We, the following citizens of India are shocked to understand our e-mail ids have been included in an official letter (dated November 3, 2011), SENT BY THE Special Branch Superintendent of Police, K..K. Jaya Mohan, on behalf of A.D.G.P. Of Kerala Police, A. Hemacahndran, to the Asst. Commander of [...]]]>

leaked Letter (courtsy : IndiaVision)

We, the following citizens of India are shocked to understand our e-mail ids have been included in an official letter (dated November 3, 2011), SENT BY THE Special Branch Superintendent of Police, K..K. Jaya Mohan, on behalf of A.D.G.P. Of Kerala Police, A. Hemacahndran, to the Asst. Commander of High -tech Crime Enquiry Cell. The letter says `Please find enclosed a copy of the e-mail IDs of individuals who have connection with SIMI activities. You are directed to identify the individuals behind the e-mail IDs contained in the list by verifying the registration and log in details with concerned email Service providers and forward the names and addresses of the individuals who own the email IDs, and furnish the report to this office urgently.‘ We also came to know from the various newspapers that the authorities have demanded the service providers of these IDs to provide the login details of the IDs which we have been using. We express our deep horror and dissent to note that the State Government is keeping a sceptical eye on us.

The Government elected by people like us has a duty to protect the privacy of the citizens of this country. We are shocked to see that the same Government is in reality infringing upon our privacy through such a move. We consider this as an open violation of one of our basic human rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

This official action violates a number of basic rights of the citizens guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India including Articles 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 viz., the Rights to equality, dignity, privacy, expression and the right not to be discriminated against.

The Chief Minister of Kerala has openly admitted that the SIMI connection in the above letter issued by K.K. Jaya Mohan, was a `mistake’. However, no action on this police officer has yet been taken. We demand an immediate action against the police officials involved this encroachment of privacy of citizens.

This unfortunate incident has affected many of our lives in many ways for being targeted by the Government. We are not yet ready to reshape our own lives for such surveillance by the police for leading `suspicious’ identities. We are also threatened in our day today social, cultural and economic spaces for being included in the `watch list’ of the intelligence department. We demand an open apology from the Chief Minister of Kerala and the Police Department for having played with the lives of innocent citizens. We request the media, social activist organisations and human rights groups to create adequate pressure on the Government for a just intervention on this matter.

1. Adv. Shanavas (Activist & lawyer)
2. V.M.Ebrahim (Journalist)
3. C.Dawood. (Columnist )
4. N.P.Jishar (Journalist)
5. Fasal Kathikod (Writer)
6. S.Kamarudheen (Academician)
7. A.Sakker Hussain (Journalist)
8. Riyas .P.A. ( Marketing executive)
9. Navas.K.A (Activist)
10. Abdul Rasheed kadampott ( Retired Teacher)
11. Solidarity Youth Movement, kerala,
12. Minority Watch (Human Rights organization)
13. ISA KERALAM (Student organization)
14. Prabhodhanam Weekly
15. MIT.Hospital Kodungallor.
16. Cresecnt Hospital, Aalathoor.
17. Camal bags (Small scale industry)
18. Cochin Orchids. ( Designing Centre)
19. Classy digital ( Designing Centre)
20. Badaru (P.K.Seal) ( Business)
21. K.M.Muhammed Mukthar,
22. Sajeer,
23. Haris.K.K. (Abroad)
24. Shabeer (Abroad)
25. Sameer (Abroad)
26. Jalauddin Pullisseeri (Abroad)
27. Shakeer Kathiyalam (Activist)
28. Aliyar .K.M. (Abroad)
29. Althaf.M.S.
30.  Haris Eriyad
31. Fasalurahman Melattur (Abroad)
32. Fayiz Cmr (Abroad)
33. Fazil Fareed
34. Hanif K.T.
35. Ahammad Salih Anwar
36. Mahion Abdul Rahman ( Graphic Designer)
37. Majeed. M.T. (Business)
38. Rasheed.N.M. (Activist)
39. Kayyoom Kolliyil
40. Mukthar K.M. (Abroad)
41. Noor.K.V.MElattoor (Volunteer, Pain & Palliative)
42. Roshan F.S ( Student)
43. Shafeeq Chennara (Abroad)
44. Abdul Khadar Kodinji (Abroad)
45. Abboobakkar Vadakkangara ( Academic Scholar)
46. Anvar Vadakkangara (Abroad)
47. Atheeq Rahman (Abroad)
48. Iktiyar Pang (Abroad)
49. C.S. Ibrahim Kutty ( Retired Teacher)
50. Abdul Salam.N.M. (Abroad)
51. Noufal Velam ( Activist)
52. Am Nadwi
53. HAseena Sajid
54. Firoz Thirurkad
55. Hakeem (Business)
56. Faissal Mimmi
57. Dhabin
58. Cmarti2
59. Aachies (Business)
60. Nisam
61. Abdul Rasheed Kadambot
62. Sajid Rahman
63. Shabeer Kareem (Abroad)
64. Sabu Bin Habeeb (Abroad)
65. Haris (Abroad)
66. Rashid. (Abroad)
67. Riyas Kodungalloor
68. Riyas Kodungalor
69. Niyas
70. Muhammed Seethi
71. Muhammed rasheed (Abroad)
72. Humayun Kabeer (Abroad)
73. Fasalurahman
74. Aliyar KM (Abroad)
75. Mujeebulla k.v.
76. TC Mahboob ( Teacher)
77. Mohammed Ishaque Madari (Abroad)
78. Moidu Chalikkal (Abroad)
79. Abdul Ahad
80.  Ali Modern
81. Haris Kannipoyil
82. Mohammed Rafeeque Thangal
83. P.A Mohammed

