Civil Liberties Monitoring

Committee India Publication.

Urdu & English

Editor Monitors
Lateef Mohd Khan
Bulletin-II India October-2009

Editorial Board
Kaneez Fathima Memorials
A. Srinivas Dr. Balagopal’s demise: Society lost a Human Rights
Campaigner
M. Mandakini
Rafath Seema Remembering prof. Iqbal Ansari: A tireless defender
Yahiya Khan of human rights - Mahtab Alam

Why i threw the shoe: I am no hero. I just acted as an

Circulation Manager iraqi who witnessed the pain and bloodshed of too
many innocents - Muntazer Al Zaidi
Mohd. Ismail Khan
Solve the problem don’t dissolve it - K.G. Kannabiran

Rs. 10/ The factual situation of minorities in India

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- Moulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi
Do you want to be a lab rat?
If not, stop bt brinjal: Assert your right to safe food &
food choices - Kavitha Kuruganti
Little Indians - Badri Raina
Kurnool floods due to regional politics
- Srinivas ashala
Hyderabad is not a free zone - Kaneez Fathima

Indian penal code (ipc), section 498a - Mandakini m

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Amberpet, Hyderabad- 500013 right

For Private Circulation Only

 EDITORIAL
OPERATION GREEN HUNT IS WAR HYSTERIA OF INDIAN RULING CLASS
Imperialists are always in search of enemies and war to take over the natural resources under their control, which is a
historical fact. By using the same tactics, America that is standard-bearer of heinous Imperialism in this world, declared war
on Iraq by showing Saddam Hussain as enemy in the name of fight against Terrorism, over looking all the International Laws;
targeted lakhs of Iraqi citizens and hanged Saddam Hussain to death. America spread the propaganda that Saddam Hussain
possesses very dangerous weapons including bio - chemical weapons that are dangerous for the population of the world. In
fact, this kind of danger, people never had from the side of Iraq or Saddam Hussain. Instead, America wanted to occupy and
control the natural resources of Iraq i.e. the oil storehouses, by showing the dangerous enemy. It almost succeeded in doing
so. However, the American rulers and American citizens are paying the price for the above; hatred is growing against them in
the world. The democratic protest of these atrocities is the throwing of a shoe, on Bush by Muntazir Zaidi.
The same kind of condition is of the Indian rulers because psychologically they are the slaves of American Imperialism
and act according to the American Imperialist rulers. The clear example of this is, the Indian rulers after selling the precious
lands of the cities to the Multi National Companies, are now eying on the natural resources left, which are in the mountains
spread all over the country. The rich minerals are under these mountains and these mountains have thick forests. The tribals
are living on these mountains and in forests since thousands of years with their unique culture and tradition. These tribals are
unaware of the world other than theirs. Even after 62 years of independence, they have been neither provided with food,
clothes, and shelter nor with education and medical facilities. Not even a school is built in those areas as a token of develop-
ment. Whereas the Naxals have stronghold on these tribal areas. The thick forests protect these Naxalites and the Naxalites
not only protect these Tribals but also provide basic facilities. This way the revolutionary movement has made way in the
hearts of the Tribals.
The government of India has handed over the natural resources by signing number of Memorandum of Understanding
(MOUs) with Multi National Companies (MNCs). Signing MOUs was easy but in practical, taking these natural resources
under their control and handing over to them is impossible, of which the government of India is well aware. These MNCs are
in fact the companies of American Imperialism and America establishes its rule through these companies itself. Indian rulers
are the slaves of these, therefore Indian rulers by following the foot steps of American Imperialist rulers have owned the
methods to occupy and control the natural resources, which America is habituated of showing one enemy and declaring war
against it. Like wise Indian government also has shown Naxals as enemy and declared them as most dangerous for national
security, and thus started war against them with the name ‘Operation Green Hunt’.
In these areas, people related to CPI ML (Maoists) are living there since 30-40 years. In addition, the Indian govern-
ment until recently has been looking towards this revolutionary party from the angle of local and social aspects. However, the
people look towards them with great respect and sympathy.
However, suddenly from the end of the year 2006, the Indian government while declaring them as the most danger for
the country, started presenting them as terrorists. The Indian government started doing all this to appease America and to get
timely benefits for themselves, on the name of war against terrorism. MNCs have played an important role in all this, because
the revolutionary movement is strictly against these MNCs and the MOUs signed with them.
The Tribals living in widely spread mountains and the thick forests, their life has already gone in danger because the
government wants to get rid of these people to handover the forests and mountains to the MNCs. For this purpose, they have
been induced by all the means, showing them golden dreams. Therefore, when these tribals did not come under their clutches,
the government tried to remove them by creating fear and terrorizing them. For this the government tried its level best to
create differences among them, so that they fight among themselves, which is the part of the government’s policy of divide
and rule. Under this, Salwa Judum named organization was formed under the guidance of government, in which the Tribals
themselves were recruited and guns were handed over to them. Apart from this, specially trained security forces were sent to
these forest areas, whose brutality can be understood by their name itself, namely Grey Hounds, Cobra, and Scorpion. Along
with this, Para Military forces, CRPF, BSF and Naga battalion forces are also present here. Whether Salwa Judum or Para
Military Forces, they resort to all kinds of violence on the Tribals. Violation of laws, killings, burning the Tribals is a common
thing for them. Because of this violence, three lakhs of Tribals of Dantewada itself have been forced of displacement. The
headquarters of Para Military Forces is being built in the forests of Bilaspur, because of which nine villages will be destroyed.
Airbase is being built in the Rajnanand village because of which seven villages have been destroyed. This way arrangement
is ready for Operation Green Hunt. Indian Air Forces have been granted permission to fire on the people in the name of self-
defense.
Now the question that arises is on whom will they fire bullets? How will be the security forces able to differentiate
between naxalites and the tribals? Because, these Tribals carry bows and arrows on their shoulders and spears in their
hands, which is part of their culture. This way, a common Tribal would be a Naxalite for the army. The government missionary
considers every tribal as Maoist who posses any urban material. In Dantewada, 19 tribals were killed on the name of Naxalites.
When the investigating team enquired with the SP about how they should believe that they were Maoists, he replied saying,
is it not enough to believe that they had medicines of malaria and dettol bottles with them.
 With this one can imagine what kinds of torture and violence is done to the poor citizens of India living in far off areas
of forests. And on the name of operation Green Hunt, which kind of war would take place and what would be the extent of
violence, is unimaginable. Knowing any kind of news from these areas has become difficult, whether it may be Lalgarh or
Dantewada, these areas have been blocked.
In fact, the Operation Green Hunt is done under the pressure of MNCs. The Indian ruling class is also part of these
MNCs. There is no doubt that, many Chief Ministers and central ministers play the role of CEOs. These people have sold the
mountains full of minerals to the MNCs. These MNCs are so powerful that they can buy anything and anyone. At present, the
policy-making department, administration and media are all under their control. These MNCs have arranged their own aid
agencies and militia. Vedanta is a multi National Company, which is one of the biggest mining companies of the world; the
owner of this company is Anil Agarwal, a multi-billionaire, who lives in London; he is the owner of a palace in London, which
was once under the king of Iran, and presently resides in it, with this one can imagine about his wealth. Apart from Vedanta,
the other MNCs such as Mittal, Jindal, Tata, Essar, Bosco, Rio-Tinto, and BHP Billion have made agreements with Govern-
ment and bought all the forests and mountains full of minerals, and now they want to shift these precious treasures from here.
The cost of Bauxite present in the mountains of Andhra and Orissa is of four trillion dollars. In Chattisgarh and Jharkhand the
high quality of Iron ore is present. Apart from this, there is Uranium, Limestone, Dolonite, Coal, Granite, Marble, Copper,
Diamonds, Gold, Quartzite, Corundum, Braille, Silicon, Flouride, Garnate in 25 other areas. There is a forest on these
