Writing on the Blog.

The world is ever ready to point out, even revel in, what are usually called India's "lack of infrastructure", "corrupt ruling bodies", "social malpractices" and "fundamentalist orthodoxy". Indians would rather phrase these failings less acidically, but not even the most arduous loyalist of Indian Nationalism can deny any one of these charges. India, however, takes the fundamental right pertaining to freedom, the first of those inalienable rights in the Constitution, seriously. There is widespread abuse of this right, but it also gives the ordinary citizen a chance to make themselves heard, and share ideas and opinions on public fora like social networking sites and blogs. One woman in ten thousand may have complained of harrassment through social media; a slightly larger number of people may have been subjected to fraudulence. The law hasn't interfered, and this I state as a case without exceptions, with Indians residing in their home country, and writing in their personal web pages about what they choose, and in what way.

Not so in Egypt. Kareem Amer has already spent a term of four years behind bars in Alexandria, and continues to be detained because of his aggressive statements against President Hosni and Islam in his blog. He was scheduled to be released on November 5, and authorities blithely feign ignorance of what went wrong when a week has passed and no document of freedom given to Amer.

Amnesty International is fighting with Kareem Amer, whose offence was making a public comment on an issue of relevance to himself. To protest and make a difference, visit Amnesty's official online report:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/egyptian-blogger-held-despite-completing-prison-sentence-2010-11-11.

Indian government should ensure torture law meets international standards.

Amnesty International has urged the Indian government to help end the routine torture of those held by police and prison authorities by ensuring the new Prevention of Torture Bill in India, 2010 meets international standards before adopting it.

The Bill, which is expected to be considered by the Select Committee of the Upper House (Rayja Sabha) of the Indian Parliament on 17 October, will address many forms of torture routinely employed by Indian police and prison officials. The Bill was passed by the Lower house (Lok Sabha) on 6 May 2010.

"If India is serious about its aspiration to be a regional and global power, it needs to address the issue of torture and ensure that the human rights of those it arrests and detains are protected," said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Programme Director.

Amnesty International said the Bill must be amended to bring it in line with international standards, including limiting torture to practices causing physical suffering, keeping a six-month deadline for making complaints about torture and not annulling current provisions which allow law enforcement officials and security forces virtual immunity against prosecution for perpetrating torture and recommends solutions.

Torture in state detention is endemic in India, involving a range of practices including shackling, beatings and the administration of electric shocks. Disadvantaged and maginalized groups including women, Dalits, Adivasis and suspected members of armed opposition groups are those most commonly abused.

According to official reports, 127 people died in police custody in India in 2008-09, although the figure could be higher since several states failed to report such deaths.

Torture is also reportedly widespread in prisons. The National Human Rights Commission registered 1,596 complaints of torture of prisoners in 2008-09. The number of deaths due to torture is not routinely reported.

The vast majority of cases of torture inflicted on detained people in India are unlawful and punishable under current Indian law, however prosecutions are extremely rare.

Law enforcement personnel enjoy virtual immunity from prosecution for torture and other human rights abuses, and prosecutions remain sporadic and rare.

In "disturbed areas", such as Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is in effect, Armed Forces personnel enjoy additional immunity protection and there is virtually no accountability for violations.

In 1996, the Indian Supreme Court issued specific guidelines to authorities safeguarding detainee's rights in all cases of arrest or detention, however they are seldom enforced.
There is also a lack of effective systems to independently monitor the conduct of the authorities with regards to torture and other forms of mistreatment.

The Prevention of Torture Bill in India, 2010 is meant to bring India closer in line with the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. India signed the Convention in 1997 but has yet to ratify it.

"The Indian government should adopt this Bill to help address key issues, but more needs to be done to ensure India is able to meet international conventions against torture," said Madhu Malhotra.

"The Indian government further needs to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture ensuring people are no longer mistreated while they are detained."

Ayodhya: The No War Zone That Was.

Translating roughly from Sanskrit, Ayodhya, literally, is the land where there are no wars (Yudh). This is where the Hindu mythical icon Rama is said to have been born, more a paragon of virile virtues than a religious figure initially, but one whose place of birth merited worship- the Rama Janmabhoomi. This is where Hindus of the pre-Mughal era erected a complex for worship of this deity, and where, in the fifteenth century, Babur's henchmen built a mosque, strangely enough acknowledging that the site had in fact been a sacrosanct one for their Hindu brethren. Centuries later, the Hindu majority flared up in insurgency and demolished the Babri mosque in December 1992, shortly after a Bhartiya Janta Party led traditional Kar Seva. Communal riots broke out in as many as two dozen Indian cities as far apart as Mumbai and Faizabad.

And now, after close to two decades of a legal battle that has been quite a vendetta, India's Supreme Court deigned to assign a third of the 2.77 acre property that was the mosque to Ram Lala temple authorities, and the same fragment to the Sunni Wakf and the Nirmohi Akhara. How and why Hanuman was dragged into this debate befuddles me; the explanation that he was Rama's devotee seems illogical and weak. And the Akhara men call themselves "unattached", I presume to communalism, but they did not show any apathy towards acquiring land after having squeezed themselves into the lawsuit in 1985, and setting off a spate of fire across the country's religious minority.
What will be done with the land redistributed to two generally conflicting communities remains to be seen. The verdict has all the potential to generate ferment across the subcontinent- the Muslim minority might suffer from feelings of being denied what was "rightfully" theirs. The winning Hindu might gloat about being granted what was similarly theirs, and provoke their Islamic counterparts. Whether siphoning of resources that come with the property happens remains to be seen. Our hopes and prayers are with those who do not want the mythic Ayodhya, the war-free land, to be bathed in blood again.

India: Urgent need for Government to act as death toll rises in Kashmir.

