You can divide all the Indians into three lots of more or less the same size. One third of them is one lot which is relatively doing well and has benefited from the economic growth of the country. The second lot is the one which is not so well but their problems are on the focus of the authorities. They are the ones living in urban slums or in villages. The third lot is of the people who are even worse off than the second lot. They are the tribals in our hinterland and the poorest of the people living in small villages and hamlets. They are the ones which are nowhere on the radars of our administration. It’s something like that they have been left out completely of all the development which has taken place in our country ever since our independence.

This map, courtesy Wikipedia, shows the areas influenced by Naxalx in 2007

I read an article by Santosh Desai in Times Of India Naxalism thrives in the invisible interiors. He talks of an exterior which is our first lot and then he talks of an interior which is our third lot. He says that this interior of ours has got so badly lost in the country that neither are we aware of it’s existence nor is the interior aware of ours. These are the places where there are no roads or railway lines or any other modern facility which we take for granted like electricity and tap water. As far as people like us in the exterior are concerned these places don’t even exist. The writ of the state does not run in those areas and there’s no democracy either. It is therefore not very surprising that this is the region where Naxals or Maoists sprang up and have now managed to completely dominate the area through the use of their gun. Actually it’s because there’s no democracy the writ of the state does not run there. Also, it’s because democracy does not run there these people have picked up a gun in the first place. Unfortunately, for the same reason they do not believe in democracy either.

Over the period of last few decades while Naxalism was gaining ground the authorities did not appreciate the kind of challenge this would come to pose. Even the successive central govts while being duly concerned with Kashmir ignored the situation in these areas. During this time not only did Maoists manage to gain ground they also graduated from being an ideology driven groups to someone akin to terrorists. It is only because violence in Kashmir has abated to a very large extent that atrocities of Maoists are now coming into focus. It is indeed very appalling to see that it is only after one third of India has come under the influence of Maoists that the authorities are now beginning to take notice.

Things have now reached such a level wherein we have some very educated people from good families sympathizing with them. There are people like Kobad Ghandy, a well educated person from a wealthy family, who are part of this movement and we have people like Arundhati Roy who openly share their sympathies with Maoists. And there are hundreds of others in cities and towns who are now extending their support to them. Somehow they feel that given the kind of deprivation which exists in these areas it will indeed take a revolution for things to change. The feeling is so deep rooted that these people do not consider spreading violence as being incorrect. According to them when a revolution takes place there will be bloodshed. It cannot be avoided. Like in Nepal where the Maoists have indeed succeeded. It is something like a bollywood potboiler where the hero takes up arms against the establishment to avenge the wrongs done to him and his family.

Be that as it may there are a few things which we have to keep in mind. Firstly, life is not a bollywood movie. If you or your family has been wronged in any manner you can’t just pick up a gun and start shooting people. That’s cannot be tolerated at any cost. Secondly, despite the many failings of our democracy it is still our most important achievement. But at the same time it has to be reinforced in these areas. Thirdly, it is no longer a law and order problem. It is now an issue of security and therefore has to be dealt with accordingly. Fourthly, Maoists do have some genuine concerns. Unlike other terrorists they are not enemies of India or it’s people in the manner that LeT or JeM is. Therefore they have to be treated differently. Fifthly, it is exactly because of this reason that we need to talk to them and find a solution.

But how is that possible? How do we go about this? Hasn’t our Home MInister asked them to lay down arms and come to the table, something which Maoists have already rejected? Well, according to me this is not the correct approach. It will never work. Maoists will not lay down arms like this. If I were to go about this I would follow the following steps.

STEP 1. Declare unilateral ceasefire with them. Security forces should only fire in self defense. Before you guys react please read the complete post and also consider that we have been offering the same thing to Hurriyat Conference as well, both hardliners and softliners.

STEP 2. Ask Maoists to do the same. It is entirely feasible that they will reciprocate this gesture.

STEP 3. Invite them for talks. Yes, they should be spoken to before they lay down their arms. Once their grievances are heard we should then formulate a policy to specifically address their grievances. In the meanwhile peace will prevail because of the ceasefire. Yes this will also give the opportunity to them to regroup but in the overall scheme of things it will not matter. To understand what I mean keep on reading.

STEP 4. Announce immediate relief packages and development projects specifically for the affected districts. Currently the central govt cannot really provide assistance directly to districts. It has to go through the state govt. Be that as it may, we can involve the state govts as well or we can amend our constitution. Whatever be the case this money should go to specifically those districts where it is required. I’m sure if we can give 60,000 crores as relief for farmers we can do this as well. The relief package can be provided in several phases keeping in mind the current economic woes. Bear in mind that this package has to include schools and health care facilities, even if they are just basic to start with.

STEP 5. Form committees for each district to monitor the relief process. This committee can include MPs, MLAs, some eminent personalities of the area as well as Maoists. Once Maoists know that they are part of the whole developmental process they will come on board. They can act as eyes and ears for implementation of these schemes.

STEP 6. Now ask Maoists to lay down arms before they become part of this process. Withhold everything if they don’t. Once people come to know about this they will loose a lot of public support which is their driving force as of now. They will surely consider that they do not have many options left after this. Either this or they will have to face the wrath of the state. They will also realize that for one, the govt is indeed sincere about it’s intentions in providing relief and two, their hopes of defeating the entire might of state will never come to fruition. This is not Nepal afterall.

STEP 7. Once Maoists lay down arms the relief packages can be released under the supervision of these committees. The committees should also give a quarterly progress report on the disbursement of the money and progress of the development projects. These should also be verified by independent observers and audit authorities.

STEP 8. Release Maoists sympathizers who may be in our custody. This can also be done immediately after Maoists have laid down their arms. Also, prosecution of those involved in violence must be fast tracked.

STEP 9. Formulate long term developmental plans specifically for these areas and include them in our existing Five Year Plans.

STEP 10. Maoists can even be made members of various cabinets in the state govts to function under the respective Home Ministers. Their charter can be to look after these regions for implementation of long term developmental plans of the state and central govts.

Fact is that Maoists, instead of being our adversaries, can be made an important cog in the entire development process. Since these guys are driven by their jest for their people it is quite possible that they will ensure that money reaches the needy persons whom it is meant for and development projects are implemented in the right earnest. Once things start changing on the ground political process will automatically get a fillip. You can be rest assured that our political parties will be more than eager to participate. Won’t they, Miss Mamata Bannerjee?

The question is- Does the UPA govt have the vision to implement such steps? Can they convince other poltical parties who are heading various govts in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhatisgarh? Well, it can only happen if the Prime MInister calls for an all party meeting to discuss this issue. But will he?

Related Post

Give me a Gandhi

Why the ballot did not win the war against the bullet?

 If you like this post subscribe to my RSS feed. See how?

Register for Newsletter | Email this post | Download this post

Posted on October 27th, 2009 Best Articles, India calling • Tags: belief, challenge, democracy, development, ideology, Maoist, poor. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback