How the State Treats Friends and Foes of the Oppressed

Author(s): Anand Teltumbde

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 44, No. 25 (Jun. 20 - 26, 2009), pp. 8-10
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40279228 .
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How the State Treats Friends
and Foes ofthe Oppressed
ANAND TELTUMBDE
The Statezealouslyshelteredits
pettyminion,ManoharKadam,
thepoliceofficer who,outof
casteistprejudice,orderedthe
totallyunjustifiedfiringthat
killed10personsinRamabai
NagarinMumbaiinJuly1997,
ignoring thepersistent demands
ofdalitsand actingonlywhenit
was impossible todo otherwise.
In sharpcontrast, itarrested
Binayak Sen - thesaintlydoctor
and civilrightsactivistwhohas
been intensely sensitiveto the
plightofpoortribals- and
persevered withitsliesthathe
was activelyinvolvedin Naxalite
Whatexplainsthis
activities.
sharpdifference intreatment?
AnandTeltumbde(tanandraj@gmail.com)
isa civilrights
activist basedin
andwriter
Mumbai.
8 june 20, 2009
This content downloaded from 202.131.98.170 on Thu, 3 Apr 2014 04:04:55 AM
theirkin.Therewereindignant
fromsomeseniorpolice
comments
againstthe
officers
harshpunishment. The most
tionswere to be found
notable
however on
reac-
the
blogsthatreflect thecharacter ofwhat we
call civil society.Fed on superfluity and
untruth,these cyber nerds appeared
unanimousin theirsupportforKadamby
grantoftwobails bythecourts adverselycommenting on the judgment
last monthhas been a cause of and trashing dalitsentiments.
muchpublicuproar.One came on BinayakSen was arrestedon 14 May
22 Mayto ManoharKadam,theinfamous 2006 in Raipurwhenhe cameall theway
MaharashtraState ReservePolice Force fromKolkataand presented himself to the
(srpf)officer whowas sentencedbya spe- Raipurpolice as he learntthattheyhad
cial courtto lifeimprisonment a fortnight comeforhim.Theaccusationsagainsthim
ago butwhohad neverliveda momentin were thathe used to carrysecretletters
prison.The other was a grantby the writtenby an accusedNaxalitelodgedin
SupremeCourton 25 Mayto BinayakSen, theRaipurCentralJail,NarayanSanyal,to
the fameddoctorand civilrightsactivist his associatesregarding themonitoring of
fromRaipur,who was neversentenced the unlawfulactivitiesof the bannedor-
by any courtand stilllanguishedin the ganisation,the Communist Partyof India
Raipurjail formorethantwo years.The (Maoist),towhichSanyalbelongs.He was
firstone came as a rude shockto dalits chargedunderthedraconianprovisions of
who had struggled for12longyearsto get the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,
Kadam punishedforwhat theythought 1967 and the Chhattisgarh SpecialPublic
was pure and simple butcherywith SecurityAct,2005, and also the Indian
a casteist prejudice. The second one PenalCode. It was clearto theworldthat
came as jubilantreprievetoscoresofcivil thechargesagainstSen weretrumpedup
rightsactivistsall overtheworldand the topunishhimfordaringtoexposetheevil
poor of Chhattisgarh who had agitated operations of Salwa Judum,a state-
against the naked injusticeperpetrated sponsoredanti-Naxaliteforcein Dante-
a
against saintly doctor forwhat they wada district.Whatwas notknownwas
saw was pure and simplevindictiveness theState'sintention to makethisa case to
of the State for the challenge that silence all democraticdissent.Enlight-
Sen represented. enedopinionrepresented by22 Nobellau-
reatesamongotherssoughthisreleasebut
Cases of Kadam and Sen the State refusedto heed. His bail was
On 7 May2009, a specialcourtinMumbai refusedthrice,twicebythe Raipurcourt
sentencedsuspendedsrpfofficer Manohar and once bythe SupremeCourt.Interest-
Kadamto lifeafterhe was foundguiltyin ingly, whilesuchblatantvictimisation had
the July1997 RamabaiAmbedkarNagar shockedthedemocratic worldand Chhat-
firingcase. The courtheld him guiltyof tisgarh'spoor, a sectionof civil society
culpablehomicidein theincidentthatled vehemently upheldit.
to thedeathsof10 peopleand injuryto 25
others.ThecourtobservedthatKadamhad Butcherof Ramabai Nagar
orderedfiringbeforetakingstockof the On 11 July1997,the people of Ramabai
situation.Kadamhad led thesrpfplatoon Nagar,a predominantly dalit colonyon
thatwas sentto controla mob protesting thewestside oftheEasternExpresshigh-
desecrationof a statue of Babasaheb wayinGhatkopar wokeup tofindthebust
Ambedkar inGhatkopar, a Mumbaisuburb. ofBabasahebAmbedkar witha garlandof
the
Expectedly, judgment was hailed by chappals. Soon people came outin protest
dalitsingeneralalthough thevictimswanted and halted traffic on the road. An srpf
Kadam to be hanged for what they platoon,led byManoharKadam,was sent
regardedas the cold-bloodedmurderof to controlthe mob. Withinminutesof
vol xliv no 25 CQu3 Economic& Politicalweekly
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 - - - =COMMENTARY

