Category Archives: Left watch

Debates, Left watch, Politics, Violence/Conflict

The New Face of Capitalist War and Duty of the Left:Progressive Students Union

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This guest post is an appeal circulated by Progressive Students Union (PSU) – Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) – about the state’s war on “Maoist violence” , adding to the growing criticism of the CPI(Maoist) that cannot be conveniently dismissed as pro-state or anti-Left.

As has already been declared all across the national media, the state has declared war on “Maoist violence” across the country and is about to unleash its might on some of the most neglected regions and people of this country. While the Maoists are the declared target of the State, it is needless to say that they have hardly any qualms about “breaking a few eggs to make an omlette”! The thousands of adivasis and civilians going to be caught in the crossfire would be portrayed by the media as an inevitable but necessary price to pay for the eradication of the Naxal ‘menace’. That may well be only less than half the story, because another reason for state operations in this area is the immense mineral wealth there which can not be passed on to Indian capital unless adivasis living there are displaced, and their survival systems completely destroyed. According to reports from Chhatisgarh, the state sponsored Salwa Judum has displaced more than three hundred and fifty thousand adivasis in the old Bastar area. Fifty thousand have moved to neighbouring states, another fifty thousand are living under the surveillance of para-military forces in state controlled camps, the remaining two hundred and fifty thousand have moved deeper into the jungle to escape the violence and pillage of Salwa Judum. While the adivasis of Central India have faced, and resisted state violence for long, the Central Home Ministry – under the leadership of the suave and genteel Home Minister and Prime Minister –  has made plans for a larger offensive named ‘Operation Green Hunt’ (with the open possibility of aerial bombardment) to be launched in November this year. Progressive Students Union (PSU) condemns in the strongest terms these actions of the state which amounts to nothing but declaring war on its own citizens.

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Debates, Left watch, Violence/Conflict

An encounter with Chhatradhar Mahato: Monobina Gupta

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This guest post by MONOBINA GUPTA is the original of the article published in The Times of India today.

Monobina’s book on Left politics, Postcards from the Margins, is in press with Orient Blackswan, forthcoming in 2010.

The Delhi bound Rajdhani Express held up by supposed ‘Maoists’ for seven hours in West Medinipore had emblazoned on its body: Chhatradhar Mahato is a good man. He is not a criminal.

People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) Chief Mahato was put behind bars in the aftermath of waves of violence lashing West Bengal post 2009 general election results. There was speculation that the PCPA was demanding Mahato’s release. Equally, there was curiosity about Mahato who till a couple of months ago, did not seem to fit the bill of a gun-toting Maoist, a cold-blooded executioner.

When I met Mahato in Lalgarh on the eve of general elections in March earlier this year, he spoke a democratic language far removed from guns and killings. On my arrival that day I found Lalgarh abuzz with news of police picking up three villagers supposedly Maoists, and a murdered PCPA activist.  Mahato was in the midst of an organizational meeting under a tree in Lalgarh’s sublime, verdant surroundings. A tall, lanky man, smartly dressed, with a pair of sunglasses to beat the piercing July sun he was sitting with his comrades putting inside envelopes hand-written notices for PCPA’s next public meeting. Brother of Sashadhar Mahato, a Maoist fugitive, Chhatradhar was catapulted to the PCPA leadership virtually overnight, following a brutal police attack on villagers in the aftermath of a Maoist plot targetting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
Mahato said he would talk to me after lunch. The PCPA was running a community kitchen inside a mud hut where activists had their meals – rice and vegetable curry. This was where I met Mahato relaxed, lying down on the refreshingly cold mud floor.

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Debates, Government, Left watch, Violence/Conflict

What happened with the Bhubaneswar Rajdhani? Reflections on Dissent and Violence

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From passengers’ eyewitness accounts, and those of the driver and assistant driver of the train (congratulations, for once, to Times of India and to Indian Express reporter Debabrata Mohanty for going beyond statements from police and other officials of the Indian state), this is what happened:

The train was running on schedule when the driver noticed logs on the tracks and a large mob of about 300 waving red flags,  rushing towards the train. As the train screeched to a halt, stones were pelted (some passengers reported minor injuries from shattered window glass) and some men climbed into the driver’s cabin.  Said the driver, K Ananth Rao and his assistant K G Rao to the ToI reporter, Sukumar Mahato, “They said they were holding up the train because the state had waged a war on tribals. We followed them and sat by the tracks.”

