[Reader-list] Fwd: FACT Exhibition at IHC

Sat Jul 12 14:33:11 IST 2008

Dear Aditya, dear Pankhuree, dear all,

Thank you, Aditya, for forwarding information about the FACT  
(Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism) sponsored exhibition  
titled: 'Naxalism: A Threat to the Unified Nation of India'

While I am no sympathizer of Maoism, or those who are either called  
'Maoists' or 'Naxalites' in India, I do have a few bones to pick with  
the contents of the exhibition at the India Habitat Centre that you  
have recommended to us.

While looking at what pretends to be information of this nature it is  
always useful to do a little thinking about numbers. The statistics  
of casualties in the FACT exhibition are taken from the monthly  
statistics and reports published in the South Asia Intelligence  
Review by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, a think tank headed by the  
notorious former Punjab police chief who masterminded disappearances  
and the utilization of 'renegade' militants as an instrument of  
policy in Punjab and the North East,  architect of the Indian hockey  
team's disasters and well known pincher of women's bottoms, Mr. KPS  
GIll. I am a regular recipient of the SAIR and I happen to follow the  
figures that are mentioned in its reports quite diligently.

I have no quarrel with the reports, as such, as I have no way of  
assessing their accuracy, or inaccuracy. However, I do have a quarrel  
with the way in which this information is presented in the FACT  
exhibition. In each instance, there is a heading called 'civilian  
casualties' . Let us take the Table that says 'Naxal Violence in  
Chattisgarh' and analyse the information given for the year 2007

" Security Forces Casualties 181
Civilian Casualties 166
Naxalites Killed 66 "

What I find interesting is the figure for 'Civilian Casualties'.  
Given in this way, it appears as if the 'Civilians' killed are due to  
'Naxal' violence. The sources of these figures, the SAIR bulletins,  
simply title their tables as  "Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in  
South Asia" , which in my opinion, is a far more precise way of  
talking about the casualty figures, because it does not actually  
attribute specific authorship to the violence. This is significant,  
because the 'civilans' while they may be targetted on occasion by the  
Maoists, are also, generally, in a far larger measure, targetted by  
the security forces, and the 'Anti-Maoist' militia called the Salwa  
Judum. So, when we see 'civilian casualties' we are looking at a  
number of people who may have been killed, by 'Naxals', by security  
forces, by militia like the 'Salwa Judum'. Since, 'Naxals' depend on  
their survival on the sympathies (and to a certain extent, fear) of  
the tribal poor, it is extremely unrealistic to deduce that they  
would in fact be the primary authors of the violence that is  
described as 'civilian casualties'. Numerous investigations report  
that the actual primary authors of this violence are the security  
forces, and the Salwa Judum, both of which act with impunity in  
Chattisgarh. In this instance, the FACT exhibition is indulging in a  
serious case of disinformation. It could be argued that it is doing  
so at the behest of the primary authors of this violence, that is,  
the security forces and those who have floated outfits such as the  
'Salwa Judum'.

In the FACT exhibition text, the Salwa Judum is introduced as 'Hope  
Floats'. It is by now well documented that the Salwa Judum is in fact  
one of the deadliest and most lethal armed outfits operating in  
India, which coerces tribals who are forced into detention camps to  
join it as footsoldiers, which uses child soldiers and uses rape,  
torture and arson. It has become an instrument of state terror, and  
is supported by the corporate interests which have a stake in the  
mining operations in the area to clear tribals off the land that the  
mining companies lust after.

Even the South Asia Terrorism Portal (which the FACT exhibition  
relies on extensively, otherwise) has this to say about the Salwa Judum

"However, local reports from the areas witnessing the campaign have  
been disturbing, with analysts questioning the policy of state  
support to a vigilante movement that exposes large numbers of  
civilians to unacceptable risk. According to a former Director  
General of Police, Dr. K S Subramanian, “While official sources  
maintain that the campaign, led by a local legislator, is hugely  
successful with the tribal people joining it in large numbers, local  
enquiries revealed a different picture. In the name of Salwa Judum,  
the tribal people are being forced to join a far from spontaneous  
mobilisation… Hundreds have been killed on both sides. A large area  
of land remains uncultivated; tribal people who are meant to work on  
the land have deserted the villages and are living under open skies  
and are starving. A vast amount of corruption has crept in as a  
result of this misconceived campaign with the ruling party spending  
huge amounts on it.”