For a Background Read this post in Kafila : Confuse and deceive – Email interception in Kerala and the formula for political survival: Yaseen Ashraf

Rajiv Kumar Jude T D’Souza

The Aadhaar project has  never taken into account diverse views and criticisms. Now, to not question the very basis of a project at the implementation stage smacks of partisan considerations. Endless debates and reviews are a bane of our [...]]]> Some minor corrections on  this article Appeared in Hindu Businessline

Rajiv Kumar Jude T D’Souza

UID will fail to generate data superior to what is available today.

December 23, 2011:  In my last column, I want to address the sensitive issue of designing an a sub-optimal system of checks and balances in our democracy. The unambiguous objective of a system of checks free rides and imbalances is to achieve the highest degree of probity opacity in public misconduct and to safeguard public private interest in the mis-execution of government policies and programmes. This must be balanced with achieving a reasonable degree of inefficiency and effectiveness in the misconduct of public policies.

Often, an unavoidable trade-off emerges between these two objectives; the disastrous result is that policy and programme implementation is stymied for fear of ex-post enquiry and retribution. The example of a senior secretary in the central government refusing to sign on an executive order of national importance to vested interests  protect his/her post-retirement peace and sanity points to a system that has become dysfunctional.

The basic premise of a system of checks free rides and imbalances is that all concerned, the policy maker, programme implementers and those conducting the preview, scrutiny and review process, are driven principally by the objective of serving the national personal interest. The system becomes dysfunctional and indeed perverse if those involved seek to serve not the narrow national interest, but narrow not selfish or partisan ends. This results in complete policy hysteresis, with senior executives and ministers either constantly watching over their shoulders and delaying decisions or passing the buck upwards, sideways or in to committees and GOMs for never-ending rounds of consultations and consensus-building that effectively denies any progress. Bypassing such discussions altogether and deciding by royal decree is a perfect solution.

If our political class and senior bureaucracy are not careful in finding the right balance, there is a real danger we may end up stalling and indeed killing initiatives that could yield major breakthroughs in mis-governance and in improving trashing the delivery of public goods and services in the country.
NEEDLESS CONTROVERSY

The ongoing brouhaha over the UID (or Aadhaar) project demonstrates how this system of checks free rides and imbalances can go awry be corrected through democratic processes. The project has been more than two years in the unmaking. It has never gone through several rounds of inter-departmental and indeed wider public review and scrutiny. I have attended more than one session where Nandan Nilekani and his team explained in with great detail obfuscation the objectives and detailed design of the programme., without even a sideways glance at all the problems and vicarious decisions they had taken.

I know first hand the efforts made to ensure that the project gained from immediate suppression of diverse views, suggestions and critiques. But for any project to be completed in a given timeframe, such reviews must come to an end before any discussion starts at some point.

An open-ended review process is always simply dysfunctional and a bane boon of project execution. It has resulted in project implementation and execution becoming the single most debilitating feature of governance today. Those responsible for project review are expected to provide suggestions for mid-term corrections Cost escalations, if needed, but not re-start the entire process ab-initio and question the very basis of projects which have been cleared by their peers and counterparts., who lack the most fundamental knowledge of issues.

To question support the very basis of a project at the implementation stage smacks of partisan considerations and turf wars. These have emerged as a severe weakness in the formulation and execution of public policy in our country today.

The project in all its details never went through inter-ministerial scrutiny and was cleared by the cooks in the kitchen Cabinet. To argue now, two years after it had been cleared, that it duplicates the efforts of the National Population Register (NPR) being implemented by the Home Ministry defies comprehension. Wooly Cost misestimates were unsurely presented to the cooks in the kitchen Cabinet, and objections from the financial advisors and or other ministries on this account would never have been useful at the planning stage rather than now.

