–UpkarKaur

Theonlymistakemyengineerson,Perarivalancommittedwastogothemarketandbuya

9voltbattery.Forthatheinouscrimeheisinprisonforthelastmorethantenyears

–T.ArputhamKuyildasan

My innocent husband Birkumar Paswan is in Bhagalpur prison in Bihar for the last 22 years

andthattooinacondemnedcellonthedeathrow.

–ChandramaniDevi

MyhusbandDharmendraSinghisalsointheBhagalpurjailandonthedeathrow

–LalitaDevi.

MyhusbandManingaMajhiisinprisonforthelast8yearsforresistinglandgrab

–MariaMajhi,Orissa

My son Lakhwinder Singh is in Burail jail for more than 12 years. He has never been let out on parole. He was not granted leave even when his mother and grandmother died.

–DarshanSingh

Myhusband,ShamsherSinghisinBurailjailformorethan12years.Thereisnomale

member in the family. My family life is in ruins.

 BaljinderKaur

Earlier, Prof. K.J. Mukherjee who gave the welcome address stated that prisoners have gone against the state because there is no alternative to state repression. And they are looking for alternatives outside the parliamentary boundary as the state refuses to listen to the voices of the people. This session continued from around 11AM to 5.30 PM, except for the brief lunch period. There were 20 speakers. Many speakers said that people who have dared to question the Western model of development have been targeted.

Many people spoke against capital punishment, including Justice Ajit Singh Bains and Surendra Mohan, eminent socialist and civil rights activist. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat leader from Kashmir who himself was the target of state repression inside and outside the prison, gave data about the number of Kashmiri prisoners now lodged in different jails. Arundhati Roy, writer, said that India has the highest number of displaced people in the world and that people should form their own strategy of resistance. Gurusharan Singh, Sangeet Natak Ratna, spoke in favour of referendum in J and K while asserting that Kashmir is for the Kashmiris, not for Hindustanis or Pakistanis. Prof. Jagmohan, the nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, called for a united struggle against state repression. Dr. Venuh, Secretary General, Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) spoke in the same spirit, calling different people to understand and support
each other. Sujato Bhadro from the Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), West Bengal, drew the attention to the draft resolution placed at the party conference of the CPI (M) where they branded all civil rights bodies as outfits of the “ultra-leftists”. He, as also Prof. Koya, Editor, Tejas, who spoke after him, dwelt on the long struggle of the APDR on the unconditional release of political prisoners and granting of the status of political prisoners.

Prof. A. Marx, human rights activist from Tamilnadu, dwelt on the conditions in Tamil Nadu prisons and Govindan Kutty, the editor of People’s March, related his experience of how his press was gagged and how he was arrested on charges of sedition. Prof. Jagmohan Singh, editor, World Sikh News, said that the state did not have any moral right to perpetuate itself, and highlighted the need to acknowledge the right to self-determination. M.N. Ravunni, who himself was a prisoner for more than a decade and also leader of Porattam from Kerala said that in a civil war situation when human rights cease to become operative, the rights of the war prisoners as recognized by the UN should prevail. Thyagu, Tamil nationalist and himself a political prisoner for more than a decade related how life imprisonment turns human beings into animals. Maulana Abdul Aleem Islahi, Senior Muslim leader from Hyderabad spoke about the need to fight against all forms of oppression and exploitation, to save thissociety from the clutches of evil and hatred. Milind Bhawar, from the dalit movement in Maharashtra spoke about the need to fight against all designs of the state to stifle any voice that tends to go against the very ethos of the present system. He talked about the fascist attitude of the Maharashtra government in not even allowing to circulate or read the works of Shaheed Bhagat Singh let alone any other such works having a slightly Marxist colour. Dr. Subhas Dasgupta, senior civil rights activist from West Bengal stated that Indian state is not a democratic state and that it has entered the stage of fascism. Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, All India Deputy General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), and Member of Parliament held that political prisoners should be released and that some differentiation should be made between criminals and political prisoners. Ajit Bhuyan who could not attend the conference due to some pressing domestic problems had sent a note to be read out at the inaugural session. The note stated the general condition of state repression in Assam and how Lachit Bordoloi one of the founding members of the Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) has become the latest target of state repression. He also brought to the notice of the house how the nationalist press of Assam is being gagged by the Indian state. He also wished the conference success while noting that it is a very important step in the right direction.

