The South Korean Company POSCO backed out from Odisha due to a long struggle of the local communities. However, the Odisha state Government is allowing Jindal to take over the lands and livelihood of the same local villagers. The struggle for the protection of local resources, livelihood, human rights and environment is going on.

The state Government has unleashed severe repressive methods on the activists and local villagers, instead of solving  the problems of people. The Jindal-POSCO Pratirodh Committee, which is spearheading the struggle of the local communities against such severe repression has demanded to release all prisoners immediately and withdrawal of Jindhal, the company which is taking over their lands.

In this context, many writers, artists, human rights activists, academicians, organisations and many well known personalities have demanded withdrawal of Jindhal, protection of the lands and environment of the local villagers and release of the activist prisoners from jail, through a petition to the President of India. They have appealed to the civil society to widen this campaign by circulating the petition and endorsing the same.

The petition can be endorsed through the following link: https://www.change.org/IStandWithDhinkia

We also appeal to you to forward this petition to your contacts and networks in social media requesting for further endorsements.

Petition:

To,

Hon’ble Draupadi Murmu,

President of India.

Respected Madam,

We, the following human rights activists, artists, writers, people’s movements, academicians, cultural personalities, and social organizations, would like to bring to your kind notice the oppression let loose by the Government of Odisha on the people of Dhinkia of Odisha since the last 17 years. This is by holding the sword of displacement almost continually over their heads, by harassing them for protesting, by denying them right to peaceful existence and untroubled perusal of their lives which any govt. is duty bound to ensure to citizens. The Odisha Govt. is blatantly violating their democratic and human rights, including making large scale arrests. There is incarceration of local activists in jail on trumped up charges, restrictions on the right of village people to peacefully protest against their threatened displacement while allowing free movement of and threats to local people by goons of companies. The following are a few key points which are elaborated with the facts.

In 2005, the South Korean steel-making company POSCO was allowed by the State Govt. (BJD) & Central Government (UPA) – despite the unwillingness of the villagers of Dhinkia and nearby locality – to establish its project by taking over their lands. The local cultivation is betel vines, which ensured prosperity and contentment to the local peasantry and big revenue to the Govt. by export of the leaves.The State Government is still run by Mr. Naveen Pattnaik, leader of the ruling party the BJD, which  was ruling the state at that time also. The Odisha state Government deployed its state agencies to grab the land forcefully from the native villagers.To safeguard their ages long possession (of more than 100 years) over the lands and traditional livelihood, the villagers started protesting against the proposed project in masses under the banner of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS).

The State Government being intolerant & furious due to the peaceful yet strong protest against the proposed project, misused its law enforcement agencies against its own people by framing false charges and thus registering more than 200 FIRs which are still pending against hundreds of villagers of Dhinkia for the anti POSCO movement. The conspiracy of the administration, Company & its goons and police brutality then, resulted in the loss of 5 precious lives from Dhinkia Panchayat. Even in the aftermath, the local people remained deeply traumatized, leading even to suicides.

Meanwhile, in the forcibly acquired areas, betel vines, fish ponds, paddy fields were destroyed and other traditional livelihoods were lost. However the protest lasted more than 8 years and ultimately POSCO backed out. People hoped this would bring back long awaited harmony in that area.

But again the State Government (BJD) allowed another project from a company named Jindal Steel Works (JSW). This time, in 2019, there was even more aggression against the unwillingness of the local people. With the same approach by the state Government led by the same Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Pattnaik, there was forceful acquisition of land using state agencies. However this time the approach of the police was very rough and they didn’t spare even women, children and the elderly. The worst police action, which the entire world witnessed, was on 14th January 2022. It was broadcast and published in all forms of news all over the world. The visuals were so disturbing that it baffled the entire country.

Moreover the Governments, both the State (BJD) and the Central (BJP/NDA), ignored the anomalies in the Report provided by JSW to the Environmental Ministry and the Ministry approved the Environmental Clearance ignoring those anomalies. In the process of acquiring the land, so far almost 100 police cases have been registered since 2020, 50-60 people arrested and few released later on bail, though the leader of the Jindal-POSCO Pratirodh Committee (JPPC) Mr. Debendra Swain has been kept in prison since Jan. 14th 2022 along with some other protestors. The protest and its movement have been subjected to police brutality and inhuman torture by Government agencies. Dhinkia village and other nearby villages have already been severely affected due to effects of rapid industrialization in Paradip by either establishment of new industries or upgradation of the existing industries. These effects have already caused loss of lives and livelihoods of people of nearby villages due to exposure to natural disasters caused by environmental & climate degradation and injustice.

Needless to say that the present invasion of Jindal on the resources of the local communities is also a blatant violation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), since this law recognizes the rights of the local communities and other forest dwellers.

In this context, we appeal to you to intervene so that the protests of Dhinkia villagers to save their Land, Lives & Livelihoods are considered legitimate and to ensure that the Governments (both Union & State) act immediately. We therefore request you to take the following steps immediately for the welfare of the local people, environment and precious human rights of the local villagers.

