[Reader-list] NAXAL BRUTAL TERROR

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Pawan,

The law of the land says that the forest dwellers are intruders in  
the forest who should be moved by force. The law of the land states  
that the commons of the forests are commodities that can be sold by  
their propreiter, the state to the highest or to the lowest bidder.  
When MoUs between the state and the mining corporations are signed,  
they become the law of the land, and these laws of the land insist  
that any efforts to resist the rape of the forests by mining  
interests be met with 'legal' violence. The law of the land is  
designed to protect the interests of capital.

The 'law of the land' in a class society, inevitably reflects the  
interest of the classes that rule. In this case, the interests of the  
classes that rule will spell the end of the forests, and of ways of  
life that do not want to be made the objects of Capitalist development.

My hope is that the 'law of the land' is made not to prevail. So that  
Dandakaranya does not become the hell that is, say, Bellary.






On 17-Apr-10, at 5:30 PM, Pawan Durani wrote:

> I completely agree that there has to be development , education , job
> opportunities for the neglected lot and there is no doubt that they
> have been neglected.
>
> Not only these people , the whole of North east to a great extent till
> some time was never thought to be important as if it did not exist for
> India. Even today a procession in Kashmir makes it to headlines of
> India while as many killings in NE doesnt make it to inside page of a
> newspaper.
>
> But that does not take away the thought that law of land should not  
> prevail.
>
> Regards
>
> Pawan
>
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 4:23 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta
> <shuddha at sarai.net> wrote:
>> Do the roads and the schools justify the violence of the memoranda of
>> (mis)understanding ?
>> How many apologies for schools does it take to justify the  
>> presence of a
>> CRPF battalion stationed to protect the interests of a mining  
>> company in a
>> forest that should not be laid waste to the lust of Capital?
>> best,
>> Shuddha
>>
>> On 17-Apr-10, at 4:20 PM, Pawan Durani wrote:
>>
>> 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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>> Critiques & Collaborations
>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with  
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>> _________________________________________
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>> Critiques & Collaborations
>> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with  
>> subscribe
>> in the subject header.
>> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
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>>
>> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
>> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
>> Raqs Media Collective
>> shuddha at sarai.net
>> www.sarai.net
>> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>>
>>

Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net