All the speakers welcomed the efforts of the Preparatory Committee and said that such a move was very timely and should be carried forward. In between the inaugural session the brochure, Living Death, Defying Death: A Report on Political Prisoners was released together by Gurusharan Singh, Surendra Mohan and Jagmohan Singh. Prof. Amit Bhattacharyya introduced the brochure to the conference house.

In the Second session, reports from various regions on political prisoners and prison conditions were presented. Prof. Saraswathy, G N Saibaba, N Venuh, Lateef Md Khan, and VM Ibrahim jointly presided over the session which went on till late in the night as there were a number of presentations from all regions.

At the outset, Shagufa from Hyderabad presented on the recent arrests of Muslim women in Hyderabad and also about the hundreds of Muslim religious minority people who have been incarcerated in various prisons in Andhra Pradesh.

Advocate M Shafi Rishi, Bashir Ahmad Andrabi and Altaf Ahmad from Srinagar presented the pathetic conditions of Kashmiri political prisoners in various jails across in India. They feared that Kashmiri political prisoners could be more than 10000 imprisoned in various prisons all across India and Jammu and Kashmir. They said that all them should be considered prisoners of war and should be treated according to the international norms.

Ramadhar Singh, Convenor, Rajanitik Bandi Rihayi Samiti, Bihar and Jharkhand, spoke about several hundreds of Maoist prisoners languishing in the prisons of this region. He narrated the recent protests within the four walls of prisons in Bihar and Jharkhand and the way the prison authorities tried to suppress the struggles.

D P Mohanti and Prashant Jena, Advocates presented the conditions of political prisoners in Orissa. They introduced three Adivasi women to the conference, who were arrested as most dreaded Maoists on 22nd September, 2006 and imprisoned for showing a Hindi film Lalsalam in which Nandita Das was the lead actor to villagers of Gilla Kunta in R. Udaygiri block of Gajapati District. While three of them came out on bail the rest are still languishing in prisons. They said that more than 3000 people are facing criminal cases in Orissa for rising against displacement while 30 people were killed in police firing at Kashipur, Kalinganagar, and Posco.

Shoma Sen presented a consolidated report of various women’s teams which visited prisons of South Orissa, Rourkela and Jharkhand. Shoma reported to the conference that the teams recorded sexual harassment that was invariably perpetuated in the cases of women during the time of arrest, interrogation and jailing. The teams also found that women

prisoners are separated from their children through the intervention of the state. Legal assistance and family support were meagrely available in the case of women prisoners.

When a women’s team visited Chaibasa prison in Jharkhand to meet Sheela Didi, (Budhini Munda) the prison authorities did not allow the team to meet her. However the team found that Budhini Munda who is popularly known as Sheela Didi is an extra-ordinary women’s leader. She founded and led Nari Mukti Sangh in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Bengal adjacent areas and made Adivasi women conscious of their rights. The team found that she was highly popular in the region. Many of the women’s struggles fought in this area were built by Sheela Didi. But now she is languishing in prison without bail. The superintendent of Chaibasa prison said that Sheela Didi is not a political prisoner as she was not aware of any category of political prisoner in her administration. She told the team that if she let the team meet Sheela Didi; she would face problems from higher-ups, Shoma Sen added.

Yasin Patel presented the state of Muslim prisoners in Gujarat. He explained how the accused in Godhra case were implicated in POTA and how Muslims were treated with impunity inside and outside prisons in Gujarat.

