Handcuffing of Santal men barbaric and primitive

"We were told by police that we are terrorists and were accused in two cases… This is very unfortunate that the Santals who tried to save their belongings have now become terrorists," said Choron Soren, undergoing treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital, handcuffed. Terrorist! What a horrible, scary word, with all its connotations of suicide bombings and extremist attacks. But what Choron and other Santals in Gobindaganj, who were attacked first by the employees of the Rangpur Sugar Mills and then fired on by the police, had done was stand up to save the land they have lived on for generations, to try to defend themselves.

The incident raises troubling questions, one of which is surely, why the handcuffs? We can argue that even if the police were taking precautions against an arrested man, it is ridiculous to handcuff him after having shot him in the leg. What then are the cuffs for, if not as merely symbolic of the power hierarchy — reflective of our collective, and in this case, the police's attitude towards the marginalised, the minorities, the powerless, and the weak. Choron is one of the three Santal men who were cuffed to the beds, which obviously makes the delivery of medical aid difficult. Was there really no other way to guard an 'accused' while he was being treated? 

The handcuffs are symptoms of the same barbaric disease that wants to torture, punish and subjugate. It is inhumane, and as we can see it does not even serve any function. These of course point towards the outdated and colonial roots of the practices and conduct of our police force — but that is a matter for another day.

It is heartening to know now that after Jyotirmoy Barua, a Supreme Court lawyer, had filed a petition against this, the bench ordered that the handcuffs be removed. The order asked the deputy inspector general of Rangpur range and superintendent of police in Gaibandha why the handcuffing should not be deemed illegal.

The High Court order is a small victory. But, we must remember that questions regarding the acts of administration and the police in Gobindaganj are far from being cleared. That,according to the agreements, the Santals had every right to build their houses at Shahebganj. That, it was the employees of the mill who first attacked the ethnic community and burned their houses. That the police fired on the Santals. That a writ and a High Court order were required before the handcuffs would be taken off from men receiving treatment from bullet injuries in a hospital. That, we still continue to treat every minority in this country as second class citizens and interventions are required before the administration even tries to protect their rights. 

The writer is a member of the editorial team, The Daily Star