Punjab: Convention against war on people, A report

Posted January 4, 2010 by forumpunjab Categories: Uncategorized

‘Stop war against people

HT Correspondent

chdnewsesk

Patiala: Forum Against War, Punjab, on Sunday organised a convention here to oppose Union Government’s move to launch military offensive against Maoists in various parts of the country.

Terming union government’s military offensive as a great sellout of country’s natural resources to multi nationals, Gautam Navlakha, Consulting Editor with Economic and Political Weekly, said, “The central India, which is going to be the battlefield of Green Hunt is the richest region in terms of natural resources. Mines of these areas has alreadybeen sold out to multi nationals at throwaway prices. At the same time these are the areas which noticed the biggest resistance from people to protect their land”.

“Now state not only wants to break that resistance but also want to grab that richest resources which people have refuse to surrender. If the government only wants to wipe out the Maoists then why they are not making all the MoUs signed for these areas in public domain?” he asked.

He also said that the “Home Minister P Chidambram has made it clear that in this war either you are with us or with them (the Maoists). Of course in war imposed on masses, which is going to affect from 10 to 15 crore people, the masses will stand by the mass resistance instead of any corrupt political establishment”.

Chhattisgarh: PUCL Condemns Detention of Gandhian Himanshu Kumar

Posted by Ka Frank on January 5, 2010

Vanvasi Chetna Ashram before it was demolished in May 2009

This article was published on MyNews.in on January 4, 2010.

PUCL condemns the detention of Himanshu of VCA

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemns the detention of Himanshu Kumar of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram (VCA), Dantewada and PUCL State Executive member of Chhattisgarh at Kanker Police Station today 3rd January, 2010. This detention has been made on the eve of the Public Hearing that was being organised by VCA on the atrocities being committed by police and security forces in that area.

According to the VCA, the detention of Himanshu at this stage is to clearly sabotage the hearing. According to PUCL national president Prabhakar Sinha and General Secretary Pushkar Raj Himanshu’s detention follows a series of harassment that he and his organisation have been subjected to which include:

· Demolition of his ashram outside Dantewda.

Telangana, An extension of struggle for self-respect: CPI-Maoist politburo member Anand

Students of Osmania University burning an effigy of Chief Minister K. Rosaiah

V K Rakesh Reddy

VISAKHAPATNAM: The CPI (Maoist) has said that the Centre should first take a political decision on the creation of a Telangana state and then engage all the stakeholders, including political parties, in talks to sort out issues relating to separation in an amicable manner.The party is of the view that the ‘doubts of a few people in the Andhra region’ are being exploited by vested interests of that region to prevent formation of Telangana.

“There is no need for any concern among the people since they could go anywhere in the country for education or living and the same holds good even in respect of Telangana,” the party said.In an interview to Express, Anand, a member of the CPI-Maoist politburo and secretary of the central regional committee, spoke at length on the Telangana issue as well as other statehood agitations.Anand is one of the top ranking leaders of the outlawed group and has worked in the Telangana region before moving to the central committee.

The Horror State of Chhattisgarh: a firsthand account from the Belly of the Beast

NANDINI SUNDAR

Ujjwal Kumar Singh, Professor of Political Science, Delhi University and I have just returned (January 1st) from a visit to the police state of Chhattisgarh. Ujjwal had gone for research and I had gone for a combination of research and verification purposes to assess the livelihood situation of villagers for our case before the Supreme Court, both entirely legitimate activities.

In Dantewada, we had checked into Hotel Madhuban on the 29th of December around 2 pm without any problems, only to be told later that night that the management required the entire hotel to be instantly emptied out because they were doing some puja to mark the death anniversary of the hotel owner. We refused to leave at night, and were told we would have to leave at 6 am instead because the rooms had to be cleaned. As expected, other guests checked in the next morning, puja notwithstanding.

At Sukma, we were detained by the police and SPOs at the entrance to the town from about 7.30 till 10 pm, with no explanation for why they had stopped us, and no questions as to why we were there or what our plans were. We were denied lodging – all the hotel owners had been told to claim they were full and refuse us rooms, and the forest and PWD departments had been advised not to make their guesthouses available, since ‘Naxalites’ were coming to stay.

Maoists, Trinamool lock horns over Haripur nuclear plant

KOLKATA: They had fought shoulder-to-shoulder in Nandigram, but at the proposed nuclear plant site in Haripur, the Maoists are not ready to be “deceived” by Trinamool Congress anymore. The Trinamool too has threatened the Maoists with “dire consequences” if they dare to venture into Haripur.

“Trinamool is not at all serious about the cause of Haripur. What the party is doing there is nothing but an eyewash. Because it’s their government which has taken the decision to set up the N-plant,” said Maoist leader Koteswar Rao alias Kishanji, whose party is slowly and steadily making foray into this coastal village of East Midnapore around 160 km from Kolkata.

Local Trinamool leaders are not taking kindly to the Maoists’ interest to this newfound stronghold. Party MP from Contai and Union minister Sisir Adhikary said, “If Kishanji or his followers want to set foot in Haripur, we’ll give them a good thrashing (mere haat-pa bhenge debo). They are just murderers with little political base. If they have courage, why don’t they come out from behind the shield of other organisations and face the people?”

