[Reader-list] The Naxalites overreached

[Pawan Durani]

"76 jawan shahid" was what the headline of one of the local newspaper
screamed and everything else was the same in this part of
Chhattisgarh. The life was going on as if nothing had happened.

The local population was more interested in when will the herd of wild
elephants that have come to this part of Gharghoda leave and they were
more concerned with how much price they will get this year for Mahua
produce.

And it was only when my dad messaged me about the ambush that I came
to know that not more than 4 hours away from here our security
personnel were being culled like a group of birds. And I instantly
thought about how many of them will die.

76 is the official figure that has come out from the dense forests of
Dantewara. 76 family have lost their close one but lets not get into
the emotive aspect. I have tried that before in my previous pieces on
similar attacks that have taken place and they have not generated any
surge of emotion.

Emotions can never be a great ingredient when you are discussing naxalism.

How many of us remember that on 12th July 09, in Rajnandgaon 29 jawans
including an ASP died, on 5th March 07, in Rani Bodli 55 Jawans died ?
The figures are high, they always are. But like in any other terror
attacks, with every passing day, the number starts fading. And finally
there are forgotten, until a new set of number crops up.

There is a buzz of how naxal sympathizers are doing their best to put
an ideological pressure on the Indian establishment so as to stop the
'excessive use ' of force on our own people who have taken to killing
because the have been exploited by the government machinery.

I can smell the same identical buzz from one of the recent
"collector's issue" of an English weekly. Every page, every word of
its cover story that goes by "Walking with the Comrades" emits this
smell.

The writer of this cover story has done a brilliant work. She has left
no scope for even thinking that the naxals are brutal killers. Infact
she has made sure that by the time we turn the last page we too start
sympathizing with the comrades. Infact the weak hearted may even start
shedding a tear or two.

The term "romanticize" has been aptly displayed in this cover story.
Start romanticizing Naxalism or you too are a bloody heartless
capitalist bourgeois.

Now I just want to ask this booker award winner intellect author that
when will she start on her precarious, dangerous journey of
sympathizing with these jawans who too are fighting for their death.
Or maybe she is aware of the fact that no one will be interested in
the life of a small low ranked jawan. Maybe she is correct and
practical, none of the national magazine will make a cover story out
of a piece that is based on the life of a CRPF jawan.

Another amazing ability of these intellects is that they have
developed a very effective way of going into a shell whenever
something that will make them appear like a faceless buffoon happens.
Search for them after any such terror incident and they will
disappear, only to appear after 10 days, more refreshed than before
and with more fire in their belly to support naxalism and show their
intellect. "The Intellectuals".

I have started to hate this word so much. And it is just because of
people like Arundhati Roy who wear this very type of intellect on
their sleeve and express through their pen.

The only positive that has come out after this attack is that both the
national parties have reiterated that they are one when it comes to
tackling naxalism. And the current Home minister too has started
talking tough as can be gauged from his statement that the Indian
government in the past has been lousy while dealing with the
naxalites.

The use of air force and army is being delayed on the ground that it
will be unethical to use our military might against our own people.
This argument though doesn't stand much ground. The army has been used
and still being used in Northern and Eastern sector of India and they
have been successfully able to control the local form of terrorism.

The reach of naxals has penetrated every sphere of social life. There
are numerous illutrations of this. In Chhattisgarh , the naxalites
annual income in expected to be 1000 crores, chiefly though extortion
from local traders.
According to forest officers with whom I have been interacting ever
since I came here, the naxalites along with the ever present
politicians are equally responsible for the lack of development of
this newly born state.

It has become very difficult to carry out developmental activities in
the interior parts of the state because of the naxal terror and
because of this very terror the government is not able to extend its
activities into the remote areas, thus providing for a fertile fodder
ground for naxals to recruit and expand. It is kind of a circle.

"Operation Greenhunt" has taken a long time to materialize; maybe we
are two three years late. But now when it has begun it should only
stop when it has completely wiped out this gravest internal threat to
Indian security.