With an increasing death toll in protests in Kashmir, Amnesty International calls on the Indian authorities to take urgent steps to ensure respect for the right to life and to investigate past killings of demonstrators by police.
With two more protestors shot dead today, Amnesty International urges the Indian government to immediately instruct the security forces not to use firearms against demonstrators. Security forces should use the minimum force necessary to defend themselves or others against an imminent threat of death or serious injury. They should not employ intentional lethal use of firearms except where such use is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
Ninety-six people have been killed since June when protests broke out in Jammu and Kashmir after the killings of three young men, reportedly by the security forces, in March. The vast majority of these killings have been at the hands of police and paramilitary forces.
An inquiry ordered by the authorities into 11 of the deaths by shooting in July has failed to make headway. Amnesty International renews its call to the government to initiate an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into all the killings. Members of the security forces responsible for excessive use of force in demonstrations should be brought to justice.
In the last week alone, at least 23 people were killed and 80 others injured in shootings by the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary personnel. Protestors defied curfew regulations, held demonstrations and often clashed with the security personnel.
Protests in several places turned violent as demonstrators hurled stones at the security forces in the last week. Reports about threats to burn the Quran in the United States increased tensions. Demonstrators attacked two Christian schools and a hospital, burning one of the schools.
At the same time human rights activists in Srinagar told Amnesty International that on a number of occasions the security forces shot protestors who were throwing stones at them.
A number of towns in the Kashmir valley including Srinagar have been under 24 hour curfew for the last five days.
Information about these events has been restricted as a result of strict enforcement of the curfew regulations. Journalists have informed Amnesty International that, despite possessing curfew passes issued by the authorities, they have been prevented by the police and the paramilitary personnel from leaving their homes. With journalists unable to report on the situation, a number of regional television stations and newspapers have suspended their work.
Any restrictions on the rights to freedom of movement or freedom of expression imposed for the protection of public order should only be such as are necessary and proportionate for that purpose and should be consistent with the state’s other human rights obligations. In view of the key role of journalists in facilitating exercise the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to receive information. Amnesty International calls on the Indian authorities to ensure that journalists can obtain curfew passes and are not harassed or otherwise obstructed while carrying out their professional functions of reporting and imparting information on issues of public concern.
More public protests have been announced for 21 September by the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), one of the largest political formations in Jammu and Kashmir. This underlines the urgency for the Indian authorities to instruct the security forces not to use lethal force when dealing with demonstrations.
The demonstrations began in late May over the reported extrajudicial execution of three young men by the Army at Machil in Baramulla district. Protests increased after 17-year old Tufail Mattoo was killed by security forces in Srinagar during a demonstration on 11 June. They have intensified during repeated cycles of protests and further killings of demonstrators by security forces.
The demonstrators have raised various concerns about the lack of accountability of the security forces; the withdrawal of Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 1958; the removal of Army camps – along with an underlying demand of independence for Kashmir.
The AFSPA, which gives special powers of immunity to the security forces, has been in force in parts of Jammu and Kashmir since 1990. The Central Government is currently debating the withdrawal of the AFSPA from a few of its districts.
One of the key demands of the state authorities and protesting organizations, namely the withdrawal of the AFSPA, does not appear to figure in the agenda of the all-party team from Delhi scheduled to visit Srinagar on 20 September.
Under the AFSPA, soldiers are protected from any legal proceedings unless specifically sanctioned by the Central Government. This rarely happens in practice, allowing armed forces personnel to violate human rights with impunity.

India: Authorities should investigate torture, sexual assault and illegal detention of adivasis in Chhattisgarh.

The Indian authorities should order a prompt, impartial and independent investigation into reports of torture and ill-treatment, including rape and other sexual violence, against adivasis (indigenous people) illegally detained in Chhattisgarh, Amnesty International said today.

Adivasis from Pachangi and Aloor villages in Kanker district told Amnesty International that paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and the Chhattisgarh state police rounded up 40 adivasi men from their villages on 5 and 6 September, stripped them and beat them with sticks. Five men – Narsingh Kumra, Sukram Netam, Premsingh Potayi, Raju Ram and Bidde Potayi were reportedly raped with sticks and are still being treated at the Kanker government hospital.

These violations followed the 29 August ambush of a BSF-police patrol by members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in which three BSF personnel and two policemen were killed.

Seventeen people from the two villages were also detained– blindfolded, split into batches and taken to the BSF camp at Durgkondal in closed trucks. Amnesty International has been informed that at least two of those detained - Dhansu Khemra and Sarita Tulavi – were 16 year old girls while another four were women and girls between 16 and 20.

During their detention, security forces beat the detainees in an attempt to force them to confess that they were Maoists involved in the 29 August ambush. The interrogators gave electric shocks to at least 10 detainees and sexually assaulted two female detainees.

Villagers said that on the morning of 7 September the Kanker police released one female detainee Sunita, as she was suffering from malaria, and her father, Punnim Tulavi, a school-teacher, but then arrested two more men.

The five remaining female detainees were taken to a local court along with two of the adivasi men on 8 September, while the remaining ten male detainees were taken to court on 10 September. All of the adivasis were charged with involvement in the 29 August ambush by the banned Maoist armed group and are presently in Kanker and Jagdalpur prisons, after being denied bail.

Indian law requires that arrested persons be produced before a court within 24 hours of the arrest. In an attempt to circumvent this requirement, the police claimed the two groups of detainees were arrested only one day before their respective appearances in court.

Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including sexual violence, are prohibited in all circumstances, including war or other emergency under international law, and in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Geneva Conventions. India is also a signatory to the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture and the Indian Parliament is currently engaged in passing a new law against torture in accordance with the provisions of the Convention before its ratification.

