From: India's Silent Spaces
Over the last decade, an unstable economic situation has resulted in the influx of revolutionaries, known as Naxalites, who defend the rights of marginalized communities to their land and resources. Increasingly, they are met in these rural communities by Salwa Judum, government-supported militias sent to counter revolutionary violence.
Salwa Judum has unclear origins. Some allege it is a government creation to drive rural communities off their land; government officials claim it is a spontaneous movement of people to defend themselves against the excesses of Naxalite violence. In either event, one certain point is that Salwa Judum has increased violence in the state to unprecedented levels, forcing communities out of their forest dwellings and into crude, and by most reports sub-human, camps. Moving back is often not a choice for these communities, kept off their traditional land by the government in the name of public safety.
Amidst this conflict and suffering, the government is signing agreements with mining companies for access to the mineral deposits that lie in the land of indigenous communities. Advocates are attempting to expose the connections between Salwa Judum, widescale displacement, but, many people in positions of power seem to be ignoring the situation altogether.
Meanwhile, the state of Chhattisgarh has imposed one of the most stringent anti-terrorism laws in India. Passed in 2005, this law defines terrorist activity to encompass even tendencies toward interference with public order or administration of law, though how this tendency is defined or proven is unclear. It also prohibits encouragement of civil disobedience, which makes free speech and political dissent tricky. In addition, national anti-terrorism legislation expands police powers to investigate suspected acts of terrorism and allows for extended preventative detention without charge.
Salwa Judum has unclear origins. Some allege it is a government creation to drive rural communities off their land; government officials claim it is a spontaneous movement of people to defend themselves against the excesses of Naxalite violence. In either event, one certain point is that Salwa Judum has increased violence in the state to unprecedented levels, forcing communities out of their forest dwellings and into crude, and by most reports sub-human, camps. Moving back is often not a choice for these communities, kept off their traditional land by the government in the name of public safety.
Amidst this conflict and suffering, the government is signing agreements with mining companies for access to the mineral deposits that lie in the land of indigenous communities. Advocates are attempting to expose the connections between Salwa Judum, widescale displacement, but, many people in positions of power seem to be ignoring the situation altogether.
Meanwhile, the state of Chhattisgarh has imposed one of the most stringent anti-terrorism laws in India. Passed in 2005, this law defines terrorist activity to encompass even tendencies toward interference with public order or administration of law, though how this tendency is defined or proven is unclear. It also prohibits encouragement of civil disobedience, which makes free speech and political dissent tricky. In addition, national anti-terrorism legislation expands police powers to investigate suspected acts of terrorism and allows for extended preventative detention without charge.
No comments:
Post a Comment