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PEOPLE S MARCH’Voice of the Indian Revolution

Vol. 11 No. 2, Mar-Apr 2010 Rs. 20http//:peoplesmarch.googlepages.com

CONDEMNATIONS GALORE WORLDWIDE

AGAINST THE INDIAN STATE'S

WAR ON PEOPLEIN THE NAME OF

OPERATION GREEN HUNTWe should practice

GUERRILLA JOURNALISMSAINATH

2 PEOPLE’ S MARCH, Mar-Apr. 2010

ContentsVoice of the Indian Revolution Vol. 11 No. 2, Mar-Apr 2010 Rs. 20

People's March Articles may be reprinted and translated in various Indian & Foreign Languages

without Permission, Provided the source is credited( )http//:peoplesmarch.googlepages.com

EDITOR: P. Govindan Kutty

Mobile No. : 99472 76692

E-mail : [email protected]

[email protected]

Owned, Edited, Printed & Published by P. Govindan Kutty, Peroor house, Tripunithura, N.F. Ernakulam, Kerala - 682 301,

Printed at Anugraha Printers, Perumbavoor for Cherry Printers, Mannoor, Keezhillam - 683 541

PEOPLES MARCH’

3PUDR Statement

4Voices against war

8 Salwa Judum the Privatization of State Violence

10The International Campaign Against War on the People

11Statement from the Philippines

12Statement from Turkey

13Amnesty InternationalStatement

14ILPS-CanadaStatement

16Bayan/ILPSPress Release

17How the State is Waging War

18In Chhattisgarh, jail

19Chhattisgarh police abduct

21Seema Is a Human Right Worker

22The tribal ‘Ruchikas’ of Dantewada

23Compulsory voting, Chhattisgarh style

24Peoples TribunalVerdict

25Telangana Continues to Burn

27Response by Azad, Spokesperson

40Democracy’ at its worst

3 PEOPLE’S MARCH March-April 2010

6 April 2010

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights believes that the death of 70 jawans in Dantewada on early hours of April 6th,2010, is an unfortunate fallout of the government’s willful policy of pursuing ‘Operation Green Hunt’. We consider thewar against the so called “Left Wing Extremists”, as a wrong policy at a time when the country has been reeling underunprecedented drought, crop failure and price rise. We have been urging the Indian government that war at home againstour own people, under any pretext, should be ruled out as an option, for once and for all, and the issues arising out oftribal people’s opposition to MoU’s signed by the state governments with mining and other industrial conglomerates andthe consequent land grab, forest displacement, river water privatization needs to be resolved peacefully rather thanimposed on the people against their will. On either side of the divide it is our own people who fall victim to the bullets.

Since war remains the preferred option of the Indian government they have no one else but themselves to blame ifand when combatants die. We wish to remind them that security forces were returning from three day long operationswhen the ambush took place. As civil rights organization we neither condemn the killing of security force combatants northat of the Maoists combatants, or for that matter any other combatants, when it occurs. We can only lament the folly ofthe Indian government which lacks the courage and imagination to pursue a non militaristic approach which is pushing ustowards a bloody and dirty war.

Moushumi Basu and Asish Gupta

(Secretaries PUDR)

***********************************************************************************************************The other side of transactions in a violent system:the Maoist way of suppressing the para-military forcesSumanta Banerjee

It is understandable that human rights/civil liberties organizations should come out with statements deploring the killingof security forces (e.g. PUDR press statement on the wiping out of 75-odd CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh on April 6)on the purely humanitarian ground that any loss of life is deplorable. But civil society groups or individuals who view theissue from a larger perspective need to take a more rigorous and clear-cut stand. If they agree that the fundamentalissues raised by the Maoists are right, even if they do not accept their tactics (in other words, if they are well-disposedtowards the basic Maoist critique of the present exploitative system and sympathize with their efforts to build up alternativestructures of egalitarian governance in their areas of control, without supporting their tactics of indiscriminate killings ofinnocent civilians), they have to recognize the stark reality.

The stark reality is that the confrontation between the recalcitrant Indian state (which is adopting an oppressive neo-liberal model of development) and its opponents (the rural poor and tribal villagers who are facing displacement by thatmodel) is fast acquiring the dimensions of a civil war. In such a war situation, the liberal-bourgeois pacifists can condemnboth the disputing parties, and wash their hands off, shouting: “plague on both houses.” But can we afford to withdrawand refuse to take sides in this war?

If we are opposing the Indian state’s neo-liberal model of development and its oppressive policies to impose it on ourpeople by displacing them from their homes, we should define our position with regard to the various popular protestmovements that are breaking out in different forms – ranging from Gandhian non-violent types like the Narmada BanchaoMovement or the anti-steel plant agitation in Kalinganagar on the one hand, to armed resistance by forest-dwellers andtribal people organized under Maoist leadership on the other. The mainstream media propaganda builds up a peculiardichotomy between these two types of movements – describing the former as part of ‘democratic’ protest, and denouncingthe latter as ‘terrorism’ – as if the Maoist movement is not democratic. It is as if protests and agitations can be termeddemocratic only if they are non-violent. But what if thousands of people in a particular area, comprising the majority ofthe population, decide to opt for armed resistance, after their non-violent forms of protest are violently suppressed bythe state? This is what is happening in Chhattisgarh. The reasons why the tribal people in Dandakaranya have taken uparms have been well-documented – not only by human rights activists, but also by no less an important body than the

Death of jawans in Chhattisgarh - PUDR Statement; A Response by Sumanta Banerjee

Contd..... on Page 7


Dear Friends,The Indian state has amassed

troops in central India on anunprecedented scale, to swoop downon the people. It is the latest of the warslaunched by it against the people livingin this country. The government saysthat it has to move against these areasas Maoists hold sway over it and it isnot under the control of central or stateauthority.