Among others who presented in this session include Chotan Das and Dr. Subhas Das Gupta from West Bengal. They said that there were thousands of cases of political prisoners in the left-front governored West Bengal. Though a legislation recognising political prisoners exists in West Bengal, Political prisoners are not treated according to this legislation. Recently more than 2000 cases were framed on the farmers of Nandigram. Thousands have been arrested from Kamtapur movement. Many Maoist leaders, activists and supporters are languishing in West Bengal prisons. Scores of SUCI activists are imprisoned for their participation in struggles against price-rise, SEZs, etc. Some of them are even given life imprisonment. This is a clear case of non-implementation of the only existing legislation on political prisoners in India, they reported to the delegates.

Harinder Singh Khalsa and Kanwarpal Singh talked about Sikh prisoners in Punjab, Delhi and other places. They welcomed the initiative on the issue and submitted details of political prisoners from various places. They also presented the details of the activists from Punjab on the death row namely Devinder Pal Singh Bullar, Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh.

Kesavan, Abdul Ghayyum and TSS Mani from Tamil Nadu spoke about the political prisoners in the state. They said that there are 170 political prisoners present in Tamil Nadu prisons, whereasthousands of others are on bail but still facing serious charges. Among the political prisoners inTamil Nadu, there are Muslims, Tamil nationalists and Maoists among other political and social activists according to the delegation from Tamilnadu.

Sanober, advocate from Mumbai discussed various cases of political prisoners in Maharashtra, BSA Satyanarayana, APCLC advocate talked about NARCO analysis and brain mapping tests being conducted on Maoist prisoners in Andhra Pradesh. Both the lawyers opposed NARCO analysis and brain mapping tests being conducted on prisoners/ accused.

PC Tiwari and Rama Shankar talked about political
prisoners in Uttarakhand, while Ramesh briefed about
the situation in Haryana. Phulindro Konsam from

Manipur, Advocate Shahnawaz from Kerala also made their presentation on the conditions of political prisoners in their states. Advocate Shahnawaz spoke about the media trial that has been on in the electronic and print media regarding political prisoners from the Muslim community. The most recent case that he brought to the notice of the house was that of Yahya who was arrested from Bangalore and the kind of speculative innuendos regarding his alleged terrorist links that were rife in the media when the top police officials themselves were on record about any categorical evidence of any kind to prove such a violent charge.

The third session started on the 1^st April morning with some of the reports of the states that were yet to be finished. The new presidium comprised of Prof. P. Koya, Prof. A Marx, Dr. Anees, Kesavan and Rona Wilson.

Jitan Miranda reported about the prison conditions in Jharkhand with almost all the jails having the presence of political prisoners especially people are declared as Maoists or are actively participating in anti-displacement movements. Women belonging to the Nari Mukti Sangha are also targeted by the state and there have been several such arrests of the activists belonging to this organisation. The prisoners had gone on a general strike in almost all the prisons in the state on the 28^th of February. Overcrowding of the prisons, lack of medical care for men and women prisoners, lack of women doctors to attend to the women prisoners, extremely bad conditions of hygiene, bad food, using under trial prisoners for forced labour, confinement of the political prisoners, torture of the worst kinds, all these were part of most of the reports from the states.

This was followed by the messages of the Maoist prisoners from the prisons of Warangal, Hyderabad, Muslim prisoners from Gujarat, Maoist, nationalist and Muslim prisoners from Chennai, Coimbatore and the message of Mohammad Afzal Guru from Tihar. Shika Rahi, daughter of Prashant Rahi, writer and journalist, read out the message on behalf of her father. Shoma Sen read out messages from the political prisoners of Warangal, Maharashtra, and Tamilnadu. Besides, the message from the Muslim youth who were put behind bars after the bomb blasts in the city of Hyderabad was also read out along with the message from Maulana Nasiruddin by Lateef Mohd Khan, from Hyderabad. In his message, Maulana Nasiruddin exhorted the delegates to do something for the good of those who are still facing incarceration after the Godhra incident. There are several people from the Muslim community who are still languishing in the prisons of Gujarat. The efforts to get messages from Sheela Didi, a leader of

the most oppressed women in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa for the last 25 years was thwarted by the state as it prevented the lawyers and civil rights activists from reaching her. The same was the case of Lachit Bordoloi, the founding member of the Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) of Assam and a key figure in the peace initiatives in Assam—arrested on the trumped up charges of conspiring to hijack a plane—as the police kept on shifting him from one prison to the other.

