Interim Report of an Independent Citizens’ Team from Kolkata on the Current State of Affairs in Nandigram

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by: Abir
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On November 24, 2007,  an eleven member women’s team of concerned citizens from Kolkata comprising teachers, social activists, researchers and students visited Nandigram. Concerned about the repeated disruption of peace in the region, the members decided to visit the affected areas and talk to the local people, with the objectives of showing solidarity with the survivors of violence, documenting people’s needs in the current circumstances, and drawing up recommendations based on our understanding of the situation. 

The people who constituted this team were Kavita Panjabi, Anuradha Kapur, Rajashri Dasgupta, Saswati Ghosh, Shyamoli Das, Swapna Banerjee, Trina Nileena Banerjee, Shuktara Lal, Sushmita Sinha and Shubhasree Bhattacharya.

On arrival in Nandigram at the Relief Camp at Brij Mohan Tiwari Shiksha Niketan, the team split into two groups.  One talked to the people in the relief camps, the other to a woman who had been sexually assaulted, and the injured in Nandigram Hospital.  One group then proceeded to the villages of Sonachura and Garchakraberia, also stopping at the Bhangaberia Bridge where the CRPF is stationed; the other half of the team went to the village of Daudpur.

This interim report comprises the general findings and recommendations of all the members of the team that visited Nandigram on the 24th of November. The specific testimonies and individual stories will be included in the final report.

PRIMARY FINDINGS:
 

1. Overall there is a reign of terror; the people are marked by deep fear, disillusionment and depression. They are helplessly trapped in the crossfire between the forces of political parties, specially the CPM and the TMC. Criminals who have killed, sexually assaulted and injured people continue to threaten the population of  the villages. Many who had tried to return to their villages but had to come back to the relief camp spoke of bombs and firing that they heard even on the 23rd night when they had tried to return to their homes. And the night-time threats, specially against women, also continue.Across all the villages, people testified to the complete loss of political freedom -  they are being forced to pledge their allegiance to one particular party or the other, an dthey  talked angrily  about their right to decide which party they wanted to support.  The people in the camp, as well as  the majority in the villages, have lost all confidence in the government, administration and police.
2. At the relief camp, at Brij Mohan Tiwari Shiksha Niketan in Nandigram town, villagers testified to rampant firing, brutal killing and large-scale threats by the cadres of CPM, the ruling party,  across the villages of Gokulnagar, Kalicharanpur, Adhikaripara, Simulkunda and Satengabari. Many carried scars of deep bullet injuries on their faces, stomachs and legs. The People’s Health doctors working in the relief camp said they had not received any complaints of sexual or physical assault, but mainly children’s health related complains, like cough, fever, diarrhoea. About 20-25 thousand people have left their homes. Of them 3000 to 3,5000 people had been living in this camp, approximately 1500 of whom were still there on 24th November. Extensive physical abuse and sexual abuse of women, ranging from rape and forcing of rods into women’s vaginas, to rampant sexual harassment, as well as abduction of girls has been reported since March this year,  but not much has been done to provide relief to the women, or to initiate investigation against and punish the perpetrators. Such violence against women continues, accompanied by terrifying threats, and there is no evidence of any steps having been taken to curb either.
3. Hundreds of women who had fled Kalicharanpur, Adhikaripara, Simulkunda and Satengabari in fear of sexual assault were still in the Nandigram camp. They testified that not only had their homes been looted and burnt down, in villages like Satengabari they had also been severely threatened by CPM cadres , who came around saying “We’ll come back at night – light your lamps and wait for us with open doors. Send your men away, we’ll come back to you at night.”  “How can we stay in a place under such threats?” the women asked. They told us about one Akhreja Bibi who had been gang raped in Satengabari by 6-7 men is now in Tamluk hospital. Both her daughters, one about 17, one younger, were abducted. They are still missing. Women of these villages are still living in fear of being sexually abused, and young girls have been sent to relatives’ homes elsewhere. The fear and insecurity of the villagers and specially the women at the Nandigram camp has been so high that they have refused to go back to their villages till the CRPF is posted their to ensure their safety and protect them from the violent vengeance of  the "Harmad Bahini" comprising CPM cadres.
4. Some of the people who had participated in the unarmed march to Maheshpur on 10th November were arrested and locked up for three days in the school building. The women were subject to repeated sexual harassment by male CPM cadres who claimed the women were were Maoists.
5. In villages such as Garchakraberia where the CRPF has already been posted, normal life and activity seem to have returned; however there is simmering tension and fear under the facade of peace. At night, when CRPF personnel go off vigil, assailants begin their attacks again; so people have been forced to flee their homes at night and take shelter elsewhere from fear of reprisal. Villagers claim this is a forced calm and are terrified of what may happen when the CRPF is withdrawn.
6. Residents of Sonachura also expressed their anger and frustration at the BUPC leadership for keeping their own women safe at home, while forcing other women in the villages to join the marches and threatening to beat and burn down the homes of all who refused.
7. The situation in Daudpur is still very tense and the administration should take immediate measures to address this. There is resentment and anger brewing among the villagers. People openly accuse each other of violence while questioning the authority and corruption of particular CPM leaders. BUPC has forced people to volunteer to stand as night guards against the armed attacks from CPM’s Harmad Bahini
8. Villagers testified that the police are playing a partisan role. BUPC members returning to their villages were being arrested, some on false charges. Others are being levied exorbitant “fines” to “compensate for the damages done to the CPM families in the last 11 months.” Complaints about the atrocities of the CPM followers were either not registered, or the accused were released after being arrested, without any of the legal procedures being followed.
9. The senior police officer at the Relief Camp refused to comment on most of our questions. He i) hinted at pressure from some political parties ii) implied that work was being made ‘difficult’ due to ‘interference’ iii) said peace is returning to the villages, but the situation is ‘still difficult’.
10. While language is proving to be a barrier to the CRPF in dealing with the volatile situation here, there are apparent efforts to restore peace, including red-flag processions etc. But the atmosphere outside the temporary 'protection' of the relief camp is of extreme terror. In spite of all apparent efforts and assurance on the part of the authorities, this terror is persistent
11. There is a tremendous breakdown of trust. The villages of Nandigram are zones of pregnant silence today - they are zones of seething fear, terror, suspicion and threat.. i) The police is still playing a partisan role. ii) Vicious cycles of vengeance are in operation across the CPM and the TMC led BUPC. iii) The political parties are set on a continued use of violence to mark territory and consolidate their forces. There is no evidence of any of them being ready or prepared for peace. Given the situation, people expect more violence and further exploitation.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
 

