Sound of Dissent

Save the Grand Old Tree @ the Court Premises

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:04:00 +0000

Message from the Congress Plenary Session

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:34:00 +0000

The offer from Dr. Manmohan Singh to appear b4 PAC is just political skulduggery to deviate attention from the larger issue of political & policy manipulation by the privilegd for their benefit. The 83rd Plenary sesion of the Ruling Party had nothng to offer for the mases of India. With not a word about spiralng prices, Petroleum price-control other than the rhetoric about Hindutva terror, aimed only to support RAHUL_LEAKS

Spreading paranoia to market pesticide

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:48:00 +0000

Ilachuruttippuzhu is the buzz word in Malayalam Media today. Our news
papers and visual media are flooded with reports about this monster
worm spreading havoc in paddy fields across Kerala, giving an
impression that it is the single largest threat faced by out
agricultural sector. Statements from officials of our agriculture
department add fuel to fire. But is this worm such a grave threat?
Investigations by GREENPEOPLE reveal the other side of the story.
The worm known locally as Ilachuruttippuzhu is not a new phenomenon.
For decades farmers have been dealing with the worm successfully with
traditional methods. Now what is being done is forcing the ignorant
farmers to buy high-cost pesticides to fight this threat. The process
is not only unscientific but also poses a danger of exposing those who
consume the agriculrural produces to lethal poisoning. The psticides
used here are systemic chemical pesticide which can cause many health
problems to human beings if consumed. The danger is these chemicals
are used as preventive measure too.

Firstly there is no medicine or chemical that could be used to prevent
these worms from entering paddy fields. So using them as preventive
measure can only expose the paddy fields to unwanted toxins. Secondly
these chemicals cannot cure the already infected plants but can only
stop the next generation of worms. So spraying these pesticides
doesn’t help much. Traditional methods like Basket Traps spraying
kerosene in the water logged paddy fields etc could yield better
results and there is little risk of poisons. Thirdly experts say that
food products should not be used within two months from the day of
spraying those pesticides. This would not be possible in case of paddy
fields and the result would be disastrous.
It is time that the public know about the aggressive marketing
strategies of these poison production firms and the way in which the
Department officials dance to their tune and exaggerate the presence
of these worms. By spreading paranoia the official-corporate nexus is
tricking the media and the public to use the hazardous chemicals.

A Bill to Protect WHISTLE BLOWERS?

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 06:23:00 +0000

Union government moots a bill to 'protect' whistle blowers, but in effect it could well be a bill to protect against whistle blowers. The bill stipulates that the "disclosure" by defeinition is a complaint relating to an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, or against wilful misuse of power or discretion by a public servant (that is, it has to be shown that the public servant wilfully misused his or her power or discretion, as if misuse of power or discretion could be unintentional, too). Thirdly, such misuse should have caused demonstrable loss to the government or helped the public servant to accrue demonstrable gain. putting such near impossible conditions can only deter a whistle blower. Moreover it stipulates a prison term, which may extend up to two years, and a fine, which may extend up to Rs.30,000, for persons who make vexatious and frivolous complaints rather than giving some awards or any kind of complements for the whistle blowers. It also excludes Corporates, Army, intelligence agencies and many pther personnel from the purview of the bill. Against our expectations the bill also intend to reveal the identity of the whistle blower. were the intentions of the Government real it could have reffered to similar laws in countires like, US, UK, South Africa or Khana where Army too comes aunder the law. There they provide for many complimentary benefits for Whistle blowers including the one's from Corporate world and also provide with efficient safeguards. THE BILL BUT FOR ITS NAME (Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, 2010) COULD WELL BE AN INSTRUMENT AGAINST WISTLE BLOWERS.

read more from P B Jijeesh at pbjijeesh.in

The Left-Extremist Threat

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Mon, 31 May 2010 05:38:00 +0000

‘The Inhuman Cult of Death’ and Dilemma of the Civil Rights Groups

“ A movement carried out in the name of India’s poor has, for all practical purposes, degenerated into an inhuman cult of death” read the editorial that The Hindu carried on the day after the recent train sabotage allegedly by the Maoists in Jhargran in West Midanpur district of West Bengal. The heinous incident which took the lives of 141 people, pose challenging questions before the civil society and those who sympathise with the Maoist cause. With the opinions for stringent action against Maoists is aired with little thought (say, about what the word stringent-action means) we are in a dilemma. Strong back of the scene acts are on for carrying forward the plans for military action against those who wage ‘war against our nation’. The home minister has called upon the Civil Rights groups and the ‘intellectuals’ to condemn ‘the deliberate, heartless violence’. And this could be a turning point in the nation’s long history of fight against left-extremism.

The recent surge in the Maoist violence has resulted in erosion of whatever credibility or moral justification it had in the minds of the people of the Indian mainland. In the last three months the Maoists targeted rail-transport for 16 times and 150 innocent civilians got killed. If CPI (Maoist) leader Muppala Laxman Rao apologised for the death of 14 adivasis when they blew up a bus in Warangal in 2002 his comrades in 2010 are trying to justify civilian causalities as unavoidable. It is quite interesting to see global capitalism and left extremism using the same phrase ‘collateral’ damage to cover their guilt. The Maoist movement is gradually turning out to be another bloody game of futility. The violent methods of the Maoists are condemned widely, Arundhathy Roy recently described it as” absolutely inexcusable and cannot be justified”. Dr. Binayak Sen, doctor and activist who was sentenced for 2 year imprisonment for alleged links with Maoists also expressed disapproval and extreme contempt. PUCL after the Maoist attack on the CRPF personnel came out with a statement condemning the Maoists. In a statement it expressed that the PUCL “feels that no objectives could be desirable that is sought to be achieved at the cost of human lives and security. As is evident from the past experience, dialogue remains the most potent and viable means of lasting peace”.

In the meanwhile the story of train tragedy is turning upside down with the Railway Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee expressing doubts about a conspiracy behind the incident and demanding a CBI enquiry. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has denied any involvement in the incident. The West Bengal state government was quick to blame it all on the Maoists and the state has already started a CID inquiry into the incident. The FIR filed by the Engine Driver, B K Das, made no mention of the Maoists behind the accident. With so many theories swirling around, a factual account of the incident is yet to come.

What all are waiting for is the Government’s response. With lack of unity on the counter-insurgency strategy within the cabinet already gone public the government is under immense pressure to do something. The earlier responses from the government was cautious as even the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram a staunch supporter of military action preferring to shelve his usual spit of fire. While condemning the incident we should be careful not to let this as a ruse for witch-hunt. The people’s rights and freedoms cannot be compromised in the name of security when the real reasons remain unattended. With severe pressure from the authorities to show their allegiance to the state the Civil rights Groups and the intellectuals are in a dilemma. The danger of being branded as ‘anti-nationals’ shouldn’t prevent them from carrying forward their present struggles for the poor. The greater issues of exploitation by the Mining giants, land-grab and oppression should not be forgotten. From the part of the government, it should stop the use of civilian transport systems to carry armed forces. Using rail and other civilian transport systems and also occupying schools and other public places for setting up military camps would expose the lives of innocent civilians to grave security threats. Imminent personalities like K PS Gill, former Punjab DGP has pointed out the need for addressing the basic issues like need for hospitals, schools, proper sanitation, land and above all a right to live and die in dignity. “Corruption built into the system which fails to deliver is more destructive than criticism of Civil rights Groups” he said. Another ex-DGP, K S Subramanian was also eloquent when he said, “Chidambaram should read Arundhathi Roy rather than get inputs from the intelligence agencies. He should talk to the Civil rights Groups”.

It is well known that the main stream media is not impartial in its reporting of the ‘Red-Terror’. More often than not they prefer to turn a blind eye towards the atrocities committed by the Salwa Judum and task forces. And independent reporting is factually impossible in Maoist infected stats like Chattisgarh where there are laws like Chattisgarh Public Safety Act in place. At the same time we cannot blame it all on the government itself, but “both Chidambaram and Raman Singh seem to be disciples of Bush. If you are not with us, you are against us”, says Rama Chandra Guha, historian who was included in the fact finding team send to Chattisgarh and was branded as a Maoist sympathizer by the Special forces. That is where the trouble is; there is a tendency to brand everyone who point out faults with the government as anti-nationals. Sadly our mainstream media too takes such a stand. This adds to the dilemma of the civil society. Yet lets hope the society would stand up-to the challenge.

read more from P B Jijeesh at pbjijeesh.in

Cash for Chaos; Tehelka exposure of Sri Ram Sena and Mutalik

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:31:00 +0000

FOR THE RIGHT PRICE, YOU CAN GET THE SRI RAM SENE TO ORGANISE A RIOT ANYWHERE. AN EXPOSÉ BY PUSHP SHARMA. WRITTEN BY SANJANA. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY K ASHISH

MEDIEVAL MINDSET Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik outside a Mangalore court in connection with the pub attack case
PHOTOS: RK BHAT

THERE ARE 133 videos that show up on YouTube when you search for “Mangalore pub attack”. Over 300,000 people have viewed the first video. Put in the same query on Google and 69,000 websites show up in a fraction of a second. On 24 January 2009, a group of 35-40 men barged into a pub in Mangalore and attacked young women as they enjoyed an afternoon drink. Amongst the attackers were members of Sri Ram Sene — a right-wing organisation that was relatively unknown at the time. The Sene cadres considered women drinking publicly as “indecent behaviour” and more importantly “an insult to Hindu culture and tradition”. Two days after the attack, as India marked 60 years of the Constitution coming into force, national television channels looped footage of women being slapped, beaten and chased out of the pub. (In a telling detail, the footage of the assault was available only because the Sene had informed journalists and photographers in Mangalore of their intended attack 30 minutes before they entered the pub.) The footage sparked outrage. News producers from French, Russian, German television channels despatched correspondents to ground zero. Even producers from The Oprah Winfrey Show called in asking for the footage. The Sene had burst onto the scene.

As an organisation, the Sene has always claimed for itself a radical Hindu identity. Its leaders position themselves as zealous custodians of “Hindu religion” and “culture”, its cadres as valiant foot soldiers. In their own words, they will not hesitate to assault people, vandalise property, destroy artistic expressions, separate mixed religion couples — in general, interfere violently — to implement their hardline Hindutva agenda. Their professional calling card is violence justified by a puritanical, spitfire morality.

