The Long and Lonely Fight of Soni Sori

Original Source: http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/the-long-and-lonely-fight-qa-with-indian-tribal-rights-activist-soni-sori

In a crowded auditorium at a conference on gender-based violence in Delhi this month, a frail woman sits, silently listening as lawyers and activists take turns to speak. When the discussion shifts to atrocities on adivasi (tribal) women, she takes center stage. When she speaks, the crowd listens in silence. Soni Sori, a schoolteacher, speaks about the fate of women in Chhattisgarh, an Indian state that has been engulfed in violence and conflict, with tribal civilians caught in the crossfire between Maoists and government security forces.

Within this mineral-rich Indian state, the genesis of conflict has been complex. It is a mix of deep neglect of the poor and also, some would say, lopsided development plans. But beyond simplistic explanations of conflict, undeniable is the loss of lives and brutality unleashed in the name of counterinsurgency and fighting for the poor. For years, women and children have born the brunt of this cruelty.

In 2013, at least 1,380 rapes were reported in Chhatisgarh, according to India's National Crime Records Bureau. The controversial and now-disbanded Salwa Judum, a self-protection force formed with local civilians and later declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2011, face at least 99 counts of alleged rape since its inception in 2005.

It was against this backdrop that Soni Sori, all of 35, was arrested in 2011 and accused of being linked to the Naxals, an armed, left-wing extremist group that has waged war against the Indian state for decades. She was sexually tortured in custody. Human rights activists worldwide campaigned for her release. Amnesty International declared her a “prisoner of conscience,” turning the spotlight on atrocities she’d been subjected to. Now out on bail, Sori spoke to me about the inhumane sexual torture she endured, the dismal state of women’s prisons in Chhattisgarh, her fight ahead, and her optimism on women’s rights.

Indian tribal rights activist Soni Sori speaks to Amnesty International India about her case and thanks the organization for its support in advocating for her release. (Amnesty International India)

Priyali Sur: It's been almost three years since you were first taken into police custody. Do you remember every detail?

Soni Sori: It was past 10 at night. I was asleep when the cops came and woke me up, saying the superintendent of police wanted to meet me. The superintendent, Ankit Garg, asked me to sign documents that would confirm I was involved with the Maoists. I refused. He then asked the lady constables to leave, warning them that what happened inside the police station that night should not be told to anyone.

The police officials started abusing me, calling me a whore and saying I indulge in sexual acts with Maoists. They stripped me naked, made me stand in an “attention” position and gave me electric shocks on various parts of my body. I still didn't relent. They then shoved red chili powder inside my vagina. By now, I was losing consciousness, but I refused to sign the documents. The cops started inserting stones into my private parts. Many stones—so many that they started falling out. I finally collapsed.

The next morning, I could barely move when I was taken to court. My biggest complaint is that the magistrate didn't even see me once and sent me to prison. In the days that followed, I was admitted to the hospital, where they chained me to the bed. When I asked why, they said it was procedural. Due to the stones, it was difficult and painful for me to even urinate. Only after I wrote to the court was I taken for treatment. 

Sori was ultimately referred to the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where stones were removed from her vagina and rectum. But her torture and humiliation in the prison continued. In April 2013, a group of human rights organizations wrote to the Chhattisgarh chief minister, demanding the end of ill treatment of Soni Sori and other inmates in Jagdalpur, the central jail. They said Sori was being subjected to a psychiatric evaluation to declare her mentally unsound and create doubts over the veracity of her complaints of sexual torture.

PS: How long were you in prison and what is it like for the women inmates inside jail?

SS: I spent two and a half years in all, and spent time in four jails [Tihar, Raipur, Jagadalpur, and Kolkata]. The plight of girls and women is deplorable inside the Chhattisgarh jail. There is an urgent need for proper health care and sanitation. During their menstruation, women inmates are not given any sanitary pads. They have just one piece of cloth, which they wash and reuse as a pad. At times, due to the unavailability of pads and clean cloth, many even have blood trickling down their knees. It is extremely humiliating. Due to such unhygienic conditions, most women suffer from vaginal discharge, problems like “safed paani” [vaginal discharge] and foul-smelling urine. Women keep waiting to visit a doctor, but they are only taken after a very long wait.

The way women inmates are treated is inhuman. They are themselves made to clean the toilets and if anyone complains, the cops beat her up and put her in an isolated cell. No woman is allowed to keep more than one sari. If families send them more, the cops burn the extra sari. They are made to do hard labor but given a poor diet. If a mother dares to ask for more for her crying child, she is beaten up.

PS: Are the inmates also sexually abused by the police?

SS: The inmates are mentally tortured and harassed. A naked drill is a common thing. I was tired of being asked to strip again and again and again. They would strip me and accuse me of being a Maoist. …  They would then humiliate me by inspecting my breasts with their batons and forcing me to spread my legs. It’s a mental torture. Not just me, but they do this to other women inmates as well. There are many minor girls as well inside, but they are falsely recorded as majors in the files. Many 13- to 14-year-old girls are brought in and accused of being Naxals.

According to Himanshu Kumar of Vanvasi Chetana Ashram, an organization working for tribal people in Chhattisgarh, grave human rights violations are taking place in the prisons of Chhattisgarh. Himanshu has been fighting for justice for Sori. He says that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all the prisons across the world to carry out human right audits, but has been denied access to Chhattisgarh prisons. The state has been seen as the epicenter of Maoist conflict for a long time.