In fact the natives of these jungleshave been living there for thousandsof years and have protected theseforests as they ensure life to them andare their only source of livelihood forsurvival. These tribals are the mostpoor and wretched in our land.Popularly called adivasis, they are theoldest inhabitants of our country, stillliving in an ancient age. For thousandsof years they have lived an archaic life.In all these years, no one has been ableto subjugate them. The British Empiretried to do this in 1910 but theirmarauding armies were repulsed andforced to beat a retreat. The resistanceof the tribal people against the Britishforces was led by the great warriorGundadhur. This is popularly knownas the Bhoomkal Baghawat. Earlier,they had fought the British under theleadership of Birsa Munda in thefamous Munda Rebellion in thenineteenth century.

Since then, no regime has dared toattack and attempt to subjugate them,whether they were the British or thepost-British rulers sitting at Delhi.They have remained a free people allalong, with their own culture, customsand a unique way of life. The centraland state governments have been

exploiting their forests and mineral andmetal resources at an unbridled pacebut have never done anything toprovide them with basic requirementslike drinking water, education, medicalfacilities etc. The loot of their resourceshas been enormous, to the tune ofbillions of rupees every year, with allthe money going to the industrialists,bureaucrats, politicians, contractorsand the police. All this was going onsmoothly, till the tribals awakened totheir rampant exploitation and inhumanoppression and took to the path ofresistance. This resistance has beencharacteristic of their traditions and inaccordance with their nature as anindependent people. Their struggle isto put an end to this onslaught whichhas made their life, hell like. That is whythey identified with the ideology ofrevolutionary Marxism which promisesa world free of loot, exploitation andoppression. That is why they foundcommon cause with the revolutionaryMaoist rebels, who want to put a stopto every kind of exploitation andtyranny and build an egalitarian,humane society, free ofany kind of discrimination.

Of course, as is well known bynow, they are living on lands which areblessed with the richest minerals,metals and other natural resources like

Iron, Coal, Bauxite, Manganese,Corundum, Gold, Diamonds, Uraniumetc. The Indian state has neverconsidered that tribals have a right totheir land and jungles, and haveconstantly tried to usurp them invarious ways. The State wants tofurther intensify this exploitation now,

and has invited the foreign imperialistcompanies and Indian big industrialhouses and their collaborations, to setup new projects on these lands. TheIndian government has signedMemorandums of Understanding to thetune of lakhs of crores of rupees withthe foreign and Indian industrial housesfor this purpose. The contents of theseMoU’s are secret and confidential andpeople have no access to them! Thecurrent offensive of the Indian state isto wrest back these areas from thecontrol of these people and hand itover to these Companies. All this isbeing done in the name ofdevelopment. But this development infact is in no way the development ofthe material conditions of the life of thetribals and the people living aroundthese areas. This is amplydemonstrated in the earlier projectslike Bailladilla, Balco, Bokaro, Bhilai,Jaduguda and numerous others.

Quite recently we have seen thepeople of Nandigram, Singur, Kashipur,Kalinga Nagar, Lalgarh, Pollavaram,Tehri and Narmada Project areasresisting the setting up of car factories,dams, huge mining pit centers, SEZ’sand other projects which have nothingto do with the development and well-being of the masses of ordinary toilingand poor in these areas or in thecountry elsewhere. It is meant to enrichthe handful of already rich, who livesa parasitic life, or to fill the coffers offoreign imperialist capitalists whoseonly religion is to loot, plunder andexploit. The people here have struggledand fought against the state for theirrights over their lands and against the

Voices against warStop War Against the People

What the State Wants to Destroy is the Alternate Development ModelAn Appeal to Thinkers, Intellectuals, Artistes, and Writers


capitalist sharks on whose bidding thegovernment acts.

The government has deployed lakhsof armed forces to destroy theresistance of the people, especially atplaces where it is strong andformidable and hampers the capitalistsfrom acquiring resource rich lands.When government says it wants to takeback the areas controlled by Maoists,in fact, it wants to smash the resistanceof the people and snatch their lands tooffer these to the mining giants,industrialists and super richbusinessmen. Maoism is nothing butthe rebellion of the people againstinjustice, notwithstanding whether thegovernment calls them terrorists orwhatever. Millions of people in theseregions identify themselves with thecause of the Maoists and when millionsbecome a movement for a just cause,they can’t be called terrorists.

The state admits that there are 223districts out of a total of 600 whereMaoists are active. This means thatthere are 223 districts where the peopleespouse this ideology and want an endto exploitation. That lakhs support thisresistance or are up in arms. That it hasbecome a people’s movement. Andwhat of the people in the remainingdistricts? Are they not workers,peasants, students, employees, pettyshopkeepers and toiling masses whohave no stake in this system, want achange for the better, and have the samedreams? If the 223 are up againstinjustice and the rest have the sameaspirations then the state loses the rightto use the invective of terrorism.

