Kandhamal:
Whither Justice for Violence Victims
Ram Puniyani
Book Review
Book: Kandhalmal: Introspection for Initiative for Justice 2007-2015, Vrinda
Grover and Saumya Uma, Media House and United Christian Forum, Delhi
2017
Violence is the bane of Indian
society and a manifest agenda of communal forces, which thrive on divisive politics
and polarization. This is part of their political agenda. While Hindu-Muslim
violence during British period had a particular beginning and characteristics,
the same violence became anti-Muslim violence after Independence. The major
brunt of communal violence has been borne by Muslim community while Sikhs also
became the major victim in 1984. Christian community was not under attack till
practically 1999 when Pastor Stains was burnt alive in a brutal way. Following
that anti Christian violence kept dogging the society in Gujarat (Dangs), MP
(Jhabua) and many other places, the peak of this was witnessed in Kandhamal in
August 2008, when on the pretext of murder of Swami Laxmananand, anti Christian
violence was unleashed.
Swami was murdered most probably
by Maoists and Christians had nothing to do with that even in a very remote way.
The way communal violence mechanism has come up in India, pretexts are so created and modulated that religious minorities
face the wrath of violence. The body of Swami was taken in the procession in the
Christian majority areas of Kandhmal and the expected result of brutal
violence, in which killings (nearly 100) and displacements (55000) of Christian
minority took place and was accompanied by burning and damaging of Churches
(295). Then followed the efforts of victims get proper rehabilitation and
justice, which usually deludes the riot victims.
This book is a meticulous
chronicling of the process of attempts to get justice, the hurdles and
inadequate outcome of the same. The lawyer duo, who have painstakingly followed
this process are probably the most competent ones’ to do the job as they have not
been just distant observers but very much part of the process of getting
justice all through. Their compassion for the cause is very much there to be
admired. Earlier; already they have penned two volumes on Kandhamal (Kandhamal;
Law must change its course, 2010 and (Waiting for Justice, A Report on National
Peoples’ Tribunal on Kandhamal, 2001).
They have examined the role of
police and its apathy in controlling the violence (What of that, violence took
place in their very presence). They point out the role of state apparatus, in
first letting the violence take place and then default on rehabilitation and on
giving justice to victims. Both these are part of the Indian system as it is
deeply justice and rehabilitation have been undermined due to the prevalent virus
of communal thinking. Few and far are the officers, bureaucrats or politicians
who stand up to mark come to do what is expected of them.
The book does confirm the
findings of other researchers like Dr. V. N. Rai that no violence can continue beyond
48 hours unless state is complicit in that. These book also reaffirms the findings
of outstanding scholars like Asghar Ali Engineer and Paul brass about ‘Institutional
riot mechanism’ in India where riots are not only orchestrated but they are
made to appear as if minorities have begun the violence.
The book sets out with the goal
to evaluate whether closure and justice have any resonance in the lives of
victims close to a decade after the carnage took place. All the facets of
violence, the communalized social common sense, the instigation of mobs, the
targeting of women’s bodies, get reflected in the book. Impunity is the
dominant phenomenon of post violence scenario, the book points out, “This
impunity is neither incidental nor accidental. The gaps in Indian criminal
jurisprudence, which does not recognize the doctrine of command or superior
responsibility; individual criminal culpability, constructive responsibility
and culpable inaction, penal provisions for holding public servants accountable
for acts of omission and commission, allows the architects and abettors of the
communal conflict, holding positions of public office or public authority to
escape accountability. “(Page 23) This in a way sums of the core diagnosis of
what ails the Indian system. While it provides adequate legal data, it
passionately urges the need to revisit legal regime, polices and investigation
protocols to ensure justice to victims of mass carmines.
It is a major contribution to tell
us the outline of various steps undertaken by the community to strive to get
justice at multiple layers. At the same time it shows the inadequacy of Mahaptra
commission in sidelining and ignoring the role of Hindutva forces in inciting
hate and perpetrating violence against Adivasi and dalit Christians. The other
inquiry report that of Justice Naidu is proving the old adage, Justice delayed
is Justice denied. He was to submit has report in 2014 but still there is no
news of the report being submitted.
The nature of communal violence
has been constantly changing in India and by and large more despicable
dimensions get added on to the phenomenon. The books bring to our attention as
to how survivors have been framed under different charges. This is like putting
salt to the wounds.
An important part the book is to
focus on the justice deliverance system and its inadequacies in the present
scenario. While this will help the activist’s-lawyers to respond to such
situations in future, it’s also a mirror to our society. Can such contributions
be taken as a call for reforming the system? That’s a million dollar question
in the contemporary times, where communal forces seem to be on ascendance. The
‘victim as the culprit’ is being projected very aggressively while the need is
ensure prevention of violence, deliverance of justice and rehabilitation of
victims is paramount.
On the other hand the book seems
to be over focused on Kandhalmal. There was a need for introductory chapter on Communal
violence in India with emphasis on anti-Christian violence. Also it does need a
summary and conclusion chapter for average readers to grasp the gist of the
book. Overall the authors deserve kudos for the efforts which will give
strength to the struggling human and minority rights movements in the country.
