NOWHERE TO GO THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI

Transcription

1 NOWHERE TO GO THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI

2 2 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 3 Amnesty International India is part of the Amnesty International global human rights movement. Amnesty International India seeks to protect and promote the human rights of everyone in India. Our vision is for every person in India to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international human rights standards and the Constitution of India. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion, and are funded mainly by contributions from individual supporters. First published in 2017 by Amnesty International India #235, 13th Cross, Indira Nagar, 2nd Stage, Bengaluru , Karnataka, India Amnesty International India Original language: English Printed by Amnesty International India. Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International India, this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. Cover photo: Mohammed Sajid, his wife and three children inside their makeshift tent home at a resettlement colony in Shahpur, Muzaffarnagar Photos by Ruhani Kaur, Nadeem Khan, Arijit Sen & Abhirr VP for Amnesty International India Designer: Mohammed Sajjad Children stand in front of the makeshift toilet they are forced to use at the Manovar Hassan colony, Shamli. I remember every bit of the riots. But what can I do? Not everyone has money that can ensure that one s children, parents can forget all this and restart life. Those who got compensation have moved on and those who didn t have got stuck. Even now people are in trouble and are driven from pillar to post. Riyasat Maksood, Bavadi village, Muzaffarnagar

3 4 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI BACKGROUND On 7 September 2013, at a massive gathering in a village outside Muzaffarnagar city, Hindu leaders from the dominant Jat community addressed a crowd of over 100,000 people. They had gathered to discuss the recent killings of two Hindu men in an altercation with Muslim men. The altercation had also prompted large gatherings previously, including by Muslim men, in other locations. Inflammatory speeches were made, allegedly by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, instigating Hindus to take revenge for the killings. The gathering was followed by an outbreak of violence in the neighboring districts. Over 60 people were killed in the clashes, which ended only after three days. Tens of thousands of Muslim families from about 140 villages were forced to flee their homes and take shelter in relief camps. On 26 October 2013, the state government announced that it would provide a one-time compensation amount of INR 500,000 for relocation and rehabilitation - to families from nine villages it said were the worst affected. Civil society organizations found that people living in the relief camps had been asked as a precondition to receiving compensation to sign an affidavit saying that they would not return to their villages, and that they would not demand compensation relating to any damage to any immovable property. In December 2013, the Supreme Court, which was hearing several petitions related to the riots, expressed concern about media reports that over 50 children had died in the relief camps, and ordered the state government to provide immediate remedial assistance. The state government subsequently began to demolish the relief camps, forcibly evicting many of those who had fled their homes in fear. About 30,000 Muslims relocated to 28 resettlement colonies in Muzaffarnagar and 37 resettlement colonies in Shamli, with the aid of civil society organizations. Between August 2016 and April 2017, Amnesty International India and AFKAR India Foundation, an NGO based in Shamli, visited 12 resettlement colonies, met 65 families and analyzed the documentation of190 families who are still struggling to rebuild their lives in the absence of compensation. According to government records, 980 families in Muzaffarnagar and 820 families in Shamli have received compensation so far from the nine identified villages. However about 200 families from these villages are still waiting to receive relocation compensation. In several cases, authorities have inconsistently applied their definition of a family to deny compensation. In others, families have had to face clerical errors and corruption. Many of these families live in horrific conditions in so-called relief colonies, with little access to water, sanitation, electricity and adequate housing. The Uttar Pradesh government has failed to meet its obligations under international and Indian law to provide adequate remedy and reparation and protect the human rights of those displaced in Three years after the riots, hundreds of families in Muzaffarnagar continue to be denied their rights and dignity. COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS OF THE VIOLENCE On 10 September 2013, the Uttar Pradesh state government announced that it would provide financial assistance to the families of those killed or injured in the riots: INR 20,000 for persons who were injured; INR 50,000 for persons who were seriously injured, and INR 100,000 to the family of each person who was killed. The government also said that it would provide INR 400 per month to injured persons. The central government announced that it would provide INR 200,000 to the families of those killed, and INR 50,000 to those who were seriously injured, from the Prime Minister s Relief Fund. The state government also said that it would provide employment to one member of each of the families of 59 people who were killed. On 26 October 2013 the state government stated that it would give about 1800 families from the nine worst-affected villages INR 500,000 as one-time assistance for resettlement and rehabilitation. The government said the compensation was meant to assist families who did not find it safe to return to their villages. It also said that it had provided compensation for damage to property caused in other villages, but did not take any other measures towards rehabilitation or resettlement. In February 2014, it increased the compensation given to the families of those killed in the violence, and to the parents of children under 5 years of age who had died in the relief camps. NINE VILLAGES IDENTIFIED BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR COMPENSATION: NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 5 MUZAFFARNAGAR SHAMLI Fugana Kutaba Kutbi Kakda Lisadh-Hassanpur Lank Bahavadi MohammadpurRaisingh Mundbhar 60 + KILLED 50,000+ PEOPLE DISPLACED COMPENSATION PROMISED BY UTTAR PRADESH GOVERNMENT POST RIOTS 20,000 FOR INJURED ,000 FOR SERIOUSLY INJURED 300,000 FOR FAMILY OF EACH PERSON KILLED A relief camp in Malakpur, Shamli district, where more than 4500 riot survivors lived till Image courtesy: FAMILIES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INDIA AND AFKAR INDIA FOUNDATION MET IN 2017 THAT HAVEN'T RECEIVED COMPENSATION. 500,000 FOR 1800 FAMILIES FROM NINE WORST-AFFECTED VILLAGES.