What the Indian state wants todestroy is not just the Maoists, but theaspirations of millions upon millions inthis country, the dreams of everyoppressed Indian.

It is using the media and all thepropaganda machinery available, todenigrate and destroy this. To destroythe resistance of the down-trodden,their movement for change, which is

the only thing that can bring them realhappiness, in this wretched land of ourscalled Hindustan. This land, of thehungry. Of the exploited. Of the peasantwho commits suicide. Of the youthfacing a bleak future. Of the workerwho is being laid off and kicked out ofthe factories. Of the employees of theorganized sector who are losing all therights gained over the years when theirjobs are being contractualised. Of thegovernment employees who have beenbooted out with a few crumbs in thename of VRS or Golden Handshake. Ofthe petty shop keepers and traders,whose enterprises are being gobbled upby the malls and the SEZs. This is theland crying for justice.

If Maoists are branded by thePrime Minister as the biggest internalthreat to the country, then the rulersmust think about what they have givento the people in the last 62 years ofindependence. Why have things cometo such a pass? They have been rulingand organizing society and have utterlyfailed in the six long decades that theyhave been at the helm. The present stateof affairs is their doing. Not that of theMaoists. Their development strategieshave backfired and that can’t be blamedon the resisting people and the Maoists.The Maoists have come into thepicture only recently, but what has thestate been doing about the promises itmade to the people at the time ofindependence? Where has the promiseof a Tryst with Destiny vanished? Thepromise sworn by Jawaharlal Nehrufrom the ramparts of Lal Qila on themidnight of 14-15 August 1947?People are not to be blamed for thatpromise not being kept, nor are theMaoists.

So now, Operation Green Hunt isnot being executed just because thegovernment wants to wipe out theMaoists in an all out war, in the nameof fighting terrorism. It is their attemptto annihilate the yearning of the people,their struggles, their resistance, theirresolve for a better life, whether they

are led by the Maoists or not. Andwhen the tribal heartland refuses to cowdown before such an attack, itdeserves admiration. The state intendsto bring in the might of the Air Forceagainst its own people. This is the resultof the 60 years of misrule and the anti-people policies, they have beenimposing. The people have never giventhem a mandate to carry out thesepolicies. Over these years they haveonly opposed these policies throughpetitions, protests, strikes, sit-ins,struggles, resistance and also throughhunger strikes and work to ruleagitations. And god knows how manytimes the so-called people’s democraticstate has fired on the protesters. Howmany times they have killed people.How many millions they have cane-charged and how many millions theyhave put into jails, not to speak of thethousands of custodial deaths and massscale encounter killings. They neverstopped the repression. All thesedecades, rather than listen to thegrievances of the people, this state,which swears by the non-violence ofMK Gandhi, has been resorting tonever-ending violence. Like a mafia.Yet, the resistance continued andrevolts grew.

And now it has created the borderswithin, against its own countrymen.

The current attack on the poor incentral India is nothing but an enhancedand more deadly version of the samestate violence that has continued since1947. It is meant to break the fightback of the people there, the fight ofthe poorest of the poor, of the tribalpeasants, and workers working in themines. It is meant to tell otherseverywhere in the country, not to standup for their rights, not to oppose thepolicies of the state though they goagainst the interests of the people andthe country.

The centre of resistance is beingencircled not just to break it, but alsoto destroy the new things which the


people have created during the courseof their struggles and which they havetoiled hard to build. The governmenthas started a vilification campaignagainst those who refuse to budge, whorefuse to kowtow and who refuse to befurther misled by the never endingempty promises of development andprogress. They know that thisdevelopment is not for them. For agovernment which has discarded theideal of a welfare state can’t genuinelyembark on a thing which it hasabandoned at the behest of imperialistcapital, the World Bank and the WTO.

The people under attack have builttheir own local government, the JantanaSarkar, at various levels, taking theirfuture into their own hands, for a realtryst with destiny.

Let us have a look in brief, at whatthe people have built through theirDevelopment Committees in thevillages in Dandakarnya, and what theState wants to destroy. It will give us aglimpse of what the Maoists hold as avision for the progress and developmentof our country – development which isindigenously and self reliantly built,one which is people oriented and isconstructed in the course of the people’sdemocratic participation, and onewhich cares for this land and itsresources. Such development whichwill free us from the stranglehold ofimperialist capital and its dictates. Acourse of action which can only beexecuted by the truly patriotic.* The biggest reform undertaken is

that of land. They have distributedlakhs of acres of land among everypeasant household. And no one isallowed to keep more land than onecan till. Thus doing away withunnecessary hiring of labour inagriculture. Even the Patels whoused to oppress people and fleecethem through unpaid labour havebeen allowed to retain land they canmanage with their family’s labour.No non-tribals are allowed to ownland there.

* Women are also given propertyrights over land.

* They have developed agriculturefrom the primitive form of shiftingevery one or two years, tosystematic settled farming. Theywere taught to sow, weed andharvest the crops. They cultivateboth their own private lands as wellas co-operative fields forcommunity use. The developmentof agriculture is being done withoutusing chemical fertilizers andpesticides.

* They have introduced a wide rangeof vegetables like carrot, radish,brinjal, bitter gourd, okra, tomatoetc., which the tribals of remoteareas had never seen or tasted.

* They have planted orchards ofbananas, citrus fruits, mangoes,guavas etc.

