Nandigram:State
Sponsored Mayhem
By Nilanju Dutta
17 October, 2007
Combat
Law
Far removed from Kolkata's hubbub,
Nandigram always belonged to the rural backwaters of West Bengal. It
needed appendages like East Midnapur district or Haldia Development
Authority to be spotted on state's map. Yet all of a sudden it lost
its anonymity when it became the centre of peasants' resistance against
an attempt by the government to acquire their agricultural land for
setting up a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The SEZ controversy started
when the West Bengal government decided to set up a chemical hub under
the SEZ policy at Nandigram. It led to brutal repression by armed police
and CPM cadre who resorted to firing, assault and rape. Villagers narrated
what they went through before a people's tribunal on Nandigram that
called the violence a 'preplanned, state-sponsored massacre' carried
out 'to teach a lesson' to people resisting acquisition of their land
for the SEZ project.
On January 7, at around 3
am, the villagers of Nandigram woke up to the sounds of bombs and gunfire
coming from the house of a CPM activist. At least five persons were
killed in the encounter. In retaliation, the villagers set fire to the
CPM camp at Baratole in Khejuri as well as to the house of the CPM activist,
Shankar Samanta, who was burnt to death in the incident. The ironical
part, though, was that the police and the administrative officials were
nowhere on the scene when this violence was taking place and confined
themselves to the Nandigram Police Station. In total contrast to this
on March 14, 2007 there were thousands of unarmed Nandigram folk- mostly
women and children-gathered in the early hours of morning near the Bangabhera
bridge to peacefully block any attempts by the state forces to invade
their villages. Ranged against them was an about 2,000-strong police
contingent along with several hundred armed cadre of the CPM -- some
of them allegedly dressed in ill-fitting police uniforms. Without any
warning the police began lobbing teargas shells. This blinded the crowd
and created panic and commotion. Soon the police and the goons began
firing. The violence continued for the next an-hour-and-a-half approsimately.
Many complaints of horrific and deliberate violence resorted to by the
police were made by the residents before the tribunal in this incident.
The report People's Tribunal
on Nandigram brought out by All India Citizens' Initiative is replete
with testimonies given by villagers of inhuman and brutal vendetta unleashed
by the police, state administration and ruling CPM cadre. The report
begins with an introduction giving in details of where and when the
Tribunal took place and as to what were the responses of the state authorities.
Then it goes on to give a brief summary on the backdrop of Nandigram
that led to the violence of March 14, 2007 brutally demolishing the
past, present and the future of the victims. The impact of the incident
on women and children along with the list of dead, missing and injured
persons are categorically brought out in the report. Reading it gives
a first hand picture of the actual occurrence of the carnage and its
aftermath. The details given show that the slaughter caused by the police
firing on the retreating villagers, mainly women and children, was pre-planned.
The individual testimonies by the victims show that there was lack of
trust or faith in the police or, indeed, in the system since it would
tantamount to seeking help from the perpetrators who had tortured them.
Going by the summary one
comes to know that the medical help provided to the victims was simply
shocking. Victims of rape were not examined for sexual assault and nothing
was recorded medically. From the various depositions of the victims,
the picture becomes clear that the minimum facilities required in a
hospital were missing, no separate facilities for men and women existed
and that operations were done under torchlight in the village hospital.
Even the medical reports were tampered and several discrepancies came
up through the testimonies of the victims. The victims were forcibly
discharged with bullets still lodged in their bodies. Therefore, it
is quite obvious that there was a link between the police and the district
medical and other authorities, all of whom apparently were covering
up the true nature, cause, extent and gravity of violence.
The remarkable section of
the report, though, is the Findings and Recommendations, the report
has within it various observations which are made on the basis of factual
evidence along with the numerous depositions of the victims before the
tribunal and these recommendations are aimed at relevant state authorities
to take up immediate action, particularly in the context of the worsening
humanitarian situation on the relief and medical front. The report also
goes on to suggest the necessary recommendations that the Tribunal had
come up with. A thorough reading of the recommendations shows that they
are in fact sensitive and insightful. Efforts have been made for police
reforms as well as for the 'establishment of human rights courts to
provide justice in the cases of human rights violation that arises from
conflicts between state and the people or amongst different political
group.' It also suggests, "there should be an immediate end to
the economic and physical blockade of the people of Nandigram by the
armed CPM men active in the surrounding areas have been preventing the
flow of essential supplies as well as safe movement of people in and
out of the area."
The report in every possible
way highlights the pain, agony, helplessness and the courage of the
poor as well as the total lack of respect and profound apathy with which
the authorities treat the poor and the helpless of our country
Because most of the victims
of this massacre were women who were sexually assaulted and molested
and suffered in the most cruel, degrading and inhuman manner, the report
also recommended, "the judiciary should consider setting up a special
bench, headed by a woman judge, to hear all the cases of rape, molestation
and violence against women of Nandigram by both police personnel and
armed cadre of the CPM." Along with it the report also emphasises
on the appointment of a 'monitoring committee' so as to ensure that
there is no repetition of the violence of March 14 suffered by defenceless
villagers of Nandigram.
The report in every possible
way highlights the pain, agony, helplessness and the courage of the
poor as well as the total lack of respect and profound apathy with which
the authorities treat the poor and the helpless of our country. No rehabilitation
measures have been made available to the victims who suffered such brutal
atrocities that fear has been besetting them and loss of hope in future
is common among them. There has been deliberate negligence on the part
of the administration in not attending to the victims and providing
them immediate medical assistance, and relief as per the universal guidelines.
The poor seems to be the only ones who are expected to show discipline.
The report is noteworthy in the sense that it reflects the voice of
the marginalised people who are otherwise neglected and left to face
sub-human conditions. Such report gives a little glint of hope as it
shows that there are people who want to make the difference and contribute
to the struggles of individuals by asking for quick justice, transparency
and fair play.
The author is a lawyer, HRLN,
Delhi
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