All posts by Aman Sethi

Countryside, Violence/Conflict

The Plot thickens: more petitioners show up

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The Gompad case gets murkier. Gachanpalli is another village mentioned in the same case I have been writing about for some time now. I visited the village this week to find a similar pattern where villagers vanish without really telling anyone where they are going and suddenly show up in the Supreme Court in New Delhi.
Given the matter is sub judice, I’ll refrain from any theorizing at this point.
a.
Gachanpalli: A frayed umbrella, a half filled bottle of cooking oil and two shopping bags stuffed with clothes constitute the unlikely tombstone that marks Kowasi Ganga’s grave.  “It’s the sum total of his worldly possessions,” says his grandson Kowasi Muye, “It’s a Muria tradition.”
Kowasi Ganga, 75, died on September 17 2009. Muye’s last memory of his grandfather is of Ganga dying dead outside their home.  He had been stabbed multiple times.
Continue reading The Plot thickens: more petitioners show up →
Countryside, Violence/Conflict

“Police killed them” say the villagers

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I have been following the Gompad case for the past month and a half, and have been surprised at every turn.  The issue is centred on the deaths of 12 villagers on October 1 2009 in Chhattisgarh.  The matter is currently sub judice – so I would prefer not to comment on what I think happened, but this is my most comprehensive piece on the issue till date.

a.

GOMPAD: A charred wooden stake and three graves are all that remain of the Madavi family in this remote village in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district.

“Madavi Kanni was lying face down in front of the burnt house,” said an eyewitness. “She had been slashed with a sword and shot in the chest.” The bodies of her father, Madavi Bajar, her mother Madavi Subbhi and her 12-year-old sister Madavi Mutti, were found under a tree, 50 metres away.

Testimonies collected by The Hindu from Gompad allege that a composite force of Adivasi special police officers and security force regulars appeared on the outskirts of the village in the early hours of October 1, 2009. “We ran away when we saw the force,” said the witness, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We found the bodies when we returned.”
Continue reading “Police killed them” say the villagers →

Countryside, Empire/ Imperialism, Violence/Conflict

Vote! Or else…

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In Lingagiri, it didn’t take long to tally the results of the recently concluded panchayat elections. On January 31 this year, a sum total of four people voted in this remote village in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. The polling booth opened on time, the polling officers were present, and then the force arrived.
Pujari Rajamma, 35, was combing her hair in her courtyard. “I was getting ready to walk down to the polling office, when the uniformed men stormed in,” she said. “They checked my fingers for the voting mark.” When they didn’t find it, they beat her with sticks. The bruises are still visible on Rajamma’s back; she can barely move her swollen left arm.
Capitalism, Countryside, Ecology/Environment, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Green Hunt: The Anatomy of An Operation

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An operation is underway in Central India, but no one really knows what it is. Variously described as a media myth, a comprehensive hearts and minds strategy, and an all-out offensive by paramilitary forces and the state forces along the borders of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Operation Green Hunt has become a shoebox of news clippings, police reports, public demonstrations and armed encounters.

Depending on the definition, Green Hunt either began in July 2009, September 2009 or November 2009. Speaking off record, senior policemen confirmed that the intensification of “search and comb” operations in Chhattisgarh began as early as July last year. In September 2009 the press reported on the progress of “Operation Green Hunt”: a massive 3 day joint operation in which the central CoBRA force and state police battled Naxal forces in Dantewada. Continue reading Green Hunt: The Anatomy of An Operation →

Countryside, Law, Violence/Conflict

The police detain 3 more in Gompad case

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Konta: The mystery surrounding the killing of nine Adivasis in Gompad village in Dantewada district in October last year is deepening, with the Chhattisgarh police detaining three more witnesses to the incident and restricting all access to the area on the pretext of Operation Green Hunt.

Operation Green Hunt is a catch-all phrase, used by the police and media alike, for all major anti-naxal offensives since July 2009.

As previously reported by The Hindu, the Chhattisgarh police have assumed total control over the movements of Sodi Sambho – one of several witnesses in a Supreme Court petition that alleges that the 9 civilians were killed by the security forces.