4 6 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 7 COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS OF THE VIOLENCE Activist Harsh Mander, who has worked to defend the rights of the survivors, told Amnesty International India: By selecting only nine villages, the state administration showed a callous disregard towards the riot survivors. The government selected only villages which saw significant loss of life and property. It ignored villages where people fled their homes because of fear and where people left their homes because they were ransacked or burnt down. Soon after the riots, several writ petitions were filed before the Supreme Court seeking rehabilitative and protective measures for the survivors. The court clubbed the petitions and delivered a judgment on 26 March 2014 in the Mohammed Haroon v Union of India case directing the state government to take steps to deal with the situation more effectively. The court ruled, We prima facie hold state government responsible for negligence in preventing communal violence in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas. It ordered the immediate disbursal of compensation. It also ruled that people who had received the one-time compensation of Rs 500,000 and had then tried to return to their villages would not have to return the compensation amount. The Uttar Pradesh government s one-time offer of financial compensation did little to provide the comprehensive reparation that those displaced by the Muzaffarnagar violence needed. Full reparation goes beyond compensation, and involves elements of restitution, rehabilitation and satisfaction, which were almost completely ignored. In addition, as this briefing shows, many of the families from the nine identified villages also did not receive the compensation they were due. Relocation compensation is certainly necessary to help internally displaced citizens re-build lives. However, it is merely one part of the package of comprehensive reparations that states owe citizens when they fail to protect them. Comprehensive reparations to survivors who are forcibly displaced by conflict are needed to not only enable them to re-build lives of dignity but to acknowledge the gravity of their violation, and to establish the principle of state failure and accountability for their suffering. FARAH NAQVI, Activist Piles of bricks at the Idris Baigh resettlement colony, Shahpur.

5 8 LOSING FAITH: THE MUZAFFARNAGAR GANG-RAPE SURVIVORS' STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE LOSING FAITH: THE MUZAFFARNAGAR GANG-RAPE SURVIVORS' STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE 9 DENIAL OF COMPENSATION About 190 families from the nine villages identified as worst-affected by the government told Amnesty International India that they had been denied compensation by the state. As a result, several of them have been unable to afford education and healthcare for their children, and continue to live in makeshift relief colonies in squalid conditions. Our good times have been pushed back by 10 years to 15 years. We cannot provide for the future of our children. Amjad Khan displaced from Mohammadpur Raisingh village, now lives in Hussainpur colony with his wife and children. Children play near open sewage at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony, Shamli.