‘Public sector created Chhattisgarh’s middle class’

Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha and PUCL talks to Jyoti Punwani about Chhattisgarh, where the Centre has announced the

What news of the offensive?
When Operation Green Hunt began in September, notice under Section 95 of the CrPC (which includes sedition) was served on newspapers for publishing the Maoists’ press releases, which said that the only persons to have been killed by the security forces were ordinary Adivasis. Over 100 journalists demonstrated in Jagdalpur saying that in a conflict situation, we can’t print only police handouts. Journalists have been arrested under the State’s Special Security Act. For us, this new offensive is only an intensification of the drive going on since 2005, to clear villages to facilitate a corporate land grab, in the name of fighting insurgency.

Do all parties support this operation?
The CPI’s Manish Kunjam has held massive Adivasi maha-sabhas against the indiscriminate efforts by companies to acquire land. But these have barely created a ripple in the administration. The Congress is divided – while Mahendra Karma is the founder of Salwa Judum, Ajit Jogi has questioned it. When Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma objected to the Singaram fake encounter in which 19 innocents were killed, the district collector recommended that his security be withdrawn. A BJP MLA alleged that most of the 79 so-called surrendered Naxalites paraded by the police in 2007 were innocent peasants. Some were even BJP cadres! But only a few were released. This refusal by the administration to listen to dissent leaves the Adivasis helpless. It makes it appear as if everyone is against them and on the side of the companies. In fact, it is evident that the state is in the stranglehold of the corporates. People objecting at environmental clearance hearings are lathi-charged. Public hearings are held inside police barricades. When gram sabhas refuse to give land, there’s compulsory land acquisition at gunpoint.

What’s the space for non-mainstream political groups?
Everyone who works with the Adivasis or opposes the corporates is harassed – freedom fighter Ram Kumar Agarwal, Gandhian Himanshu Kumar, environmentalist Jayant Bohidar, Dr Binayak Sen. Every form of dissent is being criminalised. Laws are supposed to define what is a crime. Waging war against the state is a crime. But anyone who protests against the administration is labelled a Naxal supporter. This is McCarthyism.

Don’t you want development?
The Bhilai Steel Plant also took away land and water, but it created 96,000 permanent jobs. Chhattisgarh’s middle class is a creation of the public sector. Today’s mining companies give neither compensation nor permanent jobs. Last year, the state’s sponge iron plants were at a standstill because they had to buy iron ore at Rs 5,800 a tonne. But Japan gets it at Rs 400 from Bailadila mines. This is imperialism, not development. We must be grateful to the Adivasis for saving our resources from this loot. TOI

Campaign Against Operation Green Hunt!

War Against Naxals(Maoists): The War Against Adivasis, Fishermen and Peasants!

Resist the Naxal Witch Hunt!
Organise Under the Naxal Leadership to Fight Recolonization!

Campaign across Tamilnadu
Public Meeting, Chennai
January 30, 2010

Peoples Art And Literary Association
Peasants Liberation Front
Revolutionary Students And Youth Front
New Democratic Labour Front
Tamilnadu.

Contact:
Com. Mukundan,
110, Second Floor, Corporation Complex,
63, Arcot Road, Kodambakkam, Chennai – 600 024. India.

Ph: +91 94448 34519

http://vrinternationalists.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/campaign-against-operation-green-hunt/

Amit Bhattacharyya on the Historic Importance of the Lalgarh Movement

Source:Revolution in South of Asia Posted by Ka Frank on January 2, 2010

PCPA meeting near Lalgarh

In this article, Amit Bhattacharyya, a professor of history at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, takes up two important subjects.First, he describes the people’s development projects that the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities and the Maoistshave undertaken in the region around Lalgarh in the areas of land distribution, irrigation, road building, health, education and the preservation of adivasi culture. Secondly, he responds to some urban intellectuals criticisms of the role of the Maoists in the Lalgarh movement, and their objections to the movement’s use of arms to resist the much larger and more heavily armed central and state military forces.

Originally Posted by Democratic Students Union, December 31, 2009

War Against the People and the Historic Lalgarh Movement

-Amit Bhattacharyya

The Indian ruling classes and the central government they have set up to serve them have very recently declared one of the most unjust and brutal wars against the people which is quite unprecedented in the history of our country. Such a massive mobilization of armed forces, paramilitary forces, police forces and air forces totalling around 1 lakh personnel, along with US-Israel military assistance of various types only highlights the magnitude of the war.

They have identified the Maoists as the ‘greatest threat to the internal security of the country since independence’ i.e, the security of the Indian ruling classes. The entire forested region in central and eastern India have been divided into seven Operating Areas, which they want to ‘clear’ within the next five years of all resistance, including that by the Maoists and other Naxalite organizations. A massive amount of money to the tune of Rs.7300 crore has already been earmarked for meeting the cost of this war.

