Companies taking over land for mining will have to allot 26 per cent "free" equity to people whose plots are being acquired, according to a draft bill the Centre is planning to introduce soon. The move comes in the wake of mounting pressure to find ways to tackle the Maoist problem apart from use of force.

One reason Maoists have succeeded in extending their domain is because they have been able to tap tribal anger over inadequate compensation for land acquired by mining companies.

The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) would bring before the media the news as per available from civil rights groups Mr. Gopal Mishra, a trade unionist was taken to custody by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on the 25 April 2010 from Ramnagar, Nathu Colony, East Delhi. They reached his residence along with him at 11 am on 26 April 2010 and waited till evenimg for his wife Ms. Anu to return, according to Mr. Ritesh Kumar the owner of the house in which Mr. Gopal Mishra was staying as a tenant. The house owner was later told by the police that they were taking him to the police station. Later it became clear that along with Mr. Gopal another trade unionist Mr. Pradeep was also taken away by the police. It is also reported that along with another person whose identity is not known was also detained. Even after 24 hours of the detention of all of them they have not been produced in the court. There is no news about the whereabouts of Gopal's wife, Ms. Anu.

FORUM AGAINST WAR ON PEOPLE

Public Meeting on

Indian State's War on People and the Assault on Democratic Voices

3pm, 24 April 2010, Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi

PRESS RELEASE

24^th April 2010

In a public meeting organised by the Forum Against War on People at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on 24^th April 2010, various organisations and individuals unequivocally demanded an immediate and unconditional stop to Operation Green Hunt and the plunder of people's resources. Prof.Randhir Singh, prominent political thinker and former Head of the Department of Political Science in University of Delhi, noted that "the present government has armed itself with all kinds of armed forces in its war against people. In many parts of the country the behaviour of the Indian state can only be described as a terrorist state. Much has been made of the recent killing of 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada. But what were they doing in that place? Is it not to repress the people and take away their land and resources to make way for the big corporations? People's democratic verdict has been repeatedly flouted by the ruling classes. So the people need extra-parliamentary sanctions to pursue the democratic aspirations of the people.

The demonstration occurred on April 19th, 2010 in front of the Indian Embassy in Brasilia, and was organized by LCP-Liga dos Camponeses Pobres (League of Poor Peasants), as part of the International Campaign Against War on the People in India.The campaign aims to coordinate international support for the resistance of the Indian people against the military offensive of the Indian state unleashed in "Operation Green Hunt."  (See video)

The Cebraspo (Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the Peoples), organized these demonstrations of solidarity with the resistance of the adivasis, and demands:   The immediate end of the Operation Green Hunt and the attacks on the adivasi people, other nationalities, and the CPI (Maoists);

Washington: A whopping 782 million Indians will be living on less than two dollars a day by 2015, a joint report by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund said here on Friday.

The report titled 'Global monitoring report 2010: The MDGs after the crisis, however said the number of poor Indians living on less than two dollars would moderately decline to 686 million by 2020. But the report adds that by the turn of the next decade as many as 268 million Indians would be living on less than 1.25 dollars a day, while in 2015 the figure would be 295 million.

The Director General of Police, Chhatisgarh is reported to be seriously examining whether writer Arundhati Roy should be prosecuted under the Chhatisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) / Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for having written the article Walking With The Comrades, which was published by Outlook magazine recently.

The article is a journalistic account of what is happening on the other side of the battle lines in this War in Chhatisgarh which is also called Operation Green Hunt. It provides the readers with the story of what the Maoists are doing and thinking and how they are received and perceived by the villagers living in the areas where they operate. It is a detailed, sensitive and honest account of their history, their motivations, their thinking and their methods.

FORUM AGAINST WAR ON PEOPLE

In a public meeting organised by the Forum Against War on People at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on 24^th April 2010, various organisations and individuals unequivocally demanded an immediate and unconditional stop to Operation Green Hunt and the plunder of people's resources. Prof.Randhir Singh, prominent political thinker and former Head of the Department of Political Science in University of Delhi, noted that "the present government has armed itself with all kinds of armed forces in its war against people. In many parts of the country the behaviour of the Indian state can only be described as a terrorist state. Much has been made of the recent killing of 76 CRPF personnel in Dantewada. But what were they doing in that place? Is it not to repress the people and take away their land and resources to make way for the big corporations? People's democratic verdict has been repeatedly flouted by the ruling classes. So the people need extra-parliamentary sanctions to pursue the democratic aspirations of the people. Without extra-parliamentary sanction to defend, the people will not be able to fight for democracy. What is happening in this country is part of a much larger story unfolding. Whether it is Congress or BJP, they are part of furthering the neo-liberal capitalist path of development. In contrast, the people's alternative path of development has to be pursued and struggled for."

