People's Democracy

ORISSA

Slaughtering Tribals For Industrialisation

Santosh Das

IF morning indicates the day ahead, then what is in stock for the people of Orissa, particularly the adivasis, in the year 2006 has been indicated on the first working day of the new year, the January 2, 2006. Naveen Patnaik's BJD-BJP government greeted the people with bullets at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district killing twelve and injuring many, all of them tribals. Never in the history of Orissa in the post-independence period such a number of people were killed in one police atrocity. This unprecedented genocide took place in order to evict the tribal people forcibly from their homestead and agricultural land.

How the massacre was pre-planned very neatly is well evident from the presence of the Collector & SP of the district alongwith the DIG on the spot to deal with the situation. The job was to oust 760 households from their settlement and livelihood in the bid to complete the land encroachment for the giant steel company, the TISCO, that needs 2000 acres of land for installation of a mega steel plant with an investment of Rs 15,400 crore. The unit would have annual production capacity of 6 million tonnes of steel. Here it may be recalled that Naveen Patnaik's Party local MLA who was behind a militant outfit named "Biju Sena", which was floated with noted criminals at the helm to the deal with the situation.

 The tragic experience of the adivasis who were displaced during the construction of the multipurpose mega dam at Hirakud on the river of Mahanadi in the late 40s makes them panic of loosing livelihood. Till date 14 lakh displaced people of the project are yet to be properly rehabilitated. Hence the resistance to eviction is developing in a fast manner. Kalinga Nagar can not be any exception to this. The government instead of taking the people into confidence and properly negotiating with them resorted to unilateral bureaucratic declaration of packages, asking people to accept and surrender their land. Its attitude is 'if carrot fails to work, the stick must be used'. And this is how it is ridinig roughshod, trying to bulldoze people's genuine protests. It may be recalled in December 2000 also in a similar incident, four tribals were killed at Maikanch (Kashipur) in the district of Rayagarh. They were resisting acquisition of land for constructing an aluminium industry.

POLICE CRUELTY

The "Operation Kalinga Nagar" started on the forenoon of January 2, 2006. The government deployed 1 platoon of Orissa Special Armed Police forces, led by R N Padhy, DIG & Benoytosh Mishra, the superintendent of police. The duty of the executive magistrate was assumed by the collector, Saswat Mishra himself. The tribals registered their protest when the bulldozers of TISCO began their operation on their land. They were few hundreds in number and many others were just spectators, among whom included even mothers with babies in their lap, watching the events from distance out of curiosity. The police, with clear instructions from above, launched a brutal attack on the protestors with lathis. It was quickly followed by firing of rubber bullets. And without any warning they even started firing real bullets on the demonstrators. More dastardly, the firing was directed above the waist, with an intention to kill. While the rules are clear that if firing has to be done, it should be aimed below the waist, the Orissa police shot to kill. It has been found that Sudam Barla (25) has received bullet injury on the right side of his forehead, Govinda Tiria (12) on the right side of his neck, Janga Karika (25) on the middle of her chest and Diogi Tiria (35) on her belly. At several points in the paddy fields and on the tank embankment, blood stains are still prominently visible. The police cruelty was such that no attempt was made to even shift the injured to hospital. For more than six hours, no first aid was given to them. Mota Purti complains that he received bullet injury on his left cheek at around 11.45 a m but was admitted to Danagadi Primary Health Centre in the evening. He says similar negligence was shown to other injured persons. Had this delay not been made, lives of many could have been saved, he asserts. This proves that the police and administration were waiting for the darkness to shift the injured to district hospital, Jajpur and SCB Medical college Hospital, Cuttack.

The brutality of the government was manifested in other ways also. The palms of five of the deceased were found chopped during the post-mortem. In the face of public outcry, the government has suspended three comparatively junior doctors who in turn blame the CDMO and magistrate for having instructed them to do so as per the forensic requirement. But this act is both impermissible by law and has no precedence.

The police brutality instead of generating fear arose the anger of tribals who took control of the Express Highway (NH20) that connects the iron ore mines of nearby Daitary with Paradeep port. Braving the cold of the winter night, thousands of tribals sat boldly keeping four dead bodies on the road itself, disallowing the police to take those away. The nervous administration imposed curfew to create panic. But people refused to be cowed down. Finding the collapse of curfew, the government withdrew it on the next day. After persuasion by opposition political parties, the agitators handed over the corpses for post-mortem. On January 5, a mass funeral took place with thousands shedding their tears and taking the vow to sustain the struggle.

FLOCKING TO KALINGA NAGAR

Kalinga Nagar is emerging as a new industrial city of Orissa comprising 12,000 acres of land covering 83 revenue villages that falls under 10 Gram Panchayats of Sukinda and Danagadi Block of Jajpur district. This area is located near the chromite mines of Kaliapani, Kalarangi, Saruabila and Sukurangi and iron ore mines of Tamaka of Jajpur district. The chromite reserves area extends to neighbouring Dhenkanal and Keonjhar districts. In fact, Keonjhar has the highest concentration of iron ore and manganese mines. After the freight equalisation policy has come to an end, private industry came to the door step of raw material. With the demand of steel reaching new heights in the international market, both domestic and global players seek to set up their plants in Orissa and also to use the signboard of industry to get the lease for mines. Apart from being the mineral belt, Kanlinga Nagar is also connected by two National Highways - Daitary - Paradeep Port and Kolkata - Chennai. It also boasts of good railway infrastructure. The construction of Dhamara port and connecting it with Kalinga Nagar by road and rail is in the pipeline. In addition, the second largest river of the state "Brahmani" flows on its side, meeting the requirement of water.