reaching thecolony, Kadamorderedfiring, vice-president, was naturallyinvolvedin originalchargesheet,83 witnesseswere

which killed 10 people and injured25 the investigation of cases of civil rights meantto deposeagainsthim.Ofthese,six
others.A factfindingby the Committee violationsperpetrated bythe Statein the weredeclaredhostilebytheStateand 16
forthe Protectionof DemocraticRights name offighting a Maoistinsurgency. He weredroppedwhiletheremaining 61testi-
(cpdr) and the Indian People's Human in
participated many inquiries, which fiedin court.Not one of thesewitnesses
Rights Commission (iphrc) revealed, drew attentionto severe human rights has providedany legallyadmissibleevi-
amongotherthings,thatthe firingwas violations,includingmurderof unarmed dence to supportthe accusationsin the
totallyunjustified, motivated as itwas by and demonstrably innocentciviliansby chargesheet. Even the jail officials, the
casteisthatredfortheprotestors. The fir- the police. For instance,he had exposed superintendent and the jailer,who were
ingwas fromcloserangeas couldbe noted thefactthat12 allegedMaoists,killedby called as witnessesby the prosecution,
fromthedimensions ofbulletholesin the thepolicein Santoshpur villagein a sup- haveruledoutthepossibility ofSen carry-
of
metallicsheets nearby houses and was on
posed gunfight 31 March2007, were inglettersfromNarayanSanyaloutofthe
intendedto kill people. The gruesome actuallytribalsexecutedat close range. highsecurity Raipurjail. Thissuggeststhat
incident was so revoltingthatitimpelleda The StateHumanRightsCommission took theallegedNaxaliteconnection ofSenwas
sensitiveballadeer,Vilas Ghogreto hang noteofthisinvestigation, and orderedthe just a ployto chargehimunderdraconian
himself inprotest inhisshackina Mulund bodiesofthevictimsexhumed.Justa few lawsthatwouldretainhiminjail fora long
slum. There was a widespreaddisgust dayslater,Sen was arrested. timeand harasshimstillfurther. The pur-
overtheincident, whichspilledoutin the Sen had consistently spoken against posewas wellservedinasmuch as theState
formofoutrageagainstdalitleaders. Salwa Judum,a vigilanteorganisation could incarcerateSen forovertwo years
The non-political youthformeda Ram- southern Chhattisgarhthat has been despitetheclamouroftheentireworldfor
abai AmbedkarHatyakandVidrohiSang- armedand supported bythestategovern- his release. The underscoring message
harsh Samiti (rahvss) and demanded mentand the Ministryof Home Affairs was loud and clear thatthe IndianState
actionagainstKadam. Despitean inten- since June2005, apparentlyin orderto coulddo anything to anyonewhodaresto
sive agitation,the Statedid nothingand combattheMaoistinsurgency. Theprimary disagreewithit.
sheltered Kadam.Ittookfullsixmonthsto motivation behinditis said to be theneed
institute a commissionof enquiryunder tovacatethismineral-rich partofthecoun- Uncivil State
JusticeS D Gundewarto further investi- tryto make way for several corporate A comparisonof thesetwo evidently in-
gatetheincident. TheGundewarCommis- houseswithwhomthe Chhattisgarh gov- comparablepersonsmayappear disgust-
sion almostcorroborated the findingsof ernment had signedmemoranda ofunder- ing. Kadam is a run-of-the-mill police
theabove-mentioned factfinding reports, standing.It is primarily pucl's investiga- officer whereasSen is a highlyqualified,
as also the contentions of the Sangharsh tionsintothemassivehumantragedythat gold medalistdoctor,who relinquished a
Samiti.Its main conclusionswere that thisevildesignentailedthatbroughtitto potentiallylucrativecareerand chose a
therewas no need of firing,the entire the noticeof the publicelsewhere.As it path of serviceto the poor. Kadam has
liquefiedpetroleumgas tankerstorycre- now stands, many civil rights'groups, been utterly insensitive to thesentiments
