ShriRajnath Singh
Minister of Home Affairs Ministry of Home Affairs North Block
Central Secretariat
New Delhi 110 001
Sub: Letter of solidarity from members of civil society – the Government’s actions
against Greenpeace India arean attack on Democracy and Freedom of Speech
The move by the central government to freeze Greenpeace India’s bank accounts and block sources of funds, is a blatant violation of the constitutional rights to freedom of expression and association. It also seems to be an attempt to warn civil society that dissent regarding development policies and priorities will not be tolerated, even when these are proving to be ecologically unsustainable and socially unjust. These are dangerous signs for the future of democracy in India.
Specific allegations of legal violation contained in the Ministry of Home Affairs’ notice are aspects Greenpeace India needs to respond to. However, the notice also charges the organization with adversely affecting “public interest” and the “economic interest of the State”. These charges give the impression that Greenpeace India is indulging in anti-national activities, using foreign funds. However, dissenting from the government’s development policies, helping communities who are going to be displaced by these policies to mobilise themselves, and generating public opinion for the protection of the environment can by no stretch of imagination be considered anti- national, or against public interest. Quite the contrary, any reasonable policy of sustainable development (which the government claims to adhere to) will itself put into question quite a few of the mining, power, and other projects currently being promoted. ”
Civil society organisations in India have a long and credible history of standing up for social justice, ecological sustainability, and the rights of the poor. When certain government policies threaten these causes, civil society has a justified ground to resist, and help affected communities fight for their rights. This is in fact part of the fundamental duties enjoined upon citizens by the Constitution of India.
In two recent court judgments involving previous attempts by the government to muzzle Greenpeace India, the democratic principle of dissent has been upheld. In January 2015, the Delhi High Court observed: “Non-Governmental Organizations often take positions, which are contrary to the policies formulated by the Government of the day. That by itself…cannot be used to portray petitioner’s action as being detrimental to national interest.”In March, the Delhi High court observed that “contrarian views held by a section of people…cannot be used to describe such section or class of people as anti-national.” The court also observed that there was nothing on record to suggest that Greenpeace India’s activities “have the potentiality of degrading the economic interest of the country.”
21 April 2015 New Delhi
It is shocking that despite these clear judicial pronouncements, the government has for a third time acted against Greenpeace India. We cannot but conclude that this is an attempt to divert attention from the serious issues that Greenpeace India and many peoples’ movements and NGOs are raising, regarding the need to respect the rights of adivasis and others who depend on the forests, wetlands, coastal areas, and other ecosystems, and the need to move towards policies that are ecologically sustainable and do not cause further climate change. Large-scale mining, such as in the areas that peoples’ movements are active, are a threat to forests and other natural ecosystems, to communities that depend on them including tribal peoples. These and other issues are highlighted by organisationssuch as Greenpeace India, which also generate significant information on the environment, crucial for taking the right decisions regarding sustainable well-being.
It is also shocking that while alleging violations regarding FCRA, the government ordered the blocking of even those accounts where Greenpeace India uses its domestic funding (and it is relevant here to note that the majority of its funds according to its audited accounts are from thousands of Indian individuals). It has even blocked its online donation facility.
The government should immediately take back these illegitimate, unfair, and repressive moves, and provide Greenpeace India a fair opportunity to respond. More generally, it must respect the freedom of speech that all Indian citizens have a constitutional right to, including the right to dissent, upheld by court judgments. The government’sattempts to browbeat civil society will not make the issues of social and environmental injustice disappear. We assert that long as these issues remain unresolved, civil society actors will continue to do all that is necessary towards a just and sustainable society.
