Volume 1, No. 3, May 2000

Creeping Fascism

– Guna

The Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Bill, scheduled to be introduced in the current budget session of parliament is an even more draconian version of the earlier TADA (Terrorist And Disruptive Activities Act). In fact, at a meeting of the ‘Public Interest Legal Support and Research Centre’ held on April 8 at Delhi it was said that "the CLA Bill is worse than any repressive law enacted by the British rulers." The Home Minister, Advani, is the primary sponsor for this super-TADA law, which was finalised last December by the Law Commission, headed by Justice Jeevan Reddy.

The earlier TADA, was allowed to lapse in May 1995 as a result of a massive movement against it. In its decade-long existence it was used as a weapon to crush all opposition, incarcerating 76,000 people. These included peasants agitating for land reforms or against the then Dunkel Draft, workers protesting against retrenchment and particularly thousands of muslim youth who sought to resist the attacks of the hindu chauvinists. Also arrested under the earlier TADA, at one time or another, were advocates, journalists, artists, playwrights and academicians. The government was forced to allow TADA to lapse when there developed a massive uproar against its arbitrary usage. Thousands and thousands of muslims took to the streets; civil liberties activists raised their voice all over the country; and academics and intellectuals from all walks of life lodged their protest.

But even then, the government sought to re-introduce TADA through the back-door. A week before it lapsed on May 23, ’95, the government introduced the CLA in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to give a more permanent status to anti-terrorist legislation. It was then not passed due to a lack of consensus. Now the BJP seeks to revive the 1995 CLA, with a far greater draconian content. Besides, the CLA report is itself heavily communal, openly targeting the ‘muslim fundamentalists’ and the ‘Christian north-east’, without even a mention of the communal actions of the hindu fascists in large parts of the country.

Advani, in typical fascist double-speak, while categorically ruling out the possibility of the Centre reviving TADA, has been encouraging the state governments to introduce their own mini-TADAs, and is now introducing it at the Centre through the back-door, in the form of the CLA Bill.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have introduced their TADAs. Even Maharashtra brought in a TADA in 1999, in the form of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. Then, on February 2 ’99 the Home Ministry did away with certain amendments in the 1995 CLA thereby restoring the original draconian provisions of TADA. Finally, the Law Commission has introduced a number of new clauses which makes the original TADA even more draconian. And to give it an aura of respectability, it has been recommended by a number of ‘experts’, including the Chairman of the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission).

When the earlier TADA was in operation, it remained in force for two years and was subject to review. The new TADA will remain in force for a period of five years; thereby restricting the scope of review by any future government. Also, in the earlier TADA an area had to be declared as a ‘disturbed area’ before it became operative; now the entire country will automatically come under its jurisdiction. Besides, the new TADA widens the scope of a definition of terrorist, and enormously extends the powers of the police and executive, curtailing the powers of the judiciary.

The Bill is vague on the definition of the term ‘terrorist’, and in effect, it could be labelled on anyone the government feels like branding. The Bill specifically refers to : "membership of a terrorist gang", without defining what comprises such a ‘gang’; it includes anyone "who harbours or conceals an offender", thereby giving it powers to harass relatives, friends, etc; it includes any speech or article in the media which could in anyway be sympathetic to a ‘terrorist’ cause, thereby curtailing freedom of speech; it includes trade unions or "other mass movements if it questions sovereignty", thereby restricting the right to organise or oppose government policy; etc, etc. So a ‘terrorist’ could be a journalist interviewing a leader of a banned organisation, a person protesting against an unpopular measure of the government, railway employees striking work, a lawyer defending cases of members of banned organisations, a news channel reporting on atrocities of the armed forces and even a person whose finger prints may be found on the site of a bomb blast.

The Bill defacto gives license to torture : (i) by allowing as evidence in the court, confessions given to the police and (ii) by permitting police custody of 30 days and allowing this to be repeated every six months, on the mere filing of an affidavit by a police officer. The Bill allows the identity and address of witnesses to be kept secret even during cross-examination, thereby allowing the police and government a free-hand to plant fake ‘witnesses.’ It allows the police to remand anyone for upto six months without framing charges, thereby giving arbitrary powers to the police. It allows confiscation of property by the police, and not the judiciary as is normally the case. What is more it allows for confiscation of property even before the person has been prosecuted. This confiscation can be ratified not only by a court, but also an "executive authority". Summary trials can result in imprisonment upto two years, when the normal is three months.