ated to justifythe firingwas a lie, the journalists,intellectuals,study groups ofdalitswho protestedagainsttheinsult
video filmshotby someone,whichwas and committees ofthegovernment itself, heaped on theirmessiah.Sen has been
in
projected support of the tanker story and even the Supreme Court have adversely intensely sensitivetotheplightofpoortri-
was fake,and thatthe firinghad taken commentedon this "ritualof cleansing" bals. Kadamsoughtto curryfavourofthe
placenoton theprotesting mobbutinside (as Salwa Judumtranslatesinto a local Stateby killinginnocentdalits,whereas
the colonywheretherewas no protest. triballanguage)the tribalcommunity of Sen incurredwrathoftheStatein expos-
The commission unusually observed that the "disease" of Maoism. Already over ing its unconstitutional and anti-people
a personlikeKadamwas notfitto continue 1,00,000peoplehavebeen displacedand operations.It is therefore thatthe State
inthepoliceforce. AndyettheStatecontin- hundredsof villagesabandoned,besides zealouslyshelteredKadam,itspettymin-
ued to shelterhimuntilitcouldnotdo so the killingof hundredsin the crossfire ion, ignoringthe persistentdemandsof
anymore.It orderedKadam'sprosecution betweenthepoliceandtheNaxalites.Des- dalitsand actingonlywhenitwas impos-
in August2001. A firstinformation report pite this enormoushuman tragedyand sibleto do otherwise,whereasitarrested
(fir) was lodgedagainst him with the Pant- huge load of condemnation of the Salwa BinayakSen and persistedwith its lies
nagarpolice stationon that
30 August year, Judum, itstill
continues to operate. thathe was activelyinvolvedin Naxalite
and he was arrestedin December2002, The police case againstSen is mainly activities.Kadam, despiteseriousindict-
onlyto be admitted to hospitalin January pivoted on his meetingswith Narayan ment,was allowedto remaina freeman,
2003 as he complained ofchestpain. Sanyal.But the factremainsthatall his and evenwhenarrested,couldbe rushed
visitstookplacewiththepermission ofthe to the hospitalwhen he complainedof
SaintlySen in Chhattisgarh of
deputysuperintendentpolice, and under chestpain, and be allowedto restthere.
BinayakSen, General Secretary of the close supervision ofthe jail authorities.The Sen, withouteven an iota of evidence
People'sUnionforCivilLiberties'(pucl) lies oftheStatewereexposedin thetrial, againsthim,couldbe arrestedandkeptin
Chhattisgarhunit and its national whichbeganon 30 April2008. As perthe jail,fortwoyearsandnotallowedtogetdue
Economic& Politicalweekly CQuU june 20, 2009 vol xliv no 25 9

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
COMMENTARY =

medicaltreatment despitehavinga history intrinsicallyuncivilcaste societywhich sympathise withdalitsandtribals,yoube-

ofheartailment.Kadamgetsbail withina
fortnightwithouta singledayinjail,where-
as Senis denieditrepeatedlyovertwolong
years,withoutany courtgoing into the
meritofhiscase.Thecontrast couldindeed
be endlessandrather shameful.
The glaringdifference betweenthese
twocases can be reducedto a singlevital
factor:theirattitudetowardspoor dalits
and tribals,theprimordial markerofour
feignscivilityforitself.It has zealously comean outcaste, butifyoudespisethem,
maintainedthe dividebetweenthe dalit you get naturallyaccepted.Sen's taking
and non-dalituniverseswithinitself.It is cudgelsfortribalsbeingbutchered bythe
unfortunate thatthemodernconstitutional policeand by Salwa Judumprovokedthe
State that we created,insteadof doing Statetoteachhimand hisilka lesson,but
away this"un-civility",has itselfimbibed Kadam's disdain towardsdalitsgot him
it in fullmeasure,in turnpromoting and thenaturalprotection oftheState.Naxal-
accentuating thisdivide.The Stateappa- ism and nationalismthen just become
ratus favours those who are against modernday euphemistic epithetsforout-
dalits and tribals,and vice versa. If you casteand caste,respectively.