Amnesty International calls upon the Indian authorities to:

• Ensure a prompt, impartial, independent and effective investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual assault, and the illegal detention of adivasis. Those suspected of involvement in the violations, including persons bearing command responsibility, should immediately be suspended from positions where they may repeat such offences, and brought to justice;

• Award the victims of torture and other ill-treatment full reparations. In particular, immediately ensure that all victims of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, are provided with proper medical care, both physical and psychological, by professionals trained and sensitised to treat such victims; and

• Ensure that, if – as a measure of last resort – those under the age of 18 are kept in prison, they are held separately from adults and otherwise treated in accordance with India’s juvenile justice legislation and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a state party.

Over the last five years, Chhattisgarh has witnessed an escalation of violence between the banned Maoists who claim to be fighting on behalf of the adivasis and India’s paramilitary forces. At least 600 people have been killed and some 30,000 adivasis continue to be displaced from their homes in the state.

Update on my J-life.

I haven't written anything except for my column in so, so long. Only yesterday I penned this opinion piece about how advertisements in general and ads for the beauty sector in particular have a tremendous influence on an age group below the one they are targetted at. This influence is entirely negative to my way of thinking. For one, they construct images of an indeal form of beauty that simply cannot be acheived except with a team of chefs and dentists and dermatologists and chiropodists at your disposal. Secondly, it draws attention away from what adolescent girls are supposed to be doing, which remains in the twenty first century, acquiring an education. Mike liked it. He's going to put it in The Statesman pujo issue. It's going to be there in print, with my name, alongside pieces by veteran politicians and scientists and economists. I'm a few light years over the moon.
I am just now writing two very different kinds of pieces- one is an academic paper about Tagore and his education schemes, which I'm critiquing more than crticizing, and this is completely irrelevant to my journalistic life. The other is an imaginary interview with Coutere Rani Anamika Khanna, as part of an application to Vogue India as a fashion writer. I've already written a mini-autobiography about my style life thus far, and a comment on the tribal trend that's been a pet of international designers this last year. I'm trying to do it all as nicely as I can, but surprisingly, I found I like writing about "serious" issues somewhat better. I mean, I write because I love to, but surely it's more worthwhile if I write to make a difference, and not a difference on the level of rich women's appearances.
Also, a letter writing marathon event is on the planning stage, and I'm trying to involve as many people as I can. Here's a link to the project description-www.amnesty.ca/writeathon

Indian authorities must investigate online video of Kashmir detainee abuse.

Several people have been killed during recent protests in Kashmir.

Amnesty International has urged Indian authorities to carry out an effective investigation into a video clip that appears to show detainees in Kashmir being stripped and humiliated by security forces.

The three-minute clip, described on social networking sites as "Kashmir’s Abu Ghraib video", apparently shows Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel herding at least four naked young men to a nearby police station.

"This behaviour is in clear violation of the universal and absolute right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," said Donna Guest, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific programme.

The video, apparently recorded by one of the security personnel, has since been removed from social networking sites, including Facebook and YouTube, after the Jammu and Kashmir police reportedly began legal action against the publishers of what it termed a “baseless and malicious clip”.

It is unclear when the clip was recorded, although it was reportedly taken in the north-western town of Sopore.

The recorded conversation in Hindi-Urdu suggests that the security force personnel suspected the young men of being involved in throwing stones at the security forces, and that they had been caught after a long chase.

Amnesty International has consistently received reports of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees in various police stations and interrogation centres in Jammu and Kashmir. Such accounts have often included men being stripped naked and humiliated by security force personnel.

The Indian Parliament is currently debating new legislation criminalizing torture and the Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the video will be investigated.

However, a statement by Jammu and Kashmir Police to local media indicated that a formal case had been registered against the clip's distributors.

“The approach of the local police raises serious concerns. Instead of investigating and identifying the perpetrators of the humiliating treatment, the police appear to be more concerned about who uploaded and circulated the video clip," said Donna Guest.

"The Indian and Jammu and Kashmir authorities must ensure that the content of the clip is subjected to an independent, impartial and effective investigation. Any officials who are suspected of offences involving human rights violations should be prosecuted in fair trials.”

In Defence of the Indian Family of Journalists. With special refernce to a certain breed of professionals.

My editor is the world's best. I've always believed that conversations are some of the best learning experiences, and talks with Mike Flannery are the creme de la creme of the kind. The latest pearl of wisdom that came my way from his was that journalism is the world's second oldest profession- that's how history itself is constructed, through recording of facts and images, and stories kings and knaves have had to tell. It's reason for celebration that the storytelling element in the journalist's job hasn't evaporated yet, but the fact that most stories our breed have to tell the world are ugly invites plenty of unwanted censure, chastizement, and plain meanness from people who hav no idea how a journalist, and journalism, works.
Militants, lawyers and lately doctors have too much to vent- their firm belief is that journalists persent them in a negative light without fail, and phrase their stories such that they, and their professions, become objects of aspersion to the populace. They beleive too, that representatives of the media will go to any length for a neat "scoop" and distort facts to expose them to ridicule, denigration and attack.
In India, or in a narrower cointext, Bengal, doctors are rounded up by protesters every now and then. A sick man has to die, and an angry mob appears out of nowhere and proceeds to damage health center property, its staff and its administrative body. Doctors hold they never let people die; they strive till the end, upon oath, although they might be geographically removed from their patient by miles. This is from personal experience. A certain RMO I met at a small, not-very-expensive private hospital, joted down the time of admission as 2.10 P.M, when the night sky was picth dark, and the streets of Kolkata resonant only with the sounds of barking dogs. Moving to nurses, at the hospital I just mentioned, they have arangements for sleeping by turns through the night, right in the ICU, when the law holds that each patient must be under surveilance, and individually.
Doctors have all, without exception, this notion that they are some of the most brilliant people in the country, to have gotten through, and survived, medical school. Some don't wait to attach the title to their name before they're awarded their Bachelor's Degrees. Given that in India, popular notions put down students of humanities as nitwits and doctors and engineers as unfailingly intelligent, some doctors will go to the extent of labelling us journalists "barely literate", "unsympathetic", and "ruthless". As if they themselves devote over five minutes to each patient on hospital rounds, or refuse to accept charges in cases of medical failure. As if doctors are by some natural law free from humane frailty and partisanship. As if they are never driven to pursue their profession with economic motives. As if they take any personal interest in the people who have come to them to buy time. And as if some of them aren't idiots who became what they are by dint of the ability to learn by rote.
In the wake of the recent assailment on four junior doctors attending someone who free fell through three storeys, doctors have been complaining of exploitation. They choose to completely ignore the fact that the media in fact details assaults on doctors in print and broadcast, and that in reportage of kinds like this, it is unethical to take sides. What has the media to gain by tarnishing doctors? How does it benefit them? Is there a single doctor who can vouch for the fact that they have never been guilty of oversight? Rhetorical questions all, and I'm all geared to do a story on that class of professionals often described as the noblest, but displaying more often than nobility traits of insensitivity, pompousness, supreme over-confidence and egotism, and sky-high levels of callousness.

