It is inconceivable that Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray financed the Communist Party of India (Maoist), but that is part of the confession extracted through narco-analysis of Arun Ferreira, alleged to be a member of the latter party. Narco-analysis is torture, both physical and mental. No wonder that India is yet to ratify the UN Convention against Torture which came into force on June 26, 1987.
COMMENTARYEconomic & Political Weekly EPW september 6, 200819It is inconceivable that Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray financed the Communist Party of India (Maoist), but that is part of the confession extracted through narco-analysis of Arun Ferreira, alleged to be a member of the latter party. Narco-analysis is torture, both physical and mental. No wonder that India is yet to ratify the UN Convention against Torture which came into force on June 26, 1987. In May 2007, the Indian police arrested four political activists from a public ground called Diksha Bhoomi in Nagpur. It was alleged that they were activists of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) – CPI (Maoist). The CPI (Maoist) has been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.The police subjected all the four activ-ists to torture, both physical and mental. In addition, the police subjected them to certain tests – narco-analysis, polygraph and brain mapping. Narco-analysis is the most invasive of all the three. In this case, the police take the subject to a forensic science laboratory where certain drugs are administered to him/her, the names of which are not disclosed. Such practices are very common in India. It is worth remembering that the US does not con-duct such tests even in Guantanamo.The laboratories where such tests are conducted claim that the administration of such drugs puts the subject into a trance, akin to deep hypnosis. Hypnosis is a state which resembles sleep; it is induced by a hypnotiser whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject. In the case of narco-analysis, there is no hypnotiser. The drugs hypnotise the subject. But the drugs cannot make suggestions to the subject. So there is a human agency to make the suggestions. The government claims that in such cases, the suggestions made are based on reliable information. This so-called reliable information obvi-ously comes from the police. A forensic laboratory does not have its own source of information.Narco-Analysis Is TortureLet us examine one particular case in this context. One of the four arrested was one Arun Ferreira. Narco-analysis was con-ducted on him. His mother applied for a copy of the report regarding the test under the Right to Information Act. The forensic laboratory replied that they could not comply with her request on the specious plea that the result of the analysis was only a part of the police investigation and not a part of the evidence in his trial. Then Ferreira himself wrote to the laboratory. After all, the test had been conducted on him. He had a right to know what sort of test he was subjected to. He also told the authorities that he would move the Bombay High Court to issue a writ to the government to disclose the result of the tests performed on him. Under pressure the laboratory conveyed to him the result of the tests.The person who was in charge of the tests was a doctor, one S Malini. She said that a person who is under the influence of narcotics called “truth serum” cannot think or imagine because the highest point of his brain is knocked out by the drugs. The subject can talk only of the things which he/she knows. He/she cannot con-coct or fabricate stories. That is why the combination of the drugs administered is called “truth serum”.We will proceed taking the statement of the doctor at face value. At one place Arun Ferreira says that the Shiv Sena and its leader Bal Thackeray financed the CPI (Maoist). Shiv Sena is a fascist Narco-Analysis and the Indian Criminal Justice SystemP A SebastianHowever, if inflation surges in theUS and other developed countries or if there are unforeseen shocks, financial markets are likely to decline sharply and the economic crisis will be very severe. Notes1 For an analysis of the factors behind the US housing collapse and its impact see Chithelen 2007.2 In this context, highly successful investor and philanthropist George Soros points out that FannieMaeand Freddie Mac are “public/private partnerships in which the risks are borne by the public sector while the profits accrue to the private sector: management and share holders.” See Soros 2008.3 See Rogoff (2008). Also, Rogoff and Reinhart (2008a), Rogoff and Reinhart (2008b).4 For a discussion of why the economies and finan-cial markets in most emerging countries will not de-couple from the US and other developed coun-tries, see Chithelen 2008.ReferencesChithelen, Ignatius (2007): ‘Central Banks and Speculative Froth’, Economic & Political Weekly, November 24. – (2008): ‘Emerging Markets: A Time to Cash In’, Knowledge@Wharton Website, April 2.Greenspan, Alan (2008): ‘The World Must Repel Calls to Contain Competitive Markets’,The Financial Times, August 5. Rogoff, Kenneth (2008): ‘The World Cannot Grow Its Way Out of This Slowdown’,The Financial Times, July 29.Rogoff, Kenneth and Carmen Reinhart (2008a): ‘This Time Is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Cen-turies of Financial Crises’, manuscript, Harvard University, April 16.–(2008b): ‘The Forgotten History of Domestic Debt’, manuscript, Harvard University, April 17. Also available as National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), working paper 13946.Soros, George (2008): ‘A Danish Fix for America’s Mortgage Debacle’,The Financial Times, August 11.P A Sebastian is a lawyer and democratic rights activist based in Mumbai.