In February, after almost two and a half years in jail, Sori was finally granted bail by the Supreme Court of India. She is free to go anywhere but has to report to the nearest police station every Monday, regardless of the location. Sori now wants to work from Chhattisgarh, along with a human rights lawyer, to help other women who have been falsely accused and are languishing in prisons. According to the National Crime Records Bureau report of 2011, Chhattisgarh was one of the states that reported the highest number of female convicts (242) in its central jails. The women’s prisons here are overcrowded, with almost 150 percent occupancy. But along with this, Sori’s priority is also her children—her two daughters and one son.

PS: Now that you are out on bail, do you worry about separation from your family again?

SS: My children refuse to let go of me at all. They say this year they will stay with me since they don’t know when I might be taken to jail again. Every other day, jeeps packed with cops come to my house and question my children at gunpoint, but my children are strong and aren’t scared. My children say, “Let the police come, we can handle them.” Everything that they have been through has made my children strong.

When I was in jail, my husband passed away. I wasn’t even allowed to come for his last rites. I appealed to the court to let me go home to see him for one last time, but they didn’t permit me. One week later, they said I could go and visit home. I refused, saying it was too late.

During India’s recent general elections, Sori ran from her region. She says her decision to join politics is so she can challenge and change the system that treats women mercilessly. She remembers how the jail officials mocked her, saying that once she was out, her spirit would die. She says joining politics is an answer to all those people who challenged her.

Sori lost the election by a huge margin.

PS: You entered politics—are you disappointed that you lost?

SS: Not at all. I believe I have won, and my fight has just started. My fight was not to occupy the chair, but to get the support of my people. Today, there are many who will come and stand by me. The rulers always rule from their chair. I am fortunate that I will get to work at the grassroots level. My politics is not about ruling, but about fighting for the rights of my people.

PS: Is it difficult to stay motivated and focused on your mission?

SS: There are days when my children have nothing to eat. I don’t have a job today while Ankit Garg, who has been accused of brutalizing me, has been awarded with the president's Police Medal of Gallantry. But it’s my children who give me the courage to fight. They are all I have today. My fight is not about caste or religion but about the rights of all women.

I know there are many who are waiting for me to die for this fight to end, but I want to tell them that if Soni Sori dies the fight will not end. There will be a hundred more Soni Soris who will emerge. Can they drown the fight for justice for women? Can they kill each one of us? In the end, victory will be ours.

Don't beat war drums, go for drum diplomacy.

Original Source: http://www.tehelka.com/dont-beat-war-drums-go-for-drum-diplomacy/

War drums are getting louder since the arrival of the NDA government as far as plans to tackle the Maoist violence in central India are concerned. Chhattisgarh will be given 10,000 extra paramilitary troops. Bastar has been chosen as the next concentrated area of operation. Mobile tower installations for Bastar will be expedited. Helicopters will now be allowed in anti-Maoist operations.

These are some of the news reports we have been reading lately.

The Maoists must be very happy.

Beginning in 2005, the Chhattisgarh government ran a disastrous military campaign called Salwa Judum with the Centre’s help. Though it was shown as a spontaneous people’s movement, it ended up strengthening the Maoists as never before. Top Maoist leaders wrote articles in their internal magazines in Gondi language with headlines like, “Thank you, Salwa Judum”.

One of their leaders told me, “We called our movement People’s War but Salwa Judum made it a real people’s war. Our recruitment is up many times. Now, there is no chance of fence-sitting for Adivasis and obviously a huge majority has chosen us.”

I remember meeting an old Adivasi man during one of my trips to a Maoist-controlled area. He must have been 80.

Feeling that he will tell the truth as he may be uncaring of threats from the Maoists at this ripe age, I asked him, “Who is better — Dadas (as the Maoists are called in Bastar), or the State?”

Dadas, he replied without hesitation. Then he added, “We need water, medicine and schools, and we know Dadas can’t give us that. They have not given us these things in 30 years, but the State only sends the police, who beat us unnecessarily. That’s why I say Dadas are better. They at least don’t beat us without warning.”

During the Salwa Judum years, the State could not kill more than 50 uniformed Maoists. However, it killed more than 1,000 civilians (around 200 of them were non-uniformed Maoist cadres) and created thousands of new Maoists in return. If the recent reports are correct, the State seems to have learnt very little.

“Bastar is not Kashmir,” say CRPF officers who are posted in the remote areas of Bastar and have served in Kashmir and the Northeast before. “The forest is very thick here. There is almost no direct fight here as we faced in Kashmir. It is impossible to encircle the whole area, it is too big. And the most important point is, we get no intelligence. You have given us Co-BRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), but that has no eyes.”

During a recent incident in Bastar in which 15 policemen were killed, newspapers reported the next day that all the parents in the area knew about increased Maoist presence as the attendance that morning in all nearby schools was almost zero. But no one told the police.

No, peace talks with the Maoists will not help. We need to talk to the people.

There is absolutely no communication between the lower-class Adivasis in Bastar and mainstream India. We only talk to the tiny, creamy layer of Adivasis, who have got a little educated and speak Hindi. They have become sarpanches, teachers and rubber-stamp MLAs and MPs. The same people who advised and also formed part of the Salwa Judum. The interests of upper-class Adivasis are often different from those of the majority lower class, which is the backbone of the Maoist movement, especially women.

We need to understand that there are two wars going on in Bastar. One by fanatic communists, and the other by lower-class Adivasis who have lost patience with the system, which has given them nothing so far, has only appropriated their resources and has no respect for them. Both will have to be dealt with differently.

Most Adivasis in Bastar don’t support the Maoists for the cause of creating a communist raj all over the world. Most of them have not seen state capital Raipur, forget about Delhi. Lal Qile pe lal jhanda (red flag on Red Fort) can’t be part of their imagination.

