Immediately releases Abhay Sahoo-Anti-POSCO movement’s leader

Below the appeal included is the narration written in 2010 during my visit to that area.

Battle Till Death: Journeys through the anti-POSCO area

 TU Senan

‘Mining happiness’ – is the oxymoronic taunt of the Vedanta advert, the notorious mining company, atBhubaneswarairport. Orissa is now one of the major centres of looting for big mining companies. Korean steal giant Posco is one of a long list of companies such as Vedanta, and the Lakshmi Mittal group, who gained a notorious reputation among adivasis and ordinary working people. This corporate land grab has devastated hundreds of thousands of lives of some of the poorest people who have lived for centuries in these areas. Millions have been displaced, and forced into dire poverty and death. This slow genocide on a grotesque scale is hidden by the Indian state and the corporations. Worse, they blame everything on those who dare to defend their rights.

 

Last year I travelled from Indian-occupied Kashmir toSri Lankain an attempt to bring together the various struggles taking places acrossSouth Asia. These are my notes from a brief trip through poverty-stricken Orissa towards Jagatsinghpur district. There the infamous multinational Posco is planning to impose a massive steel plant; in fact it will be the third largest steel plant in the world. But the land they chose is fertile and the home and source of livelihood for many who are refusing to leave. The struggle against Posco since 2005 has intensified. The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) organises the resistance. One of its main requests is for people to come and visit the land and people that Posco plans to wipe out. PPSS correctly points out that those who visit this place cannot help but appreciate its wealth and beauty and the importance it holds for the people who depend on it for their daily needs. I can but attempt to share the experience of visiting this place.

 

1

 

Vedanta posters jeer is everywhere in Orissa. Most show children who look like Adivasis posing with huge smiles. One would expect joyful youth dancing and singing in the streets of Orissa with happiness! Alas the poverty and hunger is a striking contrast to the billboards. You can hardly see anyone with a proper (age to weight) ratio. Most 25 year olds look like around 15. The scale of the poverty is inescapable.

 

“Orissa is the poorest state inIndia, sir” said Srikanth soon after he started to drive the hired Indicar towards the planned Posco plant area. “These are uneducated fools.” He looks through the side window in disgust, pointing to the filth that lies on both sides of the road. He lowers his window to shout at a motorbike when it suddenly crossed the road without any warning.

 

“Haven’t you got chocolate this time?” he asks the guard sarcastically at the highway toll collection spot. “Sir, if they don’t have change then sometimes they give chocolate or biscuits” he then explains. 65 Rupees (Rs) and within 50km another 87Rs is a huge price to pay for this poorly maintained highway. Cattle and all animals roam free in the highway. Hay dries in the middle of the road. An old man sitting on the side of the road lifts his bum a ‘little bit’ to give way to the frantically horning vehicle. Lorries line up on one side of the road and the whole traffic is directed in one lane for a considerable distance. Even when the ‘dual carriageway’ opens up there is no ‘respect’ for it!

 

“Look, he thinks he is the king of the road” Srikanth points to a motorbike that is driving fast, directly at the car travelling on the wrong side of the dual carriageway! “I think he is ready to die” I said not so jokingly. He burst out laughing. He continues the laugh, repeating ‘he is ready to die’, all the while steering the car in tune to the latest Hindi movie song which he particularly wanted me to listen to. I hide the fright of stirring moves behind the tap for the music. He thought, as someone fromSri Lanka, I am deprived of good music. Even though I told him that I speak Tamil and can listen to all of AR Rahman’s music, he really wanted to show off the Hindi songs to a Sri Lankan.

 

He is just 23. Just like rest of the Orissa youth he looks 14! He started the driving job at the age of 18 due to “financial difficulties” as he put it. When explained he agrees that the majority of people have no chance of getting ‘educated’ as they don’t have money to be ‘educated’. The government is keeping everyone poor, he agrees. His two brothers were working in ‘some company’ in Tamil Nadu. Only in the last few months have they started to send some money back to the family. He also has one younger sister. The whole family moved from a village near the Andhra Pradesh border to Pubaneswar, also due to ‘financial difficulties’. His salary of a mere 4,000Rs a month was paying for rent, food and his sister’s education. After a little scrutiny he agrees that he makes extra from fuel and tips. “Altogether I will make 10,000Rs a month” he says proudly. He is saving to buy his own car and start a ‘new business’!