6 10 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 11 DEFINING A FAMILY Many families were denied compensation by authorities who However several families say that they were denied compensation claimed despite evidence to the contrary - that they were part despite having separate kitchens, and often having ration cards of a larger joint family which had already received compensation. indicating that their addresses were different from those of their In Uttar Pradesh, as in many other parts of India, households relatives. that live under the same roof are demarcated as separate units Amjad Khan, for example, used to live with his parents, three depending on whether they use a separate kitchen. The Census brothers and a sister in Mohammadpur Raisingh village. Their of India defines a household as a group of persons who normally house had a common entrance, and separate rooms for each live together and take their meals from a common kitchen. The census definition states: The important link in finding out whether it is a household or not, is a common kitchen. There may be one member households, two member households or multimember households. The Chief Development officer of Muzaffarnagar district also told Amnesty International India that the state government defined a family using the same concept. He said, A family unit hinges on the idea of ek chhath aur ek chulla [one roof and one stove]. There can be many variations to this but if a house has a kitchen then it is considered as a separate household. nuclear family unit. Importantly, the parents and the brothers all had independent cooking arrangements and used different stoves. The absence of a common kitchen signified that they were separate households. (NO PHOTO) However, while Amjad Khan s father Nawab Khan received Rs 5,25,000 as compensation in 2014, all the four brothers say they were verbally told by different government officials that they would not receive any money as they were part of the same family. The brothers say they have filed several applications, but to no avail. Some of the families Amnesty International India spoke to also have government identification documents such as ration cards and voter identification cards with different addresses from their family members. However they have also been denied compensation. Mohammed Islam with some of his relatives at the Idris Baigh resettlement colony, Muzaffarnagar. 75-YEAR-OLD ISLAM has five sons: Muntiaz, Shamshad, Rashid, Jubaid and Dishad. Muntiaz and Shamshad have five children each, while Rashid has two. Before the riots, Muntiaz, Shamshad and Rashid lived separately in Kakra village their ration cards have different addresses on them. Following the attacks, all the families were forced to leave their village, and now live in a colony for riot victims. While Islam received INR 500,000 as compensation in 2014, all his sons were denied compensation on the ground that they had been living together as one family. The money my father got as compensation has been spent. I showed my ration card to the government officials but they say that I won t get compensation. This is really unfair. My children were going to the government school nearby, now I am thinking whether I should stop their education and get them to come with me and find work. SHAMSHAD, Islam's eldest son My husband died worrying about his family. We haven't got any compensation, we have no house and live in a makeshift space. I have to look after my children now and it's very difficult to find a job. We are in a lot of debt: how can I repay it? Somedays it's difficult to buy any food and we go hungry. If anyone falls ill, what will I do? How will I afford treatment? 75-OLD LATIF and his three sons Naushad, Irfan and Sammedin fled their village following the riots. Naushadhas four children, Irfan two, and Sammedin seven. While Latif received compensation from the state, authorities denied compensation to his son, claiming they were one family, despite their having ration cards with different addresses. Sammedin Latif died last year of a heart attack. His wife Sammina said that he had been under immense stress SAMMINA Makeshift tent homes at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony, Shamli. Sammina Latif and her three children at the Idris Baigh resettlement colony in Shahpur, Muzaffarnagar.

7 12 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 13 GULZAR BABU, his wife Shabana and their four children fled their home in Kakra village following the riots. Three years later, the family is struggling to make ends meet. Gulzar Babu says he has been told by the state government that he is not eligible for compensation because he and his three brothers used to live with his father, who had already received compensation. IMRANA, wife of Tahir, Kakra village: The lives of Imrana and Tahir Jahid who have seven children are no different. Tahir was forced to find work in Rajasthan where he is employed in a brick kiln. Tahir was denied relocation compensation by the state authorities who said they had already gave it to his father. I have two children and no money. It s very difficult to educate them. We have received no help from the government for their education. We still have to pay fees in the government school, pay for their books and uniforms. How can I afford all this? We were forced to leave our villages, leave everything we owned. SHABANA Shabana and her children at the Idris Baigh resettlement colony in Shahpur, Muzaffarnagar Momin with his family in Kandhla in Shamli district. In Lisar village, Shamli, Amnesty International India met MOMIN, an owner of a small hardware store who said he is yet to receive any compensation. Momin said, During the riots, I was away in Khekra. My children were in the village and so were my four brothers and their families. After the riots everyone left. He reached his village a week later, to find that his house had been looted and all his household goods stolen. While his brothers received compensation of INR 500,000 each, Momin says he was denied compensation by government officials for various reasons. Momin says he lost his identity documents during the riots - a problem that other riot victims also faced, which made it difficult for them to claim compensation and rebuild their lives. I want to tell the government that if they give us compensation, then we can make our house. Even if you can t give us five lakhs, we beg you to give us at least two or three lakh. At least we will make a house to live. It s very difficult to run a family of seven, Tahir is always outside trying to find work so that we can survive. My children are hungry most of the time." The district officials would call us when the survey was being done. First they would say that we were staying in the same the house. Our main gate was shared, so they would say it is the same house. Sometimes they would say that I lived in Khekra, so I was not eligible. MOMIN, owner of a small hardware store IMRANA We have met many families who were denied compensation because the state started clubbing many families as one joint family. You tell me, how are four brothers who have left their land, their house - everything they own - and who are married and have children, expected to live with 500,000 INR?" AKRAM AKTHAR CHAUDHARY, AFKAR India Foundation