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, too, has distanced himself from Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh’s stand over the Naxal problem on Wednesday saying that there cannot be any concessions to those challenging the authority of the Indian state.

The prime minister, who has consistently described Naxalism as the gravest internal security threat to India, told civil servants at a function in the Capital that said that recent events had underscored the need for urgent and considered action to root out the problem.

Jhargram (WB), Apr 22 (PTI) Maoist-backed PCPA today called for a road blockade in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, a day after it announced an indefinite bandh in these tribal-dominated districts.

The road blockade would continue till the Centre and the state government call off the anti-Maoist operations in the three districts, People's Committee against Police Atrocity (PCPA) leader Manoj Mahato said.

Mahato alleged that the security forces were harassing the locals in these districts during anti-Maoist operations.

(PTI, April 22nd)

We at the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) received a Memorandum addressed to your esteemed office from Mr. Kobad Ghandy-facing trial under UAPA and at present lodged at the Tihar jail-through his lawyer. We believe that the issues he has raised in his letter are of paramount significance especially when we address the question of right to a free and fair trial in a democracy without being prejudiced, intimidated or discriminated.

NEW DELHI: India now has 100 million more people living below the poverty line than in 2004, according to official estimates released on Sunday.

The poverty rate has risen to 37.2 percent of the population from 27.5 percent in 2004, a change that will require the Congress-ruled government to spend more money on the poor.

The new estimate comes weeks after Sonia Gandhi, head of the Congress party, asked the government to revise a Food Security Bill to include more women, children and destitutes.

Dangs is the smallest and perhaps the most scenic Adivasi district of Gujarat. As you soak in the beauty and breathe the fresh air, Ashish Pawar, a young Adivasi activist acting as a guide, struggles to explain why his "god", activist Avinash Kulkarni, who has been branded a Maoist by police, was arrested. Fearing a similar fate for himself, he adds, "I don't even understand what Naxalism or Maoism means."

In south Gujarat, police arrested at least nine "Maoists" in February and March claiming they received information from the Orissa government that Naxals were preparing for a violent movement in the state. But so far, Gujarat Police have not produced any evidence - except alleged confessions by those arrested - that they were involved in any armed, violent or anti- State activity. Before this, police have not registered any Maoist activity in the region since 1998.

Rona Wilson

JNU'S BID TO CURB FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY IS AN `OPERATION GREEN HUNT' ON CAMPUS

THEY SAY every major structural shift of the State's policy options is preceded by a commensurate enactment of law. Perhaps what is unfolding in higher education in India, especially in campuses like JNU, are ominous portents of further authoritarianism in university education in India. The HRD minister set to open the huge education market for foreign capital as and when the Foreign Universities Bill is passed — yes, another SEZ is in the making.

KOLKATA: Accusing the Centre of waging war against the “poorest people,” under the pretext of fighting Maoists in the mining belt, with the purpose of creating a “good investment climate,” author and social rights activist Arundhati Roy on Wednesday said creation of an atmosphere conductive to negotiations between the government and left-wing extremists was the only way out of the ongoing violence in the red corridor of India.

Addressing a press conference here, Ms. Roy said: “Let the State governments make public the terms of the hundreds of memorandums of understanding signed with corporate houses, rehabilitate the thousands of people displaced by the violence perpetrated by the security forces and the Salwa Judum [state-backed vigilantes in Chhattisgarh] and also restore a sense of confidence among the tribal population about their positive intentions. That is the only way out.”

It is understandable that human rights/civil liberties organizations should come out with statements deploring the killing of security forces (e.g. PUDR press statement on the wiping out of 75-odd CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh on April 6) on the purely humanitarian ground that any loss of life is deplorable. But civil society groups or individuals who view the issue from a larger perspective need to take a more rigorous and clear-cut stand. If they agree that the fundamental issues raised by the Maoists are right, even if they do not accept their tactics (in other words, if they are well-disposed towards the basic Maoist critique of the present exploitative system and sympathize with their efforts to build up alternative structures of egalitarian governance in their areas of control, without supporting their tactics of indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians), they have to recognize the stark reality.