 

After a period of silent driving he suddenly burst out laughing, repeating ‘he is ready to die’. This he did all through the journey. It was the best joke of the day for him. The pleasure of the ‘highway’ ended soon and we took the ‘rural road’ to get to the ‘anti-Posco’ village areas. The car was only able to move at 20 km/hr. If we had taken the rural roads before just to dodge the highway we could have lost two hours, he explains. One Indian oil bowser tried to overtake a lorry. “He wish” he sighs. “He has to drive over the lorry in order to overtake”. Then he immediately repeated ‘he may do that – he is ready to die’ and burst out laughing loudly while tapping on my leg with his left hand. Orissa men are very feminine and one could easily fall in love with them!

 

It seems no one can enter the anti-Posco villages without permission. The son of an ‘important’ person intercepts us on the bridge on his red motorbike to take us to the village. He makes some phone calls on his shiny and expensive phone, then we followed him to Ranjan’s house in the Gobindapur village. Ranjan greets us on his small veranda with a confused look on his face. There are more ‘stone’ houses on the small street, some of whom belong to Ranjan’s relatives. His house is a typical ‘farmer’s house’. “Abhay Sahu is waiting for you – come”, said Ranjan and started walking. Abhay Sahu is the leader of the PPSS. I followed Ranjan through a corridor – passing the piled sacks of paddy and into his backyard. The landscape is strikingly similar to the where place I grew up inSri Lanka. The shape of the trees, the type of plantation, the density, colour, wind, even the pace of walking were quite similar. A banana tree leans over a mango tree which has to share space with papaya and coconut trees. Lemon, chilli, bitter gourd, to ladies finger – you can find all sorts. He claims he doesn’t buy anything other than sugar, salt and a few other items. It’s one explanation for how they were able to manage without going out of the village for more than five years! All villagers who protested against the acquisition of their land for the Posco plant are targeted by the pro-Posco goons and police. Soon after they leave the village they will be arrested by the police. So none of them leaves the village. This has been continuing for more than five years now.

 

3

 

We walked through his backyard into the field and then to a ‘thoppu’ where Abhay Sahu was sitting with a few old men around him. He has every look of being an ‘important’ politician inIndia. Thin moustache, two phones in his hand on which he constantly receives calls. After attending a phone call he says “see, I just spoke to this guy. This woman who lost her husband two years ago had not received any compensation. I have been trying to sort it out. I only just received a message that she will be given some compensation now.”

 

Abhay Sahu had shown courage and a fighting sprit as soon as the Communist Party of India (CPI) took part in the anti-Posco campaign. Within 15 days of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) being signed between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government and Posco, the PPSS was set up. The CPI already had some forces in the village area. In the past, the state-owned Indian oil corporation tried moving the villagers to set up an oil refinery plant. CPI members were involved in the successful battle against the oil refinery. In the end it was set up nearby – but not on the fertile area. The CPI still have their men on the ground. Abhay Sahu was arrested in 2009 and many campaigners around the world then feared that it may mark the end of the anti-Posco movement. He was then released on bail. He faces around 150 charges in the court. Some charges are very loosely based which gives the state room to arrest him anytime they want. Activists say that the Jagatsinghpur district collector Narayan Chandra Jena is working closely with the pro-Posco outfit, the United Action Committee (UAC) may even consider banning PPSS. Abhay Sahu says he fears arrest at any time. He also fears death. He only feels comfortable meeting people in the village – feeling secure in the protection of the villagers. Despite the heroic stand and helping to build the campaign strongly he recently faced criticism, even from the comrades who actively participate in the campaign. I wanted to talk to him briefly about the campaign strategy and to get his opinion about these accusations.