* They have built dams, ponds, andwater channels for breeding fishand for the purpose of irrigation. Allthis has been done throughcollective labour and the produceis distributed free to everyhousehold.

* They have dug wells for safedrinking water.The industrial projects havedestroyed underground watersources, and streams have beenpolluted to such an extent, that thefish and water life have died as alsothe vegetation around it. Many fruittrees have stopped floweringaround these water resources.

* They have set up rice mills in anumber of villages. These millshave freed women from the dailypounding of paddy for extractinggrain. Many of these mills havebeen destroyed by Salwa Judumwhich was launched by thegovernment, which talks so muchabout development in these areas.

* They have built a health caresystem which reaches every tribalpeasant in every village. Each

village has a Medicine Unit whichhas been trained to identify diseasesand distribute medicines to thevillagers. The health of the tribalsrates only second in priority to thefight against exploitation andoppression.

* The women participate equally inthese developmental activities.Special attention is paid to the issueof patriarchy and that is why theycome forward equally to defendtheir rights and lands.

* They run schools.The schools built by thegovernment are completely non-functional and are usually used bythe police and paramilitary forceswhen they raid villages. That is onereason the people pull down thesepucca structures which havebecome symbols of repression.

* They have published books andmagazines in the Gondi language.As a result, it is for the first timethat this language has found a placein the written world. Songs, articlesand anecdotes written by the Gondpeople are published in themagazines brought out by themovement. These are the initialsteps to develop this ancientlanguage which has been neglected,just as the people have been.Though there is no existing scriptin Gondi, they use Devnagri script.

* The remunerative prices for Tenduleaf collection and wages for thecutting of bamboo and timber isfixed by the Maoist movementtaking into consideration theinterests of the tribals.

* Trade in the movement area goeson without hindrance. The tradersare not allowed to cheat the tribalsin haat bazaars. The movementannounces remunerative prices forthe jungle produce and paddywhich the traders agree to. Thepresence of guerrillas ensures fairtrade practices. On the other hand,


the traders feel happy that there isno danger of theft or robberies inthe movement controlled areas andthey can move about there, freely.

* They have their own justicesystem. People’s Courts are heldto settle various disputes amongthe people, as well as with theoppressors.

* Theft, robbery, cheatings, murdersfor property and personal gainshave vanished.

* Sexual harassment and rape by theforest department, the contractorsand the police has become a thingof the past. Now the women walk

freely in the jungle whether it is dayor night.

* Democratic functioning has beenintroduced at the village levelonwards. The Gram RajyaCommittees (now called Revolutio-nary Peoples Committees) functionat the head of various committeeslike Development Committeeswhich look after agriculture, fishfarming, education, villagedevelopment, Medicine Units etc.

* The women and children have theirown organizations in almost everyvillage. The tribal peasants havetheir separate organization, with

units in every village.* Almost every village has units of

People’s Militia which take up theresponsibility of defense of thevillage.

* Cultural organizations thrive inthese jungles as the tribals havegreat affinity for cultural activities.These organizations propagatethrough songs, dances, plays andother art forms, on all the issueswhether local, national orinternational.

* The movement has been able toprevent starvation deaths in itsareas.

Planning Commission Experts Group in its report on extremist-affected areas a few years ago. For years together, theirbasic needs had not only been ignored by the state, but whenever they tried to assert their economic demands throughpeaceful democratic avenues – like demonstrations asking for higher prices for tendu leave collection, or access to forestproduce – they were ruthlessly suppressed by the police.

What needs to be asserted – and which is deliberately suppressed by the mainstream media – is that even the non-violent protest movements (accepted as ‘democratic’ by the bourgeois-liberals) are violently opposed by the statethrough the use of military force (witness the experience of the Narmada Banchao movement, or of the GandhianHimangshu whose ashram in Chhattisgarh was destroyed by the police). If the followers of these non-violentmovements, after their disillusionment with the ‘peaceful’ means of constitutional protest, take up arms tomorrow toprotect their homes and occupations, should we denounce them as ‘terrorists’?

The Home Minister, P. Chidambaram says that the Naxalites have forced a war on the Indian state and its people.It’s the other way round. The Indian state has forced a war on the Indian poor by imposing on them a corporatesector-induced model of development – threatening wide sections of rural people ranging from the villages of Orissa,Jharkhand in the east to Rajasthan and Haryana in the north, who are being ousted from their lands. They arebreaking out in protest demonstrations. The state responds by resorting to violence to suppress them. It has built upa well-structured a military network consisting of a variety of forces going under the names of CRPF, CISF, SpecialOperation Group, Eastern Frontier Rifles, etc. in various states. Exposures by independent reporters (in magazineslike TEHELKA) have revealed how the senior officials and their juniors in these para-military forces have beenconsistently killing innocent people in false encounters, raping women, burning villages, not only in Maoist-dominatedvillages of Chhattisgarh, but also in Manipur and other parts of the north-east. The CRPF in particular has earned anotoriety for atrocities in areas wherever they had been deployed. The national media may shed tears for the deathof the 75-odd CRPF soldiers in Chhattisgarh. But then, these soldiers, by being cannon-fodders of the Indian state,however tragic it might be, suffered the fate that – I’m sorry to say – they deserved. Should the bourgeois-liberalsand human rights activists shed tears for the young dedicated Nazi soldiers (who massacred the Jews), and werekilled in reprisal by the Soviet Red Army? Surely, there should be a limit to the tolerance that bourgeois-liberalismallows!

