Voice for fisherfolk
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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Author Charu Gupta on why her co-authored work takes up the cause of fishermen languishing in jail for crossing maritime borders.
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what kills them is the inability to communicate with their families and the uncertainty about their future.
Photo: V.V. Krishnan
Cause of a community: Charu Gupta.
Deep in the ocean for days together, chasing a livelihood, many fishermen over-sail the fluid maritime international borders; sometimes inadvertently, many times intentionally. Many manage to evade the Coast Guard. Some though get caught and come back after languishing in foreign jails, uncounted, uncared for.
In this context, Contested Coastlines, a Routledge publication, jointly written by Mukul Sharma and Charu Gupta, is important. It not only becomes the voice of the fisherfolk but also raises issues of environmental degradation, and how that leads the fisherfolk to venture into other’s sea space for a livelihood; how security fears lead to a dilution of humanitarian concerns. Excerpts from an interview with Charu Gupta, a post-doctoral fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi. Her co-author, Mukul Sharma is the Director of Amnesty International, India.
How did the book happen?
Both Mukul and I have been collecting material, newspaper reports and other articles on the subject for 15 years. First we thought what we had was not enough to fill a book but when we got started everything fell in place. Plus, we did our research like visiting jails in coastal areas, meeting families of estranged fishermen, those who returned from foreign jails, tracking those arrested as reported in media reports over a few years...
Was access to fishermen in the Indian jails easy? Under what conditions do they live?
It needed a lot of persuasion. They often live in the shabbiest conditions, not just in India but in the other countries too. Most detained fishermen I spoke to complained about the bad food in the jails. Many who returned from Pakistani jails complained that it was mandatory for them to read the Koran and the Kalima. Also, language is a problem sometimes for them. Most are just functionally literate.
But what kills them is the inability to communicate with their families and the uncertainty about their future. With no lawyer to represent them, they are dependent on the diplomatic process. Many told us that they often contemplated suicide. The women repeatedly talked of how being a widow was better than waiting in uncertainty.
Do you have any statistics on how many are in our jails at present and how many of our fishermen might be in the jails of the neighbouring countries?
India doesn’t have a clear record on this but, roughly, it arrests about 250 fishermen annually. The casual attitude is quite surprising. Many Coast Guard officials were amazed that we were interested in such a subject. Many said, “We just catch them and hand them over to the police; we don’t bother about what happens afterwards.”
What is your argument?
These people across South Asia belong to one of the poorest sections of society. They venture into the sea for their livelihood. And they shouldn’t be treated like other criminals or smugglers. If you find them with arms, detain them; but if you don’t, confiscate their fish but not them. Taking away their catch hits them hard.
Why do they cross the international borders? Do they know they are doing it?
Maritime borders are fluid; so, many accidentally cross it. Also at times due to the tides. Also, due to disputed borders, there is confusion about demarcation like the Sir Creek area, the richest fishing ground in South Asia.
Of course, some fishermen do it deliberately. Here, you have to look at the reason. The highest rate of mechanised trawling happens on Indian seas; so fishermen have to venture out further to get a good catch. Many say that earlier they had to go away for a week to get a good catch but it’s now 20 days. Excessive pollution and industrialisation of the seas has done enough damage. Also, many fishermen use nylon nets and so catch even the small fish.
What solution does the book offer?
I feel South Asian nations should agree to have soft borders, particularly in the sea, where people are allowed to earn a livelihood. Many Far Eastern countries have done that. One has to look at ecological degradation too. India says it arrests less number of fishermen than the neighbouring countries and so has a more humanitarian approach towards them. But, in reality, our fishermen venture out more to others’ sea space than others entering ours.
Also, fisherfolk groups have not been able to come up with a clear charter of demands. Instead, some turn to jingoism and talk about how only Indian fishermen should be allowed into our sea space. This has led to many skirmishes with Sri Lankan fishermen. Instead, it is time to get together and sort out the issue. For a lot depends on the survival of a community’s livelihood.
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