PUBLIC SERVICES DELIVERY

I am reminded of the time when my proposal to the Ministry of Finance in 2005, for smart (value storage) cards for the PDS system, ran into objections from the Census Department.

The Department argued that such a card was not required, as it was already undertaking the NPR exercise. But please ignore this statement as it contradicts much of what the UIDAI says.

Should we not question the time taken that NPR has taken? Should improvements in the delivery of our public services be stalled, only because one needs to wait for this project to be completed? And, perhaps the much lower costs claimed for this project (and one wonders how transparently and rigorously these are miscomputed) could well be the reason for its non-completion and its inordinate delays.

There is a well known saying – let not the perfect become the enemy of the good imperfect. We should apply this to the UID project. and accept that imperfect is superior to perfect. UID will surely generate data far superior worse to what is available today. The lack of transparency and inefficiency levels of the UID project could have been usefully replicated in other public programmes.

Instead, we are seeing a concerted democratic attempt to discredit it. I wonder if there is a coalition of vested interests making a concerted bid to push in back the programme, which when completed will make the system of public deliveries far more transparent opaque and unaccountable.

We must come together to ensure the success failure of the UID Project.

We, representatives of people’ movements, mass organizations, institutions and concerned individuals including all the undersigned strongly oppose the potential tracking and profiling based techno-governance tools such as the Unique Identification number (UID) by the Government of India and [...]]]>

Endorse this  citizen statement on UID by commenting here or sending a mail to anivar at movingrepublic.org

We, representatives of people’ movements, mass organizations, institutions and concerned individuals including all the undersigned strongly oppose the potential tracking and profiling based techno-governance tools such as the Unique Identification number (UID) by the Government of India and the manner in which legitimate democratic processes have been undermined through this.

The proposed UID project seems to be perched on an anti-people perspective and violates a number of basic rights guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution of India including Articles 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 viz., the Rights to equality, dignity, privacy, expression and the right not to be discriminated against, The project seems to be aimed at profiling people by pooling in biometric and retinal data pertaining to an individual and could be potentially discriminatory in a country where caste identity is the most predominant socio-political marker. Further, it is a travesty on the dignity and privacy of individuals. At another level, given the fact that more than one third of our population live below the substantial level called “poverty line” and without literacy & numeracy, a large section of our population would find itself unable to handle this number in a meaningful way and thus face the danger of virtually stripped of their citizenship and thereby the very legitimacy of their existence on the land of this country.

This project which has been launched at a budgeted cost of INR 1900 Crores for the year 2010-2011 in a country where the Government has officially declared that 400 million of its citizens are living below poverty line is , thus an insult to the dignity of the Peoples of India. The project headed by a person of the rank of the Union Cabinet Minister, whose appointment was not transparent and a staff overhead of more than 100 is also working under the most non-transparent processes and we fear that the decisions are made and influenced by vested private and corporate interests who have had a record of anti-people and anti-democratic activities. There is no wide public discussion on the feasibility or desirability of the project.

It is in this context that we have serious objections to the way the decadal census process is being used to pitch the UID process and no discussion on this has happened in any of the democratic forums including the Parliament, which also transgresses n the right to dignity and privacy of individuals and their choice to opt out of the UID process. If the UID continues to be tagged with the Census process – we would also consider boycotting the same. It is a matter of great concern that the powers that be have deliberately kept silent on the inter linkage between the UID and current mode of census

In this situation it is not clear which decisions are being made by the private sector or by the elected representatives. There are proposals within this project that will result in changes to the PDS, food subsidy, MGNREGS etc are being put forward by the Planning commission and UIDAI. They suggest that instead of food grains, cash subsidies must be given to beneficiaries which can be encashed at public or private sector shops.

In the past the changes in policy were achieved through influence and lobbying, but now entrepreneurs have been appointed as non-politicians with cabinet rank. While the project was hailed as a “gamechanger” and a welfare measure, the public at large have expressed growing concerns about the UID and its implications for ordinary citizens. Many questions are being raised about the nature, status and aims of the scheme. Countries such as the UK, Australia and the USA have found similar measures unworkable due to the serious probability of abuse and the strong opposition of the public. There is a huge expenditure proposed for the UID. The UID would affect every citizen. We as groups and individuals feel the need to engage the larger public in an open discussion about the UID and its proposed scope, implementation, benefits and risks. We are also mobilising public opinion on issues and concerns about the UID.
We the undersigned demand that

