Human rights - a historical documentary

 

Original Source: https://www.jeyamohan.in/197661/

Date: 10-Mar-2024

 

He is generally considered as one of Kerala's finest Chief Minister, academician and humanitarian - the late C.H. Mohammed Koya. He established Kozhikode University. The only Chief Minister of Kerala that was from Indian Union Muslim League. He is the only Muslim leader to have been accepted outside of the Muslim community. His numerous quotes and funny stories are still prevalent in Politics. 

Once Mohammed Koya said this while justifying a Police violence. "It is the intrinsic wish of the general populace that the police force must be brutal. But when that brutality becomes a problem, the same people become human rights activists. If a crime or misdeed should occur, they would ask what the police is doing and whether their guns are meant for scratching their backs. If they feel that Police's approach is crossing threshold, they would immediately raise up. Neither police nor the people know that limit".

It is a direct truth. In India's circumstances, it isn't through the courts but rather through the Police that the law and order gets established. It is the brutality of the Police that the criminals generally fear. The courts which grant bails within a month, which lengthen a case for years even if they are straight-forward, thereby tiring both the criminal and the victim alike and at the end in most cases free the criminal, cannot establish any law and order here. And that it cannot safeguard normal people from the criminals is the absolute practical truth.  

Judges like Chanduru cannot understand the prevailing situation here. The space they live is different. The protection that they possess, we cannot have. Here, in every place, a criminal gang rules it through terror. Nobody can do anything to them. Most of them are drug addicts. Several of them have political backgrounds. Every road crossing is a center for drunkard rowdies. There is almost no place in Tamil Nadu where a woman can walk at night. I would say the same about Parvathipuram too. Only due to police patrols that this place becomes amenable for people. 

On the other hand is our herd mentality. If a dozen people gather together, it is our trait that we become a rowdy gang. If there is a political procession, shops on the way would be plundered. If Police doesn't come with lathis and guns and control, any gathering here is destructive. 

A common citizen lives here depending purely on the Police. Nobody would say that all Police personnel are good. There are two aspects via which law and order is maintained by Police. Police force has a "ego". Any criminal activity hurting it isn't allowed by them. Second thing, fearing that they would lose people's support if law and order deteriorates, politicians use Police. 

Police is indeed brutal. That violence is what safeguards commoners from the criminals and unruly gangs. Therefore, the brutality and the corruption of Police is tolerated. Myself included, a commoner though fears the Police, has confidence in them. But has a deep distrust with the Courts. There isn't a single commoner here, who doesn't know that Courts cannot provide any justice to anyone. 

But how far can the brutality be tolerated? Having created an organization that's filled with violence, how far can its brutality be condemned? Police employs violence against criminals. And even on those it suspects as criminals. Some times, even on the innocents.

Police force doesn't have any investigating methodologies. Their organization cannot control every one of its members. It can function in general only through corruption. The budget apportioned to it also meager. It was the administrator's view to let Police be corrupt, right from the days of British rule.

The majority of expenditure by the Police administration is earned by corruption even today. Police's real salary is from corruption money. i.e. Britishers knew that allowing corruption lets Police be trustworthy towards Government. If a Police force recruited out of Indians can stand against Indians and in support of the British, it is for purely for the sake of corruption. It is this belief that extends till today's rulers.

It is a usual happening that Police transgress against people. Police are anxious that people shouldn't lose faith on them nor should they lose their fear on them. Therefore, Police doesn't usually punish misdeeds by their own community. Such accused escape with very light punishments.

Governments are run solely dependent on the Police. Under no circumstances, can they antagonize Police. Without Police support, governments come to standstill. Moreover, governments employing Police force for enforcing strict law and order have been favored by the people and have been voted in. Jayalalitha's government has always been a Police government. But that is the reason women voted for it. Even today, women speak highly of such Jayalalitha's form of administration.

The human rights movement against Police atrocities formed gradually over the last 40 years and has strengthened over the past 2 decades. Civilian volunteers and judiciary together undertook the movement. Among them, K. Chandru (Krishnasami Chandrasekharan) was both the civilian and judiciary face of Tamil Nadu's human rights movement. He has documented his public service experiences in his book "Naanum Needhibadhi Aanaen" (I too became a judge) and is published by Arunchol publications.

