âBeing Neutral is Our Biggest Crimeâ - Global Coalition to Protect ...

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D. Reprisals against Naxalite deserters Naxalites have been merciless when it comes to punishing members who desert them. Four former Naxalites interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that after they deserted Naxalites retaliated by killing members of their family, including children. 360 Tarrem Kosa, a former child dalam member, said, “What I thought was there’s no point in asking them [when I could leave]. The only point is to die with them.” 361 When he eventually deserted and sought police protection, Naxalites punished his family: One year after I ran away, both my younger brothers (ages 8 and 12) were killed. They beat my mother and broke her arm. They burned our house and took all the things that were inside. 362 When Vikas Modhey, another former child dalam member deserted, his brother met the same fate: They killed my younger bother when I surrendered. He was 10 or 12 years old. They slit his throat. We had no parents. 363 When Subba Atish deserted, not only did Naxalites kill his family members but they also killed members of their own jan militia who they thought were behind his escape. Subba’s brother was brought before a jan adalat in January 2007 and executed. He was first beaten and then axed to death. Within weeks, seven others including two relatives—his sister’s husband and a cousin’s husband— had been killed in retribution. All the eight were jan militia members. 364 Said Subba Atish, “I thought they would kill me because I left [my dalam]. I never imagined that all these people [friends and relatives] would be killed because of me.” 365 360 Human Rights Watch interviews with Tarrem Kosa, Vikas Modhey, Sushovan Banu, and Subba Atish (pseudonyms), former Naxalites, other details withheld. 361 Human Rights Watch interview with Tarrem Kosa (pseudonym). 362 Ibid. 363 Human Rights Watch interview with Vikas Modhey (pseudonym). 364 Human Rights Watch interview with Subba Atish (pseudonym). 365 Ibid. 111 Human Rights Watch July 2008
E. CPI (Maoist) Party statements Human Rights Watch was unable to directly correspond or speak with official Naxalite representatives. However, we were able to gather some Naxalite responses through press statements of the CPI (Maoist) party (a prominent Naxalite political party), and have reviewed their letter to the Independent Citizen’s Initiative, a factfinding team from India that investigated the conflict between Naxalites, Salwa Judum, and government security forces in Chhattisgarh. The letter responds to an appeal made by the fact-finding team to the CPI (Maoist) party and attempts to justify many Naxalite practices. 366 Soon after the Naxalite attack on Errabore camp in 2006, the general secretary of the CPI (Maoist) party, Ganapathi, issued a press statement where he sought to justify the attack as part of “retaliatory actions and defence war” against Salwa Judum members and government security forces, and denied extensive civilian casualties: [T]hough there were two or three civilians among the dead for which we express our heartfelt regrets, our attack was targeted entirely against Salwa Judum activists and the special police forces who have been running amok burning entire villages considered to be the strongholds of the Maoists, destroying houses and property of the activists of sangams, murdering the adivasis [tribal communities] who are active in the revolutionary movement, raping women, forcing entire villages to be evacuated and organizing forced surrenders of the sangam members … We warn once again that our retaliatory actions and defense war will further intensify if the police, paramilitary and Salwa Judum goondas [thugs] do not stop their mass terror. It is the [Indian] central and state governments that are entirely responsible for the bloody consequences. 367 Naxalites tried to justify their killing of civilians in Manikonta in April 2006 as the execution of a verdict passed by people in the Manikonta jan adalat (people’s court) 366 Independent Citizen’s Initiative, “War in the Heart of India,” pp. 48-49. 367 Press statement issued by CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Ganapathi, circulated on CGNet yahoo group on May 4, 2007. “Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” 112
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India “Being Neutral is Our Bigge
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Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watc
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VI. Plight of Persons Displaced by
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© 2008 John Emerson “Being Neutr
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Gram Panchayat/ Panchayat ICCPR ICE
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of villages in Bijapur and Dantewad
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Since 2006 local nongovernmental or
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Frightened, many villagers hid for
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Salwa Judum, particularly Salwa Jud
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of camp residents and other displac
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Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, People’s U
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egion between June 2005 and June 20
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through underground village committ
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health care. 17 Census data from 20
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The Naxalite problem has led to lac
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egular battalion to counter Naxalit
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NGO fact-finding teams have also ap
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The ‘Salva Judum’ movement is p
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persons also gave Human Rights Watc
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Sometimes senior police officials,
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were sick we had to go and report i
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to our village had bows and arrows,
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All able-bodied men had to particip
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them with escorts. We go with them
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there [pointing to a location about
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V. Abuses by the State Although the
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and my sister’s in the fields. My
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camps. 109 Two SPOs came forward to
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Gangi, one of the villagers, said t
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weeks [from the first visit to the
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One of the boys got beaten a lot wi
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A woman from Nendra said she saw th
Page 65 and 66: member of the fact-finding team tha
Page 67 and 68: In 2006 the Chhattisgarh government
Page 69 and 70: under Indian penal law. 163 Many NG
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Page 73 and 74: eing beaten up by Salwa Judum membe
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Page 77 and 78: electricity, adult literacy centres
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Page 83 and 84: camps were started. 233 Assuming th
Page 85 and 86: Impediments to return The Chhattisg
Page 87 and 88: villagers’ access to markets maki
Page 89 and 90: 1. Prior to carrying out evictions,
Page 91 and 92: our huts. About 10 forest departmen
Page 93 and 94: A volunteer with an NGO that provid
Page 95 and 96: met with further retributive measur
Page 97 and 98: Despite the court’s orders, fores
Page 99 and 100: for at least 100 days a year. 303 T
Page 101 and 102: In many places, displaced persons d
Page 103 and 104: Naxalites beat and kill villagers,
Page 105 and 106: that they rubbed small stones [grav
Page 107 and 108: Similarly, Naxalites beat and haras
Page 109 and 110: not kill my uncle. They threatened
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Page 115: Errabore camp on July 17, 2006, whe
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Page 121 and 122: The Naxalites do not deny the recru
Page 123 and 124: I have seen SPOs younger than me in
Page 125 and 126: The recruitment process The nationa
Page 127 and 128: I became an SPO last year in March
Page 129 and 130: of them. My brother actually surviv
Page 131 and 132: Maraiguda stated that he was ordere
Page 133 and 134: The Chhattisgarh state government r
Page 135 and 136: ecruitment, but Naxalites pressure
Page 137 and 138: When he was part of the bal sangam
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Page 141 and 142: When Veka Idma was about age 12 or
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Page 145 and 146: Naxalites’ policy regarding recru
Page 147 and 148: IX. Impact of the Conflict on Educa
Page 149 and 150: other villages which do not have sc
Page 151 and 152: The ITDA project officer for Khamma
Page 153 and 154: uses all authority at its disposal
Page 155 and 156: To the Chhattisgarh state governmen
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Page 161 and 162: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
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government investigated any allegat
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“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Cri
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We acknowledge with gratitude the f
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