People's Democracy

Editorial

Counter This Maoist Violence

THE Maoists have killed 24 persons in an ambush on the convoy of Congress leaders in Darbha in the Jagdalpur district of Chattisgarh. Among those killed were the Congress PCC President Nand Kumar Patel and  Mahendra Karma.  The others killed were Congress workers and police personnel.  Former Union Minister V C Shukla was seriously injured.  The Maoists have declared that they deliberately targetted these Congress leaders to be killed. 

The Darbha attack is the latest example of the politics of violence and the murderous tactics adopted by the CPI(Maoist).  For years now, in Dantewada-Bastar region, the Maoists have used the dense forests as their base.  To counter them, there have been continuous operations by the police and paramilitary forces.  This has led to the tribal people being subjected to repression by the security forces who are often unable to distinguish the ordinary tribal people from the Maoist squads.  Recently eight people died, including four minors, when security forces opened fire in a village in Bijapur district.  The tribal people in the Bastar region have been the victims of both the depredations of the Maoists and the counter-violence which was unleashed by the Salwa Judum which was sponsored by both the Congress and the BJP with the backing of the state and central governments. 

The Maoists have been active in tribal and forested areas in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and parts of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. They have pitted the tribal people against the State through armed actions by which they invite the full brunt of State repression on the tribal people.  The Maoists have not been targeting the security forces alone,  they attack and kill a wide range of people including political workers and those who refuse to cooperate with them. 

The Maoist gangs killed 210 CPI(M) cadres and supporters in the border districts of West Bengal in three years between 2009 and 2011.  They even tried to assassinate the then Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.  This exposed their revolutionary rhetoric against the ruling classes and the State.  The fact is that the Maoists are a degenerated form of Left adventurism which only helps to disrupt the democratic movement and aid the rightwing forces.  This became glaringly evident when, in West Bengal, they played a direct role in helping the Trinamul Congress. 

The anarchic violence which is nurtured by the Maoists has led to various acts of terror against the common people.  The derailment of the Jnaneshwari Express killed 149 passengers.  There was the horrific deaths of people traveling in a bus which was exploded by the Maoists in Dantewada two years ago.  The Maoists are, thus, oppressing the very people whom they claim to champion. 

The Chattisgarh state government must be held responsible for the poor security arrangements provided for the Congress yatra programme.  The same BJP state government was also responsible for the Salwa Judum programme which disrupted the lives of the tribal people and resulted in vigilante killings. Under the cover of  providing  development to these backward tribal areas, both the central and state governments have been allowing private companies for mining and the loot of other resources in these areas which has led to displacement and loss of livelihood for the tribal people.  The Maoists, in turn, have been targeting government personnel and disrupting whatever welfare measures that could be undertaken in these areas.

Given the Maoist line of reliance on the gun and violence, there is no other way but to take firm administrative action to curb such activities.  At the same time, it is imperative that the ordinary people do not become victims of State repression.  The administration has to ensure that basic services and facilities are provided to the people.  The violence of these self-styled Maoists cannot be tackled only as a law and order problem.  Above all, the democratic forces must mobilise the people and counter the Maoists politically and ideologically. 

(May 29, 2013)