Corporate investment and Adivasi displacement in Chhattisgarh
From Maps4change
By Ram
Audiences:
Primary: Middle and upper middle class online audiences around the world, who are interested in human rights abuse but do not have the time to go through detailed texts/reports; advocacy groups who can use the data in wider frameworks; human rights activists, students Secondary: Government officials, judiciary, police officers
Abstract:
In mid-2005, the State of Chhattisgarh announced the formation of a spontaneous people's movement called the Salwa Judum, literally, the Purification Hunt. Under the guise of being spontaneity and being people led, the State has used Salwa Judum to place Special Police Officers and recruited Adivasis from in and around affected areas, to go on a rampage of human rights abuses. Innumerable killings, rapes, tortures and cases of physical violence and assault have taken place under the aegis of Salwa Judum. The State has provided the force with guns, to counter the Maoist menace. To worsen the situation, the Central Government instead of coming down hard on the unconstitutional SJ, has only increased the number of armed forces under a new operation called "Operation Greenhunt". Since then, more than 600 villages have been displaced, and a large number of SJ camps have sprung up in Chhattisgarh. Many of the people in these villages have allegedly migrated to Andhra Pradesh, Agra, Delhi and other places. The other side of the coin is of course the immense value of the mineral resources hidden under the soil in parts of Chhattisgarh. Hundreds of Indian and foreign companies related to mining and natural resource exploitation have invested billions of dollars worth money into the State hoping to exploit the unused resources first. Interestingly, TATA Steel signed a MoU with the State of Chhattisgarh only a day before Salwa Judum's birth was announced! As violence increases systematically, Maoists are increasingly being posited as terrorists who have no other agenda than to overthrow a democratically elected state. If you have problems with finding a reliable essay service that offers assistance not only with creating essays but term and research paper writing as well, I highly recommend you to visit BestWritingService.Com. Valid concerns of neglect and exploitation are ignored in the name of internal security and terrorism. One of the major and emphatic human rights voice in the State, Himanshu Kumar, has been systematically harassed and forced to leave the State. Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, working for the last 17 years in the State was demolished on flimsy grounds and without any evidence, and Adivasi activists who have had the courage to stand up to the State, mainly Koppa Kunjam, and Sukhnath, are languishing in jail, booked under allegations of murder and so on! In this scenario, it is imperative to rethink advocacy at multiple levels.
Data:
Available data on the internet in terms of corporate investment has been compiled over a course of about six months. Further, with help from other activist networks, data in terms of geological maps has also been compiled. Some data in terms of displacement from Konta and Bijapur in Chhattisgarh has been contributed by Nandini Sundar.
A complex set of data will be made on a spreadsheet which will then be mapped on a google map. Any further information will then be added once the basic markers are in place.
Map type:
Public.
I am a part of a group called the Campaign for Justice and Peace, Karnataka. We already have a website, www.cjpkar.org on which the maps will be uploaded. Further, the maps will be shared across various email list serves, activist groups, government officials etc.
Issues:
- . Since this is a remote part of India, some of the villages are not part of any digital maps
- . Most of the human rights abuse and violations by the State is recorded unofficially by various activists but at a later stage, the authenticity of this data may be questioned.
