WHO ARE THE UNDERTRIAL PRISONERS IN CHHATTISGARH JAILS?

Source:GYANOPROBHA

According to Dr. Nandini Sundar (see her article reproduced below), in the course of his work with the PUCL investigating the conditions of undertrial prisoners in jail, my brother Dr. Binayak Sen estimated that only about 1% of the prisoners had anything to do with the so-called Naxalites (the local name for the Maoist insurgents).

The recent jail break of mostly undertrials held as naxalites from Dantewada jail has highlighted their condition again. Like my brother, the jail superintendent has also been placed under judicial custody (although I saw a report claiming that he was not arrested) for being in correspondence with Narayan Sanyal (the imprisoned septuagenarian naxalite who apparently has paranormal powers to organize jail breaks even in other states from inside prison), and for allegedly treating him sympathetically.

Dr. Sundar’s article, written in the context of the jail break and providing a detailed background to understanding the effects of the Salwa Judum campaign, has been reproduced in Chhattisgarh Net, and I am indebted to them for the text which I reproduce below. It was originally published in the Newind Press on December 25, 2007.

Who are Dantewada’s prisoners? Tuesday December 25 2007 07:42 IST NANDINI SUNDAR

PREDICTABLY, the recent jailbreak at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh has prompted calls for greater security measures, and the district has been sealed off while police undertake massive combing operations. Someone should monitor whether those who are ‘brought back’ are actually those who escaped. Certainly, when such a large number can walk out along the main road in district headquarters, in broad daylight, and that too, in a ‘sensitive’ district with such a large concentration of paramilitary forces, the administration needs to engage in some serious introspection. And while the jailor has been arrested and showcause notices issued to other cops, the man who is really responsible for the mess, Chief Minister Raman Singh, remains unaffected.

The jailbreak is only the latest in a series of incidents that show the Chhattisgarh administration in a poor light. The government claims it is protecting people from Naxalites by housing them in Salwa Judum camps but it took only one Errabor incident to show that being forcibly corralled in ‘base camps’ from which attacks were mounted on surrounding villages, actually made people more vulnerable to Maoist counterattacks. It burned village after village as part of its Salwa Judum counterinsurgency campaign, but now its own forces can’t go into those areas, because the affected people are solidly with the Maoists.

What needs to be asked, moreover, is how many of those who escaped had good reason to be in jail to begin with. Ever since Salwa Judum started in 2005, anyone not directly supporting the campaign is vulnerable to being branded a Naxalite, arrested, and even killed. Indeed, the most recent victim of such branding was the Congress MLA of Konta, Kawasi Lakhma. The district collector threatened to remove his security cover because he opposed Salwa Judum. In his case, Congress pressure got the Collector transferred, but most others have not been so lucky.

A few months before he was arrested, the General Secretary of the PUCL (People?s Union for Civil Liberties) Dr. Binayak Sen, told me about his meetings with prisoners in jail, part of his routine work as a civil liberties activist. Less than one percent, he estimated, had anything to do with the Naxalites, and yet they were all in jail on charges of being hardcore Naxalites or sympathisers. How ironic that Binayak now finds himself in the same circumstances in Raipur jail, arrested on the flimsiest of charges! One of the reasons advanced by government counsel for his alleged Naxalite connections is that he kept no medical equipment at home (never mind that he has been awarded by his alumni, the Vellore Medical college, and that he advised the state government on its Mitanin programme for health workers). Another ‘irrefutable proof’ according to the police is that he received letters from prisoners addressed as ‘Dear Comrade Binayak’! Sure, he met the Naxalite leader, Narayan Sanyal, in jail, but always with the permission of the jail authorities and occasionally, even at their request. Despite several eminent people vouching for him and calling for his release, he has been refused even bail.

A recent investigation by the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) revealed the farce that is the criminal justice system in Chhattisgarh today. On May 17th this year, one Kawasi Baman was arrested after an ‘encounter’ in Nayapara ward of Dantewada town, and displayed to the media as a dreaded Naxalite. Eyewitnesses said that he was part of a group of migrant workers from Basaguda, seeking work in Dantewada town. They had just finished their morning meal when they were attacked by the police. Two men were killed, four managed to run away and this poor youth was caught because he was too scared to move. Local children testified that after the shooting, the police took out a muzzle- loader and put it next to the dead bodies.

Even more absurd is the case of Dodi Nanda, who was ‘lying drunk on the roadside near Jagargonda when a mine blast took place at Tarrem. He was transported by army helicopter and when he came to, he found himself in Dantewada jail!’ The IAPL found from the records, however, that he had been charged under five separate and serious criminal cases, such as attacking police stations and killing policemen. Although these cases had been assigned to various lawyers in the Legal Aid Panel, and two were at advanced stages, no lawyer had ever met him.

Both these prisoners at least have families who came and looked for them, unlike 25-year-old Dabba Bommaiah from Bhopalpatnam, who had been in jail for six months when the Independent Citizens Initiative met him last year. A labourer on a lift irrigation project, he had guided some Border Roads men to the nearest police station. When asked to join the Salwa Judum, he refused, saying he had a family to support. This was evidently enough to have him arrested. He hadn?t seen his wife or children since. When asked why, he answered: ‘They haven’t ever seen even Dantewada. How will they come to Jagdalpur?’

One could go on with several stories – young girls who were picked up on their way to market; women who were cultivating their own fields in villages which happened to be suspected as Maoist strongholds, a sick woman who could not run away fast enough when the Salwa Judum came, and was caught, raped and dressed in a Naxalite uniform in order for the police to be able to present a prize catch.

Even in ordinary cases, the legal system does not cater to adivasis, who are unfamiliar with Hindi or the kind of documentary evidence that courts require. In Chhattisgarh alone, 2.5 lakh cases were registered against adivasis for minor forest offences. Across India, many thousands languish in jail on minor charges because they cannot find the money required for bail or get any legal help. Even when their families summon all their reserves and come up with the Rs. 10,000-20,000 that lawyers charge, they are often taken for a ride. So-called Naxalite prisoners face even more serious problems – they are not produced in court on security grounds, and are routinely denied bail. Even if they are finally acquitted, most of them have already spent years inside. Apart from overcrowding, local newspapers have reported deaths in Dantewada jail recently owing to bad food and lack of medical attention.

The rate of incarceration of members of a community is one of the surest indicators of their unequal status in society. The arrest of Muslims under POTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] in Gujarat just after the 2002 pogrom added to the widespread insecurity they were already feeling. In the US, the criminal justice system disproportionately targets young black men, while in France, immigrants are the target of anti-poor policing. It would be interesting to get a caste wise break-up of the jail population of India.

None of this is by way of justifying the jailbreak, or suggesting that Naxalites should not be arrested and tried for the crimes they have committed. But the law, in order to command respect, demands that those who enforce it be held to the same standards. While that is, perhaps, too much to expect, the least the state government ought to realise is that its policy of indiscriminate arrests – like every other aspect of its counter-insurgency campaign – is self-defeating.

Maoists vow to carry forward People’s March mission

Thursday December 27 2007 09:29 IST

M.P.Prashanth

KOZHIKODE: Maoists have vowed to carry forward the ‘mission’ of People’s March editor P. Govindan Kutty, who is in judicial custody after he was picked up by the Ernakulam police.

Govindan Kutty is on an hunger strike ever since he was arrested alleging that the police action is an infringement on the freedom of the press.

In a post on December 23, the blogspot maoistmovementinindia. com says, “People’s March will never die. It will continue and work against all oppressions.”

It gives a chilling warning: “Prisons will break, chains will break same as what happened in Dantewada, Jehanabad, Patna.”

Maoistsresistance, another pro-Maoists blog, demands immediate release of Govindan Kutty. “The so-called largest democracy in the world, with a gigantic army, para-military force and police, feels threatened by a monthly magazine with a limited circulation of few thousands.”

The Maoists are planning to raise the arrest as a human rights issue. The Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), the frontal organisation of the CPI (Maoist), will stage agitations demanding Govindan Kutty’s release.

