Dear friends,
In the Inaugural conference of the committee for the release of political prisoners held on 31st March and 1st April 2008 at New Delhi, the following is the speech delivered.
DO NOT SEND INDIAN & FOREIGN CURRENCY BY POST TO MEP.Govindan kutty
Editor, People's March
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P.Govindan kutty, Editor, People’s March
Dear friends,
Let them talk about law...... We will talk about justice.
You all know very well that I bring out People’s March from Jun 2003 which is legal magazine Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of Government of India and is permitted to post at concessional rates by the Postal Department. It was also put on our dedicated web www.peoplesmarch.com from Jun 2003. From the very beginning my residence was put under the vigilance scanner of the Government of India. The CBI, IB and Special Branch sleuths used to come to my residence regularly under the pretext of getting a copy of People’s March.
In Jan 2006 my E Mail peoplesmarch2003@rediffmail.com stopped functioning. In May 2006 the service provider of our web M/s Spectrum Softech Solutions Pvt Ltd., Kochi blocked our web www.peoplesmarch.com on instructions from a confidential letter sent to them by the Ministry of Communications and Information technology, New Delhi that our web www.peoplesmarch.com is hosting anti-national contents, which is punishable under the law. I opened another E Mail peoplesmarch@gmail.com a webhttp//:peoplesmarch.googlepages.com & a blog http//:peoples‐march.blogspot.com immediately in May 2006. In May 2007 I filed a fresh declaration before the Addl. Dist.,Magistrate,Ernakulum with respect to change of printing press and price for English and Hindi versions of People’s March. In Nov & Dec 2007 my E Mail peoplesmarch@gmail.com , my web http//: peoplesmarch.googlepages.com and my blog http//:peoples-march.blogspot.com were disabled, enabled, disabled and re enabled. On 17th Dec 2007 around noon, a person in civil dress visited my room and asked me to accompany him to The Asst. Commissioner of Police office. I refused to accompany him on the grounds that there is no warrant or any formal letter from the police Department. On 19th Dec 2007 around 2 PM the very same person with a name badge Sethu Raman IPS came with a posse of uniformed and plainclothes police men and raided my residence, ransacked everything and took away my computer, monitor, Key Board, Mouse, speakers, mobile phones and all old issues of People’s March.
In protest against the illegal and arbitrary arrest I refused to take custodial food from 2 PM on 19th Dec 2007. I was asked to sign the seizure report around 6 PM on 20th Dec 2007. I refused to sign the seizure report on the grounds that the report does not contain the original certificate of Registration issued to the People’s March by the Registrar of Newspapers of India. Only after including that certificate I signed the seizure report. I was produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Aluva at his residence around 9 PM on 20th Dec 2007 and remanded to judicial custody at Aluva Sub‐Jail. The charges against me were U/s 134, 124A, 153B of the Indian Penal Code and under the 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act which has never been used against a journalist. As I refused to take custodial food, our friends visited me in Sub-Jail and requested me to break the hunger strike on health grounds. I did not oblige their request and continued not to take custodial food. I was shifted to Viyyur Central jail in Trichur on 29th Dec 2007 and with an order obtained from the Judicial First class magistrate, Aluva, the jail authorities shifted me to Medical College and with my hands and legs tied to the cot started injecting glucose and salt. This process continued as and when my BP and pulse falls down. On 8th Jan (21st day) a fact-finding team along with civil liberties activists visited me in jail and advised me to break my fast citing health grounds. I refused to oblige their request again and continued not to take custodial food. There were complaints like I am adamant from our colleagues. I signed and gave the vakalath to Advocate PA Pouran for moving my bail petition before the High Court. In jail, I could see news of Home Ministers threat that civil rights activists are Maoists and they will be dealt with severely. The Viyyur Police tried to arrest the fact-finding team and the civil liberties activists on 8th Jan 2008.
