By Ranjona Banerji
This Sunday, the Jagdalpur home of Malini Subramaniam, a contributor to the news website Scroll.in, was attacked by a mob. Her car was damaged. And she was accused of being a “Maoist†sympathiser and of “tarnishing the image of the policeâ€.
Jagdalpur is in the state of Chhatisgarh and Subramaniam had been reporting on police atrocities in the Bastar region.
Chattisgarh has a long history of imprisoning anyone who does not toe the government line when it comes to Maoists. Dr Binayak Sen was once the government’s most well-known target. The government also reacted with full state rage when its “Salwa Judum†or civil militia plan (ostensibly to target Maoist violence) was criticised.
Subramaniam’s reporting therefore was exceptionally brave, given the circumstances. And the bias of the authorities is clear since Scroll.in now reports that she was not allowed to file a First Information Report about the attack on her house as the police came up with bogus excuses to stop her.
In October, Subramaniam had also written about the alleged torture of two journalists, Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav, by the police. This story was later picked up by newspapers.
As is amply becoming clear, we as journalists need to move beyond our city-centric concerns about the practise of our profession. There are real and imminent dangers to journalists within our borders which need drastic attention. Most international agencies and watchdogs will list the difficulties faced by journalists in known war zones across the world. But there can be no doubt that we need more attention on problems faced in India.
Various media organisations have spoken out about the attacks on Subramaniam. Newsminute has written this:Â http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/shame-shameless-attacking-journalists-their-line-duty-38725
Scroll has reported on the problems faced by Subramaniam:
http://scroll.in/article/803203/attack-on-scroll-in-contributor-chhattisgarh-police-refuse-to-file-fir-journalists-rally-in-support
And the Network for Women in Media, India (NWMI) has issued this statement, which in fact covers the issue comprehensively:
“NWMI condemns the attack on Malini Subramaniam
We, members of the Network of Women in Media, India, strongly condemn the shocking attack on the residence of Malini Subramaniam, a journalist based in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh and correspondent for the news site Scroll.In, and the continuous attempts to intimidate and threaten her into silence.
According to reports in the news site, Scroll.In, a group of around 20 persons had come to her residence at about 6p.m. on February 7, and shouted slogans attacking her, including ‘Naxali Samarthak Bastar Chodo. Malini Subramaniam Mordabad’ (Naxal supporter, leave Bastar. Death to Malini Subramaniam). The mob apparently tried to instigate neighbours to attack her and said that she was a Naxal supporter. Early on February 8, morning, at around 2.30am, a motorcycle slowed down her home and threw stones at her residence.
Ms Subramaniam has identified two of the men in the mob — Manish Parakh and Sampat Jha. Both had visited her residence on January 10 last month and were members to the Samajik Ekta Manch, a Jagdalpur based forum formed to counter Naxalism in Bastar and support the work of the police in the area. Parakh is the secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Yuva Morcha and that Sampat Jha is a member of the Congress in Jagdalpur.
The online news site, Scroll, has documented the level of intimidation faced by Ms Subramaniam and has pointed out that, over the last year, she has been writing consistently on issues of adivasis and of displacement, mass sexual violence as well as other human rights violations. It is these reports that the Manch appears to have targeted as being ‘pro-naxal’ and anti-police. Subsequent to the Jan 10 ‘visit’ by members of this Manch, Ms Subramaniam also received late night enquiries from the local police and had to face a number of questions and submit documents giving proof of her identity. The news-site had tried to take up the instances of intimidation with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh but received no response.
It is clear that the local police, which is tasked with protecting its citizens, has chosen to look the other way while the mob demonstrated outside her residence. It has made no attempt to register an FIR or investigate the incident, much less ensure the safety and protection of Ms Subramaniam and her daughter.
Already, journalists across the country have lodged strong protests over the arrest and continued incarceration of two journalists from Chhattisgarh, Santosh Yadav and Somaru Nag. Now, in this incident, the indifference of the police and the state administration as well as the Chief Minister is a dangerous portent for freedom of expression and for the safety and security of media persons.
We demand that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh immediately announce a full and thorough investigation into the incident and take steps to ensure the safety of Ms Subramaniam. His failure to do so can only be taken as an indication of his tacit support for such heinous and coercive tactics.â€
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It can only be hoped that Subramaniam’s case will get ample publicity, not just for her but for all journalists who work in spite of threats, intimidation and worse.
As journalists, surely we must now stand together and not give in to divisive political manipulation. Unfortunately, as we all know far too well, often journalists aligned with the government in power will use their influence and resources to back some particular party’s ideology and action.
One can only hope that this is not one of those times.
Subramaniam needs our full support and courage for her safety and future but also for all of ours.