1. Cancel the proposed JSW project at Dhinkia.
2. Stop police brutality against the villagers of Dhinkia and targeting of the protestors by all means.
3. Cancel the Forest Clearance given to JSW and return the Forest land to villagers as per Law.
4. Cancel the Environmental Clearance granted in favor of the proposed project.
5. Settle the forest rights of the people in an unbiased manner without hostile environment as per Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.
6. Provide the legitimate land records to the landless people of Dhinkia.
7. Take strict action against the police officials involved in police brutalities that caused physical & mental trauma to thousands of villagers including children, women and elders.
8. Quash all the false & fabricated cases registered against the villagers starting from protests against POSCO to JSW which are roughly around 300.
9. Release all the protesters including their leader Mr. Debendra Swain from prison.

With Regards,

List of Initial Signatories:

1. Anand Patwardhan, Film Maker
2. K. Satchidanandan Poet, Writer,  Former Secretary, Kendra Sahitya Akademi
3. Lalit Vachani, Filmmaker, University of Göttingen
4. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Former Cabinet Minister
5. Binoy Viswam, Former Forest Minister, Government of Kerala
6. Advocate Ansar Indori, NCHRO, New Delhi
7. Annie Raja, General Secretart, National Federation of Indian Women
8. Madhumita Dutta, Assistant Professor, Ohio State University, USA
9. Dr. Sandeep Pandey, General Secretary, Socialist Party (India)
10. Prof. Anjali Monteiro (Retd.), Film Maker, Researcher, Educator
11. Prof. K.P. Jayashankar (Retd.), Film Maker, Researcher, Educator
12. Kavita Srivastava, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

13, Sunlam, President, Madhya Pradesh Kisan Sangarsh Samiti (MPKSS)

14. Malini Subramaniam, Independent Journalist

15,  Maj Gen Dr. Sudhir Vombadkare,  (Retd)

16. Dr. Ram Puniyani, National Solidarity Forum

17, N.D.Pancholi

18. Dr.Gabriele Dietrich, Pennurimai Iyakkam,T.N. and NAPM
19. Leo Saldanha, Environment Support Group
20. Susmit Bose, Musician
21. Dr. John Dayal, Journalist, Author & Researcher
22. Meena Menon, Journalist
23. Bijaya k Panda, National Convenor, Bharat Jan Andolan
24. Advocate Ansar Indori (National Secratary,NCHRO)
25. Binu Mathew, Editor, Countercurrents.org
26. 26, Amudhan RP, Film Maker
27. 27, P. Baburaj, Film Maker

28. Antonella Visintin, Member of Oikotree movement and Glam commission of the Protestant Federation
29. Meera Sanghamitra, NAPM
30. National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
31. Vijayan M.J, Delhi Solidarity Group
32. William Stanley, Oikotree Movement
33. Brinelle Dsouza, Academic and Activist
34. Rev. Dr. Susan E. Davies, United States of America
35. 35,  Pervin Jehangir
36. Prafulla Samantara, Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Recipient of Goldman Environmental Prize for Asia, Bhubaneswar

36. Srikanta Mohanty, Secretary CPIML, Odisha State Committee
37. Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh, Pune
38. Dr Walter Fernandes, Director, North Eastern Social Research Centre
39. Sailen Bhattacharya, General Secretary, ECL COLLIERY SHRAMIK UNION
40. Shamsul Islam, Author
41. Central Executive Committee, AIKMS
42. Dr.Suhas Kolhekar,(Maharashtra), National Alliance of People’s Movements
43. Prakash C. Jha, Independent Researcher
44. K.Padma, Advocate, Visakhapatnam, Andhrapradesh
45. Tara Murali, Architect, Chennai
46. Dr. PM Tony, Director, Social Research and Training Centre, ATC, Namkum, Ranchi
47. Justice Coalition of Religious – West India
48. Jan Swasthya Abhiyan – Mumbai
49. Aruna Rodrigues, Sunray Harvesters
50. Pradip Pradhan, Convenor RTI Odisha State Committee
51. Arundhati Dhuru, National Alliance of People’s Movements
52. Sathish Reginald Samuel, Secretary, ECODAWM
53. Ranjan Solomon
54. Sadananda Sahu, Advocate and Trade Union Leader, Raurkela, Odisha
55. Dr. B Karthik Navayan, Advocate, High Court for the state of Telangana
56. Lelin Kumar, Writer and  Journalist of Janabadi News Weekly .
57. Manu, Researcher
58. Shalini Gera, Advocate, High Court of Chhattisgarh
59. Sonu P. Yadav
60. Nadita Narain, Delhi University
61. Nisha Biswas, Kolkata
62. Madhuri,Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan
63. Pradip Sahu,CSD , Odisha
64. Biswapriya Kanungo,Adv Odisha
65. K.P. Sasi, Film Maker, Writer, Cartoonist
66. Antony Raju, Bangalore
67. Neelima Sharma (Theatre)

The post Petition: Stop Repression Against Villagers In Dhinkia, Odisha appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Another brutal assault by security personnel was reported on Odisha’s peaceful protestors in Dhinkia village on January 14, 2022. Anti- Jindal and Anti-POSCO Movement leaders Debendra Swain, Murlidhar Sahu and INSAF State Convener Narendra Mohanthy were arrested shortly after they released a fact-finding report on previous crackdowns by the administration.

