Raise your voice and face death. That is the message the minions of Capital sent to all of us when they murdered Shehla Masood. Shehla dared to point an accusatory finger at the bosses who rule all of us and the bosses cut it off. Why? They are afraid and they are running out of room to maneuver and they,more than we, know that just one of us can be the single spark, that Mao once said, can start a prairie fire...and they fear fire.
Well, just as their war on the earth has caused a planet wide rampage of wildfires in return, so will their war on us...sooner or later...surely.
The following I found at Safe World for Women (which it isn't)
Shehla Masood - Environmental ActivistWho shot Shehla Masood, anti-corruption activist and environmental 'warrior'?
Anti-corruption and environmental activist Shehla Masood was murdered on August 16th.
She had many enemies, as the three reports below show.
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Woman RTI activist shot dead in Bhopal
Source: The Hindu | Mahim Pratap Singh
A prominent Right to Information activist and supporter of social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign was shot dead outside her residence in Bhopal on Tuesday morning.
Shehla Masood was shot dead by an unidentified assailant outside her house in the city's posh Koh-e-Fiza locality as she was on her way to an anti-corruption campaign being organised by her and other activists in support of Mr. Anna Hazare at the Bhopal Boat Club.
“We have registered it as a case of unnatural death. Anything more can be said only after the postmortem report,” Bhopal Senior Superintendent of Police Adarsh Katiyar told The Hindu.
Bhopal, not used to the professionally executed metro-style shootout, was stunned at the activist's death. “I am shocked. We had planned a proactive campaign where people would have been asked to write, on a 200-foot-wide banner, about the most corrupt government departments and officers in Madhya Pradesh,” Ajay Dube, RTI activist and long-time associate of Ms. Masood told The Hindu.
Ms. Masood, who also ran an event management company, had managed to constantly annoy the powers that be with her incisive RTI queries and public campaigns, mostly against corruption and for wildlife conservation. She was also a freelance journalist, contributing regularly to news website rediff.com on issues related to the environment and tiger conservation.
Last year, Ms. Masood had told the authorities she “feared for her life” from a senior officer of the Indian Police Service and had complained about the matter to two successive police chiefs of the State.
Ms. Masood had written to the current Madhya Pradesh Director-General of Police S.K. Raut, complaining against a particular officer.
In the letter, Ms. Masood had accused him of harassing her and making threatening calls to her, about which she had lodged a complaint at the city's Maharana Pratap Nagar Police Station in 2008.
“I fear for my life from [him]. Please do the needful and oblige,” she had urged the DGP.
The officer concerned, whose name The Hindu is withholding, did not answer calls or reply to text messages seeking his clarification on the matter. However, Bhopal IG Shailendra Shrivastava told The Hindu: “Yes, there was a complaint against the said officer. We sent Ms. Masood several notices offering probes at the thana level, additional SP level and DIG level, all of which she refused. Finally, I requested her to give me her statement. But she said she had filed a case against the said officer in Lokayukta and that she would give me a statement only once the Lokayukta probe was over.”
Like other RTI activists across India who have paid the ultimate price for making persistent and uncomfortable queries, Ms. Masood's efforts may well have put her in harm's way.
She was planning to file a Public Interest Litigation petition against a private college based on recent media reports. “It is a very powerful group of people, including local political leaders, that I will be up against once I file this PIL. I know who they are but I can't speak out much as I am still collecting information,” Ms. Masood had confessed, speaking to this correspondent last week.
Ms. Masood was also an active tiger conservationist and environmental crusader, constantly digging up information on the poaching mafia, illegal diamond mining mafia, timber mafia and the hospitality industry, which she said was violating environmental laws.
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Was Shehla shot for fighting illegal diamond mines?
Source: The Times of India
"The purpose of civil resistance is provocation. Anna# has succeeded in provoking the government and the opposition. Hope he wins us freedom from corruption. Meet at 2 pm at Boat Club, Bhopal."
This was Shehla Masood's message on Tuesday, minutes before she was shot dead. Shehla, a Madhya Pradesh-based civil and environmental rights' activist was shot dead by an unidentified person in front of her residence in Koh-e-Fiza locality in Bhopal around 11 am on August 16.
The brutal murder of Shehla exposes the fate of those protesting illegal mining and fighting to save tigers and forests. "The government did nothing after RTI activist Amit Jethawa's murder in Gujarat and hence we lost Shehla now," remarked Kishor Rithe, president of Satpuda Foundation.
Happy Independence Day
A day before, Shehla said, "I'm proud to be an Indian. Happy Independence Day."
The next day she was shot dead. Wildlife activists and environmentalists are aghast at the irony that tigers, tribals, trees and civil and environmental rights activists are being hunted and killed.
They fear that the possible connection between Shehla's murder and her raising the issue of illegal diamond mining project in Chhattarpur in Madhya Pradesh by Rio Tinto, a transnational mining company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Fought to save tigers and forests
In September 2010, her NGO Udai had launched a massive signature campaign in MP against killing of the Jurjuria tigress in Bandhavgarh reserve on May 18, 2010.