Trial by Media
On 9th Jan Com. MN Ravunni along with his fellow comrades met me in jail and told me that a lot of mischievous and malicious propaganda is spread by the police and the media is parroting the police version of the story that I killed my wife. Com MN Ravunni along with his comrades effectively countered the malicious and mispropaganda of the police in the media. It was on 18th Jan 2008 while at Medical College, Trichur I happened to see a positive article written by KM Roy about my struggle in Mangalam daily. Articles about my struggles were reported in Thejas too. And things started changing as newspapers like Kerala Kaumudi, Mathrubhumi, Madhyamam wrote positive editorials of my struggle. I was produced on 31st Jan 2008 in the open court at Aluva for the first time after my arrest. I shouted slogans “Maoists are not anti-nationals”.” Maoists fight against injustice and exploitation”. ”Bourgeoisie Court be destroyed”. “Long live revolution”. In jail I could see the moves of the Government to hold courts through video trial obviously to counter the nuisance of slogan shouting in courts. Com MN Ravunni, Com Gro Vasu, NP Chekutty, PUCLs PA Pouran, CHRO and other activists undertook protest throughout Kerala and in front of the Kerala Secretariat which was positively reported in India Today and Tehelka weekly. By the end of first week of February the trial by media by the police was fully countered. Mathrubhumi weekly dated 3rd Feb 2008 gave the complete biography of my life citing how the Hydrabad police tortured my wife (who is very well alive in Secundrabad, A.P.) to give false evidence (false motive) against me to convict me to life imprisonment at Hydrabad in 1985. The other inmates of Viyyur jail got information that I had undergone 31 days fast with the support of CPI (ML) People’s War and that 540 lifers who have completed 10 years of sentence including remission were released in 1995 in A.P. The lifers of Viyyur jail started realizing our political ideology and were very cooperative during my stay in Viyyur jail as there are more than 300 lifers in Kerala, who have completed more than 14 years of actual sentence and there are lifers of 83 years of age who have completed 16 years of actual sentence. Jail authorities too had some fear that by keeping me in jail will create further complications for their administration as I started motivating the lifers to struggle for their release. In Delhi Maheshwata Devi, Arundati Roy, Girish Karnad and Prashant Bhushan extended solidarity for my release. I was again produced in Judicial First Class Magistrate’s Court, Aluva on 14th Feb 2008. I shouted slogans. As the prosecution contested that the investigation is not complete, the High court ordered the State to complete investigation within 15 days and finally on 22nd Feb 2008 the High Court granted bail. Advocates KS Madhusudan and Tushar Nirmal Sarathi argued my bail petition in the high Court. I was released from Viyyur jail on 24th Feb 2008 and on 28th Feb 2008 I found an order dated 14th Feb 2008 of the Dist., Collector who is also the Dist., Magistrate, pasted at Tripunithura stating that People’s March is banned. So my struggle against illegal and arbitrary arrest ended on the 66th day of not taking custodial food on my release from Viyyur jail in Trichur, Kerala.
Regarding the charges against me which were contested by the prosecution for the grant of bail were that ..............
I wrote an editorial in December 2003 hailing the attack on Chandrababu Naidu saying Naidu was a democratically elected Chief Minister............. Narendra Modi too is a democratically elected Chief Minister. He is again and again getting elected as Chief Minister. His formula in democratic and secular India is to organize pogroms, kill thousands of Muslims and seek Hindu votes. Can we call this as democracy? Can a party at the centre whose leaders killed thousands of Sikhs in a similar fashion 1984 be able to prosecute Narendra Modi for similar crimes and put him behind bars? Naidu being an ally of NDA did not condemn Modi’s pograms in 2002. Neither Naidu nor the NDA government framed a sedition charge against me for the editorial in People’s March. Instead Naidu went on to seek fresh mandate from the people 10 month ahead of its schedule and wanted to create sympathy wave for the attack on his life with a referendum Naxalism V/s Development. NDA too followed suit by advancing the parliamentary elections 8 months ahead of its schedule. Both Naidu and NDA got a fitting reply from the people. The real truth …… actual beneficiaries on the attack on Naidu were YS Rajasekhar Reddy and the UPA. Now after more than 4 years this editorial is levelled as sedition charge by a ministry headed by Marxist.