8 14 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 15 We conduct a detailed investigation and we give compensation to only those who were affected by the riots. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE OF MUZAFFARNAGAR THE RIGHT TO FULL AND ADEQUATE REPARATION Victims of human rights abuses have a right to full and effective reparation under international human rights law and standards. The right to reparation includes restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. The UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law states that reparation should seek to as far as possible, wipe out all the consequences of the illegal act and re-establish the situation which would, in all probability, have existed if that act had not been committed. Compensation should be proportional to the gravity of the violation, and assessed based on physical or mental harm, including pain, suffering and emotional distress; lost opportunities, including employment and education; material damages and loss of earnings, including loss of earning potential; moral damage; and costs required for legal or expert assistance, medicines and medical services, and psychological and social services. However while financial compensation is vital, it is only one of several elements of reparation. Restitution is intended to restore survivors to the original situation that existed before the violations, including return to their place of residence, restoration of employment and return of property. While it may be difficult to restore victims of the Muzaffarnagar violence to their original situation,which itself was one of inequality, the Uttar Pradesh government must make a concerted effort to provide survivors with appropriate compensation and other forms of just reparation that would enable them to lead their lives with dignity. Rehabilitation measures must include medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services. Adequate rehabilitation for the victims of Muzaffarnagar, says activist Farah Naqvi, would involve restoring houses or constructing new dwellings, providing alternate employment, restoring civic amenities and community structures, including schools and health centers, long-term psychological counseling, and particular rehabilitation provisions for women, including long term support and rehabilitation of those widowed. Finally, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition include both individual and collective processes, such as actions to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes, public acknowledgment of the facts and acceptance of responsibility, prosecution of the perpetrators, and the restoration of the dignity of victims through commemoration and other means. An order by the District Magistrate, Budhana stating that Mukeen was not eligible for re-location compensation because his father had already been given compensation.

