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SALWA JUDUM
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- Countering the Naxals through Tribals : Salwa Judum was started in 2005 as a state-sponsored movement against the Naxalites, a movement that later received bi-partisan support from both the ruling and opposition parties.
- Meaning of the term : Salwa Judum means "Peace March" or "Purification Hunt" in Gondi language. This was a militia mobilised as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh to counter the Naxalite violence. It wasn’t a CAPF or the Military.
- Who made it up? The militia consisted of local tribal youth, and received support from the Chhattisgarh government. Although it was outlawed and banned by a Supreme Court court order in 2011, it continues to exist in the form of Armed Auxiliary Forces, District Reserve Group and other vigilante groups.
- Mineral-rich regions : Bastar and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh have been sparsely populated but very rich in natural resources. The Naxalites progressively increased their control among local tribals through a combination of political mobilisation around poor governance, land rights, livelihood and social inequity, and use of force.
- Mahendra Karma’s Jan Jagran Abhiyan :
- The first movement against Naxalites was the 'Jan Jagran Abhiyan', started in 1991 by Mahendra Karma, a local tribal leader. This was led by local traders and businessmen, but it collapsed, and the leaders had to seek police protection.
- Later when the state had signed various mining agreements with the Tata and Essar groups, it was eager to flush the region of the Naxalites in order let the mining companies smoothly operate there. This was the beginning of police and military support to the movement.
- Mahendra Karma, a Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and the leader of opposition in the State Legislative Assembly became the public front and took the Bijapur-based movement to Dantewada, Katreli and other parts of the region.
- Chhattisgarh violence : In 2008, Chhattisgarh along with neighbouring Jharkhand accounted for over 65% of the total Naxal violence in the country. Chhattisgarh state had trained a number of 'Special Police Officers' or SPOs (also commonly referred to as Koya commandos), from amongst the tribals who were part of Salwa Judum.
- Operational details : Salwa Judum herded villagers and tribals in makeshift camps, where human rights abuses were rife. It became increasingly violent and out of control. Reports suggest that Salwa Judum was involved in burning and evacuating out 644 or more villages.
- Documented state violence : The first report of the PUCL, PUDR, carried out under the leadership of Dr. Binayak Sen, called “When the State makes War against its own People”, clearly documented this. It was also highlighted in subsequent human rights reports by various organisations and individuals. In the first phase of the Salwa Judum, they pushed people out of their homes, hearth, farms, fields from hundreds of villages. It is ultimately a game of who will actually control these lands.
- Wiping out the Congress leadership : On 25 May 2013, Congress party members running the Parivartan Yatra for the forthcoming state elections, travelling in a convoy of vehicles after addressing rallies in Sukma, were ambushed and killed by Naxalites. Deceased included Mahendra Karma. The Naxalites later claimed that they had specifically targeted Karma; he had been stabbed multiple times by a group of women Naxalites.
- Supreme Court bans Salwa Judum : On 5 July 2011, the SC in a case filed by Nandini Sundar and ors declared the militia to be illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered its disbanding.
- The SC directed the Chhattisgarh government to recover all the firearms, ammunition and accessories.
- The use of Salwa Judum by the government for anti-Naxal operations was criticised for its violations of human rights and poorly trained youth for counter-insurgency roles.
- The SC declared as illegal and unconstitutional the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers - either as 'Koya Commandos', Salwa Judum or any other force - in the fight against the Maoist insurgency.
- The ruling was by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar, and strongly indicted the State for violating Constitutional principles in arming youth who had passed only fifth standard and conferring on them the powers of police.
- The Bench held that the policy of the State violated the rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of those being employed as SPOs in Chhattisgarh and used in counter-insurgency measures against Maoists/Naxalites, as well as of citizens living in those areas.
- The Bench said "The primordial value is that it is the responsibility of every organ of the State to function within the four corners of constitutional responsibility. That is the ultimate rule of law.”
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