mountains, which is known as Dandakaranya forest, which is spread from West Bengal to Jharkhand, Orrissa, Chattisgarh,
Andhra and Maharashtra. These are the shelter places of lakhs of Indian Tribals but these have now become the properties
of MNCs. This way India has once again come under the rule of companies.
Taking all these things into consideration, it can be said that India has entered into a serious situation and definitely civil
war kind of conditions have emerged. Because under the slavery of MNCs, the Indian Government has taken steps for the
Militarization to extract Bauxite from Mountains and other minerals from the forests. And the enemy needed for this war
hysteria is the Maoists, whereas in reality the people who are shown as Maoists by the government are the Tribals who live in
the forests spread over thousands of kilometers. These people have started protest against the tyrannical policies and to
protect their water, forests and lands with the slogan, “we will give our lives, but will never give land”. This daring and fearless
resistance of Tribals is enough to label them as Maoists.
The above act of resistance of Tribals is justifiable, because Indian Parliament and Judiciary have failed in providing
justice to them. Whereas assurance has been given by the Indian constitution that the lives and the lands of the Tribals would
be protected. When the constitutional rights of the most poor citizens of India are violated, then every person present in civil
society who believe in democracy and justice, who respect human rights and citizen rights, those people should raise voice
against this violence and hence they should know that the struggle for the protection of water, forests and lands of Tribals is
not only for the Tribals but also for the bio-sphere and to maintain environmental balance of the earth. This fact also should
be considered that if the complete war is broken out on the name of ‘Operation Green Hunt’, then it would be a non ending
war; and the effects of this war would be on each and every citizen of India. This war would be affecting the lives of common
man and in this war poor people’s lives will be lost.
As it was already said in the beginning that the Indian ruling class is the slave of the American Imperialists and follows
its footsteps. After 9/11, the American president had declared crusade against terrorism and had also said that, ‘you are either
with us or against us in the fight against terror’. In the same manner Indian government while using the Bush formula, denied
the living rights of the most poor citizens of the country by declaring war against the so called Red Terror on the name of
Operation Green Hunt and also has given warning to the citizens of India who believe on democracy, that if you are not with
us then you are with the naxalites. This way it is also an attempt to bring fear, terrorize and silence the activists of Citizen
Rights and human rights of India. Among all this, the minds of the Indian ruling class have been blocked. Apart from dollar,
neither they can see nor hear anything. In fact, they have forgotten the most horrible condition of America in Iraq and
Afghanistan. America is looked upon with hatred all over the world. America has collapsed economically. Thousands of
American soldiers have lost their lives. America even if it wants cannot come out of this war. The same thing will happen in this
country as well. Whereas the difference would be that American army is killing people of other countries or getting killed,
whereas in India, the army would be killing its own citizens or would be killed by its own people, this way civil war will be
started and this country will never be able to come out of this marsh of war. Therefore the government should open its eyes
before destroying itself with its own hands. Militarization should be stopped immediately. Problems should be solved through
the way of talks. The condition of laying down arms is not proper for the talks. Because the arms and strength of Maoists is
weaker compared to the army of Indian government. Therefore it is the responsibility of the Indian government to take first
step to make the conditions peaceful. The army should be called back from the areas to restore confidence among the tribals
and Maoists. Government should stop threatening statements against CPI (Maoists) and torture against its activists. In
response, Maoists should also stop their militant activities and should not make aggressive statements against anyone.
Salwa Judum and other similar organizations working under the guidance of the government should be closed immediately.
Ban on CPI (Maoists) should be lifted up, so that pleasant atmosphere is created. If this does not happen and if this war
hysteria continues by Indian rulers, then the same thing will happen similar to things happened with Bush in Iraq; Bush had to
face the shoe of Muntazir Zaidi but there are crores of shoes in India, which would tear down the face of Indian rulers.
- Civil Liberties
 DR. BALAGOPAL’S DEMISE:
SOCIETY LOST A HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER
Civil Liberties Monitoring committee expresses its grief and sorrow on the unexpected demise of eminent
human rights leader Dr.K.Balagopal. The sudden death of this great leader is an unbearable and irreparable loss
for the whole civil liberties and human rights movement and the vacuum is difficult to be filled. It is great loss for
the mass movements. He was the voice of the oppressed people. He advocated hundreds of cases in the court
and raised the voice against the atrocities and questioned state sponsored terrorism and said that state is a
terrorist. Passing away of Balagopal has saddened all those who are concerned with democracy, civil Liberties,
human rights, in India and elsewhere.
Balagopal was born in Anantapur, studied at Chittoor and Tirupati, completed Doctorate in Mathematics
from Kakatiya University and post-doctorate from Delhi. He taught Mathematics in Kakatiya University. He joined
Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) and became the General Secretary of the same. During that
time, he worked tirelessly for the protection of civil liberties. And during the same time, RSS goons attacked him
in 1984; he was kidnapped by Praja Bandhu, a police outfit in 1989 and was released after 3 days due to public
pressure. He was also arrested under TADA and was in Warangal jail for three months. when he felt that his
teaching is becoming hurdle in civil liberties work, he resigned and studied law and after getting L.L.B degree he
started practicing in High Court, he filed hundreds and hundreds of cases against the state, on atrocities and
became the voice of oppressed people, because of which he is known as advocate of poor and oppressed
people.
He was also a great intellectual and good writer, he wrote n number of articles and books against American
imperialism, Hindutva Fascism, globalization, privatization etc. he condemned all types of violence and extended
support to the struggling people of Kashmir, North East; he exposed the atrocities done by the Indian security
forces in Kashmir. Kashmiri people always wait for his tour, he always visited interior parts of the Kashmir, his
straight forwardness is reflected in his speeches and writings, in which he openly said that state, is a terrorist.
He was the founder of Human Rights Forum and till 2nd of October he was the General Secretary of HRF.
As a human rights activist, he was among the people who initiated talk process between state and naxalites and
was very much upset due to the failure of talks and on loss of hundreds of lives of naxalites in fake encounter.
Dr. Balagopal also exposed the false propaganda of Hyderabad police in connection with Macca Masjid
blasts; for this he held a joint press conference with CLMC. As a human rights lawyer, he filed bail petition of
Dr.Junaid in the A.P. High Court and obtained the release order for Dr.Junaid; this was the starting process for the
release of Muslim youths who were detained during second police action on Muslims in 2007.
The last fact finding which we conducted jointly was the fake encounter killing of two Hyderabadi youths
who belonged to old city, who were killed by police in the name of dacoits in Kareem Nagar.
Under his leadership he conducted Human Rights Forum (HRF) state convention at Anantapur from 2-3
October 2009. CLMCI was invited by HRF to present the message on that occasion. At this conference, he
delivered speech which became his last speech in which he said that in a state where the common people who
live in fear, it cannot be a democratic state, instead India is a weak democracy, the democratic struggle has to be
strengthened in this country, Human rights movement has to be made strong, people have to be educated.
For this conference he also wrote a pamphlet, titled ‘speaking cheaters have arrived, don’t be silent’, this
was his last message to the people.
He always said that even though it seems that the state is with the common people but it is not so. They
may be dalits, minorities, tribals or the poor people. Therefore, we should be on the side of these people. He
always strived for the protection of rights of these people, worked for them and struggled till his last breath. Let
this struggle be an example to us and guide the rest of us in our behavior towards each other.
CLMCI expresses its solidarity with the HRF activists and hope that the struggle and activism of Dr. Balagopal
would be continued by HRF activists. CLMCI

