A visibly fatigued social activist Piyush Manush walked out of the Salem Central Prison on Thursday evening after spending nearly a fortnight behind bars for opposing the construction of a local flyover earlier this month. In an interview with S.P. Saravanan and Vasanth Srinivasan , the convener of the Salem Citizens Forum bitterly recalled his days in prison but promised to continue fighting for environmental causes.
You have been part of many agitations and movements. You have alleged that you were badly beaten up inside the prison. Does this scare you?
This incident has not scared me, but it was very humiliating. The way they treated us and the way they portrayed us really pains me. We have fought against mining by Jindal and Malco; raised our voice against industrial pollution; revived so many water bodies; planted so many trees; got ourselves involved in organic farming; and were part of so many social initiatives. So I thought we were contributing to the society to our level best. But the government called us a terrorist in the court and said we are stopping the nation’s growth and progress. I really do not know what to say.
Do you ever regret doing what you have done?
No. I don’t believe in ‘single-man action’. I am all for community effort. But in this case (protest against construction of a railway over bridge), frustration got the better of me for about five seconds. I was fed up as the alternative road was not laid and people were going through hell. So I got into the pit and stopped the JCP. There was no regret about it, though there was no need to have been hasty about it.
Wouldn’t it have been appropriate for you to have approached the court to seek a stay against the project instead of taking the law into your hands?
The district administration informed the public about the construction of the flyover only on July 7, a day before commencing the work. I am not against the project, but why did the authorities begin the work before even acquiring land for the project? Proper planning is needed for executing such infrastructure projects so that the public is not inconvenienced. In fact, I met the District Revenue Officer and urged him to begin the work after acquiring the required land. But he directed me to meet the Divisional Railway Manager as the railway was executing the project. When work had commenced, I though it was too late to move the court and staged the protest.
Do you suspect that some corporates, against whom you had fought in the past, had a role to play in your arrest?
I cannot specifically blame anyone as I have been waging battles against illegal mining, environmental degradation by companies and even fighting banks for the strong-arm tactics adopted by them to recover loans from students and others. But it is possible that some were waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on me and used the prison officials to assault me. But the kind of physical force that was used on me is an act of excessive revenge.
You have claimed that the Salem Superintendent of Prison assaulted you. Is there any enmity between you both?
No. In fact, I want to know who instigated the Superintendent to attack me. I had faith in prison officials as previously when I was lodged there in 2010, I was treated well. I have now lost that faith.
Do you think there are lessons here for the larger community of activists?
I would think so. We need to go back to the drawing board and need to re-strategise. Staging protests and going to prison is all part of our lives. But when you get beaten up like this, it makes one rethink his strategy. But a collective voice would bring about change. I will continue my contribution to restore water bodies and preserve the environment.
