Assam's camps of hell

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Even after 12 years of the Bodo-Santhal clashes, victims have to live in horrible camps, battle hunger while their girls are trafficked away and forced into the flesh trade
'God sent us as men only for fellow humans to deprive us of basic rights. A piece of bread or a dish of rice is the farthest our imagination can travel. We are those citizens of the largest democratic country of the world who don't posses a pair of dress, don't get a glass of clean drinking water, don't have a proper shelter, not to mention education, sanitation or health care. We are trapped in poverty and there seems to be no wayout' '- thus goes the rant from Maya Tudu, an orphan dwelling in the refugee camp of Kokrajhar.

Maya is a victim of clashes that erupted between Bodos and Santhals during 1996-1998. She often fills her empty stomach with leaves of trees from the nearby forest and quenches her thirst by drinking water from the ponds or the river. Safety, security, peace are words excluded from the vocabulary that describes her life and that of her fellow tribals. This is the fate of thousands of refugees in the districts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon of western Assam. Thousands of families from both sides have lost their dear and near ones. Many are quietly suffering from physical and mental handicaps. Those who had taken shelter in the camps as children have now become youths. These youths have nothing to do in the camps. The refugees want to work hard but there is no opportunity. The Bodos, comparatively, have a stronger social and economic status than the Santhals. Hence, many have returned to their villages and have started their lives anew. The refugees left in the camps are mostly Santhals. The government announced some schemes for rehabilitation of the refugees but at the same time declared inhabitants of the camps as encroachers of forest land, thus denying them of the benefits.

Ravi Tudu, an inmate of the Kokrajhar camp, tells TSI, 'Hundreds of armed people raided our village and torched our huts. Many were brutally killed. I somehow managed to escape.'

Since then, almost 70,000 (unofficial figures) unfortunate tribals are believed to be living amid the horrible conditions in refugee camps. Twelve years have passed without any ray of hope.

Lakshmi is a girl of 23. She just has a dirty frock to cover her body. She narrates her experience, 'It was August of 2005. A group of people with a lady came to our camp. They gave us some food and clothes. They tried to lure us by promising work at Kanpur. At first we did not believe them. But after a few days our parents were convinced and 8 girls and 7 boys left with them for Kanpur.' She continues, 'I had dreamt of a good life there. I started working in a house. I was happy. But my happiness was shortlived. The owner of the house started to torture me. He sold me to sex racketeers. For one whole year, I stayed in a red light area. One day I managed to escape. I came to Kanpur railway station. There I met one kind-hearted person. He took me to his home and contacted an acquaintance of his at Kokrajhar. Some days later, the surrendered Cobra Militant Force contacted me and they arranged for my return journey.'

The fourteen other girls and boys are still untraced. There are hundreds of Lakshmis in the refugee camps who are falling prey to sex racketeers. Some have managed to return, most have come back pregnant. They gave birth to their babies in the middle of the most unhygienic conditions. Nobody has bothered to offer them any help. Some of the girls who returned to the camps are Sumita Bale (20), daughter of Paltan Mardi, Phailaguri camp (presently closed), Maya Mardi (24) of Sapkata camp, Manju Tudu (21) of Kochugaon camp and Sushila Kishku (24) of Kochugaon camp. Among them, Sumita was a student of class IX when she was pushed into the sex trade. Another girl, Rumila Murmu (23), daughter of Pradhan Murmu of Kachibari camp, was also sold in UP. Till date, no one has heard from her. Similarly Sushila Kishku (24) was exploited as a sex worker in Haryana. She somehow managed to escape in a pregnant condition. An unfortunate Nita Hembrom (15) of Damrapara camp was brought to Gujarat and she is still untraceable. Maya Mardi tells TSI, 'They lured us on the pretext of jobs in the textile industry at Kanpur. They took ten girls from the camp. At Kanpur, I was forced into flesh trade. I don't know about the fate of the other girls. I was subjected to sexual torture for many months. But one day, I got lucky and managed to flee.

Zebrius Kha-kha, chairman of the Cobra Militant Force, told TSI, 'We took to arms to protect the rights of tribals. We are observing a ceasefire since September 15, 2001. Our main demands are the proper rehabilitation of the victims of the ethnic clashes between Bodos and Santhals in 1996 and 1998. The state government had declared an aid of Rs 10,000 for each of the affected families. It is too meagre. We demand for its increase to Rs 2 lakh. Of late, we met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and requested him to fulfill our demands.'