India: Authorities in Tamil Nadu must release five activists campaigning against torture and drop false charges against them

Authorities in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu must release five arrested human rights defenders, drop the false charges against them and hold the state police accountable for harassment and intimidation, Amnesty International said today.

The five human rights defenders - Bharathi Pillai, Niharga Priya, Sudha, Gnana Diraviam and Anandan – who were part of a human rights training programme conducted by People’s Watch, Madurai, were arrested on the night of 15 August on false charges. They had gone to Veeravanallur police station for a fact-finding exercise as part of the field training programme to inquire about the lack of investigation in the torture of a Dalit youth, Suresh, allegedly by a police officer there. Earlier, they were detained at the police station for six hours.

The five activists have been charged with section 170 of the Indian Penal Code (impersonating a public servant), section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his or her duty), section 416 (cheating by impersonation) and section 506 (criminal intimidation) and lodged in prison. The police also declared Henri Tiphagne, Director of People’s Watch, Madurai, as an “absconding offender” in the case. This was on the basis of a complaint from one of the police officials that the five activists, claiming to be public officials, had apparently tried to threaten them.

Fact-finding exercises are commonly held globally and in India, as a way of probing allegations of human rights violations and seeking accountability. There was no attempt by the fact-finding team to impersonate public officials and the team had informed the Veeravanallur police in advance about the purpose of its visit.

Amnesty International is concerned that the arrests and the filing of charges appear to be politically motivated, as a result of their work as defenders of human rights raising issues of torture and impunity. The police charges of impersonation against Henri Tiphagne and the five arrested human rights defenders appear to be an attempt to silence the victims of police torture by criminalizing a legitimate form of protest by human rights defenders.

Amnesty International calls on the Tamil Nadu government to:
• drop the false charges against the six human rights defenders and immediately release the five persons.
• hold the State police accountable for such harassment and intimidation and ensure an independent investigation into the allegations of torture by the police of the Dalit youth.

The Tamil Nadu authorities should also create an enabling environment and ensure respect for the rights of individuals in Tamil Nadu engaged in the peaceful promotion.

ABDUCTED INDIGENOUS CAMPAIGNERS RELEASED

Lado Sikaka, a leader of the Dongria Kondh Indigenous communities in India, was released on 12 August, two days after being abducted. Sana Sikaka, another leader who was abducted at the same time, was released on 11 August.

Lado Sikaka has told local media that he and Sana Sikaka were stopped by some 12 armed plainclothes police officers, and two unidentified people in the Niyamgiri Hills in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, as they were travelling to Delhi with other activists to protest against a local bauxite mine. They abducted the two men in the van the activists had been travelling in, forcing Sana Sikaka out of the van at Bijepur town. However, they detained Lado Sikaka for another day and interrogated him at the District Intelligence Bureau office in the town of Rayagada. Lado Sikaka says that while he was there, he was beaten on his hands and legs, and interrogated about whether he had links with supporters of banned Maoist groups. and was involved in any violent incidents in the Niyamgiri Hills. He replied in the negative. However, his captors forced him to sign two blank pieces of paper, before taking him to the nearby town of Kalyansinghpur and releasing him there. He is currently walking back to Lakpaddar, the village where he lives, accompanied by several Dongria Kondh Indigenous people. The Rayagada district police superintendent has denied that Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka were detained by police.

Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka are both campaigning against a proposed bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills. Research by Amnesty International indicates that the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project, which would be located on the Dongria Kondh's sacred sites, traditional lands and habitats, is likely to result in violations of their rights to water, food, health, work and other rights to protection of their culture and identity. The project is currently awaiting clearance from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.

ABDUCTED INDIGENOUS CAMPAIGNER RELEASED

Sana Sikaka, a leader of the Dongria Kondh indigenous communities who was abducted by gunmen on 9 August, has been released. Another leader is still being held.

Sana Sikaka, one of the Dongria Kondh indigenous community leaders in the eastern Indian state of Orissa who was abducted on the evening on 9 August, was released yesterday evening.

He has informed journalists that he and Lado Sikaka, pictured left, were stopped at Izrupa at the foothills of Niyamgiri as they were leaving with a group of activists in a van to catch a train to Delhi. About fifteen men in plain clothes, armed with automatic weapons, had parked their two vans nearby and were hiding in a forest. They surrounded Lado and Sana and said they were taking them. They intimidated the other activists, snatching their mobile phones and the van key and forced them to walk towards Lanjigarh, the nearest town. Then the plainclothesmen, along with Lado and Sana, walked to the vans and then made a long drive towards the neighbouring district of Rayagada, stopping at a few places en route. Yesterday evening, when they reached Bijepur town, they pushed Sana Sikaka out of the vehicle, forcing him to commence a long journey back to Niyamgiri. They appear to have taken Lado Sikaka to Rayagada town and detained him there.