A six-week undercover investigation by TEHELKA, however, reveals that even this violent, spitfire morality can be a hypocritical sham. Sri Ram Sene members are not just committed ideologues who are spontaneously willing to become violent law-breakers for a “cause”. That’s just one of their criminal and negative faces. They are also cynical lumpen that can be bought for a price. “Contract rioting” — thugs being handed out contracts or money to create riots — no longer needs to be a matter of mere speculation. TEHELKA’s investigation shows it is an alarming reality. Vandalism can be purchased; ‘cultural nationalism’ can go on sale. It’s all kosher in the “business” of outrage.

‘I cannot get involved directly, I have an image to maintain, I have a certain credibility in society. People look up to me as a man of principles, an idealist, a Hindutvawadi’

PRAMOD MUTHALIK, National President, Sri Ram Sene

To expose this aspect of the Sri Ram Sene, a TEHELKA journalist posing as an artist met Pramod Muthalik, the president of the Sri Ram Sene, with a proposal. Using the rationale that all controversy is good publicity, he asked Muthalik if the Sri Ram Sene would orchestrate a pre-paid, pre-meditated attack on his painting exhibition so that the resulting furore would spark public interest, catapult him to fame and help sell his paintings both in India and abroad by attracting higher bids at art auctions. (Never mind that the supposed paintings this furore might help sell evoked Hindu- Muslim amity, particularly Hindu-Muslim marriages — a phenomenon the Sene abhors.) In return, Muthalik and the Sene would regain the national stature they had achieved during the Mangalore pub attack, besides pocketing the agreed upon fee. Far from rejecting this proposal with horror and outrage, Muthalik readily connected the TEHELKA reporter to one Sene member after another — down a food chain that exposed a disturbingly entrenched criminal mindset, which is confident of fixing the system to abet it.

Before the story of what this food chain threw up, however, it might help to revisit the history of the Sri Ram Sene and its founder.

THE SRI Ram Sene was started in 2007 by Pramod Muthalik, who continues to be its National President. Born in Bagalkot in north Karnataka, Muthalik spent his formative years — he joined a shakha when he was 13 years old — with the Hindu right wing organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). By 1996, his RSS seniors shifted Muthalik to its paramilitary wing, the Bajrang Dal. It took Muthalik less than a year to be named the Dal’s south India convener. People who knew him back then called him “ambitious, dedicated and sharp-tongued”. In his 23-year association with the RSS and its affiliate organisations, Muthalik had several brushes with the law, but despite being charged in numerous cases for provocative speech-making, the only significant time he has spent in jail is two months — a record he maintains till date.

Upset with the BJP’s failure to reward his Hindutva zeal with any political dividends, Muthalik severed ties with the RSS in 2004. He claims the RSS and its affiliate organisations are betraying the Hindu cause by not being hardline enough, and the BJP government in the state too is not helping him enough. Predictably then, extreme hardline Hindutva politics has been the cornerstone of the Sri Ram Sene since it was floated in 2007. Violence is the only way forward, says Muthalik. In 2008, attempting to enter political centre stage, Muthalik floated the Rashtriya Hindustan Sena — the political wing of the Sene — but failed miserably. None of the candidates fielded made a mark. While talking to TEHELKA, Muthalik admits on camera that his candidates lost the state Assembly elections because “we need money, religion and thugs to succeed. We didn’t know that. Today’s political situation is a wretched one.”

MOB FOR HIRE The attack on Mangalore’s Amnesia Pub (above) in 2009 by Bajrang Dal, Sri Ram Sene and others brought the SRS to national prominence; Sene national vice-president Prasad Attavar (below)

Resolving to return to electoral politics after establishing himself more stridently, Muthalik and the Sene launched a series of plans to strengthen its “Hindu” identity. Though the organisation is most strongly rooted in the coastal Karnataka region and pockets of north Karnataka, their activities have not been limited to these regions. On August 24, 2008, in Delhi, a few Sene members barged into an art exhibition organised by SAHMAT an NGO, and destroyed several MF Husain paintings, leaving behind a clutch of pamphlets denouncing Husain’s attempts to hurt Hindu pride. A month later in September, speaking at a public event in Mangalore, Muthalik referred to the Bengaluru bomb blasts that had taken place a week earlier and declared 700 Sene members were being trained to carry out suicide attacks. “We have no more patience. Tit for tat is the only mantra before us to save Hinduism,” he had announced. “If centres of religious importance for Hindus are targeted, twice the number of religious centres of the opposite party will be smashed. If Hindu girls are exploited by the members of other religions, double the number of girls from other religions will be targeted.”

Months later, in January 2009, the Karnataka police arrested nine people in connection with bomb blasts that exploded in Hubli during the state Assembly elections. The kingpin, Nagaraj Jambagi, was a Sene member and a close Muthalik associate — a fact Muthalik himself had admitted to at the time. In July 2009, Jambagi was murdered while serving time in Bagalokot Jail.

During the Mangalore pub attack, minutes before he was arrested for inciting his cadres, Muthalik had asked newspersons gathered at the scene why everybody was making such a big issue of the attacks. “We took steps to protect our Hindu culture and punished girls who were attempting to destroy that tradition by going to pubs. We will not tolerate anybody who steps out of this code of decency,” he said then.

This Muthalik-prescribed code of “decency” is still being enforced in several ways in coastal Karnataka. In Mangalore, Sene cadres walked into a Hindu wedding celebration on July 15, 2009, and assaulted a Muslim guest for attending the event. Muslim boys, in fact, are often beaten up across the region merely for talking to Hindu girls. And they have whipped up anxiety and anger about a derisive concept called “Love Jihad”— a conspiracy allegedly evolved by Muslim boys to convert Hindu girls to Islam through proposals of marriage — through vicious attacks and propaganda.

As part of the investigation then, the TEHELKA journalist posing as an artist declared his forthcoming exhibition would be on positive images of “Love Jihad”. But it did not seem to bother Muthalik — or any of the Sene members TEHELKA met — that their help was being sought to boost sales of paintings on a theme they claimed to ideologically oppose. For a man who frequently talks of how he does not have a single bank account in his name and depends entirely on public contributions, Muthalik’s easy acceptance of the proposal is a telling comment in many ways.

‘Sri Ram Sene has a very good team in place, whatever you want we will deliver. We have a setting for everything. There is only one problem — money problem’

KUMAR, Sri Ram Sene member, Mangalore

Here is how the story unfurled once TEHELKA met with Muthalik.

TEHELKA FIRST met with Muthalik at the Sene office in Hubli. Before laying out the proposal of a preengineered attack on the art exhibition, a cash donation of Rs 10,000 is offered to Muthalik — “Hindutva ke liye hum bhi kuch karen (We want to do our bit for Hindutva).” Muthalik immediately reaches for the money and puts it in his pocket, without even a token refusal.

Over the course of the conversation, a detailed proposal is suggested that could potentially be a mutually beneficial proposition. Muthalik betrays no surprise or shock — not even when the reporter suggests that the art exhibition should be organised in a Muslim-dominated area in Bengaluru for the impact of the attack to be maximised. Muthalik’s only response to the suggestion is — “Yes, we can do it. In Mangalore as well.” The acceptance and the suggestion of Mangalore, another city where the attack can be staged, are instantaneous. Within the next five minutes, Muthalik offers to depute the task of coordination and suggests taking the discussion forward to two Sene leaders — Vasantkumar Bhavani, the President of the Bengaluru city unit, and Prasad Attavar, the Sene vice-president, who is based out of Mangalore.

(Though the conversations are in Hindi, the transcripts have been translated into English here for the purpose of the story.)

TEHELKA: I’ll take leave sir, what I want is to gain popularity and if I get popularity my business will improve. If you say then I…just tell me a time limit… these many boys will be there…this much for advo…meaning that of lawyers…we will not even complain… because that is our understanding… but sir, it is that whatever you say that amount of advance I will leave with you, then I say to you that now it has all come to you, and sir now do the job…

MUTHALIK: Can do it in Mangalore, Bangalore…

TEHELKA: I can get more popularity in the Shivaji Nagar area of Bangalore… because that whole area is theirs…the Muslims. If you give one statement in the press and 10 of your workers reach there…we will shut it down…what is it to us? But at least we will get popularity.

MUTHALIK: Yes, that can be done...

TEHELKA: So sir, just tell me straight up…or tell me to come after two or four days….tell me for certain that ‘This is my expense… you do this much…’ so sir, I’ll complete it and plan it all out…

MUTHALIK: What I’m telling you, our president there…

TEHELKA: of Bangalore?

MUTHALIK: Of Bangalore…he is also very strong…on speaking to him…all three of us — you, me and him — will sit and plan out what is to be done…then we will do it…definitely do it

The hour long conversation is peppered with choice abuses and a vitriolic diatribe against Muslims and their “plans to divide the country”. Love jihad, Muthalik tells TEHELKA, is the Muslims’ way of conquering over Hindus, by increasing their own population. Muslims, he continues, pursue Hindu Brahmin or Jain girls so that their children can inherit their brains and be intellectually sharp to help them in their mission.

According to him, this calculated strategy by Muslims was taking place across the country with increasing frequency. When TEHELKA asks him why Hindu boys were not engaging in a similar counteractivity, Muthalik said the Sri Ram Sene was now inspiring Hindu boys to pursue Muslim girls.

‘I worked in the RSS first in 1996, then the Bajrang Dal. I was in the main team that attacked the Mangalore pub. But my name is not there in the police case, I was never arrested’

SUDHIR PUJARI, Sri Ram Sene member, Mangalore

Over this conversation, TEHELKA repeated its proposal several times — opportunities were given to Muthalik to decline the offer of money. But Muthalik offers to brief other Sene associates, who will play definitive roles in the execution of the plan, and connect them with TEHELKA. The date for the next meeting is fixed and personal phone numbers are exchanged. Muthalik asks TEHELKA to return a week later.

