India: Freedom of movement, in particular, the ability to relocate from Punjab to other parts of India

Clause 19.(1) of the constitution of India guarantees Indian citizens certain rights and freedoms, including the rights "to move freely throughout the territory of India," "to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India," and "to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business" (Abhyankar Sept. 1997, 31). However, these rights are subject to "reasonable restrictions," as imposed by law, "in the interests of the general public" (ibid., 32). Persons who lose their freedom of person under the law also lose their capacity to exercise these rights and freedoms (Kumar 13 Sept. 1998).

Attempts were made to contact 36 academic specialists, human rights workers and lawyers in North America, the UK and India for input on this report on freedom of movement in India. Of those specialists contacted, the following five responded with information: Professor John Spellman of the Institute of Asian Studies, University of Windsor; Ashok Agrwaal, a New Delhi-based human rights lawyer and member of the Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab (CIIP); Ram Narayan Kumar, a Chandigarh-based human rights lawyer and convenor of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP); Rajvinder Singh Bains, a Chandigarh-based human rights lawyer and CCDP member; and Professor Paul Wallace of the University of Missouri in Columbia, a specialist on the Sikhs in Punjab. Further information on some sources may be found in the Notes on Selected Sources.

According to Professor Spellman, the checkpoints employed during the Khalistani insurgency are long gone and it is now possible to move around India relatively easily (29 Sept. 1998). As a result, relocating to another part of India would be a "very viable option" for most Punjabi Sikhs. Sikhs are a very mobile community and always have been, and as a result, there are Sikh communities all over India (ibid.). The professor emphasized that Sikhs are a close-knit community, and that one of the central tenets of Sikhism is that Sikhs help other Sikhs, especially when they are in need of assistance. Most Sikhs have some ability in English and/or Hindi; those most likely to be familiar with a language other than Punjabi would be the better-educated and urban Sikhs, while those least likely would be poor rural Sikhs (ibid.). The professor believes that Bengal and Tamil Nadu would be the easiest places for a Sikh to relocate to, since both have sizeable Sikh communities. He added that a Punjabi Sikh would have no more problem enrolling his children in school or obtaining employment than any other Indian relocating to a new area (ibid.).

According to Spellman, at present there are no checks of any kind on a newcomer to any part of India arriving from another part of India, even if the person is a Punjabi Sikh. The local authorities would not report a newcomer to the local police, and the local police are not interested in newcomers (29 Sept. 1998). Local police forces have neither the resources nor the language abilities to perform background checks on people arriving from other parts of India. Spellman speculated that even if a newcomer were to provide authorities with false information upon arrival, he likely would not be found out because the authorities probably would not verify the information. He added that the strictness attached to documentation in India is not very high. It is also very unlikely that a local citizen would report a newcomer to the local police, even if there was reason to suspect the person was wanted by police. Most people would not risk the problems that might result from dealing with the police, including the very real possibility that they could be implicated in whatever crimes the person may have committed (ibid.). The professor emphasized that an Indian would never report someone he did not know to the police. Only when the people know each other and there are personal animosities involved would such a scenario be likely (ibid.).

With regard to whether the Punjab police would pursue someone they wanted to another part of India, Spellman stated that the Punjab police force is basically a local police force, not a state force as we would think of it. In general, they have neither the resources nor the language abilities to pursue someone to another part of the country. Only if the person had a very high profile or the Punjab police were able to get a national police force-such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)-involved, would they be likely to pursue someone outside the state (ibid.).

According to Ashok Agrwaal, someone from Punjab, Sikh or otherwise, can relocate elsewhere in India with the same degree of ease or difficulty as any other Indian citizen (21 Oct. 1998). However, in practice, "this freedom of movement is restricted by numerous practical considerations which bar relocation except in rare cases" (ibid.). With regard to the situation of Sikhs, he states "there is no 'law' restricting the movement of Sikhs within India and there never has been" (ibid.).

