[Marxism] Petition: Charge against GS of CPIML and Why the CPI(ML) is on the BJP Hit List (text)

["CPI \(ML\) Intl Liaison Office" <cpiml_elo@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Friends,

Dipankar Bhattacharya, the General Secretary of the
CPI(ML), has been charged with attempted murder for
leading a march to the State Assembly protesting
against mass killings by the BJP-led government of
Jharkhand state (see below for details).

While arrests and frame-ups of  progressive activists
are everyday occurrences in India, this charge of
attempted murder against the General Secretary of a
recognised political party leading a political protest
is probably unprecedented in the annals of Indian
politics. It represents a new and sinister offensive
by the forces of Hindutva fascism against the very
right to protest, and an attempt to close down any
space for political opposition.

We urge you to sign the petition to the President of
India demanding an immediate withdrawal of these
completely fabricated charges against Dipankar
Bhattacharya and four others arrested with him.

Please sign the petition by clicking on

http://www.petitiononline.com/Dipankar/petition.html



South Asia Solidarity Group


Why is the CPI(ML) on the BJP Hit List?

The CPI(ML)'s Gherao of the Jharkhand Assembly was a
high point of a sustained and spirited resistance to
the repression that had marked the birth of the
Jharkhand State. The crackdown on the Gherao was an
early attempt to crush the CPI(ML)'s growing
challenge.

The State of Jharkhand had been formed in November
2000, and a shaky new BJP Government with a wafer-thin
majority, headed by Babulal Marandi, had been
installed. Right from the start the Marandi Government
behaved like a Government under siege, living in fear
of its own people, rather than like a popular elected
Government celebrating the culmination of long
people's struggle for a new State. The new Government
took oath behind closed doors in a high-security
auditorium, far from the public gaze, citing the
threat of a Naxalite attack. The then Home Minister
Advani had advised the Marandi Government that its
primary task must be to break the backbone of
Naxalism. On the ground, naturally, this translated to
a war on the rural and tribal poor, minorities as well
as on popular leaders of the ML movement.

On November 30, 30,000 people marched in the CPI(ML)'s
Nav Nirman Rally in Ranchi, setting a radical agenda
for the new Jharkhand. At that Rally, Comrade Dipankar
gave a call for a satte-wide bandh on December 6 (the
day of the demolition of the Babri Masjid), to protest
against the appointment of Prabhat Kumar (the man who
was Chief Secretary in UP during the Babri Demolition)
as Governor. The bandh call, supported by most of the
opposition forces in Jharkhand, evoked a tremendous
response, with youth on the streets defying RSS goons
to support the bandh.

The first 100 days of BJP rule were marked by a series
of police firings, revealing the new Governmentâ??s
hatred and fear of the Stateâ??s considerable
Christian and Muslim population as well as it tribal
people. The CPI(ML) was at the forefront of protest at
every incident.

Doranda Firing

On 28 December 2000, barely a month after the first
Jharkhand Government took oath, four Muslim youth, who
were part of a crowd protesting against the killing of
a 5 year-old girl run over by a BMP vehicle, were
gunned down in Doranda on the day of Id right in the
middle of Ranchi town. Following this daylight murder
by the police, thousands came out on the streets in
protest. The police promptly communalised the
situation, allowing the RSS to hold provocative
processions while imposing curfew in Muslim
localities. The CRPF-RAF went on a rampage, arresting
and harassing Muslim youth all night. It was the
CPI(ML) which again called for a bandh against this
communal witch hunt by the police (as well as against
the Tapkara firing) â?? and most opposition forces
responded. The Marandi Government peddled the stale
rumour of a lungi-clad "ISI agent" instigating trouble
at Doranda.

Kurpania Rape and Police Cover-Up and Crackdown

A nun who taught in a girls' school in the Kurpania
area of Bokaro, was brutally gang raped. Repeated
attacks on churches and missionaries in Jharkhand by
the Sangh Parivar had marked Christians as easy game.
The rape, coming on the heels of such attacks, sparked
off several protests. Tribal students protesting in
the capital of Ranchi were lathicharged by the police.
The police also conspired to deny the rape by
doctoring the medical report, even though the main
accused had confessed to the rape.

