Today is the 30th day of the dharna of Man dam affected people and the 24th day of indefinite fast of the four of us. The negligent attitude of the Digvijay Singh government towards the issues raised and the struggle of the Maan dam affected people and the people of the Narmada valley is a matter of great insult for democracy as well as for the dalit-adivasi-farmers of this state. And finally when there was a nationwide opinion against the government on this issue, when eminent people from all over the country and the world made requests to the government to arrive at a solution in favour of the people at large, the government instead took to forceful tactics. Yesterday in the dark of the night they descended on the dharna site with hundreds of armed policepersons to try to arrest us- the ones on fast. To negate the issue completely, they wanted to remove the focal point of our struggle.

We condemn this autocratic behaviour of Digvijay Singh. In democracy, a fast unto death can only be ended with the acceptance of just demands of the people. But on the contrary, the Digvijay Singh government is trying to crush us with the brute force of lathis and guns.

They are taking refuge in falsehood and trickery and announcing that the government is following the rehabilitation policy. The truth is that this government has neither ever followed the rehabilitation policy in the past and nor is it doing so now. In fact, this government is making all efforts that adivasis do not get any land. They want the Man dam affected people and all the affected people of the Narmada valley to become paupers. To be uprooted and finished totally.

We are warning the Digvijay Singh government that there has been enough of atrocities. On one hand the agenda of upliftment of dalits and adivasis of this state is being printed on glossy paper books. And on the other hand 4000 tribals are being deprived of their only source of drinking water in this scorching heat. There have been 66 cases of firing on tribals and other forest dwellers in M.P. during the rule of this government in the past few years. The land occupied and being tilled by dalit-adivasis since years is being taken away from them and a drama of redistributing these to other adivasis is on, creating tensions amongst the dalits - that has also caused a lot of bloodshed. We would like to warn the Digvijay Singh government that a people's mandate is achieved by ensuring the safety of life to commom people- dalits, adivasis, farmers, the downtrodden. Not by the donations from a few industrialists. And also, that history has, time and again proved that an autocrat is never spared.

It is the 24th day of our fast unto death today. Yet, the government has forced us to continue with our fast, to undergo a lot of hardships. Our fast continues and it will continue till the time when the government agrees to the just demands of the man affected people. If the government still does not pay heed to these demands, the responsibility of our death will lie solely on this government.

Additional note issued by the fasting activists after the crack down of dharna on the 30th day.

The news has just reached us that the dictatorial and bankrupt Digvijay Singh government has disrupted the peaceful dharna of the Man dam affected people and arrested the people sitting on dharna, including their leader Shri. Alok Agarwal with the help of police force.

The reason that they gave for this mass arrest was that we, the four of us, who have been fasting for the demands of the Man dam oustees for agricultural land, have been absconding.

Just to put the record straight, and expose the lies of the government, it is clear to us that the mass arrest and disruption of the dharna is an attempt to stop the struggle of the Man dam affected people.

If the government was seriously concerned about us, who are on fast, we are stating clearly that the moment the Madhya Pradesh government passes an order allocating the identified land to the oustees with irrigation benefits and other allied demands, we are ready to break our fast.

We are not following a course of suicide, we are fighting for concrete demands. And we are certain, whatever repression the state government chooses to wreak on us, that we will win. We reiterate that if any of us die in the process, the state government will have to take full responsibility for the same.

Ramkuvar
Mangat Verma
Vinod Patva
Chittaroopa Palit