PUCL Bulletin, 2005
Press release
Fact-finding report on the Salwa Judum, Dantewara District
By an All-India team (PUCL Chhattisgarh and PUCL Jharkhand, PUDR, Delhi; APDR, West Bengal and IAPL), Nov - Dec 2005
Press Release at Raipur, 2nd December 2005
Since June 2005, Dantewara District (formerly part of Bastar district),
Chhattisgarh, has been in the news for an alleged uprising of adivasis
against the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Most media and official
reports described this movement, known as Salwa Judum, as a spontaneous and
self-initiated reaction to Maoist oppression, and hailed it as a turning
point in the fight against Naxalism. At the same time, a few reports
indicated that people had been displaced in large numbers and were living in
miserable conditions in camps. While this was officially attributed to
Maoist threats and retaliation against those joining the Salwa Judum, stray
news also came in about the excesses committed by members of the Salwa Judum
and security forces.
An all India team decided to investigate the situation, focusing
specifically on the violation of human rights and the impact on people's
everyday lives. A fourteen member team from five different organizations
conducted an investigation between 28th November and 1st December in
Bijapur and Bhairamgarh blocks of Dantewara district. The organizations
include: People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Chhattisgarh and PUCL
Jharkhand, People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Delhi, Association
for the Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), West Bengal, and Indian
Association of People's Lawyers (IAPL). The team visited both camps and
villages, met people arrested during the operation, as well as leaders of
the Salwa Judum, Police and Civil Administration officials.
The main findings of the team are reported below (a more detailed report will follow shortly)
- The Salwa Judum is far from the spontaneous uprising of tribals against Maoists that it is claimed to be. It is an organized, state managed
enterprise that has precedents in the Jan Jagaran Abhiyans that have
occurred earlier under the leadership of the current Dantewara MLA, Mahendra Karma. The Collector himself has been part of 75% of the Salwa Judum meetings and security forces have been backing the Judum's meetings. The
main cadre of Salwa Judum are comprised of Special Police Officers who are
being paid and armed by the state, at a rate that is standard in counter
insurgency operations across the country.
- The Salwa Judum has led to the forcible displacement of people throughout
Bhairamgarh, Geedam and Bijapur areas, under police and administrative
supervision. According to official estimates approximately 15,000 people
from 420 villages are living as refugees in temporary camps. People have
left behind their cattle and most of their household goods. The entire area
is being cleared of inhabitants even as new roads are being built and more
police and para-military stations are being set up. The region is being turned into one large cantonment. In many places regular economic activities like weekly haats have stopped.
- We observed a pattern in the dislocation: when Salwa Judum meetings are called, people from neighbouring villages are asked to be present. Heavy security forces accompany the meetings. Villages that refuse to participate face repeated attacks by the combined forces of Salwa Judum, the district force and the paramilitary Naga battalion, which is stationed in the area. In addition, there are separate raids by the Naga Battalion. These raids
result in looting, arson and killings in many instances. In some villages,
the raids continue till the entire village is cleared and people have moved
to camps while in other cases, only old people, women and children are left. Many villages are coming to camps to avoid these attacks in the first place.
- Once in camps, people have no choice but to support the Salwa Judum. Some of them are forced to work as informers against members of their own and neighbouring villages and participate in attacks against them, leading to
permanent divisions within villages. Individual families are sometimes
being split between Judum supporters and those who wish to remain in their
villages. We also came across instances where the Salwa Judum took young people away from the village and their families were unaware of their
whereabouts.
- It is frightening to note the collapse of civil administration in many
parts of Dantewada District. Salwa Judum members man check points on roads, search people's belongings and control the flow of transport. They enforce an economic blockade on villages that resist coming to camps. They also try to force civil officials to follow their dictat.
- FIRs registering the looting, burning, beatings/torture by Salwa Judum mobs and the security forces are not recorded. We were told of specific
instances where Security Forces threw dead bodies inside or near villages.
The intention seems to be to terrorise people into leaving their villages.
These killings are not reported, and therefore hard to corroborate. Some
reports suggest that 96 people from 34 villages have been killed. However,
the only killings that are officially recorded are those by Maoists. In the
period since Salwa Judum started, it is true that the killings by Maoists
have gone up substantially and the official figure today stands at 70.
Rather than being a "peace mission" as is claimed, the Salwa Judum has
created a situation where violence has escalated.
- The Salwa Judum has strong support among certain sections of local
society. This section comprises of some non-adivasi immigrant settlers from other parts of India, sarpanches and traditional leaders whose power has been threatened by the Maoists, powerful local politicians like Karma, and his network of supporters. Both the local Congress and the BJP are supporting the Salwa Judum together.
- Militarisation: We have heard from several high ranking officials that
there is an undeclared war on in Bastar, and we fear that the worst is yet to come. There is a heavy presence of the paramilitary like the CRPF and the Naga Battalion. This creates a situation where forces from other states are behaving like an occupation army. We ourselves saw a number of cattle and people being herded by the Naga Battalion after a raid. One of these cows was slaughtered on the main road in full view of all present. In addition, people are being encouraged to carry arms. Village defence committees are being created, SPOs are being trained and armed, and the entire society is becoming more militaristic.
- Although Chhattisgarh is claimed to be a tribal state, adivasi society and culture is being actively destroyed. People, for whom the earth of their village is sacred, are being forcibly removed from it, and the whole social fabric is being torn.
We demand
- Stop militarisation of society in Bastar/Dantewada, which is pitting
adivasis against each oth er as part of an anti-Naxal operation, and using people as a shield.
- Hold a judicial enquiry into all killings committed by the Salwa
Judum/Security Forces combine, which have gone unrecorded.
- The CPI (Maoist) should provide details of all persons killed by them.
Home | Index | What's new