The Ground Report India - 2009 December Edition PDF

Ground Report India (GRI) December 2009

GRI - December 2009Cover ReportsThe future of journalism. Or: why journalism is not media Copenhagen climate summit Strong mood against capitalism - and its police force Obama Announces Troop Surge - Bellingham Residents Hit the Streets!

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InternationalInternational PEN calls Liu Xiaobos sentence a grievous betrayal of inalienable human rights European Court: Landmark Ruling on Racial and Religious Exclusion Rebooting journalism -- study, report experiments in Seattle, Jan. 7-10

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Reports

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Mystery: Which public authority has CIC Selection papers -- PMO, DOPT or Parliament Secretariat? 1 1 Water, Yes, but at 10 times the cost CIC Selection: Govt of India gives evasive answer to Legal Notice An article on Conict between Naxals and the State 13 15 16

A protester - farmer (SC) was brutally killed by Bangladeshi intruders in Indian land in connivance with BSF 17 Minors were tortured inhumanly by the protectors of the land Addressing Governance Issues through an Adivasi lens Surojit Mondal, a minor, Scheduled Caste boy tortured & killed Joint Force in West Midnapur engaged with WAR against the civilian 18 19 20 21

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY OBSERVED TO CARRY FORWARD THE PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT IN GUJARAT 3 2 The legacy of CTA in the present context A new Initiative about 26/11 - Self Defense, Community Protection & Attitude Building DANTEWADA PADYATRA, SATYAGRAH AND JAN SUNWAI TALK ON MATERIALISM SPIRITUALISM AND SHRAMA DHARMA (MSMT) IMPACT OF DINAKARAN ON JUDICIARYS IMAGE Two SUSANTA BISWAS Documentaries got International Festival selection in 2009 MID-DAY: Manmohan gets a legal notice on CIC Selection Community Rallies Against Coca-Cola, Demands Climate Justice RETIRED FROM RED TAPE, BABUS NOW SEEK TO RULE INFO WORLD PURPOSE OF THE BRIEFING ON ARMED FORCES SPECIAL POWERS ACT 24 27 27 29 30 31 31 32 33 35

Can common people be helped facing predicaments to take on the might of the Mighty BMC to get justice 35 www.groundreportindia.com 1


Repeal the anti-constitutional SEZ Act, 2005 WORLD DISABLED DAY :: AWARD FOR SELF EMPLOYED DISABLED PERSONS CONSPIRACY AGAINST INDIAN MILITARY

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HAS THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION IN INDIA NOW REACHED DEAD END ? WHY NOT GO FOR PASSIVE RESISTANCE? 40 SECOND INNINGS REBIRTH OF ELDERLY PEOPLE PERMISSIVE LIFE STYLE RAPIDLY FALLING VALUE SYSTEMS IN SOCIETY Open letter on Natural & Renewable Energy and Nuclear Energy LISTEN TO THE MUSLIM WOMANS VOICE: by Zakia Soman Nehrus birth anniversary Matter of integrity: When Nehru & Patel competed over sacrice The bora community in kumaon himalayas 41 42 43 44 46 47

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GRI - December 2009Cover ReportsThe future of journalism. Or: why journalism is not mediaWe have to accept that industries fail. It happens everywhere, and all the time. Detroit is kaput: we saw it coming, and we all know now. And it made good copy. Manufacturing went to China and India. There were blue collar casualties. We saw it coming, and it made good copy. Did we cry? Did we bother? Did we care? Then the banks failed. We didnt see it coming. But it made good copy still. Did we cry? Did we care? Oh yes we did! In no time, billions of taxpayers dollars were thrown at the problem. To try and make it go away. Unlike everything else, the banking sector was considered too important to fail. If what you did was systemic enough, abundant funding was made available. Overnight if necessary. Now our own industry is failing, and we feel it is failing us. Pulp press products are going kaput, and selling our audiences attention to advertisers is a failing proposition. We saw it coming, we all know now, and it does make good copy. Did we cry? Did we bother? Did we care? Oh yes we did. Studies, task forces, committees, conferences, serious navel gazing, books and grave op-ed articles galore: we saw it coming, and we did care. But why care? Why care indeed? We confounded journalism with media. Media is going the way of Detroit; journalism isnt. Incumbent media structures turned out to be too big, too slow, and too much one-way. Too much focused on bottom lines, ownership, walled gardens, and proprietary infrastructures. Old media was too much focused on shareholder value, and on incessantly selling eyeballs to third parties. Did we really think this was sustainable? Media knew how to speak. And speak it did. But it didnt learn to listen. Now, on the internet, the people formerly known as the audience are learning to speak for themselves. And they listen to each other. They tag, they twitter and share what they feel is important. They create their own channels, tools and platforms. It is a civic debate, it is not media selling attention to products. Medias worth has been predicated on extrinsic values: Quarterly prots, or, more recently: quarterly losses, are categories we use to measure media. Journalism must be measured differently. We confound media with journalism. The umbilical cord once connecting media and journalism is becoming toxic. Media is trying to abort journalism, and journalists should seize the opportunity and leave the hostile womb. Let media look at its shareholder value, and let it perish in the process. Maybe, meanwhile, it will spawn new Paris Hiltons. (Then again, Paris Hilton might just single-handedly save the whole eyeball industry once she marries Brad Pitt.) Media may be a dinosaur. But journalism will be alive and kicking as long as it addresses issues of real relevance. Ideally, it enables, moderates, and curates our civic dialogue. Journalists will survive if they are conducive to the public good. That they can, and should, make a difference to society is why they joined the profession in the rst place. (Its also why journalism schools keep on attracting a large number of students.) So journalism got all tangled up with media?


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It is not a historic necessity anymore. Publishing tools, and platforms to publish on, no longer need ownership, or copyrights. There is an ever-increasing wealth of content out there. But all that new content is in dire need of moderation, of perspective, and criticism. It needs professional and dedicated journalistic work, a meta-commentary, if you like, for it to cohere and make sense. Journalists will have to enable their audiences to nd and articulate their own voices, they will have to share their media literacy, and even their writing and producing skills, with their readership. So what if journalism were systemic to modern societies, what if it is too important to fail? Lets forget the media business model. Lets nd new ways to make journalistic work sustainable. A one-time levy on all internet enabled devices would do the trick. So would a special rate the Google keyword algorithm allots to all systemic content on the web. So would new ways of distributing the public broadcast service fees. Or what if, due to its systemic value, journalism is able to receive, lets say, one hundredth of a percent of all that bail out money going to the banks. You go and gure out how much that is, what with the current estimate of the cost of the crisis amounting to 25 trillion dollars. The future is the decisions we take today. So lets talk, listen, network and share. We have some convincing to do. And a long way to go. Nobody said this was easy. Source: Wilfried Ruetten European Journalism Centre --------------------------

Copenhagen climate summit Strong mood against capitalism - and its police forceCopenhagen Summit The climate demonstration in Copenhagen on 12 December, with over 100,000 participants, was the biggest climate protest ever. It had a strong anti-capitalist character. "We chanted Climate Justice and Save the planet - smash the system - whet we need is socialism. People along the demo applauded us and we sold many papers and other material," reported CWI members. The demo also showed extreme police brutality against almost 1,000 demonstrators. We thought the demonstration would be big. Many people we met the week before said that all their friends would be going. Over 100,000 took part, a breakthrough for the climate movement. Simultaneously, there were 3,000 demonstrations around the globe. While the so-called world leaders at the UN summit can only fail, this rank and le movement has huge potential to grow. Demonstrators from Friends of the Earth, dressed in blue, conducted a "ood" with thousands of people. There was also a giant snowman from Greenpeace, lifebuoys from Oxfam, kangaroos, sumo wrestlers and polar bears. Parties with contingents included, apart from RS/CWI, the Danish Red-Green Alliance (Unity List), Socialist Peoples Party and the French NPA, plus some communist parties. The demo was dominated by yellow and black placards from the organisers, saying Save the planet not the prot, There is no Planet B, Blah Blah Blah Action Now and Nature doesn't compromise. The mood, both of activists at the People's Climate Summit and ordinary citizens was remarkably anti-capitalist. The slogan of the People's Climate Summit was: System change not climate change. Members of CWI Sweden were there for a week beforehand and CWI stalls around the city attracted many new people. Our petition, saying that big business are the climate criminals, arguing for socialist democratic planning globally and for nationalisation of the top 500 multinationals, quickly lled with names. At the demo, we just said "sign against capitalism". Even BBC world news reported the "disbelief" against capitalism in the massive demonstration on Saturday. That mood is strengthened by the fact that politicians at the UN summit are also responsible for cuts and unemployment. One speaker at the demo was Ian Terry from the Vestas workers on the Isle of Wight in Britain where 400 green jobs have been cut. The notice of closure of this factory, producing wind power carbines, was met by an 18-day long workers occupation this summer. At the People's Climate Summit, activists from around the world met. Author Naomi Klein said, in front of a television camera, thatcapitalism can't solve what capitalism has created. She also criticised those who treat Obama with kid gloves on this issue.


