Mr. Naveen Patnaik we are surprised that you are not ashamed even after women’s day.

Dear Mr. Naveen Patnaik,

We are deeply anguished and disturbed by the recent turn of frightening and ugly incidents perpetrated by the Odisha government, POSCO management and their hired lumpen criminal elements on the POSCO payroll. They have unleashed extremely barbaric white terror in the anti-POSCO struggling villages of Jaghat Singh Pur, Odisha. On the eve of the women’s day we learnt that the women gave the most desperate threat to the district administration as a last ditch effort. “If the police forces are not withdrawn they will protest naked in front of the police”. This news sent a chill down our spines as this was a confirmation of your wanton behaviour in the area and continuing attempts at escalating completely unjustified violence against agitators.

You have proved that you are the biggest enemy of the women of Odisha. Instead of removing the police you charged women with indecent exposure and arrested them.

That shows the apocalyptic vision that women are the most worthless beings, have absolutely no hope in a state governed by you. And remember, all this was happening when your minions of women and child development department and the public relations department were flooding the newspapers and television with your great achievements on the gender front. Whereas in reality you have inflicted on the suffering women of Odisha extreme repression by security forces who rape them in custody, brutally repress them, forcibly evict them from land, habitat, livelihood, culture and undermine their dignity. The combing operations by your police and paramilitary forces have inflicted most bestial violence that has crossed all the limits of barbarism.

Last time one had seen such a protest taking place was in Manipur in July 2004. The situation, however, was a little different in that case. Assam Rifles had raped and murdered Manorama. Elderly women of Manipur aghast at that had decided for going that protest in sheer desperation. They were a people who had completely lost their faith in the nation that claimed to be their own but acted as an occupying force. Its security forces assaulted the men and raped the women at will and the state legitimised such dreadful practices by allowing the Assam Rifles deployed in Manipur to provide condoms as an integral part of the travel kit,to be used while on patrol duty. Having had enough of this, Manipuri women went to the headquarters of the Assam Rifles, disrobed and flung a banner reading “INDIAN ARMY RAPE US”.

Odisha is thousands of kilometers away from Manipur. The POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) simply announced “Left with no other option, women from the village have decided to get naked before the Policemen tomorrow”. The pain and agony it would take to first decide for holding such a protest and then announcing it to the public was totally lost on you.

The women reached this decision because you as the Chief Minister have abandoned them for POSCO, the multinational company and as its lackey have been violating all rights of the residents with impunity. Anti-POSCO people have reached the decision after getting many of their near and dear ones killed by the hired goons of the company. They have reached the decision for the state government repeatedly sending in an armed-to-teeth police force for cracking down on the peaceful protesters and forcibly acquiring the lands even when the environmental clearance that is mandatory for such projects stand cancelled by the statutory authorities and the MoU with POSCO is defunct. You have destroyed their betel leave vines. You threaten to arrest them if they step out of the village and for years they have lived without even the minimal health services.

Mr. Patnaik,  your slavery and loyalty to the national and international corporations has made you so de-humanized and de-sensitized that you are busy serving their interest and are apathetic to the very people who have brought you into this office.

Your administration lies through its teeth and accuses anti-POSCO struggle of making bombs. Your police tries to run over their leader. Such is the rottenness of your rule that even fact finding teams are hounded by company goons who are getting more confident as they are literally getting away with murder.

Finally, if you have any shame left, Mr. Patnaik, resign and apologise to the women of Dhinkia, Govindpur and Patana.

We speak on behalf of several women’s groups and well known activists who endorse our view. The complete list is attached to this letter.

