Almost 25 years ago, on the ill-fated intervening night of 12-13 July 1991, a group of Sikh pilgrims, including women and children, were returning from a pilgrimage to Patna Sahib in the Terai belt of Uttar Pradesh. As the bus reached Pilibhit, policemen made the men disembark and dragged them out. Eleven of the men were separated from their families, taken to the jungle and shot dead, sending shock waves across Punjab. The pilgrim families belonged to Gurdaspur district of the state.
I was then a reporter with the Indian Express posted at Dehradun. My reports raised questions about the police action at Kachlapul Ghat. The police claimed that these Sikh pilgrims were hard-core terrorists and ‘produced’ arms and ammunition supposedly recovered from their custody. However, the alacrity with which the whole act was executed was telling; Police got the autopsy done on the bodies the same day and cremated them minutes thereafter.
Shockingly, the KN Singh Commission appointed by the then Kalyan Singh government not only gave a clean chit to the cops but stated that the police deserved commendation, not condemnation. The Supreme Court then appointed a special CBI court, which has sentenced 47 policemen to life imprisonment.
The court judgment is a damning indictment of the functioning of police forces and CBI. It points out that the “decision of dividing the victims into three groups, killing them in three different police station areas of Pilibhit and making the incident look like an encounter could not be taken by the convicts alone. Police officers on important posts must be behind the incident, but the CBI kept them away from investigation”.
Apparently, the cops took advantage of the situation at that time because militancy was at its peak in Punjab and there were reports that some militants might have spilled over to Pilibhit, a district with considerable Sikh population. The court also observed, “The investigating officer of the CBI was not fully free and had to regularly take directions and advice from his senior officers. While acting on their directions, several persons, who should have been accused, were set free by the investigating officers.”
While there is a question mark over whether the life sentence announced for the Pilibhit killers would have any deterrent effect on those who disgrace their uniforms by killing innocent people in staged encounters, the families want nothing less than death sentence for the guilty policemen for the barbaric act. The cops have met their nemesis but intend to appeal against the judgment in the High Court.
If it drags out much longer, this will be a classic case of justice delayed, justice denied.
Justice for Punjab families after a quarter-century of litigation
Fill it, Shut it, Forget it?
With Punjab elections less than a year away and the state facing an unprecedented wave of anti-incumbency and an undercurrent of anger against the ruling alliance, the Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill, 2016 has come as a huge opportunity to regain lost ground. The masterstroke by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has not only unnerved the opposition parties in Punjab but has also caused heartburn in neighbouring Haryana, with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar opposing the 14 March 2016 Bill to denotify the 121-km-long SYL tooth and nail.
Notwithstanding the Supreme Court directions of a status quo on SYL, one can see excavator machines filling and dismantling the SYL that had been constructed to ferry water to Haryana from Punjab. Farmers with tacit support from authorities have already filled a major portion of SYL in Punjab. The Bill gives back land to the farmers free of cost which had been acquired for the SYL decades back. As a political move, the Bill aims at changing the ongoing discourse in Punjab and taking the winds out of Opposition parties’ sails. There IS already talk that Badal might announce an early poll.
The masterstroke seems to have come at a wrong time for Capt Amarinder Singh, president of the Punjab Congress and former chief minister who was touted as the saviour of Punjab waters. After all, it was he who had enacted the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act 2004 when Congress ruled the State. The move had put a full stop on the apex court’s intervention in matters related to completion of SYL.
Insiders at a meeting of Punjab Congress Manifesto Committee held on March 3, 1016 suggest that ironically it was Capt Amarinder Singh who had mooted this idea of filling up the canal by farmers.
However, the plan was not executed immediately and then was hijacked by Parkash Singh Badal, who introduced a Bill after the Question Hour in Punjab Assembly. The Bill offers to return 3,928 acres of land to the original landowners from whom land had been acquired without asking them to return the compensation received earlier. The Bill was passed unanimously in the House.
“Punjab does not have a single drop of water to spare from its rivers and we will ensure that there is no compromise on the inalienable rights of the state under the riparian principles. We believe that no price is too high to safeguard every drop of Punjab waters.”