Mr. Agrwaal stated that if a person was wanted by the police, particularly in connection with "anti-state activities," the police likely would pursue him or her outside the state (ibid.). According to Agrwaal, "the police employ various techniques to keep tabs on/nab/harass someone who has come to their attention. Generally the local police of the area where [the person] has moved are taken into confidence and involved in such matters, [although] the Punjab police are known for acting on their own" (ibid.). Agrwaal mentioned a couple of highly publicized cases in which the Punjab police had pursued and killed, in May 1993 and June 1994, former residents of Punjab who had relocated to West Bengal and a similar incident in which the Punjab police had pursued someone into neighbouring Nepal (ibid.). Agrwaal stated his belief that "if the Punjab Police really wanted a person they would go after him/her and the relocation would not matter very much. At most, in the changed circumstance of 'normalcy' they may act more circumspectly than [they did] in the past" (ibid.).

The following information is quoted directly from a 13 September 1998 correspondence from Ram Narayan Kumar to the Research Directorate:

A Sikh, a Kashmiri or anyone else who has been arrested one or more times on suspicion of being involved in political militancy, even a person suspected of such an involvement-whether or not the person has ever been actually arrested-is likely to be pursued wherever he or she goes. Things like evidence of involvement and conviction by a court of law mean little.

This person can never live in any part of India without fear. Of course, this person can theoretically move the authorities with specific complaints of harassment-for example, the National or State Human Rights Commission, the High Court or the Supreme Court-and try to obtain relief. But if this person is poor or not knowledgeable about available remedies, he would remain exposed to harassment and victimization.

There would be little to complain [about] if the authorities [had] a regular system of verifying [the] antecedents of a person who has moved in from some other part. [But] .... there is no such system of verification and the police and other agencies connected with the national security go about their responsibilities arbitrarily. ... there is no system of registration of residents. Often, people have no identity cards and such identity cards as they may carry have no real value as they can easily be forged. No one respects them.

If the authorities suspect a person, he or she may simply get picked up for interrogation and eventually get implicated in a fabricated case because the authorities would be too embarrassed [to admit] a mistake. Police stations in India routinely maintain a register called 10 number register, which contains the names of people with proven backgrounds of criminality under their jurisdiction. I discovered in Punjab that the authorities manipulate these registers to also include names of politically inconvenient persons also. The authorities may also circulate lists of people who are wanted for arrest or interrogation on the basis of some specific information of criminal involvement. There can be other lists of "wanted people". The Intelligence Bureau and other intelligence agencies do circulate the names of persons under their vigilance. Such persons do suffer harassment, malicious prosecution and extrajudicial violence.

According to Rajvinder Singh Bains, relocation in India is easier now than earlier "for everyone except those who have a very clear identity-i.e., Sikhs and Muslims" (3 Oct. 1998). Although people who are not part of the local population are easily recognized in India, in general, someone relocating from Punjab would not be bothered by either the local police or local populace (ibid.). Newcomers are most at risk, he believes, in regions where political groups like the Shiv Sena, a nationalist party, have taken an "aggressive approach" to minorities. On one trip to Maharashtra several years ago Bains discovered that many Sikhs had to pay protection money to local Shiv Sena "workers/goons"; in any given situation the "most vulnerable [minority group] is fleeced the most," he stated. In general, however, Sikhs outside Punjab are feeling more secure now than at any other time since the 1984 riots (ibid.). Bains indicated that the Punjab police would likely pursue someone they wanted outside the state, and mentioned that there were "many" cases of people being killed outside the state by the Punjab police. Bains also mentioned the highly publicized incidents in West Bengal, but stated that in ordinary cases-i.e., those not accompanied by a great deal of media attention-state governments likely would not raise objections if the Punjab police were to pursue someone outside their own jurisdiction.