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COMMENTARYEconomic & Political Weekly EPW september 6, 200819It is inconceivable that Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray financed the Communist Party of India (Maoist), but that is part of the confession extracted through narco-analysis of Arun Ferreira, alleged to be a member of the latter party. Narco-analysis is torture, both physical and mental. No wonder that India is yet to ratify the UN Convention against Torture which came into force on June 26, 1987. In May 2007, the Indian police arrested four political activists from a public ground called Diksha Bhoomi in Nagpur. It was alleged that they were activists of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) – CPI (Maoist). The CPI (Maoist) has been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.The police subjected all the four activ-ists to torture, both physical and mental. In addition, the police subjected them to certain tests – narco-analysis, polygraph and brain mapping. Narco-analysis is the most invasive of all the three. In this case, the police take the subject to a forensic science laboratory where certain drugs are administered to him/her, the names of which are not disclosed. Such practices are very common in India. It is worth remembering that the US does not con-duct such tests even in Guantanamo.The laboratories where such tests are conducted claim that the administration of such drugs puts the subject into a trance, akin to deep hypnosis. Hypnosis is a state which resembles sleep; it is induced by a hypnotiser whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject. In the case of narco-analysis, there is no hypnotiser. The drugs hypnotise the subject. But the drugs cannot make suggestions to the subject. So there is a human agency to make the suggestions. The government claims that in such cases, the suggestions made are based on reliable information. This so-called reliable information obvi-ously comes from the police. A forensic laboratory does not have its own source of information.Narco-Analysis Is TortureLet us examine one particular case in this context. One of the four arrested was one Arun Ferreira. Narco-analysis was con-ducted on him. His mother applied for a copy of the report regarding the test under the Right to Information Act. The forensic laboratory replied that they could not comply with her request on the specious plea that the result of the analysis was only a part of the police investigation and not a part of the evidence in his trial. Then Ferreira himself wrote to the laboratory. After all, the test had been conducted on him. He had a right to know what sort of test he was subjected to. He also told the authorities that he would move the Bombay High Court to issue a writ to the government to disclose the result of the tests performed on him. Under pressure the laboratory conveyed to him the result of the tests.The person who was in charge of the tests was a doctor, one S Malini. She said that a person who is under the influence of narcotics called “truth serum” cannot think or imagine because the highest point of his brain is knocked out by the drugs. The subject can talk only of the things which he/she knows. He/she cannot con-coct or fabricate stories. That is why the combination of the drugs administered is called “truth serum”.We will proceed taking the statement of the doctor at face value. At one place Arun Ferreira says that the Shiv Sena and its leader Bal Thackeray financed the CPI (Maoist). Shiv Sena is a fascist Narco-Analysis and the Indian Criminal Justice SystemP A SebastianHowever, if inflation surges in theUS and other developed countries or if there are unforeseen shocks, financial markets are likely to decline sharply and the economic crisis will be very severe. Notes1 For an analysis of the factors behind the US housing collapse and its impact see Chithelen 2007.2 In this context, highly successful investor and philanthropist George Soros points out that FannieMaeand Freddie Mac are “public/private partnerships in which the risks are borne by the public sector while the profits accrue to the private sector: management and share holders.” See Soros 2008.3 See Rogoff (2008). Also, Rogoff and Reinhart (2008a), Rogoff and Reinhart (2008b).4 For a discussion of why the economies and finan-cial markets in most emerging countries will not de-couple from the US and other developed coun-tries, see Chithelen 2008.ReferencesChithelen, Ignatius (2007): ‘Central Banks and Speculative Froth’, Economic & Political Weekly, November 24. – (2008): ‘Emerging Markets: A Time to Cash In’, Knowledge@Wharton Website, April 2.Greenspan, Alan (2008): ‘The World Must Repel Calls to Contain Competitive Markets’,The Financial Times, August 5. Rogoff, Kenneth (2008): ‘The World Cannot Grow Its Way Out of This Slowdown’,The Financial Times, July 29.Rogoff, Kenneth and Carmen Reinhart (2008a): ‘This Time Is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Cen-turies of Financial Crises’, manuscript, Harvard University, April 16.–(2008b): ‘The Forgotten History of Domestic Debt’, manuscript, Harvard University, April 17. Also available as National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), working paper 13946.Soros, George (2008): ‘A Danish Fix for America’s Mortgage Debacle’,The Financial Times, August 11.P A Sebastian is a lawyer and democratic rights activist based in Mumbai.
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