Ajayan Mannur, RPF state secretary, says the Maoists have their presence in 12 districts in the state. “The RPF is the right hand of the CPI (Maoist), engaged in propagating the ideology of the party among the masses.

It is the state unit of the Revolutionary Democratic Movement (RDF) led by G.N. Saibaba. We will continue to organise people in various agitations” he told this website’s newspaper .

He said the Maoist leader Malli Raja Reddy has come to the state for party work. Andhra Police had tried to kidnap him. It was spoiled after our intervention. We have sent fax messages to the Chief Minister and the Home Minister,” Ajayan said.

There are indications that the Maoists will throw up resistance if the Andhra Police tried to pick up their comrades from Kerala in future.

“Andhra Police has worst track record in human rights violations. It is second only to the Assam Rifles in this regard,” he said.

The Maoists believe that the CPM is nurturing a strong hatred towards them as a fallout of the Nandigram issue.

They say the CPM is settling scores using the arrest of Malli Raja Reddy as a cover. “The Kerala Government wants to nip the bud and stifle all voices of dissent.”

Demand Immediate and Unconditional Release of People’s March Editor, Com. Govindan Kutty

Save Live of Govindan Kutty who is on the 8th Day of a Hunger Fast

On December 19th the Kerala Police, under the orders of Ernakulum Police Commissioner, raided the room of Com. Govindan Kutty; confiscated all his literature and Hard disk and arrested him under a number of fake cases. He was harassed and interrogated for a day and and then sent to judicial custody. Since then he has been on a hunger strike which has entered the 8th day demanding his unconditional release. Given his age his life is in serious threat.

People’s March is an independent revolutionary paper. It supports all revolutionary movements including the Maoist movements in India, Nepal and elsewhere. It is a fully legal publication registered by the Government of India with the RNI number KER ENG/2000/2051 and the postal registration number: KL/EKM/614/2007-09. Th magazine has been coming out for over 7 years meeting all the requirements of the government.

The arrest of the editor and the foisting of fake charges against him are nothing but an attempt of the GOI of India to further stiffle freedom of speech in the country. The so-called largest democracy in the world with a gigantic army, para-military and police force feels threatend by a mere monthly mgazine with a limited cirulation of a few thousands. It dispays the fascist character of the governemnet and the cowardly action of the Keralam police.

We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Com Govindan Kutty and allow the continued publication of People’s March. We hold the governmnet entirely responsible in the face of any damage to his health or threat to his life due to huger strike within jail.

Ajayan
Secretary, Kerala state committee,

R.P.F (Revolutionary Peoples Front)
Dec.26th 2007

Govindankutty continue hunger strike.

Friends,

People’s March Editor com. Govindan kutty passed hunger strike seven day in Aluva jail..He is remanded for 14 days …Thrikkakara police has been registered non bailable cases against him….

PEOPLESMARCH EDITOR GOVINDAN KUTTY ARRESTED……………SEE THE STORY……………….

Source:Maoistrmovementinindia

Following words pained us in last year….

We have moved. Till May 2006, we were maintaining a fairly healthy site www.peoplesmarch.com. But our service provider, was asked to block our website on 15th May 2006. On 17th May, the minister of state for home affairs, replied to a query in rajya sabha regarding pro Maoist/naxal websites. We believe that an individial has an unalienable right of speech and expression, by virtue of his birth. We will exercise that right, and this site is a step in that direction.

Feel free to leave your comments …….. peoplesmarch@gmail.com.

P.Govindan kutty, Editor, People’s March

Mob: 91 99472 76692

Peroor House, Tripunithura PO Box No 56, Ernakulam, Kerala,

INDIA 682 301

This Year Again We read a news on December 07

CPI MAOIST BLOG BLOCKED

Friday December 7 2007 09:50 IST

KOZHIKODE: The blogspot of People’s March, the unofficial magazine of the CPI (Maoists) which has been publishing the Maoist literature from all over the country, was blocked on Thursday.

It is not immediately known as to why peoplesmarch. googlepages. com was disabled, but the service provider has left a message saying that the action was taken for violation of ‘program policies.’

According to the Google Page Creator, its service should not be used for unlawful activities.

People’s March is being published from Tripunithura in Ernakulam and is edited by P.Govindan Kutty. The print edition is not banned by the authorities.

“I had uploaded an item yesterday. But today I found the site blocked. Even my gmail ID has been disabled,” Govindan Kutty told this website’s newspaper.

The website of People’s March was blocked a year ago by the Centre for its alleged association with the Maoists.

The blocking of the blog is the latest in the series of the war of wit between the Maoists in India and the law enforcing authorities.

Maoists have been widely using the internet to propogate its ideology among the public.

Resistanceindia. blogsot.com , a Maoist blog was hacked in August this year.

Another blog naxalrevolution. blogspot withdrew after one year of operation.

But the supporters of Maoists have created another blog maoistsresistance. blogspot.com which is active now.

There is another blogspot naxalwatch. blogspot.com, which is believed to be hosted or supported by the intelligence agencies to spread the message among the public that naxalism is “pure and simple terrorism which disguises itself in terms like class struggle and social justice.”

People’s March has been a major mouthpiece of the Indian Maoists. It has carried articles on Maoist programmes and interviews with leaders including CPI (Maoist) general secretary Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathi and spokesperson Azad.

One issue of the magazine was exclusively on Dandakarayna region where the Maoists are running a parallel government and another on the women martyrs of the Maoist movement.

It also carried extensive reports on the developments in Nandigram.

Security agencies feel that it is impossible for a single person to produce a magazine like People’s March.

They believe that there could be many behind the venture who are behind the curtain at present.

Kerala is a state where the Maoists are keeping a low profile unlike the Andhra Pradesh and some areas in the north.

But it is no longer a secret that senior Maoist leaders keep frequenting the state at regular intervals.

AFTER WE SEE A NEWS THAT

Porattam’ condemns arrest of Maoist leader

Staff Reporter

PALAKKAD: “Porattam,” a revolutionary organisation, has condemned the arrest of the Maoist leader Malla Raji Reddy of Andhra Pradesh from Kochi.

In a statement here on Thursday, Porattam state convener Mundur Ravunni said the arrest was to satisfy the interests of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the State. It was also for protecting some narrow political interests in Kerala.

The statement also condemned the arrest of P. Govindan Kutty, Editor and Publisher of People’s March.

The search in the office of the publication by the police was an attack on the freedom of press.

AFTER DECADES LONG TORTURE OF INDIAN STATE ON MR GOVINDAN KUTTY NOW THEY TAKEN HIM TO PRISON IN THE NAME OF TREASON AND PUBLISHED MANY FAKE STORIES ABOUT HIM IN ALL THE MEDIAS….
THE PEOPLE,WHO DID GENOCIDES AND CORRUPTION OR ALL THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IS STILL RULING INDIA AND DOMINATED IN ALL SECTORS THEY FEEL MR GOVINDAN KUTTY AS DISTURBANCE.
FINALLY THEY WON AND PUT MR.GOVINDAN KUTTY IN PRISON.
THEY THINKS IT IS THE END OF THE PEOPLES MOVEMENT.

PRISONS WILL BREAK CHAINS WILL BREAK,SAME AS WHAT HAPPENED IN DANTEWADA,
JEHANABADH,PATNA..
PEOPLE WILL MAKE THEMSELVES FREE FROM ALL THE OPPRESSION AND TORTURE.
IF GOVINDAN KUTTY IN PRISON WE ARE HERE TO FULFILL HIS DREAMS
PEOPLES MARCH WILL NEVER DIE IT WILL CONTINUE AND WORK AGAINST ALL OPPRESSIONS.

AN OLD INTERVIEW OF GOVINDAN KUTTY
Interview

Q When and where were you born? What was your early childhood?

A I was born on 20th February, 1948 in a lower middle class family at Tambaram in Chinglepet district in Tamilnadu. My father P Sankunny Menon married very late in his life and I was born in his 41st year. Till then he was looking after his sister and her children. In 1933 he used to spend 1/3 of his salary (Rs 6/= PM) on his nephew’s education and till his joining a job as stenographer in Qatar. In due course he got his promotion as cable jointer in Southern Railways and we all shifted our residence to railway quarters at Chetpet in Madras city. I have one younger brother and three younger sisters.