The top-most Adivasi Maoist commander today is called Venkatesh (not his real name). He was educated until Class II. He has never been to Raipur. He saw trains when he went to pluck chillies as a daily-wage labourer in Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana).

These are the people the State should also be talking to. They are our future Laldengas. They are fighting for respect, their forest, their culture, their languages, maybe Sixth Schedule status, maybe a new state of Dandakaranya.

A communist revolution may be a good idea, but that looks a distant reality today. But there are other real revolutions that one can make use of.

Recently, a team from CGNet Swara travelled through Adivasi villages and weeklyhaats in Adivasi districts across six states for a month. We were trying to teach them how they can use their mobile phones to tell the world about what is happening around them. They need not wait for a reporter anymore.

We went to many villages where there is no electricity and no drinking water. They walk kilometres to fetch drinking water, but they have mobile phones.

They also walk kilometres to get their phones charged and even pay for it.

They often also don’t have any mobile signal in their villages.

While walking with Maoist Adivasi young boys and girls when I was writing my book, I had noticed their sixth sense in finding the source of water and their impeccable sense of direction. Wherever you are, how ever deep in the jungle that may be, they will find a source of water for you. And we hardly lost our way ever, though we were walking most of the time in the dark, sometimes in the middle of the night.

Now, one more thing needs to be added to that list. Wherever I visited this time, they took me to a place where you can get a mobile phone signal — sometimes it was up in hills, sometimes next to the river or in their weekly market.

Mobile phones are a one-way tool here. You can’t reach them as they are out of range all the time, but they can reach you.

This mobile phone revolution must be used to create a dialogue as we are doing with the CGNet Swara experiment in a very small way.

Shortwave radio, which is effectively utilised today only by foreign broadcasters and religious fanatics, should be used to access all these remote villages. If we link mobile phones, Internet and shortwave radio, we can create a democratic communication platform for oral communities like the Adivasis.

This will help Adivasis in talking to each other and also to the outside world. Bengalis got Bengal, Gujaratis got Gujarat, but the Gondi-speaking people were divided into six states, maybe not by design.

Recently, at a meeting we organised, we saw that educated Gond Adivasis from four states could not talk to each other because there is no education in their mother tongue and they learnt the language of the state in residential schools and forgot Gondi. This must change.

Adivasi drums, which were used to communicate across long distances, like telegraphy, should be helped with new drums such as mobile phones, Internet and shortwave radio to make it a two-way dialogue model.

This kind of platform will empower scattered Adivasi groups to make a stronger community. There can’t be a community without communication.

But if that strengthened community decides one day in future that they will not give land for mining, as a democracy, we must accept that. As a community, if they decide that they will vote for Maoists, we must accept that too.

They can bring Maoists to electoral politics, collectively. We can’t.

It is time for drum diplomacy, not war drums.

Shubhranshu Choudhary is the author of Let’s Call Him Vasu: With the Maoists in Chhattisgarh

Naxal Women: the challenges that lie ahead

Original Source: http://www.transnationalstudies.org/Article/74

War has never been a male domain since women also get drawn into it as combatants, survivors and peace makers. India’s Maoist war which seeks to overthrow the state to establish socialist-communist society is no exception with women being impacted on both sides of the spectrum: as perpetrators and survivors. While many of the Naxal leaders have claimed that their support base has been in its waning phase, they have also deployed a different strategy which focuses on increasing the participation of women in the Naxal cadres. Current reports suggest that sixty per cent of lower Naxal cadres now comprise of women with their numbers steadily increasing. This has raised concerns amongst government quarters which see it as a method to elicit social acceptability in the tribal areas.

Mapping the movement shows that women have supported it at various levels since its inception in Naxalbari, a small village in West Bengal. In the 60s and 70s women joined the struggle as they were influenced by their male counter parts and were determined to bring about a social change. The class struggle subverted the need for equal participation and rights since most of the women were employed to do courier tasks provide logistical support to robberies, stealing arms and were not entrusted with organisational work. Several women found themselves retreating to their traditional feminine roles and observed that the movement was replete with nuanced gender blind episodes. As it progressed some women found a constricted space to express concerns over their rights since it was subverted by the larger albeit “more important” issue of class equality. In the October 2004 cease fire agreement between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Naxalite leaders, none of the women were represented.

At present, the movement’s support base largely comprises tribals who, driven by their poverty stricken conditions, see no other alternative but to join the Maoists in their war against the State, mining corporations and the upper caste. Shubhranshu Choudhary in his book “Let’s call Him Vasu”, based on the Maoist war in Chattisgarh, has extensively highlighted the various reasons that drive women to join the war. Many pick up the gun to avenge the sexual exploitation they faced at the hands of security forces. Many find Naxalism as a route to free themselves from the clutches of patriarchy and domination from the upper caste. Rebecca, a Naxalite, says "state repression" drove her to take up arms and join the rebels too." We don't live this hard life for nothing. I had no choice but to join the revolution. Now there is no looking back," she says defiantly

Women’s bodies often become sights of war. The warring sides inflict violence upon women to avenge the treatment meted out to them. It is no different for women caught in the conflict between the State and Maoists. A Naxalite woman could be raped by State forces or suffer torture at the hands of Naxalites if they quit. Rape and sexual abuse is rampant within the Maoist cadres, Shobha Mandi also known as Uma in her latest book,”Ek Maowadi ki diary”, highlights that she was repeatedly raped and assaulted by her fellow commanders”.

"We had women from 16 to 40 years of age in our group. Almost all those I knew had experienced some form of sexual abuse or exploitation when they had stepped outside their homes to work or at the hands of security forces," says Rampati Ganjhu, a former rebel commander from the eastern state of Bihar. "These women joined us to seek revenge but things are very different now." More and more of them are disillusioned and some women in particular are being abused by the male leaders."