He is categorical that, as the National President of the Sene, he is conscious of the trouble he will be in if he is caught planning details of the operation, so he says he will talk over specifics with his associates Prasad Attavar, Vasanthkumar Bhavani and Jeetesh and then put them on to TEHELKA. Throughout there is no ambiguity that Muthalik heads the chain of command and that the final decisionmaking power rests with him.

DESPITE MUTHALIK’S intervention, connecting with Prasad Attavar, the National Vice-President of Sri Ram Sene, was no easy task. He treats almost everyone with suspicion and consequently never answers any of his mobile phones. Therefore, it took TEHELKA several days to catch up with him. Considered to be a close associate of Muthalik, Attavar is credited with leading the Sene to notoriety in Mangalore. Having been with the Sri Ram Sene since its inception in 2007, Attavar exercises tremendous control over the Sene cadres. In Mangalore, Attavar runs a security agency in partnership with another Sene member. Unlike several others, he is not dependent on the Sene for financial stability. In January 2009, Attavar openly claimed responsibility for the Mangalore pub attack. When another TEHELKA reporter had contacted him for a story at the time, Attavar had even claimed responsibility for planning the attack. He had called the media to the spot himself, he said. Days later, Attavar and 27 others, including Muthalik, were arrested for their role in the pub attack. A week later, when a Mangalore city magistrate granted them bail, Attavar and the others were accorded a hero’s welcome.

PUBLIC LOSS The charred remains of a bus vandalised after Attavar’s arrest in the wake of the pub attack

HATE-MONGERS Muthalik and other Sene members display propaganda material against ‘Love Jihad’

When contact was finally made with Attavar, a Sene cadre called Jeetesh was sent to take TEHELKA to a nondescript hotel in Mangalore for the meeting. A few minutes into the conversation, it became evident that Attavar was evading arrest — a warrant had been issued against him. The police had charged him with executing the orders of an underworld don, Ravi Pujari. Pujari is rumoured to have worked with Mumbai gangster Chhota Rajan, and later with Dawood Ibrahim, before establishing his own empire. Besides having interests in the tourism and hospitality sector, Pujari allegedly also has interests in Karnataka’s real estate industry. As Pujari’s associate, Attavar has been accused of threatening businessmen and builders in Karnataka’s coastal region as part of an extortion racket that is controlled from outside India.

Having been briefed by Muthalik, Attavar is completely aware of the TEHELKA reporter’s proposal from the first moment of conversation. His suggestions therefore are concrete and to the point. He offers a choice of organising the exhibition (and the attack) outside Karnataka as well. “We can do it in Mumbai, Kolkata or Orissa as well,” he says.

When TEHELKA suggests the impact of the planned attack against the artist would be enhanced considerably if an engineered threat could be issued by his associate, Ravi Pujari, Attavar agrees it is doable — thereby confirming his proximity with the don.

A minute later, he talks how the police need to be taken into confidence: they have to be “set”. Additionally, the boys who will participate in the attack have to be from outside Mangalore, he says.

TEHELKA: We don’t have to go to the police, neither do we have to do a case… so if a case is filed it won’t stand because there is no party in front… we people will not identify…

ATTAVAR: That setting with the department I’ll do….

‘I will tell you how much money is needed. It will be like the Mangalore pub attack, even better. You will get full national media coverage, I assure you. I’ll do all the setting for you’

PRASAD ATTAVAR, National Vice-President, Sri Ram Sene

Six days after this meeting with TEHELKA, Attavar was arrested by the Mangalore police, taken to Mangalore Jail and then remanded to judicial custody. He was placed in Bellary Jail — considered to be one of Karnataka’s high-security prisons. Throughout, however, Attavar continued to maintain contact with TEHELKA and TEHELKA managed to meet with Attavar both in the Mangalore and Bellary jails. At the meeting in Mangalore Jail, when TEHELKA asked if Rs 50 lakh would be enough to organise the riots in two different cities, Attavar’s answer is inconclusive. He asks for more time to return with a final figure. “I will calculate the final amount and let you know,” is all he will finally agree to. The discussion revolves around the final amount — there is no opposition to the proposal at all.

PRASAD: What all is to be done…does arrangement for hotel need to be done?

TEHELKA: No that I’ll do…your input will only be the team and the rest…

TEHELKA: We need to create a riot…we have to have violence…50 lakh is being spent on two cities..

PRASAD: In Mangalore …

TEHELKA: Yes about 200 workers should be there…at the time of the exhibition…

PRASAD: Yes…

At Bellary Jail, a mere payment of Rs 2,500 to some wardens and SN Hullur, the Superintendent at Bellary Jail is sufficient to set up a meeting with Attavar in a separate discussion room. (So much for the norms of a high-security jail). At this meeting, Attavar says he has no money and asks the TEHELKA reporter for some money to tide him over. The reporter gives him Rs 3,000. After this meeting in the jail, Attavar frequently texted TEHELKA asking the reporter to call back. Alarmingly, both accessibility and mobile connectivity within a high security prison seemed easy for Attavar. His advocate, Sanjay Solanki later told TEHELKA that Attavar’s access to mobile phones was possible as Superintendent SN Hullur had been handsomely paid. (TEHELKA has not corroborated this independently.)

AFEW DAYS after the meeting with Muthalik, TEHELKA also connected with Vasantkumar Bhavani, the Bengaluru city unit head of the Sri Ram Sene. Bhavani is the Sene’s de facto public relations man. He is fluent in English and Hindi and lives in Bengaluru. Immediately after the pub attacks in Mangalore, Bhavani had travelled from one television studio to another, staunchly defending the Sene’s action and its ideology. In one memorable live interview, when a women’s rights activist challenged the Sene’s ideology by saying alcohol had long been a part of Hindu traditions, Bhavani’s specious rebuttal silenced her completely: “Go ask your grandmother to drink alcohol. I will buy her a drink myself.” The sheer ridiculousness of Bhavani’s arguments coupled with his vehemence made him a hot favourite with most media channels at the time.

A realtor by profession, Bhavani is considerably wealthy and, like Attavar, does not depend on the Sene to back him financially. Ask him for the numerical strength of Sene cadres in Bengaluru and there are no answers forthcoming. “Even Pramod [Muthalik] does not ask me that question. Dealing with numbers is unnecessary. My boys will be in trouble if the police realises our true strength,” he says. (In February this year, when the Sene announced its usual opposition to Valentine’s Day celebrations, the police rounded up 400 men as part of its preventive arrests.)

RECALL FACTOR Sri Ram Sene members deface posters and paintings of MF Husain at an exhibition organised by SAHMAT in Delhi in 2008
Photo: SHAILENDRA PANDEY

A fortnight before TEHELKA met with Bhavani, he had led a Sene protest in Bengaluru against Muthalik’s humiliation. (In an unfortunate incident that mirrored their own intolerant politics, Muthalik’s face had been blackened by members of the Karnataka State Youth Congress during a television debate on Valentine’s Day celebrations. Bhavani and several others had been arrested during the Sene’s counter-protests.)

In his conversation with TEHELKA, the talk revolves cynically around the specifics of the planned attack in Bengaluru and how its impact can best be maximised. Here’s what Bhavani suggests:

BHAVANI: You know Ravindra Kalashetra, right?

TEHELKA: Yes, Yes...

BHAVANI: Behind it is an open stage.

TEHELKA: How many people can that accommodate?

BHAVANI: Two thousand...

TEHELKA: Two thousand... but is that communally sensitive?

BHAVANI: It is also communally sensitive... the market is also close by from there…

TEHELKA: City market?

BHAVANI: City market...

‘I was charged under IPC Section 307, half murder, for the Kasargod clash. I killed two or three people with a sword. They attacked two of our men, so we got two of theirs’

JEETESH, Udupi unit head, Sri Ram Sene

TEHELKA: Yes, there’s a Muslim area there...

BHAVANI: That is why that place is very good for you... the scope there is much better than in Shivaji Nagar because in the close by areas the Muslim population is very high.

TEHELKA: Yes, in city market it is... but the area there is mostly commercial?

BHAVANI: It suits to what you have in mind...

TEHELKA: It suits the profile that we have...

BHAVANI: It suits that better than Shivaji Nagar... Shivaji Nagar is a remote area whereas this is more suitable it suits your purpose.

TEHELKA: If it is done in Shivaji Nagar it will look like there is not much educated class there so why do it there... if it is done in city market.

BHAVANI: This is matching your idea and your concept... because illiterates will not come and watch your gallery... who will watch it are your upper class... middle class.

TEHELKA: Elite class...

BHAVANI: It will mostly be the upper class... so upper class... if you keep it in Shivaji Nagar, who will come and watch it... it will look preplanned to everybody...

TEHELKA: Hmmm...

BHAVANI: If done in Shivaji Nagar... if looked at from a different direction it seems right... but it will not get much publicity...

TEHELKA: Yes people might think... that it is an under-table alliance

BHAVANI: Could look like that….

Having secured an agreement on the venue, a discussion on dates follows. Referring to the calendar on his phone, Bhavani politely asks us for our preference — weekdays or weekends? — before suggesting weekends himself. More people are likely to attend art exhibitions on weekends, he says. Venue and dates out of the way, Bhavani methodically moves on to plan the protest itself. When TEHELKA asks if inaugurating the exhibition by a Muslim community leader or politician will raise the octane of the event and attack, Bhavani not only approves, he has suggestions of his own:

TEHELKA: In this programme, Vasant, I need public beating for sure, because as your trademark is and I want to call a Muslim leader for the inauguration, so some people from the Muslim community will be there... there is Prof Hujra at IIM.

BHAVANI: Why don’t you call Mumtaj Ali...

TEHELKA: Who...

BHAVANI: Mumtaj Ali Khan...

TEHELKA: Who is he?

BHAVANI: The minister of Waqf board... now.

TEHELKA: From Karnataka?

BHAVANI: Yes.

TEHELKA: He will come... How old would Mumtaj Ali be?

TEHELKA: Above 50...

TEHELKA: 50-plus... Is he an MLC or MLA?

BHAVANI: Being an MLC... he is a backdoor entry... he is a minister... Huj committee or Waqf Board...

TEHELKA: Apart from him, wasn’t there another one who became Rail Minister…

BHAVANI: CK Jaffar...