Parkash Singh Badal, CM Punjab, patron of Shiromani Akali Dal
I would make any sacrifice to save Punjab water. The State is fully prepared for a sustained democratic and peaceful fight for justice over the critical state issues having a bearing on future generations.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy CM and President SAD
Amarinder Singh should tell the people whether he would ask for Kumari Selja’s resignation or resign
himself for failing to convince the Congress high command about the merit of Punjab’s case on the river waters sharing issue with Haryana.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Food Processing Minister
Punjab CM should take strict action against officials who allowed filling of SYL canal. Drawing out of any money from the Consolidated Fund of Punjab for payment to Haryana is a gross financial irregularity. I have, therefore, returned the cheque hoping that good sense will prevail and the people of Haryana will be given their due share in the Ravi-Beas waters through SYL canal.
Manohar Lal Khattar , CM Haryana
Taking on the crusading mantle of a member of the Fourth Estate
I HAVE BEEN flooded with congratulatory messages since my appointment as Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka, reminding me how strong is the brand and how heavy the burden of expectations. For me, it is
an opportunity of a lifetime to lead the team at Tehelka, now celebrating 15 years of a tumultuous journey through journalism. Incidentally, the magazine’s Founder Editor Tarun Tejpal and I began our journalistic forays on the same day with the Indian Express at Chandigarh.
There is no better calling card for me than to declare that I spent my formative years at the Indian Express group as a political correspondent, covering the states of Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Then I moved to the Financial Express to report on Uttar Pradesh before returning to my roots in Chandigarh. Somewhere along the way, I got a National Award for Developmental Journalism. Last year, I coauthored a book on Print Journalism. I have also been teaching journalism students as a guest lecturer at various institutes.
Now that I have presented my credentials to readers, I want to reassure them that I understand that the USP of Tehelka – both the website and the magazine — is investigative reporting, insightful commentary and in-depth ground reporting. We will keep up the stream of independent, truthful and distinctive pieces. Tehelka’s journalism will delight and at the same time provoke, for readers are not a captive audience and the younger generation is challenging us to break new ground. You are our pillars of strength and we promise content that is habit-forming and engaging.
To my colleagues, I would say that we in the profession must not forget that we are privileged to be
in a noble profession. Journalism is both an art and a practice that serves a three-fold purpose — to inform, instruct and entertain. It is the first rough draft of history because an important event that takes place today becomes history tomorrow. The main purpose of journalism is to provide readers accurate and reliable information, interpret it for their benefit and serve as a watchdog.
A journalist’s unravelling of the truth is a way of working in the best interests of society. This is the
legacy of Tehelka that I have to uphold. Staffers at Tehelka are taught to provide news without any fear
or favour. Reports must be written objectively and without any ulterior motives. Tehelka staffers have set new benchmarks in investigative journalism and we have to strive hard to carry forward the great
work: to sensitise people on social issues, instill good moral values, make people aware of their
rights and uncover what someone wants to keep under wraps.
Youth beaten to death in broad day light
In a brutal attack, a 23-year-old youth was beaten to death in broad day light at Vakkom, Kadakkavoor, rural outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram on 31st January. The mobile footage of the attack shot by a passerby came out on 1st February after which the incident came to light.
Brutally injured in the incident, the youth succumbed to his injuries on Monday at Thiruvananthapuram Medical college. The police identified the deceased as Shabeer, son of Zakeer Hussain of Vakkom. The visual which was posted on social media was aired by news channels on Monday evening. Later, the visuals were taken off air following an appeal from rural SP Shefeen Ahamed.
According to the police the attack took place on Sunday around 4 pm near Vakkom railway gate. Shabeer and his friend Unnikrishnan were going towards Nilakkal from Vakkom when they were intercepted and waylaid by a group of six assailants. Police has identified three of them as Santhosh, Sathesh and Kiran Babu. Santhosh and Satheesh are brothers.
”Around three days ago there was a spat between two groups led by Santhosh and Shabeer during a temple festival here”, said a police source. The matter reached before the police station where cops let them go after strict warning. Cases were also registered against them for public nuisance. It is also learned that during the spat Shabeer pelted stones at Santhosh’s residence and vandalised properties.