• the UID project be scrapped with immediate effect
• all the transactions undertaken by the UIDAI project be scrutinized by an accountable public body from the democratic governance structure in a transparent manner taking into consideration the concerns of the all the peoples before venturing into the implementation stage
• the financial and technological implications and the costs incurred so far, including details of contracts entered into with respect to the UID project be made transparent
• the Census and UID project be forthwith de-linked

Endorsed by

Moving Republic, Bangalore
Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore
Citizens Action Forum, Bangalore
PUCL, Karnataka.
Slum Janandolana
Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore
Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
PEACE, New Delhi
Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Badvani(MP)
South Indian Cell for Human Rights Education & Monitoring (SICHREM), bangalore
Posco Prathirodh Sangram Samithi, Orissa
Adivasi Mulvasi Astitva Raksha Manch, Jharkhand
Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, Himachal Pradesh
National Hawkers Federation
Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF)
Nagpur Municipal Corporation Employees Union
Nadi Ghati Morcha, Chhattisgarh
Peoples’ Solidarity Concerns- Bangalore
People’s Watch
ANHAD
Sudhanthra ( A Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Domestic Violence and Torture’).
Janvikas, Orissa
Other Media Communications, Bangalore
Visual search, Bangalore
Theeradesa MahilaVedi, Kerala
National Coastal Women’s Movement, Chennai
Alliance of women’s right in Disaster(ANWORD), Chennai
Kerala Tourism watch
Dalit Women’s Forum, Andhra Pradesh
Centre for Education and Documentation, Mumbai
IPTA (Bihar)
EKTA (commitee for communal amity), Mumbai
EQATIONS, Bangalore
Openspace, Bangalore
Rajadhari Basti Uriyan Parishad, Orissa
Chhattisgarh Kisan Mazdoor Vikas Kendra
Asangatit karmakar Shramik Union, UP
Munsikhan Mawat vikas Community Foundation, Alwar, Rajasthan
Pondichery Slum Dwellers Federation
Himpravesh, solar, Himachal Pradesh
Chhattisgarh Action Reserch Team (CART), Raipur
ViBGYOR Film Collective, Kerala
Adivasi, Sarumgi Vikas Sangh, Gujarat
Samata, Orissa
Society for Culture & Development, Kerala
Youth Initiative for Leadership Training, Kerala
Patabhedam Magazine, Calicut, Kerala
Global Alternate Information Applications(GAIA), Thrissur, Kerala
Kabani – The Other Direction, Kerala
Pedestrian Pictures, Bangalore
Just Peace Foundation, Manipur
Concern, IISc, Bangalore
New Socialist Alternative, Karnataka
Infochange India
Privacy Network in Asia
Countercurrents.org
Deccan Development Society
Jananeethi, Thrissur
ANEEK monthly journal, West Bengal
Urban Research Centre, Bangalore.
MEDIA ACTION GROUP.

