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‘The Inhuman Cult of Death’ and Dilemma of the Civil Rights Groups

“ A movement carried out in the name of India’s poor has, for all practical purposes, degenerated into an inhuman cult of death” read the editorial that The Hindu carried on the day after the recent train sabotage allegedly by the Maoists in Jhargran in West Midanpur district of West Bengal. The heinous incident which took the lives of 141 people, pose challenging questions before the civil society and those who sympathise with the Maoist cause. With the opinions for stringent action against Maoists is aired with little thought (say, about what the word stringent-action means) we are in a dilemma. Strong back of the scene acts are on for carrying forward the plans for military action against those who wage ‘war against our nation’. The home minister has called upon the Civil Rights groups and the ‘intellectuals’ to condemn ‘the deliberate, heartless violence’. And this could be a turning point in the nation’s long history of fight against left-extremism.

The recent surge in the Maoist violence has resulted in erosion of whatever credibility or moral justification it had in the minds of the people of the Indian mainland. In the last three months the Maoists targeted rail-transport for 16 times and 150 innocent civilians got killed. If CPI (Maoist) leader Muppala Laxman Rao apologised for the death of 14 adivasis when they blew up a bus in Warangal in 2002 his comrades in 2010 are trying to justify civilian causalities as unavoidable. It is quite interesting to see global capitalism and left extremism using the same phrase ‘collateral’ damage to cover their guilt. The Maoist movement is gradually turning out to be another bloody game of futility. The violent methods of the Maoists are condemned widely, Arundhathy Roy recently described it as” absolutely inexcusable and cannot be justified”. Dr. Binayak Sen, doctor and activist who was sentenced for 2 year imprisonment for alleged links with Maoists also expressed disapproval and extreme contempt. PUCL after the Maoist attack on the CRPF personnel came out with a statement condemning the Maoists. In a statement it expressed that the PUCL “feels that no objectives could be desirable that is sought to be achieved at the cost of human lives and security. As is evident from the past experience, dialogue remains the most potent and viable means of lasting peace”.

In the meanwhile the story of train tragedy is turning upside down with the Railway Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee expressing doubts about a conspiracy behind the incident and demanding a CBI enquiry. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has denied any involvement in the incident. The West Bengal state government was quick to blame it all on the Maoists and the state has already started a CID inquiry into the incident. The FIR filed by the Engine Driver, B K Das, made no mention of the Maoists behind the accident. With so many theories swirling around, a factual account of the incident is yet to come.

What all are waiting for is the Government’s response. With lack of unity on the counter-insurgency strategy within the cabinet already gone public the government is under immense pressure to do something. The earlier responses from the government was cautious as even the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram a staunch supporter of military action preferring to shelve his usual spit of fire. While condemning the incident we should be careful not to let this as a ruse for witch-hunt. The people’s rights and freedoms cannot be compromised in the name of security when the real reasons remain unattended. With severe pressure from the authorities to show their allegiance to the state the Civil rights Groups and the intellectuals are in a dilemma. The danger of being branded as ‘anti-nationals’ shouldn’t prevent them from carrying forward their present struggles for the poor. The greater issues of exploitation by the Mining giants, land-grab and oppression should not be forgotten. From the part of the government, it should stop the use of civilian transport systems to carry armed forces. Using rail and other civilian transport systems and also occupying schools and other public places for setting up military camps would expose the lives of innocent civilians to grave security threats. Imminent personalities like K PS Gill, former Punjab DGP has pointed out the need for addressing the basic issues like need for hospitals, schools, proper sanitation, land and above all a right to live and die in dignity. “Corruption built into the system which fails to deliver is more destructive than criticism of Civil rights Groups” he said. Another ex-DGP, K S Subramanian was also eloquent when he said, “Chidambaram should read Arundhathi Roy rather than get inputs from the intelligence agencies. He should talk to the Civil rights Groups”.

It is well known that the main stream media is not impartial in its reporting of the ‘Red-Terror’. More often than not they prefer to turn a blind eye towards the atrocities committed by the Salwa Judum and task forces. And independent reporting is factually impossible in Maoist infected stats like Chattisgarh where there are laws like Chattisgarh Public Safety Act in place. At the same time we cannot blame it all on the government itself, but “both Chidambaram and Raman Singh seem to be disciples of Bush. If you are not with us, you are against us”, says Rama Chandra Guha, historian who was included in the fact finding team send to Chattisgarh and was branded as a Maoist sympathizer by the Special forces. That is where the trouble is; there is a tendency to brand everyone who point out faults with the government as anti-nationals. Sadly our mainstream media too takes such a stand. This adds to the dilemma of the civil society. Yet lets hope the society would stand up-to the challenge.

read more from P B Jijeesh at pbjijeesh.in