9 16 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 17 BIASES IN SURVEYS The process of identifying the families that were eligible for the government s one-time compensation was carried out by district government officials. However several of those displaced by the riots said that the survey procedure was inherently biased, as it often relied on the testimonies of the Hindu neighbors of displaced Muslim families, who may have themselves taken part in the violence. 70-YEAR OLD ASGAREE SAQEER and his four children lived in separate households in Shamli district. She told Amnesty International India that neither he nor his children had received any compensation, and that the survey was biased: The villagers and the pradhan [village head] were effectively deciding which riot victim gets compensation. When the surveys were being done,one of the criteria to be eligible for compensation was that you should get a signed affidavit from the village Pradhan that you were living in the village and that you lived in an individual household. We have seen many cases where the pradhans have misused their power and have harassed many riot victims." AKRAM AKTHAR CHAUDHARY, AFKAR India Foundation My eldest son Irfan was called by the district authorities in Shamli when the government was conducting surveys for identifying riot victims for relocation compensation. They called him thrice, but all three times they told him that our family was not eligible for compensation. ROSHAN SULAIMAN and his five brothers fled their houses in Fugana during the riots. Only two of the six families received compensation. Roshan says he is being denied compensation because of the communal polarisation in his village: Roshan Sulaiman at his home in Kandhla in Shamli district. When the government officials conducted a survey of riot affected villages, we learnt that those who attacked us and burnt our homes during the riots had told them that we were a single family living together. These officials didn't corroborate this information, and blindly gave relocation compensation only to my elder brother when in fact all six of us brothers were living independently. ROSHAN SULAIMAN All my children are daily laborers so they were not in the village during the riots, but their families were. Irfan saw our neighbors tell district authorities that we were not in our village when the riots happened, and so were not eligible for compensation. We have lost everything - our homes, our properties - and the state government is denying us compensation just because my sons were not in the village when the riots happened. How is this possible?" ASGAREE SAQEER MOHAMMED RASHID and his two brothers fled their village Lak during the riots. They were all denied relocation compensation despite possessing documents including ration cards and voter ID cards which showed that they were living in different households in Lak. Rashid was in Lak when the district administration was conducting the survey for identifying riot victims. He says that Hindu villagers in Lak - who were the only people consulted by administration officials - were effectively deciding which of the riot victims would get compensation. My name was in the survey list, but when we went to Lak during the survey, what we saw was that the local officials would delete our names because the villagers there would say we were not living in Lak We protested a lot but nothing has happened. How can villagers, most of whom are accused in riot cases, decide whether we should get compensation or not? How is this fair? These people even told us that our names would be put on the list only if they got a share of the compensation money. MOHAMMED RASHID In December 2014, three revenue officials were suspended for failing to identify riot victims properly,and causing a delay in providing compensation to 101 people in Hassanpur village. In February 2017, Amnesty International India found that at least 16 families in Hassanpur are still waiting to receive their compensation. Asgaree Saqeer at her home in Shamli district.

10 18 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI CLERICAL ERRORS In at least two cases, compensation was denied to families on the ground that it had already been paid to an older relative who had died several years ago. 65-year-old YAMIN HAMID, who fled the violence in Fugana village, was denied relocation compensation by the Uttar Pradesh government on the ground that authorities had already given relocation compensation to his father Hamid. However Yamin s father Hamid had died in The family tried to use his death certificate to claim compensation, but they were unsuccessful. When I showed my father s death certificate to the district magistrate, he promised to review the compensation documents. But I haven t heard anything from his office after that. I tried to get an appointment with the district magistrate many times but have not been able to meet him. I feel lost and tired and I have given up. I have been to Lucknow but there also I was turned away by the government s officers. I left my village, left everything I had. How can they deny compensation to me by saying they gave it to my father who died many years ago?" YAMIN HAMID, Fugana village NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 19 Death certificate of Yamin's Yamin s father, Hamid signed with the by seal Kairana of the Panchayat Kairana Panchayat in Shamli in district. Shamli district. The certificate The states certificate that states Yamin's that father passed Yamin s away father in passed the 1970s. away in the 1970s. Death An order certificate by the district of Yamin's magistrate, father, Budhana Hamid signed stating by that Kairana Yamin Hamid Panchayat was denied in compensation Shamli district. because The his father certificate states had already that Yamin's received father passed compensation. away in the 1970s. Yamin Hamid at the Falah-e-aam resettlement colony in Muzaffarnagar.