On Friday, armed policemen and Special Police Officers (SPO) lined the length of the highway from Dantewada town to Konta, the block headquarters closest to Gompad, stopping vehicles and questioning commuters. Travelling with local journalists Anil Mishra of Nayi Duniya and Yashwant Yadav of Navbharat, this correspondent was repeatedly detained along the route and told that Gompad village was out of bounds as a major anti-naxal operation was underway. Non-journalists were, however, let through.

Continue reading The police detain 3 more in Gompad case →

Countryside, Violence/Conflict

Where is Sodi Sambho?

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Raipur: Sodi Sambho was last seen in public on January 3 this year, when the Chhattisgarh Police intercepted her as she was en route to Delhi to receive treatment for a bullet wound.

Since then, neither the press nor her lawyer has been able to access her.

Ms. Sambho is a key witness in a petition filed in the Supreme Court which alleges that security forces fired upon and killed nine Adivasis in a ‘sanitisation operation’ at Gompad village, Dantewada district on October 1 2009.

Continue reading Where is Sodi Sambho? →

Countryside, Frontiers

Police States, Anthropology and Human Rights: Nandini Sundar

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Guestpost by Nandini Sundar

3rd January 2010

Ujjwal Kumar Singh, Professor of Political Science, Delhi University and I have just returned  (January 1st) from a visit to the police state of Chhattisgarh. Ujjwal had gone for research and I had gone for a combination of research and verification purposes to assess the livelihood situation of villagers for our case before the SC, both entirely legitimate activities. In Dantewada, we had checked into Hotel Madhuban on the 29th of December around 2 pm without any problems, only to be told later that night that the management required the entire hotel to be instantly emptied out because they were doing some puja to mark the death anniversary of the hotel owner. We refused to leave at night, and were told we would have to leave at 6 am instead because the rooms had to be cleaned. As expected, other guests checked in the next morning, puja notwithstanding.
Continue reading Police States, Anthropology and Human Rights: Nandini Sundar →

Debates

We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes

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Am reproducing the full-text of Obama’s Nobel Speech sourced from Associated Press. It would be great to get reader feedback on this. Particularly the theme of the “Just War.”  It would be great if, apart from considering the ethics of going to war at all, in any circumstance, we could also consider the specificities of the issue – i.e. Is unconditional and immediate withdrawal the only thing that a President, who inherits he a war he doesn’t support, do? Is there a logic to “securing the peace” as it were?

Am still reading this, but would be interested in comments.

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Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened of cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women — some known, some obscure to all but those they help — to be far more deserving of this honor than I.
Continue reading We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes →

Law, Technology

The long arm over-reaches

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Last week, the Delhi High Court struck down an RTI application filed at the Election Commission of India, bringing an unprecedented standoff between two of India’s towering institutions of state to a temporary halt.

In the case of Election Commission of India (EC) versus Chief Information Commission & others, the decision came in favour of the EC, ruling that a citizen had no right to ask for confirmation of the results of the assembly elections of 2007 in three constituencies in Manipur.

To understand the implications of the Court’s order, imagine you suspect your ATM incorrectly displays the money available in your bank account. You could compare the printed account statement with the information displayed by the ATM, but what if your bank refuses to let you?

Continue reading The long arm over-reaches →

Bad ideas, Countryside

The Pleasure of Release

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While there is always the thrill of holding people hostage against their desire, the Maoists, of late, seem to have discovered the pleasure of release.

Having spanked the state into submission by beheading Francis Induwar; by freeing policeman Antindranath Datta and “peacefully” vandalizing the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani, the Maoists appear to be signaling a new phase in their troubled relationship with the State.

Now that the State and the media know that the Maoists are capable of taking the pleasure equals pain principle to its logical climax, freeing hostages and good-naturedly scribbling slogans on trains appears like a far more civilized way of fomenting revolution.

Just yesterday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed their willingness to break free from the handcuffs of current discourse and engage with those who abstain (from violence).

Maoist leader Kishenji has insisted that while the rebels shall not lay down their arms, talks with the West Bengal and Central Governments must be preceded by the unconditional release of all prisoners taken captive since military operations began in Lalgarh in June, a withdrawal central forces from the area and a declaration of ceasefire by both sides.

In the meantime, the Home Minister, P.Chidambaram, has warned that he can keep his velvet gloves on for only so long; thereafter it’s steel fisting all the way. The victims of military operation shall inevitably be the poor tribals who have love for neither State nor rebel.  Now if only the Maoists would take themselves in hand.