Lado Sikaka and Sana Sikaka are both campaigning against a proposed bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Research by Amnesty International indicates that the Niyamgiri bauxite mining project, which would be located on the Dongria Kondh's sacred sites, traditional lands and habitats, is likely to result in violations of their rights to water, food, health, work and other rights to protection of their culture and identity. The project is currently awaiting clearance from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

Vedanta Resources has decided that it will mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa. The Dongria Kondhas, who have inhabited the region for centuries, have decided that they won't let them. Vedanta plans to go on an expansion spree soon, with a mine and extended refineries. With the work they have been doing for the last few years, they have successfully polluted local perennial streams, forests and the very air the Kondhas breathe. A tribe that had been masters of the art of horticulture can no longer grow rich fruit. Their subsistence economy, largely agrarian and based on shifting cultivation, is being jeopardized. The tribals know all of this, but not from the horse's mouth. Vedanta has not bothered to educate locals about the adverse effects of their industrial ambitions. Disease, poverty and many outraged rights later, the tribals are up in arms, having vowed to protect their forefathers' land, and not let the London-based company call the shots. What has probably created the most recent ferment is the fact that the Kondhas faith has been called into question, then derided and ignored, given that Vedanta plans to build their mine atop the hill, where the Dongria Kondha deity, Niyam Rajah Penhu, is believed to be incarnated. At this point, the clans are ready to fight tooth and nail, for this is their land, a land they live and love in, and cherish and treasure.
To help the Amnesty International efforts towards safeguarding the natives of the region, sign the following petition. With your vote, you can make a difference.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/stop-mining-and-refinery-projects-devastating-communities-india

Myanmar elections will test ASEAN’s credibility.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public statement

Southeast Asian nations should press the Myanmar government to protect the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association throughout the elections period and beyond, Amnesty International said today on the eve of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi.

ASEAN has repeatedly emphasized that the elections should be held in a “free, fair and inclusive manner”. Yet those calls do not go far enough to highlight the human rights that are most at risk in the elections context. Indeed, the Myanmar government has not taken any steps to improve its poor human rights record as the polls approach.

More than 2,200 political prisoners continue to languish behind bars in Myanmar. This is double the number since the start of the mass peaceful anti-government protests of August – September 2007—a huge indictment of the grim human rights situation there.

Under Electoral Laws enacted in March, no political prisoner can take part in the elections, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The same laws also prohibit them from membership in any political party.

ASEAN should unequivocally call for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience at the Ministerial Meeting, something they conspicuously failed to do at the organisation’s summit in Ha Noi in April.

The Electoral Laws also list a number of offences and penalties, among them—a blatant violation of freedom of expression—a vaguely worded provision against "exhorting" persons to vote or not to vote in the elections.

Moreover, in a 21 June directive issued by the Union Election Commission, political parties are prohibited from campaigning activities that “harm security, the rule of law and community peace”. These regulations allow for an excessively broad interpretation of what constitutes a threat to “security”. For decades the authorities have routinely used vaguely worded laws to arbitrarily criminalize peaceful political dissent.

New censorship rules introduced in June also serve to undermine any remaining scope for independent journalism around the elections process.

The “three freedoms”—of expression, peaceful assembly, and association—must be safeguarded for all, whether people choose to participate in the elections or not. It is not enough for ASEAN to adopt a “wait and see” attitude.

Jammu and Kashmir authorities urged to end detention of lawyers

The Jammu and Kashmir state government must immediately end the preventive detention of the leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

Mian Abdul Qayoom, the President of the Bar Association and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, its General Secretary, have been arbitrarily detained under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA) since 7 July and 18 July 2010 respectively.

The vaguely formulated PSA allows for detentions of up to two years without charge or trial on the presumption that future acts harmful to the state may be committed.

"The detention of the Bar Association leaders appears to be an attempt to stifle legitimate and peaceful protest, as part of the ongoing crackdown by the authorities in parts of Kashmir," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International

The grounds of detention prepared by the Srinagar District Magistrate relating to Mian Qayoom allege he is attempting to turn the Bar Association into "a secessionist outfit" indulging in "illegal activities".

Four previous criminal cases registered involving Mian Qayoom between October 2008 and June 2010 are also mentioned in the document which accuses him of instigating recent protests that have reportedly left at least 18 people dead.

"The state administration has resorted to preventive detention under the PSA, which subverts the judicial process," Zarifi said. "If the government has criminal charges to bring, it should do so in a properly constituted criminal trial where Mian Qayoom will have the protections afforded under the law, for instance, the ability to post bail."

The official grounds of detention against Mian Qayoom state that he is being detained for questioning the conduct of government security forces and for his political views.

Reports indicate the General Secretary of the Bar Association, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, is being detained on similar grounds as well as for organizing public rallies seeking the release of Mian Qayoom.

"The arbitrary use of the PSA to detain government critics is yet another demonstration of why this law must be repealed," Zarifi said.

The Kashmir valley has witnessed mass public protests over the past several months, initially over the extrajudicial executions of three men at Machil, Baramulla district, and subsequently by killings of protesters by Central Reserve Police Force personnel.

At least 18 people, many of them teenagers, were allegedly killed during a crackdown on protests that began on 11 June 2010.

Amnesty International has previously demanded that the Indian authorities avoid excessive use of force and investigate all the deaths due to the shootings.

The State administration has also responded by placing a large number of people in preventive detention instead of charging and trying them – including those reportedly suspected of throwing stones at the police and others suspected of inciting violence by posting inflammatory material online.