[The Indian Express story by Ravik Bhattacharjee and Kanchan Chakrabarty, unattributed to any source, claims “The Rajdhani Express was intercepted by a 1500 strong mob and its driver and his assistant were taken hostage.”]

The PCAPA (People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities) claimed

a) it was not hostage-taking, but a rail abarodha (a blockade) of the train for flouting the rail roko call, when an indefinite bandh against atrocities by the joint security forces in the district had begun since morning.

b) it was meant to draw attention to the arrest of Chhatradhar Mahato, the PCPA leader.  One of the slogans sprawling in red letters across the side of the train says, in English, Chhatradhar Mahato is a good man.

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Debates, Left watch, Violence/Conflict

दो पाटन के बीच

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माओवादी हिंसा जायज़ है या नाजायज़? यह तसल्ली  की बात है कि  इस  सवाल पर अब बहस शुरू हो गई  है. इस प्रश्न पर बात करने का अर्थ यह नहीं है कि राज्य हिंसा का विरोध छोड दिया जाए. छत्तीसगढ़ में ”ऑपरेशन ग्रीन हंट” की व्यर्थता के बारे में और  कोई  नहीं , पंजाब के ” हीरो” के.पी.एस.गिल बोल रहे हैं. वे कोई  झोला वाले  मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ता नहीं, जिनकी चीखो-पुकार को दीवानों की बड़ मान कर आज तक राज्य और पूंजी के पैरोकार नज़रअंदाज करते आए हैं.  दांतेवाडा  में दो दशकों से अधिक समय से काम कर रहे हिमान्शु ठीक ही पूछते हैं कि हर बार छत्तीसगढ़  के गाँवों  में राज्य की ओर से पुलिस या अर्धसैनिक बल ही क्यों भेजे जाते रहे हैं, डाक्टर, आंगनवाडी कार्यकर्ता या शिक्षक क्यों नहीं! इस देश के आदिवासियों के लिए राज्य का अर्थ क्या रह गया है?हमारे मित्र सत्या शिवरामन ने भी यह सवाल किया कि राज्य को आदिवासियों की सुध बीसवीं सदी के आखिरी दशकों में क्यों आयी? क्या इसका कारण यह था कि उसे यह अपराध बोध सालने लगा था कि उसकी विकास योजनाओं के लाभ से राष्ट्र का यह तबका छूटता चला गया है?  या क्या इसकी ज़्यादा सही वजह यह थी कि देश और विदेश की पूंजी को अब अपने लिए  जो संसाधन चाहिए, वे जंगलों की हरियाली में छिपे हुए हैं और उस ज़मीन के नीचे दबे पड़े हैं, जिन पर  आदिवासी ‘हमारे’ इतिहास के शुरू होने के पहले से रहते चले आ रहे है! क्या राज्य को यह अहसास हुआ कि वह इस संपदा से अब तक  वंचित रहा है और इसकी वजह आदिवासियों का पिछडे तरीके से रहना ही है? पूंजी की नए संसाधनों की खोज और  आदिवासियों के विकास में  राज्य की दिलचस्पी का बढ़ना, क्या ये दो घटनाएं एक ही साथ नहीं होती दिखाई देती ?

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Debates, Left watch, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Mass Politics, Violence and the Radical Intellectual

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With the debate on Maoist violence and Operation Green Hunt hotting up, things are taking a disturbing turn. The danger really is that all spaces of radical political movements and indeed the entire space of the Left, part of it gradually vacated by the parliamentary ‘Left’ in recent decades and finally completely abandoned in the last few years, will now be virtually erased. In its place will be installed the phantom of an ‘armed struggle’ that threatens to completely swallow up the spaces once occupied by different shades of the CPI(ML) and the Naxalite movement and other Continue reading Mass Politics, Violence and the Radical Intellectual →

Countryside, Left watch, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Complicating the ‘Naxalite’ debate

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(An edited version of this piece appeared as the cover story in Himal Southasian in December 2007. The report is based on travels across Andhra to Bihar in October of the same year. At a time when most of the media is pushing the same binaries we must avoid, this may help in conveying the enormous complexity of the issue. Some facts may be outdated, and Kafila readers will be more familiar with certain issues like Salwa Judum than this reporter, but the broad argument may still have some relevance. I will follow this up with posts on the Nepali process and Indian Naxalites.)

A people’s movement. The greatest internal security challenge. Struggle for the rights of the poor, tribals, Dalits, landless. Compact Revolutionary Zone with influence in almost 200 districts. A socio economic problem rooted in exploitation and idealism. A law and order threat . True people’s democracy. A criminal, authoritarian and opportunistic outfit. The revolution will smash the Indian state. The Maoists are ants and can be crushed anytime .