This cannot be read merely as a biography. The political space of the last 5 decades of TamilNadu is recorded here. In that space, the history about the gradual evolution of conscience about human rights, the organizations for its sake and the laws for its protection, as it developed through the struggle between government and police on the one side and the civilian volunteers and humanitarian judicial members on the other side is detailed. In that sense, this book can be considered as a foremost ethical document. 

Born in Srirangam in 1951, K. Chandru was a student secretary as well as a union member of Indian Communist Party. He ventured into judiciary only as part of political service. He served as a popular human rights advocate in Chennai High Court. Being elected as a judge, he served judgements in the largest number of cases in Indian history. He passed important progressive and human rights related judgements.

A book that is quite a detailed documentary collection, I read it as an elaborate portrayal of the power struggle among Indian politics, Indian bureaucracy, Judiciary and society. One who reads this book sans any political allegiance or naive prejudices can attain several insights. 

For example, this book starts with a case from 1971, where a student from Annamalai University was killed. The seventies was a period of worldwide economic stagnation and of the riots due to that. In India, the "Kitchen Cabinet" headed by Indira Gandhi had created a state of ruin in all departments and an economic destruction of magnitude never seen before. 

Private industry was almost non existent thanks to red tapeism. Government departments were dormant. Therefore, there was hardly any employment opportunities. With the dormancy in vehicle production and road laying, there was hardly any transport facilities. There was a huge void in electricity generation. So, small scale industry was destroyed. The resulting unemployment brought the nation to a boil.  Student riots took place here and there. When these movements gathered around the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, Indira Gandhi declared emergency.

In this situation, M. Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, having won the elections with Indira Gandhi's alliance. Annamalai University decided to confer a honorary doctorate on him. Irked by this, leftist student associations and student associations of Congress (O), headed by Kamaraj opposed this and planned for a demonstration against it, so as to draw attention towards unemployment.

It was just a small symbolic event. But M. Karunanidhi took it personal. Police, as per his orders, unleashed a ferocious brutality on the students a day before the awarding. Student hostels were destroyed, while the students were beaten brutally, captured and were left astray several kilometers away. A student named Udayakumar was killed in that brutality. His body was thrown in a lake. M. Karunanidhi received the award and was called as Doctor Karunanidhi there after. 

When the body was found, the atrocity unleashed by the Police turned out to be a huge political issue. Police cremated the body of Udayakumar without the knowledge of his parents. But, based on the photograph published by Dinathanthi and the things found beside it, the body was identified as that of Udayakumar. His father Perumalsamy identified his son. 

But Police and DMK took on that case ever more brutally. Police portrayed all the students involved as Naxalites and remarked that the students had planned to assassinate the Chief Minister, which was thwarted by them. It was a time of country-wide police oppression. 

Endorsing the Police version of the events, M. Karunanidhi asserted in the Secretariat that the dead student was not Udayakumar, and that the student had passed away in an accident. He mentioned that the real Udayakumar had gone missing. "Am I the one responsible for all those gone missing?",  he averred vociferously. He told the Secretariat that there was nothing wrong in dispersing those who had tried to assassinate him. He addressed those seeking justice as savage and anti nationals.

Communists and Congress fought for Udayakumar. As situation became dire, Government formed a one-man investigation commission. And N.S.Ramaswamy, a judge awaiting Government's approval for his job confirmation was appointed for that commission. The memo advocated by Communists expressing lack of confidence in him was rejected by the High Court.

During the investigation, Udayakumar's father Perumalsamy was brought to the court in a car, perched between two party members. He told the court that the corpse was not that of Udayakumar. He retracted on his earlier statements. When Chanduru inquired on him being brought by party members in an Ambassador car, he said that he came by a bus and showed a ticket for the same.

The protesters gathered comprehensive evidence against Police atrocities and brought in witnesses. But those witnesses were attacked and cases were filed against several of them. Without considering these evidences and the witnesses, the commission took in the Police version of the story and passed judgement based on it. This matter ended up the same way as how these usually do - nobody was punished. 

One of the government side witnesses who appeared before the commission was then a regional revenue officer - Dyaneswaran. As a DMK supporter, he was promoted to the rank of IAS. Later, during Jayalalitha's government, he was heading the Natural Resources department, whence he was accused of large scale corruption and was dismissed.