Murder of Dhobi Termed "Encounter" with Extremist

A poor dhobi, Jayram Rajak, was killed in broad
daylight by police in Bokaro Steel City on 22 January
2001, on the flimsy excuse that he had been drunk and
creating a nuisance in the neighbourhood. The police
tried to get rid of the body without a postmortem, but
was foiled by workers led by CPI(ML), who put up a
determined protest. Initially, the police spread the
story that an extremist had been killed, but the
district administration was eventually forced to
suspend the three police officers guilty of the crime
and file criminal cases against them.

Tribals Resisting Displacement Gunned Down at Tapkara


Tapkara in the Torpe Block of Ranchi district had been
a major centre of the 20-year-old struggle of tribals
against the Koel Karo dam which threatened to displace
thousands of tribal homes and entire villages. The
Marandi Government had announced that they would
revive the work on the Koel Karo project, which had
been stalled due to the tribals' movement. This
sparked off a fresh wave of protest, and tribals at
Topkara erected barricades on the Tapkara-Torpa Road
to block the movement of project officials, demanding
scrapping of the Koel Karo hydro-electric project. The
CRPF-RAF, in an attempt to break the barricades,
manhandled tribal activists. In protest, tribals
gheraoed the Tapkara O.P. on January 2, 2001. The
police firing that followed was like a blueprint for
the Kalinganagar firing in another new year 5 years
later. Here, too, police resorted to an unprovoked
firing, killing 8 tribals and injuring many. The
CPI(ML) called for a bandh in protest, supported by
other opposition parties.

Other incidents leading upto the Assembly Gherao
included the massacre of 7 dalits in Semri-banjari
village in Garhwa district in a fake encounter by the
police, and massive booth capturing by the CRPF-RAF
and Sangh Parivar in the Ramgarh by-election contested
by Babulal Marandi. This blatant attack on democracy
was met by a spirited blockade of two national
highways by CPI, CPI(ML) and the JMM, as well as a
Jharkhand bandh on 21 February.

The Crackdown on the Assembly Gherao

The Jharkhand Assembly was in its very first budget
session, and the CPI(ML) called the Assembly Gherao to
confront the Government with the demand for action
against those responsible for various acts of police
firing, immediate scrapping of the Koel Karo project
and steps to safeguard tribals from land alienation.
On March 1, 3000 people led by Comrade Dipankar
marched from Hatia Station towards the Assembly. At
the barricade at Birsa Chowk, police launched an
unprovoked and ferocious assault on the marchers, with
tear gas shells, rubber bullets and lathis. Several
activists were left badly injured. 40 activists were
arrested including Comrade Dipankar and detained
without their whereabouts being made public. Before
the event at Birsa Chowk, 100 activists managed to
reach the entrance of the Assembly and shout slogans.
They too were severely lathicharged and arrested.
Meanwhile, inside the House, Comrade Mahendra Singh
led other Opposition MLAs to shout slogans in the well
of the House in support of the Gherao outside. When
these MLAs rushed to Birsa Chowk, even they were
lathicharged, with Comrade Mahendra being specially
targeted.

The CPI(ML) Assembly Gherao became the focal point for
a massive Opposition upsurge it made sure that police
repression was the central agenda throughout the
Assembly Session. As long as Comrade Dipankar amd
others remained in jail, protestors thronged to a
dharna at Albert Ekka Chowk. Activists, civil
libertarians and journalists including Medha Patkar,
Prabhash Joshi and former Chief Justice of Bombay HC,
S M Daud, participated in the dharna and visited the
activists in jail. Eventually, with the Marandi
Government under huge pressure, bail orders were
issued for Comrade Dipankar and other comrades. The
massive democratic movement sparked off by the
crackdown and the arrests culminated in a â??Save
Democracy, Save Jharkhandâ?? March in Ranchi on March
14, in which 10,000 people participated despite
Section 144 being clamped in the city and tremendous
police obstruction and intimidation.

The BJP Government in Jharkhand targeted and
assassinated Comrade Mahendra Singh, the most
consistent democratic voice inside the Jharkhand
Assembly. Their latest attempt to frame the topmost
leadership of the CPI(ML) is yet another display of
their commitment to a repressive police force and fear
of the growing movement of the poor and tribal people
of the State.

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