My mother P.Parukutty used to give private tuitions for school going children at home. I too used to assist her in her tuition work. We had a lot of cows too to look after. While returning from school I used to bring a head load of grass for the cows.

Being an extra-ordinary brilliant student in my elementary school I found no difficulty in getting admission for Higher Secondary schooling in one of the prestigious/elite schools. (Madras Christian College High School). Being a meritorious student I got 50% fee concession and the school management presented me the whole textbooks and notebooks on the first working day. My classmates were from the top elite families in Madras city.

Being a Christian institution we were taught the Bible. During Bible classes I used to keenly observe and put such questions to my teacher, which the teacher wouldn’t be able to answer. At home too I used to ask questions to my parents to show me God. Why we have so many Gods? I used to put questions like if I pray one God won’t the other Gods get angry and harm me, In almost all my moves I was more interested in unearthing the truth. From my childhood I never hide truth or told any lie no matter what difficulties I faced.

After the India-China War, the Nehru Government reduced the retirement age from 58 to 55 and my father lost his job and government accommodation. Sensing that he may not live for another 5 years due to his poor health he did not opt for pension scheme took all his earnings which came to around Rs 7,000/=

In 1963 I was 15, my brother 13 and my three sisters were 11, 9 and 7. We all had to shift to a very small one-room accommodation. (No electricity- No water facility) The school offered me provisional admission for higher studies at Madras Christian College Tambaram three months before the Secondary school final examinations. My father expressed his inability to send me for college education.

As I was a meritorious student I found no difficulty in getting admission in three year Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Central Polytechnic, Madras in 1964 and was awarded merit-cum-means scholarship of Rs 50/= PM which is more than sufficient to buy 50 Kgs of fine quality rice. I passed my Diploma in Mechanical Engineering with Machine shop Technology as elective subject in 1967. We were against imposition of Hindi. In fact I was one of the active leaders in Poly-Technic in the anti-Hindi agitations that time.

Then came another war with Pakistan and the prospects of employment diminished further. The Government banned fresh recruitments. I had to take up menial jobs as daily casual laborer in Signal & Telecommunication Department in Railways at the rate of Rs 3=50 per day where my father too sought employment as cable jointer on daily wage basis of Rs 6/= per day after retirement from permanent service. There was corruption in recruitments in defense services too.

I could not be selected for the post of Direct Entry Artificer (Second Lieutenant in Navy) as I could not grease the palms of the officials. I took up menial jobs on low salary in Industrial Estates in Ambattur, Madras. During that time I attended evening classes and passed Diploma in Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Engineering in 1969 from Central Polytechnic, Madras. During that period I gained experience in the erection, testing and commissioning of Air-conditioning, Ventilation and Dust control equipments for theatres and many industries.

Q Who were your main influences early in your life and what attracted
you towards the the Naxalite Movement ?

A It took almost 20 years for me to realize that non-violent struggles are of no use and armed revolutionary struggles are the only answer to the present ills faced by the people. Here I narrate my experiences to seek justice with non-violent struggles, which finally led me get separated from my family to support a movement, which conducts a revolutionary armed struggle.

This is one of the reasons for giving lengthy answer is to advise the people who believe in and expose the leaders who mis-lead people in non-violent struggle is that being a well educated man I lost all my energy to understand the non-violent struggle and at this old age I am unable to do a violent revolutionary struggle which alone is the answer to the present ills faced by the people.

My stint with Communism

It was while doing fresh air ventilation systems at Central & Ajanta theatres in Trivandrum, Kerala I had the opportunity to watch a film (“You made me a Communist”) Ningal Enne Communistaki umpteen number of times. This was the first time I spent more time in my life during my Kerala visit. Even though I was quite impressed by the theme & ideology of the communist movement the activities of the lumped communist cadres in public life gave a second thought of the communist movement.

Again the war with Pakistan in 1971 destroyed my job prospects. In 1972 I got a temporary job as Draughtsman (Mechanical) at Central Leather Research Institute, Madras. I thought that by gradually working temporarily I could settle down at Central Leather Research Institute. All those dreams short-lived as the corrupt scientist advised me to work under a private entrepreneur saying that he has no further sanction to employ me. (It was the private entrepreneur who sought my services from the scientist)

Within a year the private entrepreneur’s turnover was raised from Rs 5,000/= to Rs 1,00,000/= He neither rewarded me nor the laborers for their work.

My stint with Capitalism

In 1973 I quit the job and pledged 18 grams of gold (which I purchased with the merit-cum-means scholarship money) to a moneylender for Rs 400/=(CAPITAL) and started a small production unit at my residence for producing clips for drying leather under the brand name Tan-Wel. The CAPITAL doubled the very next day. That CAPITAL and the Surplus further doubled further. I was paying three times the wages than other employers. I purchased a lot of machineries & tools for further development. I was earning an average daily earning of more than Rs 500/= per day.

This production went well for six months. Till then during my 25 years of life I had never visited any temples or worshiped any God. I was working 16 hours a day. I had no time even to take food. My health started deteriorating due to over exhaustion. All these years in my life I was a non-believer. I do not, or what exactly was the reason, which changed me to a believer to make my first pilgrimage to Sabarimala in December 1973.

I do not know anything about Naxalism even though I remember reading
in The Hindu on July 1972 about a news item in a small corner about
a certain Charu Mazumdar who was on fast and had died in custody.

In Government Service

In September 1974, I received an offer of appointment for the post of Asst Foreman in the Civil Engineering Division of dept of Space, Bangalore to report for duty at Thumba, Trivandrum. (A lot of posts in Air-conditioning fell vacant due to Gulf exodus as the Govt relaxed rules for getting passports) I was reluctant to join the Govt job as I was earning 10 times the salary of Govt job.

Due to my mother’s compulsion I joined the Govt job at Thumba in September 1974. I found that almost all the files were stinking with corruption. Jaya Prakash Narayan was leading a morcha against corruption in politics and in Govt. JP was telling naxalites to lay down arms for one year and support his movement of Total Revolution. In Kerala the whole politics was lumpenised by youth congress of Sanjay Gandhi and Communists. There was total confusion. I too was confused.

Indira Gandhi imposed emergency. All opposition leaders were put behind bars. Press gagged. JP movement was centered in Gujrath & Bihar. There was no trace of JP movement in Kerala. Who is right? Indira or JP. I too was confused.

I supported 20 point programme of the government. I referred all the facts to the Central Vigilance Commission, New Delhi. The Central Vigilance Commission forwarded all my complaints to the Chief Engineer at Bangalore who in turn forwarded the same to Construction Engineer at Thumba and the same was on the table of the Supdt. Engineer. The Govt too was in dilemma and sought fresh intelligence verification to ascertain my background.

The Pettah police in Trivandrum took me into unlawful custody on 5th March 1976.

I was shifted to maintenance wing on deputation to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. I applied for Govt quarters and shifted my parents and sisters to Thumba in September 1976. The Emergency was lifted and the Janata party came to power in March 1977.

I opted for mutual marriage in February 1978. In April 1978 the CPI-M union & the INTUC union launched an agitation for the refund of Compulsory Deposit Scheme. (50% of impounded DA) I applied for a months leave with LTC advance and was sanctioned.

I was suspended on 7th April, 1978. Later the suspension was revoked and my LTC bills were settled. But they withheld a part of my salary during the period of suspension. All my efforts to get back my withheld salary proved futile. As I was pressurizing the Shah Commission of enquiry proceedings I was promoted as Foreman A/c in February, 1979 .The Morarji ministry collapsed along with the Sky Lab in July 1979. The Charan Singh ministry too collapsed a little later.