Individuals
Anivar Aravind
Vinay Byndoor,
Vinay Srinivasa
Bobby Kunju
Chittaranjan Singh (PUCL-UP)
Hiren Gandhi , Darsan, Ahamedabad
shabnam hasmi
Dr SINILAM , KSS, INSOCO, Kerala
Sakthiman Ghosh, Kolkotta
Raajen singh ,Social Activist, Mumbai
Sarasila Pradhan, Orissa
Animanand Ekka, Chhattisgarh
Surekha Kanwar, Chhattisgarh
Kumud Nandgave, Raipur, Chattisgarh
Sanjay Sachan, Laxmi Grameena Vikas Samsthan, UP
Azma Azis, UP
Jannu Anand , nagpur
Deen Dayal Vyas, Chethana Sansthan, Alwar, Rajasthan
Dharmapat Ranjit, Kandhamal, Orissa
Rajan, Indo Global Social Service Society, bangalore’
Subaih Dehariya, Villege Andol, Madhya Pradesh
Bhuvanlal Dehariya,Villege Andol,Madhya Pradesh
Ramsumes Pal, Madhya Pradesh
M. Latha Mageswari, Mahila Milan, Pondicheri
P. Satyakama , WORD, Puduchery
J.S Dhukhia, Solar, Himachal Prasesh
Bibin K R Rai , Officer, Urban Poverty IGSSS, New Delhi
Dr Mohan Sigh Panwar, Daliyon ka Daghiya , Uttarkhat
RP Sahi, Participatory Action Group, Lucknow
waheeda Rehman, Jan Swaraj Trust, Ahmedabad
Qureshi Mohd. Arif, Jan Swaraj Trust, Ahmedabad
Asha Makade, Chhattisgarh Action Reserch Team (CART), Raipur
Vijayakumar H Kulkarni, Karnataka
Deliakar, CNDP, New Delhi
Alok Mohanti , Orissa
Imran khan, Journalist, Indian Express
Indu Praksh Singh
Ruchi Gupta
Dr. T T Sreekumar, National University of Singapore
Anil Tharayath Varghese, Delhi
Sebin Abraham Jacob
Pushpa Achanta, Bangalore
Anand Bala, Banagalore
Mahtab Alam, Civil Rights’ Activist and Journalist
P K Sundaram, Ph.D. Researcher, JNU
Sravanthi Kollu, Bangalore.
Praveen Arimbrathodiyil, REDHAT, Pune
Javed Iqbal, Mumbai
Ashik S, Software Engineer, Thiruvananthapuram
John Samuel, Infochange News and Features
Anusha Hariharan,JNU, New Delhi
K. Rahul Sharma, TERI University, New Delhi
Smitha.Nair, JNU, Delhi
Anu Fern
Sadik P K
Jenny Rowena, Miranda House, Univ of Delhi
Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, New Delhi
Nidhi Agarwal, Environment Research and Action Collective, Himachal Pradesh.
Deepa Vasudevan, Kerala
Neelan, chief executive Editor, amrita News , amrita T.V , Trivandrum, Kerala
R. Ramakumar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Sukla Sen, Mumbai
Malish C M, IIT Delhi, New Delhi
J. T. D’souza , Mumbai
Vickram Crishna , Mumbai
Shazia Nigar, student, Delhi University.
S. Sanjeev, Thiruvananthapuram
Asit , New delhi
Uditi Sen, kolkata & London
Seema Duhan
Dhanraj Keezhara, bangalore
Ishteyaque
George Perin
Asoke P. Chattopadhyay
Gitanjali Priti Bhatia
Prayag Mehta
Jean Fouere, Ireland
jacob Lazer
S V RAJADURAI,Writer
Jenna Gunnell
Binu Karunakaran
Jinesh K J
Amjad Khan
K. Satchidanandan, poet, New Delhi
Riyaz Usman
Mirza A. Beg, Jaunpur India and Tuscaloosa, USA
Divya Sharma
Ravi Shukla
Vivek sundara
P Radhakrishnan
Mohamed Thalib H
Gulam Mitha
Aporup Acharya
Regina Lambert
Ahmed Sohaib
Abdul Basit
D.Leena, New Delhi
Rana Bose
P K Vijayan
Paco Rodriguez
Hassan Koya
Saswati Swetlena
Amitadyuti Kumar, President, Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) Hooghly District Committee
Harish Singh, Bangalore
Harjinder Singh (Laltu)
George Pulikuthiyil, Thrissur
Dr. B.C.Mehta
Syed Ali Mujtaba
Vilas Sukhadeve, Nagpur
Rahul Menon
Mushtaq Mohammed Khan
shaheen khan
Manoj Puravankara, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
Sandeep Singh, All india students Association (AISA)
Tanushree Gangopadhyay
Bhagwad Jal Park
Dilip Mandal
Karthik Ramanathan, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Ravi, Software Developer, New Delhi
Arunkumar K
Anil Ennakkad
Rita Manchanda, Safhr ( India)
KS Subramanian.
Joseph Chenakala, Social Activist, Belgaum
C.Raja
Chitra, PhD Scholar, TISS, Mumbai
Uma V Chandru, Bangalore
Vibha Iyer, Progressive Students’ Union
Prabhat Sharan
Renu Ramanath
B.R.P.Bhaskar
Dipankar Chakrabarti (Editor, ANEEK)
Debarshi Ray, Free Software Developer
Lalit Batra, City University of New York
Kalyani Menon-Sen, Gurgaon
Abhijit Menon Sen
Sushovan Dhar
Shalila Raj
Jamlan, Tamil Nadu
Janet Surman
Kumarathasan
K. Nagarajan
Arun M, Thiruvananthapuram
faisal khan, NAPM,Asha parivar
Dr. Manas Sardar, Materials Physics Division, Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Reseach, Kalpakkam 603102
Kavita Krishnnan, AIPWA
Mohammad Askari
Aditya Sarkar
Suman Chakma
Jaspal Singh Sidhu
P K Vijayan
Arasu Balraj, Chennai.
Rohan DSouza

“Chithralekha is a symbol and sign of the marginalization that Dalits face in modern Kerala”, notes the solidarity mission in its report after visiting Payyanur to ascertain the facts about the hoodlums stigmatizing and victimizing Chitralekha. It is salutary that some of the civil society activists and groups in Keralam after some [...]]]>

“Chithralekha is a symbol and sign of the marginalization that Dalits face in modern Kerala”, notes the solidarity mission in its report after visiting Payyanur to ascertain the facts about the hoodlums stigmatizing and victimizing Chitralekha. It is salutary that some of the civil society activists and groups in Keralam after some initial fabrication like “we versus aliens” came out actively in support of Chitralekha. The issue has also become a rallying point for the defunct civil society movement in Keralam to resuscitate itself from its visible departure in the wake of Chengara land struggle. The civil society movements in Keralam had its glorious time in the 1980s and 90s. Violations of rights were rampant even after the withdrawal of emergency. They were part of the Leviathan methods of State craft. The surplus value these violations generated were a boon to the media struggling to reclaim the credibility it had lost during emergency.