A number of political leaders have also been recently detained including Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, and his aides Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai, Ayaz Akbar, Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid and Zafar Akbar Bhat. Prominent Kashmiri leaders including Shabbir Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan also continue to remain in detention under the PSA.

Rape and the Sri Lankan War.

If you've read Homer, you'll know that the wrath of Achilles, around which The Iliad revolves, was because he'd been deprived of his war prize, a beautiful maiden named Chryseis. There's another story I remember, by Somerset Maugham, called The Unvanquished, that describes a French mother's determination to destroy the baby born to her by a German soldier who raped her, during World War 2. Literature reflects reality, and rape was widely practiced in war time from antiquity through the modern age. We've seen it in the Great Wars, the Indo-Bangladesh War, the Bosnian War and the Gulf War. Over 20000 Japanese women had also been taken sex slaves in the Second World War. The Sri Lanka government's deadly war with the Tamil Tigers, lasting a span of over two decades, was no exception, and it has been alleged that rape had been used a planned strategy to decimate the Tamil population in the northern and eastern fringes of the island.
Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State of the United States, commented that the SLA used rape as a war tactic, to which the government responded that Clinton had apparently forgotten the Monica Lewinsky affair and needed to clean up her own backyard. They denied the charge but did not state that Tamil women had not been raped by armed forces.
The general trend in the rapes perpetrated by the SLA were on women held in detention, and refugee shelters for Tamil civilians could well be described as rape camps. Often, the sexual violence was carried out on very young women, and there's one instance of a nine-year-old girl being molested by a gang of seven men. Grenades were sometimes dropped on the victims' abdomens to wipe out the crime. More often than not, families were witness to the crimes, and any reportage in such cases resulted in their being tortured and usually shot.

Here's the Amnesty International online petition for the cause of improving conditions in war ravaged Sri Lanka:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/call-un-investigate-sri-lanka-rights-violations

Avoid excessive use of force, investigate killings in Kashmir valley.

Authorities in India should avoid excessive use of force while dealing with demonstrators in the Kashmir valley, Amnesty International said today.

Over the last month, a total of 11 persons, at least eight of them children between 13 and 19 years old, were allegedly killed in shootings by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary personnel stationed across the Kashmir valley, as protestors defied curfew regulations, held violent demonstrations and often clashed with the security personnel in Srinagar, Sopore and other towns which were put under curfew.

Amnesty International has learned that the state authorities have ordered probes into some of the killings during the demonstrations at Srinagar, Sopore and Anantnag. The organization is calling on Indian authorities to investigate all the killings and bring to justice the security personnel, as well as any protesters who have violated an internationally cognizable criminal provision, in trials conforming with international standards.

The authorities have blamed the armed Lashkar-e-Toiba and other Kashmiri separatist organisations for instigating the protestors to throw stones and engage in violence. At least 35 people sustained injuries during the demonstrations so far.

On 11 June, 17-year-old Tufail Ahmed Mattoo of Srinagar was killed, according to initial reports, by a teargas shell fired by the police at the protestors. However, later reports said he was shot in the head. On 19 June, a Srinagar court has directed the state police to investigate this killing and submit its report by 28 June.

On 20 June, as protests over the killing of Tufail Ahmed Mattoo turned violent, a 24-year-old carpet weaver of Srinagar, Rafiq Ahmed Bangroo, sustained serious head injuries and went into coma. He died on 19 June at the hospital. Some reports suggest that he was beaten by the CRPF personnel during the protests. The next day witnessed further protests over the death of Bangroo, as youths returning from his funeral attacked a CRPF post and attempted to set fire to a CRPF armoured vehicle. A 19-year-old relative of Bangroo, Javed Malla, was killed in the CRPF firing.

On 25 June, two teenaged children, Firdous Ahmad Kakroo and Shakeel Ahmad Ganai were killed as the CRPF personnel fired at demonstrators demanding the bodies of two armed guerrillas killed by the security forces near the Sopore town, 55 km from Srinagar. Eyewitnesses had reported that the demonstrators set fire to the CRPF commanding officer’s vehicle and attacked a security bunker. The authorities claimed that the two were armed guerrillas with close links with Lashkar-e-Toiba and the CRPF claimed that it had fired in self-defence.

Over the next two days, Sopore witnessed two more deaths – of 22-year-old Bilal Ahmed Wani and 17-year-old Tajamul Ahmad Bhat - as the CRPF personnel fired to quell protestors repeatedly defying curfew. On 28 June, demonstrators on the outskirts of Baramulla town clashed with the CRPF personnel after which another youth, Tariq Ahmed Rather was shot dead; the next day. The next day, three protestors, 15-year-old Ishfaq Ahmed Khanday, 17-year-old Imtiyaz Ahmed Itoo and 19-year-old Shujatul Islam – were shot dead in Anantnag district. While the initial reports said they were killed in firing by the CRPF, later reports suggested that they had been initially detained and then killed.

Amnesty International reminds the Indian authorities that they have an obligation to protect the right to life in accordance with international law. This includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a state party, and standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which state that firearms should be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.

A meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 29 June, directed the CRPF to exercise “maximum restraint and sensitivity” while assisting the state police in enforcing curfew regulations in the valley. Amnesty International is urging the Indian government to ensure implementation of its directives, and ensure protection of the right to life under international law.

Background
The latest round of protests over extrajudicial executions in Kashmir commenced in late May after the Jammu and Kashmir authorities exhumed the remains of three young men allegedly killed by the Indian security forces at Machil in Baramulla district after they had been promised jobs as casual labourers for the security personnel stationed near the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan. An inquiry is being conducted into the killings.

The protests also coincided with the commencement of the annual Hindu pilgrimage to Amarnath in the valley, heightening security concerns and the recent Indo-Pakistan meeting at Islamabad last week.

