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End The Harassment And Intimidation Of Soni Sori, Lingaram Kodopi And Others: IndiaMattersUK

By IndiaMattersUK

22 March, 2016
Countercurrents.org

IndiaMattersUK calls on the Chhattisgarh Government in India and the state’s police, in particular Inspector General (IG) of Police Bastar Range SRP Kalluri, to end the harassment and intimidation of Lingaram Kodopi, Soni Sori and other victims of violation and abuse and guarantee their safety.

On 20thFebruary, 2016, Soni Sori, an Adivasi (indigenous people) school teacher turned social justice campaigner in Chhattisgarh, India, was attacked with a corrosive chemical substance that was rubbed onto her eyes and face to blind and disfigure her. This attack occurred in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh state as she was about to file a complaint against the IG of Police, Bastar Range, SRP Kalluri for atrocities committed by the IG and his forces against indigenous people in the state. Soni Sori was previously brutally tortured and sexually assaulted whilst in police custody.

Soni Sori, and her nephew Lingaram Kodopi, a journalist and human rights activist, have raised their voices against violations such as rape of women, pillage and burning of houses and killings of villagers in fake encounters in the state. As a result, both have been imprisoned in the past and have been continuously harassed by the police. In 2011, Amnesty International in a public statement declared Soni Sori and Lingaram Kodopi as Prisoners of Conscience and demanded their unconditional release[1].

Since February 2016, the Chhattisgarh police have sought to frame Lingaram, along with other members of Soni’s family, as having been behind the latest attack on Soni Sori. The constant targeting of the family by the state machinery has driven Lingaram to despair. Lingaram has publicly declared that he will end his own life on 23rd March (Martyr’s day in India).

This Statement calls on Chhattisgarh State Government and police, in particular IG Kalluri, to end the harassment and intimidation of Lingaram Kodopi, Soni Sori and others and declares that the Chhattisgarh government and the state police will be responsible for any untoward actions or incidents that affect Lingaram’s wellbeing.

Why are Soni Sori, Lingaram and many others being harassed and tortured by the police?

India's economic boom based on mining and industrialisation in states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand has led to large-scale deforestation, displacement and loss of livelihood for the local populations, the majority being indigenous 'Adivasi' communities. Local people are innocently caught in the crossfire of war between the state and mining corporations on one side, and the Maoists groups, who are active in the area, on the other. As a result young men and women in villages have been experiencing harassments, illegal detention, rape and torture by the police and paramilitary forces and their associates. A number of social and political activists and human rights defenders in Chhattisgarh, including Dr Binayak Sen, have been imprisoned for highlighting the human rights violations in the state. In sharp contrast, police officers orchestrating such violations are awarded medals by the Indian government. Ankit Garg, Superintendent of Police of Dantewada, received the Police Medal for Gallantry on India’s Republic Day 2012. A few months before, on 8th October 2011, Ankit Garg witnessed and was responsible for ordering the electric shock treatment and sexual assault on Soni Sori whilst in police custody. SRP Kalluri, known for various crimes such as ordering rape in custody, killings in fake encounters, was awarded the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Services on the same occasion in 2013.

Further info:

Soni Sori and Lingaram Kodopi

If Adivasi resistance in the warzone of Chhattisgarh in India’s tribal belt has faces and names, they are that of Soni Sori and Lingaram Kodopi. Lingaram’s story, however, remains little known, yet he has been and remains Soni Sori’s ultimate and indispensable confidant and support. We know all too well that a tried and tested tactic of state attempts to obliterate adivasi dissent, which has been gaining power and momentum since organised attempts at mass mobilisation by the local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Soni Sori, exposing gross human rights violations together with the journalism of Lingaram Kodopi and via critical legal aid and representation by the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group.

Lingaram Kodopi is a fearless and talented journalist, exposing gross atrocities against Adivasi people in the state where there is total breakdown of state accountability. Inspired by the ideas and actions of people such as Che Guvera, Nelson Mandela and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, and with a sharp, questioning and investigative mind, Lingaram is a rare breed in the state of Chhattisgarh where Adivasis are systematically and violently denied access to education, among other fundamental rights. His primary ‘crime’ against the State is his understanding and assertion of Adivasi rights; as Javed Iqbal wrote,

‘Lingaram wants to help the Adivasis, his own people, which means to ensure them a fair stake in their forests, their lands, and their rights, which is completely against the policies of the Chhattisgarh government. That alone is a crime. That alone, makes him a Maoist sympathiser’[2].

In 2009 Lingaram Kodopi was held by police in Dantewada district with the intention to pressurise him into becoming a Special Police Officer (SPO). Later in April 2010, he participated in the 'Independent Peoples Tribunal on land acquisition, resource grab and operation Green Hunt' in New Delhi and recounted his experiences at the hands of the Chhattisgarh police force. After studying journalism, Lingaram documented police and paramilitary atrocities including recording the accounts of villagers whose homes were burned and razed to rubble in a three-day police operation in March 2011.