To come back to the latest incident of the Maoist attack on the CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh…. if we accept it as apart of a civil war, such killings are inevitable (just as the CRPF killings of Maoists) in a violent system that has beeninstitutionalized by the Indian state. The difference between the CRPF violence (involving ‘false encounters’, rapingof tribal women, burning their homes, etc.) on the one hand, and the Maoist violence on the other (which meansattacks on oppressive landlords and the police and para-military forces like the CRPF which come to the aid of thelandlords) - has to be distinguished by civil society groups.

Contd..... from Page 3

PM

PM


Salwa Judum was a terror campaignlaunched by the government, where thepolice recruited tribal youth at Rs.1500per month as Special Police Officers(SPOs). The SPOs were given arms andlet loose on the villagers in themovement areas. They burned, killed,raped and forced people to flee theirhomes, with the help of paramilitaryforces and specially trained NagaBattalions standing guard.

Salwa Judum restricted anddestroyed trade in these areas by closingdown the haat bazaars and trying todemolish their economy to force thetribals into submission. From 2005-07,this went on for two years Theydestroyed standing and harvested crops,burned or poisoned the grain and otherjungle produce kept by the tribals forexchange in the haat bazaars to procureother essentials of life. Even all thiscould not force the tribals to submit.Rather than surrender, they lived onbamboo seeds.

The bloody campaign of SalwaJudum killed hundreds of tribals,burned hundreds of villages, rapedhundreds of women, forcing about50,000 tribals to live in enclosurescalled relief camps, set up by the police,which the tribals ultimately fled. Thiscampaign forced about 30,000 peopleto flee their villages for other provinces.Lakhs of people were forced to leavetheir homes and to roam in the interiorsof the jungles. In fact the governmenttried to destroy their whole economyand sources of livelihood eventhreatening to poison open watersources in the forests.

But the resistance continued. Itcould not be broken. And Now

Bitter with its failure to make thepeople yield to them, the governmenthas now embarked upon Operation

Salwa Judum the Privatization of State Violence

Green Hunt, a military campaign withnearly one lakh personnel. Undervarious pretexts, the Indian Air Forceis weighing its wings to swoop downon the forests, in spite of promises tothe contrary by the Prime Minister.

We have been told that Maoists arethe biggest internal threat to the country.Who are these Maoists? They are justthe people themselves who have takento the path of resistance, to struggleagainst the various Indian governments,who one after the other, do not allowthem a life of dignity or one of peace.The state is attacking its own peoplethreatening to wipe them out, if theydon’t vacate the lands they have livedon for centuries. And we know aboutthe term collateral damage – the killingof the civilian population in a war.Salwa Judum killed the people withouta declared war, now they intend to killon a much huger scale. They want tobreak the back of resistance by killingpeople. They want to hand over theresource rich lands of the tribals to thegreedy foreign capitalist lords. Theywant to destroy the alternatedevelopment what the people havecreated with their enormous toil andpersistent struggles.

Let us think. Let us awake. Let usspread the word. Let us awaken thepeople everywhere else. Let us raiseour voice against injustice. Let us tellthe government that it must stop thiswar against its own people andinstead listen to them, respect theiraspirations and attend to theirdemands.

This is an unjust war which thegovernment has declared on its ownpeople.

It must stop.Here are the names who have so

far consented to the paper and signed

The list continues:Supporters:

1. Gursharan Singh, Dramatist-Activist, Punjab 2. Prof. Bawa Singh,Guru Sar Sudhar College, Sudhar,Ludhiana 3. Jaswant Kailvi, Ghazalgo,Writer, Ferozepur 4. Baru Satwarg,Novelist-Activist, Rampuraphul,Bathinda 5. Dr. Baldev Singh, Deptt.of Economics, Sri Guru Tegh BahadurKhalsa College, Delhi 6. Jaspal SinghSidhu, Veteran Journalist (PresentlyMedia Consultant with PunjabiUniversity, Patiala) 7. Samual John,Director Peoples’ Theatre, Lehra Gaga,Sangrur 8. Jatinder Mauhar, FilmDirector, Mohali 9. Megh Raj Mitter(Shiromani Lekhak), Barnala, Punjab10. Dr. Mohan Tyagi, Poet, B.N. KhalsaSenior Sec. School, Patiala 11. MasterDes Raj Chili, Look Kale Munch Chili,Lehrer Gaga, Sangria 12. Jadish Para,Writer, Lehrer Gaga, Sangria 13.Narinder Nath Sharma, Advocate,Patiala 14. Dr. Tejwant Mann, LiteraryCritic, Sangrur 15. Prof, HarbhajanSingh, Writer, USA 16. YadwinderKurfew, TV Journalist, Delhi 17.Harbans Heon, Writer, Banga,Nawanshahr 18. Ajmer Sidhu, Writer,Nawanshahr 19. Gurmit Juj, Poet,Singer, Krantikari Sabhayachar Kendar,Punjab 20. Balbir Chohla, Activist-Journalist, Taran Taran 21. Prof.Bhupinder Singh (retd), Sociology,Punjabi University, Patiala 22. Satnam,Writer-Freelance Journalist, Patiala 23.Buta Singh, Publisher, Baba BujhaSingh Prakashan, Banga, Nawanshahr24. Jasdeep, Software Engineer, Delhi25. Harpreet Rathore, TV Journalist,Delhi 26. Veer Singh, Research Scholar,JNU 27. Narbhinder, Activist-Writer,Sirsa 28. Karam Barsat, Columnist,Sangrur 29. Sukirat, Journalist-Writer,Jalandhar 30. Makhan Singh Namol,Advocate, Sangrur 31. Davinderpal, TV


