April 17 : Retro is in. Not just in clothes and cars and music, old styles are back in fashion in politics and governance as well. Even silly, savage styles that had been discarded generations ago only to make a reappearance like wooden clogs that you love to flaunt but can’t walk in.

So we can ignore slick new theories of dissent and democratic freedoms, forget about the increasing demands for an open society in a liberalised and globalised world and fall back on the grand old method of dealing with problems: shooting the messenger. The nation is reeling under both external and internal threats of terror and there is no time to lose. We must quickly shoot all messengers that bring us bad news and bury our head deep in the sand.
Take the case of Kirity Roy, a social activist from suburban Kolkata, who was arrested last week for organising a People’s Tribunal on Torture in 2008. With 1,231 victims appearing before the tribunal to press for justice, of whom 82 had filed affidavits detailing the misery and injustice they had faced, this was a significant step to raise awareness and counter atrocities by the police and security forces. It was part of the string of public hearings held in several states organised by the National Programme on Prevention of Torture. Victims told their stories of torture by the police and the Border Security Force (BSF) to human rights activists, lawyers, judges, bureaucrats, police officers, medical personnel and interested members of civil society. As anyone following civil rights activities knows, people’s tribunals are organised to highlight issues of social concern and raise public awareness on individual cases of injustice. They do not claim to be courts of justice.
For his efforts, Kirity Roy, secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) — a non-governmental human rights organisation based in Howrah, West Bengal — and his colleagues were slapped with several criminal charges, including those of impersonating a public officer, impersonating a juror and criminal conspiracy. Mr Roy and his colleagues challenged the validity of the police complaint. And the day before the case was to be heard in court, Mr Roy was arrested from his home and denied access to his lawyer. Though he was released on bail later, by then the charges against him had multiplied. “They added forgery and cheating, for example”, says Mr Roy. “Their focus had changed from trying to show that the tribunal was illegal — which they could not — to proving that I and other activists involved were criminals”.
In a recent article for The Little Magazine’s “Impunity” issue, Mr Roy had shown how the police and the BSF on the Indo-Bangladesh border commit horrendous offences and get away with it. The BSF’s extra-judicial killings are legion in the area, and they routinely go unpunished. MASUM’s records show how at the Indo-Bangladesh border, civil liberties are consistently trampled upon, truth takes a backseat and the will of the BSF reigns supreme. Atrocities by the police are also well documented by MASUM, and backed by hard evidence. These and other cases were discussed at the People’s Tribunal where relevant police and security officials were invited to participate, in the interest of fairness. But the authorities didn’t like the rules of this game. They play by their own rules. Why go for fairness when you have the state machinery on your side?
Incidentally, Mr Roy was arrested on April 7, just two days before the Independent People’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt in Delhi (April 9-11, 2010). In which a people’s jury comprising distinguished judges, academics, writers and civil society activists heard testimonies from victims, social activists and experts from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. They came up with high-profile recommendations on the state’s tackling of the Maoist problem. There was, of course, no question of charging these dignitaries and celebrities with criminal conspiracy or impersonating public officials.
Oh, and if the state is so keen on preventing people from impersonating jurors and other public officials, how come they never say a word against the khap panchayats that hold kangaroo courts and sentence young lovers to death by lynching? Or against panchayats that declare vulnerable women to be witches and sentence them to the most horrible death? Why aren’t the ringleaders of these village and clan courts ever accused under these curious, hidden laws that are pulled out only against civil rights activists?
Harassing those who highlight human rights violations is not new. Nor is using the state machinery to break the will and the backs of activists. Especially of the committed lot who keep a low profile. Victims and civil society protesters seeking justice routinely face severe challenges, including police intimidation, corrupt investigators, harassment of witnesses, endless trials, biased prosecutors and an indifferent judiciary. Even in a liberal democracy like ours, civil rights activists are often killed by the state and their deaths or disappearances left shrouded in mystery. Shooting the messenger is easier than addressing the problem.
So exposing the truth can be a big health hazard. And not just for human rights activists. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently declared that anyone trying to expose corruption through a sting operation is punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “Law enforcement is exclusively a function of the government machinery”, said the CBI smugly. Allowing private citizens to expose corruption through stings would lead to “anarchy” and “insurmountable ramifications”. So anyone participating in a sting operation for the sake of entrapping a corrupt official would be swiftly prosecuted for corruption. It is the same story — shoot the messenger.
A healthy democracy is built on informed choice. Stifling the truth, blocking information and intimidating those who seek redressal work against democracy. Exposing the truth about our state officials is essential for accountability in public life. Whether it’s about ministers being manipulated by bribes or about atrocities of the police and security officials. Whether through sting operations or through people’s tribunals. These are interventions that attempt to keep our democratic freedoms alive. Persecuting and trying to silence those who try to expose unpalatable truths stinks of a dangerously closed society that is at odds with our image as the world’s most impressive democracy. It’s too decrepit even to be retro chic.

By Antara Dev Sen
Antara Dev Sen is editor of The Little Magazine. She can be contacted at: sen@littlemag.com