TEHELKA: Jaffar Sharief...

BHAVANI: He is too old now...

Bhavani also asserts that other preparations are necessary as well. Ominously, for instance, an ambulance at the venue:

BHAVANI: Like if you keep Husain’s name itself it will be good... will make it popular.

TEHELKA: No, if we keep Husain, I will not get the ‘mileage’, instead he will get the ‘mileage’...

‘If we can agree on an amount, then I will talk to my boss, Muthalik. He gives us the green signal for action but the screen script is all ready with him. You think about your offer’

VASANTKUMAR BHAVANI, Ram Sene head, Bengaluru

BHAVANI: Mileage will go to him... I cannot give assurance for this... how much damage you will bear... there will be damage... but how much that I cannot guarantee... because our boys are very ferocious boys... they don’t look left or right...

TEHELKA: If it is to be done, it is to be done...

BHAVANI: Done... I cannot avoid them also because they will get annoyed with me then... if the leader is ferocious, the followers will also be ferocious... this much I want to tell you... there will be damage, but how mach I cannot say...

TEHELKA: Can there be public beatings...

VASANT: Can be done... whoever they find there... because our boys do all this also...

TEHELKA: If there is a crowd, they cannot control themselves, right?

BHAVANI: No, usually they can’t...

TEHELKA: Will we have to keep an ambulance ready?

BHAVANI: Absolutely... that can also happen... after all, they are my boys... if they take any task in hand... then... you have to tell them... you have to make them understand... more cases will add on... already there are lots of pending cases... try and control... only target whatever is on display...

TEHELKA: Do damage...

BHAVANI: Do damage... do not touch the people...

TEHELKA: But they usually don’t listen

BHAVANI: I’ll make them understand this much, but I can’t ensure... there is someone or the other... who damage whatever comes in front... such lunatics they are...

TEHELKA: That means I need to keep an ambulance ready in advance... should keep that in mind...

There is further evidence of the Sene’s preparedness and calculated approach to protests and destructive violence. While discussing the aftermath of the attacks, when TEHELKA offers to not file cases against the Sene, Bhavani turns down the suggestion. If cases aren’t filed against the attackers, people will suspect that the attack has been pre-engineered, he says. It doesn’t matter if they are hauled to court, Bhavani reassures. They are prepared to deal with such conditions and TEHELKA would be handed instructions by them on how to deal with the legalities and fallout once the attack has proven successful.

TEHELKA: From our side in this gallery programme... whatever riot happens inside the art gallery, we are not going to register a case... when there is no rival party...

VASANT: You will have to register a case...

(A discussion follows this assertion on how Attavar, Bhavani’s counterpart in the group, suggests a different approach)

TEHELKA: So a case needs to be registered?

VASANT: You will have to file it… if there is a wrongdoing, a case has to be filed...

TEHELKA: Don’t you think it’s going to be very complicated then?

VASANT: It has to be complicated then only the purpose will be solved... once inside the water, whats the point of fearing the depth...

TEHELKA: Ok, whatever you say... but coming to court regularly, standing there... for any man it will be a very difficult task to come 3,000 km to attend the court cases...

VASANT: We will give you a way out of that... once this turns out to be a success, I will sit and explain it to you... what is to done, how it needs to be done...

TEHELKA: Set any of the local lawyers who gets the date extended... will keep on happening…

VASANT: I will tell you... I will explain it to you... I will explain to you what has to be done and how it has to be done...

TEHELKA: Ok.

VASANT: But you have to be mentally prepared...

Minutes later, Bhavani proceeds to discuss the “fees” with TEHELKA.

“Give me a figure so I can take the discussion forward with sir [Muthalik],” Bhavani says. The TEHELKA reporter writes Rs 70 lakh on a sheet of paper and pushes it towards Bhavani. His immediate response is to ask how much has been offered to Attavar, the Sene National vice-president and the pointperson in Mangalore. (Though the figure written by the reporter on paper is not visible on camera, the offer is corroborated on camera in a later conversation with Muthalik.) When he is informed that the same amount was offered to Attavar too, Bhavani dismisses it saying, “Attavar will never settle for this amount.” Bhavani then insists that TEHELKA should also set aside money to pay off the police:

TEHELKA: They told me two lines... separate for organisation (SRS)... separate for the workers... so I said five lakh for the organisation... so they said they will see... on the level of the workers, if there is a case then fair enough, we will give Rs 50,000 to each worker... some will go to him and some can be used in the case... if 10 boys come then five lakh... what he suggested... what your dealings are with the organisation, you discuss with Muthalikji himself... as for the boys... that I will give you... the arrangement with the police... that also I will do... will have to be done...

BHAVANI: The police will also be managed... without that, it cannot be done...

TEHELKA: I agree, so the money is going in three phases... separately for the organisation... separately for the workers... and separately for the police?

BHAVANI: Separately for the police...

Yet another discussion follows on the modes of payment. The TEHELKA reporter asks if the fee for the riot can be paid by cheque instead of cash. Bhavani refuses categorically. The business of outrage obviously cannot be transacted through legal financial instruments.

THE METHODICAL approach with which these Sri Ram Sene functionaries approached TEHELKA’s proposal could be an indication of the organisation’s engagement with similar activities in the past. At the very least, it exposes the Sene’s adroitness in dealing with the law and the police — and the loopholes it slips through whenever it engages in violence.

TEHELKA’s conversations with Sri Ram Sene cadres in Udupi and Mangalore reaffirmed this very strongly. After TEHELKA spoke with Attavar, Jeetesh — the head of the Sene’s Udupi unit — agreed to introduce TEHELKA to Sene cadres who would ultimately execute the attack. Kumar and Sudhir Poojari, two such cadres, spoke freely of their involvement in earlier Sene attacks, including the infamous pub attack on January 24, 2009. All three — Jeetesh, Poojari and Kumar — had evaded police arrest despite having been part of the pub attack. All three had also spent several years with the RSS and Bajrang Dal before joining the Sri Ram Sene.

A minute into the conversation, Kumar and Poojari brag about how they gave the police the slip. Kumar also talks of his involvement in a previous incident that left eight Muslims injured. “They had to be admitted in the hospital,” he says, “after we attacked them.”

SAFFRON GETS PINK Sri Ram Sene members check out the pink undergarments gifted to them as a mark of protest against their attack on women at a Mangalore pub
Photo: KPN

Jeetesh has several similar stories. A day earlier, in his meeting with TEHELKA, Jeetesh talked openly of an incident in 2007 when he and two others had attacked a church where they believed coerced conversions were taking place. According to him, three or four pastors were hospitalised after the attack, while Jeetesh and his cohorts were handed jail terms. A few minutes later, he recounts an even more gruesome incident. Jeetesh, then a resident of Kasargod in Kerala and a member of the Bajrang Dal, was involved in an attack on a mosque. In a calm voice, he tells TEHELKA about how he attacked a maulvi with a sword. The maulvi died and Jeetesh was charged with murder. After four months in jail, he was bailed out, he says. Throughout that period, he says he was supported by the Bajrang Dal with lawyers at hand to handle his bail applications. Once he was released, Jeetesh moved to Udupi. A few years later, when Muthalik started the Sri Ram Sene, he joined him. The conversation constantly hovers around a hatred for Muslims and Christians and their plans to take over the world.

As his comfort level increased, Jeetesh also shared another important piece of information. In 2006, along with 100 others, Jeetesh says he participated in an arms training camp organised by the Sri Ram Sene. The firearms they used at the camp were largely unlicensed, he said, but refused to volunteer any further details.

A day later, he accompanied TEHELKA to meet with Attavar, the Sene vice president, and plan the specifics of the proposed attack in Mangalore.

AFTER THE meetings with Attavar and Bhavani, where they agree to organise attacks in Bengaluru, Mangalore or Mysore, TEHELKA met with Muthalik again. The only issue left to clinch was the amount. While discussions with Attavar (inside Mangalore Jail) had pegged the cost between Rs 50 to 60 lakh, the negotiation with Bhavani had been for Rs 70 lakh. TEHELKA asks Muthalik if these sums are agreeable to him.

TEHELKA: Sir, is it ok if we remain in touch over the phone with Prasadji? Because, sir, I refrain from calling over the phone...

MUTHALIK: Yes ...yes...

TEHELKA: Well with... Prasadji... fine... but I just wanted to confirm with you, maybe Sharmaji won’t appreciate it, but I wanted to have clarity about money... because I was told Rs 60 lakh for three locations.

MUTHALIK: Haaan.

TEHELKA: Rs 60 lakh... it’s ok from your side?

MUTHALIK: Who told you about it?

TEHELKA: Vasantji had told...

MUTHALIK: Yes... yes.

TEHELKA: So I decided to confirm once again...

MUTHALIK: Yes... yes... I can’t tell about the money... it’s their job only they can do it...

As the story goes to press, Attavar and his advocate Sanjay Solanki have continued to be in touch about the modalities and fees for planning the attack. In the last conversation, Solanki told TEHELKA that Attavar’s bail application pending with the Karnataka High Court would be accepted. Solanki categorically mentions that they will try and manage the judicial process and have already committed Rs 1.5 lakh to that process (TEHELKA has not corroborated this independently — this could be a wild claim for all we know). Advocate Solanki also assured TEHELKA that a conversation with Attavar — which would clinch the deal and close on the final terms of payment — would be possible very soon.

Needless to say, TEHELKA did not pursue the discussion.

With additional reporting by K Ashish

WRITERS’ EMAIL:
pushp@tehelka.com,
sanjana@tehelka.com

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 20, Dated May 22, 2010

Kinalur: 1700 acre land in hands of private individuals

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Even as the Government of Kerala insists that the protesters in Kinalur who oppose the proposed Four-lane road is leftand religious extremists and has no public support whatsoever more and more reports are coming out that might raise questions about the real interests of those in power.

