Manoj's World

Caught In The Crossfire

Salwa Judum is an indigenous answer to the imported problem of Maoism, wrote Balbir K. Punj recently. But aren't they just caught between the Maoists and the government? argues this rejoinder. Hasn't the government simply abdicated its responsibility?

SMITA GUPTA

Let us imagine the following scenario in Delhi: The government informs the capital's citizens that the terrorist threat is such that it can no longer assure them a reasonable amount of security; besides, the power and water situation is worsening, while getting admission to school for their children becoming more difficult.

But this is an enlightened government — so it suggests, sign up for a peace hunt (like a treasure hunt) and we will move you to this magical place where all your wants will be addressed. We will give you one room tenements in a high rise next to the police station. But what will happen to my home, you ask? Will someone take care of that? No, of course not, you can keep an eye on it yourself. How long do I stay away from my home? Till we get rid of the terrorists.

You protest: The government says your protest means you support the terrorists. You say: I don't support the terrorists, but I don't want to give up my home for an urban slum. The government says, "Make up your mind - either you are with us or you are with them." You protest again: So the police come around and burn down your home, beat you up and take you kicking and screaming to the slum.

Is that democratic, Mr Punj ? What would you do if that happened to Delhi's citizens? You would be there on the streets at Jantar Mantar or on Parliament Street, courting arrest to protect the rights of the citizens.

The fact is, today, in Chattisgarh, the Salwa Judum (which translates not as peace initiative but, interestingly, as peace hunt) is a state sponsored organization fighting the Maoists, where, innocent tribals, instead of the government and the police, are being put on the frontline. The Salwa Judum (SJ) has no organisation because its members are drawn from the local elite, wealthy tribal leaders, traders and contractors— those who suffered most at the hands of the Maoists— and the Special Police Officers temporarily recruited by the government from among younger SJ activists or ex-Sangham members (village-level Maoists), who along with the local police arrive and coerce adivasis to abandon their villages for the dubious comforts and "security" of the camps.

How humane, I ask you, is it to lure poor young tribal men and women between the ages of 18 and 20, with the lure of Rs 1500 a month, call them Special Police Officers, give them rudimentary training in the use of arms, and set them loose on the population with guns— eventually cannon fodder for the Maoists? Earlier, the Maoists targeted corrupt policemen and forest rangers; today, they are killing ordinary tribals.

The government— and I don't hold just the Raman Singh government responsible, as some local Congress leaders and even the Centre, are accomplices— has abdicated its responsibility towards its citizens. The government's agenda is twofold: one, it thinks by emptying the jungles, it will cut off the lifeline of the Maoists and two, it wants to hand over the vacated land to companies such as Essar, Jindal etc.

If some local Congress leaders such as Mahendra Karma are backing the BJP initiative, it does not make the Salwa Judum a genuine people's movement. Just ask Ramesh Bais who, if I am not wrong, is a respected BJP leader in the state. He described the describes the SJ as "gale me haddi saman —something that you can neither swallow nor throw up". Ask members of your sister organization, Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, and all the businessmen in the state who profess allegiance to your party why they pay "taxes" to the Maoists.

You say you have been to Chattisgarh to meet Mahendra Karma, but have you taken a walk in the forests of Bastar? Have you been to Dantewada? Bijapur? Have you been to the camps? There at the camps, and in the forests, you will hear from the tribals how they live— in mortal fear of the administration, caught in the crossfire between the Maoists and the government.

You write: "Dantewada is the most uncharacteristic place to become a Marxist laboratory. It has been an aboriginal, egalitarian and exploitation-free society since time immemorial." Perhaps you are unaware that, for years, local police men and forest rangers have harassed and exploited the tribals, providing an opening for the Maoists who, by dispensing quick justice, were seen as preferable to the administration.

You will say that since I disapprove of the Salwa Judum, I must be a Maoist or at least their supporter. But let me tell you, I have as little time for the violence of the left as I have of the right. As a liberal, I believe that coercion and violence have no place in a democracy. The point is not whether those who oppose the Salwa Judum are Maoists or their supporters— the point is that the government has abdicated its responsibilities to the tribals of Chattisgarh. It needs to fight the battle against the Maoists frontally, not fight from the shoulders of helpless tribals.

Maoists Are No Maoris!