I tried more vigorously for my withheld salary. From 1st December 1979 onwards I started attending office with slogans printed on my shirt. The slogans were:

NO CRIMINAL CASE
NO CHARGE SHEET
NO ENQUIRY INITIATED
PROMOTED ME AFTER SUSPENSION
THEN WHY WITHHOLD MY SALARY

The Executive Engineer did not allow me to sign the attendance register and my salary (for December 1979) was withheld from January 1980. Indira Gandhi Govt came to power. From January 1980 onwards I have virtually come out on the streets with a pla-card and a baby food tin for fund collection.

The VSSC authorities transferred me to Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad. I challenged their order by saying that the Chief Engineer, Civil Engineering Division, Dept of Space, Bangalore is my appointing authority and he alone has the authority to transfer me. A leading Malayalam daily highlighted my plight on 11th May 1980 under the caption “Needhi Labhikkan Otrekkoru Samaram”

I visited Delhi a number of times for PUCL meetings. I met many revolutionaries. I had differences of opinion and thought. I worked for sometime under one such outfit of an ML group called “Janakeeya Samskarika Vedhi” which conducted public trial of corrupt doctors at Calicut.

The Govt mounted heavy surveillance on me. Every month on the salary day I used to stand outside the gates with a placard and an empty baby food tin and collect token contributions of 10 paise only. I used to distribute one pamphlet in English and Malayalam every month exposing the misdeeds of bogus revolutionaries.

In September 1981, while collecting token contributions in front of the gates the CISF guards pounced on me and handed me over to local police station and were charged under various provisions of trespass and attempt to murder. After a year the trial court was unable to convict me and was let off.

With the tacit support of my in-laws and the open support of Karunakaran’s goons and bogus revolutionaries they succeeded in evicting me illegally on 31st March 1983 (after depriving me of my livelihood for 39 months) and was locked up at Thumba police station.

My brother in law met me at Central Prison. He wanted bail me out. I said, no to bail.. Then he said, don’t come to Kozhipuram after coming out of jail. After 14 days I was thrown put of jail on personal bond even though I did not sign any bond papers.

They sabotaged my struggle and my revenge (non violent)

On my release from jail in Apr 1983, I purchased a spade and reached my in-law’s house at Chamravattam in Tirur. I told them that I am not going to take to the pen and will only use this spade for my livelihood. As they were one of the biggest feudal lords no one would give me such jobs. Everyday I used to do physical work in their fields and farm. My in-laws fooled the public that I have become mad.

One day they managed to mix sedatives in my food admitted me in a mental hospital run by Dr Vijayan at Calicut. When I gained consciousness I found that I was lying in a mental hospital. My wife too had her role in this episode. I felt that if I harm her children would suffer. Then the other target was her aunt. Some how I managed to control my anger and dropped the idea of killing her aunt in September 1983 who was responsible for admitting me in mental hospital. I gave them a stern warning that if any such attempts were repeated something worsts they will face.

It was the conspiracy of the government to regularize my service with a certificate from a mental hospital and to clear the corruption charges
initiated by me.

My brother in law (by mutual marriage) arrived from Nigeria and we had discussions on finding a solution to the vexed problem. I told him that you have sabotaged my struggle and I won’t take pen anymore. You are not getting any returns from your farm. I will work in your farm. You take my wife and children to Hydrabad. I will come once in three months to Hydrabad. I will manage your farm. He was not willing. Then you should forget about your farm and we all (including your mother & aunt) will go to Hydrabad. We should not come back here. He agreed. He had other ideas.

We all reached Hydrabad on 1st July 1984. We admitted our children in schools. They again opened up the topic of (within a week of reaching Hydrabad) admitting me in mental hospital. I again warned him against such moves by him. I gave threats like “I will commit suicide”. I was not taking food for fear of food might get mixed with sedatives. I had no money. I thought of running from them. Then also they will not leave me. They will hunt me.

My mother in law uttered that this man has threatened many times that he will commit suicide. He has not committed suicide even once. This provoked me. Why should I take away my life? Why should I die? Taking away one’s own life is also a violent struggle. My wife was a dumb spectator. Her sister committed suicide two years back. Non-violent struggles all these years are finally going to land me in a mental hospital. If I have to survive violent struggle was the next option.

Call a lamb a dog, then a stray dog so that it can be killed. That was the govt., policy ?

No charge sheets framed against me even after 90 days. I launched hunger fast for not framing charge sheet within 90 days. The notorious Supt of jail at Secundrabad put me in the condemned prisoner’s cell. On hearing the violent death of Indira Gandhi over radio I broke my fast and took food. That day all the other jail mates did not take food. Drama rao dissolved the assembly and went for polls along with Lok Sabha.

I was unable to defend myself as to why my wife & sister gave false evidence. (False motive supporting prosecution version)

In the High Court the advocate Krishna rao (provided by the Govt) without my consent or even seeing me argued that I am insane. The notorious High Court judge while disposing my criminal gave such a remark that “If the jail authorities feel at any time that the accused who is of freak mind and needs treatment for psychosis they may take appropriate action, however he will not get the benefit of exemption U/s 84 IPC, his appeal is dismissed”.

This notorious judge was later appointed as Chairman of Law Commission. With such judicial remarks in my high court judgment jail authorities can at any time during my incarceration shift me to a mental hospital and be branded as insane and keep me in jail till death.

In December 1994 Political Prisoners of CPI (ML) (PW) launched a struggle in all the jail of AP with 43 demands (7 political demands of which lifting the ban on Peoples War was the main) in which release of life convicts who have completed 7 years of prison life was one among.. During 1994 Assembly elections Rama rao promised release of all those who are of good conduct and have completed 10 years of prison life. My tally was 10 years and 6 months of completed prison term. Rama rao could not keep up his promises.

Probably the bureaucracy and the central intelligence colluded and finally when the GO came only the prisoners who have completed 14 years of sentence including remission were released. On 18th January 1995. My tally including remission was 13 years 9 months and 7 days. The Supdt., of the jail has not put his pen on my history ticket from 1991 to 1994. Had they had granted me 87 days remission for 4 years and released me on 18th January, 1995 the story would have been different. …………………………They made me a naxalite.

The Historic Turning Point

The main gate blocked my freedom. There was a gate. On the left near the main gate where political prisoners of the CPI (ML) (Peopel’s War ) were lodged and ordinary prisoners are denied entry. I along with a few prisoners managed to slip into their barracks and met S Appa rao and M Balakrishna and sought their help in our DO or DIE struggle for freedom. They readily offered support.

We (12 life convicts) launched indefinite hunger fast. Other prisoners from all the jails in AP undertook the hunger fast. The political prisoners supported our struggles they too joined the fast. The Party extended full support for our struggle. Outside the jail Joint Action Council for Democratic Rights (JACDR) mobilized the people and extended full support by organizing various programmes in front of AP Assembly. On behalf of APCLC MT Khan, petitions were filed by Advocate Bharat in High Court of AP. On the 10th day 3 prisoners withdrew from the fast. On the 15th day 3 more prisoners withdrew from the fast.

Relay hunger fasts were conducted by ordinary prisoners in each barrack a day from various jails of AP. Jail authorities used lumped elements like Kotha Das to pressurize ordinary prisoners to take food. Party warned Kotha Das of dire consequences for his indulgence. The 6 prisoners health deteriorated at the rate of half Kg a day. All the mis-propaganda in the media by jail officials and the Govt were effectively countered and contained by the party. After 25 days of the fast the jail officials and doctors were unable to come near the hunger fasters for fear of VIOLENCE from the hunger fasters. The jail doctors advised the Govt., “We are washing off our hands”.

The Govt became panicky. On 17th February 1995 the petition filed by Advocate Bharat came up for hearing. Senior Advocate KG Kannabiran argued the case. The Govt pleader could not open his mouth. The High Court on 17th February, 1995 ordered release of all those who have completed 7 years of prison term.