She demanded the arrest of the culprits, who were influential persons. She was also keen to save the watershed of the Panna tiger reserve and the Shyamri, one of the cleanest rivers in the country from Rio Tinto's mining activity.
"The timing of her elimination when she was on her way to support Anna Hazare's fast was meant to overshadow the issue of illegal diamond mining project in Chhattarpur by Rio Tinto and the political mafia," a section of activists feared.
The diamond mining block is inside a forest which is the northernmost tip of the best corridor of teak forests south of the Gangetic plain. It is an established law that mining is non-forestry activity. There is an immediate need for a probe to determine who allowed mining to take place in such an ecologically fragile area.
Fighting against Illegal Mining
The Bunder mine project, near Chhatarpur, is likely to be one of the largest diamond reserves in the world. It is estimated that there is a 'inferred resource' of 27.4 million carats, a diamonds resource seven times richer than the Panna mine, the country's only working diamond mine.
On March 22, 2011, the need to review the diamond mining project in Chhattarpur which is posing serious threat to environment in the region was raised in the Lok Sabha.
Two district collectors were transferred to facilitate the ongoing illegal mining. The fact that the new collector has allowed mining came to light when a PIL was filed stating that Rio Tinto has been exploiting mineral resources in Chattarpur by violating provisions.
Shehla was fighting against mining activity. On January 19, 2010, she had filed a complaint with the DGP of MP, accusing IPS officer Pawan Shrivastava of making threatening calls to her. Shrivastava was harassing her for the past two years, Shehla stated in her letter. She also feared threat to her life from Shrivastava but the police did not act.
"We salute the struggle and martyrdom of Shehla who defended our forests, rivers, land and wildlife in the face of the unscrupulous corporate assault in nexus with the ruling political regimes," the activists stressed.
Shehla used to conclude her messages with a proud "Roarrrrr" that can't be silenced by the bullets of her assailants. Her murder exposes how government power is used to kill whistle blowers and RTI activists.
"We strongly condemn this murder of our fellow activist. It seems that we are not safe," said Rithe.
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Prominent Wildlife Activist Tragically Murdered in India
Source: Bush Warriors
Prominent wildlife and anti-corruption activist, Shehla Masood, was murdered in cold blood today, just outside her home in Bhopal, India.
Shehla Masood was one of the strongest voices in the tiger conservation front. Her deep passion fueled her undying commitment to wildlife, the environment, and humanity. She was unafraid to speak the truth, unwilling to stand by and witness the injustices against those without a voice, and was intensely committed to making a difference in the world. Yet, today, it is with great sorrow that we report that this beautiful warrior has been tragically murdered in cold blood.
As a prominent conservationist in India, Miss Masood condemned the brutal and extensive poaching that has brought the world’s treasured tigers to the very brink of extinction. With an almost superhuman drive, she continually called attention to the rapid loss of these majestic creatures, demanding action to be taken on the many issues that have allowed this to happen. She rightfully and repeatedly presented the public with critical information regarding corrupt individuals involved in these heinous crimes. Fearlessly, she questioned the motives of government officials and park and reserve staff about suspicious activities surrounding the deaths of several tigers under their protection.
“There have been no forensic reports till yet. What is the reason? There were almost 18 vehicles being confiscated, but they have been let off. What for? Just because those vehicles were owned by big politicians, big bureaucrats’ sons, the power brokers of our country. These are the people who are running resorts in and around the tiger reserves,” Shehla pointed out last year about the death of a tigress in the Bandhavgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, one of several in that area during that time.
“They were given from 2004 to 2009, 2000 crore rupees, which is not a joke. And the report, which is yet not tabled, it says there are no Panna tigers since 2006. My dear friends, where is that money?” she boldly questioned.
There is no doubt that, in her exhaustive, passionate, and integrity-driven work, she has made enemies with those of ill intent. Such malicious, exploitative wrong-doers conducting their dirty deeds in secrecy would not want their surreptitious acts to be known by the world. Shehla Masood fought against the corrupt, the greedy, and the insensitive with immense courage, risking her own life to save the lives of others. She valued the essence of life over money, materialism, and self pleasure, and this was clear in her everyday actions.
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Further Information
#Anna Hazare
Anna Hazare is one of India's well-acclaimed social activists. A former soldier in the Indian army, Anna is well known and respected for upgrading the ecology and economy of the village of Ralegan Siddhi which is located in the drought prone Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state. The erstwhile barren village has metamorphosed into a unique model of rural development due to its effective water conservation methods, which made the villagers self-sufficient. Earlier, the same village witnessed alcoholism, utter poverty and migration to urban slums. Inspired by Hazare’s unique approach of salvaging a hopeless village, the state government has implemented the `Model Village’ scheme as part of its official strategy. Hazare is now synonymous with rural development in India.
The common man is put to lot of hardships and it has become difficult to make both ends meet as prices of essential commodities are rising constantly due to corruption. Hazare believes that our freedom is at the teeth of danger due to corruption and unless it is eliminated, the country will not be free in its true sense. Therefore, a peaceful war has been waged against corruption with the help of immense support from people"
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