CIVIL LIBERTIES 4 Bulletin-II

 REMEMBERING PROF. IQBAL ANSARI:
A TIRELESS DEFENDER OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Mahtab Alam ...

On Sunday evening, 11th October 09, when Prof. Iqbal A Ansari was sitting next to me in a meeting here
in Delhi, I had no clue that- I will be not able to meet him again. In fact, it’s still unbelievable for me that he is no
more among us. His untimely death left most of us bewildered. It is an irreparable loss for human and civil rights’
movements in India. Prof. Iqbal Ansari, who was always at the forefront of the human and civil movements
throughout the country over two decades left this world on 13th October early morning following a heart attack.
My association with Prof. Iqbal Ansari is not very long and dates back in 2007, when I assisted him to
organize a consultation meeting on Towards Riot & Terror Free India organized by Inter Community Peace Initia-
tive (ICPI) on 10 Feb.07 here in Delhi. After that, I interacted with him on various occasions and issues, mostly
through phone and internet. He was very prompt in his reactions. Whatever, I know him through my short interac-
tions and his works, one thing is very clear to me his commitment for protection of civil liberties and advancement
of human rights in India is unmatched. He was committed for the cause up to the level of craziness.
He was one of the most visible civil liberties’ activists in India, taking up a variety issues, from communal-
ism, religious freedom and communal harmony to minority rights. A teacher of English literature turned in to a
whole time human rights’ activist, Prof. Iqbal Ansari along with another well-known civil libertarian like V M Tarkunde,
Justice Rajendra Sachar championed for the protection of civil rights in India.
Born in 1935, Mr. Iqbal A Ansari served as a teacher of English at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
(AMU) for 33 years and retired as professor of English in 1995. He has been visiting professor at Centre for
Federal Studies, Jamia Hamdard (2001-2003) and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (2003-2004). Prof Iqbal Ansari
was associated closely with several international and national human rights organizations in different capacities.
He was member of Amnesty International, National Council member of Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL),
Vice President of Citizens for Democracy (CFD) and General Secretary of Minorities’ Council. And most recently,
he was active with us in Citizens’ Initiative for Peace, a newly formed group which comprised of people like
Justice Rajendra Sachar, Prof. Randhir Singh, Kuldip Nayyar, Swami Agnivesh, Nanadani Sunder and Kavita
Srivastava. He was also editor of the quarterly bulletin, Human Rights Today published from New Delhi.
He was a prolific writer and his writing used to appear in most of national English dallies. Prof. Ansari has
written extensively on issues related to human rights, minorities & prevention and resolution of inter-community
conflicts. His publications include Political Representation of Muslims in India (2006), Readings on Minorities:
Perspectives and Documents, Vol. I & II (1196), Vol. III (2002); Communal Riots: The State and Law in India
(1997); Human Rights in India: Some Issue (1998); Muslim Situation in India (1989) and Uses of English (1978).
Now days, he was working on the issue of religious freedom and about compile a book on it.
He traveled almost every part of the country to advance the human rights and to expose the violation of
human rights and the illegal activities of both the state and non-state perpetrators. It was Prof. Ansari, who took
special interest and made constant efforts in the matters related victims of communal voidances especially
Hashimpura and Maliyana. His efforts resulted in the form transfer of cases from UP to Delhi. Moreover, he made
a remarkable intervention in the form of critically analysis the proposed Communal Violence (Prevention, Control
and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005. One of the last contributions for the protection and advancement of civil
liberties in India was his intervention in Justice Markande Katju remarks on beard growing. He personally wrote to
him and argued the matter.
He was a selfless intellectual, tireless human rights’ defender and a great human being. It is a harsh
reality that- Prof. Iqbal Ansari is no more amongst us but his legacy in terms of his works and brave struggles will
continue to inspire us to keep on our struggle for the establishment of a just and equitable world. Our real tribute
and homage to him will be to carry forward his work and legacies not mourn his demise and celebrate his great-
ness. CLMCI
(Mahtab Alam is a Delhi based Civil Rights Activist and Coordinator with Association for Protection of
Civil Rights (APCR). He can be reached at mdmahtabalam@gmail.com )

Bulletin-II 5 CIVIL LIBERTIES

 WHY I THREW THE SHOE: I AM NO HERO.
I JUST ACTED AS AN IRAQI WHO WITNESSED THE PAIN
AND BLOODSHED OF TOO MANY INNOCENTS
Muntazer Al Zaidi ...

I am free. But my country is still a prisoner of war. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about
the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and the symbol and the symbolic act. But, simply,
I answer: what compelled me to act is the injustice that befell my people, and how the occupation wanted to
humiliate my homeland by putting it under its boot.
Over recent years, more than a million martyrs have fallen by the bullets of the occupation and Iraq is now
filled with more than five million orphans, a million widows and hundreds of thousands of maimed. Many millions
are homeless inside and outside the country.
We used to be a nation in which the Arab would share with the Turkman and the Kurd and the Assyrian and
the Sabean and the Yazid his daily bread. And the Shia would pray with the Sunni in one line. And the Muslim
would celebrate with the Christian the birthday of Christ. This despite the fact that we shared hunger under
sanctions for more than a decade.
Our patience and our solidarity did not make us forget the oppression. But the invasion divided brother
from brother, neighbour from neighbour. It turned our homes into funeral tents.
I am not a hero. But I have a point of view. I have a stance. It humiliated me to see my country humiliated;
and to see my Baghdad burned, my people killed. Thousands of tragic pictures remained in my head, pushing me
towards the path of confrontation. The scandal of Abu Ghraib. The massacre of Falluja, Najaf, Haditha, Sadr City,
Basra, Diyala, Mosul, Tal Afar, and every inch of our wounded land. I travelled through my burning land and saw
with my own eyes the pain of the victims, and heard with my own ears the screams of the orphans and the
bereaved. And a feeling of shame haunted me like an ugly name because I was powerless.
As soon as I finished my professional duties in reporting the daily tragedies, while I washed away the
remains of the debris of the ruined Iraqi houses, or the blood that stained my clothes, I would clench my teeth and
make a pledge to our victims, a pledge of vengeance.
The opportunity came, and I took it.
I took it out of loyalty to every drop of innocent blood that has been shed through the occupation or
because of it, every scream of a bereaved mother, every moan of an orphan, the sorrow of a rape victim, the
teardrop of an orphan.
I say to those who reproach me: do you know how many broken homes that shoe which I threw had
entered? How many times it had trodden over the blood of innocent victims? Maybe that shoe was the appropriate
response when all values were violated.
When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, George Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies,
his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my
country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora.
If I have wronged journalism without intention, because of the professional embarrassment I caused the
establishment, I apologise. All that I meant to do was express with a living conscience the feelings of a citizen who
sees his homeland desecrated every day. The professionalism mourned by some under the auspices of the
occupation should not have a voice louder than the voice of patriotism. And if patriotism needs to speak out, then
professionalism should be allied with it.
I didn’t do this so my name would enter history or for material gains. All I wanted was to defend my country.
CLMCI
(Muntazer al-Zaidi is an Iraqi reporter who was freed after serving nine months in prison for throwing his
shoe at former US president George Bush at a press conference. This edited statement was translated by McClatchy
Newspapers correspondent Sahar Issa www.mcclatchydc.com)

CIVIL LIBERTIES 6 Bulletin-II

 SOLVE THE PROBLEM DON’T DISSOLVE IT
K G Kannabiran ...

EVEN after two years of publication, the late PV Narasimha Rao’s Ayodhya, 6 December 1992 (Penguin
Viking) is not visible in any bookshop in the country. And what is more than passing strange is that neither the
Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Congress seems interested in a parliamentary debate on a subject so crucial for
India’s unity and integrity.
As Prime Minister, Rao records that the assault on the Babari Masjid was made when political parties
were fully aware of the fact that prolonged negotiations were taking place to arrive at a consensus on all outstanding
issues arising out of the masjid/temple in Ayodhya. There appeared to be just more than connivance on the part
of the BJP, then in power in Uttar Pradesh, that enabled the party alliance to mount an assault on the structure
with the intent of bringing it down. That it was decided to force the communal issue on to the national agenda
became evident when it began its journey from Somnath.
Indira Gandhi, with the prescience of the emerging communal politics, and alive to the fact that any
religious based politics would lead to the breakdown of integrity worked out by the anti-colonial struggles by
diverse people coming together and continuing that unity, introduced certain provisions in the Constitution by way
of the 42nd Amendment. She had anticipated the rise of conservative groups which would retard the growth of an
egalitarian society and decided to spell out its direction quite specifically. To make the objective in the Preamble
more explicit, the concepts of secularism and socialism were included. In the Fundamental Duties chapter, the
concept of fraternity was emphasized and these were not touched by subsequent governments.
The Ayodhya Rath Yathra was intended to disrupt that unity. The consequent violence was becoming
genocidal and the character it took on silenced criticism. This silence of the liberal among the majority accorded
these trends a representative status. Vulgarized adversarial politics, the sole objective of which had come to
mean capture of power, had lost sight of a very significant fact — namely “India’s anti-colonial nationalism was a
movement that claimed openness in its cultural policy and included all those who subscribe to questioning the
colonial rule.” (Romilla Thapar.) Unfettered by the country’s partition on religious lines, “we went ahead and
framed a constitution with the full understanding of the existence of plural communities and tribes and ethnic
groups with a determination to mould the diversity into an ‘Indian (national) identity’.”
The Rath Yathra from Somnath was intended to disrupt this effort. PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime
Minister at that time but even before that he had been appointed chairman of the committee set up by Rajiv
Gandhi to examine the issues raised by Ayodhya. He was aware always that this issue had to be examined from
the constitutional perspective. He was aware of the the possibility that any step he might take could lead to social
disorder of unimaginable magnitude and could leave behind an endemic religious conflict that would be more
intense than the ethnic conflicts in Europe and other parts of the world after World War II.
The unity structured by anti-colonial struggles of pre-independence and the fraternal and cultural relations
that fostered unity was written into the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in the Preamble and as a separate
part (IV A). The attempt to evolve an Indian identity was sought to be disrupted by the social disorder and bring
about irreparable fragmentation of the Hindu community, in itself a plural society full of internal conflicts and caste
belligerence that would not admit any homogenous administration and adjustment. The various disastrous
possibilities stared Rao in the face.
Perhaps these and other reasons impelled him to maintain a record of events. He did not write a book to
be read and reviewed. Instead, he meant for Parliament and the people to debate and settle the issue of secularism.
The Supreme Court and his cabinet never read the Constitution to understand and administer. He had his book
published posthumously so that it might be debated untainted by the prejudices against him as a politician and in
his role of Prime Minister. He was undoubtedly an intellectual as eminent as Nehru, though he did not have the
luster and legend the latter had. But as Prime Minister, he deserves an audience.
Rao made a meticulous record of the events that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December
1992. In it he set down that secularism, which came under strain right from the beginning of the British government’s
“divide and rule”, seemed unreal even at the time of Partition. It became a pillar of the Constitution quite naturally
because of Indian tradition and national leaders’ conviction. But an out and out theocratic state across the border
could not but leave some ugly secular spots on this side as well.

