[Reader-list] Alleged Maoist Atrocities

[Rajendra Bhat Uppinangadi]

Dear Shuddha,

how intellect can be lulled by your post to think that maosists are
genuinely working for the poor, under privileged and tribals, indeed, it is
posts like these which deflect the disgust against the atrocities of
naxalites.
Your words,
"The presence of 15 special police officers in the bus that was bombed
cannot be offered as a justification for the bombing, because a large
number of people who were harmed in the attack had nothing to do with
any arm of the state, they were just ordinary passengers. This is a
simple and disgusting act of terrorism. It cannot be explained away
in any sense as part of a campaign of liberation."
Are the special police officers not the citizens of this nation, who are
employed by the stste to maintain law and order and to contain the
deviants.?Have they got no families , wife and children, for whom they are
toiling in dangerous terrains of deviant domination.?
Naxalites have only one goal, to capture power for the leadership and their
sympathisers, who are cowards, who can not contest any election and seek
public mandate, nor are they having guts to own the actions, unlike a
Bhagath singh whom they invoke when caught, for BHAGATH Singh did not run
away and hide, faced the system, went thru the trial and prosecution,
claimed if he is born again, he will again act the same way of actions to
seek freedom for the society and nation from the british rule. look at the
Kobads and varavara, who live in hiding, meet only "friendly' journalists
and order executions of "informers." Naxalites killing the innocents is not
stste action of act against deviants, if they want, they can change the
"system" by democratic process but not by violence, if they do not
understand that they are the deviants in the democratic rule of laws,
deserve the prosecution by apprehending of the deviants.Naxalites have used
the words of war and enemy not the state, rule of laws in democracy demands
that the deviants be brought under the contained deviation, if necessary by
force in the present circumstances, as rabids have to be put to sleep, so
are the naxals and such deviants.
regards,
rajen
On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 9:50 PM, Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha at sarai.net>wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> While I have on several occasions expressed my disgust at the way in
> which the Government of India is conducting it's 'Operation Green
> Hunt', I have to say that the news of the attacks by alleged Maoists
> in Chattisgarh, in which 6 villagers have been killed, and more
> recently a bus, with several civilians (and some special police
> officers)  has been bombed, is deeply disturbing.
>
> It is a totally different matter from attacking men in uniform, (such
> as the CRPF jawans who were attacked not so long ago, resulting in 76
> casualties). Though I do not support any war, including the Maoist
> initiated 'Peoples War' or for that matter, the Government of India's
> 'Operation Green Hunt',  in any war, armed men in uniform in a combat
> zone are fair targets. The death of the 76 CRPF jawans, though
> regrettable, is not in any way different from the death of any
> guerrila soldiers in the PLGA in any combat operation. I refuse to be
> blackmailed into thinking of such an event as an evidence of Maoist
> 'atrocities'.
>
> But by no stretch of imagination can the same principles of combat be
> extended in operations that involve unarmed civilians, (such as the
> incidents that have come to light today) no matter who conducts them.
> Regardless of whether the state or the Maoists conduct such
> operations, they must be condemned by all sensible people in the
> harshest terms. The Maoists, and the state must be compelled, through
> relentless civic pressure, to publicly abide by the Geneva
> Conventions in the matter on the treatment of non-combatants in a
> conflict situation. (And yes, there are conventions that shape the
> conduct of non-state actors, or the conduct of the state in relation
> to non-state actors)
>
> The presence of 15 special police officers in the bus that was bombed
> cannot be offered as a justification for the bombing, because a large
> number of people who were harmed in the attack had nothing to do with
> any arm of the state, they were just ordinary passengers. This is a
> simple and disgusting act of terrorism. It cannot be explained away
> in any sense as part of a campaign of liberation.
>
> If it is true that these attacks have been carried out by the
> Maoists, then, it is clear that they want to ratchet up the general
> intensity of violence in the regions where they have a presence. They
> want the government to unleash a military style offensive, because
> nothing would serve their purpose better. There can be no other
> explanation for the manner of these attacks. This is a disastrous and
> cynical policy, which will wreck havoc with the lives of the people
> of the area and cannot be justified by any means whatsoever. If the
> government of India responds by increasing the level and intensity of
> the conflict, it will become an accessory of the Maoists design to
> totally militarize the areas of central, southern and eastern India
> where they currently have a presence.
>
> If nothing else, this shows how the policy of 'Protracted People's
> War' is bound to degenerate (and in fact is already degenerating)
> into an orgy of random violence, exactly as it did in Peru and
> Colombia, where the 'Sendero Luminoso' ('Shining Path') and 'FARC'
> rebels competed with the state and right-wing militias in a sad
> spiralling descent into armed chaos and brigandage that did nothing
> to fulfil any revolutionary goal. If anything it strengthened the
> might of the state and the right wing militias in Peru and Colombia.
> The Maoists actions (attacks on unarmed civilians) cannot bring about
> any other results either. The ultimate and only beneficiary of this
> process will be the state and the corporations who want total control
> over the forests of Central India.
>
> However, we must not rush to conclusions. If the Maoists disclaim
> responsibility for these attacks, then we will have to see whether or
> not such a disclaimer has any objective basis. Independent
> investigations will have to be carrired out. If, by any means, it is
> possible that these attacks are 'false flag' operations, conducted by
> rogue elements of the state machinery, or even endorsed by the state,
> then the responsibility for the violence will lie squarely on the
> state. It must, however, be understood by the Maoists (even if they
> have not perpetrated these massacres) that the style of their
> politics can and does ennable the state to conduct precisely such
> 'false flag' operations. If there are any amongst the leadership of
> the Maoists who are sensitive to the possibilities of forging an
> alternative radical politics they must begin considering the
> necessity of abandoning the disastrous method of 'protracted peoples
> war' and explore ways to an open, transparent, militant and public
> politics that does not involve the endless cycle of retreats and
> massacres.
>
> Wherever the truth may life, this is a very sad day indeed,
>
> best
>
> Shuddha
>
>
> Shuddhabrata Sengupta
> The Sarai Programme at CSDS
> Raqs Media Collective
> shuddha at sarai.net
> www.sarai.net
> www.raqsmediacollective.net
>
>
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-- 
Rajen.