The tough forest life as a Maoist guerilla saps strength out of many drop outs who suffer from kidney problem, ulcers, joint pain and reproductive tract infections.  This further adds to their hardships when they want to start life afresh.  The societal fabric that exists in the region rarely offers a way for women to be independent and empowered in the cultural and the financial domain. Many women have also brought to fore the mismanagement that prevails in granting rehabilitation packages for those who have quit the movement

There is also a rapid increase in female headed household since most of the men either lose their lives in the conflict between the State or Naxalite movement or join the Naxalite movement. Women find it tough to cope up in the absence of socio-cultural, governmental and financial support. Kalavati, a Sarpanch leader, from a Gond tribe speaks of her difficulties in implementing construction of roads in her village. The Maoists hinder the project claiming that it would make them more vulnerable to the Indian security forces. This also impacts other developmental and humanitarian initiatives like health sanitation and education due to lack of connectivity. She has devised other alternatives to help alleviate the condition of women in her village like providing them with earning opportunities by cooking and delivering food with the help of government funds. However, largely women have to struggle in the absence of support mechanisms

Partly to blame is media which contributes towards glorifying the image of women Maoists and this pattern has been observed not only in the case of women Maoists in India but worldwide. Media tends to be transfixed on the image of the woman guerilla and rarely encapsulates the desperate conditions which prevail in the rural hinterlands and in turn propel these women to join the movement. In fact there is only recent emergence of interest in studying the impact of Maoist war on Women in the rural hinterlands of India.

In order to check upon the ever increasing number of women Maoists, it is imperative that the Government implements policies and introduces adequate safety measures for the women. A woman goes on to impact her entire community therefore it’ s extremely crucial that positive measures are taken to alleviate them from their poverty stricken conditions and at the same time weaken the Maoist support base.

References

-Singh Pratibha, “Women’s Role in the Naxalite Movement”, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, April 2013

-BBC News, “Why Women join India’s Maoist Groups”, November 2013

-Singh Vijaita, “Women Maoist Commanders play a big role in encounters”, Indian Express, March 2014

-Haque Saiful, “Wife swapping, Adultery, Rapes. Former Woman Maoist’s shocking revelations on the ultras”, India Today, June 2013

-Paul Stella, “Tribal women leaders seek safety & innovation as Maoist insurgent conflict continues”, Women’ News Network

-Ramanna P.V., “Women in Maoist Ranks”, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, August 2013

Indian girl tonsured for 'speaking to friend'

Original Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2014/03/indian-girl-tonsured-speaking-friend-201431462552469982.html

A girl in the eastern Indian state of Bihar was tonsured and paraded after her face was blackened by village elders as punishment for talking to her boyfriend.

The police have arrested six people after the incident on Tuesday in Kadwa Tola village of Purnea district, about 300km from the provincial capital, Patna.

The 14-year-old girl, an orphan, lives in the village with her grandparents. Her grandfather is a cycle-rickshaw puller.

According to the girl's complaint to the police, the village court ordered the punishment after she was caught talking to her boyfriend.

The girl belongs to the Dalit ("oppressed") community, whose members often face discrimination in India's caste-ridden society.

"They tied us and kept us in a room for whole night and next day the village court slapped the judgement," the girl told Al Jazeera.

The villagers imposed fines of Rs12,000 ($195) on both the boy and the girl for their "act of indiscretion".

"But they let the boy go when his family promised to pay the amount and since we are poor, my family was unable to pay the fine and they meted extreme humiliation to me," she said.

"They first shaved my head and then blackened my face with ash and paraded me in the village," she said.

A local police official said that some villagers had caught the girl talking to the boy at the Gulab Bagh market yard while returning from her school.

"Altogether six out of total seven named accused persons in the case have been arrested and sent to jail," Shweta Gupta, the officer-in-charge of Purnea Women police station, told Al Jazeera.

The village headman, who presides over the court, was among those arrested.

'Unrepentant'

Police officials said some of the villagers were still unrepentant, saying the punishment was for maintaining "social discipline and moral propriety".

Several Indian provinces are notorious for village councils (locally called Khap Panchayats) that have no legal sanction, but yet adjudicate over personal matters.

Scores of boys and girls have died in suspected honour killings ordered by such councils for daring to fall in love and defying caste and cultural restrictions.

In West Bengal state, a woman was allegedly gang-raped recently as punishment for being found with her lover.

Curbing Left Wing Extremism through Mobile Phones

Original Source:http://www.claws.in/Curbing-Left-Wing-Extremism-through-Mobile-Phones-Pratibha-Singh.html

 In the year 2009, the Prime Minister had very rightly labelled “left wing extremism as the biggest threat to the internal security of India. Since then, the Central Government has tried to address the “Maoist problem” at various levels that include, security , development, administration and public perception.^[1]  Though the response strategy has been sound, its implementation leaves much to be desired. In fact a report of an expert group to the Planning Commission of India on Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas^[2] specifically highlights that the unrest is growing in states like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh , Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and part of Maharashtrabecause they are minimally administered. It asserts that “there is a kind of vacuum of administration in these areas which is being exploited by the armed movement giving some illusory protection and justice to the local population”.