KG Kannabiran, MT Khan, Bharat, VV Rao, Gaddar and many lawyers reached jail on 17th February 1995 and informed us about the High Court judgment and we broke the fast on the 31st day. The Govt did not release us after the judgment. We had to wait for two more months in jail till the expiry of the appeal time for the Govt. After two months contempt petitions were again filed. Again there was delay. On lifting the ban on Party also there were contradictory statements from Rama rao and HP Dora the DG of police. At one stage Rama rao uttered who is Govt? Me or Dora. On 27th May, 1995, Rama rao’s birthday Home Minister Indra reddy visited jail and distributed fruits. We gheraoed the Home Minister for delaying our release. We warned the jail official that our next move would be breaking open the jail walls for our release. Situations became panicky.

On 7th July 1995 night half the jail became empty. We were thrown out of jail. It was this heroic AP jail struggle, which inspired me to work with such fearless warriors for the rest of my life.

It was only from February 1995 I started reading literatures of Marx, Engels, Lenin & Mao. I was admitted into prison as an ordinary prisoner and came out as a political prisoner on 7th July 1995.

Q What were your main tasks in the movement?

A As per the advise of S Appa rao I started an Association called Association for Protection of Prisoner’s Rights and took up several issues to the Courts of Law in Hydrabad. Then I worked in All India People’s Resistance Forum (AIPRF) for three years in Delhi. I worked in Trade Unions for organizing un-organized workers in Delhi for three years. Then I was managing New Vistas Publications in Delhi for one year. For the past four years I am managing People’s March in Kerala.

Q How active is the Naxalite movement in Kerala today ?

A It is easy to make a person who does not know anything about communism a revolutionary. It is very difficult or rather impossible to make a communist (revisionist) in Kerala a revolutionary. Most of the youth in Kerala have turned pessimists and do not wish to take part in revolutionary struggles. They pledge their mother’s jewellary with private bankers or money lenders for a Visa and go out and settle in Dubai for 10 years .Then flush with money they come back and build a house, get married and with dowry money put up additional structures such as a bakery or a small shop.They then plant two or three coconut trees for making chutney to be eaten with rice.Finally they rent a portion of the house to cover the child’s education.

You can see the confusion from the voices of CPI-M Chief Ministers of Kerala & West Bengal.

Kerala CM says ……………… No to Coca Cola, FDI
West Bengal CM says …….. Yes to Coca cola, FDI

You can see a large number of labourers from West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Andhra, Orissa working as building construction workers on meager wages in Kerala. For them Kerala is a mini Dubai. With all these odds & revisionist CPI & CPI-M some initiatives were taken and some progress were made in the past two or three years.

Q What is your opinion on the large number of people with ex-naxalites tag?
Do you consider them as people who have betrayed the Indian revolution ?

A In Kerala there are many ex-naxalites. Some are supporting Globalisation. Some have turned Saibaba’s devotees. Ajitha is running an NGO. In other places in India many have joined the parliamentary path. Some say both parliamentary & armed struggle. Some say time is not ripe for armed struggle and participate in elections. In Tamilnadu there is TNML.

Being the Editor of People’s March during an interaction with a Red Flag activist I put the following conversations. My dear friend, you say time is not ripe for armed struggle and unless and until all people were prepared for armed revolution you wished to mobiles people for armed revolution. Suppose in a hundred people you go on asking them whether they are ready for the armed revolution.

When you reach the 99th person a person in 10th who had earlier said yes may now say “No not now”. Taking into consideration all these factors and suppose you finally have succeeded in mobilizing all the people to say “Yes, we are ready for the armed struggle”. You have to give them arms.

From where you will get arms? Will you float global tenders for arms? Will the revolution wait till the arms arrive? Where is the money to buy arms? Will it be readily available in the market? Will the army of the rulers hand over their weapons to your mobilized people? You have to give them training to use the arms. That takes another three to four months. Will the revolution wait?

Unable to answer these queries put forth by me many cadres escape by saying “Comrade I will meet you sometime later and discuss with you in detail” and will never be seen at a later date.

These people repeat the story that our great grand mother’s used to tell us.It was called “How to catch a crow”. The story went that when the crow is sitting in the hot Sun you have to go behind the crow and keep some butter on its head. Slowly the butter will melt and a little later the crow will find it difficult to see anything.. Then you can go and catch the crow easily.

All these ML parties preach & praise Naxalbari & Mao, keep big name boards issue identity cards to as cardholder. Do they adhere the three magic weapons as stated by Com Mao, The secret Party, People’s army & united front?

Almost all brand CPI Maoist as anarchists. Mao said,
“Revolution is not a Tea Party”. It is a bitter
struggle where serving the people with extreme sacrifice is of paramount
importance.

I quote Gaddar’s lyrics.

Grease leni bandi eppudu nadavaledhura
Thyagam leni viplavamu mundhukku podhura
(Without grease a cart cannot move forward
Without sacrifice revolution cannot move forward)

So coming to your question. Not all can be called as betrayers. Many could not cope up with the hard & tedious revolutionary life quit the movement. All others under the official ML brand name serving the ruling classes either directly or indirectly are betrayers of the Indian Revolution.

Q As the editor of People’sMarch you have withstood constant repression and
harassment which would have normally broken the spirit of an ordinary man.
Tell us more about the ways in which the police and authorities
constantly intimidate you despite People’s March being a legally registered
magazine and how do you cope with this type of harassment?..

A It is only tactical, be it ruling classes or revolutionary parties. For ruling classes it was compulsions of promising people before elections on lifting the bans. It is quite common and it is observed that the ban on any movement or any magazine only helped to get more publicity than it had before the people.

Right from Drama rao in 1982 till the recent elections these rulers played the naxalite card to win over the people. You are going to see that again just before the next elections in 2009. They keep high-resolution video cameras in high-rise buildings and film the entire procession after lifting the ban and scan them to identify the people who support the movement and harass them when the ban was imposed again.

Many agents of enemies infiltrate the movement to gather information and inform the rulers. People’s March being a Regd newspaper also has many subscribers posing themselves as sympathizers. They seek to establish contact with the movement showing that they are regular readers of People’s March. The rulers are also aware that even if this magazine is banned the same contents will appear in some form or another, which could be very difficult to trace it.

So they won’t ban People’s March. They only try to eliminate the person who mans the People’s March. In Feb 2006 when Naidu was calling for a referendum on Naxalism V/s Development they sent my children’s photos that I haven’t seen far more than two decades thinking that I may visit them at Hydrabad so that they can with a complaint extracted from their mother who gave false evidence in the court leading to my conviction for life imprisonment at Hydrabad in 1985 so that I can be put behind bars again.

As that fiasco failed they sent a CD in Nov 2005 containing porn video of my wife taken in 1984 by threatening her to implicate her in the case along with her husband to maim her voice forever so that she won’t turn hostile during trial to give false evidence against her husband leading to his conviction to life imprisonment in Hydrabad in 1985. These are all Psycho Wars being launched by the police to eliminate me.

They thought that I might get heart attack on seeing the past as to how they ruined my life and that of my family. This fiasco too ended in dramatic move of the revisionist CPI-M came as a surprise to everybody throwing out Karunakaran led DIC (K) out of LDF before the assembly elections. Till then Karunakaran the notorious naxal baiter was shouting from rooftops as the next Home Minister.

After the May 4 elections they blocked the website www.peoplesmarch.com by threatening the service provider through a confidential letter stating that it is hosting anti-national contents.

People know that we love our people and our country much more than these traitorous Manmohans & Vajpayees. Though we never wished to be called as nationalists we are not anti-national. We are internationalists. Further the government freely allows thousands & thousands of porn sites to deter youth from any nation building activities or to resist & rebel against the traitorous policies of the rulers of our country.

Further they are challenging me. Where is your honesty? What it has paid you? You were class I officer in Space Department, Thumba. Had you been with us in the ‘mainstream’ you at this age of 60 could have become a Supdt., Engineer and got retired with a handsome pension. We have had power to throw you out of your government quarters in 1983. We had the power to make a lamb a dog. Then called it a stray dog so that it can be killed. We pressurized your in-laws to admit you in a mental asylum. Finally in a conspiracy hatched by Indira – PVN – Karunakaran we put you behind bars in an unfortunate incident in 1984. We took your wife in custody and threatened her to implicate her in the case and forced her to tender evidence against you by filming her porn video so that her voices are maimed forever and she doesn’t turn hostile during trial leading to your conviction to life imprisonment for life in Hydrabad in 1985. Anticipating your release from jail in 1994 we ( PVN & Karunakaran ) floated the SPY SCANDEL (without a SPY) in Space Department.

