15 June 2005

Dear Mr. Thakur,

I am writing to you to inform you of an incident characterised by shocking and dangerously aggressive conduct and to express my concern regarding the behaviour of certain persons connected to Hindu nationalist organizations.

I am convening and serving on the Indian People’s Tribunal on Communalism organized by the Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights (IPT). Members of the Tribunal have been travelling throughout the state as part of its investigations on communalism in Orissa. The primary investigations of the Tribunal took place from June 11-14, 2005.

Yesterday, 14 June 2005, we were conducting a hearing with Hindu nationalist organizations, between 11 am and 1 pm, at the Red Cross Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. During the majority of the hearing, along with me, other Tribunal members present were: Justice K.K. Usha, Former Chief Justice, Kerala High Court, and Justice R.A. Mehta, Former Acting Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court, and Former Director, Gujarat Judicial Academy, who are heading the Tribunal; Mr. Mihir Desai, Indian People’s Tribunal and Advocate, Mumbai High Court and Supreme Court of India, who is co-convening the Tribunal with me; Dr. Asha Hans, Professor, Women’s Studies, Utkal University; and Dr. Ram Puniyani, EKTA, Committee for Communal Amity. In addition, the following IPT staff members were also present: Ms. Sameena Dalwai, Ms. Priyanka Josson and Ms. Maya Nair.

(Other Tribunal Members who were not present at that meeting were: Dr. Chetan Bhatt, Reader, Sociology, Goldsmiths College, University of London; Ms. Lalita Missal, National Alliance of Women-Orissa Chapter; Dr. Shaheen Nilofer, Scholar-activist from Orissa; Mr. Sudhir Patnaik, Scholar-activist from Orissa.)

On 14 June 2005, shortly after 11 am, the event began without incident. Invited representatives of the Bajrang Dal (BD) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) came to offer testimonies. The first person to depose was Mr. Ramachandra Behera, who informed us that he was a journalist representing the Media News Agency and also a worker of the BD and he showed us the letter of invitation that had been sent to Mr. Subash Chouhan, State Convenor, BD. Tribunal members had taken his oral consent for audio-recording the testimony. The Tribunal members had sought consent of all subsequent persons.

Following the conversation with Mr. Behera, Mr. Bansidhar Pradhan testified, identifying as a member of the VHP. Following which, another male person testified, also identifying as a member of the VHP. Following which, Mrs. Padmaja, who identified as a member of the Rashtriya Sevika Samiti (RSS-W) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), deposed before the Tribunal.

During the last few minutes of Mrs. Padmaja’s testimony, between 12.25-12.30 pm, Mr. Desai and Dr. Puniyani left the meeting for the airport, to take a flight to Mumbai.

Then Ms. Mamta Mallik, who identified as a member of the RSS-W, also deposed. During Mrs. Mallik’s deposition, those who offered testimonies identifying as VHP members received a fax from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Orissa, Cuttack Office. These persons gave a copy of the fax to Tribunal members.

The fax made allegations against the Tribunal, its conduct, and against persons associated with it. The note stated that IPT was, “[a] self-appointed body composed wholly of leftists, fellow travellers, all known Hindu baiters.” The note of the VHP was signed by the Organizing Secretary, and included allegations against me. I am an associate professor of anthropology, and have been working with advocacy research in Orissa since 1995, and teach in San Francisco. The fax stated that: “the inclusion of an NRI [non-resident Indian, referring to me] well known for anti-Hindu activities in the US suggests foreign funds from sources bent on destabilizing the country.â€. There is no merit to these allegations. The Indian People’s Tribunal has provided all funding for costs related to the Tribunal in Orissa. No private funds or grants were solicited, and participation by all members is on a voluntary basis and in their capacity as individuals.

After receiving the fax, one of the persons from Hindu nationalist organizations received a phone call on his mobile phone and left the room. Then some of the others followed. Those who deposed returned to the meeting room and abruptly stated that the meeting was over and that they had nothing to say to the Tribunal, and that the fax was the only information that they wanted to submit. At some point during this, when many of the people from Hindu nationalist organizations left the room for a brief time, Dr. Hans went out to see what had happened to take them out of the room. Later I learned that given the situation Dr. Hans had decided to leave the building, and had driven home.

Mr. Pradhan referred to my earlier meeting with Mr. Chouhan, stating that ‘they’ were aware of who I was and that my work was harmful to Orissa. Those who deposed then accused the Tribunal of anti-Hindu and anti-state activities and demanded that the tapes recording their session be returned to them. All the Tribunal members and staff spoke and attempted to reason with them and persuade them to leave the tapes in the Tribunal’s custody, stating that testimonials from representatives of Hindu nationalist organizations were necessary to the Tribunal’s work, and that the representatives who deposed had done so with informed consent. It is illogical to accept an invitation to depose at a Tribunal on Communalism, give consent to be recorded and then claim that any coercion or deception has been perpetrated. We also explained that the tapes were necessary for the Tribunal to facilitate accurate representation. At which point, Mr. Pradhan said that they had no idea that they were being taped. However, the tape-recorder was placed in front of each person during their testimony and was in full view of those deposing at all times. After the first tape was over, the tape was changed in front of those deposing. Approximately, one and a quarter micro-cassettes, each of 90-minute duration, were used during the entire session.