 

What if the state moves in or what if Posco is forced to retreat –what will happen to the movement then? Abhay Sahu’s simple answer after a brief pause is that the “movement will continue”. What if the state decided to force out the villagers? We are united and strong says Abhay Sahu. Villagers won’t give up. I repeat the question, hinting that the state is enormously powerful compared to 30,000-plus villagers without any hi-tech weapons, and it’s not possible to resist the state if they decided to use force. I asked this question to everyone. We recently saw the Sri Lankan state’s brutal force defeating the LTTE. The LTTE had thousands of well-trained cadres, was said to have more rockets than Hezbollah and even boasted a small air force! Even this mighty fire power came to nothing as the Sri Lankan military brutally crushed them with the help of the Indian and Chinese governments. It raised the question in the minds of struggling people inSouth Asiaand around the world of how best to fight these states. How can any struggle be advanced towards victory? What tactics should they adopt to defend and advance the struggle?

 

Ranjan said that this is a democratic country. They cannot come here and shoot us! I wanted to say that’s exactly what they will do if they have a ‘go ahead’ from the government to take the land – but didn’t. Later it was clear that the low level of the political understanding is partly due to the CPI’s own weakness in putting forward the correct perspective and educating those who want to fight back.

 

I moved to a critical question – one key strategic difference between the CPI and the rest on this anti-Posco movement. The rest accuses the CPI call that Posco should move out of the village areas. Instead they say the PPSS should call on Posco to leaveIndia- ie have a proper anti-Posco campaign so that they will never be able to loot any other places. They accuse the CPI of not caring what Posco does anywhere else – that they just want Posco to leave this particular area. When this argument was put to Abhay Sahu, he denied the accusation. “What we say is that” he corrects “Posco should not establish the plant in any fertile land”. “We don’t mind if they take some waste land.” I asked about the fate of the workers and about the conditions that Posco creates for the workers and the environmental damage they cause. “We know that Posco is very notorious”, he replies. “Some South Korean trade unionists had visited the village. Unfortunately, due to the law they have inSouth Korea, they are not able to do much. But on the way back they were arrested by the police and interrogated for hours.”

 

But there is no clear answer to the question from Abhay Sahu. “Tell me which land is not fertile ground inIndia. All land is fertile. Why can’t we say Posco or any other cooperation should not be allowed to loot” asks Dhirendra Panda when I met him the next day. “Fortunately Orissa has some old positive fellows”, he comments. Abhay Sahu faced severe criticism when he accepted the invitation for negotiation with Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik. The CM properly betrayed Abhay Sahu and the negotiators who went to meet him. In return for allowing government surveyors into the village areas the CM promised to visit the area. ‘Just come and have a look at the place’ Abhay Sahu apparently pleaded with the CM. But the villagers responded decisively. They refused to cooperate with any surveyors. When the surveyors questioned who owns the house and the land, they replied ‘collector’ (-the local authority-). If you claim all this is government land he must be the owner they replied. The survey was not successful. But it did not stop the CM announcing that the Posco project will go ahead immediately after the survey. He also did not visit the proposed Posco area. Abhay Sahu was forced to acknowledge his fault and apologised to the villagers. (Worst mistake I made in my life, he said)

 

In a way this betrayal by the CM strengthened the campaign. The PPSS leaders now know that the villagers will even defy them to defend their land. They will have the final say. “The CPI is playing a duel role” D Banda further accuses. How can they be in coalition with the BJD? When the CPI general secretary came to a meeting in Orissa, 90% of the state committee members opposed the alliance with the BJD. But the rest of the CPI national committee members forced the others to accept their stand. They argued that the anti-Posco struggle is different which they can support. But for electoral reasons we have to ally with the BJD to create a third force that can fight against BJP and Congress – they argued. For them electoral importance is a priority, accuses D Banda. Then he makes the most important point. “With this kind of approach it won’t take long for the state leadership to betray the anti-Posco movement.” If Abhay Sahu takes this route he will be pushed out of the movement, he agrees. He also agrees that there are other strong CPI personalities in the movement such a Prashant Paikray, spokesperson for PPSS, who he says will choose the movement over the party.

 

Prashant Paikray who made this visit possible (along with Jagadish Chandra of New socialist alternative (NSA)) is a charismatic personality. He also claims that they (through the PPSS) wrote to the state/national leadership of the CPI to argue that they should break from the BJD and start building independently. This is not published as it is an ‘internal party matter’. When I asked him about whether we could write about it he raised no objection – additionally he insisted that if the CPI does anything to damage the movement he will consider leaving the party!

