Mini Conference: AFSPA and other repressive laws of state

Reported by Aryakrishnan Ramakrishnan

2.00 pm at Venue VIOLET
Moderator : Zakia Soman

Babloo Loitongbam (Activist) : AFSPA and the Boarder States

Babloo started his presentation talking of human rights alert, where he works with and where Irom Sharmila used to work before she got under house arrest. He talked of the situation where Sharmila continues her struggle with hope amidst the cold response of Indian state. He elaborated the history of AFSPA, a law introduced by the British in 1942 against the freedom fighters in India. AFSPA grew to a tool of oppression of Indian state to it's own people. It is used against the North Eastern states. Jammu and Kashmir has a similar provision called armed forces Jammu &Kashmir act. AFSPA literally justified the killings and rape of women and children making no civil protests possible in these areas. He talked of the every day stories of disappearing people who were taken by the army and returning of some dead or disfigured.

It was in the 1970s post emergency student groups started to take up the grave human rights violations and injustices caused by AFSPA. The first PIL was admitted in the Delhi Supreme court in 1980. It was led by students. The Supreme court kept silent on this. With UN intervention in 1997, supreme court came up with a judgment on AFSPA, but a negative one interpreting AFSPA as constitutional.

He also talked of the campaign they are planning from Gandhi's death anniversary date January 30th to Irom Sharmila's birth day 14th of March. He talked of the similarities between Gandhi's assassination and high security imprisonment of Irom sharmila for her peaceful Satyagraha. He ended the presentation with a positive note requesting Kerala's people's solidarity.

Gauhar Raza (Activist and filmmaker): Indian Constitution and Anti people Legislations

Raza quoted Gramsci that all structures are oppressive in nature. He said there is a need to constantly create new resistances to deal with increasingly oppressive structures. India appeasrs to be one nation, but there are too many nationalisms within and identities. We need constitution that is inclusive to cater to al identities. The dissatisfaction at various levels should be listened to. No one is inherently violent, but violence blooms when society unrest and when there is repression. The problems in North east cannot be solved by silencing, killing young people and raping the women. AFSPA gives additional legal sanction to continue torturing on certain communities. State legitimizes blackout of marginalised people. For eg. The north east as mangoloid, the punjabis as aggressive race. Before the militancy in Punjab, sardars were viewed as role models who save the country. Kashmir was viewed as the beautiful place and now the discourse is kashmir as a religious fundamentalist place. The danger in Kashmir is not only of the militants but of paramilitary forces. Parallel violence happens on both sides. The ordinary citizens of these troubled places are sick of militants and sick of the armed forces. And it is them who are often caught in the middle of this and lose their lives and right to life.

Siddharth Narain (Activist and Lawyer) : IPC 377 and its significance.

Siddharth works for Alternative Law Forum Bangalore and is part of the ongoing campaign against section 377 of Indian Penal Code. He presented a short history of section 377, which like many repressive laws is colonial in origin. Lord McCauley who introduced the law in India could not even word the crimes under this section. Section 377 is defined as against all carnal intercourses against the 'order of nature'. It is a very vague wording and by word it could be applied to all people. But in practice it was used only against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. The provision doesnot differentiate between consensual and non consensual sexual acts. It also does not differentiate between those who engages in same sex activity, whether adults and children.

The movement against section 377 started in India in 1980s. There were very few people who talked about it publicly then. It was a matter of shame to talk of homosexuality, though it was widely in practice in India. There was no media coverage in those days. The first media report was about two women police officers in Madhyapradesh who started to live together as a couple. Another notable event was the opposition of the right wing to the movie Fire by Deepa Mehta. This time there was wide discussion in the media over female sexuality and lesbianism. Later on the 2000s witnessed a vibrant movement in India in many cities and even small towns. Today there are pride marches of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender communities in 6 cities in the country with thousands participating.

He mentioned of the large number of suicides of women in Kerala and the following movement there after by women loving women.

Narrain also talked of the history of the legal activism on section 377. He talked of the shift from ABVA (Aids Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan) petition to that of Naz foundation's PIL in the Delhi high court and there after the intervention of a campaign like Voices against 377. The ABVA petition was more on health aspect, but the naz foundation PIL put the issue to a human rights level and talked of other aspects. Voices against 377, a campaign of various organisations including child rights groups, health groups, youth groups etc brought the issue as an issue concerning various other people other than sexual minorities.

He mentioned of few aspects of the 2009 July 2nd verdict of Delhi high court. The judgment brought the issue to the sitting rooms of our families where it could be talked about. It was a shift from the silence around homosexuality in public. The right to dignity, person hood, and privacy of lgbt people were also brought in by the verdict. It also differentiated between constitutional morality and public morality. It placed constitutional morality over public morality by stressing on the principles of equality and diversity in the Indian constitution.

Wilfred D’costa (Activist) : State, Terrorism and Repressive Laws

While welcoming the Delhi high court judgment on section 377 Wilfred D costa said that this is not the case always. Constitutional morality is not always put in favour of people in court verdicts. The constitution was always kept partly democratic. When we see it overall it is not democratic for everybody. After emergency the state is exposing itself more and more and using its coercive power against the people. Since late 80s we have witnessed the rising of a right wing communal politics in India and it goes hand in hand with globalisation. Communal violence was always used for making play ground for financial gains of corporates. We can see increasing resistance everywhere against the plundering and looting of people's resources. He maintained a view that the fight against communalism is fight against globalisation.

Civic Chandran (Writer and Activist) : Denying and Delaying Justice to Adivasis,Dalits and Minorities

Civic said that for the past 50 years we have been destroying the country by development. Right now we are healing the wounds of it. The next 50 years we will be destroying the country in the name of national security. This new paradigm is destroying the country by labeling people as terrorists and maoists.