Professor Cynthia Mahmood, in a paper presented at a symposium on human rights in Punjab held in New York City in July 1998, stated that despite the marked improvement in the human rights situation in Punjab in recent years, certain categories of people "remain at significant risk" in India (18 July 1998, 14). One category consists of "militants or perceived militants, Khalistani activists, and their family members and close supporters" (ibid.). According to Mahmood, both former director general of the Punjab police KPS Gill and current director general Dogra have stated that police monitoring of Khalistan sympathizers outside the state is a key part of their strategy to prevent a revival of separatism (ibid.). A second category remaining at significant risk in India consists of "history sheeters"-individuals with a record of previous arrests and detentions-and "habitual offenders"-persons who are "rounded up whenever something untoward happens" (ibid.). According to Mahmood, lists of habitual offenders are distributed across India via the police computer system. A recent report in the Chandigarh-based daily, The Tribune, stated that the Union Government cabinet recently approved funding of Rs. 1.37 billion (CDN$50 million) for the long-delayed Integrated Police Telecommunications Project (POLNET), which will link police stations via the latest satellite telecommunications technology (28 Oct. 1998). Another report in The Tribune states that the police forces in Haryana and Rajasthan have decided to work together in areas where the two states border, a development that, if successful, is seen to open the way to similar arrangements between other states (14 Nov. 1998).

Professor Paul Wallace agreed that a Sikh relocating elsewhere in India "cannot be inconspicuous," and stated that "Indian intelligence is quite good. ... If Central or Punjab police really want the individual it is possible to reach him, [although] perhaps this was easier in the past" (22 Sept 1998).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Abhyankar, Sharad D. September 1997. Vol. 8. "India." Constitutions of the Countries of the World. Edited by Gisbert H. Flanz. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications.

Agrwaal, Ashok. Human rights lawyer and member of the Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab (CIIP), New Delhi. 21 October 1998. Correspondence.

Bains, Rajvinder Singh. Human rights lawyer and member of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), Chandigarh. 3 October 1998. Correspondence.

Kumar, Ram Narayan. Human rights lawyer and Convenor, Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP), Klagenfurt, Austria. 13 September 1998. Correspondence.

Mahmood, Cynthia Keppley. 18 July 1998. "The Punjab Conflict: Human Rights in Context." Presented at a symposium on human rights in Punjab at Columbia University, New York City.

Spellman, John. Institute of Asian Studies, University of Windsor. 29 September 1998. Telephone interview.

The Tribune [Chandigarh]. 14 November 1998. Ravi S. Singh. "Haryana, Rajasthan Cops for Joint Work." [Internet] [Accessed 16 Nov. 1998]

_____. 28 October 1998. "Move to Link Police Stations via Satellite." [Internet] [Accessed 28 Oct. 1998]

Wallace, Paul. Department of Political Science, University of Missouri, Columbia.

22 September 1998. Correspondence.

Notes on Selected Sources

Rajvinder Singh Bains has practised law in Punjab since 1985, pursuing independent practice at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh since May 1986. He is the son of former High Court Justice Ajit Singh Bains, who founded the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) in 1985. He is a member of both the secretariat and accounts committee of the Committee for Coordination on the Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP). He has been involved in the CCDP since it was established in November 1997, and with the People's Commission on Human Rights Violations in Punjab since it was formed in April 1998. Currently he is representing Paramjit Kaur, the wife of disappeared human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, in the trial of the police officers accused of Khalra's disappearance and murder. A 12 August 1998 Amnesty International Urgent Action report identified Mr. Bains, along with several other human rights lawyers and activists, as being at risk of possible detention and torture.

Ram Narayan Kumar is a human rights lawyer and convenor of the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab (CCDP). The CCDP is an umbrella organization of 18 human right groups that established the People's Commission on Human Rights Violations in Punjab, a non-governmental panel that is hearing complaints of human rights abuse committed during the militancy. Mr. Kumar, who is not a Sikh, has been involved in human rights work for over 20 years, has written several reports on human rights violations of Sikhs in Punjab and has authored three books on the origin and evolution of the present problems facing Sikhs in Punjab.

Professor John Spellman lived and worked in India for nearly 10 years, returning to Canada in 1990. In his position as director of a development agency in Tamil Nadu from 1983 to 1990, he had regular dealings with the police and made many connections within the Indian bureaucracy. Professor Spellman believes that this combination of local-level on-the-ground experience and connections within the Indian power structure gives him a good perspective on how the system in India actually functions. Presently, Professor Spellman is at the Institute of Asian Studies at the University of Windsor.

Professor Paul Wallace, whose last visit to Punjab and Haryana was from mid-May to mid-June 1998, is a specialist on the Sikhs in Punjab.  He is a professor with the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Missouri in Columbia.