Letter from university faculty to the Police Chief of Chhattissgarh

From: freebinayaksen.org

September 27, 2008
 Berkeley, California

To: Mr. Vishwa Ranjan
 Director-General of Police, Chhattisgarh

We, concerned members of university and college faculties, write to condemn the ongoing violations of the human and civil rights of its citizens by the state of Chhattisgarh, primarily through the agency of your department, the Chhattisgarh police force. These violations include the arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention of hundreds of people, including Dr. Binayak Sen, an internationally respected provider of medical services to Chhattisgarh’s tribal communities, threats and assaults against civil liberties activists, lawyers and journalists, and most egregious of all, the growing depredations of the state-sponsored violent militia known as the Salwa Judum. We regret to note that not only have you been unsuccessful in halting these violations of human rights, but you have actively justified them and accused anyone opposing them as “demoralis[ing] the state machinery.”

In a report released this past July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented in detail the human rights abuses committed by the Salwa Judum against civilians in Chhattisgarh. HRW’s report gives the lie to your oft repeated claim that the Salwa Judum is a spontaneous unarmed peaceful anti- Naxalite movement by documenting eyewitness accounts of “police participating in violent Salwa Judum raids on villages - killing, looting, and burning their hamlets.”1 Similar to earlier investigative reports by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) and People’s Union for Democratic Rights, among others, the HRW report also documents the arbitrary detentions and torture of villagers by the Chhattisgarh police. Reporters without Borders noted with concern that “[journalists] are prevented from reporting and investigating by corrupt politicians, police and Salwa Judum members, many receiving harassment, intimidation and beating … Currently journalists report from press releases produced by the government or risk their life and career by reporting objectively both sides of the struggle.”2

Perhaps the best-known case of a non-violent dissenter being arrested and jailed in Chhattisgarh is that of Dr. Binayak Sen, a prominent and early critic of the Salwa Judum and of state violence. Dr. Sen, a physician serving the poorest and most marginalized communities in the interior and tribal areas of Chhattisgarh for more than 25 years, has been a guiding light for peace and community health. He has won many awards for his work, including the Paul Harrison Award in 2004 from CMC Vellore, his alma mater, from which he had been graduated over 30 years ago following a most distinguished academic career, and most recently the Jonathan Mann Award from the Global Health Council in May 2008. Binayak Sen appears to have earned the government’s ire by being a vocal critic of the high-handed and illegal ways adopted by the state in the name of suppressing the Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh. For instance, Dr. Sen’s and PUCL’s investigations had exposed that 12 alleged Maoists, killed by the police in Santoshpur village in a supposed gunfight on March 31, 2007, were unarmed tribals executed at close range. The State Human Rights Commission took note of this investigation, and ordered the bodies of the victims exhumed. Shortly afterward, Dr. Sen was arrested.3 Not only have you and the state prosecutor failed to present any legally valid evidence against Dr. Sen, the responsible police officers appear to be blatantly concocting fables and planting false evidence.4

Other citizens who have been harassed by the police include: Amarnath Pandey and DP Yadav, two lawyers who had filed lawsuits regarding the ‘encounter killing’ of one Narayan Khairwar and the custodial rape of one Ledha Bai; filmmaker Ajay TG, a member of the State Executive Committee of the Chhattisgarh Unit of PUCL, and journalist Sai Reddy, both of whom had to be released on bail when the police failed to file a chargesheet even after ninety days; Himanshu Kumar of the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, an NGO that implements implements government programs on health, nutrition, and education, for the “crime” of assisting fact-finding teams investigating human rights abuses; journalists Santosh Poonyem and Kamlesh Paikra for daring to write about the violence committed by Salwa Judum; and even the participants at the third annual meeting of Chhattisgarh Net (www.cgnet.in), an online citizen journalism initiative.

It bears noting that such actions by the law enforcement machinery of any state are not only in violation of the laws of India, but also run counter to India’s international treaty obligations. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), which India acceded to in 1979, declares in relevant part that:

• All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. (Article 1.1)

• Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. (Article (6.1)

• No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (Article 7)

• Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. (Article 9.1)

• Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation. (Article 9.5)

• All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. (Article 10.1)5 We strongly urge you, as the highest police official in the state of Chhattisgarh, to:

• Follow in letter and spirit, the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution and the CCPR.