Finding Kalinga Nagar advantageous, TISCO, VISA Industries, Jindal Stainless, Maharastra Seamless, MAL industries, AML Steel and Power, National Steel and Power, National Steel and Agro industries, Tube Investment India, Dinabandhu Steel and Uttam Galva Steels have signed MoUs with the state government to set up steel plants there. If all these plants are installed, then Kalinga Nagar shall add another 10.695 million tonnes of steel production to the existing production capacity of Neelachal Ispat Nigam (SAIL) & MESCO in that area. As per the MoUs, the new plants propose to invest Rs 23,107.60 crore in Kalinga Nagar area.

While this industrialisation is planned, no sincere attempt is being made to address the issues of land, employment, rehabilitation and compensation of the laksh who will be displaced. The Kalinga Nagar area forms the part of former princely state of Sukinda that became part of Indian union following the merger. It is the tribals who made the land arable and settled in this valley a century ago. The first land settlement during British rule had to cover this area in 1928 but paid no heed to legalise the tribals right over their occupied land. Neither the colonial rulers nor the native kings nor even the successive governments who ruled Orissa following independence could care to formalise their ownership over the land. Now under the Kalinga Nagar project, this land is sought to be acquired by the government by paying throwaway price to tribals and after undertaking minor development sold to industries. While tribals are being paid Rs 35,000 per acre, the same land is being sold to industries at Rs 3.36 lakh an acre. This is an extremely profitable real estate business being done by the government. Tribals feel that after their land being acquired they loose livelihood and denied proper compensation.

With the use of capital intensive technology, employment opportunity becomes a remote possibility. They witness the construction companies bring workers from other states and deny them employment.

RESISTANCE BY TRIBALS

Tribals registered their first resistance on May 9, 2005 when the Bhumi pooja of Maharastra Seemless was solemnised. The police who had to admit a defeat there on the spot retaliated in the midnight. To escape from the police torture all male persons of the neighboring villages fled away and took shelter in the forest, leaving the children, the old the bedridden and the women in their houses. The police arrested 25 women and 12 children. An old man had to die for want of medicine and a child for food. Since one ADM and few policemen were injured in the clash, the police and administration were always seen in search of opportunities to take the revenge. In September 2005, they arrested one of the important leader of tribals and the final retaliation, of course, came on January 2, 2006.

The tribal killing sparked protest in the state. All forces barring the BJD and BJP came on to the streets. Road blockade was observed in the neighbouring area. The tribals continued their blockade on the Express Highway. The leader of opposition political parties visited the spot. A six party delegation comprising CPI(M), CPI, Orissa Gana Parisad, Janata Dal (S), JMM and Samajwadi party visited the spot on the next day i.e. January 3, 2006. The Congress delegation reached separately. The CPI(M) delegation included Janardan Pati, Santosh Das, Jaganath Mishra, Puspa Dash and Prafulla Nayak.

While the six party platform gave a call to observe protest day on January 7, 2006 and extended support to Orissa Bandh call given by Kalinga Nagar Surakshya Samiti on the same day, the Congress too gave similar call. Other political outfits of various organisations also joined the action. The government went defensive in the face of public protest. It's instant announcement of Rs one lakh compensation to the next of the kin of the deceased was subsequently increased to Rs five lakh. The injured were promised to receive a compensation of Rs 50,000, the collector and SP were transferred and declaration was made to set up a judicial inquiry commission chaired by a sitting High Court Judge. The chief justice of Orissa High Court denied to provide any judge to undertake this responsibility.

The opposition political parties demanded the chief minister's resignation taking moral responsibility of the brutal killing of tribals. The CPI(M) in addition demanded to pay compensation to the satisfaction of tribals, stopping of eviction, legitimatising the ownership of tribals over their occupied land. It sought success of the bandh, which it was with the rail and road transport, commercial establishments, administrative offices and courts, the financial institutions being paralysed. The state government declared holiday for educational institutions. Tribals with bows and arrows marched on the streets of various towns.

SAFFRON HYPOCRISY

Finding the government defamed and hated, following the tribal killing at Kalinga Nagar, the BJP very cleverly sought to demarcate itself from the crime and leaving the senior partner of the alliance, the BJD, to bear the blame alone. It sent a team of its own who put the blame on the district administration and the police and demanded the transfer of the collector and the SP, compensation to the tune of Rs five lakh to the next of the kin of deceased persons. Out of 32 MLAs of the BJP, 16 belong to SC & ST sections. Those MLAs demanded withdrawal of the BJP from the ministry, without breaking the alliance. After a couple of days of silence, the state unit president Jual Oram, himself a tribal, echoed the same demand. But the national leadership refused to accept this proposal. The BJP ministers in Naveen Patnaikfs cabinet stood firmly with the chief minister.

The question arises as to how BJP can evade its responsibility since it is part and parcel of the government and the departments of industry and revenue and rehabilitation are run by BJP ministers? Hence the culpability can not be avoided.

It may be recalled that in the year 261 BC, Emperor Ashok invaded Kalinga and won the Kalingan War. But the conqueror accepted the moral defeat, felt like the conquest and such feeling of him led to the eventful conversion with the emperor baptised to Buddhism and brought a real change in his character from Chandashok To Dharmashok. The rulers today after committing the sin of slaughtering 12 tribals at Kalinga Nagar refuse to repent and resort to measures of damage control only to overcome the unfavourable situation. but people in general and tribals in particular have declared their vow not to forgive this cruel government of BJD-BJP alliance. The massive support to Orissa Bandh gives this message only.