Chhattisgarh bans Adivasi group Moolvasi Bachao Manch, activists say government silencing criticism

The Chhattisgarh government has banned the Adivasi organisation Moolvasi Bachao Manch for a year, eliciting criticism from activists and civil society groups who expressed solidarity with the group.

The ban was imposed on October 30 under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005. The government alleged that the organisation had been “continuously opposing and instigating the general public against the developmental works” being carried out in Maoist-affected areas.

The government also accused the organisation of instigating people against security camps built for these developmental projects. It said that the group was “interfering in the administration of law and promoting disobedience to the and facilitating disobedience to institutions established by law and thereby disturbing public order, peace and endangering safety of citizens, which is prejudicial to the security of the State”.

बस्तर के मूलवासी बचाओ मंच ने पिछले कुछ बरसों में पूरे इलाके के आदिवासियों के भीतर राजनीतिक और सामाजिक चेतना का प्रसार किया है.
सिलगेर आंदोलन के दौरान गठित हुए इस मंच ने अहिंसक तरीके से प्रतिरोध किया है, आदिवासियों को एकजुट किया है.

छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार ने इसे प्रतिबंधित कर दिया है. pic.twitter.com/0G0u2XiyGa— Ashutosh Bhardwaj (@ashubh) November 19, 2024

Activists and civil society organisations, however, described the ban on the Moolvasi Bachao Manch as arbitrary and accused the administration of silencing critical voices.

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