Neat black and white portrayals have come to characterise one of the most complex stories of our times. The Naxal as the saviour and the state as the oppressor. The state as protector and Naxal as the villain. Numbers and scale of action act as the judge of Maoist spread and activity. 1608 incidents of Naxalite violence and 677 people killed in 2005; 1509 incidents and 678 killed in 2006; 249 persons killed till June 2007. Continue reading Complicating the ‘Naxalite’ debate →

Debates, Left watch, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Open Letter to Noam Chomsky: Nirmalangshu Mukherjee

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[We publish below an open letter to Noam Chomsky, written in the wake of his endorsement of a statement against ‘Operation Green Hunt’, issued recently by a large number of intellectuals in India and in the US. Nirmalangshu’s letter is important because it raises some very serious questions that are being brushed under the carpet by sections of the radical intelligentsia.  Unlike Nirmalangshu, I would not put ‘radical’ within scare quotes, since it is precisely this that highlights the immense tragedy of our times. Radical intellectuals – truly radical intellectuals – once again find themselves caught in this situation where in order to oppose state violence, they will wilfully turn a blind eye to the violence of armed nihilist gangs, simply because these claim to speak on behalf of the oppressed – a claim that Nirmalangshu’s letter exposes in all its falsity. He lays bare how the politics that goes by the name of ‘Maoism’ (i.e. CPI-Maoist) believes in violently erasing all other voices of opposition to and criticism of the state, but that of itself. This brand of politics in fact lives in symbiosis with the state – delegitimizing all forms of mass democratic politics. At this moment one deeply misses the courageous voice of the late Balagopal – recently slightingly dubbed a ‘liberal humanist’ by a spokesperson of the Maoists, at a meeting meant to salute his memory. I cannot help recalling here the feeling of immense sadness many of us were overcome by, watching and hearing speakers at this meeting (in Delhi) for Balagopal – speakers who were ungenerous, if not carping and outright dismissive of the courage of conviction that was Balagopal. AN]

Dear Prof. Chomsky,

I saw your support to the statement issued by Sanhati in the form of a letter to the prime minister— endorsed by some intellectuals from India and abroad. Three points are transparent: (a) the Indian government is planning a massive armed operation in the tribal-hilly areas in the eastern part of the country, (b) the poorest of the poor and the historically marginalised will suffer the most in terms of loss of lives, livelihood and habitat, and (c) for whatever it’s worth, an all-out campaign by democratic forces is needed to resist the armed invasion of people’s habitat by any party. To that extent, the statement does bring out the urgency of the matter.

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Debates, Left watch, Politics, Violence/Conflict

हिंसा की राजनीति बनाम जनांदोलन

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राजकीय हिंसा  के अन्यायपूर्ण होने को लेकर जिनके मन में कोई  शंका नहीं है, वे माओवादी या ‘जनता’की हिंसा के प्रश्न पर हिचकिचा जाते हैं.ऐसा इसलिए नहीं होता कि वे बेईमान हैं, बल्कि इस वजह से कि हिंसा को वैध राजनीतिक तरीका मानने को लेकर  चली आ रही बहस अभी ख़त्म नहीं हुई है. यह अलग बात है कि भगत सिंह जैसे बौद्धिक क्रांतिकारी पिछली सदी के पूर्वार्ध में ही यह समझ गए थे  कि  जन आंदोलनों  का कोई  विकल्प नहीं है. जनता की गोलबंदी,न कि हथियारबंद दस्तों के ज़रिये गुर्रिल्ला युद्ध,यह समझ भगत सिंह की बन रही थी.क्रांतिकारी कार्यक्रम का मसौदा में उन्होंने लिखा, “बम का रास्ता १९०५ से चला आ रहा है और क्रान्तिकारी भारत पर यह एक दर्दनाक टिप्पणी है….आतंकवाद हमारे समाज में क्रांतिकारी चिंतन के पकड़ के अभाव की अभिव्यक्ति है या एक पछतावा.इसी तरह यह अपनी असफलता का स्वीकार भी है. शुरू-शुरू में इसका कुछ लाभ था.इसने राजनीति को आमूल बदल दिया. नवयुवक बुद्धिजीवियों की सोच को चमकाया,आत्मत्याग की भावना को ज्वलंत रूप दिया और दुनिया व अपने दुश्मनों के सामने अपने आन्दोलन की सच्चाई को ज़ाहिर करने का अवसर मिला. लेकिन यह स्वयं में पर्याप्त नहीं है. सभी देशों में इसका इतिहास असफलता का इतिहास है…. . इसकी पराजय के बीज  इसके भीतर ही हैं.” इस उद्धरण से यह न समझ लिया जाए कि  भगत सिंह ने इस रास्ते से अपने आप को एकदम काट लिया था,पर यह साफ़ है कि वे बड़ी शिद्दत से यह महसूस करने लगे थे कि बिना सामूहिक कार्रवाई के  सफलता प्राप्त करना संभव नहीं.भगत सिंह के ये वाक्य मानीखेज और दिलचस्प है:”विशेषतः निराशा के समय आतंकवादी तरीका हमारे प्रचार-प्रसार में सहायक हो सकता है,लेकिन यह पटाखेबाजी के सिवाय कुछ है नहीं.”वे स्पष्टता से लिखते है, “क्रांतिकारी को निरर्थक आतंकवादी कार्रवाईयो और व्यतिगत आत्मबलिदान के दूषित चक्र में न डाला जाए. सभी के लिए उत्साहवर्द्धक आदर्श,उद्देश्य के लिए जीना -और वह भी लाभदायक तरीके से योग्य रूप में जीना – होना चाहिए.”
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Government, Law, Left watch, Politics

