Democracy and violence by Ramachandra Guha

The Hindu 16 Jan 2009

Vigilantism of Salwa Judum has divided and very nearly destroyed tribal society.
All sensible humans—not just Indians—agree that there is no place for violence in the settlement of political disputes. If a particular group feels victimised or discriminated against, it has all kinds of democratic means of redress open to it—the circulation of its grievances by the means of speech or print; the canvassing of politicians, political parties, and public officials; and petitions in court. If (and only if) all these means fail, the group may yet take recourse to non-violent protest or satyagraha. But they have no business to use weapons, whether they are AK-47s or trishuls.

Like Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad (‘Where Democracy Shines Through,’ The Hindu, 14th January 2009), I salute the high voter turnout in the recent state elections across the country. Like him, I do not think the Kashmiri separatists or the naxalites have any legitimacy to make out their case through violence. Where I depart is in my assessment of the methods used by the state to contain or tame this violence. For Mr. Prasad, while the rebels must be bound by the norms of democracy and non-violence, in the case of the state the end, of restoring law and order, can apparently justify the most egregious and violent means. Hence his defence of the support given by the Government of Chhattisgarh to the vigilante group that goes by the name of Salwa Judum.naxalism,

Like Mr. Prasad, I have travelled through the naxalite-affected areas of Chhattisgarh; unlike him, I went not as a prominent politician but as an ordinary citizen. I was thus able to see things that very clearly escaped his attention. He is right to speak of “the overpowering and looming fear” felt by a section of the tribals with regard to the naxalites; but wrong to overlook the overpowering fear felt by another section of the tribals with regard to Salwa Judum. I myself saw homes and villages burnt and destroyed by Salwa Judum; met men beaten by Salwa Judum activists; spoke to women who had been humiliated by them. My findings have been corroborated by dozens of other independent writers and scholars who have studied, at first hand, the depredations of Salwa Judum.

Like Mr. Prasad, I regard naxalites as a menace. Unlike him, I believe that they can be tackled only through effective police action and by ending the social and economic marginalisation of the tribals. However, by promoting Salwa Judum, the State government has outsourced law and order, escalated violence, and divided and very nearly destroyed tribal society. Family has been set against family; village against village; clan against clan.

The vigilantism of the Salwa Judum kind has been criticised by no less a person than the Chief Justice of India. As he remarked last April, by distributing “arms to some people,” the state could be “abetting in a crime if these private persons kill others.” (As indeed, they have.) Even the founder of Salwa Judum, the Congress leader Mahendra Karma, has had second thoughts about his creation. Interviewed by a television channel, Mr Karma admitted that the movement had “spiralled out of control.” He went on to observe: “In a revolution, the mass is difficult to control. They will even turn against me. A violent mob does not have direction or conscience.” more

Indian Or Israeli? Analysis of Responses by NAMRATA GOSWAMI

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20090107&fname=namrata&sid=1

How does Israel's "military" offensive against Hamas and India's "diplomatic" offensive against Pakistan measure up to the laws of war? What are the consequences of the two approaches? Which one is better?




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Unlike Israel however, the Indian government has resisted a "knee jerk" reaction to externally exported terror and by far has shown better judgement with Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister stating that a military strike on Pakistan is at this juncture "off" the table. Instead, he stated that certain elements within official agencies in Pakistan support terror activities and must be brought to book by the international community. A diplomatic effort in this direction is underway with the Indian government sharing evidence of Pakistan’s complicity in the Mumbai attacks with other nations in order to isolate it for supporting terror as an instrument of foreign policy. more

Hunt for Maoists in Orissa

Patrolling intensified on Orissa-Jharkhand border
By our Correspondent
Last updated: Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:16:13 GMT


Bhubaneswar (Orissa): Special Operation Group Jawans and CRPF men have jointly launched a massive search operation along the Orissa- Jharkhand border areas near Biramitrapur in Sundergarh district following reports of movement of Maoists.

Police said on Friday that some armed men on motorcycles, suspected to be Maoists were sighted in the border areas creating panic among the villagers in Orissa and Jharkhand.

The movement of ultras on the eve of the New Year bash brought back memories of the Maoist attempt to blow up Banajore police outpost in Jharkhand barely two kilometers away from Biramitrapur town.

Similarly security arrangements had also been beefed up in almost all the police stations in the district as a precautionary measure to avoid any Maoist related incident, the sources said. source

Orissa bandh: Maoists say a ploy by Sangh Parivar

Bandh hits three Orissa districts
Berhampur, Orissa (PTI): Normal life was paralysed in riot-hit Kandhamal due to a 12-hour bandh called by a new outfit, claiming to be a splinter group of Maoists, in three south Orissa districts on Saturday.

While Gajapati district was partially affected, the bandh had little effect in Ganjam, official sources said.

A new organisation 'M', a splinter group of CPI (Maoist), was formally launched with the bandh to maintain the ideology of Maoists and to fight corruption, leaflets circulated in the districts claimed.

However, none of the organisers appeared in public to enforce the bandh.

Vehicular traffic in Kandhamal was disrupted and business establishments remained closed, but educational institutions and government offices were open, official sources said.


Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said no road blockade was reported from anywhere but vehicles remained off the roads as the owners did not want to take a risk.

While vehicles remained off roads at several places in Gajapati district, the effect of the bandh was felt at Mohana, R Udayagiri, Gumma and Raigada blocks of the district, officials said, adding it had no impact in the Ganjam district.

Meanwhile, police and intelligence officials said they were unaware of the outfit. "We are trying to ascertain their leaders and their activities," a senior police officer said.

Denying any split in cadre, a senior Maoist leader told a private Oriya news channel that it was part of a ploy by Sangh Parivar leaders to mislead people after their failure to enforce a bandh on December 25. source