- AchinVanaik, Retired academic, writer, and anti-nuclear campaigner, Delhi
- A. Vaidyanathan, Former Member, Planning Commission
- Achyut Yagnik &Ashok Shrimali, SETU: Centre For Social Knowledge And Action,
Ahmedabad
- Harsh Mander, Human rights worker and writer
- ShripadDharmadhikary, ManthanAdhyayan Kendra, Pune
- Aruna Roy & Nikhil Dey, MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan(MKSS), Rajasthan
- GautamNavlakha, Peoples’ Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Delhi
- Claude Alvares, Former Standing Committee Member MoEF, Goa Foundation, Goa
- MedhaPatkar, Narmada BachaoAndolan
- Madhuresh Kumar &SuhasKolhekar, National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements(NAPM)
- Shailesh Rai, Amnesty International India, Bangalore
- Ravi Rebbapragada & Ashok Shrimali, Mines Minerals & People (mmP)
- VinaySreenivasa, Alternative Law Forum (ALF), Bangalore
- Swami Agnivesh, BandhuaMuktiMorcha, Delhi
- KavithaKuruganti, Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture(ASHA)
- Rajesh Krishnan, Coalition for a GM Free India
- Ashish Kothari and MeenalTatpati, Kalpavriksh, Pune
- SujitPatwardhan, Parisar, Pune
- MadhuriKrishanaswami, KisanAdivasi Dalit MuktiSangathan, Badwani, Madhya Pradesh
- BiswajitMohanty, Conservationist, Bhubaneshwar
- BittuSahgal, Conservationist, Mumbai
- Justice H. Suresh, Former Judge, Mumbai High Court, Mumbai
- Lakshmy Raman, Sanctuary Asia
- Rajeev Dhavan, Senior Supreme Court Advocate, Delhi
- Tapan Bose, South Asian Forum for Human Rights (SAHFR), Delhi
- AneeshThillenkery, EktaParishad
- P.M. Bhargava, Supreme Court Nominee to Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)
- Leo Saldanha, Environmental Support Group (ESG), Bangalore
- SeemaKulkarni and K. J. Joy, SOPPECOM, Pune
- RamasamySelvam, Tamil Nadu Organic Farmers Federation
- ShabnamHashmi, ANHAD, Delhi
- KuldipNayar, Snr journalist and columnist, Delhi
- PrafulBidwai, Sr Journalist & columnist, Delhi
- N.P . Chekkutty, Editor, Thejas daily, Kerala
- Neeta Chalke, India Habitat Forum (INHAF), Pune
- Pratibha Sharma&Dharmesh Shah, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)
- MalatiGadgil, KagadKachPatraKashtakariPanchayat(KKPKP), Pune
- AparnaSusarla, SWaCH, Pune
- Y ogeshwar Y . Dudhapachare, Green Planet Society,Chandrapur
- T.R. Shankar Raman, Snr. Scientist, Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF)
- ShubhranshuChoudhary, CGNetSwara, Chhattisgarh
- RadhikaRammohan&SangeethaSriram, reStore, Chennai
- Tarun Joshi, VanpanchayatSangarshMorcha, Nainital
- Xavier Dias, Editor, Khan Kaneej Aur ADHIKAR (Mines minerals & RIGHTS)
- K. Ramnarayan, Himal Prakriti, Uttarakhand
- Malika Virdi, Maati Sangathan, Uttarakhand
- S. Faizi, Ecologist / Board member, CBD Alliance, Trivandrum
- Neeraj Jain, Lokayat, Pune
- Ingrid Srinath, Hivos, Mumbai
- V.B. Chandrasekaran, Chatti Mahatma Gandhi Aashramam, Andhra Pradesh
- John D’Souza and J. John, Centre for Education and Documentation (CED), Mumbai/Delhi
- Prasad Chacko, Human Development and Research Centre (HDRC), Ahmedabad
- Mansoor Khan, Film-maker, author, climate activist, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
- Parineeta Dandekar, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), Pune
