[Reader-list] SAGARIKA GHOSE INTERVIEWED ARUNDHATI ROY

[anupam chakravartty]

From: http://sanhati.com/articles/2265/

Soon after hearing the heart breaking news from Dantewara of Chhatisgarh,
where 76 CRPF personals were killed in the Maoists attack on April 6, 2010,
the India’s Home Minister P Chidambaram gave his resignation saying, “I have
no hesitation in saying the buck stops at my desk. I accept fully
responsibility for what happened in Dantewara”. Of course he is right;
apparently because he is the person who had sent the CRPF personals for
preparing the investment roadmap by killing the Maoists as they are the
biggest threat to the investment climate that’s what our economist Prime
Minister Manmohan Sigh had said earlier.

A brilliant corporate lawyer turned Home Minister P Chidambaram’s odd face
had also appeared in the media, shedding tears for the CRPF personals who
laid down their lives in Dantewada. But how could the Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh had accepted Chidambaram’s resignation when his assigned job
for preparation of the investment climate has not yet accomplished? As
usual, the corporate media did not hesitate in coining Chidambaram as hero
of the day merely for submitting his resignation not for his deeds for the
nation. But is he? Is it not true that he shed the crocodile tears merely to
mobilize the middle class sentiments in the favour of his war against the
Adivasis in corporate interest?

Perhaps, the ARMY Chief General V K Singh has unmasked the corporate Home
Minister saying that there appeared to be “internal deficiencies” in the
training of the personals lost their lives in the attack. Though Chidambaram
has rejected it by saying it “incorrect and baseless” but question is how
the ARMY chief who is responsible for the security of the nation can talk on
the baseless matter? Does Chidambaram know better than the ARMY chief about
the security related matters? Of course, he can not be challenged on the
matters of the corporate but every one can doubt on his ability on the
security matters if he challenges the ARMY chief.

Secondly, the matter of the law and order is the state subject but there
were no support extended to the CRPF personals by the local police during
the anti-Naxal operation in Dantewara. Thirdly, there is no electricity,
good telephone service and other facilities available in the CRPF camp of
Dantewara. Ironically, the CRPF personals had no vegetables for last three
months. They were having chapattis with mangos available nearby the CRPF
camp. In fact, the CRPF camp was established in Dantewara without
availability of the required infrastructure, support and facilities. This is
how our brave security personals are being treated and our ruling elites
shed the crocodile tears when they lose their lives and we also walk with
them. Is it not true that the CRPF personals were left to die in an unknown
utterly dangerous place without any help of the local police and the
villagers? Who is responsible for the loss of 76 brave lives?

Paradoxically, the opposition party the BJP has backed Chidambaram saying
‘it is not the time for a Senapati (commander) to step down. His resignation
at this stage would be meaning a victory for Naxalites’. A question comes
into one’s mind is whether the BJP would have behaved in the same manner
with Chidambaram if the Jehadi terrorists would have done the same damage to
our security forces? If the 26/11 can end Shivraj Patil’s career as Home
Minister then why should Chidambaram stay back?

However, the Left parties especially the CPI (M) has shocked the most as now
Bhudhadev Bhattacharjee has also agreed to work together with Chidambaram
and of course, his party is very keen to establish corporate corridor in the
so-called red corridor. The people are amazed to see the rights left and
centre alliance on the issue of cleansing the Maoists. It is apparent
because all these parties are working hard for converting the so-called red
corridor into the corporate corridor. Now the corporate houses have also
become the election investors therefore our political parties are committed
for the corporate interest rather than the people’s interest. Obviously,
they are the main actors who run the biggest democracy of the world, where
the marginalized have only a day once in a five years to rejoice the
democracy and rest of the days they have to face the brutality.

Indeed, the untrained CRPF personals were deliberately put into danger with
the expectation, if they are killed by the Maoists that would be the best
opportunity for mobilizing the middle class sentiments for using the Army to
get the Adivasis land clear for the corporate sharks in the name of
cleansing the Maoists. Precisely, because we have tendency to call each and
every security person as brave even the person loses his life due to illness
is also called ‘martyr’ in the language of ruling elites. Of course, one
must have respect for those brave security personals lay their lives for the
national but one should not allow the politics to play in each and every
matter.

We should also find out whether our security forces are united as we are in
a delusion of unity in diversity. According to the prominent Indian writer
Arundhati Roy, Indians were never united. Of course, she is right. Even our
security forces are never united. One can clearly see that how our security
house is divided. Can one imagine for the unity when there is a regular
practice of untouchability in the military camps? The caste based kitchens
still exit in the military camps. One can find separate kitchen for
Adivasis, Bhumihars, Yadav, Rajpur, Pandit and list goes on. Similarly, the
caste based forces still exit. Are we still united? Did our Home Ministers,
Defense Ministers or the Parliament ever think of cleansing these dirties
before they cleanse the Maoists? Only the ruling elites shed their crocodile
tears, whenever the damage was done to the security forces by the non state
actors.

