Diffusing violence in Maoist affected regions

Maoist violence continues to make tragic headlines, as they kill police personnel and local people by laying landmines and destroying buses, by targeting police stations and blowing up railway tracks. The last two months has seen an escalation in kidnappings, killings, arson and insurgency.

The response of the government has been rather confused. On one hand some voices speak of development and talks with the Maoists. On the other hand a section of opinion makers are advocating strong-arm tactics that would crush the violence being perpetrated by the Maoists. The government is also considering sending the Army in its operations against these elements. These diverse strategies of dealing with the Maoists reflect not only differing political compulsions but also the complexity of the situation. However, efforts to diffuse the problem have to encouraged, lest it takes on a more ugly turn with greater amounts of violence and insurgency.

While India has been registering an annual economic growth of about 7 to 8 per cent in recent years, this growth has not been inclusive. The poor and vulnerable sections of the people are none the better.

What is the percentage of people living in abject poverty? Prof Suresh Tendulkar, advisor in the Ministry of Finance has recently presented a report estimating the number of poor at about 37.2 per cent or roughly about 40 crore of the population. Not only are these people poor, jobless, hungry and malnourished, they also suffer from marginalisation, social exclusion and loss of human dignity. Their pleas for the amelioration of their situation are often ignored or treated inadequately. As a result sections of these vulnerable people, join the ranks of groups such as the Maoists or Naxals who believe in armed struggle and violence, especially in the tribal belts of the country. Why do they indulge in violence and what has been the role of the governmental agencies to alleviate their problems? Is it simply a class struggle or is it a reflection of failure of the State or both?

There is no doubt that these tribal areas as well as many other backward areas of the country are deprived of basic developmental entitlements like adequate food, housing, employment and health facilities. It is also true that the type of development that seems to be taking place is not what the tribals want. The present model of development seems to be aimed more at encouraging mining and industrial activities that fill the purses of MNCs or big corporations and has often ignored the basic needs of the local populations.

It has also been reported that in some of these areas, the problem is becoming more acute as the state and large corporations encroach upon forests and water bodies used by the adivasis, making them refugees in the lands they have been utilising for centuries for their livelihood. It has been reported  that a “People’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition and Resource Grab” was held in New Delhi in April where it was pointed out that cattle are dying, forests and farms are shrinking and people are battling unemployment, hunger and disease in about 200 villages between the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. This is so because the land belonging to these villages has been taken away from them for the establishment of industrial and mining projects. Worse, in   some regions the factories established  are discharging  toxic effluents  that are destroying the nearby agricultural or fruit  production. It has also been pointed out that there is a link between Maoist insurgency and the government’s failure to protect the interest of these villagers.

A book published this year, Out of this Earth by Felix Padel and Samarendra Das talks of how aluminium (that has now become synonymous with modern development) has all but destroyed the lands and hills of the tribals especially in the state of Orissa. The noted journalist Arundhati Roy writes in the Foreword: “The low flat-topped mountains of Orissa contain some of the largest deposits of the best quality bauxite in the world….But these bauxite mountains have been home to the Dongria Kond tribe long before there was a country called India or a state called Orissa. The hills watched over the Kond. The Kond watched over the hills and worshipped them as living deities. Now these hills have been sold for the bauxite they contain. For the Kond it’s as though God has been sold…”

It is this type of development that is leading to the uprooting of the adivasis and is contributing to violence. Obviously, the developmental paradigm has to be changed. The issue is basically not of terrorism but of irreconcilable and long standing problems that have not been adequately addressed.

What strategy could be pursued to diffuse this situation? In this regard Dorothy Thompson, an American journalist has written:

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict.”

The Home Minister has already offered to hold talks with the Maoists if they abjure violence. This offer must be seriously pursued by back channels also so that Maoists are convinced about its sincerity. What should be the contours of these talks? These should be aimed at building confidence, collecting relevant information, relevant developmental activities, removal of encroachments on forest lands, etc. The media could play a more constructive role in not just highlighting violence and killings, but also goading the stakeholders towards a process of dialogue and conflict resolution..

If the above steps are initiated, it is hoped that a better and conducive atmosphere will be generated for restoring conditions of peace and provision of human rights and dignity that the adivasis deserve. However, the issue of Maoist violence has festered for a long time and it would not be solved in a short period of time. One must pursue the objective of bringing in relevant developmental activities and restoring peace with justice, patience and sincerity. Use of violence should be avoided as far as possible in order to offset counter-violence.
 

Dr Ravi Bhatia is an educationist and peace researcher based in Delhi

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views either of the Editorial Committee or the Centre for Land Warfare Studies).