On Monday, when Shabeer and Unnikrishnan reached near Vakkom railway gate, two of the assailants who were working at a construction site nearby alerted others. The rest of the gang turned up immediately and they clubbed the two with wooden logs. In the video, Satheesh can be seen holding Shabeer to the ground while Santhosh bludgeons him with a wooden log.
Watch Video ( Video Courtesy : Asianet News)
The police are unaware about the person who caught the attack on camera. Kadakkavoor CI S Sajad said that he was unaware of the real reason that made the gang to commit such a gory attack on the two. He, however, confirmed that the persons involved in the incident were substance abusers.
Police are yet make any arrests.
Kerala CM in trouble over Solar Scam again
In another twist to the infamous Solar Scandal, the main accused Saritha S Nair has made startling revelation before the Justice Sivarajan Commission that she had paid bribe of Rs 1.10 crore to chief minister Oommen Chandy’s aide. She also deposed before the commission that she had given bribe to Minister of Power Aryadana Mohammaed’s personal assistant. The revelation from Saritha, one of the accused in the scandal, has however sent ripples across the polity of Kerala already with resignation of Chandy has been raised by the opposition.
On Wednesday, while deposing before the commission, Saritha said that Oommen Chandy’s former personal assistant Jikkumon Jacob had demanded a bribe to the tune of Rs Seven crore for the CM. He demanded, according to her, that the money should be handed over to CM in Delhi. As per the instruction, she handed over Rs 1.10 crore to Thomas Kuruvila, the close confidante and a personal staff to Chandy in Delhi, on 26 December 2012 evening. The money was handed over to Kuruvila when Chandy visited Delhi to take part in the National Development Council meeting. The rest Rs 80 lakh was given to Kuruvila at her house at Edappazhanji in Thiruvananthapuram. Saritha also told that she had talked with CM prior to the money transaction and the calls were made to him from a personal line. She also said that she met CM in person to get the approval for the solar project to be established with the help of ANERT and based on his advice that she met Power Minister Aryadan Mohammad at his resident.
The Minister’s staff demanded for Rs 2 crore bribe and she gave 40 lakh to the staff in two installments. First, she gave 25 lakh to Keshavan, Aryadan’s PA, and then Rs 15 lakh to the office staff. She also said that she had met the minister at his official residence, Manmohan Bunglow in Thiruvanathapuram.
Chief Minister Chandy rubbished the allegations made by Saritha. While talking to media as part of the routine media briefing , Chandy said in a reply to a question that a cheque of Rs 2 lakh that she had given for the CM’s relief fund itself bounced. Then how could she claim to have crores with her. He added that he is repeating the statement that he made with the Commission the other day that she has not benefitted a paisa from the government.
Will the people believe in her allegations? Asked Mr Chandy and said that she has no proof to further her claims. Minister of Power Aryadan Mohammad too denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, Saritha S Nair told media that anyone can question her statements for any contradiction. She said that she is an entrepreneur who is waiting for her business to start but the situation has gone to such an extent that she is now being labeled as a cheater in public.
Kerala Excise Minister resigns in bar bribe
In a major blow to the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala, Excise Minister K Babu has resigned from the cabinet. The decision of the minister has come after a court in Thrissur ordered the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to register a case against him in the bar bribery scam. Babu is the second minister in the Oommen Chandy led government to step down from his cabinet post in the bar bribery fraud.
Minister Babu, after tending the resignation letter to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, said that he is stepping down on ‘moral grounds’. He said that even when there is no prima facie evidence against him, a PIL was filed in the court based on a CD of an interview with the whistle blower Biju Ramesh in a TV channel. He also further clarified that there is no report against him in the court and there is no evidence to prove him guilty in the FIR submitted. Moreover, Babu claimed, the witnesses have already made contrasting statements which itself points to the level of conspiracy involved in the case.
Babu also said that he was a ‘victim’ of the conspiracy by bar owners and the CPI (M) leaders. He also alleged that some bar owners had met at the residence of Sivankutty MLA’s house with state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on December 15 evening at seven.
Babu said that in the meeting that they had plotted to bring his name into the controversy to tarnish his image. He also said that the bar owners had conspired with the CPM leaders after they have received the word that at least a few bars would be reopened if the Left comes to power next.
