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A nation that employs 600000 soldiers to address the issue of rebels in the Kashmir valley is now preparing for yet another war, this time not in the border but in the heartland itself. Who knows how many soldiers they are going to deploy. Considering a proportional number as with Jammu and Kashmir it would have to be near 5000000! (In Kashmir at the height of extremism the number of armed militants was estimated to be around 3000 and the present number of armed Maoists according to the government is 25000)

The map has nothing to do with the real borders as recognised by govt. of India its just a pictorial representation.

No surprise that a fifth of India is under the control of separatist elements. How can we expect a nation that has faltered again and again in dealing with these socio-political issues to act prudently? What have we as a nation gained from the military operations that we undertook elsewhere in the country to get rid of the separatists. Consider the case of north-eastern states; many of them are part of India only in school text books and maps prepared by government of India. Decades of military action there have not only increased the number of militant groups in the region but also alienated the people from the nation. The draconian laws like AFSPA and atrocities committed by our personnel have made the situation even worse. Every day we are hearing about latest incidents of fake-encounter killings and other human right violations. Operation Blue Star was a different case altogether; it was against a separatist group that was once nurtured by our ruling class for politicking. When the resources from those were in power dried up the movement vanished. Also let us not forget that the episode ended in the “Fall of a Big Tree and the Aftershock”! As is told countries and rulers learn not a thing from history. They repeat, re-stage the same old blunders! Or how the hell they could think that a political issue could be solved by military action?

Keep in mind that the so called ‘red corridor’ or ‘maoist infected’ zones (I wonder whether they are some sort of worms!) are the most under developed region in India. Most of these people involved are hapless tribal people who have endured decades of injustice under the feudal, caste-ridden social set-up. Their living conditions are worse than that of the people from poor African states. (Know that India is ranked 127^th in the Human Development Index of the United Nations which is measure of well being of the citizen of a country. Well behind Srilnaka where a civil-war like situation prevailed, Palestein which reels under Israeli bulldozers and our poor neighbors like Bangladesh.- the same Shining India which strives to become a world power by 2020!). Now the government says they would bring development to the region once they flush out the Maoists. Where were they all these 62 years since independence when these poor people suffered under the devilish landlords and mis-conceived developmental projects?

The government has embarked on a high-pitched public relations campaign against the Maoists atrocities and the corporate media is dancing to the tune. They equate the struggling people with terrorists, a handful of criminals set out to destroy the unity of the country. But truth is other ways; The Maoists now have influence in over 231 districts out of 626 in the country. It was only 56 in 2001. The government says the strength of the Maoists increased two-fold in the last five years. Also remember that when the ban on CPI (ML) was lifted shortly on 2004, about 1.5 million people attended a rally they organized in Warangal. Don’t tell me that all these tribals who are fighting the government are terrorists. In fact they are not even fighting the government, only that they started to react. Where were these moralists who profess non-violence during all these years when the life and livelihood of the poor were plundered at will by the corporate players and the upper class? Where were they when hundreds of women raped and people killed when the government sponsored ‘spontaneous people’s militia – Salwa Judum’ marched across the tribal belt in search of Maoists and ransacked tribal villages? Why didn’t they react when the apex court of the land granted permission to mining in their hills overriding the recommendations by the Supreme Court’s own committee? (The committee recommended not sanctioning mining in the region considering the horrific environmental impacts. One of the judges said openly in the court that he had stakes in one of the mining companies. ) Where were these people when thousands of hectares of their land was grabbed for ‘development’?

A maoist trainng camp

It is true that the Maoists committed a series of crimes. They have killed many. They have established people’s courts that pronounced verdicts of their liking. But think, have they killed in decades of their ‘violent’ history as many people as were killed by the communal fanatics in 2003 in Gujrat, killed in 1984 anti-sikh riots, in Bhopal in the same year when toxic gas from the Union Carbide Company was leaked? How many were held responsible? How many were punished? Shouldn't we brand the Bajrangdal and VHP as terrorist organisations?

Near 200000 people committed suicide in the agrarian crisis that grip our nation, is there any government to take up these issues? Were they not murdered by our ‘democratic system’? How many money lenders were arrested? How many a land lords were prosecuted? Statistics say there happens at least one atrocity every half an hour against Dalits in our country; how many are held responsible in this regard?

Who can demand from the poor people for sacrifices for the sake of development and greater interest of the nation, when development means setting up of police stations and military bases that are instruments of oppression by the powerful, high ways and dams that cut through their heart and industries that rob their resources and NOT the building of schools, hospitals, drainages or homes?

One of the main reasons for the recent uprising is the land grab by the mining lobby. Hectors and hectors of land, vegetations and whole hills are being dug up and destroyed. These people for whom the hills are their life and living, their mother and their god are evacuated ruthlessly with the help of the state machinery. And the power of the mining lobby…. They are multinational giants with unimaginable money and power behind them. Whom should the local people approach for justice? P Chidambaram who is the main supporter of the current military action was a non-executive director of ‘Vedanta’ , one of the mining giants. The recent developments in Karnataka are yet another proof of their power. Mr. Yedyurappa, the Chief Minister, almost lost his job when he tried to rein in the mining lobby. His party-men and associates betrayed him and joined the mining them. The way in which the Reddys succeeded in coercing the party and the administration to revert the actions against the mining firms and prevent the transfer of officials close to them is a telling example of the present situation. No wonder when we know that the budget of the mining industries well over thrice the GDP of India.

Now all talking about stopping left extremism; how are we to stop left extremism and maoist atrocities without stopping free market extremism and state sponsored atrocities?

How do we expect a government to find military solutions to a political issue?

How will we be able to stop these googols of money and power behind them?

Who should the poor turn for help?

Should they all kill themselves or should live just to be killed by the security personnel?

At least they could shed their fear and die in dignity….

Who’s wrong actually?

This violence and response all it seems is just insanity...

dissent, protect, prevent, politics, India , kerla, Maoists, Maoism, Insurgency, extremism, violence, non- violence