Bulletin-II 7 CIVIL LIBERTIES

 “Some parties found in anti-secularism the potential of a vote-rich issue, preying on the emotional pressures
generated by the human tragedies of Partition days. The idea always seemed to politicise the Hindu majority on
one side until it fetched electoral victories to them by sheer numbers.” First, Rao noticed a clear qualitative shift in
the Supreme Court’s approach to Article 356. The constant abuse of this provision led to an invitation of judicial
scrutiny of the decision to impose President’s Rule. The Central government did not desire any adverse interference
by the Supreme Court. The agitation for a Ram temple and the protection of minority interests were involved. The
nation was watching the government’s dealing with this issue. Rao took all precautions to ensure that the decisions
taken were democratic. The National Integration Council, which met on 2 and 23 November 1992, went through
the situation threadbare and was against the imposition of President’s Rule. The Governor’s Report also advised
against that course.
President’s Rule was a device provided by the Constitution to enforce federal discipline and by a
constitutional consensus this provision was introduced after much debate at a time when the memory of Hitler
was still fresh in the minds of the constituent assembly members. The apex court’s panic was that India would go
Communist and together with Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian ways would destroy the inter-institutional and
constitutional discipline so necessary to carry on governance.
In his report, Rao stressed the reluctance of the Supreme Court to entrust the Centre with the responsibility
of dealing with the situation, so much so that three constitutional authorities were involved almost simultaneously.
In the first instance, what was the trend of the Supreme Court? One may argue that it may act independently and
the government need not have been influenced by the Supreme Court in taking executive decisions. But Rao
wondered if this was possible. The shadow of the 1975 Emergency, with the Congress ruling at the Centre to
some extent and the long period of abuse of President’s Rule, decidedly influenced the Court in delaying swift
action that was so necessary.
Every day the government was in some way interacting with the administration in Uttar Pradesh and the
Bench of the Supreme Court. The court was directing the state government to file affidavits covering every doubt,
every clarification and every assurance as required by law. Such affidavits were filed almost every day by the
state government. Was it possible to assume they were false affidavits? It was not possible for anyone to say that
despite these affirmations and assurances, the Centre should have acted in ignorance of the state government’s
conduct. In a quasi-federal set-up, with the presence of plural communities, how did one carry on governance of
the plural communities? Was it possible to differ violently on integrating secular values and still claim recognition
as a political party in the parliamentary system under the Constitution? These and other fundamental political and
constitutional questions plagued Narasimha Rao in those dark days of Ayodhya in the winter o f 1992. What
would be accepted as democratic governance and what would not was the question that confronted the Prime
Minister every day in December 1992.
Rao wrote in his report on Ayodhya that “the situation inevitably throws open some very intricate
constitutional and ideological questions. Are the BJP, the Muslim League, the Hindu Maha Sabha, etc, on the one
hand, and the other parties such as the Congress, Janata Dal, the Communist parties, etc, on the other in the
elections under the same Constitution finding it a level playing field in the 1980s and 1990s? Yet I thought it
proper to flag these pertinent questions very briefly, since they are bound to affect future elections, for the simple
reason that religious faith in India, if allowed to be used as electoral issue, is much too tempting a short cut to
votes. It will be impossible to set things right after allowing these trends to continue for a long time, bringing in
signal successes again and again on the basis of a grossly unfair and impermissible advantage to one party
which flies in the face our Constitution”.
Paramilitary forces were placed at the disposal of the state government in adequate numbers. While the
state government asked for forces, it never made effective use of them. The forces needed 23 magistrates for
their effective use but these magistrates were not made available, nor did the state government make any preventive
arrests. The reading of the report informs one to infer that the state government was acting as a political adversary,
though covertly, and proceedings pending in court were used as a camouflage. Rao “expected the BJP to behave
as a responsible parliamentary political party told them to act with candor and a modicum of fairness”.
In the debate in Parliament after the demolition of the Babari Masjid, Rao, in his intervention on 21
December, referred to the issue raised by Inderjit Gupta. After reading a resolution in the constituent assembly, he
proceeded, “In a secular democracy what is the place of non-secular parties or what should be the composition
and programme of parties participating in that democracy, is a question that needs a national debate… Those
who wish to participate in the elections would have to participate on the basis of certain guidelines, certain

CIVIL LIBERTIES 8 Bulletin-II

 THE FACTUAL SITUATION OF MINORITIES IN INDIA
Moulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi ...

If we examine the constitution of India, we find that minorities in India got everything they could expect,
and which are also emphasized by the international declaration, but when we look at the ground realities, the
situation seems to be completely different. First we will look at the biggest minorities of India i.e. Muslims.
In India, the sun of Independence has risen with the red blood of Muslims. In the capital city Delhi, Muslims
were attacked continuously. They were constantly killed but the government and its agencies never tried to stop
and bring the killers and rioters under the clutches of law. The story of Delhi has been repeated in many parts of
the country. It was thought that as a consequence of country’s partition to form Pakistan, for which Hindus blame
Muslims and as the days pass the partition’s wound would heal and Muslims would get peace. (13) Years after
the deadly bloodshed riots of Jabalpur proved the hollowness of that thought. The situation of anit-muslim riots is
such that, someone has rightly remarked that we identify the Indian geography through the riots and get to know
which place and which city is located where. After every anti-Muslim riot, it is written and said that, for these types
of big riots, commissions make investigations. These commissions have also submitted their reports to the
government. Even after all this, anti-Muslim riots have not stopped until now. Even today for every simple thing
and small incident Muslims blood is flown, their shops are burnt, houses and property is destroyed.
Among these riots, the most deadly and destructive were the Gujarat 2002 riots, which should be called as
Muslim genocide. In this genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, the role of state government, its administration and
especially the role of police are objectionable. These state organizations have been involved in killings and
genocide of Muslims. There was no expectation from the state government as its hands were deeply sunk in the
blood of Muslims. It was the responsibility of the central government but the NDA government did nothing. After
that, UPA government came into power, but it also maintained silence. Now from sometime there is a hope that
the faces of the killers of Gujarat would be unveiled because of the orders of the Supreme Court. This massacre
of Muslims is genocide from all the aspects as international laws regard it as a serious crime, even if the criminals
involved in it may be the constitutional rulers or the government officials, the responsibility of punishing those lies
on the state. There was no difficulty in declaring the Gujarat Muslim massacre as genocide, suspend the state
government and to bring its perpetrators under the clutches of the law and to punish them. The political will
needed to take these steps, were not seen even in the UPA government that came into power after the 2004
elections.
A lot can be written about the riots of Muslim massacre but due to the fear of lengthiness I leave many
things and discuss some of the important points. It is a fact that before riots, communal tensions are created
through speeches and writings, through rumors and wrong allegations, Hindu brothers are provoked against
Muslims. Moreover, under this atmosphere of communal tension even a small incident ignites the fire of riots.
Therefore, to stop these kinds of riots it is necessary to stop those speeches, writings and rumors, by taking
strong action against them, which is considered as crime in Indian Penal Code, and the persons involved in it can
be punished. However, the state governments, officials and police always close their eyes and until now, no
government has taken any kind of action against such erring officials.
The second important aspect is that the RSS and its related organizations and institutions under their
vision for Hindu Rashtra, always spread hatred against the Muslims by saying that this country is only for Hindus,
Muslims should either accept Hindu religion or else leave this country, no non-Hindu has any right to live in this
country, they create hatred atmosphere against Muslims. After the investigation of Rourkela riots, Gandhi Peace
Foundation investigated Bhivandi, Jalgaon, and Mahad riots, after that Justice D.P.Madan and many other

principles which are common to all and which are defined very clearly in the Constitution.” He called for a wider
debate on “how this aberration that is menacing this country these two decades has to be set right”.
MN Venkatachalliah, former Chief Justice of India, puts it succinctly, “The purpose of law in a plural
society is not the progressive assimilation of the minorities in the majoritarian milieu. This would not solve the
problem, but vainly seeks to dissolve it.”
Rao’s book is, therefore, meant to spur a debate by Parliament and the people on the issue of the
plurality of communities and governance. CLMCI
(The writer is national president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.)

