People's Democracy

FEW weeks ago, while greeting our readers on the occasion of the new year, we had exhorted the Indian people to be prepared to resist further onslaughts on their livelihood. Further, we had called upon the people to brace themselves to face the attacks that are likely to follow. Unfortunately, within these few weeks, this is turning out to be true in a sordid manner.

At the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2005, a pregnant woman with five of her children were burnt alive in village Rampur Shyamchand of Vaishali district in Bihar. A few weeks earlier, in Cheelrao village of East Champaran district, five poor peasants/agricultural labourers were hacked to death by the private army of the local landlord over a land dispute. Since the regime change in Bihar, through elections fought over mainly the law and order situation in the state, more than 200 people have been done to death by such violence in 40 days.

The root cause of all such violent acts which inevitably claims the lives of the oppressed and the exploited is the issue of land and the merciless hold of the feudal landlords. Far from seeking to redress the situation through the implementation of radical land reforms, the political leadership in the state draws its sustenance from such elements and their associated criminal gangs. So much for the electoral rhetoric calling for an end to the "jungle raj" in Bihar.

Within three days of the new year came the shocking incident of 12 tribals being killed in police firing in Kalinga Nagar in Orissa. The tribals in this region had been protesting against their displacement done in the name of industrial development in the state. This is not the first time that such incidents are taking place in Orissa. Wherever the tribals have put up resistance when being deprived of their lands, the police resorted to firing. This happened in Kashipur a few years ago and in Kalahandi when the tribals opposing the Vedanta project were subject to such repression.

The Kalinga Nagar incident is particularly illustrative to understand what is happening in real India. In this particular incident, the tribals were being deprived of their land to enable huge mining corporates to operate their industries in the forest areas. Such has been the intensity of the reaction against the police firing amongst the tribals in the area that they have till date blockaded the national highway leading to the Paradip port. Yet, the state government and the concerned authorities have not responded so far through any expression of remorse or to arrive at any settlement with the tribals on the issue of compensation and rehabilitation.

Such growing violence against the most exploited sections of the Indian people intensifies along with the alarmingly growing crimes against women. All this together only suggests the dehumanising of our society. Many years ago, Rosa Luxembourg and today Fidel Castro warn us that capitalism will degenerate into barbarism unless we strengthen the struggle for its alternative – socialism. 2006 must see the further strengthening of popular people’s struggles.