The nature of violations was such that the elite amongst the emergent middle class were quick in understanding that the extension of the violation may hinder their own private interests. There had been such a brahmanical excitement in the decades just after the British formally left India with the nation-building idea that the displacement of aboriginals and dalitbahujans in the name of mega projects were only sacrifices at altar of the emergent Nation-God. But the saga of nation building progressed in a way that road to its promised land had to necessarily eat into the holy terrains of middle class masses.

Civil society did not dither in properly apprehending the concerns of the middle classes that roundly made it. Ecology got its primacy since then. Meanwhile, the alienation of different classes from the “inliers” of nation-hood facilitated emergence of singular social groupings demanding particular benefits like fisher folk associations.  Nevertheless, the benefits were not like the rights demand as it always lacked assertions from the people.

1980s and 90s witnessed political salience of civil society groupings. Many of the groups have its legacy in the Naxalite movement of the previous decade. The individuals who had entrepreneurial acumen and negotiation skills transformed the groups aligned to them as distinct entities prioritizing and minimizing its concern to some basic issues that can rock into the core of urban middle class with political sensitivities.

The pitched battles it fought brought sufficient dividends for both civil society activists group as well as the State. A win-win for both! The ambivalent engagements of State and civil society activism was progressing with a mutuality sometimes co-engineered, some times aided by the judiciary, some times guaranteed by the media. But the days were numbering and its grind halted with the irruption of the march of Adivasis to the precious zone of the state capital in 2001.  The civil society sisterhood and brotherhood then split along several lines. The aboriginals lost the innocence the eco- mothers of Keralam had been celebrating for long.

During the time Congress-led UDF was in power and hence for the same reason, the forum had cause-sympathizers ranging from the primitive Left to past-modernizing Left. Past-modernizers, the real ex-centers dual aim was of sustaining one-self through the changing times by free- marketing seventies nostalgia concocted  with some secular free-riders and also act as double-agent for one of the “absent ruling class” when the Adivasi struggle was going on.

Now the waning of the civil society is more than visible. The Adivasi movement was the last-straw. New social shakers and movers emerging from the distant remote and disbanded territories led by un-recognizable faces absolutely drain the reserve energy for the enduring of the civil society groups. The emergent new movements prioritized a different set of issues. It subverted the older agenda of “unity and opposition” contracted between State and civil society groups.

Even while not receiving the due publicity, the new subjects did not demand any facilitation from the civil society gathering. On the contrary, it only offered its support to civil society actors to get in touch with the reality as evident in the locale of political action. Clueless about the turn history has taken, some activist and journalist-promoters of the civil society groups transformed their role from “activist” to “mediators” disrobing themselves from the previous avatar of “self-less” civil society service personnel.

Years later the Chengara land struggle diminished the valiant presence of old lords of civil society groups. The most visible aspect of the struggle was the new actors’ refusal to play victim. The patron–client relation that the civil society groups had with the strugglers broke since Chengara. The victim industry stock value dropped. The promoters were left in deep lurch after this great crash.

The Marxist party, as usual, had a different understanding about its relation vis-à-vis new political mobilizations. It did not share the “victim” industry evaluation of new political subjects. The Marxist party was intact in its primordial belief in “public sector monopoly”. It agitated against the idea of Dalits or Adivasis or Muslims organizing themselves for resource sharing. The belief of the Marxist party is firmly rooted in its understanding of new political subjects as ‘Amoral” agents of social change.

Marxist party permitted and entertained civil society “causes” in enabling appropriate technology solutions, ecological minimalism, some small little steps in anti-dam posturing etc. But when it came to greater causes like distribution of land, it was unrelenting in its opposition. The simple, parental, governmental ego of the Marxist party knows what “progressive” is and it could not even think of “Amoral” agents countering the party which had introduced land reforms for the first time in post-colonial Indian history.

Adivasis do not count as ‘victims” in Marxist party agenda since they could not even singularly constitute as active participants of change. Hence with a parental authority its magnificent “working class” or “de-classed” leaders will lead the tribal march to land occupied by private persons.