Needless to state, this war against the people is being waged in the interests of foreign capital and domestic big comprador capital. Hundreds of MoUs have been signed between imperialists and domestic sharks and the central and state governments that would further intensify the process of plunder and loot of our vast natural resources and bring more displacement and add to the misery and ruin in the lives of the impoverished people of our country. Lalgarh, nay, the Jangal Mahal region, is a region that, as the central home minister Mr. P. Chidambaram declared, would be treated as a laboratory to undertake experiments in dealing with this ‘greatest internal threat’ and then to utilize that experience for crushing resistance in such states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. We propose to deal with the great Lalgarh movement that has already found its rightful place in the history of just struggles of our country.

Kalinga Nagar relieves memories of police firing

By Amulya Kumar Pati
Jajpur, Jan. 2: A large number of tribals rallied in Kalinga Nagar, the steel hub of India in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Saturday to mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of 14 tribals including three women in police firing while protesting against Tata’s proposed steel project there.

Four years ago, the police had fired on tribals protesting against forcibly displacement through the construction of a boundary wall by the Tata Steel for its 6 million tonnes steel plant in the steel hub.

The anti-industry groups under the banner of Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch (BBJM) assembled today at Ambagadia, where the tribals killed in the police action were mass cremated in the morning.

The tribals, mostly women and children, brandishing with sword, lathis and their traditional weapons took out a 7 km long rally from Birbhumi, the firing spot to Ambagadia.
Carrying posters and banners, the tribals marched towards the memorial pillar where the victims were cremated en masse in the Kalinga Nagar industrial complex shouting slogans against the Naveen government and Tatas.

Other than local tribals, various groups from Jagatsingpur, Keonjhar, Niyamgiri and Puri where the locals are opposing land acquisition, expressed their solidarity with BBJM, which is spearheading the anti industrialization movement in the area sine inception of police firing on 02 Jan 2006.

“Police have been torturing us both physically and mentally for the last couple of months. We won’t tolerate any torture on the innocent tribals. There shouldn’t be any industry at the cost of tribals and their livelihood. Our fight against industrialisation will continue till the government changes its decision to set up industries on farm land.” Many BBJM leaders said in the meetings.

“Fourteen of our fellow men sacrificed their lives for tribal’s cause. We are ready to die even in en masse, but will not spare even an inch of land for industry,” said Rabindra Jarika, secretary BBJM.

Kalinga Nagar: Police arrest 2 of anti-industry brigad

Express News Service

JAJPUR: The Kalinga Nagar police yesterday arrested two core committee members of Vistapan Virodhi Jan Manch (VVJM) ahead of fourth anniversary of Kalinga Nagar police firing on Saturday. They were forwarded to court of JMFC at Jajpur Road and later remanded in judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected, officials said.The arrested _ Kunja Gagarai and Budansingh Jamuda of Gadhapur _ were allegedly wanted by police for the last couple of years.Reports said apprehending a huge gathering of tribals on the fourth anniversary of police firing, the district police conducted a massive raid at Gadhapur village and arrested the duo last night.

The anniversary function is being organised by VVJM which has been spearheading the tribal agitation in the area since police firing on January 2, 2006, in which 14 tribals died while protesting land acquisition by the Tatas.As many as four platoons of armed police force led by DSP Bipin Behari Mallick conducted the raid.“About 200 armed police led by a DSP picked up eight persons, including six children, from the village at gunpoint.

The arrests were made while all were deep asleep,” said VVJM secretary Rabindra Jarika.The arrests were in violation of human rights, he said.District authorities are planning to break the unity of the tribals ahead of the anniversary celebration, he added. Police will have to pay a heavy price if they proceed further, Jarika threatened.Contacted, Jajpur SP D.S.Kuttey said, “Both Gagarai and Jamuda were wanted by police for the last two years. While seven cases and two NBWs are pending against Gagarai, two NBWs are pending against Jamuda. Though we arrested eight persons, including some minors, only two of them have been forwarded to court. We are verifying the antecedents of others.” Ebuzz

Anti-Naxal ground offensive begins

Vivek Deshpande ,Joseph John,Raghvendra Rao

NAGPUR/RAIPUR/NEW DELHI The first major, concerted ground offensive against Naxalites has started with police forces in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh launching a joint operation.

The initial stage of this offensive — kept in abeyance for the end of the Jharkhand elections — includes searching for Naxals in the interiors of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and in Maoist-dominated areas of Chhattisgarh.

It was launched on December 25 as part of what is being termed as Police Week (December 25 to January 1), sources said. It’s is for the first time that something like a Police Week is being observed in these areas.

On December 24, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had met Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police (DGPs) of five Naxal-affected states in New Delhi. Following this, the Centre plans to move in 33 battalions (almost 33,000 personnel) of Central paramilitary forces in these states as part of the “offensive.”

The Centre, however, is maintaining that it’s only providing assistance to the states and not piloting the operations.

For the record, CRPF’s Special DG Vijay Raman, commanding the anti-Naxal operations, told The Indian Express: “There is nothing like starting or end of an operation. It’s on since (the) beginning itself.”