The war for our next ‘car’

Ajith Vijay Kumar

When Mao said, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," not many would have thought that his ideological stance of extreme left’ism would one day also be embodied in a land that’s on the windward side of the Himalayas. Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, a sleepy little town, where mythical rivers Dankini and Shankini meet is ‘the place’ Mao and his philosophy are being re-lived in their bloodiest form. But how did this happen? The situation…is it really that bad? Going by the Prime Minister’s statement asserting, “Naxalism is the greatest threat to India’s security” it indeed indicates that all is not well in India’s own backyard. The truth is not far from this reality. The genesis of this concern about Naxalism lies in India’s recent quest to be a world super power. Amused? Consider this; the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, Washington in its report has categorically mentioned, "Naxalism puts almost half of India`s total energy supply at serious political risk, as 85 percent of India`s coal reserves come from the five states most affected by Naxalites”. This newfound anxiety over Naxalism in our political class is a direct by-product of India’s energy security concerns. The growing economy demands coal, steel and to satiate this ever-growing need, the government has to go places. Places it has never been to, places it never wanted to go earlier. Otherwise, how can one explain the fact that large tracts of land in southern Chhattisgarh known as ‘Abujh Mand’, has never been surveyed by the Government of India. Neither the British (they didn’t care) nor successive Indian governments (they should have) felt the need to acknowledge that people living in Abujh Mand were also a part of the Republic of India, leave alone being stakeholders in education, health care, and infrastructure. We have to accept the verity that we the ‘so called’ civil society administered from the high corridors of Raisina Hill, is responsible for the problem called ‘Dantewada’. Total neglect of the tribal population by the Indian State provided very fertile grounds for the ideology of Mao to take root and flourish. The acceptance of Naxals in the tribal society was not because the tribal populace understood Mao and his ways to bring about social change. Far from that, they whole-heartedly accepted Naxals because they brought quantifiable changes in their lives. The very immediate reason and by far the most important one at that was the price they got for Tendu leaves (Beedi leaves), the only marketable produce of the tribals. Before the advent of Naxalism, the tribals used to get a partly sum of Rs 10 for a bundle and Naxals through their terror tactics on the trader community got it revised to Rs 45. That was it! The defining moment; in the eyes of the tribals Naxals were the ones who brought about a positive change in their lives, overnight Naxals started to rule where no one ever had: ‘the mind’ of the tribal. But the tragic part of the whole episode being…the tribals being unaware of the real intentions of their ‘so called’ saviors. Naxals were there not to act as good Samaritans; they were there to establish their own rule. They were there to establish ‘The Liberated Zone’. From Tirupati to Pashupati, a Red Liberated Corridor, that was their real aim. Salwa Judum: The States’ response to secure India’s energy sources Salwa Judum, an anti-Naxalite campaign, was started in Dantewada in June 2005. Officially, it was a popular indigenous uprising against the Naxals by the tribals (we will take it as that), was later adopted by the state machinery and provided with logistical support. For once politicians from opposing camps united for a common cause. Mahendra Karma, Congress MLA from Dantewada took over as its leader (when BJP is ruling the state). Under his stewardship, the government launched an all out offensive with a single point agenda to ‘finish-off’ Naxalism from Chhattisgarh. Battalions of the CRPF, Naga and other paramilitary forces were rushed to lend support to the movement. But the numbers simply didn’t add-up to present any credible challenge to the Naxals -- adept in jungle warfare. A solution was found in the problem itself. The government started to recruit tribals as Special Police Officers (SPOs). Reluctant at first, the tribal youth started to enroll when a salary of Rs 1500 was offered along with a gun and the opportunity to be part of an extra-judicial force, that too with no accountability whatsoever. In one stroke, the government committed the biggest of blunders. Arming tribal youth who have for years been witness to the high-handiness of the Naxals (because they had guns) was like providing them with an opportunity to commit all that they had despised till then. The years of neglect and isolation they had faced was now showing its ugly face. Brothers were pitted against each other. Its no secret that the foot soldiers of the Naxal movement (leaders are from Andhra) are also from the same tribal society and with Salwa Judum recruiting from the same pool…tribals perpetually became pawns in the bloody game played by the government and Naxals. The Patron Saint of Salwa Judum Mahendra Karma and his militia under the pretense of eliminating Naxals unleashed the worst kind of State atrocity against the poor tribals. Thousands (last count 50,000) were uprooted from their villages and herded into ill-managed state-run relief camps. The idea behind the whole exercise was to cut off the supply lines and information network of Naxals. Remember, the fight was for control over ‘mind’ of the tribal. A stern decree was issued by the Salwa Judum activists, “Either you are with us or you are a Naxal”. The unfortunate, starving tribal was forced to take sides in a war he didn’t identify with. On one side youth of their community was fighting against each other and on the other, all those who were left behind in the villages were being forced to live as refugees in their own land. (Acting on the petitions filed by human right activists the Supreme Court has issued notices to Chhattisgarh government enquiring about the alleged human right violations) The Naxals did not take it lying down, they retaliated and that too with military precision. Hundreds of policemen, Naxals and civilians are being killed in the ensuing battle of resilience. And the winner is… Let’s face the fact, its no coincidence that Chhattisgarh is the most preferred destination for investments in thermal power and steel. Essar, Tata, Jindal all are in the race to acquire the biggest of coal and iron ore mining blocks. For it to happen and for us to relax in the cool confines of our air conditioned homes and new cars, the Naxals have to go! Realistically, leave alone the Tirupati to Pashupati dream; Naxals can’t even take control of Dantewada town. But for coal and steel, India Inc has to leave the tarmac, even leave the unpaved road behind and move into the jungles and that’s where the Naxals rule. The war is far from over and it has the potential to spin out of control. Imagine it took decades to capture a lone bandit Veerappan and now we have thousands of motivated fighters. Amidst all this fight for supremacy, there’s one man standing alone, eyes distraught with years of fighting, of neglect by the State, who just wants to live his life in peace. For him the life’s necessities are bare minimum, owning a cycle can make him the ‘Sarpanch’ of his village. No one is thinking about him, no one is asking him what he wants. Great empires demand sacrifice. In times of lore, people who were made to sacrifice were enemies but in the 21st century India, it would be our own men. Probably that’s the price we have to pay for development.