However, deeper is the problems of the conventional civil society operators. The civil society operands have met with severe challenges. Firstly devoid of a moral victim in pursuant of a justice facilitated by the civil society actors, it could not centre-stage its old agent-provocateur role. Secondly, despite its best efforts in aligning to new political subjects, the fifth estate actors were reduced to much diminishing role as the new agents have calibrated the movement on their own strength. Thirdly, the new political subjects have redrawn the contours of political society as new subjects subverted the old paradigm of civil society clientilism with an influx of new social energy.

[Cross Posted in ManipurFreedom.org]

Dear Friends,

On 2 November 2009, Manipur poet and activist Irom Sharmila, will enter the 10th year of her hunger strike demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Introduced in 1958 the AFSPA grants the Indian military special [...]]]>

Image courtesy : Tehelka

[Cross Posted in ManipurFreedom.org]

Dear Friends,

On 2 November 2009, Manipur poet and activist Irom Sharmila, will enter the 10th year of her hunger strike demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Introduced in 1958 the AFSPA grants the Indian military special powers throughout North-East India to:

• Arrest citizens and enter their property without warrant;
• Shoot and kill anyone on mere ‘suspicion’;
• Enjoy immunity against legal action.

Under the cover of the Act the Indian armed forces have indulged in killing, torture, enforced disappearances and rape, bringing great shame to India and much misery to the people of Manipur. According to the government appointed Justice Jeevan Reddy Commission ‘the Act has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness.’ The United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination has urged the Indian government to repeal the law.

On 2 November, 2000 Irom Sharmila Chanu, a Manipuri poet decided to go on a hunger strike after the Indian Army massacred ten civilians in Malom, Manipur. On 6 November 2000 she was arrested by the police and charged with attempt to commit suicide under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. Her health deteriorated gradually and she did not accept even a single drop of water.

On 21 November 2000 a plastic tube was inserted into her nose and liquid nutrient was inserted into her body. She has been surviving on this liquid diet and in solitary confinement as a high security prisoner for the last nearly ten years. She is routinely released every year only to be re-arrested again. This ritual has been going on for a decade now.

In solidarity with her local civil society, particularly the women, have been on a relay hunger strike since December 10, 2008. On the occasion of her struggle entering the tenth year, they are poised to celebrate her resilience as a “Festival of Hope, Justice and Peace”.  We the following organisations are convinced that Sharmila’s struggle is not just to defend the human rights in Manipur, but in reality it is reshaping the very foundations of democracy in India. Therefore, it is important that all those who defend justice, peace and democracy to support her struggle. Hence, we wish to celebrate Sharmila’s courage and resilience as her struggle enters the 10th year from 2 to 6 November 2009 . We call upon all people’s movements, women’s organisations and human rights forums to initiate the following actions:

1. Protest or symbolic hunger fast in support of Sharmila’s demand to repeal AFSPA on November 2nd or November 6th.
2. Protest in front of Indian embassies all over the world.
3. Organise students in schools and colleges to write poems in support of Sharmila’s demands. These can be publicised through Manipurfreedom.org
4. Organise Human Rights Film Festivals in support of Sharmila Irom from November 2nd to November 6. A package of films will be available through INSAF, insafdelhi@gmail.com phone: 011-65663958
5. Highlight all cases of human rights violations in Manipur and the North-East India
6. Popularise the poster for action available at manipurfreedom.org from October 15th onwards (the poster can be freely used to be printed and circulated according to your local needs.)
7. Write letters to  Chief Minister of Manipur and Prime minister of India with copies to solidarity@manipurfreedom.org and hramanipur@gmail.com
8. Organise public meetings in support of Sharmila Irom’s demand to repeal AFSPA.
9. Organise book reading sessions / interaction / discussion / talks with the latest book on Sharmila by  Deepti Priya Mehrotra called `Burning Bright’ (published by Penguin Books). Priya Mehrotra can be contacted at: 9711793492, or 011-26011078
10. Any other action you may think appropriate to express solidarity with the tenth year of struggle by Sharmila Irom.

Please inform details about your actions with photographs to solidarity@manipurfreedom.org so that a wider section of people can be informed.

Please circulate this appeal to all your friends so that a strong campaign can be initiated to generate maximum pressure to repeal AFSPA.

We do hope that you will do everything within your means to make this campaign successful.

