Report on a recent mass rally against land acquisition in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand

Source: Sanhati

September 1, 2009 By Manali Chakrabarti.

Main yehan Nandigram bana doonga (I’ll make this a Nandigram)

This is, apparently, what the Deputy Commissioner of Hazaribagh, Mr Vinay Chaubey, said on the 8th of August 2009, to a group of villagers in Arahara village, in the state of Jharkhand, who have been refusing to part with their land for compensation. The heavily armed police cover gave credence to this arrogant assertion.

The villagers of Arahara are part of a movement spread over 186 villages in the Karnpura valley in Jharkhand. Extending over three blocks – Barkagaon, Keredari and Tandwa, the beautiful green valley of Karnpura, is surrounded by hills (part of the Chota Nagpur range) on three sides, and has a thick lush forest cover too. The valley which is criss-crossed by numerous small water bodies including perennial rivers also has one of the most fertile agricultural lands in the country. At present the valley supplies vegetables to the surrounding areas and even up to major cities like Patna and Kolkata. Like in the rest of Jharkhand there is a significant tribal population in this region.

Don’t fake it, An article on Extra-Judicial Killings

So why call the encounter real when it’s strikingly fake?

The official version says Chungkham Sanjit, 27, was killed by Manipur Police Commandos (MPC) in an encounter. Photographs taken by a local photographer, published in Tehelka, show Sanjit standing calmly while the cops frisk him. He was taken inside a pharmacy by armed commandos. Later, they are seen coming out with his dead body. The incident sparked off a wave of protests. Imphal was shut down for several days.

This incident is neither unique nor new in the north-east. The rape and murder of 32-year-old Manorama allegedly by jawans of Assam Rifles in 2004 is etched in Manipur’s (and the nation’s) memory. The women of Manipur had then come out in protest demanding punishment of her killers and withdrawal of Armed Forces’ Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Mothers had stripped in front of the Assam Rifles headquarters at Imphal with placards: “Indian Army Rape Us”.

Rebel ring around cordon of ‘security’ Maoists’ military tactic

SUJAN DUTTA

Lalgarh, Sept. 1: The Maoists’ brutality in Lalgarh does not lack method.

First, they have carried out their operations outside the security forces’ “circle of domination” — the roads ringing Pirakata, Goaltore, Kadashole, Ramgarh, Kantapahari and Lalgarh. That speaks of a military mind and a tactic called “counter-encirclement”.

Second, the Maoists have effectively cut off most field intelligence assets the security forces could seek to cultivate. Across three police station areas — Salboni, Lalgarh and Goaltore — CPM activists have put up posters in villages proclaiming they have abandoned the party.

Counter-encirclement has also meant that the Maoists have expanded their area of influence.