In September 2011, Lingaram was arrested and charged with sedition, waging war against the state and for anti-state activities under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Public Security Act and was (falsely) accused of organising an attack against a local politician in 2010 and for supporting a money exchange between local Maoists and a staff member of a steel company that planned to do business in the Maoist-controlled area.

What had been Lingaram’s real so-called ‘crime’?

In April 2011 he video documented and exposed how the police had destroyed three Adivasi villages during an anti-Maoist operation[3]. Lingaram has also consistently spoken out about state laundering of funds that were marked for ‘welfare plans’ for tribals that never materialised. He has also unequivocally supported and advocated for other tribals who have been victims of state violence and repression. Lingaram’s situation is far from an aberration from what has been happening in Chhattisgarh since 2005, against the backdrop of Booming India that has resulted in over 7,000 Adivasis being been assaulted, raped, tortured and killed; more often than not having been branded as Maoists or Naxalites and implicated in false encounters with the police.

Soni Sori, was attacked on 20th February with an acid-like substance and was subsequently told that her daughter awaited the same fate. Soni, however, is unrelenting in her commitment to exposing the annihilation of the Adivasi people by the state[4]. On 11th March, the threats took on even more overt and visible form when IG of Police SRP Kalluri himself told Lingaram that he would be framed as a Naxalite and be implicated in a false encounter. The Police have also been trying to frame Lingaram, along with other members of Soni’s family, as having been behind the latest attack on Soni.

In despair, as a result of these threats and constant hounding by the state machinery, Lingaram has declared that he will end his own life on 23rd March (Martyr’s day in India). He told the Times of India, "Let me decide the date of my death myself. I won't allow Bastar IG to decide that. It's better to kill yourself instead of being shot at by police's gun who would consider me a Maoist or attacker of my own aunt."[5]

There is a vital and urgent need to get this story out. The battle that Soni Sori and Lingaram are fighting takes place in Chhattisgarh, India’s tribal belt, which is nothing short of a banana republic. With the rampant crackdown on dissent taking place in India today (i.e. Hyderabad University and Delhi’s JNU), the already dire prospects for any accountability and Rule of Law in Chhattisgarh are growing ever more bleak.

Key links

Lingaram Kodopi

Who is Lingaram Kodopi? – Kractactivist https://kractivist.wordpress.com/political-prisoners-2/lingaram-kodopi/

Soni Sori's nephew Lingaram alleges police pressure, threatens to end his life on March 23 – Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Soni-Soris-nephew-Lingaram-alleges-police-pressure-threatens-to-end-his-life-on-March-2/articleshow/51366981.cms?from=mdr

India Journalist Lingaram Kodopi released on bail – Committee for the Protection of Journalists https://cpj.org/2013/11/indian-journalist-lingaram-kodopi-released-on-bail.php

The curious case of Lingaram Kodopi – DNA India - http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-javed-iqbal-the-curious-case-of-lingaram-kodopi-1591574

Soni Sori

Soni Sori says it’s time for the final battle – The Hindu - http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/soni-sori-says-its-time-for-final-battle/article8343653.ece

My face today is the face of Bastar’s fight – The Hindu http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/my-face-today-is-the-face-of-bastars-fight-soni-sori/article8328898.ece

Where every human rights activist is labelled a Maoist: Chhatisgarh

https://sabrangindia.in/sabrangthemes/jangal-do-ya-phaansi?qt-view__themes__page=7#qt-view__themes__page

[1] https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2013/08/release-prisoners-conscience-soni-sori-and-lingaram-kodopi/

[2] http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-javed-iqbal-the-curious-case-of-lingaram-kodopi-1591574

[3] https://youtu.be/LR4BdBWoPC0

[4] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/my-face-today-is-the-face-of-bastars-fight-soni-sori/article8328898.ece

[5] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/Soni-Soris-nephew-Lingaram-alleges-police-pressure-threatens-to-end-his-life-on-March-2/articleshow/51366981.cms?from=mdr

lndia Matters UK (lMUK) is a coalition of academics, lawyers, students, activists, media personnel and individuals who are deeply concerned about the increasing and unacceptable levels of state repression and diminishing democratic spaces, intolerance and disregard for Rule of Law in lndia today. lMUK aims to raise local and international awareness about state policies and practices of targeted violence and vigilantism against Adivasis (indigenous populations), Dalits (marginalised castes), Muslims, women, doctors, scientists, intellectuals, media personnel, nationalities (diverse ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural groups). Working in coalition with other individuals and groups, lMUK is committed to help bring about effective international responses to developments and issues of concern in India and to promote the goal of the Indian Constitution - “to secure all its citizens, justice: social, economic and political”. lMUK will share and compile factual evidence and reports through public meetings and screenings; lobby politicians, experts and professionals and relevant people in the UK and also internationally; and offer support and solidarity to individuals and groups in India who are victims of state violence and abuse. lf these issues in India today matter to you, please contact us at: [email protected]




 



 

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