The six battalions of the CRPF to be sent for anti-Maoist operations will be drawn from units which have recently finished training and are scheduled to go for deployment, sources said.

Kolkata : The indefinite strike called by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocity (PCAPA) five days ago has hit the essential supplies in West Midnapore but the PCAPA ruled out calling off strike until the Jawahar Mahato, a quack and an alleged active member of CPI-Maoist, is released from the police custody. Manoj Mahato, the convener of the PCAPA's health wing, said, "Under no circumstances will we withdraw the strike from the three districts till our leader Jawahar Mahato is released." Schools, colleges, shops, hospital, court and most administrative offices remained shut. The Jhargram-Lodhashuli Highway, a key route for trucks, was open but the truckers are sacred of using it. The block development offices are, however, open in West Midnapore district.

(Indian Express, 13th April)

Apparently, one Vishwajit Mitra, has lodged a complaint at the Telibanda police station in Raipur, pointing out that the contents and photographs of Arundhati Roy's essay "Walking With The Comrades", published in the March 29 issue of Outlook could attract action as an offence under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act-2005.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) will consider next week a significant plea for setting up a committee to monitor rehabilitation of displaced tribals in Maoist-affected areas.

Nandini Sundar, a sociology professor at Delhi University, had filed a petition in 2007 asking for a ban on Salwa Judum, an armed network of civilians created in Chhattisgarh in 2005 to counter Maoists. She also suggested that the court oversee implementation of the rehabilitation plan.

Nandini’s lawyers argued that the state itself was financing violence rather than defending citizens. The petition quoted official figures and said that Maoist violence had increased many-fold in the state. In the past year, there’s been a fresh escalation of violence due to Operation Green Hunt.

NEW DELHI: Retired judges, lawyers, human rights activists and poor tribal villagers were united in their demand for a change in the way the government views development — from a paradigm of increasing the GDP or growth by displacing and impoverishing the poor, to one that means improving the standard of living of every single person in the county, whether he or she lives in hills, forests, plains or in a city.

This unfolded at a tribunal to look into the rights of tribal people in light of land acquisition, resource grab and ‘Operation Green Hunt’. Over three days, the tribunal heard activists and villagers from the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa recount the atrocities they experienced daily at the hands of local police and central security forces for protesting against displacement or other illegal activities on their land.

“Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram came here and said he was ready for dialogue with the PSBJC, but he didn't give any proposal on how these talks will be conducted or structured,” PSBJC spokesman Asit Mahato told The Hindu over telephone.

The jury heard the testimonies of a large number of witnesses over three days from the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa as well as some expert witnesses on land acquisition, mining and human rights violations of Operation Green Hunt. The immediate observations of the Jury are as follows:

Tribal communities represent a substantial and important proportion of Indian population and heritage. Not even ten countries in the world have more people than we have tribals in India. Not only are they crucial components of the country’s human biodiversity, which is greater than in the rest of the world put together, but they are also an important source of social, political and economic wisdom that would be currently relevant and can give India an edge. In addition, they understand the language of Nature better than anyone else, and have been the most successful custodian of our environment, including forests. There is also a great deal to learn from them in areas as diverse as art, culture, resource management, waste management, medicine and metallurgy. They have been also far more humane and committed to universally accepted values than our urban society.

Instead of offering to quit, Mr. Chidambaram should very simply have resigned and walked away. That would have shown some genuine morality, not the play acting and drama associated with trying to salvage his bruised ego by "offering"to resign.

Real moral people make up their minds, talk to their family and friends the night before, take their special South Indian two yard coffee from stainless steel cups in the morning and then send in their resignation. Khalas! No ifs or buts, sir!--- as you had clearly stated a while ago to the Maoists. No conditions, no tentativeness-please ABJURE from drama therapy. The nation does not need it.

Social Scientists, Experts and Adivasi representatives depose before the Jury;
Testimonies on Land Grab and Government/Corporate Atrocities in Jharkhand and West Bengal

A poignant session (9.4.2010) on Chhattisgarh and the situation of adivasis was presented at the Independent Peoples Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt on 9.4.2010. This was followed by a second session focusing on two other states (where the Operation Green Hunt has recently commenced) with presentations and depositions on 10.4.2010. Speakers from Jharkhand and Orissa testified on numerous violations of laws, relating to land acquisition, tribal protection, pollution, and other violations of the Indian Constitution by corporations and the state governments.