Bulletin-II 9 CIVIL LIBERTIES

investigation commissions in their reports held responsible RSS and local organizations made by Sevak Sangh
and their anti-Muslim speeches. However, there has been no effort to declare RSS and its anti-Muslim thoughts
as unlawful.
The third important aspect is that, if police acts responsibly and if communal tension is not allowed to crop
up then incidents of Muslim massacre will not take place. But it is seen in every riot that police not only turns its
eyes from the people who create communal tensions but also allows total freedom to the rioters after the breakout
of the riots; moreover they also participate in the killings of Muslims and destruction of their property. Many
investigative commissions including Justice B.Srikrishna investigating Mumbai riots of 1993, pointed towards
such police officials whose hands were dripped in the blood of Muslims. There is a need of strict action against
those erring police officials so that others would take lessons from it. Generally, there was no action taken against
those officials and even if action had been taken; it was limited to stop one increment or to bring down their name
in the list of seniority. These types of actions can never provide tools for learning a lesson for others. Among the
police and intelligence agencies, there is no scarcity of such officials whose mentality is related to the belief in or
thought of Hindu Rashtra (Hindu state). Because of which along with giving lessons to the accused police officers,
their psychological training is also necessary from time to time and also to brain wash them with the constitution
that represents the brotherhood of Indian nation.
Based on the intolerance, narrow mindedness, religion, region and language the parties are creating
hatred against other citizens in an organized way and try to influence the people. It is the responsibility of the
political parties who claim to be secular, to change the mindset of the people according to the secular vision. The
incident of Muslim genocide in Gujarat is so painful that the merciless person also feels pain in his heart. But no
political party who claim to be secular has tried to reach people of Gujarat, to revive human emotions and to
present the factual picture of Indian nationhood and did not present demerits of communal killing and destruction,
by which country becomes weak. The result of which is the people of that place do not feel ashamed of their acts
instead, some section of people feel proud on their inhumanity. Between the period of 1970-1980 Sampradayakta
Vardarhi Samiti named organization headed by Mrs.Subhadra Joshi, published many books against the fascists
ideology of Hindu Rashtra, published articles in the newspapers, conducted lectures, seminars and debates in
different parts of the country because of which mind was being prepared against Hindu fascist ideology. Today
there is larger need of these kinds of efforts. But, the parties who claim to be secular become active only in the
season of elections. Whereas they have to be on the ground every time to make up the thinking and the mind of
the people and alarm the people against the on going communal tensions and to make up the aims and intentions
of the people to stand against it.
Generally, there is thinking that only Muslims’ life and wealth is tested and under threat. No other minority
is touched. Nevertheless, it has been proved false in Delhi on the killing of Sikh brothers and in Orissa and
Karnataka where Christians were massacred. After these incidents, both the Sikh and Christian minorities started
feeling that not only Muslims have the threat of killing and destructive attacks, but now they also started feeling
that the country’s majority peoples’ communalism feelings are challenging their existence as well. Therefore,
when we mention about the basic fundamental rights i.e. right of life, wealth and dignity, then we have to say very
disappointedly that the very important and basic rights of Muslims in India are being violated.
I would like to present one more problem of Muslim minority that is the issue of Babri Masjid. Regarding
this issue it should never be thought that it is only the issue of a masjid. In fact, it is the problem of all the Masjids
of Muslims and worship places of all minorities. RSS and other Hindutva organizations show Babri Masjid as the
birthplace of Sri Ram on the basis that the statue of Sri Ram was claimed to be found from that site which
indicates his birthplace. Which Masjid, which Gurudwara, which Church would be left over if the Hindu brothers
start claiming birth place (Janmabhumi) of crores of Gods and Goddesses of theirs. Finding statue from the place,
in proper words placing it there and declaring that the statue is found, is not difficult and impossible. Second
important thing is that Hindutva organizations’ planning is to make the fear deep in minorities in general and
Muslims in particular. So that they start feeling that, if we are bound to our religion, then our life is neither safe nor
the property in this country. As this feeling gets deeper, their mind will divert towards leaving their religion and
accept Hinduism. These Hindutva organizations along with this fear want to increase one more fear that your
worship places will not remain safe, any time anywhere these worship places will be destroyed, police and
government will not become hurdle in this work. If you want safety of your worship places then beg it from us, we
will take few worship places from you and can leave some for you. This is the strategy of increasing and making
fear deep among the Muslims. There is a need to understand this. However, we want to tell these Hindutva
organizations straightforwardly that they have not understood psychology of Muslims. If any difficulty comes on
them, their faith becomes more stronger. They are not going to leave their faith and religion by the fear of loss of

CIVIL LIBERTIES 10 Bulletin-II

their life or property. However, these incidents have made the intentions of their faith and religion stronger and
increased their aims. Oh Hindutva organizations you have led several hundreds of incidents of killing and
destructions in this country and in these incidents not even a single Muslim would have been found who would
have come out and said don’t run knife on me, don’t burn my house, don’t ransack my shop, iam ready to leave
my religion. A Muslim in good deeds may not be good enough which Islam presents but as far as the faith in his
heart is concerned there is a strong presence of a good man.
The problem of Babri Masjid is the story of the failure of government. The historical fact is the present
Ayodhya is not the story of Ayodhya Nagar of Sri Ram Chandraji and where Babri masjid is located there was no
mandir earlier. Babri Masjid was not constructed by Babar but by his governor Amil Mir Baqi Taashkhandi. False
stories have been made against this true history, large publicity was done, and through these rumors, the fire of
hatred has increased against Babri Masjid and Muslims. Spreading the hatred rumors is a crime according to
Indian Penal Code but the government did not take action against these traders of hate.
In the case of Babri Masjid, right from the rath yatra of Lal Krishna Advani to the demolition of the historical
masjid and from the demolition until today, Muslims have many complaints with which this article will become very
long one. The commission that was appointed for the investigation of the demolition of Babri Masjid had presented
its report after seventeen years on 30th June 2009. Criminal action is pending against the accused responsible for
the demolition. When will it proceed no one knows. In another court, it has started with slow proceeding some
time ago. However, Muslims confidence on Indian democracy is shaking because of government’s attitude on
this issue. Democracy is the name of implementation of laws and protection of democratic rights and these
principles are continuously violated.
I want to present one more problem of Muslims here. Muslim personal law i.e. Muslim family law is the
base of the faith and religion of Muslims. To understand this truth, the Indian brothers feel difficulty because Hindu
brothers have importance of their religious law only to the extent where if any culture exists in a place or in their
caste which is not according to the law then priority is given to the culture and religious law is looked down.
Among the Christians’ the protestant section had accepted the law of the land, because of which they don’t
give much importance to their religious law. Even if the Indian brothers understand or do not understand the
relation of the muslim with their personal law, they and the country should understand that the right of practice
according to the belief has been accepted as the fundamental right under the article 25 of the Indian constitution.
And Muslims consider their personal law as an important part of their religion and belief; therefore, they should be
given this right. The right to protection of culture and its progress has been given to minorities under article 29,
and going along with this right, there should be no interference in the Muslim personal law of Muslims.
There are many other aspects of the rights and problems of minorities. Urdu has now become the language
and culture of Muslims. Moreover, the kind of behavior of governments towards this language is that, the words
like usurpation of rights and violence are very small words. Whenever the topic of representation of the Muslims
in the social service and government employment comes, this English saying suit aptly that Muslims are “last to
hired and first to be fired” citizens. Many truths have come before us through Jusitce Rajinder Sachar committee
report. When the topic of reservation comes, it is said that there is no reservation on the basis of religion in
constitution but the reality is that at the time of the making of the constitution, the representative of Sikhs in the
constituent Assembly, Sardar Ajal Singh had recommended for the reservation of minorities which had been
accepted. But later the word minorities was replaced with the word backward class and this motion was clearly
explained in the constituent assembly that changing of word will not deprive minorities from their right of reservation.
Today the history of that reservation is totally forgotten. Today the biggest problem of the minorities is that they are
labeled as terrorist and afflicted in sufferings, and to inflict hatred in Hindu brothers against Muslims. Whenever
there is a blast or even if a cracker bursts, immediately the finger is raised towards the Muslim after which,
enormous arrests take place and the chain of torture begins on them. Before these arrests, police do not have any
kind of evidence against them and the rules that were made by the Supreme Court for the arrests are neglected.
Moreover, this way such kind of painful torture is inflicted on them that cannot be expressed in words. One should
also remember that according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, torture is crime against humanity.
Finally, in India Muslims and minorities possess those rights in constitution and law, which can give them
assurance of respected quality and dignity of life. However, for the practical implementation of these rights
atmosphere of law and order has not been created. As a result of this, Minorities especially Muslim minority is
living under the shadow of fear.
(Moulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi is the President of All India Majlis-e- Tameer-e-Millat and Secretary of All
India Mulsim Personal Law Board.) CLMCI