While much has been said about taking “firm action”^[3]  after the  Maoist guerrillas ambushed the Congress Party convoy earlier this year,Shubhranshu Choudhary, founder of CGNET Swara has a different way of dealing with what is called the “Maoist problem”. He believes it emanates from a breach in communication between mainstream media and its hundred million strong tribal population. In the world’s biggest democracy, mainstream media is yet to be democratised. After having spent seven years with the Maoists while working on his book, “Let’s call Him Vasu”, he found that a vast number of tribals are turning to the Maoists because there is no one else to communicate with them. A tribal journalist is a rare occurrence, which also explains how language acts as a barrier when news from this part of India rarely makes it into the mainstream media. CGNet Swara, a voice portal system, has given voice to the Adivasis, who come from largely oral communities. “Most of these languages do not have a written script and knowledge is passed on through very strong oral traditions”. Consequently, neither print nor visual media are of much significance for the Adivasis.

CGNET Swara- How it Works?

The report on Perception Management in the Indian Army cites that“many villages remain unconnected by road and do not have electricity. Mobility and manoeuvre are limited to foot in most areas. Where road communications exist, these have to be cleared for Improvised Explosive Devices and roadside bombs. Special boats and water crossing equipment is required to negotiate water bodies. In these conditions, the medium for propagating a viable perception plan would have to be well thought out”.

Against this backdrop, CGNET Swara, a citizen journalism project enables any illiterate person to record and listen to stories by calling on a designated number from a mobile phone. According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the total number of telephone connections in India exceeded 91 crore in 2011. Shubhranshu Choudhary along with Bill Thies, who provided the current technology for CGNET Swara, used the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones for setting up this project in the war torn belt of India.

When a person calls on +91 8050068000, the message goes to a server in Bangalore. The caller then disconnects and waits. Within a few seconds, the caller receives another call which directs him to speak after the beep. Ease and economy are the assets of the system, which enables people from socially backward sections of the society to record their messages at no cost.

CGNET Swara receives around 400 calls everyday to listen to the reports(number of messages are less than 40). A team of dedicated moderators and volunteers (who come from both rural and urban landscapes) transcribe and verify these messages before publishing them on the CGNET website and other forms of social media. These stories are then picked up by the mainstream media outlets or government officials for action.

Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary , Sunil Kumar while emphasising the non official nature of the way he uses it has recently said, “I personally find it an effective source of feedback and grievance redressal from the grassroots. I do make use of it off and on”.

Impact

CGNET Swara can become “Google” for India’s poor. It has amplified the voice of those caught in conflict between the State and the Maoist Guerrillas. Largely callers through CGNET Swara highlight governance related issues (or the lack of it). This covers a plethora of issues like absence of teachers from schools, lack of roads and transport facilities in villages, poor condition in hospitals, complaints against private companies, non-payment of wages through rural employment schemes and corruption in the implementation of Forest Rights Act. CGNET also covers large public rallies and gatherings that are organised to raise awareness about individual’s rights and mal-administration in these areas. This platform had also covered the atrocities perpetrated by Salwa Judum, an armed anti Maoist militia.

There are ample success stories that echo of empowerment amongst the tribals, but one of the most touching stories is that of Pitbasu Bhoi from Ambikapur. On 8^th January 2011, a citizen journalist posted an interview with Bhoi who was not paid his wages even after working 100 days for MGNREGA. A week later another citizen journalist ran into Bhoi and discovered that his son died due to non payment of wages.After two leading national dailies , Times of India and the Hindupicked up the story from Swara and followed up , Bhoi was paid his wages on 20 January 2011. He is now a regular contributor to Swara,despite not owning a cellphone himself, (He calls from someone else’s phones)^[4]

Towards building a sustainable model

Local media needs to be strengthened in a dispersed geography marked by diverse culture and languages such as that of Central India. The CGNET Team at times in conjunction with other development agencies trains citizen journalists caught between the conflict between the State and the Maoist Guerillas. This enables people from diverse language groups to tell their stories. Swara has been training “youngAdivasis to record and convey their concerns over mobile phones".

As strange as it may sound, but the government owned All India Radio does not broadcast any news bulletins in a tribal language. The Indian regulations also do not allow community owned radio stations. Swara is now deliberating on launching a radio system at 26.9 to 27.2 MHz which the law allows people to use without licences. Efforts are being made to bring it down to the cost that is affordable for the communities. Besides this, the Swara team is also trying to “scale up its model to include many more dialects and introduce newer services like a special channel on Indian law and one on local medicine”. The latter is already in its experimental phase.

Role of Women in CGNET Swara

While Shubhranshu Choudhary is of the view that they never actively promoted CGNET amongst women yet by now there are nearly as many women reporters as men. Women have covered a range of issues which are rarely covered by the mainstream media. Some women who are addressed as “investigative pro” have reported issues like witch hunting and exploitation of children in the tendu leaf industry. These reports have compelled agencies like National Human Rights Commission and National Commission on Child Rights to step forward and amend matters.

Conclusion

Swara citizen journalists assert that they are not a part of the maoist conflict and say that it exists because of the communication gap in the these areas.Green shoots of self-empowerment and an organised voice in the tribal community of India have perhaps threatened the existence of the Maoist leaders who had garnered their support by exploiting the lacuna in the administrative system.

The role of media in conflict affected areas is complex yet important in terms of how it serves development goals. As Mr. Choudhary has very rightly said, “Everyone knows that when you are dealing with your own people then roses are more useful than guns. If any one can help create a better communication system, which solves problems, then eventually there will be less need for guns. When small problems get accumulated, they are called big problems”.

The author is a Research Assistant at CLAWS

Views expressed are personal

References:

-Perception Management in the Indian Army, a study undertaken by CLAWS for Army Training Command.