Operation Green Hunt was launched in the latter half of 2009 and a large contingent of paramilitary and military forces aided and abetted by mercenaries were deployed in large parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. It is a war supposedly to free the people of these areas from Maoist influence. By repeated declarations and one-sided media statements the Government has made Maoists "the single largest internal security threat to the country".

New Delhi, April 6: Rights activists have blamed today’s Chhattisgarh massacre on the government’s policy of “waging war on its own people” and called for a dialogue with the Maoists.

They alleged the security forces were killing Adivasis and meant to eliminate the Maoists, who could not be expected not to fight in self-defence.

“The home minister has expressed shock at 75 paramilitary personnel been killed… he didn’t express any concern when these forces killed 200 Adivasis in Bastar between September 2009 and January 2010,” said G.N. Saibaba, deputy secretary of the Revolutionary Democratic Front.

Sreelatha Menon

The Dantewada bloodbath of CRPF jawans has shocked civil society. Most feel a dialogue between the government and NGOs could have reaped better results than the violent route the government has pursued against the Naxalites.

Kavita Srivastava of the People's Union for Civil Liberties and Citizen’s Initiative for Peace — an outfit formed to enable dialogue with the government on tackling the Naxalite movement — says there is no alternative to unconditional talks with Naxals.

Gladson Dungdung

In the spring season; trees, plants and herbs turn into greenery with new lovely leaves. It looks like a resurrection of the forest after the autumn. It is one of the most beautiful seasons for birds, animals and insects, and of course, for the Adivasis, which is the beginning of their marriage with the nature. The Adivasis begin to collect flowers, fruits and other forest produces for sustaining their community, which is completely based on the natural resources with the unique features of community living, caring-sharing, equality for all, justice and the need based economic system. The most interesting thing is, it is the spring season when the Adivasis offer their thanks to their super natural God, celebrate together and begin their new journey with the nature.

PCPA convener Asit Mahato Told UNI this morning that they were ready to accept the Centre's offer and would send a message to this effect to the Union home minister after consultation with senior leaders of the outfit who had gone underground.

''Most of our leaders have gone underground recently due to police torture and indiscriminate arrests. Let it be known to Mr Chidambaram that the state government and the combined forces have arrested only our people on the plea that they are Maoists, but have failed to arrest the actual insurgents. Not one of the Maoist ultras has been arrested. I firmly declare that we have no connection with the Maoists,'' Mahato said.

COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

185/3, Fourth Floor, Zakir Nagar, New Delhi—25

04/04/10

In yet another exercise on the side of the Delhi police and the Andhra Special Intelligence Branch to browbeat all forms of dissent against the anti-people policies of the UPA government at a time when the state has declared an all out war on the poorest of the poor in this country—the adivasis and the dalits—Dr. Sunil Mandiwal a Delhi University lecturer, has been arrested in a joint operation for questioning. What one could gather from his wife Dr. Laxmi who is a lecturer in Delhi University is that she was vaguely told that he was being taken away for questioning in relation to Mr. Kobad Ghandy who is in Tihar charged under UAPA alleged as a senior Maoist leader.

Dr. Sunil Mandiwal, an Assistant Professor at the Dayal Singh College, Delhi University is a well known champion of the people's cause. He is a regular face in all the gatherings in Delhi which raises their voice against all forms of atrocities of the state on the people of the subcontinent. He is in the forefront to unmask the real fascist, pro-corporate face of the state in the Operation Green Hunt, perhaps the biggest land grab ever in history after that of Columbus.

KOLKATA: In protest against Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram's proposed visit to Lalgarh in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district, the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC) held demonstrations in various parts of the Jangalmahal area on Friday.

Mr. Chidambaram plans to go to Lalgarh for a three-and-half-hour visit on Sunday.

Clashes have erupted across the country as the forest authorities and other agencies move to crush those who are trying to uphold democracy, people's control over resources, and the law. In Gujarat, Assam, UP, and Orissa, people are being falsely arrested, police opening fire and houses being burned (on March 21st, March 30th, March 16th and March 30th respectively). They have asked for nothing except their legal rights over their resources, and they have been shot at, beaten up, jailed and killed. Is the government's favorite phrase - the "rule of law" - to mean that the police should act as hired gunmen for the Forest Department and companies?

The offensive which got underway amid little fanfare has so far met with no resistance, a senior police official associated with the operation told The Indian Express. One of the 5 battalions of BSF which have arrived in southern Orissa for the offensive have already participated in the operation along with State police and CRPF.