Arcelor-Mittal steel plant. Both
these projects had to be scrapped
after public protests. There are
also long standing grievances
against the failure of the state to
protect the distinctive social and
cultural identity of the Adivasis.
In the last five years, there
have been continuous attacks on
Constitutional rights of Adivasis
across the state. There have been
several attempts to weaken the
powers of Gram Sabhas in various
acts. The government repeatedly
tried to weaken the Chhotanagpur
and Santhal Tenancy Acts that
provide protection to Adivasis right
to their land. The government also
formulated the land bank policy
that creates a pool of land owned
by Gram Sabhas to be offered to
corporates without the approval of
the people.
At one end, the BJP-led state
government continues to violate
provisions of Fifth Schedule left,
right and centre and runs away
from implementing PESA. On the
other end, the Prime Minister is
busy creating news by bowing
before the Constitution (book)
before entering the Parliament.
Adivasi Women’s Network’s
Elina Hora said at the end of the
dharna, “Jharkhand government
should immediately check severe
violations of human rights across
the state in the form of violations
of Adivasi rights, mob lynching’s
and attacks on women. TRTC’s
Ranjit Kindo said, “we will always
protest against the anti-people
policies of the government. That’s
a basic necessity of democracy”.
At the end of the dharna,
Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha
submitted a memorandum to the
Governor with the following
demands:
·
The
government
must
immediately withdraw all frivolous
FIRs filed against the thousands of
unnamed residents of Khunti and
activists on charges of sedition. It
must also undertake judicial inquiry
into the charges framed against the
named people in the FIRs. It must
make public all the evidence that
formed the basis for these FIRs
and the evidence collected in all
related inquiries since then.
·
The governm ent should
undertake judicial inquiry into the
violence unleashed by security
forces in Ghaghra and other
villages and ensure punitive action
against the personnel responsible
for the human rights abuses. It must
ensure compensation to victims of
human rights violations in these
villages.
·
The governm ent should
initiate
dialogue
with
representatives of the Pathlagadi
villages, Adivasi organizations and
experts on the Constitution.
·
The government must ensure
immediate implementation of all
provisions of Fifth schedule and
PESA in letter and spirit.
- 22 July, 2019
JUSTICE-A PLAYTHING IN THE HANDS OF
RULERS AND RULING PARTIES!
Time and again the people of
our country are told that our judicial
system and rendering justice to
people are impartial, independent
without favour or prejudice towards
anybody. Our rulers and ruling
classes grandly claim that it is the
virtue of our judicial system-a virtue
of our democracy.
On the other hand the rulers
in power pose as if they are the
champions fighting against
terrorism committed to end
terrorism.
But the experience of people
clearly shows that all that was an
empty talk and propaganda. The
rulers would put the laws into
vogue in a selective and
differentiated manner where the
innocent people are harassed or
punished and favoured ones can
evade or escape the legal action
June,July - 2019
and punishment not withstanding
with he gravity of the crimes they
committed.
A number of terrorist attacks
occurred in 2007 and 2008 at
Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, the
Samjahuta express and the
Azmeer Sharif Dargah(all in 2007)
and Malegam (2008) occurred
killing muslims. The investigation
agencies have found out that the
perpetrators and the actual
persons who committed these
terrorists blasts had affiliations with
RSS and kindered out-fits and the
victims were muslim s. Ample
evidence was gathered to establish
that they have committed these
acts. One person Aseemananda
whose real name was Naba kumar
was involved in all the cases,
besides persons like Sadvi Pragya
Singh, and a retd Lt-colnel(retd)
Shrikant Pandit with others are
involved in Malegam blastings
case.
With this chain of events led
to the coinage of the expression
“Saffron Terror” or “Hindutva terror”
came in to usage.
When the B.J.P government
came in to power in 2014,
systematically all the accused
began to be set free in these cases.
As a last case, the accused in
Samjoutha express case were
acquitted by the NIA court in March
2019 ‘due to lack of evidence’
including Swami Aseemanand.
This Swami Aseemanand himself
had comfessed in 2010 before NIA
that he and others had not only
committed the Samjautha attack but
they are involved in all the other
blast cases.
contd. on page 17
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