Bulletin-II 11 CIVIL LIBERTIES

 DO YOU WANT TO BE A LAB RAT?
IF NOT, STOP BT BRINJAL: ASSERT YOUR RIGHT
TO SAFE FOOD & FOOD CHOICES
Kavitha Kuruganti

...
Genetically Modified (GM) foods are created unnaturally by taking genes from unrelated organisms and
inserting them into the cells of our food plants like brinjal, rice, bhindi, tomato, cauliflower, potato etc. The science
and technology of Genetic Engineering is imprecise and irreversible and is documented to cause many health
and environmental impacts.
In India, the first GM food crop—Bt Brinjal (which is incidentally the first ever such GM vegetable crop with
the toxic Bt gene in it, anywhere in the world, to be eaten more or less directly by Indians if approved) — devel-
oped by large profit-seeking agri-business corporations, has been cleared hastily for commercial use by the
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in a closed-door manner without sound scientific evidence to
prove its safety on October 14th 2009. Bt Brinjal has been created to get the brinjal plant to produce a poison
inside the plant to kill some pests that attack the crop – the claim is that farmers would not have to spray so much
of chemical pesticides in farming with the use of seeds like Bt Brinjal. What is ironical however is that it is the
same business players who have made and who continue to make profits out of chemical pesticides that talk
about GM seeds today. When chemical pesticides were brought in a few decades ago, they claimed that pesti-
cides will not cause any harm to any organism other than the target pest. However, we now know that this is a lie.
Today, they again claim that GM seeds will not harm any organism apart from the target pest – do you want to
believe them, knowing that this is in fact an irreversible technology with seeds having their own life and self-
propagating ways in nature?
Brinjal has primarily originated in the Indian sub-continent. Nowhere else in the world has a crop been
allowed to be genetically modified in its centre of origin and diversity. There are references in classical texts that
tell us that brinjal used to be the favorite dish of Lord Krishna, for instance. Brinjal and plants of related species
are used extensively in Ayurveda and Siddha and is also documented to have medicinal properties, used for
treatment of Diabetes Type B etc. The entry of Bt Brinjal will thus endanger the healing capacity of Indian medici-
nal systems.
M/s Mahyco, the Indian partner of the world’s largest seed company called Monsanto, has been allowed to
develop Bt Brinjal in India on claims of pest tolerance to a set of pests. Monsanto is infamous in the world for its
anti-farmer operations, including jailing and suing American farmers for saving their own seed! Now, they are
seeking to control the agriculture of this country through the means of GM seeds. In the case of Bt Cotton, the
only allowed GM crop in India, Monsanto is reported to have made crores of rupees of profits by charging exorbi-
tant royalties from poor, debt-ridden Indian farmers, many of whom were left with no option but to commit suicide.
It is naïve to believe that these companies are acting in our best interests, whatever their stated claims.
The company has been allowed to do open air field trials from 2004 onwards even though biosafety has
not been proven till date. In the process of field trials, Mahyco has also been documented with serious violations
of biosafety norms under EPA. In 2007, despite massive public resistance, an expert committee set up by the
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) recommended that Bt Brinjal be allowed for large scale field
trials.
Both in terms of academic literature and field level practice, it has been proven time and again that pest
management in Brinjal is quite possible, affordable and profitable for farmers through non-chemical and non-GM
means and through ecological practices. Despite the fact that Dr Pushpa Bhargava, Supreme Court appointee to
the GEAC, recommending that GMOs should be considered only if no other options exist, Bt Brinjal is being
projected as a need for the farmers of the country disregarding other safer options.
For assessing the implications of Bt Brinjal, the regulators had asked the crop developer to undertake
some testing and to produce data – these tests are not long term, comprehensive in their assessment or indepen-
dent. Decision-making has been happening only on the basis of company-produced data when it obviously has a
vested interest in the matter. Mahyco was asked to perform some toxicity and allergenicity tests for biosafety
assessment on the health front (in addition to some tests for environmental biosafety and for assessing the

CIVIL LIBERTIES 12 Bulletin-II

 LITTLE INDIANS
Millions of little Indians, Hindus Muslims and others
For them no law, no land, no fathers mothers brothers.

They slave in little tea shops, they beg along the road,
They sleep upon their little feet; they have no bed, no board.

Government makes new budgets of which they are no part.

Governments feed on government grants, they eat their little heart.

The rich perform ablutions to please the gods above;

The gods return their favours and increase their treasure trove.

Little Indians find employment in hell holes we call factories;

Their lungs fill up with poison gas, government collects the taxes.

Some little Indians go to public school in bus or car or jeep;

A million others look for food in wayside garbage heap.

Their schools are in Government file, their meals are part of Plan,
But when nation needs an atom bomb, they eat whatever they can.

Little Indians, they are taught to sing ‘mera bharat mahan’;

Little Indians wipe their hunted eyes - they wonder what is on.

- Badri Raina

impact of the Bt Brinjal on the target insects). The biosafety data from these tests was made public by the Genetic
Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in August 2008 after a protracted struggle under Right to Information
Act and in a Supreme Court PIL. The fight for this data has been a typical case of public safety vs. commercial
interest, with the company seeking to withhold information from the public.
No independent research or independent analysis has been taken up by any concerned Ministry with their
own set of experts with regard to Bt Brinjal. However, after independent scientists from all over the world analysed
Mahyco’s Bt Brinjal biosafety data and pointed out to problems and concluded that it is unsafe for consumption,
an Expert Committee (EC2) was set up by the GEAC which, after two sittings, claimed that Bt Brinjal is safe and
ready for commercial cultivation. As various civil society groups protested against the constitution of the EC2, its
mandate, its functioning and its so-called findings, the Minister for Environment & Forests has now announced a
democratic and transparent process by which the final decision on Bt Brinjal will be taken by February 2010.
If Bt Brinjal is allowed into the country, that will be the end of choice for you. Your right to know what you are
eating will be violated. Normal brinjal and Bt Brinjal will look the same by appearance and you will not be able to
exercise your informed choice of not eating Bt Brinjal. Now is the time for each one of us to exercise our basic
rights to safe food and food of our choice and show our citizenship by writing to the Prime Minister and the
Environment Minister of the Government of India. Further, it is also important to get state governments to exercise
their constitutional authority over Agriculture and Health (these are State Subjects) by getting them to take a stand
in favor of ordinary citizens and their sustainable livelihoods and not on the side of profit-hungry corporations.
“You can get more information and send a petition to the Prime Minister on this subject, at
www.iamnolabrat.com”.
(Kavitha Kuruganti has been working on issues related to sustainable agriculture for more than fifteen
years now.) CLMCI

Bulletin-II 13 CIVIL LIBERTIES

 KURNOOL FLOODS DUE TO REGIONAL POLITICS
Srinivas Ashala ...