First published in the Hindustan Times

Bad ideas

Canal Vision

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A longer version of my story for the Hindustan Times.It takes off from a post that I did for Kafila two years ago. Predictably, nothing has changed, but people in the Government are now beginning to think about this.

Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh: The sight of the Narmada bursting through the gates of the Indira Sagar Dam makes for great photographs, but the river’s churning wake blurs a truth that the government is eager to hide. Despite spending Rs 142,269 crore on major and medium irrigation projects in a fifteen year period, from 1991-92 to 2006-07, canal-fed irrigation in India has not increased a single hectare.

Continue reading Canal Vision →

Capitalism, Debates

Virtuous Feedback: Why Google keeps winning

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This is in response to Anu’s comment on my previous post on Google: Search and Destroy.  I started off responding as a comment, but had been planning a follow-up post on the issues she had raised.  Read the first post and her comments here.

Anu’s queries are centred around the stability of Google’s current market dominance  – namely, can a new entrant do to Google what Google appears to be doing to Microsoft? In an industry of constant innovation, what is to say the next big innovation – in search, or in data storage etc – won’t come from somewhere completely unexpected and upend the Google applecart?

These arguments are in essence the arguments that Google has consistently cited – this is not to say that this is problem: these are very good arguments with no clear answers and are the reason that Google is still around in its present form and has not been split into many smaller Googules.

The stability of near-monopolies is actually a very interesting question – one that a lot of MBA classes spend a lot of time over. There might be a bit of jargon in this post, but I think its worth the effort.

On Competition: Despite all the rhetoric about competition making us stronger, the fact is that most businesses hate competition.  The key to successful business is create a market and then erect enough barriers to entry to make life hell for new entrants. The better the barriers, the greater are your profit margins.  So, are there barriers to entry in Google-land – or is it simply a case of being better than everyone?

Continue reading Virtuous Feedback: Why Google keeps winning →

Debates, Everyday Life

Cancer I can’t Afford – Erica Rex

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Finding out I had breast cancer came as a shock. But the really rude awakening was learning I’m not middle class anymore.

I found a lump in my breast last March. This wasn’t like the lumps of my youth. Those earlier iterations had been hard as pebbles, painful, nested between my sternum and the base of my breast. They had come and gone with my monthly cycle.  This new lump, a lima bean in size and shape, lay recumbent, a half-inch south of my right nipple, just under the skin. And it didn’t hurt. At all. When I pressed on it, it seemed to dip, as though
bobbing on water.

Click here to read the rest of this article by the marvellous Erica Rex.

Capitalism, Debates

Search and destroy: Google and the online ad market

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Google spokesperson, Adam Kovacevich’s favourite example of a well-researched article on the now-aborted Yahoo-Google deal is “The Plot to Kill Google” that appeared in Wired Magazine in January 2009.  The lengthy article takes great pains to reveal Microsoft’s attempts to scupper “a small deal that it [Google] was convinced would benefit consumers, the two companies and the search-advertising market as a whole” and paints Google a company of well-meaning nerds whose only fault is their inability to schmooze with powerbrokers in Washington.  Towards the end however, one gets the feeling that Google seems to have a robust team of lobbyists itself.  The article is co-written by a member of the New America Foundation – a think-tank chaired by Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Continue reading Search and destroy: Google and the online ad market →

Culture, Debates, Technology

The horror, the horror: India’s new IT act

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An article from last week’s Outlook magazine on the new cyber law makes the following points:

Ecology/Environment

The Pigs Revolt; and the Mexicans are not Amused

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Dearly loved children, is it not a sin?
To peel potatoes and throw away the skins?
For the skins feed pigs and the pigs feed you,
Dearly loved children is it not true?

Children, the elderly and even the otherwise hale and hearty, take cover.  There is an ill wind that blows, a virus is on the loose, a contagion stalks the citadels of the great cities of our world, an illness stalks us all.  Look closely at the sneezing stranger next to you; you could be staring at the face of death.

