Historically, terrorism refers to the use of terror as a method to undermine just struggles, whether armed or unarmed, The State uses this method in several ways, two of which have gained much notoriety. The first is the direct use of ‘error by the State against the People as in killings, fake encounters, torture, extortion, rape and various acts of violence against the people. The state also finances non-governmental, terrorist organizations to carry out bombings, kidnappings and indiscriminate killings; The aim of the latter is to Create an atmosphere of anarchy and violence so that, out of frustration, the people absolve the State for its direct use of violence and other means of repression.
The moment a private citizen kills another or violates another person’s integrity, the sanction of law is invoked and usually victims do not need to set the legal machinery in motion to get the perpetrator of the crime punished, In theory, whenever a government Official indulges in an illicit act, the law should work against him also. The criminal procedure in India, however, has an archaic Section 197 which requires that the government grant authorization before a public servant can be prosecuted for an offence. Given that the accused public servant is usually committing the crime under order of the same authority which grants permission for prosecution, it is easy to see why permission is often withheld,
Private individuals have little power. Even the worst dacoit is constrained by a short life span, but when the State is transformed into an institution of crime it aims to eternally perpetuate itself. Therefore human rights organizations generally concern governments whose officials shelter themselves from the purview of the law.
Clever governments are able to mislead the people into thinking that human rights groups arc nothing more than front organizations for terrorists, since we argue that even those whom the authorities claim are terrorists must be given a chance to prove that they are not what they are suspected to be. It is the duty of the State to track down and restrain criminals and not that of human rights organizations. The mandate of human rights organizations is to ensure that the due process of law is accorded to the suspect once he is caught. It would be ridiculous to expect terrorist groups to provide due process of law to their victims!
In the process of tracking down a criminal, investigating agencies capture many an innocent man, This is why legal systems around the world are designed so that the person who investigates does not also act as a judge. The police, by law is assigned the duty of investigating suspects. The judiciary is to pronounce its verdict after giving the accused an opportunity to defend himself. Thus arises the legal axiom that the accused is presumed innocent ill he is proven guilty. A person could be framed and put into the position of the accused by circumstances, ill-will or by malice. If the experience of Indian Courts is any indication, an innocent person is framed in far too many cases and hence the necessity of a judicial method to determine the guilt of the accused,
State terrorism usually strikes first at this pillar of arriving at the truth, The investigative agency, when faced with difficulties, argues that it is impossible to tackle criminals unless the usual safeguards are relaxed for a period of time and it is allowed to assume the role of judge and jury. Such a relaxation leads to the undermining of the rule of law, whatever the level it was operating at in the first place. Who are the terrorists? You and I, who perchance happen to be accused of terrorism by a police official, It is important to determine the truth because suspects are gathered from amongst you and me, and unless their guilt is determined beyond reasonable doubt, they cannot be dubbed as terrorists,
Human rights organizations always ask for terrorists to be punished. A terrorist gang by its very nature is beyond the pale of law and can only be caught, investigated, tried and punished by the State. It is always safer to wait and hang a terrorist on the basis of verifiable proof than to shoot a man and ask questions later. Human rights organizations want terrorists to be caught. But they do not want a man to be branded a terrorist if he is actually a political worker of a leader of the tribals, or because he has championed some unpopular cause, or is disliked by a local landlord or not favored by a particular business man.
Terrorism, strictly speaking, is an act of intimidation of innocent people, threatening their lives, destroying their property, depriving them of their liberty and creating tension amongst them, Such behavior is not.an act of liberation achieved through struggle. It is to sabolage a just struggle and make the people vulnerable to the attacks of the State. No individual act of violence against the populace, under the pretext of winning victory in armed struggle for a just cause, can be accepted.
When in any society, a violent act which is more heinous than a normal crime occurs and it is termed terrorism, there is temptation to kill the suspects without giving them a fair trial on the pretext that a terrorist does not warrant the normal safeguards of a routine criminal. The immediate temptation to adopt totalitarian Strategies to deal with terrorism, however destructive, has little chance of success. If we are to be cavalier about the principles of democracy, we will only fall into the same error as the terrorists who have no dearth of arguments to justify their means and ends.
In Punjab so far, the government has followed a terrorist approach, Innocent people are kidnapped and abducted in unidentified vehicles by armed men of the police and not produced before any Court. Many are killed in fake encounters and their dead bodies are not returned. Hundreds of men are missing and their whereabouts unknown. One such person is Ram Singh Billing, a human rights activist and journalist who was abducted by the police on 3-1-92 in Sangrur. He has not been produced in Court so far in spite of worldwide protests to the government. Which law permits the police to kill persons in custody? Which law permits them to abduct? Which law allows torture as the only method of interrogation?
Gobind Ram, SSP Batala, used to openly practice torture, ¥ Sarpanches of Batal are signed and stated to the Governor that Gobind Ram had killed many innocent young men in custody. PHRO mobilized the people to hold a dharna on 30-9-89 at Chandigarh seeking action against Gobind Ram. Many persons were arrested that day, including myself, and the peaceful dharna was not allowed. No action was taken against Gobind Ram, The result: his son was killed, followed by his own killing for reasons of personal vendetta.
It is high time we see the tangled question of terrorism and human rights in the proper perspective.
On a personal level, I would like to add, I was kidnapped, not arrested, on April 3,1992. I was gagged and picked up and taken to a police station, with no information given to my family. It was a classic case of kidnapping but there was not remedy as my captors were policemen, My house was searched and valuables looted.
The act had all the ingredients of a dacoity and theft but again there was no remedy as the culprits were policemen. I was threatened with physical harm, which is criminal intimidation. I term it terrorism by the State and call such a State the fountain head of terrorism. On what moral grounds can it be preached that people should obey the laws when it is not even obeyed by those who enacted and derive their authority from it? It would seem that the State does not have any such moral grounds but I do . I call upon all to support the rule of law and demand that those who have violated the law must be punished. I give my vote and pay my tax for the police to protect me from private criminals and terrorists. Criminals don’t acquire guns with my money or my votes. But cannot be silent when men for whose upkeep I pay taxes, and for whom I establish an elaborate system of protection and privileges and surrender part of my rights, simply catch, pillage and kill at random, just like others beyond the pale of law. This is State terrorism It is this which must be ended at once if peace is to prevail in my land.
Justice Ajit Singh Bains comes from a patriotic and. Progressive family. His father was a freedom fighter who remained in British jails from 1938 to 1946. Justice Bains did his law from Lucknow University and began practicing. In 1974 he was elevated to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, from which he retired in 1984, He was Chairman of the Bains Committee set up by the Barnala government which reviewed the cases of those detained by the police during the Punjab agitations, and formed the Punjab Human Rights Organization in 1985. He has been in jail since April 3,1992 under TADA, The following piece is written by him from Bural jail, Chandigarh.
Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 7, 1992