 

The CPI wants to lead the anti-Posco struggle to show that they still have some ‘Marxist’ credentials. But they wrote to Prashant that they will support the PPSS against the BJD but cannot break away from the coalition because this coalition has a ‘national’ importance – as it’s important to build a third front against Congress and BJP! Prashant obviously has some reservations about that argument. But Prashant is a CPI man. His father was an MLA for CPI. He grew up in the party; has been a party member since the early 1970s. However, he is very well respected in all quarters. He is a very humble man – and now works full-time for the campaign, managing the family with his wife’s salary. These are the pillars of the movement, and the strength of the movement stems from it.

 

4

 

One cannot understand the nature and strength of the struggle without visiting the area. The villagers I spoke to show no sign of giving up. It has been said that PPSS is the strongest anti-displacement movement in the country. Not all villagers are Dalits. Only 35 tribal families live in the village. However, it seems there are still no divisions in the movement. The area comprises well-established but hugely land-dependent farmers and agricultural labours. There are pro-Posco people around the village! There is also a small camp village of displaced people who accepted the compensation of just 20Rs a month. That village certainly looks worse than the place they lived before. Posco claims it had already spent two crores – but apart from an office inDelhi, another inBhubaneswarand another near the village, there is no sign of money spent. They were not able to acquire any land. Everyone I spoke to says that the majority of the money was used as bribes for the CM, other officials and pro-Posco village leaders. The CM is also living up to that claim and continues to keep the hope alive for Posco.

 

Everyone was insisting that the PPSS is not a CPI campaign – but all are part of it. There is a frantic insistence, particularly from CPI members. However non-CPI activists, such as Samantaray who considers himself a ‘Gandhian socialist’, or Dhirendra Panda, an activist and respected academic, have their reservations – who consider that the movement is led by CPI. They all support the movement. But that they are so far not fully engaged is partly, I think, due the suspicion they have about the CPI leadership. Despite this it seems absolutely impossible to do anything in the village without the CPI – unlike in Kalinganagar – where a number of parties have their own campaigns – in the anti-Posco village areas there is only the PPSS campaign and they are very open.

 

5

 

Abhay Sahu asks me to have a look at the betel leaf farming and to speak to some villagers. After taking a quick piss on the side Ranjan walks towards his betel leaf farm. Ranjan ‘shows off’ his betel vine farm. I struggle to hold my temptation to taste it and compare it with my memory ofJaffnabetel leaves. He says one leaf is sold for 60 paisa now; during the season its 1Rs a leaf. Expensive! I reluctantly ask him whether I could taste one. He grabs a good leaf, gives it a proper rub on his sarong to clean it and gives it to me. The richness of the taste will remain in your mouth for years to come. My memory said it is like the taste ofJaffnabetel leaf. But the brain quite decisively stated it’s even better! The landscape and the taste is very familiar to me. ‘This place is likeSri Lanka’ Ranjan says, walking out of the gate. How do you know I asked him with clear surprise. “I saw on telly. I know the land when I see it” he states confidently.

 

We then had a brief conversation and a coconut drink with one of the village leaders – the coconut was picked just then and tasted like heaven. They began to explain how the taste of everything is different here. He said ‘this sand is a sweet sand’. The water is sweet. As though I don’t believe it, he asks the little boy to run and get some water. “Taste this water” he confidently hands me the silver cup. Certainly it was some of the best water I have tasted! But I had seen enough and needed no convincing of the quality of the land.

 