Hyperbole aside, the outbreak of the flu in its latest avtaar gives us all something to think about; particularly those of us who have the sniffles.  Of course, this is no  runny nose to be scoffed at; but while health professionals across the world scratch their heads; I am most intrigued by the subtle and not to subtle politics of the flu. Continue reading The Pigs Revolt; and the Mexicans are not Amused →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Government

How to know if (when) your bank is insolvent

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Analysing a bank’s financial statements is a bit like suing your family lawyer for malpractice; the jury may be on your side but the evidence is invariably circumstantial.  However, in times such as these  when even charities are screwed by their bankers – it is best not to trust anyone. Worry not, we at Kafila are not just concerned with playing theory-theory and pseudo-secular Hindu-bashing, we are also deeply concerned about the financial crisis – it has a direct impact on the bonuses taken home by our CEO and board-members. Accordingly, I offer you a simple step by step way to figure out when your bank will go under.Written in an easy conversational style, this post is an invaluable tool pedagogic for Kafila readers both young and old. Stay with me guys, this is going to be fun.

First a bit of background: In May 2008, Vikram Pandit finally stamped his authority on the behemoth company that he had been chosen to lead. Signalling a bold break from the past, he replaced Citigroup’s 2007 slogan “Let’s get it done” by reviving Citigroup’s 1970s slogan “The Citi Never Sleeps”.   While the new/old ad campaign is sure to bring back memories of more profitable times, the firm’s precarious financial situation suggests that The Citi apart, Pandit won’t be getting much rest either. Mystery Question: What will it take to wipe Citi out?

Continue reading How to know if (when) your bank is insolvent →

Capitalism, Debates, Government

Bailout or Bankruptcy?

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With the economy in the doldrums, Barack Obama in the White House, and Elton John releasing a line of crystal encrusted Ipods for charity, it’s suddenly fashionable to talk about “Sacrifice” once more; a trend that senior management at General Motors seems to have picked up on.  Their December 2, 2008 proposal to the Senate Banking Committee calls for sacrifices no less than nine times in twenty four pages from everyone including stake holders, share holders, bond holders, management, senior executives and in one instance, even the GM balance sheet (it has been asked to sacrifice leverage).   That the Company wrangled out $13.4 billion from the TARP suggests an era in which nothing succeeds like sacrifice, but the accompanying term sheet suggests that the time for martyrdom has just begun.

Continue reading Bailout or Bankruptcy? →

Bad ideas, Debates

Can you repeat the Question? Slumdog gets an answer WRONG!

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In our continuing converage of all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small – I stumbled across this excellent little piece by Rajeev Shrivastava in the 13th February issue of Friday Review of The Hindu. (It was also posted on the Sarai Readerlist). While Kafila has been debating the merits/de-merits, context and meaning of Slumdog Millionaire (in much the way that only we can); Shrivastava’s piece brings back memories of one of our earliest debates on Kafila on Sahir Ludhianvi and film lyricists-which featured pieces by Sohail Hashmi (Thinking about Sahir Ludhianvi) and Mahmood Farooqui (Pal do pal ka shayar).

To quote Shrivastav:

Continue reading Can you repeat the Question? Slumdog gets an answer WRONG! →

Capitalism, Government

Why Mulally can af-Ford to dilly dally

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Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Una-ford-able Risk?“, posted with vodpod

You know it’s been a bad season for auto sales when the Chief Executive of Ford personally calls you up when you buy a car. Michael Snapper, a lawyer from Grand Rapids Michigan, received such a call from Ford Chief Exec Alan Mulally to thank him for choosing a 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid over rival Toyota Motor Corp.’s wildly popular Prius. Snapper was quoted as saying that Mulally’s actions “reflect a new attitude and a real commitment” to improving the company. Given that US auto sales plunged 38 % in January and Ford’s sales fell 39 %, Mulally is going to have to make a lot more calls if he hopes to save the company.

Continue reading Why Mulally can af-Ford to dilly dally →

Capitalism, Technology

Generally Motored! Why GM has the Government by the Gonads

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Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next…” As General Motors representatives prepare for the February 17 discussion with the Treasury Department on viability plans, they shall be under some pressure to illustrate how they plan to pull the company of its $44 billion dollar rabbit-hole of debt and re-emerge into the sunny wonderland where selling cars actually generates profit. The company is expected to show progress on negotiations with its creditors and must have firm commitments by end-March, else it could be forced to pay back the $13.5 billion loaned by the Treasury thus far.  Given GM’s current liquidity crisis, a misstep on February 17 could plunge it into bankruptcy.

Continue reading Generally Motored! Why GM has the Government by the Gonads →