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While capitalism was criticised, however, few people put forward a real alternative to replace capitalism. The CWI did. One of our banners saidSocialist Planning Needed. We stress that capitalism and its 'market failures' are products of an economic and political system that is run in the multinationals interests. Socialism would mean a new economic and social system, owned and run collectively by workers and the poor, with a new political democracy, checked and controlled from below. The interests of the climate, nature and all human beings would be to the forefront. The police arrested close to 1,000 demonstrators. Peaceful demonstrators were handcuffed on their backs for six hours (read the witness reports below). Of those 1,000, only three have been charged with anything. Karin Wallmark, one of 40 CWI members arrested at the demo, reports: "Everything in the demonstration changed when a crowd of policemen ran out of an alley and blocked the road in front of us. We stopped and stayed calm, wanting to avoid provoking them. We understood that the police as well as some media would see any further violence as a conrmation of the correctness of the massive police presence in Copenhagen and the new antidemocratic "hooligan laws" introduced before the summit. But our being completely peaceful and innocent did not stop the police from carrying out their attacks." RS and the CWI started an immediate defence campaign, including phone calls from Joe Higgins, Socialist Party (CWI Ireland) MEP to the Copenhagen police. Most CWI members were released around midnight, with their ghting spirit intact despite back pain, hunger and tiredness. We contacted the media and the demo organisers, checked with legal experts and organised a protest press conference. We will now press charges against the police, alongside a political campaign on both the climate issue and the police attack. Those in power in governments and the state apparatus are siding with big business, supporting their right to continue destroying the planet at the expense of fundamental democratic rights. CWI members in Copenhagen have sold over 700 copies of our climate resolution in Swedish and English and have a lot of interested people to follow up. The need for a socialist climate movement is urgent, underlined by the events in Copenhagen. Press conference in Copenhagen On Sunday, Rttvisepartiet Socialisterna (CWI Sweden) organised a well-visited press conference about the Danish police's assault on peaceful demonstrators. Arne Johansson of RS spoke alongside Tord Bjrk, from Friends of the Earth Sweden, and Johanna Paulsson leader of another Swedish environmental organisation. Both those organisations also had members arrested at the demo. Tord Bjrk sharply criticised the Danish police and the new 'hooligan law'. He also criticised the organisers for ignoring the risk of such a police attack. "We will take the Danish police to justice. For no reason, they sabotaged the rights of 968 demonstrators to have their say in this issue, which is decisive for the future of the entire planet. We have seen an unacceptable use of an unacceptable law", said Arne Johansson. Newspapers from around the world were at the press conference, for example Al Ahram of Egypt, several German and Italian papers and Swedish TV channel four. Mattias Bernhardsson, RS councillor and one of the arrested, was interviewed on Swedish public service radio news. Karin Wallmark, also an RS member, read the list of possible complaints the Danish police themselves had compiled in a brochure and concluded that they had broken their own rules on every single point. Two witness reports Karin Wallmark: "We were blocked by the police for about an hour, chanting slogans such as 'This is what democracy looks like' and 'Arrest the polluters, but let us go'. We also spoke on megaphone to the police, trying to make them think whether it was correct to block people from demonstrating to stop the climate crisis. We proposed they should go on strike! "After about an hour, the police started to arrest us, one by one, and sat us in lines on the cold ground. We had our hands cuffed on our backs and our legs spread, sitting really tight. For four hours we could not lie down or sit properly. No police answered our questions why we were arrested. We were not allowed to move even slightly and not allowed to go to the toilet. "I shouted for an hour that I needed to go to the toilet. Eventually I stood up, although I'd seen others being beaten by the police for standing up. They did not hit me, but forced me down on to the ground several times. It was only when the media came and I shouted that they let me go to the toilet. Others were not so lucky and wet themselves.


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"Several got sick, got seizures or fainted. The worst was the humiliation and not knowing why we were arrested and what would happen with us. We got moral support from other demonstrators, standing behind the police lines, and from people living in houses nearby. "After four hours, they started to take us away in buses, still handcuffed, for a couple of hours. Eventually, we were let go, just giving our ID facts. As far as I know, none of the 400 arrested with me have been charged with anything. "The police aimed to block us from demonstrating. It's a violation of our right to demonstrate as well as a physical and psychological violation. Amer Mohammed Ali: "None of us understood what triggered the police attack. But probably, the police had been waiting for a long time to grab part of the demo. It must have been planned in order to execute it in the way they did. A few people with special needs were let through, such as one visually impaired person and one mother with a pram. "Our slogans reached out to demonstrators on the other side of the police wall, with us looking like prisoners of war in a movie. The ground was incredibly cold and the strangle wires used to hold our hands were hurting. Many shouted they had lost sensibility in their hands. "In the bus, the police were very rude and on one occasion one policeman slapped one of the arrested. We were handcuffed for six hours and in total it took eight hours until it ended with us telling them our names. Report by: Elin Gaufn, Karin Wallmark and Amer Mohammed Ali, Rttvisepartiet Socialisterna (CWI Sweden) ----------------------------------

Obama Announces Troop Surge - Bellingham Residents Hit the Streets!United States of America BELLINGHAM, WA - Hours before Obama would announce his plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, approximately 160 students, veterans, and community members hit the streets of Bellingham to protest the troop surge. Many protestors were especially outraged because voters elected the Democrats to have full control over the White House and Congress, hoping they would end the disastrous occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, Obama is escalating the war in Afghanistan. And he is escalating it only one week before he receives the Nobel Peace Prize! The protest was organized by Socialist Alternative, which established a branch in Bellingham only two months before the protest. Everyone was inspired to see the decent turnout given how new Socialist Alternative is to Bellingham and because the protest was planned in only one month. The protest was reported in The Bellingham Herald, the Western Front, the Cascadia Weekly, and possibly more media outlets. Socialist Alternative members Brett Hoven and Ramy Khalil also got a guest opinion column published in the Western Front. Scroll down to see the photos and all the media coverage! The appearance of antiwar protests organized by Socialist Alternative and other groups across the country also suggests that a majority of Americans are growing weary with the Afghanistan War and are increasingly willing to publicly challenge President Obama on this issue. For many students, this was their rst protest, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the rally and especially the march, which was very energetic and spirited. As one student, Zach Snover, put it: As my rst experience protesting and marching, I could really feel the power students could achieve through united action. And I really loved the chant: Show me what democracy looks like! THIS is what democracy looks like! The protest was co-sponsored by the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, Veterans for Peace Chapter 111, Coffee Strong, World Cant Wait, Youth Against War and Racism, Young Dems of Skagit County, Food Not Bombs, and the Whatcom Community College Bike www.groundreportindia.com 6


Club. Socialist Alternative would like to thank all of these groups for their support, their speakers, and their efforts to get the word out about the protest, especially the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center. Proponents of war often criticize the antiwar movement for not supporting the troops. Yet this rally featured numerous veterans speaking out against imperialist wars. Among them were Gene Marx, the head coordinator of Veterans for Peace Chapter 111, whose son has done two tours of duty in Iraq. James Gillies, a Vietnam veteran, also shared his personal experiences with U.S. imperialism in Southeast Asia 35 years ago and the little good that it had accomplished, drawing parallels with Afghanistan. Evan Knappenberger, an Iraq war vet, also shared his personal experiences and questioned how the U.S. military could possibly help the people of Afghanistan and Iraq when it doesnt even take care of its own soldiers and veterans. The speakers from Socialist Alternative, Lindsay Worley and Jake Silberman, questioned the benets of the costly occupation of Afghanistan for ordinary Americans and Afghans, especially women, when funds for jobs and education are being slashed every day. Aditi Kaushik, a social justice activist from India and a member of Socialist Alternative, talked about the occupations failure to improve women's rights in Afghanistan. A small counter-protest was also held. Four conservative student activists came out to heckle the crowd, chanting slogans such as Let the surge work! But they were met with a cold reception by the antiwar crowd. All in all their presence only served to strengthen the resolve of the crowd which, at one point, drowned out the counter-protesters with a sea of voices chanting troops home now! The counter-demonstrators overall effect on the protest was minimal, especially given that they offered no clear solutions for ending the war in Afghanistan, which has been dragging on for eight years and getting worse. The rally was followed by a march that that began in Red Square and traveled throughout campus before heading downtown to U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen's ofce. Many community members and people who had to work who could not join us honked and clapped in support as we marched by. Rep. Larsens staff had been invited to come downstairs and talk with the crowd that arrived at his building. Unfortunately, though, they refused to come out and talk with all 160 protesters as a group. Instead only a few activists were able to talk with Larsen's staff in his ofce, and they delivered a letter to him protesting his support for the troop surge, especially because he is a Democrat. In the end, it was highly encouraging to see so many students and community members come out and challenge Obama to end the occupation of Afghanistan. It was also highly encouraging to see so many new young members of Socialist Alternative getting involved in planning and participating in the rally and march. Report byRamy Khalil and Logan Steele -------------------------