Our CRPF personals were made to pay the heavy price for the corporate
interest in the name of the national security and Chidambaram’s resignation
is just a drama to shield his failure, bury the mistreatment of the CRPF
personals and also to emotionally mobilize the middle class sentiment for
the corporate interest. Indeed, the buck stops at Chidambaram’s desk for
what has happened in Dantewara and will continue to stop but will he ever be
punished for what he has done to the security forces? The expected answer
would be ‘no’ therefore we should expect only the crocodile tears from him
and the other ruling elites as well?

*Gladson Dungdung is a Human Rights Activist and Writer from Jharkhand.*




On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 3:18 PM, Pheeta Ram <pheeta.ram at gmail.com> wrote:

> The interview has, very interestingly, revealed how DUMB these media people
> can be. Its Sagarika Ghose
> who has been exposed instead. She asks such dumb questions; it made me
> laugh
> at both Sagarika and the
> TV channel she represents. No doubt, the media have been sold out to the
> corporates. There's another guy, much
> admired in the 'interview circles', more i think for his impeccable English
> than for his interviewing skills, called Karan Thapar.
> The video is available on Youtube. Just look at the way he embar-asses
> himself. For a change mute the video and concentrate
> on his demeanour: anxiety is writ large over his face, he is too much aware
> of his hollowness. Frankly speaking, Arundhati Roy has dealt a tight nice
> slap on many people's faces with her essay in Outlook. I don't need to name
> them, their cheeks are still burning. It won't be easier to appropriate
> Arundhati anymore. Alas, she is standing alone, though evermore stronger,
> among these celebrity writers!
>
> On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 11:58 AM, Nagraj Adve <nagraj.adve at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I don't necessarily agree with all of what Arundhati wrote in Outlook,
> > not do I hold a brief for the Maoist movement, but for someone to say
> > that Arundhati's sincerity and intellectuality (whatever that latter
> > means) have been exposed is just ridiculous. And in the guise of being
> > sharp and critical, the interviewer came up with shallow, unthought
> > out statements like "Growth is something the country needs". Really?
> > I in fact thought Arundhati said something very important when she
> > said, "I would say that I don't believe that the imagination that has
> > brought to the planet to this crisis is going to come up with an
> > alternative."
> >
> > And re your response Rakesh, I see your point, but a clean divide
> > between violent and non-violent movements probably needs more
> > stratification. Between struggles that are militant but not violent,
> > those in which violence becomes a part, those in which armed tactics
> > and squads are retained for purely defensive purposes, and lastly
> > those in which armed struggle is more central aimed at the takeover of
> > state power. Obviously, the Maoist movement falls in the fourth
> > category, and in my view, will not work. The problem begins when
> > movements begin to generalise from what works in their area. In
> > practice, different strategies work in different contexts and for
> > different issues. The Maoists have little to offer for urban areas.
> > Though they have had some history of work in a few urban areas, they
> > have nothing unique to offer that makes them different from other
> > formations there, and have in fact I believe withdrawn from urban
> > areas after the merger of PW and MCC. I think it will be more useful
> > for us to think about a multiplicity of movements in different areas,
> > employing different strategies and as part of a broad democratisation
> > of society which at least minimizes the ravages of industrial
> > capitalism.
> > Naga
> >
> >
> >
> > On 18 April 2010 10:56, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Dear Bipin
> > >
> > > How many journalists have dared to go to the jungles of Dantewada where
> > the
> > > Naxalites reside and tell their story as to why the tribals are now
> > > increasingly joining the Naxals? Arundhati Roy has been one of the very
> > few
> > > to do so.
> > >
> > > And I have seen this interview. She is against the state, but I feel in
> > this
> > > interview at least, she has been less a Maoist sympathizer than a
> critic
> > of
> > > state-led development paradigm.
> > >
> > > The reason why there is violence is simple. That's how our governments
> > tend
> > > to take notice. Look at the Narmada Bachao Andolan. What happened?
> > Nothing.
> > > Why? Because they didnt' resort to violence. If they would have done
> so,
> > the
> > > politicians would have been forced to stop the Sardar Sarovar dam
> project
> > > and think about the tribals. But since this has not been done, nobody
> > > bothers and the rights of tribals are trampled upon as if tribals were
> > > insects, not human beings.
> > >
> > > Look at the Gujjar-reservation issue. The Gujjars were agitating
> > peacefully,
> > > yet nobody bothered even to explain to them why reservation was not
> being
> > > done to them. It's only when they unleashed violence that suddenly the
> > > entire nation saw them and decided to solve the issue.
> > >
> > > The fact is that in this country, unless you don't organize violence,
> > nobody
> > > hears you or even bothers about you. Indians have a great tendency of
> > > working only at the last minute, when the fire reaches the ass. Till it
> > has
> > > burnt your legs, nobody cares.
> > >
> > > Change this tendency and fight it, and automatically things will move
> for
> > > the better. This means ensuring that NREGA, Forest Rights Bill are
> > properly
> > > implemented, the Right to Food is enacted soon in its' comprehensive
> form
> > > and implemented well, and most importantly, development as sought by
> the
> > > tribals is given to them, not introducing mining which is unsustainable
> > as
> > > being done in Bellary. Don't turn Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand into
> another
> > > Bellary.
> > >
> > > Rakesh
> > > _________________________________________
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