नक्सलवाद के ख़िलाफ़ अभियान कि नाम पर

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नक्सलवादियों के खिलाफ केंद्र का अभियान शुरू हो गया है. जनमत को अपने इस हिंसक अभियान के पक्ष में करने के लिए केंद्र ने अखबारों में पूरे पृष्ठ के विज्ञापन दिए  जिनमें ‘माओवादियों’ या ‘नक्सलवादियों’ के हाथों मारे गए लोगों की तसवीरें थीं. इनसे शायद यह साबित करने की कोशिश की गयी थी कि माओवादी हत्यारे  हैं, इसलिए उनके विरुद्ध चलने वाले अभियान में अगर राज्य की तरफ से हत्याएं होती हैं तो उन पर ऐतराज नहीं किया जाना चाहिए. इस विज्ञापन के फौरन बाद छतीसगढ़ में राज्य की कारवाई में साथ माओवादियों के मारे जाने का दावा किया गया.  छत्तीसगढ़ के मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ताओं ने इसके प्रमाण पेश कर दिए कि मारे गए लोग  साधारण आदिवासी थे ,न कि माओवादी,  जैसा पुलिस का दावा था. केन्द्रीय गृहमंत्री ने इसी के आस-पास छत्तीसगढ़  में यह कहा कि माओवादियों के विरुद्ध राजकीय अभियान में मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ताओं को रास्ते में नहीं आने दिया जाएगा. वे यह कहने की कोशिश कर रहे थे कि माओवादियों के खिलाफ चल रही जंग में मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ताओं ने अड़ंगा डाला है, अब यह बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जाएगा. इस नए संकल्प पर हंसा भी नहीं जाता. मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ताओं की अगर इतनी ताकत होती तो बिनायक सेन को दो साल तक जेल में न रहना पड़ता.

छत्तीसगढ़ जैसी जगह में मानवाधिकार की बात करना अपनी जान को जोखिम में डालना है , यह हिमांशु से पूछिए जिनके बीस साल पुराने आश्रम को गैर-कानूनी तरीके से बुलडोजर लगा कर ढाह दिया गया.हिमांशु कोई  माओवादी नहीं हैं, बल्कि वे तो माओवादियों के गुस्से के निशाने पर भी रहे हैं. फिर भी हिमांशु का न्याय-बोध डगमगाया नहीं और उन्होंने छत्तीससगढ़ में पुलिस और सलवा-जुडूम की कार्रवाई के बारे में हमेशा सच बताने की अपनी जिद बनाए रखी. हिमांशु इस धारणा के खिलाफ हैं कि छत्तीसगढ़ में सिर्फ दो पक्ष हैं, एक राज्य का और दूसरा माओवादियों का . वे वहां के आदिवासियों के अपने गावों में रहने , अपने जमीन पर खेती करने के हक की हिफाजत की लडाई में उनके साथ हैं. क्या यह सच नहीं और क्या इस पर बात नहीं की जानी चाहिए कि सलवा जुडूम   के दौरान गाँव  के गाँव जला दिए गए और आदिवासियों को मजबूर किया गया कि वे सरकारी शिविरों में रहें !क्या यह सवाल राज्य से नहीं पूछा जाना चाहिए कि तकरीबन साधे छः सौ गाँवों से विस्थापित कर दिए  गए दो लाख से ऊपर आदिवासी कहाँ लापता हो गए क्योंकि वे शिविरों में तो नहीं हैं! अगर शिविरों में अमानवीय परिस्थियों में रहने को मजबूर पचास हजार आदिवासियों के अलावा बाकी की खोज करें तो क्या इस पर बात न की जाए कि क्या वे बगल के आंध्रप्रदेश में विस्थापितों का जीवन जी रहे हैं और जो वहां नहीं भाग पाए वे छत्तीसगढ़ के जंगलों में छिपे हुए हैं। जंगलों मे छिपे,या बेहतर हो हम कहें कि जंगलों में फंसे आदिवासी क्या माओवादियों की सेना के सदस्य मान लिए गए हैं!
Continue reading नक्सलवाद के ख़िलाफ़ अभियान कि नाम पर →