7

Kumar Sanjay Singh from the Department of History, Delhi University presented the paper: ‘The Political Economy of Internal Security Legislations’. In this paper he argues that the necessity of the state to enact draconian laws is fundamentally linked to the nature of the state. All internal security legislations are the expression of the will of the state to forge the class alliance that is necessary for its survival, he argues, with documentary evidence of the pattern of internal security legislations at the centre and the state levels since 1947.

This was followed by the paper, ‘Why a Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners?’ by Prof. Amit Bhattacharyya, Head of the Department of History, Jadavpur University and the executive member of the Bandi Mukti Committee, West Bengal. He pointed out that the demand for the release of political prisoners is not something new. It has been a long standing demand ever since the days of anti-colonial struggle. In the Post-47 period, the same demand came up for the release of political prisoners of the Tebhaga and Telangana movements. Later the same demand was raised when tens of thousands of prisoners were held behind bars during the days of Naxalbari under charges of waging war against the state. But the prisoners were released unconditionally during the Janata government irrespective of the fact whether they believed in armed struggle or not.

The Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners, he argued, like any other true civil rights bodies, believes that everyone should have the right to believe in some ideology, to freedom of speech and to practice that ideology in his/her own way. And the state should have no right to arrest persons for political beliefs or activities not in conformity with the ideology or path as sanctioned by it. We cannot recognize any such right on the part of the state to suppress dissident voices and activities. Hence, the committee raises its voice for the unconditional release of all prisoners.

After this the Statement on Political Prisoners was taken up. SAR Geelani, one of the convenors of the Preparatory Committee for the conference, presented the Statement on Political Prisoners in Hindi and English. The Statement on Political Prisoners dealt in brief the overall context in which such a committee has become a necessity for the struggling, progressive, democratic people of the subcontinent. It also listed out an exhaustive charter of aims and objectives as well as

demands which in essence summed the action programme of the Committee.

The post-lunch session saw the debate on the Statement on Political Prisoners. Several amendments were taken up. Then resolutions were taken up. The resolutions that were passed unanimously include (1) On Rights of Political Prisoners, (2) On Death Penalty, (3) Condemn the so called War Against terror of the Manmohan Singh government! Expose the anti-people nature of the hoax of so-called internal security threat!, (4) On Prison Conditions, (5) Lift the Ban on SIMI, (6) Right to Read, Sell, Buy and Keep all Forms if Political Literature, (7) Stop torture through unscientific tests like, Narco Analysis, Polygraph and similar third degree methods, (8) Prisoners of War etc. The full texts of all the resolutions are attached separately to this report.

The presidium then invited GN Saibaba one of the convenors of the Preparatory Committee for the conference to propose a Panel for the committee for the consideration of the house. Gurusharan Singh was unanimously elected as the President of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners. Surendra Mohan was elected as the Chief Advisor of the Advisory Board. Prof. Amit Bhattacharyya was elected as the Secretary General of the Committee. Besides the committee comprises of 9 Vice Presidents, 17 Secretaries, 4 Media Secretaries, 1 Public Relations Secretary, 1 Legal Affairs Secretary, 1 Finance Secretary, 1 Office Secretary and 17 Executive Members. The entire structure of the committee is given below.

In the concluding session, the newly elected office-bearers spoke about their responsibilities and appealed to the delegates that they should go back and build the Committee in their region. Prof. Amit Bhattacharyya, the Secretary General, said that the charter of tasks and demands of the Committee as set by the Conference require enormous efforts to accomplish. He described the conference as a historic milestone in the long fight for prisoners’ rights in South Asia. SAR Geelani thanked all the volunteers and all those who contributed for the successful organisation of the conference.

CommitteefortheReleaseofPoliticalPrisoners

(Elected by the Conference on Political Prisoners held at Little Theatre Group Auditorium, Mandi House, New Delhi on 31st March and 1 April 2008)