Our country is the largest democracy where its people do not have rights to claim compensation whenever
the situation of drought and natural calamity occur. But both these calamities are profitable to the political leaders
(and their contractors).
The four districts of Andhra Pradesh completely submerged in the water due to the cyclone started from 30
September to 2 November. Thousand crore acres of crop was damaged. Animals died. Property worth Crores of
rupees was damaged. According to the government estimation, it asked the center for 9023 crores of rupees. 565
villages of 87 mandals were completely submerged in water. 64 people died, Nearly 16 lakhs of people were
displaced and 11 thousand animals died. More that 62 thousand houses were damaged. Lakhs of hectares of
crop was damaged. 978 lakes and ponds were fissured; and, not even a single drop of water is left over.
One of the first reasons for the floods is human negligence and second is due to the regional politics. The
central water commission chairman, Mr. A.K. Bajaj himself announced that the news of estimation of rainfall and
floods and its effects which would occur due to low pressure in Bay of Bengal from September 30th was sent to
state government in the form of bulletin. He also observed that because of government’s improper response,
flood of Krishna River was unable to control. The Andhra Pradesh government sectors took Bajaj’s observations
seriously. It announced that they did not get any kind of report from CWC. The chief Minister Mr. Rosaiah an-
nounced that he would complain to Prime Minister about Mr. Bajaj. Whereas the Engineers of the state are also
giving the same opinion. Therefore, it is clearly understood that there is human carelessness in this matter.
The details of the water projects should be known to understand the second aspect. Nagarjuna Sagar
project was built for multi purpose such as water for cultivation, electricity production, floods control etc. Sagar
reservoir can store 408 TMC of water. The total capacity of reservoir is, highest water level is +590 ft. and
minimum water level is +510 ft. Earlier Srisailam project was built for the purpose of 100% electricity production.
Storage capacity of reservoir is 308 TMC, total water level is +885ft, and the capacity of electricity production is
1540 Mega watts.
According to Bachavat tribunal, 850 TMC of Krishna water was allotted to our state. In whatever manner
the share is distributed internally, half of the share of this water should be sent to the Telangana districts, but that
did not happen; even the allotted water was also not given to Telangana districts. This water was diverted to
Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra regions. The water exploitation continued only because the ruling class belongs
to those regions. Nagarjuna Sagar project became disputed (according to earlier estimation the project was to be
built at Mahboob Nagar but not where it is built). The Bheema Project that was to be constructed before Nagarjuna
Sagar is put aside. Srisailam Project which was built solely for the purpose of electricity production was turned
into multi purpose project only for the selfish needs of the Rayalseema leaders. On the name of Drinking Water
Agreement to Madras, 5 TMC of Srisailam water was diverted to Telugu Ganga canal through Poti Reddy Padu
Head regulator. Under this Telugu Ganga area, Galeru Nagar, Veligonda, Handrineeva, are under the Srisailam
Right canal and under Srisailam left canal as well schemes were made to send water through Srisailam reservoir.
After Y.S became Chief Minister the height of Potireddy Padu head regulator was increased from 15 thousand
cusecs to 65 thousand cusecs; to assure water he also increased the water level in Srisailam reservoir from 834
to 854 ft and also gave illegal share in Srisailam project to Rayalseema region.
Regional and water politics are the reasons for the floods that occurred. So on September 30th Srisailam
water level was +848.50 ft. i.e. difference of only six ft. of total water level. At the same time Nagarjuna Sagar
water level was +537 ft. i.e. 53ft. less than the total water level. Therefore, it means that Nagarjuna Sagar had
space of reserving still 150 TMC of water. What was the policy of the government in keeping Nagarjuna Sagar
empty by not allowing water to the Kharif of sagar area and keeping Srisailam full? At least on 30 September,
considering the rainfall, if arrangements would have been done to release the maximum water. Then on 2nd
October, some space would have been there to store flood water in Srisailam reservoir. The level of floodwater
would have been less at least to some extent. Because of not happening so, natural anger along with human
carelessness and selfish politics of regional leaders brought extreme loss.
Whatever it may be, the loss is irreparable. Government’s improper help, independent organizations, and
individuals’ altogether, whatever help they provide, it will take much of time to restore normalcy to the lives of
lakhs of people. To avoid such things in future, partition of state is the only solution. CLMCI

CIVIL LIBERTIES 14 Bulletin-II

 HYDERABAD IS NOT A FREE ZONE
Kaneez Fathima ...

In Capitalist society, those who possess power always have control over (for exploitation). That may be
between regions, or among people. Telangana people know struggle and dedication, whereas Andhra and
Rayalseema people know conspiracies, brokery (inherited from Britishers).
The issue of Hyderabad Free Zone looks like a very small matter if it is seen from the angle of employment.
From many decades the water, assets, land and wealth of Telangana are being destroyed and many political
conspiracies are being made to turn sky touching Hyderabad into a disputed land.
Supreme Court in its judgment, declared Hyderabad as Free Zone, on 9 October 2009. Even though this
judgment is applied only to the police department, later based on this judgment, there is a danger of the same to
the other departments as well in future. When we look at the Presidential Order, there is no mention of the term
free zone or seventh zone as such. G.O. Ms.No.674 is known as Presidential Order – Andhra Pradesh Public
Employment (Organization of Local Cadres & Regulation of Direct Recruitment), issued on 20 October 1975.
Under this order, Andhra Pradesh has been divided into six zones. Coastal Andhra regions come under 1,2,3
zones, Rayalseema region comes under 4 zone, and Telangana region come under 5,6 zones. Thus, Hyderabad
along with Nalgonda, Medak, Nizamabad, Mahboob Nagar, and Ranga Reddy districts come under sixth zone.
Almost all the successive governments have been violating Six-point formula (SPF), Presidential Order
and G.O. Ms. 610 repeatedly since 1975. Large numbers of Non-locals were allotted employment in Telangana
region. Several violations of SPF are taking place in recruitment to the zonal posts in Excise, Police, Stamps and
Registration, Education, Housing, Panchayat Raj, Irrigation and Industries Departments. For example, The House
Committee headed by R. Prakash Reddy in its second report submitted in the year 2003 pointed out that 4,700
constables of the city police were identified as non-locals. It had recommended that the non-locals, who were
appointed in the posts earmarked for the locals against the SPF, should be repatriated to their respective zones
with immediate effect.
Even though Hyderabad comes under the sixth zone, the Secretariat, Heads of Departments, State- Level
Offices and Institutions, were exempted under the Para 14, are all in Hyderabad itself. Ninety percent of the
employment has gone to the non-Telanganas. With this judgment, this small obstruction is cleared for Andhra.
Therefore, every now and then the issue of Free zone is being raised. Even if separate Telangana is formed, the
anti Telanganas will try to convert Hyderabad into a disputed region, for which this judgment is a starting point.
Already Telangana is struggling for justice since decades. Even though many times orders have been
passed namely G.O.610, presidential order, Mulki Rules, Six-point Formula, Gentlemen Agreement, Girglani Com-
mission etc. Not even a single rule has been implemented yet. The issue of Free Zone has raked over new fear
among the Telanganas; even the hopes have been washed away by this judgment. The Telanganas especially
Hyderabadis have become refugees in their own land. The Andhra ruling class has occupied Telangana region,
full of natural resources and precious lands. Many conspiracies have been done against Telangana and its
people right from the government employment to political representation. All the state government employment
sectors and even private employment sectors have been occupied by Andhras. Almost all the Governments, on
the name of development, have sold the precious lands of Hyderabad to the ruling class of Andhra. Who has
benefited by this development, there is a need to understand this aspect of development. Each and every person
either the politician or any person belonging to ruling class wants to own Hyderabad. Therefore, they try their level
best to maintain Hyderabad as a disputed issue.
Few Andhra intellectuals opine that the issue of Free Zone should not be seen as a regional problem, but
should be looked at, with the feeling that the state capital belongs to everyone. In this scenario, if it is not to be
seen as a regional problem, then why is it that the local representation is almost equal to nil in the state govern-
ment employment sector in the same capital city of the state.
The employees in the ruling class politics and political leaders of Andhra and Rayalseema present in the
ruling politics, intentionally appointed advocate Saxena belonging to Uttar Pradesh on record in 2004 who does
not have thorough knowledge about the state affairs. Above it, this person was appointed by senior lawyer Anup

Bulletin-II 15 CIVIL LIBERTIES

 INDIAN PENAL CODE (IPC), SECTION 498A
Mandakini M. ...