-Left Wing Extremism: An Internal Security Challenge and Response Strategy for Security Forces-2015, Report Prepared by CLAWS for Directorate of Net Assessment Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff,New Delhi

-Pain Paromita, “ How a Voice Portal Helped Spread Women’s Tribal Stories in India”, Idea Lab, August 2013

-Saha Anoop, “Cellphones as a tool for Democracy: An Example of CGNET Swara”, Economic and Political Weekly, April 2012

-Acharya Keya, “A Google for India’s poor”, Inter Press News Agency, November 2013

-Lahiri Tripti, “Audio Blogging from India’s Maoist Heartland”, The Wall Street Journal, November 2011

-Chatterjee Siddhartha, “ Flaws in India’s Strategy to counter Maoist Insurgency”, ISN ETH Zurich, August 2012

-“Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas:Report of an Expert Group to Planning Commission”, April 2008

-Jayasekera Deepal, “ Indian State to intensify counter insurgency war after Maoist Ambush”, ICFI, May 2013

-Chowdhry Seema, “Spreading a revolution with words”, Livemint, November 2013

-The Role of Media in Reporting Conflictshttp://www.epsusa.org/publications/policybriefs/harris.pdf

-CGNET Swara: Enabling Tribals of Chhattisgarh to tell their stories”http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2012/04/22/cgnet-swara-enabling-tribals-of-chhattisgarh-to-tell-their-stories/

-Menon Nivedita, “We’re singing Holi Songs: Inayat Anaita Sabhikhi”, Kafila, July 2013

-Farooquee Niyaz,” Citizen Journalism Grows in India’s War torn Tribal Belt,New York Times, October 2013

-CGNET Swara  http://cgnetswara.org/

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^[1] Left Wing Extremism, An Internal Security Challenge & Response Strategy for Security Forces-2015( Report prepared by Centre for Land Warfare Studies for Directorate of Net Assessment Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff

^[2] Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areashttp://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/publications/rep_dce.pdf

^[3] Indian State to intensify counter insurgency war after Maoist ambush, http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/05/29/indi-m29.html

^[4] Cell phones as a tool for democracy : The Example of CGNET Swara http://indiagovernance.gov.in/files/cgnet-swara.pdf

Maoist "sympathiser" Soni Sori granted bail by SC

Original Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/maoist-sympathiser-soni-sori-granted-bail-by-sc/article1-1150180.aspx

Soni Sori, the tribal teacher who was held in New Delhi last October on charges of being a Maoist conduit was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, reports said.

 Sori was accused of receiving "protection money" on behalf of Maoists from the Essar Group. But she claims she was falsely implicated in a number of cases linking her to Maoist activities.
 
The Supreme Court had admitted Sori's bail plea in September and had sought response from Chhattisgarh government.
 
She had approached the apex court challenging the Chhattisgarh high court order denying them bail on July 8, 2013.
 
Sori has been lodged at the Raipur Central Jail since O

ctober 2011. 
 
She was arrested on October 4, 2011 in New Delhi by a Chhattisgarh police team. She was then taken to Dantewada for interrogation but was not produced before court.
 
Sori has alleged that she was raped and mistreated by the police.
 
The Chhattisgarh police claimed she fell in a bathroom. 
 

India's Child Soldiers: Reality Check

Original Source: http://www.claws.in/Indias-Child-Soldiers-Reality-Check-Pratibha-Singh.html

I joined the military dalam when I was 13 or 14 years old. I was studying in an ashram school (government run residential school) in eighth standard, when Naxalites came to my hostel. I did not want to go. They said I could study until the 10^th standard, but I should go with them. We got training, learnt about landmines and a little karate. (Finally) I had an opportunity to run away… One year after I ran away, both my younger brothers (age 8 and 12) were killed (by the Naxalites in retaliation). They beat my mother and broke her arm. They burned our house and took all our things. (Former Child Dalam member, December 2007)[1]

The police asked me also to become an SPO( special police officer) but I refused because I did not want to become an SPO and commit heinous crimes. I did not want to shoot and kill people. They do not ask anyone how old they are. Even 14 year olds can become SPOs if the police want them to become SPOs. (Poosam Kanya(pseudonym), former resident of Errabore Camp, December 2007)[2]

The above two statements exemplify the horror of exposing children to conflict. They find themselves sandwiched between the violence perpetrated by armed opposition groups and the State armed forces. The Government of India is a signatory to the optional protocol on the Involvement of children in armed conflict[3], which was further ratified on 30^th November, 2005.

According to Asian Centre for Human Rights, there are 3000 child soldiers (including State forces and armed opposition groups) in India (as of March 2013), 500 in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast India; 2500 in the left wing extremism affected areas. These figures form only the tip of the iceberg. The periodic report submitted by the Government of India (prepared by Ministry of Women and Child Development) in 2011 on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict to the Convention on the Rights of Child has not only denied the existence of child soldiers in India but also misrepresented facts regarding sub conventional conflict taking place in various parts of the country. The report states “Even though India does not face armed conflict, there are legislative provisions that prevent involvement of children in armed conflict and provide care and protection to children affected by armed conflict”[4]. UN Committee on the Child of rights is scheduled to consider it during its 66^th pre-sessional working group to be held in Geneva from 7-11 October, 2013.

This denial has not only distorted facts but also justified or rather absolved rampant recruitment of child soldiers in the armed opposition groups who are increasingly becoming an internal security threat. While terrorist organisations in India have an unprecedented number of child soldiers in their ranks, there are reports of the state police forces too, having recruited people below the age of 18 years. As per unconfirmed reports, the Chhattisgarh police has recruited approximately 300 “Bal Rakshaks” seven of whom are posted with 4^thbattalion (engaged in counter insurgency) of Chhattisgarh Police at Mana in Raipur. These reports still need to be verified.

