West Bengal PUCL:
PUCLWest Bengal Observed Anti-Emergency Day
democracy, no development can
takes place. On the other hand
without basic development of the
living standard of the 90%
countrymen, Democracy and Human
Rights could not be restored. He also
said that since 1948 the violation of
human rights took place in our
country by displacement of the
people without rehabilitation in the
name of development and Public
interest. In 1948 at the time of laying
foundation stone at the site of
Hirakud river valley project, the first
prime minister of India Jawaharlal
Nehru delivered speech to the
residents of this area saying” If you
have to suffer, you should do so in
the interest of the country”. Noted
Gandhian Morarji Desai also
threatened to the pong dam oustees
that ‘We will request you to move
from your houses after the dam
comes up. If you move, it will be
good. Otherwise we shall release the
waters and drown you all’. Citing
these instances, Mr. Mukherjee
expresses grave concern where
agricultural lands are being snatched
away from the farmers for
PUCL BULLETIN, AUGUST 2011 3
Book Published on Binayak Sen
Recently PUCL West Bengal has published a book in Bengali titled ‘Kala Kanoon O Dr. Binayak Sen’ written by
its State Convener, Ananda Mukhopadhyay. The Book was dedicated to Smt Anasuya Sen, the mother of Dr.
Binayak Sen. The book consisting of several writings including ‘who is Dr. Sen’, ‘Dr. Sen : Victim of State
atrocity’, and ‘UAPA : Fundamental rights is at stake’.
Writings of Justice Rajindar Sachar, Prof. Amartya Sen, Mr. Ram Jethmalani, Mr. Soli Sorabjee, and Press
statement issued by All India PUCL and West Bengal PUCL took place in the annexure part of this book. This
book is available with the state office of PUCL West Bengal. -Ananda Mukherjee, Convener, PUCL WB
A public meeting was organised
under the auspices of Peoples Union
for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Lok
Andolan Gujarat at Kocharab
Ashram, Ahmedabad under the
chairmanship of Prakash N Shah.
The programme took a serious note
of the fact that the people are feeling
suffocated owing to the emergence
of undeclared emergency, which is
taking away the democratic and
human rights of the citizens. The
following resolution was passed.
In Gujarat, the process of
globalisation and liberalization
together with mentality of so called
nationalism are disrupting the regime
of law and order. On the other hand,
the victims of communal riots and
those displaced by the development
Gujarat PUCL:
Anti- Emergency Programmes held in Ahmedabad and Baroda
are waiting for rehabilitation. People
at large feel distressful against
problems like price rise,
unemployment, commercialisation of
education and health service. As if
this is not enough, a new kind of
emergency has been added by
depriving the people in the grab of
development. In the name of
development and industrialization.
Farm land of thousands of farmers
are snatched away and given in
largesse to the industrialists. The
fertile and high value land is being
acquired by the government in
Gujarat and country at large in the
name of SEZ or some other industry.
In this situation, wherever and
whenever people voice their
resentment then Govt. has a
tendency to neglect and crush such
protests. By disregarding peoples
basic needs and their fundamental
rights, trumpets of development are
being blown. Today, the women are,
at every stage, being made victims
of rape, women’ feticide, insecurity,
sexual harassment, humiliation,
unequal wages etc. in some large
number of regions there problem of
drinking water, and elsewhere the
question of their respect and equality
and at the other lack of security in
their day to day life.
In the state, the Government
cunningly created a situation of
undeclared emergency. Anti people
policies framed by it are shattering
the lives of the people. In regard to
rights of the labourers, poor farmers,
industrialization and real estate
business without rehabilitating the
displaced persons or giving them
sufficient compensation, which
resulted 13.1 lack tones overall food
shortages in the last five years in
West Bengal. He also spoke against
all the black laws including UAPA,
AFSPA, and Chhattisgarh Special
Public Security Act citing them
undemocratic and unconstitutional
and urged the audience to support
the movement of PUCL demanding
immediate repeal of all draconian
laws in our country.
Another speaker noted sociologist
and veteran member of PUCL Dr
Sajal Basu claimed that death due
to hunger and malnutrition is the
basic problem of our country in
present times whereas the govt
claimed 9% growth in GDP. It is very
shameful when food grains are left
for rotting in the godowns even after
the direction of Hon’ble Supreme
court of India to distribute it within
the poorest of the poor. Dr. Binayak
Sen has been working on these basic
issues from grassroots level at
Chhattisgarh from long days before,
he said. Where 78 % people of India
still lives with income of less than
twenty rupees per day, is it called
development at all, he asked.
Noted anthropologist Dr. Pashupati
Prasad Mahato started his speech
narrating how the soil of the sons
(tribals) have been exploited in this
country since before independence
period and were forced to migrate to
the tea gardens of North Bengal as
low wage labour from different parts
of Bengal mainly from Purulia,
Bankura and Midnapur, how the tribal
people are still living in hunger of half
fed condition every day. The cultural
ragging as well as cultural
exploitation is still continuing upon
them as the result of casteism. How
many adivasis have become V.Cs
in the different universities in West
Bengal since independence, he
questioned. Besides his speech Dr.
Mahato hypnotized the audience by
singing several tribal songs popularly
called “jhumur” which depicted the
day to day problems of livelihood,
sadness, exploitation and torture
upon the tribal people of jungle mahal
from the time of indigo plantation,
as narrated in the famous novel
“Nildarpan” written by Dinabandhu
Mitra. The programme was presided
by Mr. Samarjit Banerjee. A vote of
thanks was given by the joint
convener of the West Bengal PUCL
Mr. Amlan Bhattacharjee.
Ananda Mukherjee, Convener PUCL
West Bengal