11 20 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 21 MOHAMMED SHAFI, who also fled Fugana village with his family, was denied compensation on the ground that his father had already been paid compensation. Only, his father had died 30 years ago. When I asked the officials, they said that my father had already been given the money. I asked them to show the details of the deposit, but they had nothing to say. The officials told me that I was wasting my time running around for compensation, and that I should just accept that I would not get any. The district magistrate promised us that an investigation would take place, but nothing has happened for the past three years. MOHAMMED SHAFI, Fugana Village CORRUPTION OVER COMPENSATION Many riot victims alleged that they had been forced to pay a percentage of the compensation money as a bribe to government officials. The inconsistent application of the definition of a family appears to have made it easier for officials to threaten to make a family ineligible for compensation if they were not paid a bribe. MOHAMMAD AYUB (name changed) from Kutba village says Ayub says that of the INR 500,000, a victim stood to receive as he remembers every minute of the morning of 8 September. compensation, INR 150,000 had to be given as a bribe to the His village had been tense following the news of a murder of administration officials. We thought that if everybody is getting a Muslim man. Ayub is still grateful to his Jat neighbours who compensation like this, we also have to take this route. So from helped him and some others to hide that morning. the compensation I got, I paid the official INR 245,000. For Gulfam and Irfan. I said I would pay INR 55,000 when the work Ayub sold his house last year to a Hindu family. Who else will is done. Ayub said the bribe worked. stay there? There is not one Muslim in the village, he said. Ayub said he had received compensation, but his brothers Gulfam and Irfan had not. It was made evident by government officials, Ayub says, that one had to pay money to receive compensation. The officials took their documents. They went through them and did their investigation. My name was there in the first list of victims. My brothers names were also there. But then someone removed the name, and another person s name was inserted. MOHAMMAD AYUB, Kutba village MAHTAB MEHMOOD from Kutbi village says he still remembers the day his neighbors attacked his family. His house was set on fire and his family fled their village to a relief camp in Shahpur. Three years later, he is struggling to get the relocation compensation promised by the government. Amnesty International India spoke to several government officials from Muzaffarnagar and Shamli, but none of them were willing to comment on allegations of corruption in the disbursal of compensation. My house in Kutbi was about five houses away from my father's house. When the survey was being done, government authorities asked me to pay a bribe of INR 50,000 to put my name on the list. I refused. I have all the documents, like a ration card and a voter ID, to prove that I was living in Kutbi - why should I pay a bribe then? But at the end, only my father got compensation and my three other brothers and I were denied compensation. Mohammed Shafi and his grandchildren at the Falah-e-aam resettlement colony in Muzaffarnagar. MAHTAB MEHMOOD, Kutba village

12 22 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI DENIAL OF BASIC AMENITIES IN RIOT VICTIM COLONIES NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 23 I have heard state officials say the riot victims are basically living in camps because they want free food. I would wish that the state officials who claim this spend one night with their families in a relief camp and see whether anyone would chose the indignity, the lack of privacy, lack of hygienic conditions, face extreme weather conditions, state hostility before they stereotype and blame riot victims. HARSH MANDER, Activist An open drain in front of a house at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony, Shamli.

13 24 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 25 DENIAL OF BASIC AMENITIES IN RIOT VICTIM COLONIES Amnesty International India researchers visited six resettlement colonies: Falah-e-aam and Sarai in Muzaffarnagar, and Manovar Hassan, Idrees Beg, Safa and Al-Khair in Shamli about their living conditions. Without exception, families in these colonies lived in unsanitary and dangerous conditions. Large pools of stagnant water, which provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes, were visible in all the colonies. In most colonies, toilets, which invariably lacked proper drainage, were shared by three or four households. Flies swarmed around open sewage, and rats were a common sight. In some colonies, people used holes in the ground as toilets, their walls strung together from sticks and clothes. During the monsoons, residents said, excrement from the toilets would overflow into their makeshift houses. The families who were forced to flee their homes in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts are internally displaced persons, who are accorded several protections under international human rights law and standards. Authorities are obligated to provide them with adequate housing, water and sanitation facilities, and essential medical services. Three years after the Muzaffarnagar riots, however, thousands of families continue to live in desperate conditions in makeshift houses with poor access to water and sanitation. According to Living Apart, a 2016 report by Aman Biradari and the AFKAR India Foundation on living conditions in 28 resettlement colonies in Muzaffarnagar and 37 in Shamli districts, an overwhelming majority of families in these colonies lack access to basic services. THE REPORT STATES: Only eight colonies out 28 of in Muzaffarnagar, and 11 out of 37 in Shamli, have personal toilets. There are no public toilets in any of the colonies in Muzaffarnagar, while only 3% of the colonies in Shamli have public toilets. 61% of colonies in Muzaffarnagar and 70% of colonies in Shamli do not have drainage facilities. 82% of colonies in Muzaffarnagar and 97% of colonies in Shamli do not have clean and safe drinking water 54% of colonies in Muzaffarnagar and 81% of colonies in Shamli do not have personal electricity connections. One of the main reasons why resettlement colonies don t have any toilets, drinking water and other basic amenities is because this is not an important issue for political parties in the state. Even during the state elections, no one spoke about the living conditions of these riot victims, no one cares about them. AKRAM AKTHAR CHAUDHARY, AFKAR India Foundation In many colonies where riot victims live, there are no facilities for water, electricity or proper toilets. At night, women are very reluctant to go to the toilets. They go together, in a group. It is very dirty here. There is constant water logging and there is no proper drainage. There are so many mosquitoes here. People get sick a lot. Mohammed Salim, President, Riot Victims Justice Committee, Muzaffarnagar District The sole functional bore well at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony.