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InternationalInternational PEN calls Liu Xiaobos sentence a grievous betrayal of inalienable human rightsLONDON, UK/TORONTO, CANADA, December 25, 2009 International PEN, the world's leading freedom of expression organization with 145 member centres in 104 countries, calls today's sentencing of prominent Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo a grievous betrayal of his inalienable rights as a Chinese citizen. In what amounts to a show trial, after weeks of courageous solidarity shown by hundreds of Chinese writers, intellectuals, and citizens, Dr. Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison and two years deprivation of political rights on charges of "incitement to subversion of state power," for his role in writing and publishing Charter 08, a document calling for political reform and human rights. "Liu Xiaobo's case is about agreed international human rights standards, not merely the internal affairs of China," said John Ralston Saul, President of International PEN. "China is signatory to international treaties and conventions, and cannot be given a free pass when it acts against its own and international standards." On December 23, 2009, Liu Xiaobo was tried by the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court. Lawyers for the defence attended the two-hour trial but were prohibited from disclosing details. Liu's wife and foreign diplomats were barred from the trial, probably held to coincide with an international holiday to diminish press coverage. That morning, writer Liu Di (aka Stainless Steel Mouse on the Internet) declared her intention to give herself up as one of the "signatories and organizing plotters" of Charter 08. Liu wrote, "For the dignity of Constitution and laws, and for no more imprisonment of the people for their independent opinions, I would prefer to share with Mr. Liu Xiaobo the same case with the same penalty." She was taken away outside the courthouse before the trial began and has reportedly been held by police, to be released later today. On 10 December 2009 (International Human Rights Day), more than 300 other signatories of the Charter released an open letter supporting Liu entitled We Are Willing to Share Responsibility with Liu Xiaobo'. Liu Xiaobo was formally indicted the following day. "International PEN applauds the courage of all those in the Peoples' Republic of China who risk their freedom for speaking and writing their minds," said Marian Botsford Fraser, Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN. "We join our Chinese colleagues in their steadfast conviction that Charter 08 will be judged by history as the just act of citizens ghting for human rights, freedom and democracy." Charter 08 was initially signed by over 300 scholars, journalists, freelance writers and activists and now has over 10,000 signatories from throughout China. For more information about Liu Xiaobo and Charter 08. International PEN www.internationalpen.org.uk -----------------------------------------

European Court: Landmark Ruling on Racial and Religious ExclusionLondon (22/12/2009) The ruling today by the European Court of Human Rights, that the exclusion of Jews and Roma from Bosnia's highest state ofces is unlawful discrimination, is a major step toward ending racial and religious exclusion in Europe, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Human Rights Watch said today. Bosnia, along with the US and European states that continue to play a critical role in the country, should move swiftly to remove all discriminatory provisions from the country's constitution. "The court's ruling is a major step forward in Europe's struggle against discrimination and ethnic conict," said Sheri P. Rosenberg, co-counsel for the successful applicant Jakob Finci and a professor and director of the Human Rights Clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. "This decision afrms that ethnic domination should have no role in a democracy." The court found, by 14 votes to 3 (16 votes to 1 with respect to the presidency), that the exclusion of Jews and Roma could not be justied. It stated that the "authorities must use all available means to combat racism, thereby reinforcing democracy's vision of a society in which diversity is not perceived as a threat but as a source of enrichment." "The European Court has made it clear that race-based exclusion from political ofce, such as that suffered by Jews and Roma in Bosnia, has no place in Europe," said Clive Baldwin, senior legal advisor at Human Rights Watch, who was co-counsel for Finci from his previous employment with Minority Rights Group International. "The US, EU and the other states who still play a major role in Bosnia, should ensure the ruling is put into immediate effect by backing a change in the constitution." The ruling today was issued by the Grand Chamber of the Court in the case of Sejdic & Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, and concerned the exclusion from the Bosnian presidency and the upper house of parliament of a Bosnian Jew and a Bosnian Roma. The Bosnian www.groundreportindia.com 8


Constitution, drafted by negotiators during peace talks in Dayton, Ohio in 1995, restricts the highest ofces of state - the upper house of parliament and the presidency - to members of Bosnia's three main ethnic and religious groups - the Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims). Members of smaller groups (such as the Jewish and Roma communities), those from ethnically mixed backgrounds and those who do not wish to declare themselves members of the three main groups are banned from running for ofce. Despite the extensive involvement of the international community, in particular the US and the European Union, in the governing of Bosnia since 1995, these discriminatory provisions in the constitution have never been amended. This ruling is the rst under the recent Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits discrimination in all rights "set forth by law," a much wider scope than previously existed under the convention. Jakob Finci, the successful applicant, was born in a transit camp during World War II after his parents, Bosnian Jews, had been deported from the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. Returning to Bosnia after the war, he has had a distinguished career in public life and is now Bosnian ambassador to Switzerland. But his ethnicity and religion prevented him from the possibility of seeking election to the highest ofces of state. "I am delighted that the European Court has recognized the wrong that was done in the Constitution 14 years ago," Finci said. "The Bosnian politicians need to right the wrongs in the Constitution quickly." Bosnia's next presidential and parliamentary elections are due in October 2010.Constitutional reform has been under discussion in Bosnia since 2005 but so far has not produced any change. "This landmark ruling clearly establishes that there is no scope for second-class citizenship in Europe," said Cynthia Morel, who also served as legal counsel in the case. "The court's nding will play an important role in strengthening Bosnia's young democracy." The case was supported throughout by Minority Rights Group International and the Human Rights and Genocide Clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Source: Human Rights Watch --------------------------

Rebooting journalism -- study, report experiments in Seattle, Jan. 7-10Seattle, USA Across the United States, the media ecosystem is quickly evolving. Some main-stream news organizations are shrinking, as advertising decouples from journalism. Remarkable new technologies and the work of committed citizens are making it easier for us to build unique communities that share civic passion and purpose. In the Pacic Northwest, this evolution is proceeding rapidly. What's starting to work? How are the information needs of communities being met? What ongoing role should legacy media be playing? How can the public and journalists collaborate? To nd out, the Journalism That Matters collaborative is convening our rst event focused on a region. And we'd like to invite you to look in on this experimental petri dish -- and learn how you can replicate the experiments in your home region's laboratories. So please book your travel for some or all of Jan. 7-10. Join some 150 editors, writers, broadcasters, bloggers, producers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, educators, students, digital entrepreneurs, media activists, community journalists, public advocates and public-policy experts for, "Reimagining News and Community in the Pacic Northwest." WHEN: Jan. 7-10, 2010 WHERE: Univ. of Washington, Seattle For general information follow this link: http://journalismthatmatters.org/JTM-PNW

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The impetus for JTM-Pacic Northwest is this call to action: Journalism is at a crossroads. What will support its basic values, while adapting its practice to new economic, social and technological realities? The northwest is alive with media innovations that can help us understand what is happening in the nation's traditional and emerging news organizations to ensure the vitality of "journalism that matters" that serves the public. ANSWERING THE CALL In partnership with the UW Department of Communication and its Masters of Communication in Digital Media program, we shall convene some of the best minds in the region to: * Understand the promise - and pitfalls - of the emerging news ecology - the information exchange among the public, government, and institutions that informs, inspires, engages, and activates * Foster lasting connections among regional journalists and the communities they serve * Surface new partnerships and innovations for a healthy northwest and national ecosystem WHAT WE'LL ACHIEVE * Greater clarity and commitment to the many projects and ideas participants bring with them * New and unexpected partnerships between participants * Journalism innovations seeded throughout the northwest * Deeper understanding of emerging relationships among journalism, communities, and democracy * Beginnings of a community of practice among people in the northwest who care about journalism and civic engagement CONFERENCE PROGRAM The opening day includes a "News and Information Commons", with tables hosted by people from the wide range of Northwest media organizations. Following dinner, we'll have 3 "conversation catalysts" talk briey: For the people: Norman Rice, former Seattle mayor and current president and CEO of the Seattle Foundation For the press: Tracy Record, co-publisher and editor, www.WestSeattleBlog.com And a "shape-shifter", putting a twist on what's possible: Chris Jordan, artist, currently showing at the Pacic Science Center - http:// www.pacsci.org/runningthenumbers We'll follow the talks with a "World Caf" conversation among participants. The rest of the confab uses JTM's signature process mode - Open Space Technology. They key goal of this process -- blur the lines between participants and presenters. We acknowledge that every participant brings know that will can make them a presenter. ByBill Densmore, Peggy Holman, Stephen Silha, Mike Fancher, Chris Peck and the entire JTM community -----------------------------