Kerala Kaumudi daily reported on 13/05/2010 from KOZHIKODE

The probe led by the Police Special Branch found that about 1700 acre of land is in the hands of private individuals. The Chief Minister had ordered the Police Special Branch to collect details of tall those who have bought land in Kinalur since 2007.
Police suspects that lands at the proposed four-lane road connecting Kinalur with Kozhikode are also in their possession.
The price of land at Kakkodi, Vattoli, Nanmanda etc which lies near the proposed four-lane road has increased from 4000 to 1.75 lakh rupees for each cent.
The village of Kinalur hit the headlines when the local people clashed with the police on Thursday (May 6). The police had come to the village with officials for a survey of the land for the purpose of constructing a 30-metre wide road connecting Kinalur with Malikkadavu. The local people of the village opposed the road as their homes and lands would be lost.
The government has not reportedly got ready to provide enough compensation also. The people – young and old, men and women - marched in a demonstration and clashed with the police. The police broke tear gas shells and threw grenades. People pelted stones at the police and poured cow-dung water on the policemen.
The angered police then beat up everybody including women and children. Police went to several houses to catch hold of the ‘violent’ protestors. Many policemen were injured and admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

Rama Sene: 'rent-a-riot' for cash

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:13:00 +0000

The self professed moral guardians of India, the Sangh parivar outfit, Sri Rama Sene, the infamous goondas who ransacked pubs in Manglore is exposed. The Hindu reports from Banglore:

Sri Rama Sene president Pramod Muthalik, and top aides of his outfit, were caught on camera agreeing to vandalise an art exhibition in return for money in an undercover investigation by the magazine Tehelka broadcast on news channel Headlines Today on Thursday night.
According to a press release issued by the channel, the right wing outfit, which shot to fame after attacking women in a pub in Mangalore last year, was seen accepting a “a token contribution of Rs. 10,000 to the cause of Hindutva” from an undercover Tehelka reporter who posed as an artist. The “artist” told Mr. Muthalik he wanted to “shoot to fame like artist M.F. Husain.” Mr. Muthalik put the reporter in touch with his aides who would help vandalise the artist's exhibition at a “sensitive Muslim-dominated locality,” the press release stated. The investigation took six weeks to complete.
Mr. Muthalik is seen agreeing to stage what the channel called the “rent-a-riot” operation in Mangalore or Bangalore. Vasant Kumar Bhavani, Sri Rama Sene's Bangalore head, also suggested that Karnataka Minister for Wakf and Minorities Welfare Mumtaz Ali Khan be invited as the chief guest for the proposed exhibition. It was decided that 50 “boys” would be sent to do the job along the lines of the Mangalore incident, the release stated.
According to the release, the reporter met national vice-president of the Sri Rama Sene, Prasad Attavar, in prisons in Mangalore and Bellary to discuss how the riot would be staged.

The Split in Kerala Congress (J); the other side of a political melodrama

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Wed, 05 May 2010 07:14:00 +0000

The split in Kerala Congress (J) and the Joseph faction leaving the ruling Left-front in the final year of its term might seem merely yet another episode of greed for power and political opportunism, but a closer look at the issue would tell us much more.
Why should PJ Joseph should have taken such a decision in haste even without consultations with the top brass of the UDF, that too at this juncture of time? There might be political reasons for PC Thomas to remain in the LDF, but why should Surendran Pillai? What is the role of TU Kuruvila( For we have already seen the ruling LDF coming to his rescue in the infamous land deal-case)?Is it all staged by the Catholic church? If the education bill that hurts the interests of the minority community is the real reason, why didn’t they utter a word against it then in the LDF? Questions are plenty and answers seem obvious, but not when we look at it closer enough.
The State Finance Minister has already come up with allegations against Mr. Joseph. In his last two days in the office as the PWD Minister, Mr. Joseph has awarded 20 contracts for various projects in Idukki and Kottayam districts. In Idukki alone there are 14 ongoing projects which haven’t yet got administrative sanction even Technical Sanction. 147 bills were cashed for different works for which administrative sanction was obtained only after the works were done. These are all facts known to all, what they all are missing is the other side of the story- that there is a larger conspiracy to carry forward the interests of the real-estate lobby. Most of the projects sanctioned during the last term of the Kerala Congress (J) are in Idukki district, which includes the most environmentally sensitive parts of the Western Ghats. Tenders for many projects in the region were called for even before obtaining administrative sanction or technical sanction. The projects include clandestine plans for the reconstruction of Old Aluva-Munnar road and Kodaikkanal Highway. Both these projects are found to be environmentally unviable by various studies including the one conducted by the Greenpeople. The projects if implemented would lead to the destruction of the Western Ghats- one of the world’s 10 ecological hotspots. Yet the vested interests in politics and power are pursuing these projects with vigor eying on the natural resources in the region. Forest resources are being plundered in the name of development. The ongoing Idamalayar Irrigation Project is a classic example. Major leaders of the Kerala Congress (J) have vast holdings of land in the region and by implementing these projects they hope to boost the land prices. Former ministers of the party allegedly possess hectares of land in high ranges. Top Revenue officials in the region who don’t want their name to be publicized confided to us on this. During the four years in power with the LDF, they have succeeded in obtaining sanctions for various projects in the region, now what they want is speedy completion of those works before public know about it. With the LDF seeing little chance of returning to power the only way out was to join the next government. We have information from trusted sources that the UDF leadership has given assurances Mr. Joseph to that effect.

Digvijay Singh on Counter Maoist Strategy-- from The Economic Times article

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:23:00 +0000

Rethink counter-Maoist strategy

14 Apr 2010, 1036 hrs IST,DIGVIJAY SINGH,

The recent incident in Dantewada wherein the Maoists killed 76 CRPF jawans has triggered a heated debate about the establishment on one side and the Naxalites on the other. One section calls for strong action against the Naxalites, even calling them terrorists and urging the use of armed forces against them, while others defend the action of the Naxalites to the extent of justifying it.

Hours and hours have been spent on the debate by many people, be it senior politicians, journalists or political analysts. I doubt if any one of them has ever been to Jagdalpur, leave alone Dantewada or Dandakarnya, which has almost come under the control of the Maoists. Both sides, I feel, are quite off the mark.

Maoists, at the most, are misguided ideologues who have lost faith in the system and feel that the only way to deliver is through the barrel of a gun. But the sheen of that political ideology appears to be wearing off when we see traders, forest contractors, industrialists and mining companies carrying on their business without a problem, in fact, quite merrily, in the Naxalite dominated areas. The Maoists, simply, are collecting protection fees.

Sometimes, we hear from Maoists sympathisers, who suspect that the real intent of the state's strong action against Maoists is to facilitate the mining giants that have signed MoUs with the state. But do we have an instance where Maoists have stopped mining operations in affected areas or have taken up the cause of the tribals for higher wages or better living and working conditions for them?

If they have done so sometimes, the issue has been resolved amicably after some deal was struck. Actually, the Maoists are thriving on collecting dues from forest and civil contractors, the mining industry and other industries in the affected zone. I am told that every state government employee posted in the affected area has to give a certain percentage of his pay to them.

I have always wondered about the political intent of the Maoists. They are being supported by the liberal civil society and are seen to be against religious fundamentalists. But how does the BJP win from most of the polling booths controlled by the Maoists?

BJP, which has been in power in Chhattisgarh since 2003, has supported Salwa Judum and has taken a ‘tough stand' against the Naxalites still managed to get the Maoists’ support in the 2008 Vidhan Sabha and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

There are reports that in every election, the Maoists’ support goes to the highest bidder. The sitting MP from Jagdalpur, a BJP veteran, was supported by Maoists in the elections for a consideration, and when he failed to fulfill his commitment, his house was attacked by the Maoists, resulting in the death of one of the MP's sons, while another one was seriously injured.

In another case, a senior tribal BJP leader in Rajnandgaon district, who had brokered a deal for the BJP with the Maoists, was killed because , again, he couldn't fulfill the commitment. He had raised the issue with the BJP leadership after the elections that his life would be endangered if the commitment was not honoured.

I have known P Chidambaram since 1985 when we both were elected to Parliament. He is extremely intelligent, articulate, committed and a sincere politician, but extremely rigid once he makes up his mind. I have been a victim of his intellectual arrogance many times, but we still are good friends.

In this case, I have differed with his strategy that does not take into consideration the people living in the affected area who ultimately matter. He is treating it purely as a law and order problem without taking into consideration the issues that affect the tribals. When I raised these issues with him, he said that it was not his responsibility.

I strongly believe in the collective responsibility of the Cabinet, and as home minister, it is his responsibility to take a holistic view of the issue and put it up to the Cabinet rather than opt for a narrow sectarian view. The home minister is also a member of the core group.

As far as law and order is concerned, the buck stops with the chief minster, not with the home minister. The Centre provides central forces at the request of the state government and their deployment is the responsibility of the state government. In this incident, where was the state police? I believe it was represented only by a head constable. Why is the home minister taking the flak when it is the chief minister who should be answering the questions?

We can't solve this problem by ignoring the hopes and aspirations of the people living in these areas. Are these people getting the benefits of public distribution system, MNREGA, NRHM and other pro-poor policies? Are our forest policies, mining policies, land and water policies people-centric ? What has happened to the historic, revolutionary pro-tribal legislation of Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (Pesa)? Would any state government gather the courage to empower the tribals through enforcing Pesa?

Can you solve the Naxalite problem without the people's support and only through the police or paramilitary or armed forces? We should consider raising a battalion from within the tribals of that region by lowering the physical and educational requirements.

What we need is not educational standards but the capacity of physical endurance and knowledge of the terrain. The CRPF, mostly recruited on the strength of physical requirements, won't be able to deliver in that terrain. Then, it is an utter failure of intelligence if agencies didn't know about the movement of 600-1 ,000 Maoists in that area.

Ialso haven't understood why we are not trying to learn from the Andhra Pradesh experience of adopting pro-poor policies and closely targeting the Maoists leadership. In spite of the fact that Maoists' Central Committee mostly consists of leaders from AP, particularly the districts of Khammam and Warangal, the state has been able to control the growth of Maoists in AP.

In a civilised society and a vibrant democracy, ultimately it is the people who matter and I have always believed that the people are the solution. This problem can only be solved by empowering the people who live in that region, who today are at the receiving end from both sides, while the state and civil society is debating things in the media.

We should be paying more attention to their issues of livelihood and governance rather than converting the serene and calm environment of Bastar into a battlefield. Ultimately, whether the bullet is fired from a Naxal’s gun or a policeman's , the victim is an ordinary Indian citizen.