14 26 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 27 FALAH-E-AAM COLONY MANOVAR HASAN COLONY ZUBAIR and his family fled Lisar village after their house was ransacked and burnt. When the violence ended, Zubair thought that things would return to normal. But for three years, this daily wage labourer has been struggling to put his life back together. The Falah-e-aam colony was built by a local Muslim group with no support from the state. The houses don t have potable water sources, public toilets, or electricity connections. Families who live here say they have petitioned the state repeatedly for these services, but nothing has been done so far. WASEELA says the buckets she uses for storing water are stained yellow because of the poor quality of water available at the Manovar Hasan colony near Kairana in Shamli district. This colony is one of many where the state government has failed to provide safe and potable water for riot victims. Waseela shows the buckets she uses for carrying water from the bore well at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony. Zubair and his family in their home at the Flah-e-aam resettlement colony, Muzaffarnagar. One of my two daughters was sick. I took her to Delhi to see a doctor, but she couldn t survive. There are so many mosquitoes here in the colony. When it rains there is always water logging, and water comes inside the house. My wife delivered my daughter in these conditions. I am really helpless. You see the colour of the water, it s yellow. You tell me how can we use this water for cooking and drinking? My children have fallen ill many times after we shifted to this colony. There are no facilities here - no electricity, no drinking water, the nearest hospital is in Kairana. We spend most of our money on treating our children who fall ill drinking this water. WASEELA ZUBAIR In this colony, the hand water pump is is in the middle of a garbage dump. The water IDRIS BEG COLONY is yellow, and because of all this garbage, there are so many mosquito here. Most of SYEDA her seven-year-old son and her husband Aash Mohammed, a labourer, fled Fugana after a mob killed her father-in-law. The the water pumps don t work. We have been living here for three years. We left our home family lives in Idris Beg, a colony for riot victims that was set up without any government assistance. Aash Mohammed received compensation for his father's death, which was used to construct a house that even today has no water or electricity connections. We were forced to leave all our Reshma Salman drawing water from a bore well in the middle of a garbage pit at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony, Shamli. in Fugana, and till now the government has done nothing here. There is no medical center and no electricity. We keep falling sick all the time RESHMA SALMAN belongings. The government has not given us any land to relocate, and we had to buy land and construct our There are six water pumps here. But house. We have no money left. The there is only one where the water is government promised us INR 500,000 actually fit for drinking. If you take this for which we applied two years ago. water and leave it for some time, you We still haven't received any response will see how the water turns yellow. from them. The place where we live Most of the children here have either has no electricity or water. At night, we malaria or cholera. When we go and struggle in the darkness. There is no ask the tehsildar why there are no drainage system, and there are just too facilities here, they tell us there is a many mosquitoes. It s very difficult to new government and that we have to live here. wait. For how long should we wait to SYEDA Syeda and her son in their home at Idris Beg colony. just drink good water?. MOHAMMED SHAHZAD Mohammed Shahzad stands near an open drain at the Manovar Hassan resettlement colony, Shamli.

