[Reader-list] NAXAL BRUTAL TERROR

[Pawan Durani]

Does this still justify the violence of Naxalites. Havent the
Naxalites been objecting to roads ...schools....etc ?

On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 4:08 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta
<shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> A wall was certainly built. It was a wall built out of the paper of
> Forestry Acts and Memoranda of Understanding with Mining Companies.
> They paved the way for many other kinds of walls. These paper walls,
> much more powerful than any wall of bricks or mortar, made people
> homeless in their own space. It was written on the paper walls that
> the dweller in the forest was an intruder. One day, she picked up
> firewood from the ground, the next day she did the same, one day she
> was a forager, the next day she was a thief. The words on the walls
> separated those two days from each other.
>
> Then came the sentries, and the high priests of the words that were
> written on the paper walls. Forest guards came, then paramilitaries
> came, then came police and armed thugs to protect the paper wall. To
> man the watchtowers. To tell the forest dwellers that they must stay
> outside the wall, for their own good. Then came the TV channels and
> the patriots and the NGOs and the experts. They all admired the wall.
> No one said the wall needed to come down. Some tried to improve the
> handwriting on the paper. Some argued about the font size and
> italicization. Others said the papers needed to be copied and
> distributed.
>
> The inhabitants of the forest looked around for a method to rebuild
> their homes that had been broken by the words on the paper walls.
> Some of them tried to fight words with words. Some petitioned. Some
> of them tried to lay seige to the consciences of others. None of this
> worked. Some words were heard, understood, others were dismissed, not
> listened to.
>
> The paper wall grew stronger, deeper, thicker. Their words grew
> louder. The forest spoke. The forest sang. The forest warned. The
> forest cried. The forest whispered. The forest screamed. But the wall
> did not listen. And those who built the wall laughed out loud,
> thinking that paper was cement. That ink was stone. That their word
> was law.
>
> This meant that they (the people of the forest) had to take down some
> of the watchtowers. This meant that when words failed, they found
> their way to guns. It seemed that when the guns spoke, the people
> manning the watchtowers listened. And so, when the guns came to them,
> the forest dwellers did not say no to the guns. They no longer had
> the words with which they could afford to say 'no, we do not need the
> guns'. Perhaps, if those who had built the wall, had listened, the
> guns that came to the people in the forest would have found no use.
> If you hold a gun, you stand in the line of fire. No one wants to be
> in the line of fire for no good reason. Right now.The wall needs to
> be taken down for any conversation to begin again.
>
> Tear the paper that carries the MoUs, and maybe there can be some
> talking. So take the wall down. And the guns may fall silent. Words
> may begin again.  Or try and keep the wall, and invite the war to
> spread its cloak of silence. You don't need more development in the
> forests, perhaps you need less. At least less of the kind that is
> written up in the MoUs.
>
> If the war crosses the forest and comes to the fields, if the war
> comes to the cities, it will be because the paper walls multiplied.
> Then those who wrote the words that made the paper walls rise will
> answer for the war. After all, they did not have to build the paper
> walls in the first place. They could have chosen to listen, when
> there was still time to listen. They might then say that they were
> sorry, but people may have forgotten the meaning of forgiveness by
> then. Guns have a way of making people forget how to speak and to
> listen. If the words you write on the paper walls you build bring
> guns into the conversation, then many other words will eventually die.
>
> Try and listen for a change. Don't always think that your word is
> law.There may still be time.
>
> best
>
> Shuddha
>
> On 17-Apr-10, at 3:59 PM, Bipin Trivedi wrote:
>
>> Dear Kshmendra,
>>
>>
>>
>> You are right. It is respected state govt. negligence since years that
>> allowed to "build" wall and vote-bank politics made this wall
>> thicker and
>> thicker and so we are suffering the sins. Just like negligence by
>> WB govt.
>> allowing infiltrations of Bangladeshis to increase their vote bank
>> in the
>> name of minor appeasement and their sins are suffering whole India,
>> since
>> Bangladeshis spread almost all over India.
>>
>>
>>
>> Whatever, happened in the past, but it is time to rectify mistakes
>> and govt.
>> making/wants to make some sincere efforts but few rationalists like
>> Aundhati
>> Roy and few vote seeker politicians comes in between. Even maoist
>> made this
>> as their business now and don't want to come out by conversation,
>> so they
>> even did not allow infrastructure in their area or destroys if
>> made. So, it
>> is time for govt. to take some hard action though it is painful step.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Bipin
