CDRO, a coordination of democratic rights organisations that are active in different parts of the country, has been working since 2007 to highlight the status of democratic rights of the people and to protect these rights.
Though the oppression of weaker sections of the society is a continuous saga, the past situations pale in the front of the atrocities carried out by the central and state governments in Chhattisgarh at present. The governments are at war with its own people, have carried out aerial bombing on the tribal settlements, killed and maimed the Adivasis and even children are not spared by the military and semi-military offences. The Adivasis of the Bastar region are fighting a disproportionately large state machinery in a bid to save their land from being grabbed by big national and multinational companies, which are eyeing this land to start mining and other commercial activities. The central and state governments are trying their best to oust the Adivasis and fulfil their promises made in hundreds of MoUs signed between them and the corporates. This corporatisation will lead to large-scale environmental destruction of the ecologically rich region.
They realised that the only obstacle in front of them of achieving this goal is in the form of the Maoists. Hence, the union Home Minister, in complete disregard of constitutional values and democratic norms, have announced their target of wiping out a political movement within March 2026 and pave the way for corporate loot. This has led to the launch of Operation Kagar and about 350 lives have been lost since 2024 and a majority of the victims are the Adivasis. In the first 25 days of this year alone, 44 people of which 22 are Adivasis are killed by the state machinery. Such is the extent of barbarism exhibited by the central and state governments. Not just the Maoists, even peaceful democratic programs aimed to save the Adivasis are also crushed by the government. Leaders and activists of the Mulavasi Bachao Manch, who have been leading peaceful protests, are arrested unlawfully and imprisoned under fabricated charges and the Manch has also been banned.
The democratic rights activists and journalists are debarred from entering the places where the so-called encounter killings have taken place. CDRO members have made several attempts to reach Bastar and bring out the facts to the nation. If the governments have nothing to hide, why cannot they allow the journalists and activists to make visits, interact with people and bring out the truth? Thus, we firmly believe that the only objective of the present obstructions to the CDRO members is merely to suppress the facts about what is happening under Operation Kaghar.
These preventions should also be seen in the face of the NIA raids and harassments of the democratic rights activists happening in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and other parts of India. The governments’ attempts to brand the democratic rights as anti-nationals or extremists is consistent with the speech of the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, given at the passing out parade of the 73rd batch of probationers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVP NPA) in Hyderabad.
Various democratic institutions like NHRC or state HRCs are mute spectators, mainstream media, sponsored by the corporates, are largely silent and the roles of the courts in upholding the rights of the activists, as seen in the Bhima-Koregaon or the Delhi riot cases, are not beyond question.
This government has curtailed the rights of farmers to assemble and protest at the national capital by stopping them at the Punjab-Haryana in February 2024 and again in November 2024 through the use of tear gas and water cannons, thereby killing one farmer. The Kashmiris are under constant threats, and their identity is taken away through the removal of Article 370. Manipur is burning with ethnic strife while the central government maintains complete silence, and the state government allows the continuation of the murder, loot and molestation of women. On the one hand, the new labour code restricts the rights of the workers to unionise and carry out strikes, and on the other, there is growing unemployment among the youth. Instead of solving their problems, the central government and the party in power are dividing the country along caste and communal lines with Muslims and Dalits being subjected to atrocities. Thus, we see that there is an all-round loss of democratic values, stifling of any opposition to the government and violation of the fundamental right to free speech and action.
CDRO demands:
- 1. State and central governments should stop their war against their own people and stop genocide carried out in the name of Operation Kagar immediately.
- 2. Demands that the state uphold the citizens’ right to free movement and access to proper information.
- 3. Fact-finding teams should be permitted to visit and independently assess the situation prevalent in the Bastar region.
- 4. State and central governments should not permit mining and other activities planned through the MoUs, which will have a disastrous environmental effect.
- 5.Resolve the ethnic clash between the Meiteis and Kukis democratically.
- 6. The right to unionise and the right to strike the workers should be respected.
- 7.The rights of farmers must be protected.
(Asish Gupta)
(Tapas Chakraborty)
(Kranthi Chaitanya)
Preethpal Singh AFDR Panjab
Prof. Gunti Ravi (CLC TG)
Prof. Laxman Gaddam (CLC TG)
Narayanarao (CLC TG)
Moutly, APDR West Bengal
Babudha, APDR West Bengal
Sriman Narayana, CLC Andrapradesh
Date : 26-01-2025,
Hyderabad, Telangana.