15 28 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 29 SAFA COLONY In this colony, four houses here have to 20 people from three households use share one toilet. There are at least 20 one toilet here, and most of us are people in these four houses it s very women When one of is us using the difficult, especially for us women. At night, toilet, you will find at least 10 waiting we have no option but to go to the fields. outside. It s very difficult. When it There are regular arguments and fights rains, all the waste comes out and the about who will use the toilet. Is this any drainage gets blocked. Don t even ask way to live? In the mornings, because many about how we manage at night! There people want to use the toilet, the children is no electricity and it s very difficult, are forced to go to the fields. We hear about especially during the winters. many schemes by the government about creating toilets, but nothing is happening here in Safa colony. Sammo near the toilet in her home in Safa resettlement colony, which is shared with people from five other houses. ANISHA Anisha at her house in Safaresettlement colony, in which she shares a toilet with 20 other women. SAMMO I share a toilet with three other households. There is no proper waste AL-KHAIR COLONY disposal for the toilets here. The waste comes out most of the time. It always stinks here, and it s difficult to live in this colony. There are many mosquitoes and there is no electricity, so it s very difficult to sleep at night. MOMINA You can see how difficult it is to live here. There are only two hand pumps that work here, two pumps for nearly 300 people. There is no electricity. What is the point in living like this? Momina in her home at the Safa resettlement colony, Shamli. It s so hard for my children to live here, I am helpless. The government has absolutely done nothing here. There are no proper drainage facilities here. I share the toilet with four other ABDUL KALAM households. My children have to go in the fields. At night,it s very difficult for us women because there is no electricity. The government has done nothing here. You tell me: should anyone live like this?. MINA Mina near the toilet in her home at the Safa resettlement colony, Shamli. Abdul Kalam and his family at the Al Khair resettlement colony, Shamli.

16 30 NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI NOWHERE TO GO: THE BROKEN PROMISES TO THE DISPLACED OF MUZAFFARNAGAR AND SHAMLI 31 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ON RIGHTS OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS The United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement makes it clear that internally displaced persons have the same civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights as anyone else, and must not be discriminated against due to their status. IDPs, as defined by the UN Guiding Principles, are persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border. The Principles require that persons should not be subjected to arbitrary displacement, and that authorities ensure that displaced persons have an adequate standard of living. Critically, states have a primary duty and a responsibility to establish the conditions, as well as provide the means, to allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to homes or places of habitual residence or to resettle voluntarily in another part of the country. States should make special efforts to ensure the full participation of internally displaced persons in the planning and management of their return, resettlement and reintegration. States must assist returning displaced persons in recovering their property and possessions; and, when recovery is not possible, ensure they receive just reparation. Unfortunately, India has no framework to deal with internally displaced persons. Activist Farah Naqvi says, The fundamental problem in India is the absence of any acknowledgment of the rights of IDPs. There is no national policy on conflict-induced displacement, and no justiciable framework of rights to protect them. Thus, it is left to individual states to deal with each episode of targeted violence, which leads to mass displacement, in an arbitrary and ad hoc manner. International human rights treaties to which India is a state party, including the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also recognize other rights particularly relevant to internally displaced persons. These include the right to adequate housing, including the right to not be forcibly evicted from land one occupies; the right to sufficient, safe, acceptable and affordable water; and the right to safe, hygienic, secure, and acceptable sanitation. The rights to adequate housing, water and sanitation have also recognized as being part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. RECOMMENDATIONS Amnesty International India urges the government of Uttar Pradesh to: Establish an independent mechanism to reassess the damage caused to families during the Muzaffarnagar riots and provide full reparation, including compensation, rehabilitation and restitution. Ensure that all families living in resettlement colonies receive aid without delay to provide for their immediate needs, including housing, food, water, and health care. Conduct an audit of the conditions of the resettlement colonies, and take steps to ensure the rights of all those displaced by the Muzaffarnagar riots to adequate housing, water, sanitation, healthcare, and other rights, in consultation with them. Amnesty International India urges the government of India to: Enact a robust law to prevent and respond to communal violence, which incorporates international human rights principles of relief, return, and resettlement. Establish a comprehensive national policy on internal displacement in line with international human rights standards, which provides for gathering information about the causes and patterns of displacement, and setting up mechanisms to prevent displacement, respond to immediate needs, and enable durable solutions, in consultation with displaced persons. Harsh Mander, in his capacity as a Right to Food Commissioner appointed by the Supreme Court of India, wrote to the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh in December 2016 asking about the status of welfare schemes in the resettlement colonies. The chief secretary in turn asked officials from the departments for education, labour, electricity, public works the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli district social welfare and district minority welfare departments; the water board; and the district supply officers and chief medical officers, to reply. There has still been no response.

17 The Manovar Hassan resettlement colony, Shamli. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INDIA #235, 13th Cross, Indira Nagar, 2nd Stage Bangalore Karnataka, India CONTACT US JOIN THE CONVERSATION