Journalist, Delhi 32. Partap Virk, TVJournalist, Delhi 33. Dr. Bhim InderSingh, Lecturer, Punjabi University,Patiala 34. Jasvir Deep, Journalist andSocial Activist, Nawanshahr 35.Paramjit Dehal, Poet & LiteraryActivist, Nawanshehar 36. Prof.Jagmohan Singh, Democratic RightsActivist, Ludhiana 37. Dr. GurjantSingh, Punjabi University, Patiala. 38.Iqbal Kaur Udaasi, Progressive Singer-Activist, Barnala 39. Balvir Parwana,Editor Sunday Magazine, NawaZamana, Jalandhar 40. Jugraj Dhaula,Poet-Singer, Barnala 41. Dr. Ajit Pal,Writer-Activist, Bathinda 42. RajinderRahi, Writer, Barnala 43. BhupinderWaraich, State President, DemocraticTeachers’ Front, Punjab 44. DidarShetra, Poet, Nawanshahr 45. BaldevBalli, Poet, Nawanshahr 46. JagsirJeeda, Lyricist-Singer, Giderbaha,Bathinda 47. Hakem Singh Noor, Poet-

Activist, Barnala 48. Charanjeet SinghTeja, Freelance Journalist, Amritsar 49.Attarjit, Short Story Writer, Bathinda50. Rajeev Lohatbaddi, Advocate,Patiala 51. Harvinder Deewana, ChetnaKala Kender, Barnala 52. BalwinderKotbhara, Writer-Journalist, Bathinda53. B.R.P. Bhaskar, Journalist,Thiruvananthapuram 54. S.S. Azaad,Writer, Mansa 55. Sadhu Binning,Writer, Vancouver, BC, Canada 56.Hiren Gandhi, Ahmedabad 57. VijayBombeli, Feature writer, Hoshiarpur58. Paramjeet Singh Khatra, Advocate,Nawan Shehar 59. Daljeet Singh,Advocate, Nawan Shehar 60. BaldevSingh, Advocate, District Courts Patiala61. Paramjit Kahma, Doaba Sahit AteSabhiachar Sabha, Jejon (Hoshiarpur)62. Dr. Ramesh Bali, Nawanshehar,Activist 63. Puneet Sehgal, programmeexecutive, DoorDarshan, Jalandhar 64.Harkesh Chaudhry & Other Artists, Lok

Kala Manch, Mandi MulanPur, (Ldh)65. Prof. Ajmer Singh Aulakh.Dramatist, Mansa 66. Dr. ManinderKang, Writer, Jalandhar 67. CharanjitBhullar, Journalist, Bathinda 68. Dr.Anand Teltumbde, Human RightsActivist and wirter, Mumbai 69. Dr.Puneet, Patiala 70. Taskeen, Critic,Kapurthala 71. Chanda Asani, socialresearcher and activist, Mumbai 72.Sanjay Joshi, convener, THE GROUP,film group of Jan Sanskriti Manch 73.Alok Kaushik, Photographer, Delhi 74.Nisha Biswas, Kolkata 75. RavinderGoel, Associate Professor, DelhiUniversity 76. Saroop Dhruv, Poet,Ahmedabad 77. Shamsul Islam &Neelima Sharma (Nishant NatyaManch), Delhi 78. Manu Kant,Journalist, Online Media, Chandigarh79. Dr. Pyare Mohan Sharma, Retd.Professor, Medical College, Patiala 80.N K Jeet, Advocate, Bathinda

people fired at each person. One ofthe women screamed and lookedaway. She was hit brutally by theJudum for looking away.

They left the bodies in the field andtook the women away with them. Aftera long time, when we could no longerhear the Judum, we walked back toour village. I was shocked at what Isaw in the village. An old woman whocouldn’t see properly had been hackedto death inside her house. Her headhad been split open. Her stomach hadbeen cut open and her intestinesscattered. There was so much bloodeverywhere. Two other men were alsokilled just outside their houses — theirarms had been chopped off and theyhad been shot. We heard later that thefive women who were taken from ourvillage were made to walk 10kilometres. They were raped andbeaten by the Judum before beingallowed to go.

VANJAM BUDRAI, Resident ofGattapadu village, gave her eye-witness acoount:

They picked up three of them -Chodi Masa, Padam Deva and 15-year-old Dudhi Poja - and broughtthem back to the village. The Judumthen forced the three men to round upall the goats and chicken they couldfind in the village and then dragged allof them out of the village. The menwere forced to cook a meal and thenwatch as the Judum men feasted. Oncelunch was done, they marched thethree men out of the village. From ourhiding spot, we could see everythingthat was happening in the village. Theminute the Judum left the village, 10-12 people from the village followedthem. We were worried about the threemen they had taken away with them.