You have not changed. You don’t want to join the MAIN STREAM. We sent you the porn video CD. We have put that 145 MB porn video on website too with links to thousands & thousands of websites. We have the power to block your 50 MB People’s March website.

We can harm your children and their mother and implicate you in the case and put you behind bars again for which we have planted your eldest son Sachidanand as Reporter in The Hindu at Hydrabad under naxal baiter K Srinivas Reddy to report your arrest to convince my three boys as I am to be done away with.

This is the message they are giving me. It is a Psycho War on the Editor, of People’s March. Read Jun-Jul 2006 cover story.

It was unfortunate and incorrect to put such details on the cover of the last issue of a revolutionary magazine. Though the Indian Intelligence is harassing the editor there is no justification to have put such vulgar details in the magazine. As Editor of People’s March I apologized to the readers for the contents on the cover page of the last issue.

As editor of People’s March I take this as a sign that we are winning. As Comrade Mao said, “to be attacked by the enemy is not a bad thing but a good thing”.

Q Where do you see the Naxalite movement 5 years down the line?

A Brig BK Punwar (India’s leading Jungle War specialist) told CNN IBN TV recently in an interview that the politburo of the naxalites say that by 2010, 33% of India will be in their hands.

Q Do you think the Indian revolution will eclipse both the Russian and
Chinese revolutions in terms of achievement and impact? Do you believe
you will live to see the day when the Indian revolution will triumph?

A You see Russian & Chinese revolutions learnt lessons from Paris Commune and succeeded in revolutionizing the people to victory. After all it is the people of India who have to complete this task. Conditions are ripe for a revolutionary upsurge.

Barbarakar Gir jayega, yeh sadi gali vivastha ki mahal …
bus ek dakka milkar lagana padega…….
( This whole stinking structure of the social order will fall in no time
All that we have to do is to join our hands together and give it one last push)

We are not astrologers to predict & forecast when the Indian revolution will triumph? It may take one year, 5 years, or might 50 years or even 150 years. All their attempts to destroy the movement failed. They killed hundreds of revolutionaries. The result was thousands of revolutionaries cropped up. No blood shed by the martyrs went waste. From each & every drop of blood shed by martyrs hundreds of revolutionaries raised.

Weh thamam phoolon ko nasht kar sakthein…
magar vasant ko tho nahi rok payenghe.
( They can destroy all the flowers but
They won’t be able hold back the spring season from arriving )

People can be fooled once, twice, thrice but not always. You see people are rising from every nook & corner of our country. Be it peasants, Workers, Youth, Students, Dalith, Adivasis, Minorities, Women, now even middle classes also started raising their voices.

Q Would you care to hazard a guess as to when the red flag shall fly over the red fort in India?
A We are not Astrologers. But the days are not far off.

Q What is your message to the youth of the country?

A These are my personal experiences and the views and are in no way
connected with any revolutionary party as to why I support armed struggle.

It is a historical fact that nowhere in the world the oppressors have stopped
oppression or have ceded power through peaceful means.

You start from American war of independence.

You see Narmada Bachav Andolan. First it stared with opposing 80 metres. It started with a slogan Dubenghe, Marenghe …. Bandh Nahin Banega. Then Jal Samadhi. Now it is more than two decades. Along with the agitation the dam height too have come up to 121 metres. In another ten years it will easily rise to the full 145 metres with Medha’s help as all those people who were capable of leading armed struggle have now become older by 25 years. The question of compensation and other things are a farce. They were driven out of their habitats .

No one ever wishes to start any sort armed struggle or confrontation with the state. It is the situations that make people to confront the state with armed defensive struggles.

Arundathi’s fears are100 % correct.
“If they don’t get justice they all will join Maoists”.

They say Maoists are violent. Maoists say the whole world is violent. We say prostitution is sexual violence. Corruption is violence. Not paying minimum wages and forcing the worker to work more than 8 hours a day to meet his ends is also violence. Take the statistics. 50 percent of the world resources are utilized for making weapons. What for? To shoot birds. No. To kill humanity.

Arundathi was right in saying,”Gone are the days when weapons were made to fight wars … now wars are made to sell weapons”. Bush killed 3,50,000 in Iraq alone and these killings were flashed on TV screens as fire festivals the world over. 3,000 Muslims were butchered in Gujrath in three days. 3,000 Sikhs were butchered in Delhi in three days. In Andhra the number of people killed by ruling class factions outnumbers the people killed by revolutionaries.

They talk about the destruction of public property by Maoists. Let us take statistics. Bush destroyed the whole of Iraq. Capitalism means destruction and reconstruction. 300 crores of property was destroyed in Vijayawada alone when Rajiv Gandhis died.

There was no revolutionary movement in early 70’s. I was 27 in 1975. JP advised naxalites to hold their gun down for one year. Emergency. I was not a naxalite then. I did not know who Marx, Lenin or Mao is. I then had enough strength and stamina to be part of or to initiate armed struggle. I opted for non-violent struggle and it has only left me
with bitter experiences.

You talk about elections. Indira Gandhi declared Emergency to stay on in power. Indira Gandhi befriended Bindrenwala to break Akali Dal..

Rajiv Gandhi opened Babri Masjid for Hindu votes. Advani made Rath Yatra
for Hindu votes.

VP Singh’s Mandal followed by BJP’s Kamandal, Shilanyas and Kar Sewa finally led to demolition of Babri Masjid and sought Rama’ s help to come to power.

Then PV Narsimha rao said,” I paid one crore and saved the govt treasury to the tune of 900 crores from an impending election”.

What Karunakaran said ?, ” Kodoth lost the election because of liquor and money”.

Vajpayee claimed credit for 5 Nuclear explosions and went for elections which was countered by Musharaff’s Nuclear explosions.

Modi went for election immediately after Gujrath carnage.

23 women were killed in a stampede in saree distribution in Vajpayee’s constituency.

JD(S) Air lifted 47 MLA’s to Goa and BJP Air lifted 68 MLA’s to Chennai to install H D Kumaraswamy.

21 ‘mainstream’ MLA’s from Jharkhand were loitering in the backwaters in Alleppey Dist., of Kerala in the early second week of Sept 2006 fearing Indian Democracy.

Sops like color TV’s & computers dominated TN election.

Now there is competition among ‘patriots’ to force the children to sing Vande Matharam.

All these attempts by these traitors were only to divert the attention of the people from the real issues being faced by the people…

Roti, Kapada, Pani, Noukri, Swasth, Saksharatha our Makhan.(Bread,clothes,water,job,health and house )

They want the Maoists to join the murky mainstream and to contest elections and prove their strength.
CPI laid down arms and won the elections with overwhelming majority for the first time in world history in 1957.
What happened ?
It was dismissed with the stroke of a pen.

Once again I wish to state that I am not fond of armed struggle. Now at this age of 60 I cannot take part in armed struggle. I support it as I have experienced the bitter truth of non-violent struggles. Do not waste your time & energy in peaceful struggles and don’t get mis-led by by leaders leading non-violent struggles. Save our country from the clutches of these traitors. Innumerable martyrs have shed their blood to free the country from the clutches of these unscrupulous looters.

To realise the dreams of innumerable martyrs …..
Hold high the prestigious Red Flag of The CPI(Maoist) Party for the victory of the Indian Revolution.

Posted by AP at 8:42 AM 0 comments

Labels: PEOPLESMARCH

Tamilnadu: Arrested Maoists produced in court

Yoghesh ( Chhattisgarh) and Balamuruk in police custody News related to this post

Chhattisgarh: Death shroud on kidnapped cops

SHEENA K.