People’s March hailed the Jehanabad jailbreak in 2004. ............ We read in papers daily about hundreds of murders and other crimes. Even if 5% of the cases reported in the press get punished we have to construct one Jehanabad jail every month. The thing is jails were constructed by the ruling classes only with the object of dealing with the political opponents and to silence their voice of dissent. Regarding others, the prisoners who are illiterate and were not able to hire a legal expert due to poor financial status, prisoners who have no political influence on prosecuting machinery, prisoners who were unable to threaten or bribe the witnesses. Only such people suffer jail terms. Abdul Nazar Madhani has to spend more than ten years in jail to be let off as innocent. To say clearly there are more criminals outside the jail roaming freely and doing worse crimes than those in jails. BMW murder case accused is in America. Where are the criminals convicted to life imprisonment in Purulia Arms Drop case? Vladimir Putin came and discussed with Vajpayee. Vajpayee asked Kalam to sign the papers and forwarded the same to Jyothi Basu and all the three were released from West Bengal jail. Tony Blair came and discussed with Vajpayee. Vajpayee asked Kalam to sign the papers for the release of British national and forwarded the same to Jyothi Basu and he was released from West Bengal jail. YSR after occupying CMs seat wanted to release his men from jail. This story of jails and the rulers is unending. When a magazine like People’s March hailed the action of the people in getting their leaders freed from jails, it is called seditious and anti-national.
People’s March hailed the Koraput Armoury raid. ...... People’s March hailed daring attacks of the people’s party on tyrant political leaders, on the police and para military forces........ People’s March condemned the killings of people’s leaders in various fake encounters. ......... People’s March hailed the martyrdom of leaders of the party.
With all the above they charged me under sedition and anti-national activities. You all know very well that we love this country and the people more than anybody. Being communists we never wished to be called as nationalists. That doesn’t mean that we are anti-national. People of this country know very well who are real nationalists and fake nationalists. In the year 1982, NT Rama Rao called the naxalites as (Desh Bhaktalu) Patriots and fooled the people of Andhra Pradesh to win the elections and became the Chief Minister of A.P. The ruling classes have made use of Communists from 1965 to share power. This is going on even now. The pity is that now the ruling communists too have started branding Maoists as anti‐nationals and prosecuting them under sedition charges.
Dear friends, as the gap between the rich and the poor widens, as the class struggle intensifies the ruling classes may adopt even worse repressive measures on freedom of expression and in whatever form we bring out the magazine it may be a bone of contention for the state. So our struggle must go on endlessly, fearlessly and with the new forms of repression we must have new forms of resistance.
posted by People's March @ 3:32 AM, ,
Dear friends,
Please click
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main38.asp?filename=cr220308the_war.asp
The War Against ‘Sympathy’
for reports by Shobhita Naithani of Tehelka
P.Govindan kutty
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The recent arrests of five journalist-activists show the State’s increasing hostility towards worldviews that empathise with the extreme Left, reports SHOBHITA NAITHANI
ON DECEMBER 20, 2007, while addressing a chief ministers’ conference on internal security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a dramatic remark: “They (Naxalites) are targeting vital economic infrastructure so as to cripple transport and logistic capabilities and also slow down any development activity… They have also got involved in local struggles relating to land and other rights. I have said in the past that Leftwing extremism is probably the single biggest security challenge to the Indian State. It continues to be so and we cannot rest in peace until we have eliminated this virus.” He went on to assure states of greater investment in the police forces “to cripple the hold of Naxalite forces.”
The PM’s statement came in the wake of an ongoing crackdown by police in various states on anyone who remotely resembles a ‘sympathiser’ of extreme-Left ideology. The tools: the 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 and the Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act, 1992 — laws that allow the government to arrest virtually anyone with political leanings or associations it does not approve of, and thus threaten the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens by the constitution.
