NAXALISM AND SHINING INDIA

I just chanced upon an old newspaper a few days ago that carried an article on a recently held meeting of senior police officers from all states to review the security situation in the country. It was addressed by the PM and during his speech the PM drew attention to the threat of Naxalite violence and its potential to be one of the greatest challenges in the coming times. My curiosity piqued, I did a little bit of research and spoke to a couple of people who specialize in writing on such issues; surprisingly I came away with an impression that it is more than a clash of ideology.

As per open source material available on the net and in back issues of magazines, there are between 150 to 125 districts which are severely affected by Naxalite violence, there  have been more than 400 major and minor acts of violence resulting in loss of lives and property. Abhujmarh region of Chattisgarh is considered to be some kind of a liberated zone, contiguous areas of AP and Orissa,as well as parts of Jharkhand  are so called battlezones for these proletarian armies.

The Govt response seems to be based on treating this as a law and order issue and attempt conflict resolution through force. Thus various armed police units have been deployed in these states to ensure some kind of a response to the Naxalite bands. Discussions with academicians and journos, specializing in this field however, brought out a very interesting observation.. namely that the rank and file of this revolutionary army are not hard nosed ideologues but people who are totally disillusioned with the current system of governance. Their major concerns are not about the creation of a classless society but issues like; land for the tiller, education, fair market practices, right to forest produce, responsive governance and a host of such basic issues. If this assertion is true then what holds them together?

Anger! Anger that seethes through the very being of human existence against inequity imposed due to sheer apathy about the conditions in which such vast numbers of humanity are condemned to live and die. Anger on opportunities denied, facilities filched and the impersonal face of the “Mai Baap Sarkar” after 60 years of Independence.

Just imagine what must run through the mind of the young urchin who scrambles to pick up the casually tossed box containing remnants of a happy meal; but spare a thought for the emotions of his parents.. the frustration must be immense. Can we even begin to closely approximate the feelings of individuals who will be born on the footpaths and live their lives stories on them? If you find visualization difficult just look out of the windows once.

The problem is more than a battle between two or more “isms’, it is to do with our inability to transform our system of governance into one that delivers value for money without prejudice to all citizens. There was a time when our film makers and dramatist put these issues in our drawing rooms and consciousness with rude brutality that shook us out of our daily apathy, unfortunately this seems to be a dying breed ,as the current obsession  with look good and feel good stories, as to what a shining example are we, is hogging national consciousness, to the detriment of our future ability to repair the psyche of our society.Sadly shining India is inexorably leaving Bharat behind.

Empathy is a forgotten word ,and, if the state of things ,this attitude of denial like an ostrich with its head snuck in the sand persists, then truly a thousand revolutions will bloom. When that happens ,I wonder how many shall perish; but whatever that figure may be it shall definitely put the terrorism casualties in the also ran category.The need of the hour is to have a more transparent and responsive governance system that is fair and addresses issues that may seem less glamorous but hold equal importance as any other issue affecting our nations standing.

“A good thing about telling the truth is that you don’t have to remember what you said!”