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ReportsMystery: Which public authority has CIC Selection papers -- PMO, DOPT or Parliament Secretariat?Delhi, India In DoPTs reply to our legal notice, there is an offer to make available the minutes of the decision taken by the committee. Presumably, it means that DoPT is willing to provide minutes of each and every meeting of the PMs committee that selects Central Information Commissioners. So we should quote this reply and le RTI applications asking for the minutes of each and every meeting, including the one where Omita Paul was selected, and the most recent inconclusive meeting where L K Advani walked out in a huff. Getting the minutes of all the meetings would mean substantial progress in following the paper-trail and solving some mysteries. With strange contradictions and half-logical reasoning for denial of information, PMO, DOPT and CCIC Wajahat Habibullah have set up a ne paper trail. They have given us four mysteries to solve, namely: 1) Which public authority holds documents generated while selecting Central Information Commissioners? Our choices are: (a) Prime Ministers Ofce (b) DOPT (c) Some little-known secretariat in the Parliament (d) None of the above (e) All of the above (f) Some of the above (g) Other Based on your reply to the above riddle, you must guess the proper authority to address an RTI application because, rest assured, they will not direct your application to the proper authority. 2) Weeks or months before any selection or appointment of CIC actually happens, some events start happening. For example, meetings are called, agenda papers are circulated, inter-department or intra-department letters are written about the need to appoint new CICs in the light of mounting pendency or in response to Chief CICs requisitions. At some point, decisions are made for soliciting applications, nominations etc. These decisions are recorded and formalized in minutes of meetings or exchange of correspondence. DoPT is asked to submit a short-list of candidates before a certain date for the consideration of Prime Ministers selecting committee. Some selection criteria written or unwritten -- are used for short-listing them. Recommendations and lenotings are made in this decision-making process. With reference to all this, two questions arise: (a) Is it legal and justied to classify such documents as Condential? (b) If so classied, can they be denied under Ofcial Secrets Act (OSA) 1923, notwithstanding Section 22 of RTI Act? (By the way, OSA a remnant of the British era probably isnt even an accepted law in Independent India, as it hasnt been notied in the Gazette of India after Independence.) 3) Assuming that the answers to Question 2(a) and 2(b) are both Yes, have the above-mentioned documents ACTUALLY BEEN CLASSIFIED as condential by PMO? Or are they hanging in limbo, given this governments policy of Decide Nothing, Deny Nothing, and Say Nothing? 4) If they have been classied as condential, can we at least ask for reasoning under Section 4(1)(d) of RTI Act? Or will they even deny us an explanation for why condentiality is necessary? These mysteries arise from the two Second Appeals cited below: A. 22nd Sept 2006: Second appeal of Ms Vishaish Uppals RTI Application to PMO, which was later transferred to DOPT. In her RTI application on 22nd Nov 2005, Ms Uppal sought to inspect les, papers etc. relating to the appointment of the CICs and Chief CIC. This application was transferred to DOPT. However, on 13th Jan 2006, Ms Uppal reverted to PMO stating that she had been shown only one le and informed by PIO that les pertaining to the entire selection process are with PMO and not with DoPT. Appellate Authority Sh. Jawed Usmani, Jt. Secy. in the PMs Ofce, refused to disclose the information on the ground that the papers in the les relating to the selection of the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners have been given the security classication Condential under the Manual of Departmental Security Instructions, 1994 read with the relevant provisions of the Ofcial Secrets Act, 1923 and according to the said Manual, such documents should be addressed to and seen only by those persons who have a direct concern with the subject matter contained therein. The Appellate Authority therefore stated that the Appellant cannot be allowed to inspect said le/document, as these documents are classied Condential. The Appellate Authority had held that as no case having been made out for making any exception under sec. 8(2) of the Act, Ms. Vishaish Uppal could not be allowed to inspect the documents. www.groundreportindia.com 11


CCIC WAJAHATS CIRCUITOUS REASONING: The appellate Authority has held that the matter has been classied condential under the Ofcial Secrets Act, 1923. However, in view of the provisions of the Section 22 of the Act The provision of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Ofcial Secrets Act, 1923, and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act, the provisions of Ofcial Secrets Act stands over-ridden. Section 8(2) enables the public authority to disclose information notwithstanding anything in the Ofcial Secrets Act, 1923 or any of the exemptions permissible under Section 8(1), if the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests. Sec. 8(2) is, therefore, not a ground distinct and separate from what has been specied explicitly under Section 8(1) of the Act for withholding information by the public authority. The Appellate Authority, therefore, cannot withhold this information either on the ground that the information is classied as condential under the Ofcial Secrets Act or under Section 8(2) alone. However, Sec 22 as described above only overrides anything inconsistent with the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Ofcial Secrets Act, 1923 stands neither rescinded nor abrogated. While a public authority may only withhold such information as could be brought within any of the clauses of Section 8(1), it is open to that authority to classify any of these items of information as Condential, thus limiting the discretion of any other authority in respect to these. Wajahat then concluded: In this particular case denial of information is under the orders of the Public Authority and it is open to the Public Authority to deny the information provided such denial can be justied under Section 8(1) of the Act. The Prime Ministers Ofce will, therefore, re-examine the matter in view of the observations made above within fteen days of the date of issue of the Decision Notice and it may disclose the information to the appellant, unless of course, the disclosure of the information can be denied or withheld under any of the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005. The Public Authority shall take an appropriate reasoned decision. [Somebody help me understand the three self-contradictory paragraphs highlighted in blue. To me, it looks like Wajahat sounding judicious while suggesting an escape route to PMO and DOPT for denying the information. But suppose we give Wajahat the benet of doubt. After all, he ordered PMO to decide one way or another in 15 days. Question is: Did they? Answer is: No. Look at Wajahats order seven months later on 16th April 2007, in the case of Milap Chorarias Complaint. It quotes his earlier order and says, In light of the above CPIO DoPT may process the present application. I think Milap did not get the information, and I think Wajahat did not do anything further to help anybody get the information.] B. 22nd December 2008: Second appeal hearing of J S Bhattacharjees RTI Application to DoPT. In his RTI application on 21st July 2007, Bhattacharjee asked commonsense questions such as: Governments policy/ principle guidelines etc for the collection of names of expected CIC to be sent to the Recommendation Committee for selection Whether names of CIC are collected on pick & choose basis or on the basis of the recommendations of Ministers Whether there was a system of Search Committee for collecting probable names and how the ve names for CIC How the ve names for CIC have been nally selected by the Government leaving hundreds of qualied ofcials Whether the post of CIC is meant only for retired ofcials Whether the present CIC had applied for the post and if so, the source of his information of vacancy Whether government advertised for the post of CIC and when? DOPTs standard stonewalling reply was: Clause (5) and (6) of Section 12 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, prescribe the conditions for appointment to the posts of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Central Information Commissioners (IC). There is no other laid down policy/principle/ guidelines on the subject. Persons for the post of CIC are considered on the basis of conditions contained in above referred provisions of the Act. No other information in the matter is available. CCIC WAJAHATs REASONING FOR UPHOLDING DOPTS STONEWALLING: The Committee set up u/s 12 (3) of the RTI Act cannot be deemed to be a Departmental Committee or Departmental Selection Committee. This is a Committee set up through the RTI Act 2005 not by Government but, through the very enactment of this law, by Parliament in order to make recommendations to the President of India on appointment of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission. The response of the DoPT in this regard is correct in that the Department is only a servicing instrument for this Committee. The reference to the Committee as a Selection Committee by Shri K G Verma, Director in disposing of the rst appeal is not to place this Committee in the category of a Departmental Selection Committee but only with reference to its purpose, which is indeed the selection of individuals it considers to be of eminence, which it recommends to the President of India for appointment as Chief Information Commissioner /Information Commissioner. Seen in this context it is quite conceivable that the DoPT, which is the only the servicing organisation, maintains no records of deliberations of this Committee, which the group is not required to maintain if they do in fact exist, other than its recommendations, which CPIO Ms. Zoya agreed before us is a document held by the DoPT. www.groundreportindia.com 12


[Please note that in this second appeal, nobody mentions Ofcial Secrets Act for justifying the denial. Why? My guess is: (a) PMO DID NOT CLASSIFY THE CIC SELECTION PAPERS AS CONFIDENTIAL (b) PMO THOUGHT THAT IT WAS LEGALLY & POLITICALLY INADVISABLE TO RESORT TO THE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT. Therefore, they now denied the same information on a new ground, namely the plea that DoPT is not supposed to be having the records. CCIC Wajahats reasoning is like a bikini: What it reveals is very interesting, but what it conceals is vital. He deliberately refrains from asking the key question: IF NOT DOPT, WHICH DEPARTMENT OR SECRETARIAT IS SUPPOSED TO MAINTAIN RECORDS OF DELIBERATIONS?] The fact that DoPT has replied to our legal notice, and also our other correspondence in the matter of CIC selection, while other departments have forwarded the correspondence to DoPT for replies, suggests that DoPT is the only logical place for the documents, and that the ofcials are lying when they state that there is no information with them. Many activists are trying to solve the Mystery of the Missing CIC Selection Papers. Please apply your mind to cracking this puzzle through RTI applications, public pressure or other methods at your command. By: Krishnaraj Rao --------------------------------------------