Related
India: Extrajudicial executions must be investigated and suspects prosecuted, AI Index: ASA 20/015/2010, 8 June 2010 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA20/015/2010/en

Escaping The Child-catchers of the LTTE.

Amnesty International is calling on the UN to set up an independent investigation into possible war crimes committed in Sri Lanka in the final months of the civil war which ended in May 2009. Both sides, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government’s armed forces committed human rights violations. The families who suffered deserve justice and if you want to know why, read young Kamla’s account of how she escahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifped capture.
Child-catchers of the LTTE
The bullets and bombs were scary but what struck terror in Kamla’s heart were the “child-catchers” of the LTTE. For months, Kamla (nearly 15) and her 2 younger sisters managed to escape them by hiding in barrels buried underground in the backyard. The lid would be closed and soil sprinkled on top, with only a small tube fitted for breathing.
However, during the final months of thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhe war, shelling became so bad that the family were displaced 14 times and ended up in a hut without any of their possessions.
Caught in the cross-fire
One morning, when Kamla came out of the hut she found the place surrounded by more than 20 child-catchers. She ran in terror, ducking and hiding behind huts and somehow managed to escape. That night, her family decided they couldn’t continue like this anymore. Along with 150 other Tamils, they began moving towards the Sri Lankan army controlled areas, risking one final confrontation with the LTTE. “Tigers fired wildly. Parents fought against Tigers and some were dragged away,” recalls Kamla. But after a night of battle, the Sri Lankan army saved them and sent them to the Vavuniya camp.

What They Say in Books is True.

Pyschiatrists are, in general, extremely attractive. Dr Sabyasachi Mitra waxed eloquent on common mental diseases among the affluent, psychosomatic and somatoform problems, affortdability of mental healthcare, and the impact mental illness has on the family, and I held on to every word. I knew from experience a lot of things he told me, but I learned plenty of others. I found particulrly interesting a few of the stressors he mentioned, like stigma, favoritism, secondary gain mentalities, and criminal motivation. I have a feeling this is going to be a good story.

My next project.

Is on mental health, wellbeing and the insititution of the family. Since I have been victimized by, let's say, the adverse effects of mental illness, I think I have some small qualification to make a start on this. I will interview psychiatrists, caregivers at mental institutions, patients themselves, their families, and... the people you call madmen on the streets. I know the last bit is going to be a bit tricky, but I'll go ahead with it. I have to know what happened so they got estranged from families for all time to come.
Also, I have seen multiple cases of mentally diseased people who don't seem to recover inspite of getting unconditional support from their families. I need to know where this unconditionality comes into the picture, and analyze the psychology of parents, siblings or relatives who mete it out. Imperfections can't be ignored if the qualified people have to make accurate judgments.
Which gives me the idea that psychiatry is somewhat a judgmental science. Can you really free yourself from bias and passion entirely when you are seeing a victim? Or, in the first place, should you? I intend to find out.

The Story.

I'll post the story proper when it's published, which should be in a week from now. At this moment I'm scouting for pictures. I plan to go back and meet the kids I'd interviewed and snap photos of them. Every name needs a face.
The plight of street children of Calcutta is a cause I feel very strongly about, and I have plans to start a fundraising drive to set up a soup kitchen so some of them, at least, can have three square meals a day. With ideas and the promise to be a part of this project, do leave a comment, and I'll get back to you.

Curiosity Killing the Cat? Says Who?

Well, only a certain kind of curiosity can do that. I think I've successfully given that up years ago, but what remains of it came in very useful today.
I didn't go to office, but took enough time at each of the two places I visited- Carmel Convent, and Sishu Bhavan, of the Missionaries of Charity. Sister Nilima of CC was delighted to see an old student, but she wasn't very clear about what funds they already have and what use it is put to. She mentioned a few NGOs that help them out, but when I asked her to name them, she was at a loss. She maintained that they do not accept donations. Where then, does the money to sponsor underpriviledged girls' educations come from? "School fees." And do they offer higher education to the girls who are willing to study further. No, not beyond class four. They are given a mid day meal, but it's strictly vegetarian. After they've finished class four, the girls "go away." Where? She doesn't know. "Home?" she guesses mildly.
Also, regular students are required to bring two potatoes and two onions every week, plus a cupfull of rice. There is a Social Service Week in Septemeber, and they have to give away old clothes, stationery, medicines and packaged food. Cash is also welcome. But didn't she say donations aren't accepted? "No, this is not donation." Come winter and every girl has to provide a blanket. The regular student strength of the schhol is 1000, and only 70 destitute children are cared for. What happens to the 930 blankets? She doesn't have an answer.
Sister Nilima is only faintly aware that slum and street girls are often the victims of physical and sexual abuse. No girl who has been victimized thus is given couselling. "They are too young na?"
Missionaries of Charity is at least a more bustling place. Sister Paulita seemed quite annoyed as I began to ask questions about what food the children are given, and how many of them share a dormitory. I went into one to see for myself, and although spotlessly clean, there was a heavy odor of milk everywhere, and the children were too shy to really interact with. There caregivers were very chatty, and their statements corroborated most of what Sister Paulita had said. Here too, however, higher education remains hard to come by. I met Kajoree, 11, who said she wants to be a doctor, but still hasn't seen a textbook on science for beginners. She knows the English and Bengali alphabets, can count upto 100, and recite a few poems. That's it.
I met Adrian and Jenny, from the US, very nice people, who'd brought three suitcases full of toys and clothes for the children. They sounded interested in my fundraising idea, and I'm going to email them and Oliver right away. I really hope I can do something worthwhile for the numerous suffering children out there.

All Gone Wrong.