• Stop encouraging an all-out civil war in Chhattisgarh in the name of Salwa Judum, an organization whose violent activities are so distasteful and blatant that the Supreme Court of India recently noted that support of Salwa Judum by the state amounts to abetment of murder by state officials, and whose excesses as documented in a recent NHRC report were deemed “very painful to read” by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India.

• Drop all charges against political prisoners, including Dr Binayak Sen, filmmaker Mr. Ajay TG, journalist Mr. Sai Reddy, release them unconditionally, pay compensation for the harassment and loss of liberty they have suffered due to their unwarranted detention, and arrest and prosecute all police officers involved in arresting and holding all these political prisoners.

• Stop victimizing dissenters in Chhattisgarh;

• Ensure a just and honest governance that improves the lives of millions of desperately poor people in Chhattisgarh.

—  EndNotes
 1 http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/07/14/india19345.htm
 2 http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Report•Chhattisgarh-2.pdf
 3 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/013/2007/en/domASA200132007en.html
 4 http://www.phmovement.org/cms/en/node/751
 5 http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a•ccpr.htm

——

Signed,

Concerned Faculty of Universities and Academic Institutes

Itty Abraham
 Associate Professor of Government Director of South Asia Institute University of Texas at Austin

Meena Alexander
 Poet & Distinguished Professor of English Hunter College, City University of New York

Bernardo Attias
 Professor and Chair of Communication Studies California State University, Northridge

Niharika Banerjea
 Assistant Professor, Sociology University of Southern Indiana

Pranab Bardhan
 Professor of Economics University of California at Berkeley

Dilip Basu
 Professor and Founding Director Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center University of California at Santa Cruz

Amitabh Behar
 Executive Director National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Pune

Kim Berry
 Associate Professor of Women’s Studies Humboldt State University Arcata, California

Satindar Mohan Bhagat
 Professor of Physics University of Maryland College Park

Nirveek Bhattacharjee
 Senior Research Fellow University of Washington

Arabinda Bhattacharya
 Reader in Statistics & Business Management Calcutta University

Purnima Bose
 Associate Professor of English Indiana University

Peter E. Caines
 Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering McGill University Montreal, Canada

Mia Carter
 Associate Professor of English University of Texas at Austin

Rabin Chakraborty
 Reader in Applied Physics Calcutta University

Nandini Chandra
 Visiting Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Literature University of Minnesota

Shefali Chandra
 Assistant Professor of South Asian History University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sharad Chari
 Assistant Professor of Geography London School of Economics

Angana Chatterji
 Associate Professor of Anthropology California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco

Indrani Chatterjee
 Associate Professor of History Rutgers University, New Jersey

Kalyan Chatterjee
 Distinguished Professor of Economics and Management Science Pennsylvania State University

Kumkum Chatterjee
 Associate Professor of History Pennsylvania State University

P.S. Chauhan
 Professor of English Arcadia University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

B. J. Cherayil
 Associate Professor of Pediatrics Harvard Medical School Cambridge, Massachusetts

Lawrence Cohen
 Associate Professor of Anthropology and South & Southeast Asian Studies University of California at Berkeley

Dia Da Costa
 Assistant Professor Queens University Kingston, Canada

Om Prakash Damani
 Associate Professor of Computer Science Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Veena Das
 Professor of Anthropology; The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland

Soumya Datta
 Lecturer in Economics University of Delhi

Monimalika Day
 Assistant Professor of Education and Human Development George Mason University Washington, DC

Mara de Gennaro
 Assistant Professor of English Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Hemang Desai
 Robert B. Cullum Professor of Accounting Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas

Parijat Desai
 Fellow, Institute for Diversity in the Arts Stanford University

Amiya Dev
 Professor of Comparative Literature (Retired) Jadavpur University, Kolkata