Capitalism, Left watch, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

The End or Future of Capitalism and Ending Obama’s War

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Last night I heard a public conversation between the Marxist Geographer David Harvey and Alexander Cockburn the editor of CounterPunch and columnist with The Nation.  The conversation titled, ‘The End or Future of Capitalism’ was hosted by The Center for Place, Culture & Politics.  Cockburn opened the conversation by speaking about the lack of vision in the Left.  Harvey argued that the capitalist system was facing tremendous stress and that a different path of economic development had to be envisioned.  Harvey continued on the end of capitalism as one needing analysis in terms of how this crisis arose with the problem of accumulation and realization of surplus, and poses the question of what is to be done?  Central to Harvey’s argument is that the mounting stress seen at the centre of the capitalist system in the last three decades is the culmination of the inability to sustain the two and a half percent compounded accumulation that has been a characteristic of global capital over the last couple hundred years.  That the capitalist system is unable to find productive investments for the two and a half percent accumulation rate leading to repetitious and aggravating crises in the unproductive bubbles in financial assets.

I stood in line when the floor was open, but much to my disappointment the moderator had brought the conversation to an end before I could ask my question, and so I am going to ask it here.  Both Harvey and Cockburn talked about the urgency of the moment and the need for provocative questions from the Left.  But what is the more urgent question to ask at this moment?  Is it the end or future of capitalism? Or is it the end or future of the American Empire?  The two may well be related and even two sides of the same coin, but the question for me is influenced by the urgency of the situation in our region; the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The relatedness of the two questions also leads me to ask what would be the consequence of the tremendous stress at the centre of the capitalist system on the wars fought at the periphery of Empire?  And in turn, what is the impact of the tremendous stress of the wars on the periphery for the hegemonic centre of the capitalist system?

Continue reading The End or Future of Capitalism and Ending Obama’s War →

Left watch, Politics, Theory

And this song is dedicated to Buddhababu

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“CM Buddhadeb back, denies quit rumours”

sar par paaon rakh kar bhaago
sar par paaon rakh kar bhaago
katne waala patta hai
suno ji ye kalkatta hai
hurr..

Debates, Left watch, Politics, Violence/Conflict

बेलगाम हिंसा और मानवाधिकार आंदोलन का ज़मीर

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1 सितंबर:31 अगस्त की रात पुरुलिया की अयोध्या पहाडियों में नौदुली गाँव में तीस हथियारबंद लोग घुसे , गांववालों को घर से न निकलने का हुक्म पुकार कर सुनाया, फिर वे लतिका हेम्ब्रम के घर में घुसे  जहां वह अपने पति गोपाल के साथ सोई थी. राइफल के कुन्दों से  लतिका को पीटते हुए उन्होने धमकी दी  कि उसे उन्होंने एक साल पहले ही सी.पी.एम. छोड देने को कहा था पर उसने अब तक यह किया नहीं और अगर वह अभी भई यह नहीं करती तो वे उसे जान से मार डालेंगे.  लतिका स्त्री है, ग्राम पंचायत की प्रमुख है, पर उसकी उसके पति के साथ जम कर पिटाई की गई. हवा में गोलियां दागते हुए वे  दस किलोमीटर दूर एक दूसरे गांव जितिंग्लहर पहुंचे और देबिप्रसाद के घर पहुंचे. देबीप्रसाद के मां-बाप इनके पैरों पर गिर पडे और अपने बेटे के प्राणों की भीख मंगने लगे. पर उसे ठोकर मार कर जगाया गया और छाती में दो गोलियां मारी गईं. देबी प्रसाद की मौत हो गई. देबीप्रसाद सी.पी.एम. का सदस्य था.
Continue reading बेलगाम हिंसा और मानवाधिकार आंदोलन का ज़मीर →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Culture, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Government, Left watch, Media politics