(The author is general secretary of AICC and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Views are personal.)

Courtesy: The Economic Times

A question and Answer from Google Buzz

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:33:00 +0000

Given below is the exchange sbetween Varun Ea, my friend and myself on Google Buzz

PB Jijeesh - Buzz - Public - Muted

Latest blog updates: India’s flawed policy and Maoist adventurism>>>>http: //soundofdissent.blogspot.com/

Varun EA - which country in the world has the king of inclusive growth that india has considering its position 60 yrs before??? which country has progressed the way that india has??? which country in this world gives minorities and destitute the kind of participation and share in rule/resources that india gives???
ofcourse there r flaws in our system..but its comparatively better..and take time that benefits reach the last of the naxals living in forest.
and if we don't curb them FORCEFULLY today, they will spoil the country...NO ONE SHUD BE ALLOWED TO TAKE WEAPON AGAINST THE COUNTRY/GOVERNMENT.16:09
PB Jijeesh - Dear Varun i think u got it all 'ulta pulta', it is not the matter of development reaching the naxals livng in forests., It is not Naxals who live in forest they are mostly adivasis, the originals inhabitants of this land. Maoists are a few insurgent groups operating among them. If these adivasis believe Maoists more than our government whose fault it is? Now regarding inclusive growth do you know wot India's rank is in the Human development Index of the U.N.? It is 128th; far below our neighbouring Srilanka, that has just come out of a civil war, Palastine that reels under Israeli bulldozers, and Bangladesh and Myanmar. Development doesn't mean just growth in GDP it is also abt distribution of wealth. Don't think that India is a haven for minorities how many of the perpetrators of Anti-Sikh riots of 1984 have been punished? Hw many got justice after the communal riots in 1993? What about the Srikrishna Commission report that recommends action? Wot about the plight of innumerable people killed in Gujrat pogroms of 2003? Do you have any information about 1000s of people displaced for the construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujrat? Do u know that after 30 yrs since its construction began only 29% is completed yet and in the meanwhile dam was broken 389 times? U say our system is comparatively better but for whom? For betterment comparisons should be made with the best not with the worst. Do u knw World Bank statistics say that about a half of Indians are living in extreme poverty? Our governments figures vary; planning commissions plug it at 28% while other commissions set up to study it says it is 38 to 50%.

Now regarding ur suggestion of using force to curb extremism, where in India has this method succeeded? wot is our experience in the North east? Still our forces need extremists permission to enter there. total number of votes caste there in an election was a mere 10000(ten thousand)... wot a wonderful democracy isn't it? wot about our experience in Andaman and Nicobar?

iT IS NOT AGAINST THE COUNTRY OR THE GOVERNMENT THAT THESE TRIBALS FIGHT. THEY EVEN DONT KNOW WOT THIS COUNTRY MEAN, wot they need is a right to live. they r not people who live buy sitting an idling in the offices. wot they need to live is forests for them forest is there life and livelihood.

I AM NOT FOR VIOLENCE and I DON'T SUPPORT THE MEANS OF MAOISTS but AT THE SAME TIME I DON'T SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT ACTION TOO. whats d difference between these extremists and governments if WOT THEY BOTH DO IS KILLING OF INNOCENTS? in that respects i don't think that the Maoists has killed as many people as the Hidutva-terrorists did in 1993 and 2003 riots or Kashmiri jihadists killed in the valley or the anti-sikh riots of 1984

India’s flawed policy and Maoist adventurism

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:48:00 +0000

The massacre of 75 CRPF men by the Maoists in Chattisgarh came as shock to most of Indians. The loss of lives and grief and sorrow thereafter brings forth many questions about the country’s strategy to deal with extremism. Gandhiji’s India should remember the fact that the language of violence has never been able to answer the questions on extremism.

Recent Surge in ‘Maoist Violence’

On April 4^, 2010 in Behrampur district of Orissa 9 jawans of Anti-Maoist Special Operation Group (SGO) were killed and 8 seriously injured when 3 mini buses carrying them blasted by remote controlled explosives set up by the Maoists in Govind Pillai Ghat Road at about 10am. The attack came just as the Government was preparing for a major offensive against the Maoists. Reports say that the SGO men were on their way to sanitise the Maoist-prone Govind Pillai Ghat Road so that CRPF personnel coming at Govind Pillai in Malkungiri district could move from there to Koraput.

On April 6, 2010 came the most shocking of Maoist attacks in recent history when 75 CRPF men were killed in in the Maoist attack in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

The troupe was returning after a usual domination exercise in the region. AN Armoured Personal Carrier was also destroyed when the Improvised Explosive Device planted by the Maoists detonated.

Government response

The government response to the incident was obvious with the Prime Minister expressing” shock and grief'' over the loss of lives of security personnel and Home Minister seeking detailed report from the authorities at the same time Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai reiterated the government's resolve to carry out the fight against Naxals. “We will give them a firmer reply”, said he.

Firmer reply; is it the same old clear, hold and build strategy?

What does the government mean by this firmer reply? Whom they are going to fight now? What will be the status of Operation Green Hunt now?

As I have mentioned already in another article in this blog, while dealing with the issue of rebels and uprisings every nation and every government it seems is learning nothing from the past. We cannot face insurgency with insanity! India’s own history teaches us that extremism cannot be contained by mere use of force. So far Mr. chidambaram’s dramatic pursuit of success and high-sounding polemical attacks on the Maoists has resulted only in jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of police and para-military personnel who are ill-trained and ill-equipped to fight a battle in forest. Now all that they do is protecting their own logistical line and camp perimeters, as The Hindu put it on the editorial published on April 8^th, 2010. Even the counting of causalities give Maoists a lead with only 294 Maoists killed as against 312 police and military personnel. Lesson from the American experience in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and our own experience in Manipur, Andaman, Kashmir and Nagaland should enough be for our policy-makers to understand that in asymmetric wars, it need not be the strong who always win. But what if we prefer not to fathom?

The clear, hold and build strategy by which the government intends first to clear the Maoists off the region and then hold it and build and bring development to that region has failed miserably. Neither could the government force the insurgents out nor could it bring development to the region. Now that it is clear that it simply won’t work, then why can’t the government accept the truth and seek alternatives?

Unclench our fist!

To draw out a strategy to deal with extremism first we should shed our prejudices and differentiate it from Terrorism. Terrorism is unjustifiable, but as far as left extremism is considered there is some sort of legitimacy for their demands. This we should accept. That is why it has become a mass movement. Over one third of total numbers of districts in India are under Maoists influence now. It is the unequal distribution of resources that has given the Maoists a chance to grow. Wherever there was indifference from the part of rulers for the cause of the downtrodden and total disregard for social justices there all flourished extremism. That is why states like Kerala where Human Development Index is high are free from the threat of left extremism.

Now that it is too late to bring development and reduce the Maoist influence, the only way out is talk. Talk, talk and talk unconditionally. Or at least a mutual ceasefire is possible. In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, the spokesperson of CPI (Maoist) has reiterated their stand they are ready to talk and is keen on cessation of hostilities by both sides simultaneously. Now it is for the government to act. And lets hope it would act prudently.

read more from P B Jijeesh at pbjijeesh.in

Suresh Gopi explains his stand on the Pappinissery Eco-Tourism project

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:35:00 +0000

In an exclusive message to Greenpeople, malayalam film star Mr. Suresh Gopi, who inaugurated the eco-tourism project at Pappinissery, Kannur explained his stand on the controversies enveloping the project. The project is a novel venture to protect and preserve the Mangrove forest of the region at the same time utilizing its tourism potentials for good, he said.

A detailed story will be posted soon.

Protest against the Attack on Environmental Activists

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:55:00 +0000

Greeenpeople, the socio environmental organisation based in Muvattupuzha protests against the attack on environmental activists in Pappinissery, Kannur. We believe that the atrocity was committed by the Politicians-real estate-Mafia nexus. As a result of effective interference of the environmental activists, they are not able to encroach upon forests and other natural resources as easily as it used to be; this might be the reason for them targeting environmental activists. The project that is to be inaugurated tomorrow at Pappinissery is a misconceived real-estate project masquerading as a tourism venture. We demand strong action against the miscreants there.

The President

Authorities indifferent even as Forest-Fire spreads

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:54:00 +0000

Authorities are turning a wry face towards demand for action as wild-fire consumes precious vegetation in the eastern forest-lands of Kerala. For the last few days forests in the High ranges of Kerala from Neriamngalam and Adimaly are burning. By the time I write this post hundreds of hectors of forest is already destroyed and thousands of wild-animals are killed, yet the concerned authorities are in no mood to act. With rain keeping away during the winter months and summer approaching, inaction would lead to a calamity of unimaginable scale in the biosphere.

Fire-lines not made

When enquired by Greenpeople, it was revealed that this year, the forest authorities did not make any fire-lines or fire-breakers that could have averted the spread of fire. Normally forest authorities worldwide take measures to prevent wild-fire well before the summer starts. Making of fire-lines, controlled fires and many investments for the effective monitoring of forest-fire are done. Statistics point out that only 8% of the wild-fires are caused by natural phenomenons such as lightning, the rest are man-made. Most of such incidents could be prevented by proper monitoring and strict implementation of laws. Early detection is a key factor in fighting forest-fires for that enables quick response. But here the Goverment is sitting idle as the land burns.

The status of a project that the forest department of Kerala started in 2004 for Development of a Forest Fire Forecasting System for Western Ghats, India using Web-Based GIS and Remote Sensing is not known.

It is man-made

Greenpeople team visited the area and seeing the pattern of the fire and its nature we are sure that it is caused by human-intervention. Many local people in Neriamangalam confided to the fact. We doubt there is a conspiracy in the irresponsible behavior of forest authorities and the fact that fire-lines were not made this year ads strength to our conjecture. Forest encroachers are ruthlessly destroying the nature for profiteering and the wild-fire is just another means.

