This is the first part of the three-part series on ‘the plight of political prisoners from the tribal communities of West Bengal‘ as a part of the Justicemakers’ Writer’s Training Program, run in partnership with Agami and Ashoka’s Law For All Initiative. The second and final parts can be found here and here.
Trigger warning: police brutality
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On February 21, 2010, a second year college student from Jhargram’s Silda Chandra Sekhar College was arrested by the then left-front government (in West Bengal) on the charges of being a Maoist. The boy was called Buddhadeb Mahato.
I came to know about Buddhadeb’s arrest as I was involved in student activism, and he emerged as a prominent face. The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) was slapped against him. From 2010 till now—he has been in prison for 12 years.
He still has the words “under-trial” stamped on his back. I met his family members when he was admitted to a hospital. From them, I found out more about what had happened to Buddhadeb.
Coming from a backward tribal community, his family has a tough time making ends meet. Yet, they are standing steady in their fight against the state. For the past few years, Buddhadeb has been suffering from a severe kidney problem. The state government and the jail authorities continued to neglect his health.
In May 2021, a human rights organisation, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP), came forward to protest against this. After that, Buddhadeb was admitted to the PG Hospital in Kolkata. As of now, no proper update is received from the Presidency jail authorities regarding his health.
What Was The Lalgarh Movement All About?
Buddhadeb Mahato was arrested alleging his involvement in the Silda Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) camp attack case. To understand Buddhadeb’s case, we need to go back to 2008.
It was November 2, 2008, when Maoists detonated a mine to kill the then chief minister of Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, and central minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Bhattacharya and Paswan were there to inaugurate a steel plant owned by the Jindal group.
At this point of time, the locals and Maoists had come together under the banner of “People Against Police Atrocities”, to resist land acquisition for building the said steel plant.
The locals were against the move as the steel plant was bound to cause heavy damage to the environment, which in turn would affect the livelihoods of the tribal communities living there, who were heavily dependent on natural resources for the same. This was the triggering point of the “Jangalmahal movement”, better known as the “Lalgarh movement”.
This movement has been known as one of the most violent periods in Bengal’s political history. Estimates say that the violence led to 533 civilian, 53 security personnel, and 80 Maoist guerrilla deaths.
This battle continued till 2011, when the Maoist leader Kishenji died. It was at this point that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) government started arresting locals and branding them as Maoists.
Locals Were Unfairly Branded As Maoists
The random arrests and suppression of democratic voices made the anti-CPIM wave stronger in Bengal. Among the many arrests made by the CPIM, Buddhadeb was one of the victims.
On February 15, 2010, the Maoists attacked an (EFR) camp in Silda, resulting in the death of 24 paramilitary personnel. After this incident, Buddhadeb was arrested. Till date, he has not been proven guilty by the state.
On December 31, 2020, the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), a prominent human rights organisation in Bengal, sent a letter to the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, highlighting the deplorable condition of Buddhadeb inside prison.
In their letter, they pointed out that during his arrest, Buddhadeb was mercilessly beaten by the police, which led to the damage of both of his kidneys.
Recently, on January 9, 2022, Buddhadeb’s mother Niyoti wrote an open letter requesting democratic forums and individuals to come forward and protest against the human rights violations her son is facing.
She also demanded a proper health checkup for her son. Many democratic forces expressed their solidarity with Buddhadeb and Niyoti by condoning the letter.
Marginalisation By The Indian State
This is not just Buddhadeb’s case, many other tribal prisoners are treated the same way inside the prison. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data of 2019 showed that most of the undertrial prisoners in India come from the marginalised section of the society. This predominantly includes Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis.
Tribal folks make up 13.6% of convicts in Indian jails, while 10.5% of undertrials and 5.68% of detenues were from the Scheduled Tribes. Their share in the Indian population is 8.6% as per the 2011 census.
This shows the very nature of the Indian state. This clearly shows the role of caste bias inside the prison. The Indian State for a longtime has been dominated by the Hindu Savarna ideology.
After the first wave of Covid-19, I got the opportunity to visit the tribal belt in Bengal. I met at least 20-25 families whose members have been, or are in police custody for petty cases like theft, bike accidents etc.
Moreover, draconian laws like the UAPA have been unrestrictedly used against the Adivasis of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bengal’s Jangalmahal, to suppress their voices and assertion of rights.
Last year, the arrest of five men from the Kuravar tribe and their allegations regarding custodial torture, brought the condition of tribal people inside prison to the limelight yet again.
Marginalisation In The Indian Society
Although I have highlighted the torture that tribal people face in the judicial system, these practices are also prevalent in our society as a whole. The casteist approach of the Indian state towards tribal prisoners is not just the approach of a single ruling party or individual.
So, when Soni Sori is harassed by the police, or when innocent Adivasis are killed in the name of anti-Maoist operations, we should realise that it is the hatred present in society which is being reflected.
Regardless of the SC/ST Atrocities Act (1989), or Article 21 (protection of life and liberty) of the Indian constitution, tribal prisoners are subjected to tremendous torture inside prisons. Buddhadeb is just one such example. Unfortunately, there are many more.