Kaveri,  Kamayani, Kalpana

For Women against sexual violence and state repression

More than 100 people signed the letter sent to the CM endorsements Below

1
Asit Das-  Posco pratirodh solidarity Delhi
Kalpana Mehta, Madhya Pradesh Mahila Manch, Indore
Kaveri Indira, Scientist, Bangalore
Kamayani Bali Mahabal, Human Rights Activist , Mumbai
Mamata Dash ,Posco pratirodh solidarity Delhi
Chittraranjan singh National Secretary PUCL
Ashok choudhury NFFPFW
Dr.Sunilam Kissan Sangharsh Samiti
10 Kiran Shaheen Women against sexual violence and state expression(WSS)
11 Anand swarup verma Editor samkaleen tisri duniya
12 Prashant Pairikay, Posco pratirodh sangharsh samiti
13 K.K. Niyogi All India platform for labour rights
14 Manj mohan Hind mazdoor sabha
15 Roma NFFPFW
16 Anil chaudhury INSAF
17 Insha malik Research sholar JNU
18 Bhupen singh Research sholar JNU
19 Vijay pratap Socialist front
20 Madhuresh NAPM
21 Rajendra Ravi NAPM
22 Anna khandre Samajwadi party
23 Putul Yuva bharat
24 P.K. sundaram IndiaResists.com
25 Prakash kumar ray Editorbargad.org
26 Nayanjyoti Krantikari naujawan sabha
27 Vinod singh Samajwadi jan parishad
28 Rakhi Saiigal Labour activist
29 Gopal Krishna Toxic Watch
30 Shankar Gopalakrishnan
31 Saheli, Delhi
32 Devika Biswas, State convenor
33 Healthwatch Forum , Bihar, C/O BVHA PATNA BIHAR
34 Ruchi Shroff , Mumbai
35 Madhumita Dutta
36 ‘Suresh Bhat B, Concerned Citizen, Mangalore
37 Sudha Bharadwaj, Chhattisgarh PUCL.
38 Rakmakant Banjare, Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Committee)
39 Nisha Biswas , Kolkata
40 Swatija, Mumbai
41 ‘Prabhakar Pandit from Mumbai Mobile Creches_
42 Rahul Yogi Deveshwar
43 Independent Voice , Shanti se Kranti
44 Nirja Bhatnagar, Mumbai
45 Himadri Sekhar Mistri, Research Scholar, Delhi School of Economics
46 Women’s Research and Action Group
47 Tanushree Gangopadhyay, Ahmedabad
48 Anjali sinha  Madhubala from Stree mukti sangathan
49 Madhubala, from Stree mukti sangathan
50 Sankara Narayanan_
51 Sharanya Humane, Koraput
52 Rakesh Narayana, PUCL – Bangalore
53 Kaushiki Rao, Bangalore
54 K. Sajaya, Hyderabad
55 Uma V Chandru, WSS Activist, Bangalore
56 Aruna Chandrasekhar, Research and journalist
57 Shraddha Chickerur
58 Vivek Sundara, Socila Activist, Mumbai
59 Pushpa (Member, WSS-Karnataka)
60 Abha Bhaiya
61 Anuradha Pati
62 Kannamma Raman, University of Mumbai
63 Jeevika Shiv, Centre for Equity Studies, Delhi
64 Kabi S., Bombay
65 Devaki Jain
66 Rina Mukherji
67 Soma KP
68 Aanchal Kapur
69 Trupti Shah, Sahiyar (Stree Sangathan)
70 K. Sajaya, Hyderabad
71 Iqbal Baig
72 Sudha.S. Bangalore
73 Sadhna, Delhi
74 Ratna, Law Student, Bangalore
75 Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar, Bangalore
76 M. R. Prabhakar, Bangalore
77 Nisha Biswas, Kolkata
78 Gowru Chinnapa, Bangalore
79 Ayush Ranka, Bangalore
80 Rakesh Narayana, PUCL – Bangalore
81 Sharanya, Humane, Koraput
82 Shakun.M, Bangalore
83 Soundarya Iyer, Research Scholar, NIAS, Bangalore
84 Sudha Bharadwaj, Chhattisgarh PUCL.
85 Rakmakant Banjare, Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha (Mazdoor Karyakarta Committee)
86 Vasanth Kannabiran
87 Shyama K Narang
88 Anupriya, Delhi
89 Chhaya Datar
90 K. Lalita
91 Neha Dhingra
92 Rina, Kolkata
93 Sutapa Majumdar
94 Lalita Ramdas, Bhaimala, Alibag
95 Admiral L. Ramdas, Bhaimala, Alibag
96 Vinay Bhat, Management Consultant, Santa Clara, CA
97 Gopika Solanki
98 Uma Chakravarti
99 Mary E John
100 Suneeta Dhar
101 Arundhati Dhuru
102 Dr Veena R Poonacha, Director, Research Center for Women’s Studies & Project Director, Dr. Avabai Wadia Archives, SNDT Women’s University
103 Sharmila Rege
104 Veena Shatrugna
105 Gabriele Dietrich
106 Devangana Kalita
107 Tungshang Ningreichon, Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights
108 Meera, Narmada Valley
109 Prem Verma, Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum, Ranchi, Jharkhand
110 Lakshmi Premkumar, Programme for Social Action (PSA), New Delhi
111 Priyanka Borpujari, independent journalist
112 Koyel Lahiri, MPhil student, CSSSC
113 K Babu Rao, NAPM, Hyderabad
114 Lokesh, Stree Mukti Sangathan
115 Gee Ameena Suleiman
116 Maitreyi, ALF, Bangalore
117 Prafulla Samantara, Convenor, NAPM
118 Kunal Rawat, New Delhi
119 Prasad Chacko, Social activist, Ahmedabad
120 Alaka Basu
121 Anita Ghai, Feminist and Disblity rights activist, Delhi
122 Parth J Dave, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
123 Pradeep Esteves, Context India, Bangalore
124 Nitesh Mohanty, The RootMumbai
125Jayati Lal, Visiting fellow, CSSS, JNU