Monthly Report of January

EU-FNSt-PW NATIONAL PROJECT ON PREVENTING TORTURE IN INDIA
FROM PUBLIC AWARENESS TO STATE ACCOUNTABILITY

State unit - Uttar Pradesh
Monthly Report of January 2007


Our case of no proper treatment of a prisoner Chegvevara in Varanasi jail, our partner organization took this case before NHRC and other police officials and Jail and District administrations provided the medical treatment to him .Project filed the writ petition in this case before the high court of UP in Allahabad and Court gave very positive judgment in this case.

Model Talluk:-

On 25/01/2007, The Pindra Tehsil was proposed to be adopted as a Model Taluk. For which S.D Dr. Lenin & S.P.C Mohd. Moosa Azami organized a press conference which is held in Pararkar Bhawan Maidagin, Varanasi. In which journalist & media persons were participated. The aspects that Pindra Tehsil {Model Taluk} should declared to be a very sustain people’s campaign against torture.

Awareness Programme:-

On 22-23 January 2007 a two day C.S.O workshop was organized in Varanasi. Chief Guest of this program was Mr. Basil Fernando, Executive Director A.H.R.C, Mr. Bijo Francisco South Asian Desk officer of A.H.R.C, Mr. Gnana Prakashan, National Director Peoples Watch, Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi- State Director Peoples Watch Uttar Pradesh &Father Pal Disoza, Director of Nav Sadhna Tarna Varanasi U.P.
Advocacy:-

S.P.C Mr. Mohd.Moosa Azami visited I.G. Office to meet I G of police Varanasi zone and discuses regarding Police awareness programme and Presented Recourse material and resource materials published by project.
I.G. was very happy but he sad that election commission directed us to transferred those police officer those are more then three year working in Varanasi that’s way maximum number of police officer are come under these direction so we are un able to organize and participated this programme

M.M. Media Fellowship:-

On 25/01/2007, in that press conference S.D. was also announced regarding the information about Mukunden Menon media fellowship.

Other Activities:-

Human Rights street Movement is organized in Chadauli District on 16 January 2007.March with torch against torture is key element of HR street Movement which is received a lot of attraction and participation of civil society of areas.

In 24-01-207 meeting was conducted in the presence of Dr. Gnana Sir, National Director of the project, was perused the work of us appreciated & suggested that our team spirit of this division should be more vigilant & effective.

In the month of January 2007 total 3 staff meetings were conducted on the following dates:-
{1} 04-01-2007
{2} 18-01-2007
{3} 24-01-2007
SPC was participating of National consultation regarding strengthen to Human Rights Institution in Delhi which was organized was ACHR , PARVI , & PWTN ,
State Director Lenin visited the Sonbhadra along with DHRM .He intervened in a case of youth and student leader, who is victim of torture by Police and administration through falsely implication of him under Gunda act. SD called to DM and appealed to revoke the Gunda Act from him. He collected the all fact and he highlighted the technical fault in order of Gunda Act. After that DM revoked the Gunda Act.
Folk school of victims organized in Model Taluka at Belwa village in collaboration with PVCHR, AHRC, VOP and CRY .
Folk School for victims of Caste discrimination at Belwa of Varanasi,India
Essentially, the folk school approach is to improve equality in a society by improving the speech capacity of the poorer and the weaker section of the society. Improving their capacity to talk back and thereby creating a two-way discourse in the society is the way the concerns of the weak are brought to social discourse. The more silent the poor and the weak are, the less they will get from society.
Matters of justice depend very much on the capacity of concerned people to un-censor themselves and to speak out constantly. Normally there are many unwritten rules through which people censor themselves. For example, some topics may be considered taboo in some societies or sub sections of societies. For example, as an effect of feudal culture it is often observed that families of hunger victims hesitate and have subjective reservation to express themselves in respect of their acute poverty and hunger situations to which they have been going through.. For example it may be an unwritten rule that some “lower class people” do not talk back to “higher class people”. It may also be that some unwritten rules of censorship are enforced by punishments. For example some groups of people, if they talk about themselves and the wrongs that they bear they will be punished either physically or by other means. In all these instances the capacity to un- censor we is an essential component of seeking justice. When a small group of people begins to un- censor themselves others watch and soon begin to un-censor themselves as well. In this manner taboos invariably dissolve. The initial stages of un-censoring require:
1. Location from which you can break the rules of censorship while assuring protection for yourself.
2. The will to break such rules of censorship.
3. Creating an audience for you, which may at the beginning, is small.
4. Keeping at it day in and day out until taboos slowly begin to dissolve.
Accumulate information and protect documentation. This is a very important area of trying to create a discourse on justice and human rights issues related to caste discrimination.

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), People’s watch UP and People’s Vigilance committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) organized a folk school on 18-19 January 2007 at Belwa village of Varanasi,India with the help of Local committee of Voice of People (VOP).In this school 30 victims participated and shared their experiences with Mr. Basil Fernando, Executive Director of AHRC and Mr. Bijo Francis of AHRC.