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: Kshmendra Kaul [mailto:kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com]
>> Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 2:51 PM
>> To: sarai-list; Bipin Trivedi
>> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] NAXAL BRUTAL TERROR
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Bipin
>>
>>
>>
>> You wrote : "Naxal/maoist army cadre has built a wall like (may be not
>> physical wall in some areas) periphery and cornered that area where
>> army or
>> even police cannot go there easily, so to built all above
>> infrastructure and
>> provide facilities to their local people is remote
>> possibilities."
>>
>>
>>
>> I agree. That is an appropiate description of the situation.
>>
>>
>>
>> What needs thinking is:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. Did this "wall" exist when India becamje independent in 1947?
>> No, it did
>> not. So what was it that allowed the Maoists/Naxals to build that
>> "wall"?
>> Who ceded that space to them? Who allowed their violent-extremist
>> ideology
>> to be propagated? Why were people attracted to it? Why did it
>> become an
>> 'alternative' for people to adopt instead of subscribing to the
>> Constitution
>> of India?
>>
>>
>>
>>     This is not a matter of the last 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 years, but a
>> culmination of indifferent and/or corrupted governance since 1947.
>>
>>
>>
>> 2. If you think the above is a resonable argument then please
>> consider that
>> breaking down or bulldozing that "wall" might by itself alone not be a
>> solution. If the "root causes" are not addressed then it will be
>> only a
>> matter of time that another "wall" comes up, and another, and another.
>>
>>
>>
>> 3. Wouldnt you agree that what needs to be done is to ensure that
>> no one
>> lays the foundations for more such "walls"?
>>
>>
>>
>>     Wouldnt you agree that the route for that is to make available
>> competent
>> governance, opportunities and an environment of justice?
>>
>>
>>
>> 4. Yes that will be an arduous task since the "walls" are strong
>> but that is
>> an impediment of our own making since we allowed the "walls" to
>> come up in
>> the first place through neglect and we have to suffer that
>> disadvantage. It
>> is a punishment for our own sins.
>>
>>
>>
>> Kshmendra
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On Sat, 4/17/10, Bipin Trivedi <aliens at dataone.in> wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: Bipin Trivedi <aliens at dataone.in>
>> Subject: [Reader-list] NAXAL BRUTAL TERROR
>> To: "sarai-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
>> Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010, 12:30 PM
>>
>> I believe that it is wrong to say that Naxal or Maoist are trying
>> to protect
>> right of poor/tribal. As in case of terrorist or supporter of
>> terrorist
>> (sleeper or active cell) are misguided by some terrorists group/wasted
>> interest, same way naxal/maoist are acting with misguidance.
>>
>> Many argues that we should built infrastructure like school,
>> hospitals,
>> roads, industries and other amenities in naxal affected districts
>> to provide
>> essential amenities and employment. But, actual situation in all such
>> district is very strange and different. Naxal/maoist army cadre has
>> built a
>> wall like (may be not physical wall in some areas) periphery and
>> cornered
>> that area where army or even police cannot go there easily, so to
>> built all
>> above infrastructure and provide facilities to their local people
>> is remote
>> possibilities. In the case, how can there up-liftment is possible?
>> Is anyone
>> who favors them have thought this much extremities adopted by
>> naxals/maoist.
>> Government did tried to solve by conversation and requested to
>> allow govt.
>> machinery for developing infrastructure, but they boldly denied. If
>> we want
>> to make some infrastructural work to provide facilities to people
>> their then
>> one has to remove such boundary and freed the area even with the
>> help of
>> army then also.
>>
>> In the news and media air attack news was published. This is also
>> myth,
>> there was no plan for air attack, but with the help air-force, aerial
>> surveillance or map view is necessary, so that army or police can
>> go ahead
>> to capture that area and freed from maoist. Also, please note that
>> most of
>> the poor/tribal are not supporting them by heart but they support
>> forcefully
>> with gun on their head.
>>
>> So, looking to above reason it seems that they made business to create
>> terror and playing in the hand of some wasted interest may be from
>> outside
>> India. So, it is necessary to freed such naxal affected area from
>> their
>> terror by any means. So if anyone says that naxal/maoist helping local
>> people or tribal is baseless.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Bipin
>>
>>
>>
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>
> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
> Raqs Media Collective
> shuddha at sarai.net
> www.sarai.net
> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>
>
> _________________________________________
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