The (‘Quotation’) Gangs of Kerala

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The media in Kerala is in a tizzy  these days over ‘quotation’ gangs and their influence on everyday life. Like evil spirits dancing upon the bodies of fallen heroes in abandoned epic battle-fields, ‘quotation gangs’, it seems, now dance upon the dead political heroism of the Malayalees. Suddenly, the media finds, they are everywhere, settling every kind of dispute. The institutions of law and order are turning, slowly, into adjuncts or versions of ‘quotation gangs’. The recent murder of the real-estate businessman Paul Muthoot, who was apparently traveling with two of the most notorious ‘quotation gang’ leaders in Kerala, has brought matters to a head. The papers are clogged these days with advertisements feeding Onam-time consumer-frenzy and news of the Paul Muthoot murder and they don’t see any connections between the two.

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Countryside, Left watch, Politics

A People’s Uprising Destroyed by The Maoists: Santosh Rana

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[This is a guest post by SANTOSH RANA, one of the legendary leaders of the Naxalite revolt in 1967. Rana lead one of the important CPI(ML) groups that is active in the Jharkhand region. Here he writes of the Lalgarh and the Maoists. The post was written sometime ago. It gives a more nuanced picture of the different strands and phases of the movement, including the PCPA phase.]

Lalgarh lies in Jhargram sub-division of West Medinipur district of West Bengal. It is part of the Paschimanchal (western zone) of the state and is an extension of Chhotanagpur plateau. With its laterite soil of low water-retention capacity and Sal-Mahua forests, the area differs from the Bengal plains both geographically and culturally. It is indeed a part of the Jharkhand cultural region. Nearly 30 percent of the population are Scheduled Tribes (ST), 20 percent Scheduled Castes (SC) and the rest are communities like Kudmi-Mahatos, Telis, Kumbhars, Bagals, Rajus, Tamblis, Khandaits and others. The Kudmi-Mahatos are the biggest among the rest, who had been treated as ST till 1935 when they were de-scheduled. The Mahatos, Bagals and some other communities are actually semi-tribals who have been partly Sanskritised but still retain their tribal characteristics; now they are treated as Other Backward Classes (OBC). There are other OBC communities like Kumbhar, Tanti, Teli and others. But in West Bengal, benefits for OBCs started not only late but also unenthusiastically. Even today, there is very little reservation – only 7 percent, and that too in the government jobs only – given to the OBCs here. The OBCs are not given any reservation in higher education. The SC communities living in the region ( Bagdi, Dom, Jele, Mal and Bauri etc) are so backward that they are unable to get government or semi-government jobs through reservation. The tribals constitute 30 percent of the population Jhargram sub-division, but in local jobs, they are given only 6 percent reservations – the stipulated quota for the STs at the  state level.

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Countryside, Everyday Life, Government, Left watch, Violence/Conflict

इतिहास से साक्षात्कार की घड़ी;

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लालगढ़ मुक्त कराया जा रहा है. पिछले आठ महीने से जिस इलाके में पश्चिम बंगाल की मार्क्सवादी सरकार की पुलिस नही घुस पा रही थी , उस पर केन्द्र सरकार के सशस्त्र बल की सहायता से अब बंगाल की पुलिस धीरे–धीरे कब्जा कर रही है. केन्द्रीय गृह मंत्री पी. चिदंबरम ने कहा ज़रूर था कि यह कोई युद्ध नहीं हो रहा है क्योंकि कोई भी राज्य अपनी ही जनता से युद्ध नहीं करता लेकिन लालगढ़ में अभी चल रहे सैन्य अभियान की रिपोर्ट दे रहे पत्रकार लगातार यह बता रहे है कि वहां स्थिति किसी युद्ध क्षेत्र से कम नहीं है. गांव के गांव वीरान हो गए हैं.हजारों की तादाद में आदिवासी शरणार्थी शिविरों में पनाह ले रहे हैं. ध्यान देने की बात है कि ये शिविर भी राज्य सरकार नहीं चला रही है. पहले दो बडे शिविर तृणमूल कांग्रेस के द्वारा स्थापित किए गए. लालगढ़ की जनता के लिए शिविर स्थापित करने के बारे में बंगाल की सरकार अगर नहीं सोच पाई तो ताज्जुब नहीं क्योंकि उसके हिसाब से वह उसकी जनता नहीं है, वह तो शत्रु पक्ष की जनता है!दूसरे शब्दों में वह गलत जनता है. सही जनता वह है जो मार्क्सवादियों के साथ है.