The Judum took them to the nearestpolice station, nearly 8 hours away.Once we reached the police station werealized that the Judum had taken threemen from Palachalam as well - we metthe women from Palachalam outsidethe station. At the station, when we

asked the police for details about whythe men had been taken away, |thepolice told us that they had beendetained by the Judum and that thepolice had nothing to do with this. Howcan the police wash their hands off theissue when our men were taken to thepolice station?

After several hours, we stepped outto get something to eat. When wereturned, the people from Palachalamtold us that all the six men had beenslipped out of the station to anundisclosed location. Much later, weheard that the Judum had shot the men.Two days later, we heard that the policehad announced that the three mencaptured from our village were Naxals.And that they had shot them dead in ashoot-out.

Even if the police and the Judumargue that Masa and Deva were adultsand could have been Naxalsympathizers, how can they label Poja,a 15-year-old boy grazing his cattle, anaxal? I doubt Poja had ever seen agun before he was arrested and shotdead.


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Dear friends,The International Campaign Against

War on the People of India (ICAWPI)is now ready to be launched to workas a coordinating centre seekinginternational support for the resistanceof the people of India against the allout military offensive of the Indian stateagainst its own citizens.

ICAWPI is an internationalextension of widespread oppositionand initiatives against this genocidal warto forcefully crush the heroic resistanceof the tribal peoples in the heartlandsof India and hand over these lands richin minerals and raw materials tointernational corporations such asVedanta.

This overt war serving to facilitatethe looting of the land by Indian andinternational corporations for fabulousprofits and the destruction of thelivelihood of the countless numbers ofthe poorest of the poor in India isbranded “Operation Green Hunt”.While in different regions of the countrythe same operation may be nameddifferently, the Indian state shamelesslytries to hide this banditry against thepeople of India and utterly openservitude to the imperialism as “waragainst the Naxalites”— imposing asevere reign of terror and repressionon progressive and democratic forcesand individuals everywhere across thecountry.

Countless intellectuals, authors, filmmakers, academics, and otherprofessionals such as lawyers anddoctors who abhor the Indian state’stotal lies and open disregard for civiland human rights have joined massgatherings and rallies and variousforums in India in order to raise theirown voices and join forces to opposethe State and to defend the just causeof the oppressed tribal people in India.

In the course of this gatheringmovement countless people have beenarrested and imprisoned. Untoldsuffering and restrictions have beenimposed on the people.

Yet, international public opinion iskept grossly in the dark about theseissues while the mainstream mediacontinue to follow and repeat the IndianState’s claims that “India is the largestdemocracy in the world” and that theMaoists, as the biggest security threatto this “democracy” must wiped outat all costs. Thus they justify theirsilence and bless the Indian State inperpetrating these crimes in the nameof a “war on terror”.

The ICAWPI aims to reach out toall democratic and freedom lovingpeople across the world concernedabout the plight of the people in Indiato unite and take initiative to break thissilence internationally and to rally muchneeded support and solidarity to thejust struggles of the people of India.

Further information on OperationGreen Hunt and the struggles of thepeople are available throughwww.icawpi.org - a website designedto carry material related to this issueand the campaign.

We request all democratic andprogressive formations to take initiativeand coordinate their efforts withICAWPI. All reports of actions,meetings and letters of solidarity andconcern will be published at this site.In order to launch this campaign and

rally the support and solidarity of theprogressive forces abroad, ICAWPIcalls on everyone to joindemonstrations and protest actions infront of Indian embassies andconsulates on February 5, 2010 whereever possible. A list of organized eventswill be published on the website asthey become available. Furtheractions, events and meetings are beingplanned and will be announced soonafter.

The website will also publish a listof clubs, associations and meetingplaces in Europe and elsewhere, forcontact and discussion about the issueand to find ways of raising localawareness and take common jointaction.

Please contact the ICAWPI [email protected] to inform us of yourproposals to bring the campaign toyour area.

ICAWPIFeb 03, 2010** In order to receive regular

updates on developments andcampaign news, please join the publicmailing list of the campaign by sendinga blank email to [email protected] with a subject line:subscribe or simply [email protected]

Form IV (See Rule 8)Statement about ownership and other particulars about Newspaper er People’s March

1. Place of Publication : Peroor House, Tripunithura NF,Ernakulam, Kerala

2. Periodicity : Bi-Monthly3. Printer’s name : P.Govindan kutty (Whether citizen of India) : Indian4. Publisher’s name : P.Govindan kutty5. Editor’s name : P.Govindan kutty6. Name and address of individuals

who own the newspaper and partners : P.Govindan kutty Peroor House,of share holders holding more than one Tripunithura NF, Ernakulam, Keralapercent of the total capital

I, P.Govindan kutty, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best ofmy knowledge and belief.

S/d31-03-2010 Publisher

The International Campaign Against War on the People of India

PM


Statement on India’s Operation Green Huntfrom the Philippines

We, in the various youth and studentgroups in the Philippines express ourcondemnation at the intensifyingattacks of the Indian government,starting from the Central governmentdown to the state governments inpursuing the so-called Operation GreenHunt, its counter-insurgency operationspurportedly directed primarily againstthe Communist Party of India (Maoist).

From the start of the Operation it hasbecome clear that the real targets arenot the Maoists alone but the resistanceof the people of India against thewanton and profit-driven operations ofbig multinational companies backed bygovernment and its military and police.