It was in Dyaneswaran's house that a raid unearthed hitherto historical amount of unaccounted money. But he wasn't punished. He was forced on a mandatory retirement by the DMK government, but during Jayalalitha's regime, he was acquitted after appeals to higher courts.

Soon, M.Karunanidhi got an opportunity himself for witnessing Police from a victim's perspective. Emergency was declared in 1976. DMK government was dissolved. DMK members were incarcerated and were subjected to harsh oppression. M.Karunanidhi's son and today's Chief Minister Stalin was one among those that were attacked.

As the emergency lifted and Janata government was formed, Tamil Nadu's Governor Prabhudas Patwari constituted the Ismail commission to investigate into the prison atrocities during the emergency period. A strict and honest judge (a scholar in Kamba Ramayanam too), he documented the prison brutalities of emergency period comprehensively. There were direct judgements against the Head of prisons - Vidyasagar, Head of Police - Pon.Paramaguru. 

In 1972, M.G.Ramachandran fell out with M.Karunanidhi and came out of the party. He too sought justice for Udayakumar. During the death, M.G.R maintained silence without uttering a word. Post the formation of ADMK, M.G.R came to power in 1977. 

Once Indira Gandhi came back to power, having allied with her, M.G.R threw away the report of Ismail commission. None of the accused identified in the report faced any actions against them. In fact, Chittibabu, whom he nurtured as his child during his DMK days and who was killed in the prison brutalities was his close associate. But nothing happened. Vidyasagar, directly accused in the atrocities, got a promotion.

This is the overall picture that the book keeps developing as it proceeds. As he trusted the Police, M.Karunanidhi had also to experience the complete ferocity of the Police himself. Still, he had to depend on it. Police brutalities took place in each of his regime. He justified them as well. One cannot govern without doing that. We can draw such a line till today's DMK regime that has promoted the same officers who must take the responsibility for the Tuticorin Police firing incident. 

This is indeed the ways of Government. It is built on the foundation of violence, and that has as its basis, oppression. To train it on human rights is akin to training a wild elephant. This book illustrates such a change happening in Tamil Nadu rather slowly with lots of intermittent losses. 

Several Police brutalities that shook the common conscience of Tamil Nadu paved the way for such a change. A case from 1992, where a Police killed a man named Nandagopal in Annamalai Nagar in Chidambaram and raped his wife, Padmini, a case in 1993 in which a man named Rajakkannu was killed by Police in a place called Mudhanai near Cuddalore (the tamil film 'Jai Bhim' was based on this), the case of Pandiammal where the dead came alive - Chanduru lists several such cases. 

Among these cases, the case of a transgender named 'Madurai Pandiyan', who was arrested with no proper reason, getting subjected to sexual assault, coming out on bail and as he goes to Police station for signing being assaulted sexually again, thereby self immolating within the Police premises is very disturbing. Police registers 'Suicide attempt' case on him. 

The brutality in every case, the struggle against those in courts, his contribution in those and the eventual vestigial justice - the illustration proceeds thus. Though Mr. Chanduru doesn't provide the detailed description of such judicial battles, it can be seen as to how Police and Government delay the case in all possible ways, how they create additional related cases, how they slap new cases against witnesses and how they appeal to higher courts again and again if the accused is convicted.

It is quite depressing to read the judgements of many of those cases. One can see just the acquittal of Police in majority of the cases. An investigation commission is formed, headed by a judge. Mostly, these commissions accept the Police department's version verbatim and submit a report desirable for the Government. The commission's intent is only in delaying. If a straight-forward, heinous crime is pointed out, Government sits on such reports. Nothing meaningful happens.

Slowly, as time goes, at the minimum, the kin of the relatives are able to be provided with some compensation. Works of Judicial scholars like Justice Ismail, Justice B.K.Mishra, Justice A.P.Shah, who made great contributions towards human rights keep getting highlighted throughout this book. Though Police getting punished is quite rare, illustrations of how judgements where compensation are sought to be provided for from the salaries of Police have started to lead some changes among the Police cadres.

Simultaneously, Chanduru keeps highlighting that several reports from judicial scholars have been dumped by governments and that several judgements have simply been ignored. This book shows us the vast distance that is to be crossed before our Governments start to respect human rights.

Another place where human rights are suppressed - Prison. Those who are arrested, though they may only be accused wouldn't be treated as humans. An appalling information - accused persons under investigative custody, while being brought to court aren't being provided food. They would be starving the whole day. In a case appealing against this practice, it was mentioned that there is no fund allocated to provide for them.

