[We publish below a statement signed by some concerned citizens and intellectuals, on the Maoist violence in Nayagarh town in Orissa. This statement could also be considered as an invitation to a debate on the larger question on the place of violence in political and social movements.
Most signatories to this statement have been known to continuously oppose all forms of state violence and its attempts to brand all opposition to oppression, especially in the countryside, as ‘Naxalism’ or ‘Maoism’. We have earlier published the story of land rights activist Roma in Uttar Pradesh, apart from others elsewhere in the country. The story of Binayak Sen is of course quite well-known. Some of us might in fact go further and argue that even if an individual is an intellectual supporter and sympathizer of the Maoists, this cannot be treated as a crime. Merely holding an opinion cannot be used as an alibi, as is currently being done, to hound people.
And yet, there can be no justification whatsoever, for the nihilistic and mindless cult of the gun that has been and is being perpetuated by this peculiar form of ‘revolutionary’ politics. Quite apart from the fact that such a politics is simply counter productive and self-defeating, we feel there are larger ethical questions involved in these cynical killings of unarmed civilians. Many people may recall the debate, some years ago, between the Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC, comprising mainly of intellectuals sympathetic to the then PWG) and the PWG leadership. Such somewhat ‘internal’ debates, though important to some extent, are quite unhelpful beyond a point in generating a public debate. We hope this statement becomes a small step in initiating a debate that goes beyond mere homilies about ‘rule of law’ and ‘violence’ in the abstract – after in an extremely violent country like ours, even a panchayat election cannot often be fought (leave alone winning) without an adequate display or arms. – AN ]
We the undersigned strongly condemn the massacre of thirteen policemen and two civilians in Nayagarh town of Orissa by armed Maoists on February 17.
At the same time we also condemn, equally strongly, the subsequent killing of thirty five alleged Maoists as claimed by the Orissa police in a desperate measure of revenge and to show they are still ‘in control’. Going by past experience there are grave doubts as to who the
people they have killed really are- Maoist guerrillas or innocent villagers.
Media reports about acts of wanton brutality by the Maoists, such as burning alive a policeman and castrating another – if true- are specially condemnable. There can be no justification whatsoever for such actions, especially by a political group claiming to wage an armed struggle for social justice and striving to build a new revolutionary
society.
We are completely opposed to this cult of violence, even though we are fully aware that the way the central and state governments treat non-violent movements with utter cynicism, they inevitably push people towards such cults.
The Maoist atrocity in Nayagarh is particularly unfortunate as it is detrimental to the various democratic mass movements all over Orissa that are resisting the policies of land grab and diversion of natural resources to global and domestic corporations. The Orissa government is bound to use this incident as yet another excuse to crack down on the militant but non-violent struggles of the people against unjust development policies in the state.
We also call upon the government of Orissa as well as the Indian government to stop their brazen misuse of state power to carry out arbitrary arrests, torture and even murder of innocent citizens in the name of containing the Maoists. As elected bodies bound by the Indian Constitution they are expected to adhere to the laws of the land and democratic norms instead of resorting to vigilante justice.
Finally we request the media in the state to stop labeling activists fighting democratically against state policies and oppression as ‘Maoists’ with no evidence to back up such claims.
Amit Bhaduri, Economist, New Delhi
Achin Vanaik, Political Scientist, New Delhi
Apoorvanand, Academic, New Delhi
Aditya Nigam, Political Scientist, New Delhii
Amit Sengupta, Journalist, New Delhi
Mamata Dash, Activist, New Delhi
Praful Bidwai, Journalist, New Delhi
Rabi Shankar, Activist, Kashipur, Orissa
Sumit Sarkar, Historian, New Delhi
Satya Sivaraman, Journalist, New Delhi
Tanika Sarkar, Historian, New Delhi
KAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006 