J. Devika
 Associate Professor Centre for Development Studies Trivandrum

Ganesh Devy
 Professor of Humanities Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Aparna Dharwadker
 Associate Professor of English University of Wisconsin-Madison

Vinay Dharwadker
 Professor, Languages and Cultures of Asia University of Wisconsin-Madison

Pawan Dhingra
 Associate Professor of Sociology Oberlin College Ohio

Anuradha Dingwaney Needham
 Longman Professor of English Oberlin College, Ohio

Shahnaz Duara
 Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Arindam Dutta
 Associate Professor of Architectural History Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts

Indranil Dutta
 Lecturer, Center for the Study of Languages Rice University Houston, Texas

Meher Engineer
 President-Elect Indian Academy of Social Sciences

Mary Ganguli
 Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

M.K.George S J
 International Visiting Jesuit Fellow College of the Holy Cross Worcester, Massachusetts

Anuradha Ghosh
 Lecturer in English Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi

Kaushik Ghosh
 Assistant Professor of Anthropology University of Texas at Austin

Saroj Giri
 Lecturer in Political Science University of Delhi

Michael Goldman
 Professor of Sociology and Global Studies University of Minnesota

Sumanth Gopinath
 Assistant Professor of Music Theory University of Minnesota

Patricia Gruben
 Associate Professor of Film Simon Fraser University Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Jeanette Herman
 Lecturer, Asian American Studies The University of Texas at Austin

Robert Jensen
 Associate Professor of Journalism University of Texas at Austin

Manas Joardar
 Reader in Applied Physics Calcutta University

Mary E. John
 Director and Senior Fellow Centre for Women’s Development Studies New Delhi

Vinod John
 Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Sreevidya Kalaramadam
 Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies William Paterson University of New Jersey

Sangeeta Kamat
 Associate Professor of International Education & Educational Policy University of Massachusetts Amherst

Suvir Kaul
 A. M. Rosenthal Professor and Chair Department of English University of Pennsylvania

Nadia Y. Kim
 Assistant Professor of Sociology Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, California

Jesse Ross Knutson
 Visiting Lecturer in Sanskrit Department of Asian Languages and Literatures University of Minnesota

Vinay Lal
 Associate Professor of History University of California at Los Angeles

Vincent A. Lapomarda
 College of the Holy Cross Associate Professor of History Worcester, Massachusetts

Jinee Lokaneeta
 Assistant Professor of Political Science Drew University Madison, New Jersey

Amman Madan
 Professor of Humanities & Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Mokshay Madiman
 Associate Professor of Statistics Yale University New Haven, Connecticut

Sunaina Maira
 Associate Professor of Asian American Studies University of California at Davis

Biju Mathew
 Associate Professor of Information Systems Rider University New Jersey

Mary Jo Maynes
 Professor of History University of Minnesota

Sharmistha Majumdar
 Research Scholar of Molecular & Cell Biology University of California at Berkeley

Ernestine McHugh
 Associate Professor of Anthropology and Religion University of Rochester Rochester, New York

Nivedita Menon
 Professor of Political Thought School of International Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University

Ali Mir
 Professor of Management William Paterson University of New Jersey

Raza Mir
 Associate Professor of Management William Paterson University of New Jersey

Ish Mishra
 Professor of Political Science Hindu College, University of Delhi

Amitabha Mukerjee
 Professor of Computer Science Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Richa Nagar
 Professor of Women’s Studies University of Minnesota

C. M. Naim
 Professor Emeritus South Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Chicago

N.K. Nandan
 Professor of Hindi BBA Bihar University

Dev Nathan
 Visiting Professor Indian Institute of Public Administration

Balmurli Natrajan
 Assistant Professor of Anthropology Director, Gandhian Forum for Peace and Justice William Paterson University of New Jersey

James Nye
 Director, South Asia Language and Area Center University of Chicago

Rupal Oza
 Director, Women and Gender Studies Hunter College, City University of New York

Gyanendra Pandey
 Distinguished Professor of History Emory University Atlanta, Georgia

Kavita Philip
 Associate Professor, Women’s Studies University of California at Irvine