लालगढ़ में पिछले आठ महीने से एक विलक्षण जन आंदोलन चल रहा था. बुद्धदेव भट्टाचार्य के काफिले पर हमले के बाद पुलिस ने जिस तरह लालगढ़ के आदिवासियों को प्रताड़ित किया, उसने साठ साल से भी ज़्यादा से असह्य गरीबी और अमानुषिक परिस्थितियों को झेल रही आदिवासी जनता के भीतर सुलग रही असंतोष की आग को भड़का दिया. लेकिन ध्यान दें, इन पिछड़े आदिवासियों ने कितनी राजनीतिक परिपक्वता का परिचय दिया! उन्होंने ‘पुलिस संत्रास विरोधी जनसाधारण समिति’ बनाई और लगभग हर संसदीय राजनीतिक दल से सहयोग मांगा. वह उन्हें मिला नहीं. लालगढ़ ने कहा , यहां हमारा अपमान करने वाली पुलिस और हमारी उपेक्षा करने वाले प्रशासन का स्वागत नहीं है. पुलिस और प्रशासन की उनके जीवन में अप्रासंगिकता का आलम यह है कि राज्य विहीन आठ महीनों में इस समिति ने ट्य़ूबवेल लगवाया जो बत्तीस साल के जनपक्षी वाम शासन में नहीं हो सका था, स्कूल चलाया, सड़क बनाई जो बत्तीस साल से नहीं थी और इस बीच अपराध की किसी घटना की कोई खबर नहीं मिली. एक तरह से यह जनता का स्वायत्त शासन था.
Continue reading इतिहास से साक्षात्कार की घड़ी; →

Countryside, Left watch, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Requiem for a Movement

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Current media discussions about Lalgarh seem to miss out one crucial fact: Till less than a month ago, it was not a Maoist fortress, but a place where a fascinating experiment with a new kind of democratic politics was being undertaken. Maoists were certainly present, but they were constrained to go along with the mood inside Lalgarh, as earlier posts on Kafila have pointed out. This mood was certainly not one of forming ‘dalams’ or squads of roving Maoist guerillas. In fact, as People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) leader Chhatradhar Mahato told Times of India a couple of days ago, ‘if the state government had done even 10 percent of what we have done, the situation would have been very different.’ Continue reading Requiem for a Movement →

Government, Left watch, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Where there is no police: Kumar Rana

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This is a guest post by KUMAR RANA

Where there is no police – what a wonderful state that would be. It’s a place that many have dreamt of, at least at some point of time if not all through the life. What a wonderful land that would be where one can eat or fast,  sleep or remain awake,  work or rest, move in or move out  completely freely, where her wishes would not be monitored by the police. So the episodes in Khejuri in East Medinipur and Lalgarh, in West Bengal, had apparently made some of the citizens happy: what a relief, there is no police.

But, alas, it was only a dream. Because there was the state and a state without police is as alive as a dead animal, the khaki was quickly replaced by lungi or jeans, and the gun by perhaps more lethal AK47 and its sort.
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Left watch, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Maoist Violence in Lalgarh, West Bengal, Must be Condemned

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The inevitable has happened. As soon as the election results came out and the wall of fear collapsed and mass anger against the ruling CPM became evident, the Maoists waiting in the wings have come out into the open. However, what is happening today in Lalgarh and other parts of West Bengal cannot be justified by pointing at the CPM’s totalitarian terror in the Bengal countryside.

According to reports, the violence, killings of CPM activists and members, especially in Lalgarh, has now acquired unprecedented proportions. CPM members are being driven out of their homes or killed. The offices of the party have been targeted on a large scale, not just in Lalgarh but elsewhere in West Bengal.

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Left watch, Mirror Worlds, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Elementary Aspects of Popular Insurgency in West Bengal

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Violence has erupted once again. This time in Khejuri – a place in the vicinity of Nandigram, which was the base from where the CPI(M) launched its operation ‘recapture Nandigram’ on 14 March 2007. This was the red fort where the arms were collected and the goons brought in to liberate Nandigram. As one news report had put it:

‘Along with arms and ammunition, CPM flags and helmets of the kind worn by police were seized from the hideout, triggering suspicion that the men had donned uniforms and joined security forces on the day of the firing. Cellphones found on them showed they were in touch with senior CPM leaders, sources said.’