Water, Yes, but at 10 times the costMumbai, Maharashtra, India If you ask the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for a tanker of potable water, it is very likely that you have to wait for at least one week. However, if you have some contacts in the civic body or are ready to shell out a few thousands over the Rs 601 that the BMC charges for every tanker (11,000 litres), you can get as much water as you want, and some more. For which, you can thank the water maa, which operates around 10,000 tankers across the city. And, they have a large clientele to cater to. As for the exorbitant charges, water is too precious a commodity for the 1.8 crore citizens of Mumbai to bother about a few thousand rupees. The metropolis needs tonnes of water, but never gets enough. If we have not witnessed any water war so far, it is because the BMC ensures supply for at least a few hours every day in every part of the the city. Ask BMC for more water and they will say: shehar mein shortage hai. But, why doesnt the maa encounter this problem? Ever. Mumbai Mirror carried out an exhaustive investigation to get to the source of the maas inexhaustible supply of water. And, the answer was startling. (November 12, Page 2 and 3) If you have bought the BMCs version that water cuts have been imposed as reservoirs are not lled to the brim, consider this - BMC gives away millions of litres of water every day to the tanker maa, which sells it at 10 times the price you would have paid to the civic body. WE DO NOT SELL WATER Our quest began at the BMCs A-ward ofce near Old Custom House at Fort. We sought a tanker of potable water for a lm shoot, which comes under commercial purpose. The ofcials atly refused. We do not sell water. We provide water tankers only for public meetings and to residential buildings that face a shortage. For the latter, we need a letter from the society and proper permission because there is shortage of water across the city, said R B Sayyed, assistant engineer in the hydraulic department. Then, we went to the D-ward ofce at Nana Chowk and made a similar request to P G Khadge of the hydraulic department. He too refused to supply potable water for commercial purpose saying the city faces a shortage. Besides, he said, the shoot is happening in A-ward, which is not in my jurisdiction. BUT YOU CAN ASK GUPTAJI However, he asked us to call a private tanker operator - Gupta Tanker Water Suppliers - and even gave the owners cell phone number. Khadge assured us that Gupta will manage a tanker of water. www.groundreportindia.com 13


We went to Guptas ofce, which is a veminute walk from the D-ward ofce, with our request. Gupta replied, Rs 6,500 per tanker, regardless of the purpose. We insisted on water from the BMC and not a tube-well, which gives hard water. Gupta promised that the water would indeed be from the BMC. We handed over Rs 1,000 as advance and assured that the rest would be paid on the day the water would be required. This was sealed over three recorded conversations with Gupta. Two days later, we met Gupta again and paid him the balance Rs 5,500. Gupta sent one of his employees with this reporter to the nearest BMC water pump at Nana Chowk. The rule is that only BMC employees can operate its pumps across the city. But, in this case, no civic employee was present at the pump. Guptas employee used the pump to ll a tanker, which he handed over to us. Wandering around the city with a tankerful of water that we did not really need we decided to give the ten thousand litre to the Bennett Coleman and Company guest house at Walkeshwar. So, citizens may be told that there is a shortage, but if you have deep pockets, you can have any amount of water, whatever the purpose. MAFIA HAS NO POACHING PACT To be certain that this was not a one-off incident, we tried another locality - this time at Lokhandwala complex at Andheri (west). We learnt that tanker water is supplied by a man who everyone calls Yadav. His full name is Vijay Pratap Yadav. We asked for 10 tankers of BMC water for a rain scene to be shot at Film City in Goregaon. We told Yadav that the scene involved A-grade Bollywood actors who would not perform a dance sequence in hard water from a bore-well; they would do it only if fresh BMC water is showered on them. Yadav agreed to supply the water to us at Film City for our shoot and demanded Rs 3,000 for each tanker that he gets from the BMCs pump at Goregaon or Andheri. We paid him Rs 1,000 as advance. But, the meeting yielded more than just a tanker of water. Yadav, who was more garrulous than Gupta, let in on some details of how the water maa operates - territories are clearly earmarked; poaching is dangerous to ones wellbeing. A water tanker supplier operates in a BMC ward of his choice and will not encroach into another ward whatever be the temptation or amount of money offered. One water tanker supplier, who did not want to be named, said, We dont want to supply water in an area where some other supplier is already operating. We dont want to ght with each other. We stick to our jurisdiction like the police department. MIL BAAT KE KHAATE HAI JI Sounds like a sophisticated and organised racket. And, it involves local ward ofcials, hydraulic department ofcials, police and corporators. Is it any surprise that no one raises a hue and cry about this obscene loot? Ham sab mil baat ke khaate hai, to kisiko aitraz nahi hota [we share the booty to ensure no one has a reason to complain], said one of the water tanker suppliers who did not wish to be named. And, what is the amount that these khaate peete log are talking about? The private supplier will not accept less than Rs 3,000 for a tanker. There are around 10,000 private water tankers across the city. If each one makes just one trip a day, it works out to a turnover of Rs 3 crore. So, what does the BMC have to say about this racket? When we spoke to outgoing BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak about this, he insisted that the BMCs water department took great care to ensure that the water tanker maa did not use BMC sources. Tanker maas would only exist if there was any water scarcity, what we are experiencing is a little water shortage. There are only a few water lling points for the tankers provided by the BMC, the rest is drawn from private wells. As if tanker maa is not enough... WATER MAFIA IN SLUMS www.groundreportindia.com 14


While water tanker suppliers cater to housing societies in multi-storey buildings, another maa operates in slums. It is led by slum lords. According to a water tanker supplier, these are local goons who steal water from BMC pipe lines and sell it to slum-dwellers. Whenever a BMC ofcial pumps drinking water to a particular area, he calls the slum lords in that locality. These men get ready with electric motors to draw water from the pipe line and ll their drums. They give haftas to local corporators, hydraulic department ofcials and the police to ensure smooth operations, the water tanker supplier alleged. Up to 60 per cent Mumbaikars stay in slums. Hence, the magnitude of the pilferage is massive. A senior civic ofcial said that the BMC supplies 3200 million litres per day (MLD) against the demand of 3600 MLD. Of this, the BMC says that 20% is lost to leakages. But, sources said, the gure is closer to 30 per cent. However, the BMC has no concrete plan to plug leakages, says a civic ofcial on condition of anonymity. On the contrary, a water tanker operator says, politicians are busy trying to regularise more illegal slums. Thats because these 60 per cent Mumbaikars constitute a huge vote bank. Civic ofcials who tried to stop the racket were no match for the maa. Whenever we try to cut unauthorized connections, a mob gathers. Instead of protecting us, cops ask us not to take action saying it will create a law and order problem in the area. What should the BMC do? an ofcial fumes. Due to this pilfering, localities at the far end of BMCs pipe line do not get enough water or the pressure is low. Eventually, people in these localities have to purchase water from the BMC. But, the civic body owns only 24 water tankers, one for each ward. They would not be able to meet the demand. So, citizens have no choice, but to approach private water tanker suppliers. NO COMPLAINTS DURING 26/7 In the aftermath of the deluge of July 26, 2005, there was no electricity in eastern suburbs for a couple of days. On those days, all localities received sufcient drinking water. We did not receive a single complaint on these days because the slum lords could not operate their pumps, a civic ofcial said. Report by: Kashyap Vyas ----------------------

CIC Selection: Govt of India gives evasive answer to Legal NoticeDelhi, India Replying to our legal notice served on November 26 09 about mandatory disclosures required under Section 4 about CIC Selections, Mr R K Girdhar, Under Secretary (RTI), DoPT, sent a copy-paste of Section 12(3) of RTI Act 2005, and added that minutes of meeting of Prime Ministers selection committee could be provided upon request. To this, our advocate Rasheed Qureshi sent a rejoinder another legal notice -- stating: You have not addressed the legal requirements called for in the legal notice. You have merely quoted Section 12(3) of the RTI Act, 2005 which is a matter of record and does not need reiteration. Moreover, your offer to provide the minutes of the meeting of the Committee would not absolve you to make mandatory disclosures as per Section 4 of the said Act I call upon you to make the said disclosures expeditiously, failing which my client(s) shall be constrained to take legal redress through court. Read the full legal notice, DoPTs reply and our rejoinder here: http://www.box.net/shared/iv7tcs8iz2 Report by: Krishnaraj Rao ------------------------www.groundreportindia.com 15


