Vol - 2, No. - 3 November - 2011 Voice of Voiceless Torture, Testimonies of Survivor and Right to Health Hindustan Times, Lucknow Monday, June 27 2011 Index 1. Torture, testimonies of survivors and Right to Health Dr. Mohan Lal Panda 2. A pilot project to improve psychological wellbeing among survivors of torture in India. Inger Agger, Lenin Raghuvanshi, Shirin Shabana Khan, Peter Polatin & Laila K. Laursen. (Scientific article from Torture Volume 19, Number 3, 2009) 3. Regional Convention: Atrocities upon minorities, SC, backward class, women and human rights defenders 4. Lucknow Declaration. This document had been produced for Jan Mitra Nyas/PVCHR with financial assistance from Rehabilitation and Research centre for torture victim (RCT). The organizations are not liable for anything but the authors. Contact : Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) SA 4/2A, Daulatpur, Varanasi 221002 (India) Mobile No. : +91-9935599333, E-mail : [email protected] www.pvchr.net Voice of Voiceless TORTURE, TESTIMONIES OF SURVIVORS AND RIGHT TO HEALTH “My name is Harinath Mushahar and I am 50 years old. Apart from working in the field as a landless labourer, I make leaf plates and sell it for making a living. On February 1988, two days after Basant Panchmi, we all family members were sleeping under one roof. Suddenly, at 4 a.m, there was a knock at the door. My wife opened the door then, she saw the police. Two policemen barged inside and pounced on me, grabbing my arms wanted to take me to the police station. When they pulled me outside, then I saw Ramdev Yadav, Rambali, Vikram Pehlwan, Kanhaiya, Dr. Bhaiyalal telling the police, 'Arrest Lalman'. Seeing them Lalman was trying to flee. Lalman and I, both of us were taken to Phulpur police station. Police continued thrashing me for 8 days and pressurised me to fall on their line and accept that we have committed the theft. Four policemen were moving over my body and pounding with wooden stick as it seemed they were walking on the field but not over a human being. While narrating the police's savagery tears jerks out of my eyes. There was no one to advocate for us. Whenever any high official visited the police station, police used to hide us. Police used to give us one meal a day, it's was quite difficult to take food, I used to writhe terribly in pain but then also neither they applied any ointment nor they gave any oral medicine for healing the wounds. The pain was unbearable. Facing continuous torture for 8 days in the lock up, I was sent to the jail. I was treated in the jail. It always crossed over my mind, what fate had befallen on me and suffering for whose sin, then I questioned myself is it not that I am facing it for being born a 'Mushahar'. Waiting for my bail after two and half months I was released. After that, I had to appear on the hearing of my case. My incarceration in jail pushed my family to languish in penury and my son died deprived of a proper treatment. Medicines vanish from the Government hospitals so my son also left this world without medicine. If he would have been alive then he would lend his helping hand in my hour of distress. On 16th April 2002, the Court awarded imprisonment, which distanced me from my family members. On that day I and my brother, Lalman reached the Court in the morning. Our name was called after the Judge occupied his seat. My advocate asked us to stand at the dock. Then, he whispered something on Judge's ear. At around 2 p.m. the Court broke for the lunch and the Judge went away. Filled with fear, I went to the Judge then he told me, “Go I am coming. I trusted him and I came back to my seat. Post to the lunch the Judge came. Staring at the door I was thinking would the advocate coming or not. I was getting frightened. Court's reader made an announcement in the post-lunch session. Then the Judge gave the ruling, “Sentenced for 10 years of imprisonment and booked under 382 and 459 IPC. Deposit a penalty of Rs. 17,000 to the Court.” It was shocking for me, my face grew red, and I started sweating. They did not know that I had been jailed. They were thinking that I might have gone to my sister's house. ..... When they went to the advocate to ask him he just bluffed and told that we had asked to be forgiven so we were sentenced for 10 years of imprisonment. When it was narrated to me it hurt me terribly and started crying. 1 Voice of Voiceless Some days after staying at Chokaghat District jail I was shifted to Central jail. ...... I was assigned the job of cleaning the barrack and filling up water where the Pakistani prisoners were kept. After two and half years, at Central jail's Shivpur farm, 6 jail inmates were allocated the work of cultivating 6 acres. Each prisoner had to do ploughing and weeding of an acre.... After putting up a hard toil covering whole of the day we were given Rs. 10 as a daily wage. On Sundays, we had to work but we were not paid single paise. When I asked twice why we were not paid wages for the work done on Sundays, then they responded Sundays are holidays so we do not pay. I used to think, are there holidays in jail but I could not ask them out of fear. We used to toil hard for 30 days in the month but 15 days were entered in the register and 15 percent from our wages went as commission to the contractor. At that time, I used to think 'what a fate had befallen on me!' Many a times I cried and mocked on my pathetic conditions. In the jail, I earned through sweat and blood of my hard toil but that's also being snatched away by others. I was put behind the bars on trumped up charges without committing any crime. I was afflicted by tuberculosis (TB) due to insufficient food and hard toil. Continuously I had to take medicines for 6 months to cure my TB. I was served milk and eggs but couldn't consume it as health conditions were quite precarious.... Whenever there were rains, I used to think if the thatched roof leaks then where would all family members sleep. Days passed by while working but my nights were sleepless as worries and anxieties filled up my restless mind. It was quite a delightful moment, though quite a shorter one, when family members came to meet me at the jail.... One day, when my family members came to meet me I handed over Rs. 5000 which I earned while working in the jail. Once I passed on Rs. 1,000 and then, Rs. 2,000 but took away Rs. 500 for my personal consumption to purchase soap and oil. In the jail I worked in the field for 7 years. In 2009, I asked the police officer, “When I would go home?” Then, his response was that my jail term had finished two months back as I was unable to pay the penalty due to tuberculosis. Then he told me that I would be released on 2nd February 2011. After this, I started counting the days and used to think if I had the penalty to pay and not afflicted by tuberculosis then I could have been in home. The days passed by. 2nd February was day of celebration for me. Earlier I had informed my family members. I was besieged by happiness and I did not take any food..... I was thinking I would go to my home and village. I would breathe in fresh air liberated from the shackles of bondage. Seeing the Superintendent of Police (SP) coming, I rushed to the office, and then he handed over a cheque of Rs. 6,081 and gave me Rs. 500. After being released I briskly walked towards my home. Then, tears jerked through my eyes and it seemed that happiness was all around me. Reaching home, I spent the entire night talking to my wife and children...... For earning a living she carried lanterns or tube lights over her head in wedding ceremonies at night. She made leaf plates to run the household. My son toiled hard to earn Rs. 35 as a daily wage. Listening to their woes I cried incessantly. 2 Voice of Voiceless False case was framed against me and jailed for 10 years. I lost 10 years which won't come back. What I want that it should not happen with others.... Coming back from the jail, I am no more interested to go anywhere. After being punished for so many years I started thinking myself as guilty. I think what people might be thinking about me. I am mentally disturbed. Due continuous police beating and the hard toil which I put in jail for years together, there is always terrible pain in my body.” (Excerpt of the Testimony of Harinath Mushahar and the testimony was recorded by Farahat Shaba Khanam and Meena Kumari Patel on 4th March, 2011, under RCT-PVCHR initiative for Testimonial Therapy) In this article detention refers to prison, police custody and custody under security forces. Why Testimony The testimony (truth telling and emotion-pain sharing of survivors) is a short psychological approach to trauma.