"Maoist attack on the rally of congress leaders in Chattisgarh's Bastar district wiped out almost the entire congress cadre of the area": "cold blooded attack on the congress election campaign rally in Chattisgarh": "Mahendra Karma: the progenitor of Salwa Judum" stabbed almost 78 times to death": We woke up on May 26th morning with this gruesome killing report flashing on the front cover of all the national, international as well as local dailies.A shiver ran down my spine after reading about this highly condemnable act of violence which became the National breaking news that day.
Were maladies like terrorism,communal violence,extortion, rape, acid attacks not enough to give us mind numbing stories in our daily newspapers that another crime cropped up in the national scene spreading its wings across the length of the eastern part of our mother land? From the past decade or so Maoist attacks have captured are attention but for all the wrong reasons.What started as a movement against the atrocities meted out to helpless farmers and tribals, started turning into a dead sore, in fact a cancerous outgrowth for the state/government.
Who are these Maoists or in common Parlance as we call them, the "Naxalites"?
- Maoists are the group of people who are inspired by the political philosophy of China's great leader Mao Zedong.In India,though post independence the precursors of this movement could be felt in regions like Andhra Pradesh, it was an attack on a tribal man in the Naxalbari village in West Bengal which sparked this violent and extremist left wing movement.
- Their mission is to fight for the poor families and landless laborers, to fight against the social oppression of tribal people and the economic exploitation of their prized resources i.e. the forest and the forest land.
What these people are fighting for?
If we closely observe the events which have turned this generally non violent movement till the beginning of LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation ) era in 1990s in into one of the most dreadful and violent attacks on humanity, we can see the reason quite clearly.
- Mostly these groups are active in states like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh,Maharashtra (Gadchirroli area to be specific),Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. If we keenly observe these eastern states we come across the fact that these areas are also the ones with highest forest cover in India (Madhya Pradesh has the highest percentage of land under forest cover )and also these areas are rich in natural resources like iron, coal(Jharkhand,Chattisgarh), bauxite(Chattisgarh),mica (Chottanagpur Plateau region),diamond (Panna Mines,MP) and many other valuable minerals.
- These people have increased their agitation due to government's irresponsible action and attitude towards them.Owing to the fact that these areas are very rich in mineral resources specially Chattisgarh, private honchos like Tata , Jindal Steel and Power, Vedanta group, Posco etc are eyeing these untapped resources for their humongous monetary gains by establishing power and steel factories here.And government of India is hand in glove with them and is leaving no stone unturned to help them get the necessary resources at meager price (remember the Coalgate Scam).
- Govt. is trying to lock up as much tribal land as it possibly can for various public projects and also for private players because our constitution prohibits the non tribal people to acquire tribal land for their commercial use.Thus govt. on private company's behalf purchases the tribal land and later sells it to them whereas the native tribal people are left with no rehabilitation or very little compensation as compared to the gains that would be amassed be these private companies later.
Note:Mao-VADI (followers of the principles of Mao Zedong ,as the naxalites are called in Hindi).
It has resulted in more paramilitary operations like Operation grey hounds, black cats, Green hunt ,Cobra and the ensemble of various other operations to wipe out the Maoists.
But all this is taking a toll on the victims who are not party to any group, the poor villagers of these Naxal affected areas are crushed from both sides of this proxy war and are more likely to become the radicalists themselves, if the same destruction persists.Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by this war on humanity ,be it on either side.Countless number of attacks on the paramilitary forces like the one in Dantewada in 2010 in which almost 75 CRPF jawans were wiped out by the Naxals, the attack on Gnaneshwari express killing hundreds of innocent passengers (about 350).Then there were counter attacks too from govt.'s side killing many Maoists in organised action against them like the famous Operation Lalgarh in West Bengal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Lalgarh).
The government also formed an anti -maoist group called SALWA JUDUM which in local tribal dialect Gondi means "Purification Hunt" to counter the Naxal Violence.It was a civilian militia formed by the congress leader Mahendra Karma.
Also in 2009 govt started a movement called OPERATION GREEN HUNT , though officially they never declared it, to catch or kill the top Maoist leaders and make their movement a "headless organisation".In retaliation, maoists launched a BREAK OPERATION to check the operation green hunt and keep their group strong and going.
But what is actually being achieved by all these irresponsible acts from both the sides?
The government also formed an anti -maoist group called SALWA JUDUM which in local tribal dialect Gondi means "Purification Hunt" to counter the Naxal Violence.It was a civilian militia formed by the congress leader Mahendra Karma.
Also in 2009 govt started a movement called OPERATION GREEN HUNT , though officially they never declared it, to catch or kill the top Maoist leaders and make their movement a "headless organisation".In retaliation, maoists launched a BREAK OPERATION to check the operation green hunt and keep their group strong and going.
But what is actually being achieved by all these irresponsible acts from both the sides?
People are being killed in thousands ruthlessly, properties are being demolished recklessly, money is being wasted like anything on countless attacks and the counter attacks, whereas tribal people are still mired in the vicious circle of their age old poverty. Neither govt. nor the Maoists could prove to be their Savior.
In fact whatever small development was there earlier has also come to a standstill now.Both the parties seem to be waiting for the other person's call for a cease fire.No one is ready to bend but are continuously breaking the backbone of India. It's time now to call it quit for if it persists any longer then our country's future is doomed. These internal conflicts will shatter the fabric of unity of our motherland and may make it vulnerable to external aggression. Not only this, it will back track whatever development and progress we have done in the past decade or two.Instead of treating naxalism as a law and order issue govt. must buckle up to solve this problem of social oppression and economic exploitation by making peace with the tribal people who are affected by reckless govt. policies to promote private sector.In return Maoist must pledge to shun violence and join the mainstream to contribute towards the betterment of their society and establish a just environment for their tribal clan.
Mother India is bleeding and that too profusely. Heal her wound and let her live a peaceful and prosperous life.