Those who had deposed to the Tribunal were joined by others and together they verbally attacked Tribunal members, made false, defamatory, and inflammatory statements, in obscene and vile language, and sought to seize information gathered during the investigations. At that time, barring Justice Mehta, all the other Tribunal members (Justice Usha and myself) and staff (Ms. Sameena Dalwai, Ms. Priyanka Josson and Ms. Maya Nair) in the room were women. Those who deposed aggressively responded to Justice Usha and Justice Metha. To me, those who deposed said that they know of my “vicious activities. Those who deposed insisted menacingly and threateningly that the tapes with information gathered by the Tribunal be returned. If the tapes were not given to them, they stated that they would ensure their possession by using any means necessary. I had the tapes in my custody and they said that they were asking me “nicely, as a sister, and if I did not listen, then they would be forced “to do what they needed to do†to take the tapes away, and that I should not force them to act. When they approached me threatening to take it away I was forced to destroy the tapes in front of those who had deposed. By this time, approximately 9 persons had gheraoed the Tribunal members present in the room and the IPT staff.

The Tribunal members and IPT staff present left the room, given the escalated and tense situation, with the intent to leave the building. Outside, those who had deposed and the others who joined them continued to shout threats, including the promise to rape attending women members of the Tribunal. They became increasingly abusive and violent in their speech, shouting, “This is an IPT funded by the foreign funding agencies to tarnish the image of the Hindu Rashtra and we will rape those womenâ€. When the Tribunal staff was leaving, one of the people said that: “We will parade them nakedâ€. Ms. Mallik also forcibly took a picture on her mobile phone of me, saying that: “We will make sure that everybody knows your faceâ€. The people from Hindu nationalist organizations also said that they would note the vehicle numbers of the cars that Tribunal members were travelling in.

On leaving Red Cross Bhavan we made a few decisions: that all the Tribunal members and staff that were staying at the Swosti Hotel would move to another place; and that given the escalated and tense situation, we would cancel the public hearing scheduled for 2.30-5.30 pm and the press conference, scheduled for 6.30-8.30, to report preliminary thoughts on the investigation. At the public hearing we had invited numerous persons to come and speak to us, including persons from political parties, people’s movements, minority and women’s groups. People had taken the time and care to prepare and come to attend the public hearing, and the Tribunal was forced to miss the opportunity of hearing their testimonials. Later in the afternoon we met with a few press persons in private to report the incident.

Since the incident occurred I have been receiving intimidating calls. Last night I received a call from Mr. Subash Chouhan. This morning I received a phone call from a number that my mobile phone recorded as 9937316110. When I asked the caller to identify himself he asked if I had heard of Dara. Dara Singh, the man who can take care of trouble, he stated. He stated that he knows who I am, of my actions and movements. He stated that I should not forget that this is Orissa. He said that if I did not behave like a “woman shouldâ€, I would be raped, murdered, then cut into pieces, and that no one would know how it happened. Tonight I received a call from Mr. Behera, who stated that by publicising the incident I had maligned him and his “companyâ€. I have also received a number of calls from unidentified persons who have been verbally abusive on the phone.

I am horrified and saddened by the high-handed and aggressive actions of these persons connected to the BD, VHP, RSS-W and BJP that has now derailed the Tribunal process. That senior and respected retired members of the Indian judiciary, one of them a woman, could be so humiliated and threatened is unfathomable. It has also undermined the Indian People’s Tribunal, which was founded on 05 June 1993, based on a people’s mandate, to conduct principled investigations that focus on issues of human rights, social and environmental justice. The Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights investigates and adjudicates on human rights violations and environmental injustices, emphasizing issues of state accountability and the conditions of the marginalized, in particular, women, children, adivasi/indigenous peoples, dalits, minority groups, including sexual identity based groups, labourers, the disabled, and prisoners.

Through this process, I am also made acutely aware that if bodies with the legitimacy and social recognition such as the Indian People’s Tribunal can be so threatened in Orissa and violated for undertaking an inquiry in the state capital, the plight and vulnerability of marginalized people’s and groups must be assumedly so much worse should/when they attempt to speak up. I am hopeful that you will take appropriate action to ensure that democratic and public processes can continue in Orissa, and that people, particularly women, as was the case here, participating in these processes do not encounter violent behaviour or fear for their safety. To ensure that there is no breakdown in governance, it is imperative that rule of law is ensured to enable freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom of inquiry, and the right to information.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Angana Chatterji
Associate Professor, Social and Cultural Anthropology
California Institute of Integral Studies