Kha-kha says, 'It is true that since the clashes of 1996, about 20,000 tribal boys and girls have gone out of the state in search of employment. Many of them were forced into taking up immoral and anti-social activities. We are trying, to the best of our ability, to rescue those unlucky boys and girls.'

A visit to the camps will prove that governmental aid for the victimised families is inadequate. The district administration distributes ration for only 10 days a month. So the refugees face extreme hardship for the rest of the days. Carol Narzary, deputy commissioner of Kokrajhar, says, 'We have taken some steps for rehabilitation of the refugees. We have given Rs 10,000 to each of the families to rebuild their houses on their own land. Many have already constructed them. But the remaining tribal refugees do not own any land. Most of them are possibly encroachers of forest land.'

'The massive increase in human trafficking is a matter of great concern to us. Poverty is the most crucial factor,' says Bosko Sarmako, president of All Assam Adivasi student Association (AASA). Reiterating that AASA has taken the matter seriously, he goes on to say, 'We have rescued many girls during 2005-2007 from different places of the country. Many of them were rescued at various railway stations of the state during the time of transit to other parts of the country. Yet, a large number of young girls are yet to be rescued.'

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Puja Awasthi pays a visit to Ayodhya to gauge people's hopes and apprehensions

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

'Faith is a wavering thing'

Sometime before October gets underway, a long awaited verdict that has kept Ayodhya, the small temple town, firmly on the map of the world's trouble spots will be announced by a three-judge bench in a courtroom of the Allahabad High Court. Three questions will be answered: Is the disputed spot in Ayodhya the birthplace of Lord Rama? Was the Babri Masjid built after the demolition of the temple that stood there? Was the mosque in question raised according to the tenets of Islam?

But for purely personal reasons, no one waits perhaps more eagerly than the likes of 56-year-old Shakuntala Gupta who lost her husband to what has since been dubbed the 'Temple movement'. In a pale green sari, her voice raspy, Gupta insists she told her husband not to go out on that October day in 1990 when the first kar seva was announced. 'I told him you are all we have, who will look after our five children if anything happens.' But her husband, a devout Ram bhakt who would not start business at his sweetmeat shop without a darshan of the Lord brushed aside her fears. 'I am in the duty of the Lord,' he said.

The city was under curfew and Gupta sat in their narrow home peeping from a window. 'Then a helicopter bearing Mulayam Singh Yadav came. The single light on it was red. It turned green. And there were sudden blasts of firing. The helicopter turned away.' Only later would some boys of the neighbourhood tell Gupta that her husband was one of those killed in the incident.

'If the verdict is for the Hindus, my husband's martyrdom will not be in vain,' says Gupta pointing to a dusty painting underlined, 'Shaheed Vasudev Gupta'. Since then, two of those five children have died, the sweetmeat shop converted into a cloth shop and Gupta's health has steadily gone downhill. 'I live only for the verdict,' she groans. Her feisty 27-year-old daughter Seema, despite claiming non-association with any political organisation, says, 'A cause for which my father gave up his life, can claim my head. But the movement surely shall not die.'

It is a similar feeling that grasps 90-year-old Hashim Ansari, the original plaintiff in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit and convener of the Babri Masjid Reconstruction Committee. Some days ago Ansari spoke to a newspaper of his apprehension at what would happen if the court came out with a clear verdict against either community. The correspondent went ahead and attributed a 'There will be mayhem and bloodbath' statement to him, prompting the High Court to slap a notice on him and the publication. In his blue checkered lungi, white kurta and skull cap, guarded by three policemen (only one of whom has a rifle, he points out), Ansari is among the very few living who have seen the 60-year-old suit through. Adjusting his hearing aid, he speaks slowly and clearly, perhaps in fear of being misquoted, 'Fiza kharab hone ka andesha hai', he says which roughly translates into 'There is a fear that the atmosphere might turn bad.'

Quizzed on the next step, he says, 'I am only a plaintiff. The Waqf Board fought the case, the Personal Law Board bore the expenses and the Babri Masjid Action Committee made the arguments before the court. It is the three bodies which have to decide how to take the matter forward if the court's verdict is not in our favour. Who am I to make any pronouncements.'

On the political front his anger runs against all parties. 'The Congress knows it will gain whatever the verdict. The BJP will not let the issue pass easily though as it has amply demonstrated it lacks the skills necessary to run a government and that governments don't function on emotions, certainly not ones at the Centre. We had a Muslim leader in Azam Khan in the Samajwadi Party who was shamed into leaving the party. Mulayam Singh Yadav is no longer a national leader. Mayawati is too busy consolidating her Dalit vote bank. There is no political party which is capable of standing by us,' he says in a pocket size outer room of his home in Panji Tola.