Raipur, Dec. 21: Maoists kidnapped 12 policemen in Chhattisgarh last evening but officers don’t know if they have been killed — because search teams haven’t been able to cover the 15km to the spot till tonight. A regional TV channel, however, aired footage of the bodies of 12 policemen and claimed it was reporting from the scene of the ambush in Maoist stronghold Dantewada. Although senior officers wouldn’t confirm the deaths, PTI quoted an unnamed Dantewada police source as saying: “All the 12… are killed and their 11 self-loading rifles and one AK-47 weapon have been looted by the rebels.” The police struggled to explain why their teams had failed to reach the spot after setting out from the Golapalli and Kisteram camps this morning when TV crew were apparently there long ago. Besides, of the 33 policemen ambushed, 21 made it to the Golapalli camp, negotiating the same terrain. “The difficult terrain is causing problems. Besides, the ambushes laid by the rebels at various places makes our teams move with caution,” Bastar inspector-general of police R.K. Vij said. He suggested the TV crew may have reached the spot from Bhadrachalam or Khammam in Andhra Pradesh. Dantewada is the district where about 100 Maoists broke out of jail on Monday, and where most of the rebels’ central leaders are believed to be staying. The 5pm ambush took place near Tarlaguda, about 500km south of state capital Raipur, while the jawans were returning to Golapalli from Kisteram. Of the missing jawans, eight are from the Special Armed Force and four from the District Force. An officer said it was more likely the hostages had been killed “since there were no officers among them” who might have enabled the rebels to negotiate for a prisoner trade-off. “The search parties are near the spot,” Vij said, adding that the combing would resume tomorrow. Once the teams reached the site, he said, he would be in a position to speak officially about the casualty. Usually, villagers inform the police if they discover any bodies but even this network seems to have collapsed, a source said.

Naxalites incited Nandigram and Singur flare-up, Buddha tells P

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has submitted a report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which he has squarely blamed the Naxalites for inciting farmers not merely in Nandigram, but also in Singur, against relinquishing their land for industrialisation.

While the CPM and West Bengal government have always blamed the Naxals for the violence in Nandigram, this is perhaps the first time they have alleged their involvement in Singur as well. The note, which was submitted on Thursday, also talks about the alliance between Trinamool-backed BUPC and the Naxals.

“It may be noted that Left wing extremists (LWE) have stepped up their propaganda pertaining to the espousal of the causes of farmers by raising the issue of displacement of farmers from their own land for industrial and infrastructural projects. A frontal organisation of LWE activists named the Gana Pratirodh Manch carried out propaganda against the acquisition of land in Singur and have also generally opposed land acquisition for large projects throughout the state,” says the report.

The note goes on to add that Maoist activities have spread rapidly to areas in and around Nandigram. “It has been confirmed that some CPI (Maoist) activists started arms training in Nandigram to build up a base there, and in this effort, they have also received necessary support from the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee.”

The chief minister’s comments assume significance, especially in the backdrop of the ongoing CBI investigations in Nandigram. Bhattacharjee, on the sidelines of his meeting with the Prime minister, had also hinted that CBI had leaked information indiscriminately to the media about its report on the killings of the March 14 incident and that the state government would take up the matter with the Centre immediately.

Explaining the extent of Maoist menace in the state, Bhattacharjee said, “the major security threat being faced by the state in the past few years have been linked to left wing extremist activities largely in the districts of Purulia, West Midnapore and Bankura.

After the merger of the MCC and the People’s War Group, the LWE activists in the state have become more active. All districts bordering West Bengal, who share a common boundary with Orissa and Jharkhand are worst affected by Maoist insurgent activities.

Laying down the details of Maoists in the state, chief minister stated that compared to other affected states, West Bengal has witnessed less of violent activities from the LWE groups. In 2005, there were 13 incidents of LWE violence in which 10 CPM activists and one policeman were killed. In 2006, there were 27 incidents in which 9 CPM activists were killed.

The report also says that LWE activists have been targeting prominent CPM leaders and some important civilians in the state. There are also suggestions of close linkages between Maoists and KLO/KPP groups of North Bengal, whose nexus with ULFA has already been established.

Economics Times

West Bengal: Maoists begin 2-phase overhaul of operations

Ajoy K Das
Saturday, December 22, 2007 03:45 IST

KOLKATA: With the security beefed up in the wake of the Dantewada jailbreak, the Maoists active in West Bengal have initiated a two-pronged overhaul of their operations. First, the Maoists have decided to dig deep into their strongholds in jungles across Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia, which even state home secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy has acknowledged the administration is unable to penetrate.

Secondly, the extremists are linking up insurgent and terror outfits along the Indo-Bangladesh border in North Bengal with the red extremists in Nepal. This will help them flee to Bangladesh after hit-and-run operations. The Maoists have already established such alliances with terror outfits in south Bengal districts such as Nadia and Murshidabad bordering Bangladesh.

The new risk assessment of Maoist extremism emerged at a series of meetings of various state intelligence organisations. The meeting was held at the same time when the National Development Council chaired by Manmohan Singh was deliberating measures to combat the “biggest internal security threat”, as the Prime Minister termed Maoists extremism, in Delhi.

Recently, a high-level meeting was also held in Siliguri in north Bengal between chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and RS Naluya, IG, North Bengal, and Gaurav C Dutt, IG, Intelligence Bureau.

A senior Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer of the West Bengal Police said, “Maoists links with Harkat-ul-Jihad Al Islam (Huji) have been established. Now, we have fresh inputs that apart from Huji, the Maoists have linked up with underground organisations in north Bengal to open up a second front after south Bengal.

The officer said while the Maoists planned to operate in alliance with Huji in south Bengal, they are expected to increase violent aggression in north Bengal with extremist elements of Kamtapuris and Bhupalis.

Bhupalis are Bhutanese of Nepal origin ousted from Bhutan and currently living in different refugee camps in Jhapa, Nepal and Kalchini, Looksan, Beerpara and Bagrakot in Jalpaiguri in north Bengal. Recently, the Bhupalis adopted an aggressive and violent posture against Indian border security agencies while trying to forcibly cross over into Bhutan.

IB officials said the Bhupalis are being sought after by the Maoists to help them find safe havens in the jungles along the Bhutan border. The IB has cautioned the state government that the next time the Bhupalis try to cross over into Bhutan, they are likely to be better equipped in terms of trained manpower and explosives, sources said.

d_ajay@dnaindia.net

HC respite for Vernon Gonzalves and Shridhar Shrinivasan

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday restrained the state police from transferring two suspected leaders of the banned Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Peoples’ War) from Chandrapur in Vidarbha till the next hearing on January 11.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested Vernon Gonzalves and Shridhar Shrinivasan from Mumbai on August 19. They were handed over to the Anti-Naxalite Squad in September. Gonzalves’s wife Susan Abraham, a practising lawyer, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to know the whereabouts of her husband and Shridhar.

While Shridhar is an alumnus of Elphinstone College, Gonzalves is a gold medallist from Mumbai University and a former lecturer at Ruparel College and HR College. Their family members have denied that they are Naxalites. The police, however, claim to have recovered incriminating documents and explosives from the duo.

Abraham’s lawyer Anand Grover told the court that the duo was being transferred from one police station to another and kept continuously in police custody for over 61 days. By law, police custody cannot exceed 15 days.

DNA India

Reaching victims of India’s hidden war

A MSF health worker treats a child in Injaram camp in Chhattisgarh state. India 2007 © Erwin Vantland/MSF

In the heart of India, clashes between Naxalites—the local Maoists—and the Indian government have displaced tens of thousands of people. The fighting, which affects large swaths of Chhattisgarh state, flared up in 2005, and since then an estimated 56,000 civilians caught in the conflict have been forced to move to government-run camps. Thousands of others are hiding in the dense forest in the south of the state in Naxalite-controlled areas, or have taken refuge in settlements for the displaced near villages across the state border. Living in fear, they are left destitute and have difficulty accessing health care. MSF is among the very few humanitarian organizations that are supporting these people, and is striving to provide medical assistance on both sides of the conflict.