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/sair/archives/4_33.htm

For a more detailed investigation of the Salwa Judum's 'spontaneous'  
activities, please see - the PUCL  (Peoples Union for Civil  
Liberties) report on the Salwa Judum at

http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2006/slawajudum.htm

There are other howlers in the exhibition, such as the fact that. the  
Ranvir Sena is mentioned as a Naxalite organization. Now, the Ranvir  
Sena, as is very well known, is a militia of upper caste landowners  
in Bihar and parts of Jharkhand that has actually been at war (like  
the Salwa Judum) with the Naxals for several decades now. Calling the  
Ranvir Sena a 'Naxalite' organization is a bit like calling Panun  
Kashmir, or Roots in Kashmir a front organization of the JKLF or the  
Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir.

Finally, a word about FACT, the outfit that has organized this  
exhibition. The moving force behind FACT is the rather flamboyant  
French expatriate journalist based in Delhi, Francois Gautier, whose  
sympathies for hard line Hindu Fundamentalism has never been a secret.

He founded FACT with money he got from the'Nachiketa' Journalism  
prize awarded to him by the then Prime Minister of India Mr Atal  
Bihari Vajpayee on behalf of the Government of India. The Nachiketa  
prize has been instituted by the Panchajanya group of publications,  
which just happens to be the inhouse publishing arm of the Rashtriya  
Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

Gautier's services as the South Asia Correspondent of the French  
newspaper, Le Figaro were terminated in 2000 on the grounds of his  
obviously biased (and often factually compromised) reportage. He has  
since then, spent time acting as the chief public relations point man  
for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and getting even closer to sections of the  
political far right in India.

Apologies for this lengthy response, but I think it is necessary to  
have a few facts straight about FACT. Our patriots, while they have a  
great deal of enthusiasm, are not generally well known for precision,  
and the boring matter of attempting to maintain a consistency with,  
em, the facts.

regards,

Shuddha

On 12-Jul-08, at 11:09 AM, Aditya Raj Kaul wrote:

> Hi Pankhuree,
>
> You can check the online exhibition here:
>
> Here it is.
>
> http://www.scribd.com/doc/2469417/Naxal-Low-Res-
>
> http://www.scribd.com/doc/3907033/5-new-panels
> For More details Mr. Veeru might be contacted here - Mob: +91 93912  
> 45303
> +91 98719 49094
>
> Thanks indeed,
> Aditya Raj Kaul
> Campaign Blog - www.kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com
>
>
> On 7/12/08, pankhuree dube <pankhuree at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Hi Mr. Kaul,
>> Thank you for forwarding a description of this exhibit. It sounds
>> fascinating. Do you know if there are any plans to make it  
>> available online
>> so that individuals who are not able to view it in India can have  
>> a chance
>> to read further about it?
>> I would very much like to be able to see it firsthand, but even a  
>> brief
>> description of the findings and perhaps a list of resources for  
>> further
>> reading would be of great interest to me.Many thanks,
>> Pankhuree
>>> Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:31:40 +0530> From:  
>>> kauladityaraj at gmail.com>
>> To: reader-list at sarai.net> Subject: [Reader-list] Fwd: FACT  
>> Exhibition at
>> IHC> > *FACT INDIA: Exhibition on Naxalism opens in India Habitat  
>> Centre*> >
>> *The Naxalism: A threat to Unified nation of India* The Exhibition  
>> is a>
>> reflection of the Maoist insurgency in India, a blend of photographs>
>> statistics and ofcourse an analysis and a presentation of FACTS. The>
>> exhibition will be open for visitors at the INDIA HAbitat centre from
>> *8-14th> july 2008*. The exhibition has already travelled to Oslo  
>> and was
>> screened on> the sidelines of "The Conference on Peace and  
>> Reconciliation in
>> South Asia -> Challenges and Opportunities."> > *The Exhibition*  
>> travels
>> through the lives of the victims in the Naxal> infested states and  
>> present
>> their lives as well as the lives of those> vallant fighters both  
>> civilian
>> and from the government. Its the Fight> against terrorism the idea of
>> killing because one doesnt believe or just> disagree with the others,
>> Intolerence and disharmony.> > > > Timings: Tuesday, July 8, 2008  
>> - Monday,
>> July 14, 2008> > Venue: India Habitat Center, <
>> http://upcoming.yahoo.com/venue/131044/>Lodhi> Road, New Delhi> > > >
>> Contact number:- Mr Veer 099871949094> > > -- > Thanks & regards>  
>> Rinku
>> thusoo> Delhi> > http://kashmir-in-exile.blogspot.com>
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Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net