After walking through the village and having brief chats on the way we arrive at another charismatic village leader. He glanced at me confidently. As the usual ceremony of who is who and what is what is being done he asks me a surprising question. “Tamil or Sinhala?” He was the first one to ask me the question in my time in Orissa. I was a bit excited by the question. He then explained to other puzzled faces a bit of the history in Orissa. Nothing was translated for me. But I could see the warm faces. He probably had not been much away from his village. But the satellite TV is everywhere. On our way we saw a satellite properly fixed in a tree! I asked Ranjan to ask him how he knew about Tamils inSri Lanka. Instead of asking him the question Ranjan answers me saying he is one of the local CPI leaders and has been active for 35 years. He also participated and led the campaign against Indian Oil during its preparation for the oil refinery. While Ranjan explains this leader intervenes and says proudly and loudly “Marxist”. ‘Marxist’ may be the only proper ‘English’ word he was very familiar with. But he didn’t need the language. He was directing Ranjan when he is mostly talking to me in Orissa! He explains that the struggle against Posco is very hard – much harder than the struggle against the Indian Oil Corporation. With difficulty with Ranjan’s translation I understand that he was saying that the struggle against the state sector was much easier than this monstrous private corporation. His humble hut faces the danger of demolition if Posco moves in. He could lose all that he had, all his history of several generations. There are no signs of worry in the man’s face. He smiles big. Betel leaf has eaten some of his teeth – with some on their way out – but the smile will penetrate through anyone.

 

The question, what will you do if the state decides to use force?’ did not have any impact on anyone. One of the villagers simply says: “I will rather die defending the land I work”. ‘He is ready to die’. I remember Srikanth’s joke of the day. They are all very determined. It’s not so hard to understand why. How can they give everything they have for just 20Rs a day plus no water and no home, no pleasant land. They would rather die than do that. Posco certainly has a big battle in its hands.

 

We also very briefly met the women’s organiser of the campaign during the walk. The lunch I had at Ranjan house was also very different and unique. Ranjan sat for a while explaining the different vegetables in the brilliant mixed vegetable curry and the different kind of dal etc.

 

Finally we visited ‘The Gate’ that is supposed to protect them and the tribal families from attacks by the pro-Posco goons. They ruthlessly attacked a 70 year old woman who was quick to point out her broken leg. They lived in one of the rural roads that connected the village. Since the attack villagers had cut off the road and built a gate to protect the family and the village and the gate is guarded by the villagers properly. I was puzzled. “They could still enter through here?” – I posed that as a question. Ranjan strongly repeats that they had built ‘the’ gate as though they had built a Chinese Wall kind of a structure. But it was a wooden gate. A small boy could jump through it. What they are relying on is the integrity of the villagers. They do know the anti-Posco families. If the penetrator is identified, then they are finished! But the Indian state is too clever. Just like in other land grabbng areas they will let the goons attack with police protection. They will bring new people form other places who cannot be identified. They will employ whatever means. I hoped they understand the mammoth fight they had taken on. I just hoped they get the support of the workers and youth of Orissa, and throughoutIndiaand internationally. And I hoped they have a conscious and capable leadership that can prepare them for a decisive defence and create a lesson for all the anti land grabbing campaigns. Over 60 million people are displaced now and the number is growing.

 

On our way back Srikanth insisted that I visit the Posco office. It was very dark by then and it won’t be of any use, however I agreed. He had taken some Koreans to this office before. They don’t speak any language sir – not even English, said Srikanth. We just drove pass the office. But on the way we saw a pro-Posco meeting taking place in one of the houses. ‘This is Posco guy’, Srikanth pointed to a shiny and expensive Jeep that was parked outside the house. We did not stop.

 

On the way we saw the so-called Posco camps created for the displaced villagers – they looked worse than shanty towns. It’s understandable why some want to return back to the village. Srikanth again frantically horned once we got to the high road to get a couple of slow-going motorcycles to give way. One of them moved quickly – but the other in a kaki uniform wouldn’t budge. ‘Orissa police’ sighs Srikanth tiredly ‘they never give way’.

 

We talked about all sorts of things. When fish curry randomly arrived as a subject Srikanth’s face lights up. I don’t like Kolkata fish curry, he firmly states. They don’t fry the fish before they cook- he adds. Orissa fish curry is certainly one of the best. They deep fry the masala-marinated fish and then cook them with all sorts of spices. “What’s your favourite food?” I asked him. “In Orissa we are all poor. Our favourite is day old rice with day old fish curry” he says. “Palamshorum meenkulampum” I say in Tamil, loudly stating that it’s my favourite too! Both our faces light up more. He couldn’t believe it. Someone fromSri Lankalikes the same old Orissa favourite – he never expected that. Surprising it may be to a few, but the struggling people inSouth Asiaall have something in common – our enemy; the states and their cronies. We must find a way to unit together in our struggles.