Sivankutty MLA speaking to the media said that the allegation by K Babu had come as a wasted attempt to save his face and rubbished the allegation as mere a farce.
Biju Ramesh, a bar hotelier, termed the allegation as mere rubbish. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has not yet responded to the resignation and it is crucial for him how he faces the situation in the coming days. With elections are fast approaching, it would task a gargantuan effort to Oommen Chandy to defend the resignation of his close confidante K Babu.
Meanwhile, the Thrissur Vigilance Court also ordered that the first report in the case should be filed by February 22. Thrissur Vigilance Court judge SS Vasan, who criticized the Vigilance for the slow progress in filing quick verification report order earlier by the court, issued the order.
The court also ordered that a case to be registered against Biju Ramesh who had leveled the bribery allegation against the minister. Babu will be the second minister to be booked by the Vigilance over the bar bribery charges after then-Finance Minister K M Mani quit in November 2015 following adverse remarks by the High Court against him in the matter.
The bar bribery scandal broke on October 31, 2014, the day the Kerala High Court ratified the state government’s new liquor policy restricting the sale of alcohol in bars in Kerala. The High Court’s verdict was given following a petition from the Bar Hotel Owners’ Association (KBHOA) challenging the government policy.
THE CLEAN UP ACT BEGINS
Maarisami, a 51-year-old Salem (Tamil Nadu) resident, had been visiting the Sabarimala temple in Kerala for the past nine years. All these years, after visiting the temple he would go down the hill to have a dip in the holy river Pampa before returning home.
He believes that a dip in the river would free him from all sins. After the bath, he would throw away all his old clothes in the river in the belief that it would help him start life afresh. He thought that dumping clothes into the river is part of a religious ritual until a 16-year-old boy told him that this year it is against the customs and rituals of Sabarimala. Moreover, the discarded clothes are clogging the river flow, threatening its marine ecosystem and polluting the river on a large scale.
This tale was narrated by Melvin Benny, a class XI student of a Pathanamthitta school. He was one of the few volunteers posted by the district administration (Pathanamthitta) to spread the message of ‘Mission Green Sabarimala’ to keep the river clean.
The mission started by the district administration with the help of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), Kerala Suchitwa Mission, Kudumbasree self-help groups and other private agencies, has elicited a good response.
District collector of Pathanamthitta, S Harikishore tells Tehelka that it was a mission in continuation with ‘Plastic Free Sabarimala’, a successful project in reducing plastic wastes in Sabarimala initiated last year. “With these missions, we aim to reduce the volume of plastic waste in Sabarimala and keep Pampa clean. Every year around 100 million pilgrims visit the hill shrine. With such a huge number of people visiting the temple in a limited period it was difficult for us to create awareness among the pilgrims about the hazards of plastic waste. Therefore, we sought the help of various departments to implement the mission — for spreading awareness and distributing cloth bags instead of plastic bags. With sustained efforts, we were able to bring down the volume of plastic waste in Sabarimala this year and keep the Pampa river clean,” says Harikishore.
As per the official estimate, each pilgrim who goes to the hill shrine leaves behind at least 250 grams of plastic. Last year alone, 8,750 tonnes of plastic; including water bottles, food wrappers, use-and-throw raincoats and plastic carry bags; were dumped in the area. The 1,500-year-old temple, which is surrounded by the flora and fauna of the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, faces a major environmental threat. Last year, traces of plastic were found in the digestive tracts of a dead elephant and a sambar deer. This prompted the forest department to explore ways to ban disposable items here.
“According to the primary data available, the plastic waste in Sabarimala has come down drastically this year. Last year 20 truckloads of plastic waste were removed and this season only three,” says Harikishore.
Moreover, various campaigns with the help of forest department, Suchitwa Mission, and Kudumbasree have taken place this year. Almost all communication channels were used to cover all trekking paths and roads. A campaign whereby vehicles of pilgrims going to Sabarimala were stopped at checkpoints to give cloth bags in return for their plastic bags was a great success. Women selfhelp group members from around 54 panchayats in the district were present all through the pilgrim season to collect plastic waste and distribute cloth bags to the pilgrims.