According to villagers, the leaders were illegally detained by the Abhaychandpur police while several villagers suffered injuries during lathicharge. Residents also claimed the personnel houses and targeted women and children.   

The conflict between authorities and villagers has persisted since 2005 when POSCO-India Private Limited aired a plan to start a development project in the area. Locals resisted the idea citing the issue of settlement of forest rights under the Forest Rights Act 2006. After the company backed away in 2017, the High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik transferred the land to the JSW Utkal Steel Limited (JUSL). This move in itself violated the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (LARR) of 2013. Yet, authorities even granted a forest clearance despite claims that the villagers faced severe oppression from police.

Finally, near the end of November 2021, villagers resumed protests against further division of Dhinkia into two revenue villages without the consent of residents. Similarly, they said that the administration, on multiple occasions, destroyed their beetle vines, causing severe economic damage.

To detail such instances of conflict, the Civil Society Forum on Human Rights (CSFHR), the Human Rights Defenders Alert – India (HRDA) and Indian Social Action Forum(INSAF) drafted a fact-finding report on December 18, 2021, with the help of movement leaders. It indicated the “corporate-State’s” attempts to target Swain, the leader of the Jindal Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, spearheading the peaceful resistance.

Villagers held protests at the site of demarcation work and in an open ground on the outskirts of Dhinkia village, attended by thousands of adults and children. Rallies were also taken out along main roads in villages as participants shouted slogans decrying government high-handedness. Although the initial protest took place on July 5, 2021 to oppose demarcation work, the real crackdown began when yet another demarcation effort failed on December 1.

Officials resorted to registering FIRs against protestors and HRDs, prima facie all of them fabricated. The team interviewing villagers found that FIRs mentioned some individuals who were not in Dhinkia on the day of the alleged incident. Even people above 70 years and those who need help for daily chores have been mentioned in the FIRs. Village leaders accused the police of referring to the voting list to indiscriminately build numbers and names and target those closely associated with leader Debendra Swain.

“False and fabricated FIRs continue to remain tools to oppress people’s resistance in Dhinkia. Of the close to 400 FIRs registered since the protests against POSCO, not a single conviction has occurred, speaking volumes of the conduct of police in Abhayachandpur police station,” said the report.

Targeting of Debendra Swain

On December 2, police personnel arrived in seven jeeps and launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters opposing a fresh round of demarcation exercise in Mahala. Police failed to arrest Debendra Swain, but arrested his paternal uncle Ajodhya Swain and elder daughter Mili Swain. Villagers said police had arrived at his house but could not find him. The 71-year old paralysis patient and 22-year-old woman were charged under various sections of the IPC including criminal intimidation.

This incident was a culmination of the several reprisals and institutional attacks on the grassroot leader. Debendra Swain was elected to the Dhinkia panchayat samiti (PS) in 2017. He objected to the creation of new revenue villages in the panchayat area and participated in peaceful protests in Patana and Mahala on multiple occasions since July 2021. He also objected to the lack of adequate notice for demarcation activities.

In response, he received a show-cause notice on September 30, from the Panchayati Raj department accusing Swain of abusing his powers as a PS member by obstructing official vehicles and abusing officials. The report went on to say he threatened to murder officials with bomb blasts and that “he is a habitual obstructor in every developmental works executed through PRIs. He is opposing various beneficiary-oriented government schemes violating rights of common masses.”

Following this notice, Swain was expelled from the panchayat samiti in October 2021. The expulsion of an elected representative on the recommendation of the local administration raises serious concerns regarding the possibility of further reprisals, said the report.

Demands for justice

Following interviews and referring official documents, the fact-finding team stated that the rights of gram sabhas should not be taken away from the people. Gram sabhas must be allowed proper time to deliberate, discuss, and decide about any project, creation of new revenue villages and demarcation of territories for the same.

Similarly, all cases against all human rights defenders and protestors in the area must be withdrawn immediately to uphold the right to peaceful assembly and expression. Members also condemned the massive deployment of security forces. They demanded an independent team of business and human rights, law, forest rights, agriculture, corporate affairs experts to examine the actions of the administration and police and determine if the past actions were in fact legal procedure.

“The National and State Human Rights Commissions must record and inquire all instances of police violence in Dhinkia and recommend medical treatment and compensation to all victims, and disciplinary and legal actions against police and administrative officials,” they said in the report.

Further, they called upon the NHRC to engage its core groups on ‘Business, Environment and Human Rights’ and ‘NGOs and Human Rights Defenders’ to jointly inquire the allegations against the government in handing over the project to JUSL, compliance to all legal processes for JUSL to operate and crackdown on peaceful dissent in Dhinkia, Jagatsinghpur district.

The full report may be read here:

Related:

Dhinkia: A story of perseverance against administrative oppression

End police oppression! FIAN Int. stands with Odisha’s adivasis

Odisha Police beat up Adivasi villagers

Tougher than Steel: Odisha villagers condemn govt’s to attempts to usurp their land

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