Now-a- days many organizations have crept up who call themselves as the victims of the 498A cases and
do demonstrations and programmes against so called misuse of the 498A law. If at all some people calling
themselves as victims of 498A case is true, then they will have to produce name or manes of the person(s) died
due to the harassment of daughter-in-law. In case any person is given life sentence under 498A case that would
be only when the daughter-in-law dies. Otherwise, the punishment would be three years of imprisonment. Therefore
this crime is one of the most dangerous crimes.

Sec. 498A was added in the IPC through (Second Amendment) Act of 1983 (Act No. 46 of 1983) which is
as follows:

498A. HUSBAND OR RELATIVE OF HUSBAND OF A WOMAN SUBJECTING HER TO CRUELTY:

Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty
shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section, “cruelty” means:

(a) Any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to
cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) Harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her
to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person
related to her to meet such demand.

Section 498 A IPC brought about a change in the legal scenario defined and made the cruelty by a
husband or the relative of the husband punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years
and also liable to fine. This section defines the cruelty as any wilful conduct which is of such a nature and is likely
to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or mental or physical health of
the woman or harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person
related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her
or any person related to her to meet such demand.

Prior to independence itself, dowry was identified as a social evil and in 1939 Sindh Deti Leti Act was
passed by the provincial government of Sindh state aiming to discourage the practice of dowry. After independence,
states of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh enacted laws against practice of dowry system which are Bihar Dowry Restraint
Act, 1950 and Andhra Pradesh Dowry Prohibition Act, 1958.

G. Choudhary belonging to Madhya Pradesh, both of them does not have proper understanding of state laws. The
state government purposefully did not respond properly in this issue.
Whatever it may be, now the only solution for this issue is curative petition. Immediately a resolution
should be passed in Assembly and it should pressurize to bring parliament act on it.
A contractor became politician and brought tears in the eyes of Chief Minister (no concern for this). In our
country, all the political parties are bowing their heads to the politics of newly emerged powerful class in the
politics. Therefore, Hyderabad Free Zone should be not seen as a small issue. There is conspiracy of brokers,
contractors, real estate agents, and Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema leaders at the back of this issue. Finally, all
these issues have to be solved by the peoples struggle. CLMCI

CIVIL LIBERTIES 16 Bulletin-II

 After that the central government enacted Dowry Prohibition Act in 1961 which came into force on 1 July
1961. under this the sate governments were allowed to make amendments. But it was considered as failure
therefore A joint Committee of Parliament was appointed to locate the cause of Failure of the Act and to suggest
effective measures to eradicate this evil of dowry. This joint Committee consulted many people, took evidence
and gave a report showing the reasons of failure like the narrow definition of the term dowry, limited time period of
one year to file case, prosecution starts only when notice is given to the government, meager punishment, non-
cognizable nature of offence etc. the joint Committee also recommended some amendments in the criminal law.

Based upon the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee in 1982, a Criminal Law
Amendment Act was passed in the year 1983 and several amendments were made in the Indian Penal Code
1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the Evidence Act 1872. Section 498 A (under a new and separate
Ch. XXA) was added to the Indian Penal Code 1860. Section 113A and 113B were added to Evidence Act 1872;
these two sections in Evidence Act raise a presumption against the husband and his relatives in case of ‘dowry
deaths’. Section 174(3) CrPC was amended to make post mortem mandatory in a case of seemingly (apparent)
dowry death or suicide by a married woman. Section 176 of the code was also amended to make an enquiry by
Magistrate necessary in such cases. 176 were amended directing post-mortem and inquiry in cases of unnatural
death of a woman within 7 years of marriage in order to determine whether it is a Dowry Death.

These criminal law reforms held great promise at the time of their enactment. The criminalisation of
Domestic Violence in the form of Sec 498A and 304B (dowry death) sought to increase the certainty and severity
of legal responses, thereby correcting historical, legal, and moral disparities in the legal protections afforded to
abused women. Prior to 1983 every form of violence committed within the family, either at natal or matrimonial
home was not considered as an offence. These amendments sought for the first time to bring the issue of domestic
or family violence out of the protected private realm of the family and into the public domain in India.

The intention and objects behind enactment of Section 498A IPC have been beautifully outlined in 1999
judgment of Bombay High Court in (1998 Cri.L.J. 4496) B.K. Moghe Vs. State of Maharashtra and others. A case
of cruelty by the husband and the relatives of the husband which culminate in suicide by, or murder of the hapless
woman concerned, constitute only a small fraction of the cases involving such cruelty. It is therefore proposed to
amend the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act suitably to deal effectively not only with cases of Dowry Death but also
cruelty to married woman by their in laws.

As a result, Section 498 A IPC was introduced in the year 1983 because as per committee very large
number of women were subjected to ill treatment, short of Dowry Death, for bringing insufficient dowry, which
required stringent punishment to control the number of Dowry Deaths.

Because of the constant harassment, humiliation etc. at the hands of the husband or his relatives, the
married women becomes helpless and being unable to bear humiliation or harassment is driven to commit suicide.
This harassment and humiliation thus required stringent punishment. Therefore, the existing law was found to be
in adequate even though Section 306 IPC stood on the statute book and Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 was enacted.
It was in this background Section 498 A was inserted in the Penal Code.

The law that is made is to be used and implemented properly, otherwise is of no use. Only 10 percent of
the harassed women file such case and the rest of the harassed women do not even file a case. And even among
the filed cases, most of them withdraw the cases due to different reasons such as when women get divorce,
settlement of dispute with the husband or when the case becomes time consuming. Conviction rate is almost
negligible in these cases. Therefore, it is not apt to say that 498A is being misused; it is not even used properly.
It can be used properly only when both the parties understand what harassment means. CLMCI

Bulletin-II 17 CIVIL LIBERTIES

 DEMAND FOR SEPARATE TELANGANA STATE IS
A DEMOCRATIC RIGHT
LATHIS AND BULLETS CANNOT CRUSH THE RIGHTS AND SENTIMENTS OF 4O
MILLION TELANGNA PEOPLE
CONDEMN THE EXTREME FASCISM OF GOVERNMENT OF A.P.
AND BARBARIC ACT OF POLICE

Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee strongly condemns the lathi charge on activists and University students
of Telangana movement. Demand for separate Telangana statehood is a democratic demand and attacking and
killing the university students demanding this right, through the killer force Andhra ruling class like ‘Grey Hounds’
is a barbaric act.

CLMCI states that at this time, the separate Telangana movement has reached to a decisive point. The
demand of four crores of people and their rights and sentiments cannot be crushed by lathis or bullets. Today by
this barbaric act, it can be understood that the government has reached to the extreme level of fascisms.

The arrest of Telangana activists is undemocratic, who held hunger strike in Gandhian way. If the hunger
strike of Telangana leaders is illegal for the government, then why is the hunger strike by NTR of Andhra and YSR
of Rayalseema not declared as illegal? In fact, at this time, the ruling class of Andhra is using all kinds of tactics
to crush the Telangana movement and the silence of State and central government in this matter is very
disappointing.

If this situation continues and if the demand for Telangana is overlooked, then civil war could start in this
region and the whole responsibility for this situation lies on the Congress government. Civil Liberties Monitoring
Committee expresses its solidarity with the people injured and died due to the police lathi charge. It appeals the
students not to take extreme steps of suicide. As per the information received until date five people died for the
cause. It seems that the movement has gone into the hands of people and became peoples’ movement. Now it is
in the hands of people to decide on which way the movement will go, for which the whole responsibility would be
of the Congress government. It is high time that the government recognizes the right of Telangana people.

CLMCI demands the government to:

1. Call for emergency session of state Assembly to pass resolution for Telangana state.

2. Release immediately the arrested students, activists, and political leaders.

3. Withdraw all the police forces from the universities.

4. Conduct judicial enquiry of attacks on University students and killings by the Grey Hounds.

CLMCI appeals to all the intellectuals and political leaders to play their role in separate Telangana movement.
The maintaining of distance from this movement and silence on this issue to please the Congress government will
be harmful, which would be a big blunder.

CIVIL LIBERTIES 18 Bulletin-II