- SudhaBharadhwaj, Trade Unionist and Human Rights Lawyer, Chattishgarh
- RachnaArora, Public Awareness on GM Food
- Henri Tiphangne, Chairman, Forum Asia, Madurai
- ParanjoyGuhaThakurta, Sr Journalist, Political Commentator, Filmmaker, Delhi
- MajaDaruwala, Human rights activist, Delhi
- Sethu Das, Founder Chair, Friends of Tibet, Delhi
- Sudha Reddy, Eco-Foundation for Sustainable Alternatives, Bangalore
- Shankar Sharma, Power policy analyst, Delhi
- Paul Divakar, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights(NCDR), Delhi
- K.Baburao, Advisor, NAPM, Andhra Pradesh
- AnandPatwardhan, Filmmaker, Mumbai
- UttamJagirdar, Filmmaker and social activist
- Ashok Chowdhury, All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP)
- SouparnaLahiri, All India Forum of Forest Movements(AIFFM)
- ChhayaDatar, Women’s rights expert
- Mira Shiva, INES/ Diverse Women for Diversity, Delhi
- Joseph Xavier, Indian Social Institute, Delhi
- NityanandJayaram, Writer, teacher, social activist, Chennai
- UshaSoolapani, Thanal, Kerala
- Dunu Roy, Hazards Desk, Delhi
- D. Roy Laifungbam, Centre for Organization Research and Education, Manipur
- E. Deendayalan, The Other Media, Bangalore
- Ravi Nair, South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRD), Delhi
- AkilaBalu, Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network, Chennai
- Debi Goenka, Executive Trustee, Conservation Action Trust (CAT), Mumbai
- Sridhar Lakshmanan, Founder, Basecamp Social Research Foundation
- Organic Farmers Market, Chennai
- Safe Food Alliance, Tamil Nadu
- Balaji Shankar, ThalaanmaiUzhavarIyakkam, Tamil Nadu
- V .R. AnanthaSayanan, Founder, TharcharbuIyakkam, Tamil Nadu
- J.C. Kumarappa Foundation, Tamil Nadu
- Tula India, Chennai
- Amit M. & Sreedevi L., Urban Leaves, Mumbai
- Uzramma, Handloom supporter, Hyderabad
- Blaise Joseph, Freelance artist, Belgaum, Karnataka
- Sajeed Khalid, Welfare Party of India, Kerala State committee
- S.P . Udaykumar, Activist, Tamil Nadu
- Tara Murali, Architect, Chennai
- UshaRai, Development journalist, Delhi
- AmalaAkkineni, Actress, Hyderabad
- LalitaRamdas, Educator and activist, Maharashtra
- Jai Sen, Researcher and editor, Delhi
- GeethaIyer, Consultant – Education, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu
- Gautama G., Educationist, Chennai
- NandiniOza, Researcher and activist, Pune
- SeethaAnanthasivan, Educationist, Bengaluru
- SharadLele, Researcher, Bengaluru
- SeemaPurushothaman, Academic, Bengaluru
- Benny Kuruvilla, Researcher, Delhi
- RohitPrajapati, Environmental Activist, Ahmedabad
- AnantPhadke, Health worker and activist, Pune
- E. Theophilus, Conservationist, Uttarakhand
- AsadRahmani, Conservationist, Mumbai
- Palla Trinadha Rao, Advocate, Andhra Pradesh
- Rajni Bakshi, Journalist and author, Mumbai
- Arindam Biswas, Photographer, trekker, wildlife enthusiast, Kolkata
- Lavanya Suresh, Academic, Hyderabad
- Bipasha Majumder, Freelance communication consultant, Mumbai
- Lisa Fonseca, Organic farmer, Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
- Dionne Bunsha, Journalist, Mumbai
- Shivaji K. Panikkar, Ambedkar University, Delhi
- Rana Roy, Student
- Sagar Rabari, Activist, Ahmedabad