Considering there is a large number of children in the armed conflict of left wing extremism, which has caused an irreparable damage to their lives, it becomes imperative to analyse what drives so many children to pick up arms. Recently, Muppalla Laxmana Rao aka Ganapathi in a 7000  words letter to party members has admitted having crisis within the party due to lack of leaders not only at the top but also in party ranks. Lack of volunteers for the cause is perhaps driving the Maoist leadership to recruit child soldiers. This is clearly visible in the exceptional number of women and children in the naxal cadres. Around 40 to 60 percent of naxal cadres now comprise of women.

Maoists also have a policy of forcibly recruiting at least one child from every family. With heightened security in the region, they use children for covert operations, which involve planting and ferrying lethal weapons and explosives. Mass exodus of leaders from Maoist cadres has led to large-scale recruitment of children who are easy to terrorise and manipulate. A top commander of a banned terrorist outfit (on condition of anonymity) revealed to Tehelka Magazine that, “Minors are an easier lot to train. Initially the boys cry but they also fall in line quickly, because they are fresh and smart. By the time they are fully trained, they can serve the party for a long time. We even recruit girls; they are not given arms training. Some freelancers and collaborators recruit minors for us on commission basis”.

In September 2013, few gun toting rebels abducted eight children and two adults to groom them to make bombs. “They forcibly dragged our children into the nearby jungles and disappeared even as we pleaded for mercy”, says Bilokhan Lohra. His 10 year old son, Pardeshi Lohra was amongst those who were abducted. A week ago, his mutilated body was found dumped near his house, his stomach ruptured and hands torn. The post mortem report has revealed that he lost his life during an explosion. No child of a tribal family deserves that fate. As per the report by Hindustan Times on September 20, 2013, Jharkhand Police has prepared a list of Maoist leaders whose lives are soaked in corruption. The Maoist leaders are busy carving out bright prospects for their own children while putting the lives of other’s children at risk. Some details are:

• The son of CPI Maoist Central Committee member Pramod Mishra arrested from Dhanbad colliery town of Jharkhand some years ago, is a qualified engineer.
• Ugeshwarji, sub zonal commander of the CPI (Maoist) leads the operation in the border areas of Bihar and Jharkhand has four daughters, three of whom study in a private English school in Latehar.
• Maoist Commander Shivlal Yadav’s sons study in a good private school in Daltonganj.
• Gopal Ganjhu the sub zonal commander sends his two kids to a popular school.

In left wing extremism affected areas, schools are being targeted to propagate the Maoist ideology. Lessons imparted to young, impressionable minds are distinctly anti-establishment and give a message that a revolution is necessary to overthrow the Government. Government run schools have shut down due to high violence levels forcing the locals to send their children to naxal run schools. This way, many children voluntarily fall into their trap and launch attacks against the State forces.

Due to lack of state intervention in the developmental paradigm of the region, glorification of war by the naxals and the irreparable psychological damage caused by a long drawn conflict, children are increasingly drifting towards the Maoist ideology. As per Mr. Shubhranshu Choudhary, founder of CGNET Swara and author of “Let’s call him Vasu”, “300 boys of the naxal cadres went to Nayagarh from Chhattisgarh. They walked undetected for 3 months with two guns each on their shoulders. If this is possible in India, then we are headed for a very dangerous situation”.

India’s denial of the existence of child soldiers in its armed conflict deprives many families of mere hope to receive justice for having sacrificed the lives of their children. At a time when International Court of Justice has given verdicts against terror outfits in Africa for using child soldiers, which has also contributed towards maligning their image, India has perhaps missed the opportunity. Few recommendations that emerge out of the article are as follows:

• Awareness has to be generated regarding the issue of child soldiers in India through media and academic circles.
• Integrated Child Protection Scheme launched by the MWCD in 2009 already provides care and protection to children affected by or involved in conflict. A comprehensive rehabilitation scheme should be designed especially child soldiers to control their ever-increasing number.
• Strict action should be taken against individuals or groups who are responsible for recruiting child soldiers.
• Integration of children into mainstream society through intervention in the field of education and health in conflict zones would be vital.

The author is a Research Assistant at CLAWS

 Views expressed are personal

References:

-Asian Centre for Human Rights, India’s Child Soldiers, March 2013

-Murthy Vijay and Sharma Vishal, “Jharkhand: 2 abducted kids flee Maoists, return home”, Hindustan Times, September 2013

-Murthy Vijay, “Children of Gods: tactics using minors easy option for reds”, Hindustan Times, September 2013

-Singh Pratibha, “Naxal Target Schools”, CLAWS, March 2013

-Choudhary Randip, “No Child Soldiers says India. Truth says otherwise”, Tehelka.com, May 2013

-Krishnan Murali, “India pressed to address child soldier issue”, Deutsche Welle, May 2013

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[1]Dangerous Duty: Children and the Chattisgarh Conflict, Report by Human Right Watch, September,2008

[2] Ibid

[3] Article 2 of the Optional Protocol to the CRC provides that “State parties shall ensure that persons who have not attained the age of 18 years are not compulsorily recruited into their armed forces”. Article 3 further provides the minimum age for the voluntary recruitment into the national armed forces shall be 18 years and above. Article 4 states that the armed opposition groups should not under any circumstances, recruit or use in hostilities persons under the age of 18 years and the State parties shall take all feasible measures to prevent such recruitment and use

[4] Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Child on the “Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict”, 2011,Ministry of Women and Child Development(GOI), Under Article 4, point number 15, 16 and 17 http://wcd.nic.in/crc3n4/crc3n4_2r.pdf

A village in a once Maoist hotbed gives a thumbs up to woman power for two decades

Original Source:http://www.theweekendleader.com/Success/1626/women-first.html

Kultikiri is a special village. Located in Sankhrail block of West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district, a region once infamous for being the hotbed of Maoist activity, the people of this small hamlet have set a unique precedent – for the last two decades now, they have only voted women into the local panchayat.