Khejuri is also the place where, just a little over a month ago, violence had flared up again. This time it was followed by the killing of Prasanta Mondol and the alleged rape of his wife. Prasanta Mondol was one of those who had left the CPI(M) two months ago and become one of the important Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders in Khejuri. The spiral unleashed by that round of violence has continued through till after the election results were out. Continue reading Elementary Aspects of Popular Insurgency in West Bengal →

Debates, Left watch, Politics, Violence/Conflict

तिअनानमेन चौक, नन्दीग्राम और एक मक़्‍तूल सपना

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कभी फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़ ने ‘सीज़र डेड इज़ मोर पावरफ़ुल दैन सीज़र अलाइव’ की तर्ज़ पर पैट्रीस लुमुम्‍बा के बारे में कहा था कि ‘एक मक़्‍तूल लुमुम्‍बा ज़िंदा लुमुम्‍बा से ज़्‍यादा ताक़तवर होता है’।  और एक मक़्‍तूल सपना? या वह सपना देखने वाली ज़बरन सुला दी गई अनगिनत आँखें? उस ख़्‍वाब के बारे में क्‍या कहिएगा फ़ैज़ साहब, जिसका क़त्‍ल करने के लिए उसे देखने वालों को ही टैंकों तले रौंद दिया गया हो? तिअनानमेन चौक पर आज से बीस बरस पहले जिस ख्‍वाब का क़त्‍ल हुआ था, जिन ख्‍वाबीदा आँखों की रौश्‍नी हमेशा के लिए बुझा दी गई, वह सपना कितना ताक़तवर है यह अभी दुनिया का देखना बाक़ी है। अभी तो दुनिया ने उसकी एक बानगी भर देखी थी: तिअनानमेन का ख़ून अभी सूखा भी न था कि समाजवाद के नाम पर फहरा रहा परचम – क्रॉन्‍श्‍टाड्‍ट के नाविकों से लेकर हंगरी 1956, चेकोस्‍लोवाकिया 1968 और न जाने कितने गुज़िश्‍ता तिअनानमेनों के ख़ून से लथपथ परचम – यकायक नोंच कर नीचे उतार दिया गया। जिनके दिमागों पर ताले लगे हैं वे कितना ही चिल्‍ला चिल्‍ला के कहते रहें, यह किसी साम्रज्‍यावादी की साज़िश का नहीं, ग़ुज़रे दिनों के प्रेतों का कारनामा था जो ख़ुद शासकों के ज़मीर में इस तरह जम कर बैठे थे कि वहाँ भी, अचानक किसी गोर्बाचोव का पैदा होना लाज़मी था जो ऐलानिया तौर पर यह कहने का माद्दा रखता कि बिना जम्हूरियत के समाजवाद हो ही नहीं सकता। और जैसे ही जम्हूरियत की तरफ़ क़दम बढ़ाते हुए उसने ज़रा सा ढक्कन हटाया, वैसा ही ज़माने से धधकता लावा फट कर सामने आ गया। एकबारगी ताश के महल की तरह वह पूरा का पूरा निज़ाम ही ढहा के ले गया। Continue reading तिअनानमेन चौक, नन्दीग्राम और एक मक़्‍तूल सपना →

Bad ideas, Left watch, Movements, Violence/Conflict

Chinese memories

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Suddenly the other day, on the 3 of June 2009, in a bizarre flash of memory I went back two decades ago, June 3 1989. As is well known, hundreds of students in Beijing had begun a protest a few months ago with wide-ranging critiques of the regime – more democracy, end to corruption and workers rights. They were joined by workers, office goers, Beijing residents, local party officials, just about everyone else. Soon the protests had spread all over China, there were demonstrations everywhere. A Chinese friend of mine was in Tiananmen Square, the main centre of the protests. He later told me – “we were all giddy, everyone traveled free in trains to Beijing, people helped us with food and water on the streets, we sang the Internationale and all the old revolutionary songs, suddenly they felt real not false…” All went to Beijing.

For many on the left in India, China occupies a peculiar, proximate place. The events of 1956 in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia, when Soviet tanks crushed uprisings, did not cause the storms they did in the European left. But China was different – it was in Asia, a large peasant society with an old civilization, and the site of one of the great revolutionary transformations that had begun in the nineteenth century. China had to be different. When the Naxalite militants scribbled ‘China’s path is our path’ or ‘Listen to Radio Beijing’ on the walls of Calcutta in 1969, they were probably out of their mind, but only just.
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