The recent increase of incidents involving wild animals entering human settlements especially the issue elephants ruining cultivations have helped the encroachers in gaining local support as they see it as a way to prevent the elephants. In fact this will only worsen the situation for the reason for the elephant's issue is deforestation itself. With the large-scale felling of trees and encroachment of forest land they have lost their natural habitat and resources. Studies show that the watersheds in the region are disturbed and the ground water level is dipping fast. As a result water resources dry up and wild animals are forced to move out in search of water and food.

Illicit Liquor and wild-fire

In a state like Kerala where the major revenue for the state treasury comes from liquor-trade, the illicit-liquor needn't be an issue. There are innumerable illicit-liquor-dens across the state. Many of them are in the hills of the Sahyadri. Earlier they were in the outer regions of the forest. With the state tightening its grip they have moved into inner parts. Normally these liquor dens are spotted by the light from the brewing centres. The new technique they invented for hiding is setting fire to the forest so that their light is mistaken for wild-fire. This is the main reason for continuance of this fire.

greenpeople.greenpeople@gmail.com

Expert Panel indict Coca-Cola; Plachimada updates...

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:48:00 +0000

In a development that could turn out to be a milestone in the battle for water in Kerala and else where, the nine-member expert committee constituted by government of Kerala has indicted the Coca-cola company in Plachimada for the enormous damage it caused to the environment in the village and recommended the government to extract a compensation upto 200 croes of rupees from the soft-drink behemoth. The decision of the committee is seen as calming gesture for the the local populace who had to suffer due to the extreme environmental disaster that was caused when the company drug out about 1400000 liters of water a day for its functioning. The latest devellopment was reported by The Hindu on 15th March 2010.Mayilamma- A tribal women who was in the forefront of struggle against Coca-cola in Plachimada

For more on the Battle For Water in Plachimada read in Sound of Dissent Archive: The Battle For Water

The voice of Dissent in Gopal Menon Films

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:13:00 +0000

Greenpeople organised a documentary film festival screening 5 major works Indian docu-legend Gopal Menon. The films showcasing the other side of silence of the oppressed brought out some little known aspects of the celebrated Indian democracy.
The show started with the much acclaimed 'Hey Ram'- a heart rending documentation of the communal riots in Gujarat. Then there was Resilient Rhythms on the plight of the Dalits in india which brings forth the unimaginable agony y endure in India even after '62 years of freedom'. Naga story: the other side of Silence, a crafty work on the Naga issue is comprehensive rendering of the much misunderstood story of the Naga people. PAPA-2 is a shocking revelation of Indian military activity and anti terror operations in Kashmir valley. Then the different voice on the buzz word of our times: Maoist extremism. the documentary -War On People-depicts the ground realities in the Red Corridor.

A review of these films will be posted soon.

Govt. in the dock as medias take-up the tiger-census issue

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:43:00 +0000

The state and Central governments , especially the forest departments in the dock as major dailies take up the issue of deformities in the announced Tiger census and the influence of the real estate -land mafia lobby's influence in the process. The issue came to limelight after Greenpeople, A socio-environmental organisation based in Kerala raised the issue. the news was reported in Metrovaartha daily on 7th March 2010 and again the news re-appeared in Kerala Kaumudi daily as the lead story on 8th march. It is shameful that kerala Kaumudi decided not to mention about greenpeople, the very organisation that gave them the news and they reproduced the organisations news word by word that appeared in the Metrovaartha the day before.

See the news items:

Metrovaartha on 7th March 2010:----http://www.metrovaartha.com/2010/03/07051429/tiger-senses.html
Keralakaumudi on 8th March 2010:---http://news.keralakaumudi.com/beta/news.php?nid=e2d4b19183688dd9ecee10fc8289cb37

Politics of Tiger-Census

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:56:00 +0000

What is in a Tiger-census for real estate lobbies? The question may seem absurd but not in the new-era of neo-liberal globalisation. The recent Tiger-census 2010 in Kerala is a classic example of how the business interests are manipulating the Government to omit many areas where tigers were spotted last year. The census covers Periyar and Parambikkulam tiger reserves of Kerala. The banks of the River Periyar from above Thattekkad is a haven for wild-life because of the abundance of bamboo-forest and water reservoirs. But many places like Thattekkad, Vadattupara, Kuttambuzha, Pooyamkutti, and where tigers were spotted are omitted in the latest census. The reason for this undoubtedly is the vested interests of te politicians business-men and religious leaders who have acquired acres of land there.
The ecocide that is happening in the region in the name of tourism is sure to cause lethal damages to the fragile ecosystem. The water scarcity in the area and resultant incidents of wild elephants entering people inhibited areas is is an indication of imbalances caused in the watersheds. Its time that people raise against this conspiracy and work towards protecting this pristine ecosystem.
Tiger-Pug-Marks in the area

Panchayat Not to Dumb Wastes in Cemetey

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:59:00 +0000

GREENPEOPLE NEWS IMPACT

Piravom Grama Panchayath has decided to stop dumping of waste sin the cemetery. It was decided after GREENPEOPLE lodged a complaint against the issue with the National Human rights Commission. at first the authorities tried to resist, but with the media taking up the issue and the local populace staring to protest the authorities were forced to change there stand.

'SlumDogs' at their stinking Tombs...!

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 04:07:00 +0000

Poor men are buried in the stinking heap of waste and we call it 'God's Own country'......

The picture shown here is not a waste disposal yard but are of a public cemetery in Piravom, a small town in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The place has been the final resting place for hundreds of landless poor in the 6 near by panchayaths for the last few decades. Today it is turned into a waste-dumbing-yard by the authorities and the rich.The burial ground stinking of all kind of nasty waste is a blot on the face of modern Kerala society. Hundreds of tombs of poor men are now under the refuse.

In a time when the state is going after smart and Smarter cities adn developmental projects the basic human rights of common people are ignored or denied with impunity. The poor people who have no land of their own and most of whom are hapless Dalits are in misery. The politics and economic mantras of the Neo-liberal era has already robbed them off their right to a dignified life and now they are even denied their right to a dignified death and funeral thereafter. This Issue should be an eye opener to all of us who boast of how civilised we are....

What should we do now?is it enough for us simply to blame the government and sit idle? Pass on this news to as many people as you can and fight for the helpless....

---GREENPEOPLE News Service

green people is a socio-environmental organisation based in Muvattupuzha

www.greenpeople.co.in

greenpeople.greenpeople@gmail.com

Insurgency and Insanity

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:53:00 +0000

While dealing with the issue of rebels and uprisings every nation and every government it seems is learning nothing from the past. We cannot face insurgency with insanity...!

A nation that employs 600000 soldiers to address the issue of rebels in the Kashmir valley is now preparing for yet another war, this time not in the border but in the heartland itself. Who knows how many soldiers they are going to deploy. Considering a proportional number as with Jammu and Kashmir it would have to be near 5000000! (In Kashmir at the height of extremism the number of armed militants was estimated to be around 3000 and the present number of armed Maoists according to the government is 25000)

The map has nothing to do with the real borders as recognised by govt. of India its just a pictorial representation.

No surprise that a fifth of India is under the control of separatist elements. How can we expect a nation that has faltered again and again in dealing with these socio-political issues to act prudently? What have we as a nation gained from the military operations that we undertook elsewhere in the country to get rid of the separatists. Consider the case of north-eastern states; many of them are part of India only in school text books and maps prepared by government of India. Decades of military action there have not only increased the number of militant groups in the region but also alienated the people from the nation. The draconian laws like AFSPA and atrocities committed by our personnel have made the situation even worse. Every day we are hearing about latest incidents of fake-encounter killings and other human right violations. Operation Blue Star was a different case altogether; it was against a separatist group that was once nurtured by our ruling class for politicking. When the resources from those were in power dried up the movement vanished. Also let us not forget that the episode ended in the “Fall of a Big Tree and the Aftershock”! As is told countries and rulers learn not a thing from history. They repeat, re-stage the same old blunders! Or how the hell they could think that a political issue could be solved by military action?

Keep in mind that the so called ‘red corridor’ or ‘maoist infected’ zones (I wonder whether they are some sort of worms!) are the most under developed region in India. Most of these people involved are hapless tribal people who have endured decades of injustice under the feudal, caste-ridden social set-up. Their living conditions are worse than that of the people from poor African states. (Know that India is ranked 127^th in the Human Development Index of the United Nations which is measure of well being of the citizen of a country. Well behind Srilnaka where a civil-war like situation prevailed, Palestein which reels under Israeli bulldozers and our poor neighbors like Bangladesh.- the same Shining India which strives to become a world power by 2020!). Now the government says they would bring development to the region once they flush out the Maoists. Where were they all these 62 years since independence when these poor people suffered under the devilish landlords and mis-conceived developmental projects?

Women from Manipur protest against atrocitires by Indian forces

The government has embarked on a high-pitched public relations campaign against the Maoists atrocities and the corporate media is dancing to the tune. They equate the struggling people with terrorists, a handful of criminals set out to destroy the unity of the country. But truth is other ways; The Maoists now have influence in over 231 districts out of 626 in the country. It was only 56 in 2001. The government says the strength of the Maoists increased two-fold in the last five years. Also remember that when the ban on CPI (ML) was lifted shortly on 2004, about 1.5 million people attended a rally they organized in Warangal. Don’t tell me that all these tribals who are fighting the government are terrorists. In fact they are not even fighting the government, only that they started to react. Where were these moralists who profess non-violence during all these years when the life and livelihood of the poor were plundered at will by the corporate players and the upper class? Where were they when hundreds of women raped and people killed when the government sponsored ‘spontaneous people’s militia – Salwa Judum’ marched across the tribal belt in search of Maoists and ransacked tribal villages? Why didn’t they react when the apex court of the land granted permission to mining in their hills overriding the recommendations by the Supreme Court’s own committee? (The committee recommended not sanctioning mining in the region considering the horrific environmental impacts. One of the judges said openly in the court that he had stakes in one of the mining companies. ) Where were these people when thousands of hectares of their land was grabbed for ‘development’?

A maoist trainng camp

It is true that the Maoists committed a series of crimes. They have killed many. They have established people’s courts that pronounced verdicts of their liking. But think, have they killed in decades of their ‘violent’ history as many people as were killed by the communal fanatics in 2003 in Gujrat, killed in 1984 anti-sikh riots, in Bhopal in the same year when toxic gas from the Union Carbide Company was leaked? How many were held responsible? How many were punished? Shouldn't we brand the Bajrangdal and VHP as terrorist organisations?