Govindan Kutty, Prafull Jha, Pittala Srisailam and Lachit Bordoloi — all of them journalists (or ‘former journalists’ as some would correct) and human rights activists who were arrested on charges of being Naxals or “sympathisers”, with the exception of Bordoloi, who has been charged with having links with the ULFA. This spate of arrests indicates a disturbing pattern. In most of the cases there is no charge of violence or any actual crime committed. There is merely empathy, tenuous links with extremist groups, or the accusation of such links. These arrests therefore reveal the government’s growing intolerance of people who hold political beliefs that are not statist and go against the new economic polices pursued by the government.
This, in brief, are the case histories and the story of the arrests so far.
PRASHANT RAHI
A 48-year old human rights activist and former Uttarakhand correspondent of The Statesman, Prashant Rahi was arrested on December 22, 2007 from the forest in Hanspur Khatta in Uttarakhand. Charged that he is a Zonal Commander of the banned CPI (Maoist) group, Rahi has been implicated under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. When asked about it, PVK Prasad, SSP, Rudrapur, said: “You go speak to him in jail. I am not supposed to discuss the activities he is involved in.” Rahi’s daughter, Shikha, who works and lives in Mumbai, however, tells you what her father told her when she met him at Nanak Matta Police Station in Uddham Singh Nagar district on December 25, 2007. “He was arrested on December 17, 2007 in Dehradun. The next day he was taken to Haridwar, where they hit him and threatened to pump kerosene into his anus. They also told him that they would force him to rape me in their presence. It was only on December 22, 2007 that they made his arrest records.”
“Rahi’s arrest is perfectly timed with the PM’s statement that the Maoist insurgency is the single largest threat in the country and the state Chief Minister subsequently demanding Rs 208 crore from the Centre for modernisation of the police forces,” says Hardip, a freelance journalist and former colleague. Ashok Mishra, another former colleague and the editor of Garhwal Post, feels Rahi is being persecuted because of his beliefs. “He has a Leftist ideology and was involved in various people’s movements like the one for the creation of the new state, and the agitation against Tehri Dam. They picked him up because he was mobilising people against the land, liquor and builder mafia in Uddham Singh Nagar that works in tandem with the police. I am only happy that the police didn’t plant an AK-47 on him and kill him in a fake encounter.”
PRAFULL JHA
Prafull Jha, in the words of Rajendra Sail, the president of PUCL in Chhattisgarh, is “one of the top 10 anthropologists in Chhattisgarh and a journalist whose analysis has been used by national TV channels many a time.” The 60-yearold former bureau chief of Dainik Bhaskar was arrested on January 22, 2008 for his alleged links to a cache of arms seized by the police in Raipur. “He and his sons were given money by the Naxals to buy cars to transport their leaders and ply weapons. He was also translating their internal literature into Hindi,” says Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan Jha, adding, “Please don’t call him a journalist.” Sunil Kumar, editor, Daily Chhattisgarh, picks up from where the DGP let off. “His case has nothing to do with the media and the suppression of freedom of expression. He was an active and a paid worker of the Naxals.” Kumar says Jha was thrown out of a publication he earlier worked with on charges of embezzling money. Sail however thinks that the arrests, whether of Dr. Binayak Sen or Jha, are calculated to silence voices that spoke out against official policies. “It is my belief that Jha is not a Naxal. It would be improper to say he is not a journalist,” he affirms.
GOVINDAN KUTTY
On December 19, 2007, the Kerala police picked up Govindan Kutty, the 68-year-old firebrand editor of People’s March, for his alleged connection with the banned CPI (Maoist) group. Charged under the 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act among others, he was released on bail on February 24, 2008. On returning, Kutty found an order of the District Magistrate of Ernakulam pasted outside his house. It said that the registration of People’s March was cancelled as it contained materials that are “seditious in nature, bringing about contempt and disaffection against the Government of India by projecting ideologies and activities of CPI (Maoist).”
But why now, seven years after it started publication? “The articles go against the spirit of the Indian state. Police say they wanted to ban the magazine earlier, but attention was paid to it only after the arrest of Kutty,” says District Collector, Ernakulam, APM Mohammed Hanish. Kutty meanwhile feels it has become easy for the police to brand those who oppose government policy as Maoists, and audaciously admits that one is free to call him a Maoist if supporting the ideology makes him one. “There is violence everywhere. Corruption is violence, prostitution is violence, not paying minimum wage is violence, child labour is violence, caste discrimination is violence,” he says, adding, “I am a law-abiding citizen.”
