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The price of  freedom

by Gargi Sen, Director, Magic Lantern Foundation

An Indian journalist and video-producer, Sri Prakash and his crew
were recently attacked by an armed gang while covering a peaceful
protest by villagers against the construction of a dam  on the
Surangi river in Singbhum District  of the state of  Bihar,
northern India. The gang is said to be hand-in-glove with
contractors who are responsible for constructing the dam.

The Chhotanagpur Plateau in North-Central India is home for many
different tribes.  The area is rich with dense forests and
minerals like coal and bauxite.  It meets most of  India's mineral
needs. The area is the centre of much industrial activity. The
colonial government and later the Indian  government located
large-scale, polluting industries like steel and power plants.

The  tribal communities have been at the receiving end of
development activities. They have been continuously displaced to
make way for industries.  Due to displacement, the population of
the tribal people have  continued to decrease in India.

Video is a popular medium of communication  among villagers in the
area. Sri Parakash and his video crew have produced a series of
documentaries on the plight to the tribal communities in India.
Sri Prakash's  videos are screened in villages enabling
communities to communicate with each other about their problems
and concerns.

The attack of the video crew, which was carried out on 10 July
this year. Besides stopping the video crew, the attack was
intended to disrupt public protests against the dam by creating
panic among the people.  The  police were present but mutely
witnessed to the attack.

The gang chased the crew into the village but were unable to find
them. The villagers hid the camera and protected the crew. The
gang terrorised the villagers during the night. The next day, the
villagers smuggled the crew to Ranchi. When information about the
incident reach the news-rooms in Ranchi, journalists spontaneously
stopped work and started a procession against the attack. The
journalists went to Patna, the capital of Bihar state, to complain
to the authorities.

The Surangi dam is a medium irrigation scheme that was started in
1987 and was estimated to cost Rupees 40 million.  But by the time
the construction work began in 1989,  the cost shot up to Rupees
140 million.  Today, the estimated cost is Rupees 210 million.

Since inception the Surangi project has faced charges of massive
corruption. Press reports have drawn direct links between the rise
in cost of the project and rise in corruption.  The press allege
an unholy alliance between the executive engineer of the project
works and the contractors.  The press has exposed how sub-standard
quality cement was bought and later auctioned off.  It is alleged
that cement bags worth Rupees 110 million were bought even before
formalities regarding acquisition of land and compensation to
displaced persons were completed.

Journalists face an uphill when trying to obtain information about
the project from official sources.  There is a deliberate attempt
by the officials and the contractors to spread misinformation. For
example, the officials maintain that the only 3 villages will  be
effected by the project.  In reality,  the number of villages
effected will be 26,  but they fall under 3 Panchayats, a
technicality that the officials use.

The villagers in the project area are tribals.  Their association
with land, forest and water of the area is unique.  They maintain
sacred groves of trees called "Sarna",  where their Gods live.
They bury the bones of all ancestors in the Sasandiri, ancestral
tribal burying ground.  For tribal communities, displacement is
means being cut off from their God and their ancestors.

Historically,  this area has witnessed strong protest movements.
These began with the issue of the tribal communities right to
forest resources. Now indigenous people are questioning the
paradigm of development itself. They are also aware of the fate of
other tribal communities who were displaced in the name of
"national interest" in other parts of India.

The tribal communities in Singbhum have begun to question a
development that alienates them from their way of life and throws
them  into the gutters of industrial towns or big cities to eke
out a a miserable living. Initially the communities in the project
area felt helpless.  When the project began they were forced to
concede their land by the contractors. But the delays in the
project have  helped the tribal communities to re-assess their
situation.

Video is a major communication tool  of the people's protest
movements in Chhotanagpur.  The use is spontaneous and has grown
out of the initiatives of a few individuals,  acting and working
independently.

Sri Prakash  started recording the plight of the tribal
communities in 1993. He is the product of the commercial spread of
video to small towns and villages, where video parlours, video
lending libraries and video production units are now thriving.
Sri Prakash began his career  recording weddings. He has a VHS
camera and a modest editing set up.

Through his work Sri Prakash has built up a reputation of a
fearless  video producer, who  exposes injustice.  Continuous
smear campaigns by powerful interest  attacking  his credibility
failed to stop him. Hence the  attempt on the lives of Sri Prakash
and his crew.

The attack on Sri Prakash is reprehensible and must be condemned
in strongest terms.  Lastly, the attack also helps to underline
the power of video, a power that can be harnessed to present the
concerns of disadvantaged communities  and prepare grounds for
common action.

Recommended action

Send appeals expressing concern about the plight of the tribal
communities in the Singbhum District and the attack on Sri Prakash
on 10 July 1996 to:

Mr. Deve Gowda, Prime Minister of India, P.M.O. South Block, New
Delhi 1, India
Fax: 91 11 3016857

Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav, Chief Minister, Patna, Bihar, India
Fax: 91 61 2224819

Please send copies of correspondence to:

Sriprakash, KRITIKA, 30 Randhir Prasad Street, Upper Bazar,
Ranchi, Bihar 834001, India



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