Near 200000 people committed suicide in the agrarian crisis that grip our nation, is there any government to take up these issues? Were they not murdered by our ‘democratic system’? How many money lenders were arrested? How many a land lords were prosecuted? Statistics say there happens at least one atrocity every half an hour against Dalits in our country; how many are held responsible in this regard?

Who can demand from the poor people for sacrifices for the sake of development and greater interest of the nation, when development means setting up of police stations and military bases that are instruments of oppression by the powerful, high ways and dams that cut through their heart and industries that rob their resources and NOT the building of schools, hospitals, drainages or homes?

Arundhathi Roy- a strong opponent of State Sponsored atrocoties

One of the main reasons for the recent uprising is the land grab by the mining lobby. Hectors and hectors of land, vegetations and whole hills are being dug up and destroyed. These people for whom the hills are their life and living, their mother and their god are evacuated ruthlessly with the help of the state machinery. And the power of the mining lobby…. They are multinational giants with unimaginable money and power behind them. Whom should the local people approach for justice? P Chidambaram who is the main supporter of the current military action was a non-executive director of ‘Vedanta’ , one of the mining giants. The recent developments in Karnataka are yet another proof of their power. Mr. Yedyurappa, the Chief Minister, almost lost his job when he tried to rein in the mining lobby. His party-men and associates betrayed him and joined the mining them. The way in which the Reddys succeeded in coercing the party and the administration to revert the actions against the mining firms and prevent the transfer of officials close to them is a telling example of the present situation. No wonder when we know that the budget of the mining industries well over thrice the GDP of India.

Now all talking about stopping left extremism; how are we to stop left extremism and maoist atrocities without stopping free market extremism and state sponsored atrocities?

How do we expect a government to find military solutions to a political issue?

How will we be able to stop these googols of money and power behind them?

Who should the poor turn for help?

Should they all kill themselves or should live just to be killed by the security personnel?

At least they could shed their fear and die in dignity….

Who’s wrong actually?

This violence and response all it seems is just insanity...

dissent, protect, prevent, politics, India , kerla, Maoists, Maoism, Insurgency, extremism, violence, non- violence

Identity

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:57:00 +0000

I am an Indian, a Hindu, yet I don’t believe in
God!

From my childhood onwards I used to believe that I’m an Indian. During my school days I came to understand that I’m a Hindu (Reason: Many of my school mates used to go to the church where as I didn’t). Later when started to confront life I realized that I’m a Dalit (or Scheduled Caste as our Constitution designate us), the petty outsiders and untouchables in Indian caste hierarchy. But as I passed my adolescence I noted that I don’t believe in God! So that was what I am an Indian-Hindu-Dalit-Atheist!
For westerners who love to see India as a Hindu country or a civilization of cosmic mystery, or a test-dose democracy it would be difficult to understand my stand. And for that matter for many of my fellow Indians too, who see India through the prism of narrow Hindutva ideology. But for me it’s a very natural position because I believe that my country is heterogeneous, secular, democratic, republic.

As an Indian…

For many in the West, India is a non existent state, just as Winston Churchill who couldn’t imagine India more clearly than the equator. They believe that India is some thing that was created by the British from the eerie wilderness of Asia. Many in India also believe this concept. These anglophiles don’t realize that ours is an ancient culture, flourished on the banks of river Indus, at least 3000 years ago. This is the land which gave birth to some of the pioneers in Mathematics and science like, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Bhaskara and Brahmagupta. The cunning economist and political thinker Koutilya was born here. So was Vatsyayana who wrote the masterly Kamasutra. Oldest religions in the world- Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism were originated here. It is a land where Christianity flourished when it was unknown to the English. Ancient travelers like Al-Beruni of Iran have given a detailed account of his travels to Hindustan. The word Hindu has its origin in Persian language. It represented the people who used to live on the banks of the river Indus (Sindh). The concept of India is not a British invention. Centuries before the westerners arrived India was there in the minds of foreign intellectuals like Al-baruni as a nation. The people across this land had a sense of Indian-ness. That passion was at its peak during the eras of two great Indian rulers namely Ashoka and Akbar, the former a Buddhist ruler and the later a Mughal.

I’m a Hindu…

Whatever be the present day meaning of the word Hindu, it was a great civilization that flourished on the banks of sindh. It was a civilizational wonder not only for its age but also for its tolerance of heterodoxy. The streams of thought it entertained varied from the exotic spirituality of the Vedic traditions to agnosticism of Buddhism and Jaininsm to pucca atheism of the Charvaka and Lokayata schools of thought. The ancient Sanskrit text “Sarvadarshanasamgraha”(The Essence of all Ideologies) written by Madhavacharya clearly describes all those in a single book. In that spirit I AM A HINDU. That is why ancient scholars refer to the Hindu-Muslims, The Hindu-Christians etc.

Demolition ofr Babri-Masjid; Dec.6,1991

The rise of Hindu nationalism during the late 1980s and 1990s to the mainstream politricks of India as given a completely new dimension to the word .it now represents an ideology which is a heady mix of distorted study of Indian history and a grotesque illustration of nationalism . it gives out to the West an image of a communally divided and politically unstable India {in the past also The West have misunderstood our country. Many a political prophets has predicted death of Indian democracy, but that hasn’t happened. But for a brief period of emergency under Indira Gandhi, India has remained more or less as a commendably successful democracy. And in all likelyhood it would remain so. } the demolition of Babri-Masjid and the communal riots that followed gave the Hindutva ideologues a much needed momentum. Riding on that BJP- the political face of Sangh Parivar- became the single largest political outfit in India and manages to lead an ad-hoc coalition government. Under this government, the BJP ruled state of Gujarat witnessed the worst ever communal riots in the post Masjid-demolition era. With the auspices of the union government there were overt and covert efforts to communalise school education. (These mistakes were to great extend rectified by the present Government). According to the Hindutva Ideologues the word Hindu stands for a way of living which they proclaim as Indian. They prefer to neglect the fact that India is the country with in the largest Muslim population in that sub-continent.( second only to Indonesia in the world.) and Christianity arrived India even before it reached Europe and America. For over 1000 years India was under Muslim rule. Before that for many centuries India was a Buddhist Kingdom. It was under the great Buddhist ruler Asoka and Mughal ruler Akbar that India reached the pinnacle of its historical and civilisational achievements. Forgetting all these they project the intolerance of a few non-Hindu emperors. (Aurangazebe, often the main villain). They speak about the temples and religious institutions destroyed by the outsiders, but fail to see the atrocities committed by the Hindu rulers against the Buddhists after the decline of Mourya Empire. The historical truth is that these things happen in everywhere in the world. The Spanish invasion of Latin America is a similar case. Even otherwise we cannot blame the present generation for the deeds of their great ancestors.

Another aspect of the so called Hindu culture is the stark fact that That never was the culture of the masses. Most of the common people lived outside the mainsteam in the highly caste ridden Indian society. Even their Gods were considered ‘Mlechha*’ by the upper caste. I will return to this when I discus about my Dalit Identity.

Being a Dalit…

The term dalit literally means ‘the oppressed’. Historically that is what they are, Outsiders in their own land- with no ownership over land or knowledge. They had no rigt to education, no right to live as their fellow Indians used to. They were the ‘untouchables’- a socially discriminative custom somewhat similar to Apartheid.
According to the Brahminical version of the Hindu culture, they fall outside the varnas system and have historically been prevented from doing any but the most menial jobs. In the Indian caste hierarchy the top-class, Brahmins are believed tobe originated from the head of the creator, kshatriyas from the chest Vysyas from thigh and the Sudras frm the legs. The dalits where outside this system practically treated in par with animals.

(TO BE CONTINUED) മൈ ടൂറിസം directory
islandholidayskerala.com
dissent, protect, prevent, politics, India , kerla, Maoists, Maoism, Insurgency, extremism, violence, non- violence, identity

Adieu the Giants

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 07:01:00 +0000

Adieu the Giants

The Kerala Government at last showed the nerve to ban the production, sale and distribution of Coke and Pepsi in the state. With the ascend of the left to power in the last assembly election it was expected eventually with the anti cola crusader VS Achudananthan at the helm. The Centre for Science And environment (CSE) reporting high pesticide content in soft drinks , for the second time in three years was the immediate cause of the decision. Following the Government decision the Plachimada Ikyadartya Samiti has declared an end to the 1588 days struggle of the people of Plachimada against the soft drink giants, Coke.
Also See http://soundofdissent.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_soundofdissent_archive.html
dissent, protect, prevent, politics, India , kerla, Maoists, Maoism, Insurgency, extremism, violence, non- violence

Nuclear Arrangement!

noreply@blogger.com (Dissent) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 06:24:00 +0000

An agreement argued upon

The Indo-US nuclear agreement was always been a hot point of debate ever since it was proposed. All greeted the civil nuclear seperation plan that followed. Still there were doubts about the real intentions of the US. Now it seems that the doubts were not entirely baseless. The US is pressing hard for watering down the agreement in the bill that is now under consideration of the senate.

Hopes…

The Indian authorities always maintained that the bill envisages full nuclear cooperation with the US. That is India will now be treated as a Nuclear Weapons State (NWS). It was also claimed that there would be no international safeguards unless and until all restrictions on trade and technology transfer are lifted.

…in vain

The new bill before the senate categorically makes it clear that there will be no full nuclear cooperation.

Transfer of enrichment, reprocess and heavy water production technology will be impossible but under tight control.
India will now have to provide full clear cut separation plan.
The promised India specific safeguards are now almost impossible with the new bill insisting for a perpetual protocol that confirms IAEA’s standards and principles. The additional protocol agreed in the July 2005 agreement will be replaced by INFCIRC/540, which is the model protocol for Non-Nuclear Weapon States.
The provisions for US lead inspections and the annual certification clause are sure to make much ado.

The agreement, which is turning out to be a Historic, one is now a seemingly unilateral arrangement if India buckles under the US pressure.
dissent, protect, prevent, politics, India , kerla, Maoists, Maoism, Insurgency, extremism, violence, non- violence