PITTALA SRISAILAM
Pittala Srisailam, the 35-year-old editor of online television Musi TV and co-convener of Telangana Journalists Forum (TJF) was arrested according to him on December 4, 2007, but according to the police (as reported in the papers) on December 5 in the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh on the pretext of acting as a ‘courier’ of the Maoists. “I had gone to interview a Maoist leader and they slapped false charges on me (Andhra Pradesh Public Security Act, 1992 for abetting and helping the banned CPI (Maoist)),” says Srisailam, who was released on December 13. Both Musi TV and TJF support the idea of a separate statehood for Telangana. His colleague and convener of TJF, Allam Narayana sees this as a conspiracy by the government to silence those opposing the government. “After Srisailam’s arrest, the government implicated the TJF of having links with the Maoists. But we are journalists and know our limitations. Our only goal is Telangana and we will achieve it through a parliamentary system.” Srisailam explains that it’s not unusual for journalists or activists working with the poor and marginalised in the hinterland to encounter, or even interact with Maoists at some point. “But that doesn’t make them Maoists,” he clarifies.
LACHIT BORDOLOI
A human rights activist and freelance journalist, who is actively involved in mediation between the government and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Lachit Bordoloi was arrested on January 11, 2008 from Moranhat in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. He was charged with links to ULFA’s alleged plan to hijack an aircraft from Guwahati airport; to the recovery of arms and ammunition seized by the police in Assam’s Rangia town in 2007; and fund collection for ULFA. When asked about the charges, Guwahati SSP VK Ramisetti said, “In the hijack case, we got a statement from an apprehended ULFA militant in which he implicated himself and Bordoloi.”
The police’s claim is dismissed outright by Bubumoni Goswami, chairman of human rights body Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS), of which Bordoloi is secretary general. “Some officials in the government and the police don’t want the ULFA problem to be solved. The Centre has always allocated a huge fund to tackle rebel activity in the state. If the situation continues, they will continue to benefit,” he points out. Bordoloi’s lawyer, Bijan Mahajan trashes the allegation of his client’s involvement in the Rangia case. “The investigating agencies should have picked him up immediately if it was true, but they didn’t. It is simply pick and choose politics that the State is indulging in,” says Mahajan.
The timing of the five arrests and the nature in which they were carried out indicates the government’s growing impatience with what the prime minister called “the single biggest security challenge to the Indian State.” The facts bear this out. Under the 11th Five Year Plan, an outlay of Rs.2500 crore has been approved to tackle internal security threats and beef up the Central and state security apparatus, which is nearly four times more than the allocations during the 10th Five Year Plan. Under the revamped Police Modernisation scheme, from 2005 onwards 76 districts affected by Naxalism will be provided Rs 2 crore each every year (for the first five years) for strengthening basic police infrastructure.
The government’s treatment of Naxalism purely as a law and order problem, while ignoring its socio-economic roots, has often come under sharp criticism. “The government is targeting all Left-wing activists who are exposing the government’s policies towards Maoists and Naxals or those who are involved in movements resisting the government’s land grabbing activities,” says civil liberties lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who practices in the Supreme Court. “Targeting peaceful activists will only fuel Naxalism in the country because it will force them to go underground and eventually join the Maoists,” he adds.
posted by People's March @ 2:35 AM, ,
Class struggle and the role of mass media
In Prison we get only censored newspapers and it it is very difficult or rather impossible to know what the mainstream media says about my imprisonment on a political crime. (Sedition)
Many mainstream media parroted the police version of my case by indulging in personal mudslinging and mischievous & false propaganda.
.
Please see what India’s National newspaper "The Hindu" dated 08-01-2008 stated
Bail petition dismissed
Kochi: Ernakulam District and Sessions Judge D. Pappachan, on Monday, dismissed the bail petition filed by Govindankutty who was arrested on charges of possessing seditious material in a raid conducted in the wake of the arrest of a Maoist leader from Angamali.