EradicatingPolio:
Bylate2003,endemicfociwerelocated
in fivestates/provinces ofIndia,Pakistan

Makinga ShortStoryLong
and Nigeria.Itwas projectedthatby2006,
therewouldbe no endemiccountries, and
by 2008, all countrieswouldbe certified
polio-free.But poliocontinuetopersistin
RAJIBDASGUPTA developing,tropicalcountriesowing to
lower"levelsofserocon-
(1) "substantially
A discussionofIndia'spolio eradicationof smallpoxin the version,on accountofconcomitant infec-
eradication whathas mid-1970s led to a newglobalcon- tionsand malnutrition; (2) programmatic
programme,
fidence. Atthesametime,theAlma factors,includingcold chainweaknesses;
worked,what has notand what factorsincluding
Atadeclaration of1978markeda commit- and (3) environmental
nowneedstobe and can be done. mentto primary healthcare. Soon, selec- sub-optimalsanitation,high population
tiveprimary healthcare withits techno- densityand tropicalclimates.The challen-
centricfocusdislodgedtheoriginalvision, ges forIndiaincludedthefailurein reach-
at leastto someextent.Itis at thisjuncture ingveryyoungand underserved children
thattheidea ofpolioeradication appeared in general,and implementing theprogra-
on thehorizon.Theyear2008 markedthe mme,specifically,inwestern UttarPradesh,
25thyearinthehistory of thepolioeradi- wherea "substantial number"of children
cationprogramme. In 1983,a meetingof had missedpulsedoses.Whilethesechal-
publichealthexpertsheldat Bellagio,rec- lengeswereidentified andstrategiesdrawn
ommendedtheinclusionofpolio eradica- up to facethem,thecrucialmissingpiece
tionas a component oftheExpandedPro- was the numberof doses requiredin en-
gramme on Immunisation (John 1996: demicareaslikewestern UttarPradeshand
76-90). A consultative committee consti- Biharto achieveelimination/eradication.
tutedbytheRotaryInternational declared answer.
Tilldate,thereis no satisfactory
inthefollowing yearthateradication could
possibly be achieved by 2005. Meanwhile, Polio Situation in 2008
theWorldHealthAssembly in 1988,in its Following a sharpdeclineofwildpoliovirus
wisdom, advanced the goal to 2000 term- (wpv) cases globallyin 2003, the period
ing it an "appropriate gift,together with from 2004 to 2008 actuallyrecordeda sharp
theeradication ofsmallpox,fromthe20th increase.In 2008,therewere1,625globally
to the 21st century*.1 The Global Polio reported wpvcases,including 137from non-
EradicationInitiative(gpei), popularly endemiccountries. Seventeen countries re-
knownas "PulsePolio",was thuscrafted portedwpv including Nigeria(788), India
as a shortstorywitha happyending.As (551),Pakistan(188) and Afghanistan (31).
statedbytherecently releasedgpel Start- In a reversaloftrendssince2006, pi virus
egicPlan2009-13,whatstarted as a 12-year was back as the dominantinfection, ac-
operation(1988-2000) now stands offi- counting forabout 60% of allwpv cases.Ac-
cially extendedby another12 years,to tiveoutbreaks on accountofimported cases
RajibDasgupta{rdasgupta@mailjnu.ac.in)
isattheCentre and
ofSocialMedicine 2013. Pulse in is
Polio, India, currently were reported from 12 countries,five of
Community Nehru
Jawaharlal
Health, not onlyby missed deadlines, but them experiencedprolonged transmission
plagued
NewDelhi.
University, formorethan12months.2
also bythecrisisofconfidence.
10 june 20, 2009 vol xliv no 25 13X3 Economic weekly
& Political

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