There are many within the saffron fold who are targeting the BJP for playing with the issue and not doing enough when it was in power in Delhi from 1998 to 2004. But the dynamics of governance are different and once in the driver's seat, the party would have realised that it was not convenient to merely disregard legal opinion on the issue and raise a pink sandstone temple on the disputed site. Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal recently singled out former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani to attack when he called upon the party to 'atone for its sins' in connection with the Ayodhya issue. The party's former president Rajnath Singh spoke of the party's abiding commitment to the building of a grand temple at Ayodhya at the sidelines of a working committee meeting in Lucknow, failing to specify a strategy for the same. The political resolution that came out at the meet also had just two lines at the end that read: 'Ramjanmbhoomi is a matter of faith for all Indians. The party's determination on the Ayodhya issue is firm and the party abides by its previous policy.' The party's president Nitin Gadkari has refused to comment on the issue while Advani has called for 'caution and restraint' befitting a national party. The party is struck by another dilemma. There is no one among the crop of senior leaders, perhaps barring Narendra Modi, who has the credibility to lead the movement. Mahant Gyan Das, chairman of the Akhara Parishad and an influential voice among Ayodhya's sadhus (though criticised for his Iftar parties for Muslims), says the matter is plain. 'You should either have not gone to court. If you did, you abide by its verdict. It is like marriage. It does not depend on whether or not you love your partner. If you are in it, you make sure it works. This cacophony of impending trouble is made up by a few anti-social elements. I appeal to people to get a grip on their emotions,' he says.

Not far from where Das sits in Hanumangarhi is a CD shop called Sri Shail Emporium, manned by the 22-year-old Mohammed Nafeez Khan. Khan's father, Abdul Rehman Khan, is the only Muslim to own two shops in the area. 'What after the verdict,' shoots back Khan. 'In so many years, none of our Hindu brothers have shown any animosity towards us. Not even at the peak of the agitation. Why should we think of shifting our shop if the verdict is pro-Hindu? God does not interfere with livelihood,' he says.

Ram Vilas Vedanti, more popularly known as Vedanti Maharaj and a two-time MP, has been besieged by calls from the media ever since the possibility of a verdict began to blink on the horizon. 'On the basis of the evidence I gave in court, I am convinced that the verdict will be in our favour. I have seen the temple as a child and when the opposing counsel questioned me on its existence, I turned around and asked him: Will any Muslim ever go to a place where there are idols of 12 Hindu Gods? If the verdict is anti-Hindu, the community's anger will be difficult to contain. There will definitely be animosity. I foresee possible terrorist attacks as well,' he thunders drawing up a worst case scenario. But he is quick to put on record his reverence for the court. 'We respect the court. If the verdict is unfavourable, we shall knock on the doors of the higher court,' he says. A lesser heard but influential voice is that of Swami Purshottamacharya of the Sugreev Qila which housed the first VHP office in one small room. 'If under any malicious influence the court gives an adverse verdict, Parliament, the supreme representative of the people, has the power to turn it over. Did it not happen in the Shah Bano case? Muslims should be given land elsewhere to build a mosque and we will do kar seva for it', he says.

At the deserted Ram Janmabhoomi workshop, where the last worker left in 2007 after 65 percent of the work was completed, only a paralysed Ram Lakhan and a few bored policemen are to be seen. There was a time when busloads of tourists would empty out every half an hour at the site. But now that the chisels have fallen silent and the pink columns have started to turn mossy, Ram Lakhan, who claims to have been living there since the workshop was set up, says, 'Faith is a wavering thing. You can't maintain it at the same tempo at all times. Only God can ensure that his temple is built.'

But for those like Shakuntala Gupta, who live in a more human world that thought might just be cold comfort.

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INDIAN FOREST RIGHTS: Indian forests are in danger? Well, there's nothing new about it

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India's connection with greenery and environment is nothing new. The green colour in our national flag indicates India's relation with land, love for greenery and care for the environment. But our forests and the issue of deforestation are some of the critical issues that India grapples with. Perhaps that's why the forest cover in India had dramatically declined over the years. Before Independence, the forest cover was around 40 per cent of the total land area, which declined to just 22 per cent in 1951, and to just 19 per cent in 1997. Out the total forest area, only 2.54 per cent can be considered as high density forest and even the moderately dense forest cover is merely 9.71 per cent. However, government claims that it has taken a note about the problem of deforestation and forest cover slightly increased to 21.02 per cent in 2007. The Centre passed Forest Rights Act in 2006. The 10th Five Year Plan, however, envisaged to increase forest cover to 33 per cent by the end of 2012. But things have further changed when the Centre recently asked the state government of Orissa to stop acquiring forest lands for the $10.9 billion steel plant project of the South Korean giant Posco. N.C. Saxena, who heads the four-member panel probing into the alleged violation of the Act in the site of the proposed project, confirmed that the project violates the Forest Rights Act.