Govindankutty was the editor and publisher of Peoples March. Dismissing his contentions, the court said if the confession of the petitioner as borne out by the case diary files was anything to go by, he was a life convict for having murdered his wife and mother-in-law by setting them on fire. Having regard to the nature of allegations against him and his antecedents, it was clear that the release of the petitioner on bail was not in the larger interest of the country. It was pointed out that Govindankutty was on a hunger strike against his arrest. The court said that considering the grave nature of the crime alleged against him, such tactics should not pay dividends.
Malayala Manorama’s stand also similar to that of The Hindu.
My childrens’ mother is very well alive at plot No: 7, Bank colony, RK Puram, Secundrabad. Anybody can go and meet her and ask her as to why she gave false evidence leading to her husband’s conviction to life imprisonment at Hydrabad in 1985.
Some brave newspapers like Mathrubhumi, New Indian Express, Kerala Kaumudi, Mangalam, Thejas, Madhyamam, India Today, Tehelka and heard that many more newspapers reported positively and exposed the real truth and countered the mischievous and false propaganda which helped the Human Rights activists struggle for my freedom.
I thank K. Sethumadhavan of Mathubhumi, Prasanth of New Indian Express, Rupesh Paul of India Today, KA Shaji of Tehelka, Roy of Mangalam and the editorials of Kerala Kaumudi, Thejas and Mathubhumi for their true and fearless reporting.
P.Govindan kutty
Editor, People’s March
Dear friends,
After arresting me and jailing me on 14-02-2008 (58 days in jail) the District Magistrate who is also the District Collector of Ernakulam has pasted a notice at my Tripunithura address of People's March that People's March is banned.
Reproduced below the proceedings of the District Collector.
P.Govindan kutty
Editor, People's March
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Proceedings of the District Collector & District Magistrate, Ernakulam
(Present: Sri A.P.M.Mohammed Hanish. I.A.S.
M6.7364/08 Date 14-02-2008
Sub: Publication of “People’s March” – Prohibitory orders issued- Reg.
Read: 1. Report No: 324/T/2008/TS dated 6-2-2008 of the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thrikkakkara
2. Order dated 1.2.2008 in Bail application No: 265/2008 of the Hon. High Court of Kerala.
As per the reference read as 1st above, it has been requested to cancel the registration of “People’s March”, since the said magazine (RNI No: KER/ENG/2000/2051), edited, owned, printed and published by Sri Govindan kutty S/o Sangunny Menon, Peroor house, Vadakkekkota bhagom, Tripunithura, contained materials that are seditious in nature, bringing about contempt and disaffection against the Government of India by projecting ideologies and activities of CPI (Maoist), banned in many states. It has been reported that a case (Cr.780/07 of Thrikkakkara Police Station) was registered against Sri Govindan kutty, on the basis of the report of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Govt. of India, relating to the blocking of the website http//:peoplesmarch.com for hosting anti national contents. The bail application moved by Sri Govindan kutty has been rejected by the Sessions Court, Ernakulam on 5.1.2008 in Crl. MC.2/08 and by the Hon. High Court of Kerala on 1.2.2008 in B.A.265/2008.
Further, in its order, as per the reference read as 2nd above, the Hon. High Court of Kerala has observed that a reading of “People’s March” published and edited by Sri Govindan kutty is sufficient to prima facie drive home the allegations against him.
In these circumstances, the publication, sale, distribution and circulation of the magazine named “People’s March” is hereby prohibited in the district of Ernakulam, since the said magazine is found to be containing materials that are seditious subversive in nature, bringing about contempt and disaffection against the Government of India.
The Commissioner of Police, Kochi city and Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural,, Aluva, shall implement this order forthwith.
The Additional District Magistrate, Ernakulam shall take immediate necessary steps to take up the matter with the Registrar of Newspapers of India, New Delhi, so as to get the registration of the said magazine, cancelled.
Dated this the 14th day of February, 2008.
Signed
District Magistrate.