I dd go down to MC today, and paid a hundred bucks as cab fare, but they wouldn't let me in. Prayer day, Thursday. What do you say to that? Surely the children don't spend all day praying too? Could I talk to them? No. Prayer day.
And none of that on the very fancy website.
But I have fantastic leads on a new story. So I'm not complaining.

A Surprise Visit.

Plans to go to the Missionaries of Charity tomorrow morning. Before the free lunch time, since I'm told things get pretty hectic around then. I'll try and find the sources of their funds, those literally stretch to millions, and see whether they are being properly chanelized. I've always had this skepticism about the Mother, and I get a helluva kick whenever a favorite hunch turns out right, so tomorrow should be interesting. All I hope is that I can accost a few kids and get a fair idea of what they actually receive from the institution.
Also on the cards is a trip to my alma mater. I've always felt that their barnd of charity was extremely incomplete. For instance, they have afternoon classes for underpriviledged women and children, but they don't help out with textbooks, notebooks, or stationery. And really, do one hour classes really help? Arithmetic one day, English another, no history, geography or science, but three value education classes every week. Unscientific, at least, if not merely stupid.
I also need to talk to Sister M. Cyril of Loreto, Sealdah. She is one of the few who Mike tells me has really done good work for girls from the lower strata of society. She should be able to help me find more leads in the direction of the children's contradictory statements. More on that in another post.

Lakshmi.

I met Lakshmi at Park Circus. She said she was fourteen and wouldn't tell me where her parents are. I had a feeling she was trying to evade my questions about her mother, particularly. Could she be a sex worker? I don't have evidence, but my hunch tells me she is.
Lakshmi has never seen the inside of a school. She can't read or write. She wants to work. Minutes into our conversation, she asked me to help her find work. She can't sew, she can't cook. What does she want to do? "I could work at a brothel," she whispers hopefully.
Is this the state of children in our city? Is this what the world has taught them to expect of themselves and of life? Saying yes would be a broad generalization. Lakshmi is the first street child I've talked to who isn't eager to learn.

The Calcutta Social Project.

I talked to Arjun Datta and Tapas Das from the CSP yesterday, and found a lot of information on what kind of work is being done for kids. In addition to offering street and slum children healthcare and education, as much of it as they could want, CSP has a day care center and an extensive vocational training program. What was novel about their work is that they have evening tutorials for children in English, Math and Science. By the way, they are looking for English teachers to volunteer. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Arjun-da.
I didn't find answers to quite a few pressing problems though. The CSP doesn't have a concrete idea as to exactly how many children live on and off the streets of this city. They also do not work particularly with children who have faced violence, abuse, or been criminals.
Tomorrow, I interview the UNICEF Kolkata soppokesperson for more facts, and by the end of this week, I should have interviewed more children about their lives. THey are easy to talk to, friendly without fail, and often intelligent. The one thing that has gotten in the way is the language barrier.

New Finds.

The morning was sultry, humidity levels soaring and I left home at eleven for more interviewing. At Taratala, I met Pooja, a sixteen year old girl, and her three sisters. Pooja has a jhopdi to call home, and her mother begs for food and coins to keep body and soul together. But Pooja has more to tell; her personal life has been unhappy, although her mother has not beaten her up in the last few years.
At fourteen, Pooja fell in love with and married Mansur, a twenty one year old daily laborer. They eloped, and within months, she missed her cycle. Her husband didn't take her to the doctor. Three months later, Pooja hemorrhaged,and was driven out of her in-laws' shack in that condition. Mansur was serving six weeks for a drunken brawl.
I nosed around a bit for more information, and Pooja revealed that her mother occasionally resorts to sex work when earnings from begging are low. It was unclear whether she herself has ever been pimped.

The Street Life.

Mohammad Sahil is ten years old. He goes to school at Free School Street. He eats puri-chai for breakfast, skips lunch, and has a plate of plain rice for dinner. He sells chewing gum at traffic signals in the evening, and goes to sleep at about twelve at night. His bed, though, is a polythene sheet spread on the pavement. He has a gunny bag cover, but no pillow.
There are kids like Sahil in Calcutta and its fringes, over 50,000 of them. They don't have enough to eat, no new clothes on Id or Durga Pujo, toys or books. Often, they are victims of physical, and sometimes of sexual abuse. Theft, scrounging for morsels of food and begging form their means of subsistance. Sometimes, this is substituted by long hours of labour at tea stalls or rice hotels where wage earners and taxi drivers eat, and they get to bring home about a thousand rupees at the end of each month.
My aim in writing the final story on street children in Calcutta proper is to bring out the conditions under which they live, what their hopes and dreams are, and what we as responsible and empathetic human beings could do about the problem. I'll interview street children and their guardians, spokespersons from organizations working in the area, and the socially more priviledged who can contribute positively towards solving the problem.
Any ideas on improving the story, or your experiences with street kids are welcome. Do leave a comment.

A Start.

I though before I began writing about issues I feel strongly about, I'd do a post on what this blog is, and what I'm going to do with it. I am a student of English at Jadavpur University, Calcutta, and I am going to be starting my MA in July. I write for The Statesman, a paper known for its brutal honesty, and I'm interested in doing feature stories on relevant social and political themes. I'm only just starting out, and I hope to learn as I go along, and get feedback from anyone who might read this and share their views.
I should mention a few people who've helped me come this far, which is not very far, but a small step in time. Audrey Janis Das, my English teacher from my school days, who initiated me into the literature life. Mike Flannery, the best editor on earth, every conversation with whom is a learning experience.
Special thanks to countless people from JUDE, who've taught me to find my calling and stay true to it.
My boyfriend, Tamoghna Roy, mathematics genius and electrical engineer who dreams to have a long list of patents to his name in a few years' time; my father, who showed me the way into Marxist theory, and my mother, for helping me keep my feet on the ground.