The fact is that naxalism needs to be eradicated at all cost and I
hope Chidambaram and Company will make this sure. Till then keep
praying that you are not affected by the intellects like Roy who see
killing of these jawans as a legitimate act of defying the rule of
government by the naxals.

And in between all this, life goes on in Gharghoda, like it is going
on in Delhi,Patna or Mumbai.

http://desicritics.org/2010/04/08/033720.php

A law graduate from NLIU, Bhopal.Worked for 2 years as a journalist in
media organizations like Qatar Tribune, PTI and UNI. Now more of just
'a writer' rather than a 'paid' writ







On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 3:36 PM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:
> How do we crush the Maoists? Every time you are using the word. Can you
> elaborate on how you think this should be done?
>
> It's like one of my friends saying that the terrorists should be wiped out.
> You dont' have a Sudarshan Chakra of Lord Vishnu which goes around cutting
> heads of all terrorists while leaving behind all innocents. If that were
> there, I could understand your enthusiasm and would like you to unleash it.
>
> Rakesh
>
> On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 3:34 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Rakesh ,
>>
>> Crushing the naxalism and naxalites has become imperative. Govt has
>> given them enough chance and each time they have responded with an
>> even worse act. The killers dont need any sympathy.
>>
>> Ofcourse , it is important for Govt to ensure that innocents are not
>> victimised.
>>
>> Pawan
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 3:30 PM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Dear Pawan
>> >
>> > This is highly atrocious of you to state things without even
>> > understanding
>> > the ground realities. You are talking of crushing the Maoists. Such
>> > crushing
>> > is only possible if we completely bomb out the area. Are you thinking of
>> > that? In other words, are you going to create an Afghanistan or Vietnam
>> > within India?
>> >
>> > You can't identify who is a Naxal from who is not a Naxal in the
>> > villages.
>> > The Naxals don't wear a uniform. You don't have intelligence on how they
>> > conduct their operations. You don't even have an idea of how many people
>> > are
>> > there as Naxalites. Neither are you willing to look at the causes of how
>> > tribals become Naxalites. You don't try to address the real issues like
>> > poverty, lack of employment and displacement of tribals. Neither do you
>> > ensure administrative, police or judicial reforms. And then, without
>> > doing
>> > anything of this, you agree to using force against your own citizens and
>> > fellow human beings.
>> >
>> > You talk about Kashmir. People like you have forgotten that Kashmiri
>> > separatists are still there because people don't trust the Indian state.
>> > To
>> > ensure that India wins Kashmir for once and for all, a mass slaughter of
>> > all
>> > Kashmiri Muslims would have to be organized. Are you ready for that? If
>> > you
>> > can't accept that to Kashmiri Pandits, would you accept that for
>> > Kashmiri
>> > Muslims? Or are you communal or strategically minded to pursue gains
>> > only
>> > for your community?
>> >
>> > All those here talking about crushing the Maoists or separatists or
>> > terrorists. Remember this. All counter-insurgency measures across the
>> > world
>> > have been a failure with the exception of one, as told by a professor to
>> > me.
>> > This one was in Malaysia, where the British successfully fought the
>> > Communist insurgencies. How? Simple. Instead of confronting the
>> > insurgency
>> > militarily, they strengthened the development and administrative
>> > machinery.
>> > They won over the people. Result was that the insurgency was
>> > successfully
>> > defeated.
>> >
>> > All others, be it Kashmir or anti-Naxal operations, have failed and
>> > failed
>> > most miserably. You may not care, but I care about the soldiers who
>> > reside
>> > in Kashmir only to develop psychiatric disorders and coming out to home
>> > and
>> > not able to lead lives peacefully. Now the army also complains of
>> > stresses
>> > in Kashmir. Aren't they too human beings?
>> >
>> > Find where the problem lies. Understand who is creating violence, and
>> > why,
>> > for then it becomes easier to counter him/her.
>> >
>> > Rakesh
>> >
>
>