Shiv Pillai
 Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts

Veena R Poonacha
 Director, Research Center for Women’s Studies SNDT Women’s University Mumbai

Gyan Prakash
 Dayton-Stockton Professor of History Princeton University

Ashok Prasad
 Research Scientist in Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts

Gautam Premnath
 Assistant Professor of English University of California at Berkeley

Jyoti Puri
 Chair and Professor of Sociology Simmons College Boston, Massachusetts

Bandana Purkayastha
 Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies University of Connecticut

Imrana Qadeeroy
 Emeritus Professor of Social Medicine and Community Health Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi

Mridu Rai
 Associate Professor of History Yale University New Haven, Connecticut

Bhagavati Ramamurthy
 Associate Research Scientist Yale University New Haven, Connecticut

Bhaskaran Raman
 Assistant Professor of Computer Science Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Ashwini Rao
 Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Columbia University New York, New York

Nagesh Rao
 Assistant Professor of English The College of New Jersey

Velcheru Narayana Rao
 Professor, Languages and Cultures of Asia University of Wisconsin-Madison

Raka Ray
 Professor and Chair, South Asia Studies University of California at Berkeley

Chandan Reddy
 Assistant Professor of English University of Washington Seattle

Modhumita Roy
 Professor of English Tufts University Medford, Massachusetts

Sharmila Rudrappa
 Associate Professor of Sociology University of Texas at Austin

P. Sainath
 Lecturer in Journalism University of California at Berkeley

Mahua Sarkar
 Associate Professor of Sociology State University of New York Binghamton

Sumit Sarkar,
 Professor of History (Retired) University of Delhi

Tanika Sarkar
 Professor of History Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi

Simona Sawhney
 Associate Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures University of Minnesota

Meera Sehgal
 Assistant Professor of Sociology Carleton College Northfield, Minnesota

Sagaree Sengupta
 Translator and Lecturer in Asian Studies Bates College Lewiston, Maine

Manisha Sethi
 Lecturer in Comparative Religion Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi

Hemant Shah
 Professor of Journalism University of Wisconsin-Madison

Aradhana Sharma
 Associate Professor of Anthropology Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut

Hari P. Sharma
 Professor Emeritus of Sociology Simon Fraser University Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Jayeeta Sharma
 Assistant Professor History and Global Asia Studies University of Toronto

Magid Shihade
 Visiting Scholar, Middle East & South Asia Studies University of California at Davis

Amritjit Singh
 Langston Hughes Professor of English Ohio University

Harjinder Singh (Laltu)
 Professor of Computational Natural Sciences International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad

Subir Sinha
 Sr. Lecturer in Development Studies School of Oriental and African Studies University of London

Ramesh Sitaraman
 Professor of Computer Science University of Massachusetts Amherst

Ajay Skaria
 Associate Professor of History and Global Studies University of Minnesota

Nigamanth Sridhar
 Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering Cleveland State University

Nidhi Srinivas
 Assistant Professor of Management The New School of Management and Policy New York, New York

Aparna Sundar
 Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Administration Ryerson University Toronto, Canada

Lisa Sun-Hee Park
 Associate Professor of Sociology University of Minnesota

Abha Sur
 Lecturer in Women & Gender Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts

Mriganka Sur
 Newton Professor and Chair of Neurosciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts

Gitam Tiwari
 Professor of Transportation Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Achin Vanaik
 Professor and Chair of Political Science Delhi University

Ajit Varki
 Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine
 Associate Dean for Physician-Scientist Training University of CaliforniaSan Diego

Rashmi Varma
 Associate Professor in English University of Warwick, UK

Supriya Varma
 Associate Professor of History Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi

Rahul Varman
 Professor of Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Ramaa Vasudevan
 Assistant Professor of Economics Colorado State University

Mahendra K. Verma
 Professor of Physics Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Kamala Visweswaran
 Associate Professor of Anthropology University of Texas at Austin

Chetan Sethi Zaidi
 Associate Professor of English University of Delhi

Stephen Zavestoski
 Associate Professor and Chair Sociology and Environmental Studies University of San Francisco __3__

letter from 139 academics

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