But all is not well. There have been widespread violations of the laws. Private companies as well as government undertakings are acquiring lands in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa violating the forest rights. Apart from ambiguities on innumerable issues with regard to slum-dwellers' right to reside and other community rights, including minor forest produce, the state governments don't have concrete industrial policy for inclusive growth. In addition, though the Forest Rights Act is in place, it is facing extensive manpower and financial shortage. Another important aspect of the debate is that natural resources enriched states like Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are witnessing huge investment inflows, but their proportionate contribution in eradicating poverty is not satisfactory. Further, there is no adequate alternative rehabilitation policy for thousands of tribal people who are vulnerable to such risks.

Above all, industrialisation is as imperative as aforestation. While industrialisation has to be there to boost productivity, aforestation replace extensive import of wood items. However, restoring environmental sustainability is important as Indian agriculture is extremely vulnerable to irregular monsoon. The per capita forest land has declined dramatically from 1.2 hectare during 1950s to just 0.066 hectares in 1997-98. Significantly, with over 16 per cent world population and 15 per cent of world's livestock, India has only 2.4 per cent land area and a mere 1.7 per cent of world's forest stock. To tackle this, India needs strong political will, administrative back up, budgetary and infrastructure support for implementation. It's high time to ponder over the issue and find solutions becomes more urgent every day.

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DESPICABLE ME: Endearing fare for the whole family

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'Despicable Me' is an adorable flick for kids and elders alike with some great voices, cute characters and nicely done 3D effects. The kids would undoubtedly adore the various gadgets, grandiose plans and the action. But the humour isn't only for the kids, but for the elders too. The clever use of pop culture clich's and the pun intended is rather interesting in various sequences, such as in the initial conversation with the neighbour and the name of the bank. The voices given by Steve Carell (Gru ' older villain) and Jason Segel (Vector ' younger villain) are worth appreciation, especially Gru's thick accent.

The story begins with an evil Gru starving for his mother's appreciation of his work. In order to prove his worth to his mother, this super-devil approaches the evil-bank for some loan. But the bank also decides to invest in someone young and dynamic such as Vector. Gru, a veteran of the trade, uses his countless minions (small yellow one and two eyed pegs/darts), and extraordinary gadgets, but fails to even get close to Vector, let alone defeating him. In the meantime, Gru discovers three orphan girls and uses them as pawns for his scheme after adopting them. This mastermind then decides to pull off something unheard of - stealing the moon. But soon these little adopted girls peck their way to his cold heart and without his realisation his fondness grows for them too, transforming a devil into a loving daddy.

An interesting and melodramatic series of events entertain all through the movie with action, drama and comedy well packaged together even if the story isn't always a smooth ride.

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AISHA: A sashay down style boulevard, but where's the story road

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For all its glitzy glossy glaze, 'Aisha' has a few shenanigans to deal with and while the film is great eye candy (fab art design to capture the modern chic; the designer brands pitch in too), it remains an incomplete viewing experience. Sonam Kapoor had the golden chance to own the film (it is titled after her character, after all) but bungles it through a below par performance ' her character may be carefree but it doesn't explain her rather cavalier approach to acting. And while Abhay Deol tries his best, the weak script doesn't give him too many options. Aisha (Sonam Kapoor) is the classical high brow spoilt brat, complete with her sarcastic dismissals and exclamations of 'whatever'. She keeps herself entertained eavesdropping on others' lives and their juicy secrets before moving on to a rather radical project ' transform Haryanvi village girl Shefali into a modern city girl. All the while, there's Arjun (Abhay Deol) trying to get Aisha to quit interfering with other people's affairs.

'Aisha' has pretty deep shades of Jane Austen's 'Emma' that dominate the canvas but its look at the Page 3 kinds in Delhi has nothing new to offer. The characters look authentic but feel hollow and the music barely registers. Just like a Page 3 party, the film opens with a lot of buzz but becomes insufferable soon, thanks to an overdose of chic. If you must go to check out the shoes, be my guest.

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