Violence lurks behind a peaceful façade

In the early hours of the morning, an MSF four-wheel drive vehicle is speeding along the bumpy road that leads to Injaram, one of 23 internally displaced persons (IDP) camps scattered throughout Chhattisgarh. The team runs a weekly therapeutic feeding program for malnourished children in three IDP camps and provides basic health care to their families.

The drive along the Chabari River offers a peaceful glimpse of India’s rural life—vast stretches of land with mango trees lining the road and hills looming in the distance. Groups of women are bent over in rice fields, while young boys guard cows, goats, or buffaloes. Yet, just a few kilometers away, a violent guerrilla warfare has claimed scores of lives, displaced tens of thousands, and is spilling into several neighboring states, including Andhra Pradesh.

Tribal people, or Adivasis, who belong to one of the lowest castes in India, bear the brunt of the conflict that remains largely ignored in the rest of the country. The Koya and Gothy Koya tribes who inhabit the area led a secluded and traditional life until recently. Cut off from modern life, they eked out a living in the forest to the rhythm of harvests and festivals. But guerrilla warfare has torn them from their land and even turned them against each other. While the government is pushing villagers to leave their homes and go to the camps, thousands have decided to flee and hide in the forest.

“Everyone needs to accept that we are not taking sides in this conflict. We provide health care to all victims whatever side they’re on and we need to have unhindered access to all those who are affected.”

—MSF Field Coordinator Robert Rowies

Communicating neutrality

MSF strives to provide medical assistance to all those affected by the conflict and one of the biggest challenges has been to make all parties involved understand its mandate.

“Explaining our neutrality and impartiality is critically important in this context, both for our security and for being able to work efficiently,” says field coordinator Robert Rowies, “Everyone needs to accept that we are not taking sides in this conflict. We provide healthcare to all victims whatever side they’re on and we need to have unhindered access to all those who are affected.”

Running malnutrition programs in the camps, as well as bringing mobile clinics to the people who have fled into the forest, is part of MSF’s balanced effort.

As the car approaches the camps, the military presence becomes more obvious. Attacks around the camps have intensified in recent months. Along the way, groups of women and men from the camps are busy doing road work while others are loading some wood into trucks under the escort of armed men in black and army fatigues. Further away, young men in civilian clothes are guarding the entrance of the camps with 1940s Enfield rifles slung across their shoulders. Called Salwa Judum, they are young tribal people who are trained and armed by the government.

MSF staff measures a child at Injaram camp to help determine if he is malnourished during a visit by MSF’s mobile therapeutic feeding program. India 2007 © Erwin Vantland/MSF

Nutritional care in the camps

With its red-brick roofs and 3,000 inhabitants, Injaram looks more like a village under construction than a displaced camp. MSF has been running a therapeutic feeding program here since November 2006. Children enrolled in the program come every week to have their weight checked or to receive consultations for basic health problems. The peanut-based food used in the nutritional programs has sometimes posed problems. “If the children have diarrhea they tend to stop taking it,” says health promoter Parvez Pasha, who visits the families each week to make sure the therapeutic food is taken properly. “Parents often leave in the morning to go working on road works around the camps and leave their children unattended.”

Through its presence in the IDP camps, MSF also aims to stress that those living there are also victims of this conflict. They have lost their homes and suffer from a radical change of life. Muttamma is one of the women who have brought their children to the clinic. After a series of attacks on her village, she was forced to leave everything behind. Like most of the refugees, she longs for her old life and waits in the hope of coming back to her village. “We used to be happy in our village. We sold our harvest, and celebrated the festivals, and were free,” she says. “Here, there is no freedom; we wait, doing nothing. I’m scared to go to the forest; it’s too dangerous. If I go to pick up some wood, the Naxalites will think I’m with the police because I live in the camp and the police will think I have contacts with the Naxalites,” she says. “Our children are getting killed; there is no happiness here.”

Reaching those who are hiding

Those who refuse to join the camps have fled into the dense forests of Chhattisgarh or to villages in Andhra Pradesh where the Naxalites have a strong presence. Red flags are a common sight in this area. MSF provides a weekly mobile clinic in what it calls a grey area, a zone off-limits to the police for security reasons. Providing basic health care to this part of the population has proven challenging.

“The most difficult part was to find the people who are hiding but need health care. We felt we were chasing ghosts for a long time,” explains Robert Rowies. “The people are very scared. At the beginning, when our mobile clinic visited them, they would flee,” he remembers. “Gaining people’s trust was difficult, but the team has seen improvement and has worked hard raising awareness of their work.”

“Our work at the border indicates that more medical assistance is needed deeper
in the forest where more people are hiding. We hope we will soon have access to all those affected by this conflict.”

—MSF Field Coordinator Robert Rowies

After months of screening the area to reach the most affected populations, MSF now sets up its weekly clinic at a border crossing, just inside Andhra Pradesh, in Mallempeta, where tribal people come from Chhattisgarh to trade their harvest in the nearby villages. The Adivasis stop on their way to the market for a health check. Some will bring their children to the feeding program.

As MSF’s staff hang up the weight scales for babies in a mango tree, silhouettes slowly trickle from the forest; men, sometimes so thin they buckle under the weight of the bags hanging from a pole slung across their shoulders, and women carrying baskets of fruits and seeds on their heads. Some come cycling through the forest. They rest their bikes against the trees and huddle together on a rug waiting patiently for their turn.

The queue can be long. MSF doctors see on average 50 to 60 patients a day. Most of them come for rashes, scabies, malaria, and malnutrition. “This morning, I saw a child who was nearly disabled. His scabies was so bad, he could hardly use his hands,” says MSF doctor Jorund Aswall, who supervises the team.

A little tent is set up to provide a bit of privacy to the patients during the consultations. Behind the plastic sheet, they talk about their health problems, the living conditions, the scorched villages, and about those who are not fit enough to trek the 30 to 40 kilometers (20 to 25 miles) through the forest to come for a consultation.

Currently, MSF is able to work in the camps, as well as along the border
with Andhra Pradesh and in other areas of Chhattisgarh. “Our
work at the border indicates that more medical assistance is needed deeper
in the forest where more people are hiding,” says Robert Rowies. “We hope we
will soon have access to all those affected by this conflict.”

Docters with Out borders

Red corridor expands

Naxal cadres (file)

The Naxal movement of Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh has now found fresh breeding ground in states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, from where it had once been completely uprooted. And this has becoming a matter of grave concern for the internal security of the country.

After a fierce gun battle, in the dense jungles along the Western ghats in Theni district five hard core Naxalites were nabbed by the Special Task force of the Tamil Nadu police on Friday (December 21).

Over the past six months, over 15 dreaded Naxals – all trying to spread their agenda in the border areas – have been arrested.

And now Tamil Nadu is finally waking up to the harsh reality: that it has become a haven for these dreaded extremists. This has been admitted by Chief Minister Karunanidhi for the very first time.

“The intrusion is upto Theni… So far, we have managed and they had been prevented from infiltrating further. When compared to other states, the infiltration is very less in Tamil Nadu,” said Karunanidhi.

The Naxal tentacles have not just stopped with Tamil Nadu; in neighbouring Kerala, two members of the People’s War Group of Andhra were arrested only a few days ago trying to move weapons and set up ‘DALAMS’ – or cells.

These incidents are a clear indication that Left-wing extremism. which was thought to be non-existent in the southern most states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala – is nowfast gaining ground.

This confirmation has come from none other than the Prime Minister himself. PM Manmohan Singh spoke yesterday at the Internal Security meeting of chief ministers, where he said: “Naxals have been achieving some degree of success in enlarging their areas of militancy… Not a day passes without an incident of the Left-wing extremism taking place somewhere or the other.”

Clearly, the Naxal menace needs to be treated as seriously as terrorist activity.

On paper the Union government has called for “improved intelligence gathering” and better coordination between the Centre and states – but a situation check on the ground proves that the southern states are far from controlling Left-wing extremism.

The Naxal movement of Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh has now found fresh breeding ground in states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, from where it had once been completely uprooted. And this is becoming a matter of grave concern for the internal security of the country.

(By Durga Nandini)