to Sanjays family Immediate end of the acts of terrorizing of Sanjays family Filing of FIR and immediate arrest and of the people including the family members of the murderer who have been terrorizing theSanjays family

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Chief SecretaryGovernment of Uttar PradeshShri Lal Bhadur Shastri Bhavan

Lucknow 226001, Uttar PradeshINDIAFax: +91 52 2223 9283Email: [email protected]

2. Director General of Police1-Tilak Marg, LucknowUttar PradeshINDIAFax: + 91 522 220 6120 / 220 6174E-mail: [email protected]

3. Chief MinisterGovernment of Uttar PradeshChief Minister's Secretariat

Lucknow, Uttar PradeshINDIAFax: + 91 52 2223 0002 / 2223 9234E-mail: [email protected]

4. Inspector General of PoliceVaranasi ZoneVaranasi, Uttar PradeshINDIAEmail: [email protected]

5. Senior Superintendent of PoliceVaranasi, SSP OfficeKachahari, Varanasi, Uttar PradeshINDIA

Email: [email protected]

6. MrsMargaret SekaggyaSpecial Representative of the Secretary General for human rightsdefendersAtt: Ben MajekodunmiRoom 1-040C/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10,SWITZERLANDTel: + 41 22 917 93 88Fax: + 41 22 917 9006E-mail: [email protected]

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme

Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)

Report by--Dr. LeninAshoka Fellow2007 Gwanju Human Rights AwardeeConvenor-PVCHRwww.pvchr.org


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http://www.pvchr.org/http://www.pvchr.org/mailto:[email protected]://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/docs/MARGARETSEKAGGYA_CV.docmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.pvchr.org/http://www.pvchr.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/docs/MARGARETSEKAGGYA_CV.dochttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/docs/MARGARETSEKAGGYA_CV.docmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Mass Rally & Public meeting on PDS by Delhi Shramik Sangthan (DSS) in Delhi

Thousands of members of Delhi Shramik Sangathan from all over Delhi assembled at Mandi House & marched to Parliament againstthe proposed cash for food scheme by Delhi Government & demanding Universalization of Public Distribution System.

The members of supporting organizations like Lok Raj Sangathan, Pragati mahila Manch, Alliance of Peoples Right, Nirman MazdoorPanchayat Sangam, AIFTU, Right to Food Campaign, Delhi Platform, Jagori and friends of DSS joined the march and supported theprotest. The Below Poverty Line families living in slum areas & J J Colonies were full of anger & shouting slogans against thisproposed scheme by Delhi Government.

The poor women blamed Government for cheating the poor. They said before election, Chief Minister made a number of promises forpoor including a house to the slum dwellers and Delhi Government collected crores of rupees from the poor families but till datethere is no house & we dont know any thing about that. Now the Government wants to throw us in open market where every dayprice is rising like anything. In this situation how can a poor family survive in Delhi?

The rally converted into a public meeting at Jantar Mantar and it was addressed by several activists. Ramendra Kumar, senioractivist of DSS said that this proposal is part of neo liberalized agenda of the Government. The Government is pulling its hands fromall social & welfare sector schemes & pushing poor in the hands of the open market. He compared between open market prices &PDS prices of grain, sugar & kerosene oil. There is difference of three to five times in prices. It means Government wants BPLfamilies to have food for only 7-8 days in a month. Is this a Food security which the Government is taking about?

Anita Juneja, Convener of DSS said that if this scheme gets approved by the planning Commission, not only the poor families butthe Farmers & agriculture workers will also get severely affected as the Government can pull its hands from the minimum supportprices of the crop. The traders will have free hands to deal with the farmers. She also said that Delhi Government is withdrawing the

ration in the name of corruption. The Government should take action against the corrupt officials of food dept, ration shop dealers &the politicians who are involved in corruption. Why the Government is punishing poor?

The activist Biju Nayak from LOK Raj Sangathan, Snehlata from Mahila Pragati Manch, Ishwar bhai from NMPS, Munni from Jagoriand Biraj from Right to food campaign addressed the gathering. The women activists raised the issue of non availability of food &kerosene oil from the PDS shops & also not getting BPL cards since 2007. Biraj informed the gathering that the campaign hasdemanded 50 Kgs of grain from the Government for the card holders & also demanded removal of categorization of ration cards.Rohit Jain, senior activist & friend of DSS stressed the need of continuous struggle against the cheating, misguiding & marginalizingthe poor to live under threat & fear.

The activists informed the gathering that poor slum dwellers have written thousands of letters to Chief Minister, Food Minister (DelhiGovt), Food Minister (GOI), Petroleum Minister & Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission but not a single response has beenreceived till date. The members of DSS organized protests at nine major traffic signals of the city to protest the scheme.

The memorandum with thousands of signatures submitted to Chief Minister & Food Minister, Delhi Government, Agriculture & Food

Minister (GOI) and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.

For further information, please contact:

Ramendra/Anita

Ph-011-28031792

Agitate for RTI implementation, urges Aruna Roy

Leading activist Aruna Roy expressed disgust at rampant appointment of bureaucrats as State and Central InformationCommissioners (SICs and CICs) through non-transparent procedures. It violates the principle of checks-and-balances. It is like

staffing Human Rights Commission with former CBI officers! she said. We must agitate to ensure that no more than one-fifth ofInformation Commissioners are former civil servants. Also, selection procedures must be made transparent. Secondly, we mustensure stringent Section 4 implementation by every public authority. And thirdly, we must fight for substantial budget allocations fortraining PIOs. Please start organizing a mass agitation now, she urged.At an afternoon round-table meeting organized by Narayan Varma of BCAS Foundation and Bhaskar Prabhu of Mahiti Adhikar Manch,Aruna Roy interacted with prominent Right-to-Information (RTI) activists of Mumbai on various issues.

I meet RTI activists in every town I visit. The country has over 10 lakh RTI users and activists but they are feeling fractured anddisenchanted with Right to Information. They are not feeling united and empowered, remarked Aruna Roy, who was in Mumbaiyesterday to receive the Nani Palkhiwala Award for her work towards preserving civil liberties.

The original forces behind the RTI Act are no longer acting in concert. RTI is truly a Peoples Act the hard-earned fruit of manyagitations from 1994 to 1997, and intellectual inputs from diverse kinds of professionals, including journalists, former judges, legalbrains and bureaucrats. But, after the Act was passed, we all drifted apart and followed our own individual paths, she lamented. Itwas urgent to re-ignite the passion in RTI activists nationwide, including stalwarts and founding-fathers of RTI. For this, aconvention lasting many days was being planned in Hyderabad towards end-November, she said.

Every political party is doing things that the common people are opposed to, such as establishing SEZs. It is necessary to oppose

those things by various means, including agitating on the streets. To make this a truly participatory democracy, we have to widenthe scope of politics. We need peoples politics, and not just parliamentary politics. To build up public opinion on various issues, weneed various levels of networking, from organizing street-corner meetings to setting up websites and email-forums, she said. Sheurged activists to initiate and propagate such a national-level movement.


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She appealed to citizens to send postcards in large numbers for protesting on public issues such as Supreme Court judges refusal todisclose their assets. The postcards must ask: In the land of Gandhi, how can you do this? she said.Discussing the

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