An article on Conict between Naxals and the StateChhattisgarh, India The severe conict between the Naxalites and the state, which is represented by the police, seems to be a continuous and never ending struggle. The big losers are the innocent civilians and the powerless tribal people. Many questions arise regarding to this intriguing topic. What is the philosophy of the Naxalites behind their terrorist attacks? How do the police forces try to combat Naxalism? Does the Salwa Judum play a major role in this conict? Which side do the media support? And what is the opinion of the NGOs on this issue? Nange Paon Satyagrah and a Dutch peace-builder conducted eld research in Southern Chattisgarh in an attempt to nd an answer to these relevant and lasting questions. The Naxalite movement arose in 1967 in Naxalbari, a village at the Northern edge of West Bengal, due to a peasant uprising that inspired similar movements across India. With the slogan Land to the tiller!, the Naxalite movement attracted many urban youth inspired by the call for social justice. Kanu Sanyal and Charu Majumdar, leaders of the Naxalbari movement, split from the Communist Party of India (CPI) and founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in 1969. Initially the Marxist-Leninist movement was created to ght against moral failures such as feudalism, capitalism and imperialism. The Naxalbari theory of the movement had two components. First, mobilizing and organizing the local people. And second, the annihilation of class enemies. However, by killing individuals they were destroying the people in stead of the supposedly wrong political and economical system. The movement failed to seize land and distribute it to landless peasants and faced some leftist adventurism, which saw the launch of an armed struggle and the indiscriminate killing of individuals. This alienated many ordinary people and reduced popular support for the movement. Nowadays the Naxalites are often related to the ideology of Mao Zedong, the revolutionary founder of the Communist Party in China in 1949. Mao was able to mobilize the common Chinese people in order to shape a communist society led by his Communist Party. However, the contemporary Naxalites do not seem trying to mobilize the people, and hence it is not a mass movement. Instead they are killing individuals, landlords, policemen and ordinary people. Vishwa Ranjan, Director General of Police of Chattisgarh says: The Naxalites do not have a proper ideology anymore. They are just irritating the police continuously with random purposes. The police try as hard as possible to ensure the security of the civilians by combating the Naxalites. However, we face severe challenges due to their hidden attacks and a lack of infrastructure. Nange Paon Satyagrah thus avoids using the terminology of Maoist rebels as the rebels have lost their strong ideology and therefore states that the use of the term Naxalites would be more appropriate. The police are not the only forces, who are intending to combat the Naxalites. Mahendra Karma, a former Congress leader of opposition in the State Legislative Assembly, gave rise to the Salwa Judum movement in 2005, a civilian tribal movement against Naxalism. Some NGOs and other people have accused the police of making use of Salwa Judum as a counter-insurgency strategy by turning it in a state-funded militia. However, this allegation is denitely wrong and creates misperceptions, which need to be claried. Vishwa Ranjan states: Salwa Judum is a spontaneous movement and the police do not contribute nancially or physically to Salwa Judum. The only thing the police do is respecting this movement as it respects all peaceful and democratic people movements. Mahendra Karma responds: The people will have to ght against the tyranny of the Naxalites, because there is no other way left. Therefore we started the Salwa Judum and this movement is organized by and for the people and does not get any support of the police. It is the duty of the police to combat Naxalism. However, the police lack a ghting spirit and do not do enough to combat terrorism. Besides this, the police are bounded by stringent laws and therefore actions taken by them are very slow and have little impact. There exists a controversy about the effectiveness of the police. Mahendra Karma states that the police do not work hard enough to combat the problems of Naxalism. Madhu Parvez, director of NGO Triwe, tells that she is doing her job with the tribal people and does not like to cruse paths with either the Naxalites or the police. In her opinion everyone has their own duty and people should not criticize each other about that. Everyone should work as much as possible in their own respective eld. Vinod Tiwari, senior journalist from Jagdalpur, thinks: The police are doing very good work and the Naxalites are disturbing the area Nange Paon Satyagrah agrees with Vinod Tiwari, taking into account that the problems of Naxalism have been diminished over the last two years. Society still faces several difculties with the cruel attacks of the Naxalites, but the situation is denitely improving. Therefore it is surprising that NGOs such as Banwasi Shetna ashram are using false propaganda to create misperceptions among the people. Banwasi Shetna ashram state that Salwa Judum is related to Special Police Ofcers and the relief efforts of the government. As India is proud of being a democratic country it is of vital importance to maintain the debate among civilians, politicians and NGOs alive. However, one should always be honest and speak the truth. Therefore, this article would take the opportunity to clarify that the police forces work independently from any organization such as the Salwa Judum. www.groundreportindia.com 16


This leads us to the conclusion that every stakeholder has a role to play in society, whether it be the Naxalites (a wrong role, but still a role), the police, the Salwa Judum, the media or the NGOs. However, everyone should focus on their respective eld of work and should do everything in their ability to contribute to the solution of the conict between the Naxalites and the police. One should not degrade themselves to the spread of false allegations, childish lies and the creation of misconceptions among the common people. Article by: Rajesh Sisodia -------------------------------

A protester - farmer (SC) was brutally killed by Bangladeshi intruders in Indian land in connivance with BSFWest Bengal, India Name of the victim: Sukhen Mondal (deceased), son of Mr. Biswanath Mondal, aged about-39 years, by faith-Hindu, by casteSchedule Caste, address- Char Rajapur, Paschim Colony, Police Station-Raninagar, District-Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. Name of the perpetrators: (1) The Border Security Force jawans of Char Mourasi Border Security Force Camp, Company-G, Battalion-191, Police Station-Raninagar; (2) The Ofcer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station. Place of incident: In the farming land of Mr. Kanai Mondal at Char Katlamari, Police Station-Raninagar, District-Murshidabad. Date & time of incident: On 31.10.2009 at about 4pm Case Details: It is revealed during fact nding effort that the victim Sukhen Mondal with his uncle Mr. Kanai Mondal went to their farming land on 31.10.2009. Their farming land was located at Char Katlamari which is about 400 meters inside from Indo-Bangladesh Border under police station-Jalangi. They also took with them one tractor and its driver Mr. Alok Sarkar. Before entering into the farming land, they duly took permission of Border Security Force at Char Mourasi Border Security Force Camp which is about few hundred meters away from their farming land. Then at about 4 pm suddenly seven miscreants armed with deadly weapons such as sword and hasua (a sharp cutting weapon) crossed the border line coming from village Khidirpur, Bangladesh and trespassed into the victims farming land. Those miscreants encircled the victim and started committing murderous assault upon him by their sword and hasua with denite intention to kill him on the spot. The eyewitnesses Mr. Kanai Mondal and Mr. Alok Sarkar saw that the victim fell down on the ground receiving deep cutting injuries on several parts of his body. The attackers even hacked his body to pieces. They immediately run towards the nearest Char Mourasi Border Security Force Camp in order to seek help of the BSF jawans. Those miscreants even tried to chase after them. But the on duty BSF jawans of the said BSF Camp did not take any action to apprehend those miscreants. They only said that it makes no difference to them either the body was taken by them or left at the place. They even did not bother to go at the place of incident. The miscreants swaggered into Bangladesh at their ease after the murder. Then the villagers gathered at the place of incident and Mr. Pritom Mondal, member of Katlamari II Gram Panchayat arrived at the spot and telephoned at local Raninagar Police Station informing about the incident. Then at about 8 pm the Ofcer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station arrived at the spot along with other police men. Mr. Kanai Mondal lodged one complaint at Jalangi Police Station against those miscreants. The police registered one criminal case vide Raninagar Police Station Case no. 704/2009 dated 31.10.2009 under sections 302/341 of Indian Penal Code. The police also registered a case of unnatural death being Raninagar Police Station U.D. Case no. 29/2009 dated 31.10.2009. The post mortem examination of the victim was done at Lalbagh Sub-Divisional Hospital, Murshidabad vide P.M. no. 249. The police washed their hands by only registering one criminal case and there is no development in the matter of investigation. During our fact nding effort, our team talked with the family members of the victim and several villagers who in single voice stated that the murder of the victim was an outcome of a criminal conspiracy hatched by cross border smugglers with the aid and connivance of a section of Border Security Force. www.groundreportindia.com 17


Mr. Pritom Mondal, member of Katlamari-II Gram Panchayat (Village Council) stated before our fact ndings team that during the month of August, 2009 Mr. Bijoy Kumar Chowdhury, the Company Commandant of Char Rajanagar BSF and Mr. Tinkey from DIB, BSF used a trolley owned by a notorious smuggler in the area Mr. Swapan Mondal, son of Mr. Tarapada Mondal for patrolling in the river. When Mr. P. Pramanik, Commandant of 191 Battalion visited Char Rajanagar BSF, the victim and another villager Mr. Pritom Mondal informed him the aforesaid matter. Since then Mr. Bijoy Kumar Chowdhury, the Company Commandant of Char Rajanagar BSF and Mr. Tinkey from DIB, BSF threatened them to teach a good lesson. Since then the victim became an eyesore of the smugglers and Border Security Force. The villagers residing in the nearby villages of Indo-Bangladesh Border lodged several complaints before the police, administration including the higher authorities of BSF bringing to their notice of the apathy of the farmers owing their farming lands near the IndoBangladesh Border. The villagers handed over copies of numerous complaints to our fact nding team. The villagers further alleged that the farmers have no protection against the intruders from Bangladesh as BSF posted their camps few kilometers inside from the actual border line in the bordering villages leaving a vast area of farming land well inside the Indian Territory an open play ground of crime for the cross border smugglers and intruders from Bangladesh. The villagers stated that the smugglers and intruders of Bangladesh take away their farming equipments, growing crops, sometimes beat them and even forcibly abduct them. The villagers stated that Border Security Force failed completely to provide any protection to the farmers. The villagers alleged that local BSF only serves the All the efforts of the villagers to move the administration to minimize the apathy of the farmers went in deaf ears of the administration. Therefore the villagers prompted to build a local committee for protecting their farming lands. The victim and other villagers were members of the said committee. On 14.10.2009 the victim along with other villagers met with the Camp-in-Charge of Char Mourasi Border Security Force Camp and informed him about the committee but the Camp-in-Charge was not happy with such initiative and said that the villagers would carry out smuggling under the guise of such committee. The victim and other villagers tried to convince him saying that the committee would not carry out any illegal activities rather it would help BSF in apprehending the smugglers. Then they visited Rajanagar BSF BOP Head Quarter in order to meet with the Company Commandant Mr. Bijoy Pathak, but he was annoyed on the building of such committee by the villagers. Again on 19.10.2009 the victim along with one villager Mr. Pritom Mondal went to meet with the Company Commandant of Rajanagar BSF BOP Head Quarter. But there Mr. Pritom Mondal was severely assaulted by Mr. Tinkey from DIB, BSF with his wooden button. He had to be hospitalized at Berhampore New General Hospital, Murshidabad for treatment. On 24.10.2009 the villagers under Raninagar Police Station organized a rally and road block protesting against the ongoing atrocities of BSF, inaction of police and unholy nexus between the smugglers and some section of Border Security Force. Report by: Kirity Roy ---------------------------