Curse of the Kohinoor!
On 20 April 2016, in denial mode, the Indian government mustered the courage to make amends. It first took the stand in the Supreme Court that the diamond was neither stolen nor taken by force, but was gifted and as such India had lost right over the mountain of light. The assertion was in response to a lawsuit brought by a not-for-profit organisation — the All India Human Rights and Social Justice Front — beseeching the diamond’s return from Queen Mother’s crown.
No one can imagine that the diamond was a gift by young Duleep Singh to Queen of England. Ironically, the Centre told the apex court that heirs of Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave the Kohinoor to the British as “voluntary compensation” to cover the expenses of the Anglo-Sikh Wars. The fact is that Duleep Singh, the tragic King, was forced to hand over his kingdom and Kohinoor to the British in 1849. Though losing his lands and wealth wounded the Sikh maharajah deeply, the loss of the fabled diamond hurt him most of all. Often he used to refer to Queen Victoria as “Mrs Fagin” — a reference to the receiver of stolen goods in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist.
The tragic fact is that plunder of our people, our cultural heritage, precious metal and mineral wealth had continued unchecked during colonial rule for centuries. Another irony that cannot be missed in this case is that even the sword of Tipu Sultan came back to our country on the strength of the money of Vijay Mallya. Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar admitted before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur that the “gentleman” who had bought it had left the country.
The Centre was so reluctant to reclaim Kohinoor that the Solicitor General went on to say that if “we start claiming the treasures from the museums of other countries, they will claim their treasures from our museums.” To this, Chief Justice Thakur said: “This country has never colonised other nations.” Judicial intervention or late realisation has given countrymen some hope that Kohinoor that legitimately belonged to us will be back some day.
Finding the issue touching the emotions of people, political parties are jumping on the Kohinoor bandwagon. The first to do so is the Congress, saying that it was keen on getting Indian artifacts lying abroad to be brought back to the country. The oldest regional party of the country, the Shiromani Akali Dal, too has joined the contentious issue over Kohinoor. The Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and President of the party Sukhbir Singh Badal has issued a public statement asking the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee to file a caveat in the Supreme Court to be heard with the Public Interest Litigation case demanding return of the Kohinoor. Badal would also meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to make a representation on behalf of the Sikh community to “highlight the wrong version given to the court earlier”. “The SGPC would represent the Sikh community in the PIL and demand that the diamond, which is presently a party of the crown jewels of the Queen of England, be returned to the religious body,” said Sukhbir in a statement. The statement said that Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the head of Khalsa Raj and absolute owner of Kohinoor when the British took the diamond away in a deceitful manner.
We now learn that the British royal family is truly interested in forging new relations with India built on respect. If that be so, then perhaps Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton should go through the riveting speech Indian MP and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor gave last summer at Oxford University, when he passionately argued why Britain should pay reparations to India. He said that at the beginning of the 18th century, India’s share of the world economy was 23 percent, as large as all of Europe put together. By the time the British departed India, it had dropped to less than 4 percent. The reason was simple: India was governed for the benefit of Britain. Britain’s rise for 200 years was financed by its depredations in India.
By the end of the 19th century, India was Britain’s biggest cash-cow, the world’s biggest purchaser of British exports and the source of highly paid employment for British civil servants — all at India’s own expense. We literally paid for our own oppression…As Britain ruthlessly exploited India, between 15 and 29 million Indians died tragically unnecessary deaths from starvation. The last large-scale famine to take place in India was under British rule; none has taken place after that, since free democracies don’t let their people starve to death. Some four million Bengalis died in the Great Bengal Famine of 1943 after Winston Churchill deliberately ordered the diversion of food from starving Indian civilians to well-supplied British soldiers and European stockpiles. When officers of conscience pointed out in a telegram to the prime minister the scale of the tragedy caused by his decisions, Churchill’s only response was to ask peevishly “Why hasn’t Gandhi died yet?” Tharoor goes on to state that it does not even matter how much Britain pays to India: whatever the sum, he also asks the British to return the famed 105-carat Kohinoor diamond.
Hope Will and Kate are listening!
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