It denies the process of natural justice, where a person is believed to be innocent unless proved guilty. In the Bill a person is treated as guilty according to executive fiat, and has to prove his/her innocence. Besides, the trial can be conducted in the absence of the accused or their pleader. It has made bail exceedingly difficult, it prevents appeal to the High Court, and allows 30 days appeal to the Supreme Court. Through this Bill, the Executive will take over all powers of the civil courts, and has the powers to create offenses, mete out punishment and seize property.

The hypocrisy of the BJP-led government is apparent. On the one hand it shouts from the roof-top about democracy and against the Pakistani dictatorship, while on the other, it differs little from any military dictatorship. This Act will only be one more addition to the already existing fascist legislations like the Disturbed Areas Act, Armed Forces Special Powers Act, etc. Besides, in India, the rulers require no laws — thousands and thousands are murdered in cold blood..... and this is passed off as ‘killed in encounter’. In India such extra-judicial killings have surpassed even those of the tin-pot dictators.

From the earlier TADA it was clear that it was a political weapon which was used to attack dissidents and minorities. The very fact that the largest number of arrests under TADA took place in Gujarat, where there is no so-called ‘terrorist’ activities shows that it was actively used against trade unionists (Reliance workers), minorities and dissidents. This is also evident from the fact that a mere 1% of those arrested under TADA faced conviction. In other words, without any evidence of ‘criminal’ activity whatsoever, thousands were incarcerated for years under TADA. In fact, of the total, 25% of the cases were dropped even before framing charges. Only 35% of the cases were brought to trial, and of these 95% ended in acquittal. But, in the process thousands spent years in jail.

The present TADA will be even more ruthless. Already thousands are being shot down, tortured and arbitrarily arrested. Even under existing laws the trade union upsurge of government employees in January was brutally crushed. The smallest dissent is met with the iron fist of the state. So, even without such a draconian law, the state has already taken on monstrous proportions. One can only imagine what this TADA can result in !!

The rulers and the media-hype go on and on about ‘ISI operations’, ‘soft state’ etc, etc., as grounds for the need for a TADA. But the reality lies elsewhere. With the Indian rulers becoming more and more servile to imperialism, and implementing policies dictated by them, the already poverty stricken masses are being pushed to conditions of extreme destitution. The massive retrenchments, wage-cuts, price rise, cuts in subsidy etc., are even hitting the organised working class and a large section of the middle classes. Except for a small section of the elite and of course the TNCs, the entire country is being pushed towards destruction. The ruling classes know that the increasing gap between the rich and the poor is going to lead to explosive situations. It is to protect themselves from this coming outburst that the rulers are equipping themselves with TADA like legislations, and increased fire power through huge hikes in defence and police expenditure.

In this situation of growing class conflict, it is only the imbecile who talk of giving up violence and joining the ‘parliamentary mainstream’. The rulers act primarily outside the ‘parliamentary mainstream’, and the people know that nothing is achieved through the talking-shop, which is rife with corruption, bribery, intrigue and decadence. When pushed to the wall they will react spontaneously, violently. It is this anger that the rulers seek to divert into communal and religious frenzy. So the middle class that seeks a peaceful existence, talking of ‘parliamentary mainstream’, or those well-fed NGOs who prattle such trash in their isolated havens, must realise that in the developing scenario if there is no revolutionary violence, there will either be communal violence or anarchic violence....always accompanied with state violence. To talk of peace, non-violence etc., for the masses, means, ineffect, giving sanctity to state /communal violence.

The introduction of TADA, has to be seen in the context of the all-out attack on the working people. Recently, the union cabinet has also decided to amend certain provisions of the Trade Union Act, thereby seeking to further restrict rights of the working class. The imperialists have long-since been demanding greater ‘labour flexibility’ with the right to hire and fire at will. The amendments in the TU Act is a first step in that direction. More will follow. (See following political Note)

Today, the need of the hour is for all genuine democrats to take to the streets and militantly fight the growing fascist measures of the ruling classes. A wide democratic movement is needed to prevent the CLA Bill from becoming Law. Let the BJP and their hangers-on beware the wrath of the people. Besides, it would be good if it learnt just one lesson from Pakistan — that Nawaz Sharif has been sentenced to life imprisonment, by the very anti-terrorist law of his own creation !!

(Based on the PUDR publication ‘Not Another Terrorist Law Please’, February 2000)

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