Minors were tortured inhumanly by the protectors of the landWest Bengal, India Name of the Victim: - 1. Master Indrajit Mondal son of Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal, aged about 14 years 2. Master Sanjit Mondal son of Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal, aged about 16 years 3. Mr. Surajit Mondal son of Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal, aged about 18 years all are residing at Village Char Durgapur, Sub Division- Domkal, Police Station Raninagar, District- Murshidabad, West Bengal. Caste of the Victim(s):- All are under Schedule caste. Name of perpetrators: 9 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel attached with Border outpost no. 102 of Harudanga BSF camp of Battalion no 191, District- Murshidabad, West Bengal. Place of incident: Farming land of the victims at Harudanga area, (Revised Settlement Dag no. 1083, Record no. 385 & 385), District Murshidabad, West Bengal. Date and time of incident: 24/09/2009 around 8 am Details of the incident: www.groundreportindia.com 18


On 24th NSeptember 2009 around 8 am Mr. Surajit Mondal, Master Sanjit Mondal and Master Indrajit Mondal all are sons of Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal were busy in agricultural work at the above mentioned land near Indo-Bangladesh border. Some other farmers were also working in the same eld. Suddenly they saw few people were running away through that area from Bangladesh side and 9 (Nine) BSF jawans attached with Harudanga BSF camp of battalion no 191 were chasing them. They also saw that those BSF personnel failed to catch those people. It made them very angry. As a consequence they came to the place where Surajit, Sanjit and Indrajit were working and started beating them indiscriminately without any reason. One of the eye witnesses of the incident informed our fact nding team that there was one Mr. Baljindar Singh among the BSF personnel. Those BSF personnel were beating them ruthlessly by their shoes and by the butts of their service ries. As a result Surajit became senseless. Mr. Nimai Chandra Mondal son of Mr Shukchand Mondal; who was also working at that eld then, told our fact nding team that those BSF personnel tied Indrajits both of the hands with a rope and then they hanged him from a tree there. The BSF personnel left the place thereafter. The people were present there could not protest against the nasty activity of BSF in fear of them. But the barbaric activity made them gravely concerned and when they observed that the physical condition of the victims were deteriorating, soon some of them namely Mr. Madan Mohan Mondal, Mr. Siten Mondal both are son of Mr. Ram Chandra Mondal, Mr. Rajkumar Mondal son of Mr. Rai charan Mondal took the victims to Godhanpara primary health centre. Getting the news Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal rushed at the health centre. The victims were referred to Behrampore New General Hospital by Godhanpara primary health centre thereafter. So they were taken to the said hospital and got medical treatment there. Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal father of the victims told our fact nding team that already he had to spend around Rs.15000 for their treatment. On 24/09/2009 Mr. Krishna Chandra Mondal lodged a written complaint at Raninagar police station against the BSF personnel. The said police station initiated a case against the BSF personnel; vide case no 615/09 dated 24/09/2009 under section 323/325 under Indian Penal Code. But no perpetrators have been arrested till date. The above incident is only another addition of series of atrocities perpetrated by BSF personnel at a regular basis. They are habituated to throw lthy words to the common people passing through the Indo-Bangladesh bordering road. They also use sexually intimidating words to the women including the girl students. Common people are so scared of BSF that most of the time they do not lodge any complaint against the BSF personnel. Report by: Kirity Roy ----------------------------------

Addressing Governance Issues through an Adivasi lensNew Delhi, 16 December 2009. Adivasis are amongst the most marginalized groups in India, in spite of constitutional laws devised to protect their interests. In order to discuss ways to improve the political position of adivasis in modern society, the Adivasi Resource Centre, part of the National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS), held a National Consultation on Adivasis of India: Emerging Themes, Issues and Challenges at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi on 15th and 16th December 2009. The key note address was delivered by Padma Shri Tulasi Munda. She expressed her disappointment that even after so many years of independence we are still unable to meet the basic requirement of poor people including adivasis of our country. Shri Tsering Samphel, Member of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, said that it is sad that even after 62 years of independence we dont have a vision for adivasi development. However, he thanked the constitution for giving the tribes, opportunities for higher education through reservation. Activists from various states of the country during the consultation raised issues affecting the tribal people of the country like dispossession of land, violence, poverty, loss of identity. Draft National Tribal Policy which was supposed to provide vision for Adivasi development, was being questioned by the panelists. Ganesh Devy, Director of BHASHA commented whether it is a Policy for the Development of the Tribals or a Tribal policy for National Development? PV Rajgopal from Ekta Parishad said that British had colonized us and we have colonized the adivasis. We are destroying their supermarket (forest) to build our supermarket. He said that there lies a huge challenge in front of us how we are going to help the tribals from dying due to State violence. It is also a challenge not only for Adivasis but for all sections of the society to save ourselves from the ill effects of globalization and liberalization. Other eminent speakers in this Consultation included Shri B.D.Sharma, Bharat Jan Andolan, also Former Commissioner of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Commission, Pradip Prabhu form NIRD, Shri Bhakta Charan Das, Honble Member of Lok Sabha, Professor Virginius Xaxa from the Department of Sociology at Delhi University, Madhu Sarin, Activist, Dr.Mardi from All www.groundreportindia.com 19


India Santhal Welfare and Cultural Society, Walter Fernandes, Director of the North Easten Social Research Centre, , Prof. Joseph Bara from JNU , C.R.Bijoy , Goldy George, Roma, Sanjoy Bosu Mullick, Bhanwar Singh Chandana and Mamata Dash from the activist groups , Dr.Archana Prasad from Jamia Millia, Gladson Dungdung an Adivasi activist and writer from Jharkhand, Fr.Vincent Ekka from Indian Social Instititute and Vijayan from Delhi Forum. Report by: Swati Swetlana NCAS, New Delhi ------------------------

Surojit Mondal, a minor, Scheduled Caste boy tortured & killedWest Bengal, India Another case of extra judicial killing by the personnel of Border Security Force (BSF) in the Indo- Bangladesh bordering area. This is not an isolated one. BSF are organizing fake encounter at the borders and killing citizens of the country in illegal ways at a regular basis. Illegal actions by the nexus between police, BSF and other Government bodies are breaking the rule of law in stead of keeping it in tact. It revealed during our fact nding that on 28/09/2009 a minor schedule caste boy of 16 years old named Surajit Mondal was shot dead by the BSF personnel while he was busy in smuggling (illegal cross border activities) of buffaloes. At the time of inquest 2 Hensos (one very common tool for farming land) was kept beside his dead body to fabricate the case. One false encounter case was also registered at Raninagar police station. The post mortem examination was done at Labag morgue. His age was recorded as 22 at Lalbag Sub Divisional Hospital, while his family members told our team that his age was only 16 then. He was red on 28/09/2009 at around 7 pm, but no medical treatment was arranged either by the BSF personnel or police and the person died. Thus the BSF personnel not only killed a person they also destroyed evidences of a barbaric incident as well as they deprived one Indian citizen from fair trial. So one can easily understand that the intention was BSF was only killing; not to stop smuggling. Here one thing should be mentioned that our Indian constitution does not allow anyone to kill someone, while IndoBangladesh bordering areas of Murshidabad districts turn out to be a killing eld for posted Border Security Force personnel. Enclosed fact nding report proves clearly that the right to life of the victim has been grossly violated by the BSF as guaranteed under Art.21 of the Constitution of India. The guidelines of National Human Rights Commission in encounter killings have been shown scant respect and regard by the law enforcing agencies. Name of the Victim: Master Surajit Mondal son of Mr. Sudhir Mondal, Schedule Caste, aged about 16 years was residing at Village Rajapur Paschim Colony, Sub Division- Domkal, Police Station Raninagar, District- Murshidabad, West Bengal. Name of perpetrators: 1. personnel on duty of Border Security Force (BSF), G Company attached with outpost no 3 of Mohanganj BSF camp District Murshidabad, 191 Battalion. 2. The Ofcer in Charge of Raninagar police Station, DistrictMurshidabad. 3. Commanding Ofcer of 191 Battalion Place of incident: Near Outpost no 3 of Mohanganj BSF camp, Police Station- Raninagar, District- Murshidabad, West Bengal Date and time of incident: On 28/09/2009 around 7 pm Details of the incident: MASUM conducted fact nding over a case of extra judicial killing of a minor schedule caste boy named Surajit Mondal by the Border Security Force personnel. Surajits family was victimized by the erosion of river Padma in few years back. So the family members are spending their days in extreme poverty; which took Surajit into smuggling (illegal cross border business) activities through Indo- Bangladesh border for livelihood. On 28/09/2009 in the evening it was raining cats and dogs. Surajit along with some of his companions of Digri Ghoshpara and Char Rajanagar area of District Murshidabad were busy in smuggling of buffalos. Some of his companions could able to cross the border www.groundreportindia.com 20