1. Non-partisan, just and effective action on the part of the State is the most basic and critical factor for restoring peace in Nandigram. The government must strengthen administrative structures and ensure impartial and immediate action on the part of the administration to instil confidence in the people and normalize the situation in Nandigram.  Conditions must be created for people to renew their daily social and economic activities without fear and apprehension of reprisal.
2. The violence in Nandigram must be stopped. i. All arms in the possession of the entire population of all the villages of Nandigram must be confiscated  ii. The area must be rid of all outside cadres iii.  all criminals, irrespective of political affiliation must be arrested immediately and tried; and iv. effective vigilance should be set in place  against all those indulging in retaliatory and revengeful acts that will derail the peace process.
3. We demand responsible action now from all the political parties too. They  must stop exploiting the situation, abstain from violence, and play a constructive role in bringing peace back to Nandigram. .
4. Rape and sexual assault have clearly become dominant weapons of war in the crossfire between vested political interests in Nandigram.  i. Urgent measures must be taken by the administration and the police to stop this immediately ii. Perpetrators have been resorting to sexual assault on women to intimidate, humiliate and subjugate the opposition, while the opposition has been using incidents of rape to discredit the perpetrators, not to seek justice for the women affected. We also demand that every political party involved puts a complete and immediate stop to such practices, and to all threats of sexual violence too.
5. The administration should also ensure that all rape cases are, registered,  thoroughly investigated, and followed up. Cases where women have been brutally assaulted should also receive the attention they merit and should not be brushed aside merely because the case was not one of rape. Sexual assault is a serious offence and must be dealt with as such. All victims of sexual assault must be provided immediate medical treatment and their privacy respected and dignity upheld.
6. Both men, and large numbers of women, specially those subject to sexual assault and/or rape are now severely traumatized and have sunk into visibly deep depression or shock. The government should set up a counselling cell in Nandigram or authorize an NGO to do so for the purpose of trauma alleviation.
7. Those who are suffering from the latest violence, as well as those who have been injured earlier in the year, cannot afford the medication required. Many cannot work as they could earlier. On both counts, their livelihood is adversely affected. Compensation to the injured and raped, and to the families of the dead should be made available on an urgent footing. Women and children have been the worst sufferers of the violence; attention should be paid to  their special needs, and efforts made to restore their dignity and confidence in the process of  rehabilitation. The grant promised to repair houses must be distributed without any partisan preference. The SDO/BDO must ensure that the grant promised to repair houses is distributed without any partisan preference.
8. The presence of the CRPF can ensure only a temporary and forced calm. This is no solution to the reign of terror. The state must  set in place peacemaking efforts, and involve all political parties and people’s organisations in the region to renew  the democratic process and enable  citizens to reclaim the lost democratic space for a lasting and just peace in the area.  Peoples’ political rights must be ensured. Democracy does not mean rule of the majority, but ensuring the rights and respect of the minority and those holding opposing political opinions and beliefs too. Concerted efforts have to be made, across all political differences, to control the spate of vengeance, and  rebuild the confidence of the people of Nandigram who are living with violence as well as the fear of violence on a day to day basis.
9. The government must be held accountable for the breakdown of law and order in Nandigram. Given the current lack of accountability, a Public Interest Litigation maybe filed so that a Supreme Court probe can take place or a CBI enquiry may serve this purpose.

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A citizen of Kolkata.

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