- B.K. Manish, Tribal rights activist, Raipur
- Cedric Prakash, Director, PRASHANT, Ahmedabad
- Akhilesh, Academic, Bhubaneshwar
- Aseem Shrivastava, Author and economist, Delhi
- PalakAggarwal, Sustainable Development Practitioner, Odisha
- Mohan HirabaiHiralal, Forest rights activist, Chandrapur
- Harsh Kapoor, Human rights activist, sacw.net
- Raj Kishore Das, Retd officer, teacher, Bhubaneshwar
- ArunWakhlu, Training and leadership professional, Pune
- SatyaRaiNagpaul, Filmmaker, Mumbai
- Ghanshyam Shah, Social researcher, Delhi
- PersisGinwalla, Ahmedabad
- Shishir K. Jha, Academic, IIT Bombay
- NagmaniRao, Academic, Pune
- Chandrasekaran P., Software engineer, Chennai
- Aparna Krishnan, Homemaker, Chennai
- Suresh Lakshmipathy, Entrepreneur, Chennai
- SandeepPattnaik, Researcher, Bhubaneshwar
- HardikaDayalani, Program Coordinator, Hunnarshala Foundation, Uttar Pradesh
- SabitaParida, Development professional, Delhi
- Mona Mishra, Strategic Planning consultant UNDP, Sexual Health and Rights activist, Delhi
- Snehal Shah, Research consultant, Delhi
- Krishna Srinivasan, Social worker and Enviro-Legal Researcher, Pune
- NeerajBhatnagar, Action Aid, Mumbai
- AravindaMaheshwari, Auroville, Tamil Nadu
- JasminMaheshwari, Auroville, Tamil Nadu
- GajananKhatu, Economist, Mumbai
- David Selvaraj, Visthar, Bangalore
- Gajanan Khatu, Economist, Mumbai
- Shreenivas Khandewale, Agronomist, Nagpur
- Bindu Desai, Human rights activist, Mumbai
- Balaji Shankar, Organic farmer and writer, Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu
- BalachanderSwaminathan, Software professional, Tamil Nadu
- ShashankKela, Writer, Chennai
- Subhayu Mishra, Member, Wild Orissa, Mumbai
- Atul Gupta, Filmmaker, Dehradun
- Venkat T., Researcher, Chennai
- Suhas Paranjape, Water specialist, Pune
- Louis Menezes
- Joe Athialy, Activist, New Delhi
- AvinDeen, Conservationist, Bengaluru
- AnandaVadivelu, Institutional economist, Delhi
- G. Chandrasekhar, Cardiac surgeon and sustainable farmer
- SumitraPurkayastha, Researcher, Kolkata
- Yatish Mehta, Businessman and activist, Mumbai
- Sahba Fatima, Jr. consultant, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi
- G. Baskaran, Ravi Kunjwal, Amritanshu Prasad, Rahul Siddharthan, SitabhraSinha, V.S. Sunder,
& T. Vinod Kumar, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
- T.S. VijayaRaghavan, Advocate, Chennai
- V.R. AnanthaSayanan, Activist, Chennai
- VineethaBambasala, Environmentalist, Bengaluru
- N.D. Hari Dass
- Kiran Seth, Academic & founder, SPICMACAY, Delhi
- Roy Jacob, Farmer, Kerala
- Meera Rajesh, IT Consultant & environmentalist, Bengaluru
- Walter Mendoza, Pune
- RevaDandage, Educator, Udaipur
- ShobanaRamkumar, Teacher, Chennai
- J.R. Ganesh Babu, Chennai
- Chithra V., Teacher, Chennai
- Daya Lakshmi, Chennai
- S. Annapoorni, Homemaker, Chennai
- D.W. Karuna, Researcher, Chennai
- Satyarupa Shekhar, Researcher, Chennai
- MahiPuri, Wildlife researcher, Bengaluru
- Narasimha Reddy Donthi, Hyderabad
Address for correspondence: MeenalTatpati, [email protected]
Copy to:ShriL.C. Goyal, Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block, |
Central Secretariat, New Delhi 110 001 |
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