outpost and reached at the territory of Bangladesh. But about 7 pm Surajit caught red handed by some BSF personnel and then he was gun shot by one of them from very short distance. The bullet hit at his right bucket and the BSF personnel started beating him indiscriminately by the butts of their ries thereafter. He became almost senseless. Then again the BSF personnel red two bullets at his left hand and one bullet at his back which exited through his chest. The BSF personnel left the place thereafter and the body of Surajit was lying down on the ground. Around 12 oclock at night some BSF personnel took the body to Kaharpara Company Head Quarter of BSF. The whole night the body was lying at the camp. No medical treatment was arranged by BSF. Next day around 8 am the body was taken to Raninagar police Station by BSF van (vehicle number PB-08-BA-9454). Though the body of Surajit was not examined by any doctor and declared as dead, one unnatural death case was registered at the police station; vide U/D case no. 27/09 dated 29/09/2009. Around 10 am on 29/09/2009 Mr. Arunava Das, Block Development Ofcer of Raninagar II examined the body and prepared the inquest report in presence of Mr. Maskur Rahaman, The Ofcer in Charge of Raninagar police station while the body was lying in the BSF vehicle vehicle number PB-08-BA-9454, standing in front of Raninagar Police Station . At the time of inquest 2 blunt Hensos (a common tool to cut the grass) was kept beside the body by the police personnel. Here one thing we would like to mention, that in most of the extra judicial killing cases BSF or police try to fabricate the cases in such way that apparently it seems as encounter death cases to save the life of BSF personnel on duty, though there is no injury on the body of the personnel. BSF & Police try to represent the Hensos as weapons. After conducting inquest the body was sent at Lalbag morgue for post mortem examination (PME) by police. On 29/09/2009 the PME was done at Lalbag morgue; vide PM no 228/09 dated 29/09/2009. On 11/11/2009 Mr. Maskur Rahaman, the Ofcer in Charge of Raninagar police station, only informed our fact nding team that here also police initiated an encounter case lodged by BSF, but he did not provide any further information. Mr. Sudhir Mondal father of Late Surajit Mondal sent written complaints to different administrative and police authorities like The Ofcer in Charge of Raninagar police station, The Sub-divisional Police Ofcer, Domkal, The Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad, The District Magistrate, Murshidabad, The Block Development Ofcer, Raninagar II, The Sub-Divisional Ofcer, Domkal, The Circle Inspector, Domkal. On 18/11/2009 our fact nding team asked Mr. Shankar, the duty ofcer of Raninagar police station that whether any case was initiated against any BSF personnel. The ofcer refused to provide any information. Report by: Kirity Roy ---------------------

Joint Force in West Midnapur engaged with WAR against the civilianWest Bengal, India Satpati is a small hamlet under Salboni Police Station of West Midnapur district. As the joint forces are posted all along the region; there is a joint force camp, occupying a school building, just opposite the Satpati market in Midnapur- Lalgarh road. On 10th of December 2009, the International Human Rights Day came down heavily on the populace destroying all their rights to life and liberty. In this course the joint force camping in the area not only killed an innocent person but injured ve others, including a minor. After receiving the information, a fact nding team of MASUM rushed to the area on 13.12.2009, as team has prior information that injured were in Midnapur District Hospital, the team rst visited the hospital, the locales had an idea that the injured were in surgical medical ward as the injured rst shifted in male surgical ward on the fateful day, but after searching, the team found the persons were inside the prison ward just attached with the male surgical ward and behind the bar, two police persons in uniform and one in plainclothes (identied himself as a jail warden) were guarding the ward which was locked. The arrestees informed that they were admitted in male surgical ward on 10.12.2009 at night, though failed to recollect the time as they were grievously injured but on 11.12.2009 they transferred to the custody of police/ judicial inside the hospital premises at around 6.30 p.m. on the day. The injured; Amiya Ranjan Sahu, son of Mr. Bhajahari Sahu, aged about 38 years of Satpati village by profession a grocery owner got received bullet injury on lower half of his left leg, Bikash Nandy, son of Mr. Asit Nandy, aged about 16 years, appeared for secondary examination of Satpati, Bholananda Gantatit, son of Mr. Dulal Gantatit, aged about 19 years, appeared for higher secondary examination and Tapas Mondal, son of Mr. Nepal Mondal, aged about 18 years and appeared for secondary examination were all cramped in oor over the rotten linens and all having bullet injuries in different parts of their body while four others M/S www.groundreportindia.com 21


Bhagabat Garai, Amiya Santra, Alok Bera and Dilip Ghosh were provided cots after brought from Midnapur Central Correctional Home in various dates for medical attention. Bikash, Bholananda and Tapas all are student of Goutam Smiriti Satpati Binapani Bidyamandir of Satpati. From them the fact nding team came to know that along them, Dr. Tamal Sahu, a registered medical practicenor of Satpati got bullet injury and brought along with others to Midnapur Government Hospital and later sent to Seth Sukhlal Karnani Hospital, Kolkata on same date; 10.12.2009 along with Bholanath and Tapas, but Bholanath and Tapas brought back to Midnapur Government Hospital with same ambulance in which they were transported to the said hospitals. The detainees also informed that Dr. Sahu is a heart patient and surgery on his heart valves had been done. They also informed that during the ring Biplab Sahu, son of Mr. Ajit Sahu, aged about 38 years of Satpati got bullet injury and later came to know that he died in Midnapur Government Hospital, though they have not seen the body or brought in same vehicle. Most awfully the detainees were not informed about their arrest and having no knowledge that state has initiated criminal cases against them. The information also not imparted to the families also which we later came to know. The fact nding team tried it level best to get the case number with sections but refused the same by the guarding party, they said their superior can impart that but he was not present there, after several argument a person in civil dress came at the place and introduced himself as Falguni Mukherjee, Assistant Sub Inspector, attached with Police lines of Midnapur is guard in charge, but he also refused to divulge anything about the police case, but as he was holding a piece of paper, the fact nding team clandestinely manage to look after it and nd the police started a criminal case against all the mentioned persons including the deceased as Salboni PS Case number 104/09 dated 10.12.2009 under sections 147/148/149/120 (B)/ 122/121(B)/124/126/307/323 of IPC & 9(B) of Indian Explosives Act (again this is only FF team managed by peep over the paper). Till date nobody has been produced before any court or magistrate, no magistrate bodily appeared before the persons and even the minor is still inside the regular custody, though he is a minor. After that the fact nding team visited the place of incident; Satpati village and met with Mr. Tapan Kumar Mahish, aged about 44 years and elected member of 7 number Satpati Gram Panchayet with others. During his narration he vividly described the happenings of the day. On the fateful day; 10.12.2009 a bus bounded towards Goaltor from Medinipur was make a halt at Satpati at that very time the personnel of Pirakata police camp was returning after some skirmishes with the so called Maoists at Parulia village under Salboni police station. The Pirkata police camp was nearly 4 kilometers away from the Satpati IRB- joint camp. But reasons known best to the posted joint force personnel started indiscriminate lathicharge upon the persons inside the bus and people who were in the street. During the lathicharge which was uncalled for, the posted joint force used lthiest abusive languages to all the persons present at the time around the place. The persons present at the place during the indiscriminate lathicharge and verbal abuses rushed to the Satpati police camp (joint force camp) to know about the reason, why the personnel from another camp resorted to lathicharge (Pirakata joint force camp) without any provocation, the number of protesting people were more than 100 and nobody inside the camp came out to hear the grievances of the people, here it should be mentioned that never any contention between the Satpati villagers and posted armed constabulary has been taken before. Majority of the persons belonging with agrarian occupations and few of them have auxiliary occupation of running shops of different natures. But while they were demanding for the actual reasons, the posted joint force became berserk and asked their sentries to leave the gate and come inside the camp and from there they started ring from their sophisticated rearms to unarmed commoners who gathered over there as regular practice to gossiping and have their teas. It was amply clear that the personnel of joint force resorted ring without any provocation and guidelines set for doing the so, no magistrate was present at the place and nobody attacked them with any intention to cause harm to their life or properties. But it was clear that armed personnel used sophisticated rearms without any reasons as the team found wholes on tin roofs nearly 500- 600 meters away from the camp and came to know that persons injured during the ring almost a receiving end of more than 500 meters. The said Panchayet member e

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The Ground Report India - 2009 December Edition PDF