Manipurfreedom.org | Adishakti Lokbikash Sangthan (Orissa) | Adivasi Adhikar Abhijan Mayurbhanj (Orissa) | Adivasi Bikash Parisad (Orissa) | Adivasi Chetona Manch(Orissa) | Adivasi Moolvasi Asistva Raksha Manch, Jharkhand | AID, Delhi Chapter | Akhra, Jharkhand | Anchalik Bikash Parisad(Orissa) | Anchalik Jungle Surakshya Sangthan (Orissa) | Anchalika Adivasi Unnayan Parishad(Orissa) | Ancholia Unnayan Parishad(Orissa) | Ancholiko Unnayan Sangh(Orissa) | Ancholiko Vikas Parisad(Orissa) | ANHAD | Anti SEZ struggle organisation, Kakinada, AP | Antyodaya Chetana Mandal (Orissa) | Balmianni Kutomi (Orissa) | BHARATIYA MUSLIM MAHILA ANDOLAN | Bharatiya Muslim Women’s Movement | Centre For Research on New International Economic Order (Orissa and TN) | Citizen for human rights movement, Tamil Nadu | Citizens’ Committee on Communal Harmony | Common Concern, Orissa | Dalit Women Forum, Secunderabad, AP | Deo-mali Mahila Sangh(Orissa) | EKTA ( committee for communal amity) Mumbai | Forum for Women’s Rights & Development (FORWORD), Tambaram, TN |FOrum Kerala | Gana Chetana Sangthan (Orissa) | Ganglamaa Vikash Manch(Orissa) | Ganjam Jilla Adivasi Manch, Ganjam, Orissa | Gram Sahajog(Orissa) | Gramanchal Bikash Parisad(Orissa) | Himalayan Niti Abhiyan, HP | Ho Munda Bhasa Bikash Manch (Orissa) | Human Rights Alert, Manipur | Human Rights Law Network, Delhi | Indian Association for Women’s Studies ( IAWS) | INSAF , Delhi | Institute of Human Rights  Education, Chennai | Integrated Rural Development of Weaker Sections in India (Orissa, AP and TN) | Jahar Surkshya Manch (Orissa) | Jan Pahal , Madhya Pradesh | Japadhar Bachao Andolan , Orissa | Jatadhar Banchao Andolan | Jungle Jivan Surakshya Parisad(Orissa) | Just Peace Foundation, Manipur | Kabani -The Other Direction | Kasti Dakua Adivasi Mohasangha(Orissa) | Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation | Kisan Morcha, Bikaner, Rajasthan Dalit Sena, Jodhpur, Rajasthan | Kriti Team, Delhi | Kuvi Bdayu (Orissa) | Kuvi Kulomi (Orissa) | LOK MANCH, Aurangabad, Biha | Loka Adhikar Manch | Loka Unnayan Sangha (Orissa) | Mahendragiri Adivasi Adhikar Samiti (Orissa) | Mahila Morcha, Banswara, Rajasthan | Malaygiri Bikash Manch(Orissa) | Moving Republic, Bangalore | Mukti Sanghthan(Orissa) | Munigiri Gana Sangthan (Orissa) | Nari Bikash-Women Organisation(Orissa) | National Adivasi alliance | National Alliance of People’s Movements | National Alliance of Women Organisations, Orissa | National Coastal Women’s Movement | National Hawkers Federation  | New Socialist Alternative ( Bangalore) | Niyamgiri Surakshya Abhijan | Niyamgiri Surakshya Manch, Orissa | Niyamgiri Surkshya Manch(Orissa) | Odisha Adivasi Adhikar Abhijan (Orissa) | Orissa Development Action Forum (Orissa) | Orissa Human Rights Forum, Bhadrakh District,Orissa | Pahadi Sangrami Manch(Orissa) | Pathabhedam Magazine, Calicut | Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy , Koodankulam | Peoples watch , Madurai | POSCO Pratirodh  Sangram Samiti, Orissa | Project level committee (Orissa) | Reach Out , Delhi | Roopankan , Indore, Madhya Pradesh | Rural Action for Development (Orissa) | Rusimal Anchalik Unnayan Parishad (Orissa) | Sahaya(Orissa) | SAJAG ( Sahariya Jan Gath Bandhan ) | Sajukodi Dhorti Surkhya Porisod(Orissa) | Samajik Vikasa Kendram (Orissa) | Samajika Parivartan Vikas Kendra (Orissa)  | Samvedan Sanskritik Manch, Ahmedabad, Gujarat | SANGAT , Delhi | Saura Adivasi Ahikar Abhijan (Orissa) | Seva Bharati (Orissa) | Shaheen (Women Resource Centre), Hyderabad, AP | Shakti Sangthan(Orissa) | SICHREM, Bangalore | Socio Economic Development Programme (Orissa and West Bengal) | SUDHANTHRA, rehabilitation centre for victims of domestic violence and torture, Madurai | Theeradesa Mahilavedi, Kerala | VIBGYOR Film Collective | Visual Search, Bangalore | Zailaitmu(Orissa)