Contrary to what many may assume, Kultikiri has successively elected all women panchayats not because of the reservations for women.

Kultikiri’s village pradhan, Anamika Sahoo addresses the local women (Photos: Saadia AzimWFS)

The fact is that its women leaders have beaten their male counterparts fair and square on the basis of their superior leadership qualities and a spectacular track record of development.

These days, Anamika Sahoo, a 38-year-old mother-of-two, is at the helm of the village panchayat. She is a first-time panchayat member, elected to be the pradhan (head) of a seven-member gram panchayat.

Talking about the reasons behind Kultikiri's legacy of grassroots women's leadership, she proudly says, "Although this has been a woman-ruled panchayat for the last 20 years, it's not like the men have not stood for elections. They have simply lost every time. What has worked in favour of women for four consecutive terms is our good work."

According to local activist Partha Khanra, West Bengal has successfully held regular panchayat elections for the last 35 years and it is a great model for thriving grassroots democracy.

"In fact, it is the only state in India where even panchayat elections are a very political affair.

“The Left Front, which ran the state government for over 35 years, initially promoted Kultikiri as an all-women panchayat with the idea of giving a fillip to women's participation in grassroots politics.

“Today, however, it is a well-established, successful panchayati raj unit running on its own merit," he says.

Ever since the women gained control of the Kultikiri panchayat, the 12,000 people who inhabit this village have only prospered.

The literacy levels are generally high – around 70 per cent women and 60 per cent men are educated; and nearly everyone is gainfully employed, thanks to the proper implementation of the central government's flagship scheme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

In the last fiscal year, the panchayat actively disbursed more than Rs 53 lakh under this scheme. Says Sahoo, "Our major thrust has been to identify work and then facilitate the proper disbursement of funds under the MGNREGA."

Significantly, every woman in Kultikiri enjoys economic independence and is in a position to contribute to the family income. They are either running small village-level enterprises or have joined different Self Help Groups. Pradhan Sahoo, a graduate, also supplements her earnings by taking tuitions.

What Kajal Rawat, 27, the Up-Pradhan (deputy village head), is most satisfied about is the high rate of literacy in her village. "Ours is not just any all-woman panchayat. We are young, energetic women, who are full of new ideas that can enable our community to grow and flourish.

“The fact that all of us in the panchayat are well educated has made a big difference. I can confidently say that we do not have a single drop-out from our village," remarks the youthful leader, who after graduating from a local college now divides her time between her panchayat duties, her job as a school teacher and taking extra classes for the girls in the village.

Besides Sahoo and Rawat, there's Pramila Singha, a panchayat member who is also an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker, and Sushama Kisku, 26, another part-time teacher.

All the women take their official work very seriously. Says Kisku, "I go to the panchayat office every afternoon after school. In the evening, I meet up with the Self Help Groups that the panchayat has helped set up.

“These all-women groups undertake a variety of activities, including integrated farming, bamboo basket-making and puffed rice and bori (sun dried lentil nuggets) making. The stuff they produce or make is sold in the local village market. On our part we also conduct regular weekly village haats (market fairs) to promote fair business practices amongst farmers and cattle breeders."

Ramani Singha, 26, another enthusiastic panch, is really glad she got the opportunity to work with such a committed group of women.

She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Bengali literature and feels that it is her education that has motivated her to do something for her people. "We feel so empowered because we can understand the community’s needs," she notes.

But even as these women understand what works for their people and have also been able to deliver on their expectations, the political environment is becoming increasingly tougher for them.

Panchayat elections in West Bengal were scheduled to be held in early May. But because of a case in the Calcutta High Court between the State Election Commission and the state government over the deployment of para-military forces during panchayat elections the polls had been deferred.

Now fresh dates have been announced and elections are to be held from June 28 onwards in three phases.

Of course, in this election season, Kultikiri's panch's have been at the receiving end of political mudslinging.

Says Sahoo, "The village is now politically very sensitive. After the Left Front was voted out of power there have been several instances of clashes because of political enmity.

The all woman panchayat of Kultikiri ensures that people get their dues under various government schemes. Here Anamika Sahoo, the pradhan, (left) hands over a cheque to a beneficiary, Uma Singha

“My husband is on the run for the last one year after he was threatened with dire consequences by rival outfits. But I have not lost hope. We have the people's support and I will fight for my rights."

Kisku has her own take on the situation, "All members of Kultikiri gram panchayat had been Left nominees and the seat was with the Left parties since 1992. But with the change of power at the helm of the state, the political approach is also changing."

Another reason for the rise in threats is the fact that whereas earlier "even rival political parties had nominated women to fight elections in this village now the people want to grab power and not leave it solely for women".

But Rawat and Singha are not too worried about their political future as they are both contesting elections.

Explains the duo, "There has been pressure to grab power from elected members like us. Our panchayat members were jeered at and asked to resign by our rivals.

Even now, although the polls have been deferred, we are being constantly threatened and asked not to file our nominations when the time comes. But we will fight the next elections just as we have done in the past."

Sahoo, the leader of this inspiring bunch, has the final word: "We do not want this seat to be reserved for women. All these years, our village has been a model for women's empowerment.

“These days we even have a woman chief minister, so all we hope is that whenever panchayat elections are held in West Bengal they will be free and fair. If they are indeed free and fair, women will certainly come to power again.” - Women's Feature Service

- See more at: http://www.theweekendleader.com/Success/1626/women-first.html#sthash.rAdWM6Di.dpuf