Salwa Judum is an indigenous answer to the imported problem of Maoism

BALBIR K. PUNJ

In Chhattisgarh, the Salwa Judum is more than a popular tribal movement against Maoist repression. It is the bulwark of civil society and strategic resistance to Maoist designs of forging a red corridor from Andhra Pradesh to Nepal. In New Delhi, thanks to Leftist propaganda, it creates an opinion divide. A bunch of Left-liberals who toured Dantewada district recently branded Salwa Judum as a civil war within tribal society fomented by the BJP government. They recommended disbanding the Salwa Judum. Ironically, there was no such advice for the blood-thirsty Maoists. Instead, they wanted the Union government to compromise with the Maoists.

PM Manmohan Singh, addressing the second meeting of CMs of Naxalism-affected states on April 13 last, described Naxalism/Maoism as the single largest insurgency faced by India. Yet, the draft tribal policy views the Maoist war against Indian state as nothing more than a 'violent manifestation of tribal unrest'. Thus, even against the UPA government's implicit support to the Salwa Judum movement, the draft tribal policy recommends its termination.

The Congress is waiting for the Harikesh Bahadur panel's report to clarify its stand on Judum. I wish to remind how the Congress erred on the nature of Maoist menace. An AICC task force had said the proliferation of Naxalism was owing to socio-economic factors. It had no ideological content. But the Congressmen in Chhattisgarh know the reality better. Thus, it is not surprising that the Judum is led by a Congress leader, Mahendra Kumar Karma, the leader of the Opposition in the legislative assembly. "It is a battle for the tribesmen's livelihood and self-identity and the society has left their leaders behind in this fight," he told me during a recent visit there.

Salwa Judum (mobilisation for peace) originated amongst the tribesmen of Dantewada in June 2005. The ruling bjp and the opposition Congress merely facilitated it. And if today Chhattisgarh is in news, it is not because Maoists have stepped up their activities, but because the tribal society has dared to stand up to them. Dantewada is the most uncharacteristic place to become a Marxist laboratory. It has been an aboriginal, egalitarian and exploitation-free society since time immemorial. Incidents of murder, limb amputation, rape and extortion were unheard of before the advent of the Maoists. Dantewada showcases a unique tribal way of life. Its extensive landmass of 10,239 km has a population of just over six lakhs. One of the most sparsely-populated districts of India, it is full of forests, hills and inhospitable terrain sans roads. Perhaps, that makes it ideal for guerrilla warfare.

The institution of state, much maligned in Marxist parlance, has been conspicuous by its absence from this region. With such low population numbers here, there was little in stake for governance. With little intervention from the state, this left them unfettered to continue with their perennial tribal way of life. On the flip side, this led to underdevelopment or non-development. The area suffered from, or enjoyed, a political vacuum. Since nature abhors vacuum, the Maoists ran to fill it. There was neither state nor exploiting class in Dantewada's tribal society to justify Maoism's rise.

The issue of development is, of course, subterfuge. The Maoists resent any development in their region, marking it as the state's aggression. They extort a heavy cut from contractors of highways, bridges and levy taxes from tendu leaf traders, and transporters. Maoism in Dantewada, or anywhere else in India, is organised banditry. People are lured to it by the lucre of loot. No wonder the living standard of an average guerilla is far superior to the living standard of a policeman.

The spectre of violence unleashed by Maoists has threatened the physical security and economic freedom in the tribal society. It has also outraged its religious and cultural ethos. The tribesmen are visited with gory murder or amputation of limbs for the simple offence of non-compliance with Maoist demands. Many tribeswomen have met with rape and molestation. This created a sense of revulsion in tribal minds. Thus on June 10, 2005, around 10,000 tribesmen converged in a field off Karkeli village, in Kutru area of Dantewada, to contemplate a public action. But while returning, a heavy onrush of Maoist bullets drew the blood of innocent tribesmen. There were numerous fatalities besides missing persons. Judum was thus born amidst blood and fire.

Maoism is far from being a 'violent manifestation of tribal unrest'. Does it express itself in indigenous idiom or restrict itself to tribal territory? It speaks in the lingo of Marx-Lenin-Mao, and envisages overthrowing the Indian state with 92 per cent non-tribal population. The tribesmen of Salwa Judum have little stake in violence per se. They would be happy to return to their carefree tribal life. But Maoism is a militant doctrine that abhors pluralism, rejects democracy and negates cultural traditions. Judum is the indigenous answer to this imported, intolerant creed of Maoism.