In September 2005 the Asian Human Rights Commission and Varanasi-based partner the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) organised a public hearing on hunger in the east of Uttar Pradesh. The panel, which was chaired by a retired high court judge, directly heard 25 detailed complaints of starvation from people of various Dalit (so-called “untouchable”) communities. It also heard comments from many other persons who gathered for the hearing. It learnt that from July to September 2005 four people had starved to death in Shankarpur village of Varanasi and Tanda village of Ambedkar Nagar. It heard that although starvation deaths were going on, victims’ families were not receiving proper attention from the government authorities and food security schemes were not being properly implemented.
The tribunal noted that the state government of Uttar Pradesh was completely failing in its obligations required by law and the directions of Supreme Court to uphold the right to food. It found that endemic corruption was a significant cause of the problems, and that even the autopsies of persons who died from starvation were not being conducted properly.
The findings of the tribunal were published locally, and in a special edition of the regional human rights periodical, article 2 (vol. 4, no. 6, December 2006; available online at: www.article2.org/pdf/v04n06.pdf).
More than one year on, the state government has done nothing. Caste-based discrimination reigns supreme in Uttar Pradesh, and people in the eastern districts continue to live in extremely grim conditions, with virtually no food, shelter or work. Local groups, including PVCHR, have taken on the role of the state government in giving assistance and support.
For instance, in Raup village of Sonebhadra the Food for Work scheme is non-existent to the people of the local Ghasia community, and not a single one among them has been enrolled under the National Employment Guarantee Act. Meanwhile, the Dalit village heads of Vajidpur and Koirajpur in Harhua block of Varanasi district have been assaulted and threatened by caste Hindus, yet despite several complaints to concerned police stations no action has been taken against the alleged perpetrators. In Koirajpur the village head, who is also a woman, had the license of a corrupt distribution outlet licensee suspended, but later it was reinstated because of flawed and prejudiced inquiry reports by corrupt and discriminatory government officers.
More than one year on, the Asian Human Rights Commission and People’s Vigilance Committee for Human Rights again demand of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav that his government acts upon the recommendations of the People’s Tribunal on Starvation in Uttar Pradesh, specifically that it:
The tribunal panel called on the state government of Uttar Pradesh to
1. Look into the malfunctioning of Public Distribution System outlets in the state, particularly in Sonebhadra and Varanasi districts;
2. Call for reports from the district administrations of Varanasi and Sonebhadra regarding recorded complaints of food scarcity and lack of proper distribution of rationed articles;
3. Instruct police officers in these two districts to explain why they had not initiated any action against corrupt Public Distribution System outlets licensees, in spite of complaints filed regarding the malfunctioning of certain outlets;
4. Take immediate steps to register cases against persons found in breach of the Essential Commodities Act, and revoke the licenses of licensees who had violated its provisions;
5. Map out persons in need of immediate food assistance and ensure that the free ration and food for work programme would be implemented without failure in Varanasi and Sonebhadra, in conjunction with concerned local groups;
6. Pay special attention to the welfare of the children in abject poverty; and,
7. Root out caste-based discrimination from the state.
We will persist with these demands until they are met.