Chittibabu, who was killed during emergency, had written in his diary, which was later produced as a primary evidence before Ismail Commission, accusing the Law and Order and Prison Department minister Madhavan. "After coming to power, we did nothing to reform prisons and we have ourselves been sent to the same prisons", he notes. Chanduru highlights this point. Such are the minds of political administrators. They do not consider the possibility of themselves being behind bars - be it M.Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha.

When Jayalalitha was incarcerated, the DMK Government amends the rule which allows for friends and relatives to visit the prisoners by dropping the word 'friends'. Therefore, Sasikala couldn't meet Jayalalitha. Later, Chanduru mounts a judicial battle against this removal and succeeds in adjoining the word. This addition was later became essential for M. Karunanidhi himself.

A Government is like a rock. The Government that we see today has evolved very gradually over the past millennium. Even a small change can happen only very slowly that too through a lot of pressure. The Judicial scholars and community workers who undertake such monumental battle are worthy of commendation. The fact that those who have battled in that space for the past five decades have been remembered in this book makes this a political documentary.

The reason for the gradual awareness towards human rights is the few ways that Government found out due to the constant pressures both from within and outside. Actions could be undertaken against Police and Prison authorities via non-governmental organizations like Human Rights commission. (Perhaps they would whine 'What can I do? I am afraid of the Commission myself')

Human Rights Commission has been successful in instilling the thought among the Police that their authority isn't boundless. Even if the Government doesn't forsake them, the Commission wouldn't spare them. They have understood that even if the Commission doesn't punish them, the process of wading through its maze of laws and escaping unscathed is a punishment in itself. 

The information presented in this book were all known to me. The fact that Chanduru presents them from another perspective is what transforms this to an historical vision. But still, there are information which I wasn't aware of. One among them is the part that M.Bhaktavatsalam, a senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister, played in the atrocities during the emergency period. I wasn't aware that he was investigated by the Ismail commission for those breaches and was severely accused of such charges.

Bhaktavatsalam emerged as a power outside of law during the Emergency period. He gave direct orders for prison oppressions. Vidayasagar, an officer who choreographed the prison atrocities, was investigated by Ismail commission for such charges and was recommended for punishment, was of the caste as Bhaktavatsalam. Having commissioned him, Bhaktavatsalam safeguarded him till the end. 

I had a respect towards Congress because it formed the foundation for Tamil Nadu's growth in industries and education. Therefore, I was of the view that the emergence of Dravidian movement was a regressive step. It was a mental image provided by people like Sundara Ramaswamy. But there were two Congress'es. I am referring to the accomplishments of Congress headed by Kamaraj. It now seems that Bhaktavatsalam was a virus that created a dark page in Tamil Nadu's history. This book is even making me opine that by dethroning him, Dravidian movement had helped Tamil Nadu. 

From the domains of political field worker, judicial scholar and judge, Chanduru has Leftists leanings towards Human rights and in that sense he had performed his work spectacularly. This book exemplifies it. But, it doesn't seem, at least via this book, that Chanduru has understood that in Indian context, the inordinate delays, zero accountability and corruption of the Judiciary are the primary reasons for the prevalence of crime.

Distrust towards Courts is the sole reason for the populace being eager for Police to undertake violence. People agree with 'Encounters' in a lot of cases. The public celebrate scenes of Police encounters shown in cinema. Apart from resolving his cases speedily and pronouncing some revolutionary judgements, was Chanduru, as a High Court judge, able to do anything to transform the Judicial activities towards making it more just? Chanduru, as a Portfolio judge had the authority to punish judges from lower courts. There is no account in this book, of him taking such actions against anyone. Hadn't such a single circumstance ever occurred to him?

 

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._H._Mohammed_Koya 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Union_Muslim_League

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Chandru

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annamalai_University

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayaprakash_Narayan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dina_Thanthi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravida_Munnetra_Kazhagam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Administrative_Service

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prabhudas_Patwari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramavataram

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_India_Anna_Dravida_Munnetra_Kazhagam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoothukudi_violence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Chittibabu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuddalore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Jayalalithaa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._K._Sasikala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Bhaktavatsalam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundara_Ramaswamy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._Kamaraj

https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/portfolio-judge