It has been reported that intensifiedmilitarization in the regions of Orissa,Jharkand, Andra Pradesh, Chhattisgarhand in the heroic Lalgarh had furtherresulted to wider human rights

violations. Illegal and unjust arrests,forceful evacuation, torture, rape, andextra-judicial killings are beingcommitted by military, police andparamilitary without hesitation, in fullpublic view and with so much impunity.

The Operation Green Hunt is againstthe adivasis, farmers, and ordinarypeople especially in the remotest andpoorest villages of India. The onlycrime they have committed is to standand prevent the profit-driven miningand corporations in its operations whichwill destroy their livelihood andplunder the environ and India’s naturalresources.

We condemn the use of theOperation to flush out the adivasis andfarmers from their land andgovernment’s building of concentrationcamps of the displaced in order topursue its Memorandum of Agreements

(MOA) with various miningcorporations. We demand that thesecamps be immediately closed. Wedemand that the Indian governmentwithdraw heightened militarydeployment in the countryside and haltits Operation Green Hunt, and balkedat pursuing anti-people projects whichwill only trample upon the basic rightsof Indian people.

We support the Indian youth andpeople in their legitimate resistanceagainst the systematic loot of India’sresources which deprive its own peopletheir life and livelihood, and theirfuture.ANAKBAYAN(Sons and Daughters of the People)Student Christian Movementof the PhilippinesLeague of Filipino Students (LFS)

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT TO THE INDIAN PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE ANDAGAINST OPERATION GREEN HUNT OF THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT

We, peasants from the KilusangMagbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP,Peasant Movement of the Philippines)strongly support the Indian people’sstruggle against the Operation GreenHunt being implemented by the Indiangovernment.

We strongly condemn the inhumanabuses of Indian military backed by USimperialism, the killings of Indianpeople, particularly peasants, the tortureand rape, dislocation of 20 millionpeasants and hamletting and otherforms of human rights violations. Wehold the Indian government and USmilitary and government for theviolence imposed upon the Indianpeople.

We support and uphold the Indianpeople’s struggle for genuine land

reform, primarily advanced by theNaxalites and Indian peasants whoserve as main protectors of their nativelands against foreign land grabbing,mining and industrial exploitation andenvironmental destruction. Werecognize the Indian peasants’sovereign right to land and abhor theimperialist hunger of the United Statesand other capitalist countries for profit,as well as the Indian government.

We can relate to the suffering of theIndian peasants as we, Filipino farmersare also victims of the Arroyogovernment’s counter-insurgencyprogram Oplan Bantay Laya (OplanGuard Freedom), that is composedmainly of extra-judicial killings (EJK),enforced disappearances andaccusations of fabricated charges.

Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya resulted561 peasant victims of extra-judicialkillings, where 119 were KMP leaders,129 peasant victims of enforceddisappearances and scores are beingheld for crimes they did not commit.

We from the Filipino peasantmovement pledge to carry out all wecan to expose the brutality of the Indiangovernment. We will hold protestactions at the Indian embassy anytimepossible and convey our message ofdissent to the measures of theirgovernment. We will include in ourfundamental calls the immediate end toOperation Green Hunt, massivemilitarization and human rights abuseson Indian peasants and people.

PM


END OPERATION GREEN HUNT IN INDIA!JUSTICE TO VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN INDIA!

STRUGGLE FOR GENUINE LAND REFORM IN INDIA!DOWN WITH U.S. IMPERIALISM AND PUPPETRY OF THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT!

Norma G. Biñas

Email: [email protected]

February 5th, 2010

Protest action in front of theIndian Embassy in FrankfurtToday with the initiative of ATIK

(Confederation of Workers from Turkeyin various cities in Europe Den Haag,London, Vienna, Bern and Frankfurtprotest actions in front of the IndiaEmbassy’ were held. The protest’s wereagainst the “Operation Green Hunt”which was first initiated in November2009 by the Indian state, especially invery poor areas. Until now, there arereports in the international mediareporting about the violation of themost fundamental human rights. In thestatement it says:

“With the military operation “GreenHunt”, the Indian government haslunched a broad repressive and brutal“annihilation offensive” against thepeople. In the poorest regions in India,with the military operation “GreenHunt”, the Indian government haslaunched a broad repressive and brutal“annihilation offensive” against thepeople. In the poorest regions in Indiathe legitimate people upraising with thesupport of the ethnic minorities against

this adversity, gains more and moresympathy worldwide In those areas inwhere the peoples’ movement is thestrongest, valuable resources werefound, resources that the Indiangovernment wants to sell to themultinational cooperations- and even ifonly partly- has sold some of it,between the closure of the contracts andthe big money are the poor, isolatedtribes and revolutionaries “Naxalites”,who wage an organized, successfuluprise against this situation. Or as theIndian progressive writer ArundhatiRoy says “the government doesn’t givethe people anything else then violenceand disrespect. And now they want totake away from them the last thing thatthey have, their land”.

For this reason we oppose theoperation “Green Hunt” and therepression policies of the Indiagovernment. We demand an immediateend of the operations, banishing, tortureand release of all political prisoners inIndia. We are in solidarity with the justrebellion of the Indian people for socialliberation and self determination of theindigenous people like the Adivasis.”

These protests and solidarity actionswere supported by different democraticmigrant organizations and political

parties. The primal supporters of thiscall are:Platform Of Democratic MassOrganizations-Europe (DEKÖP-A),ATIK (Confederation of Workersfrom Turkey in Europe), [email protected] (Confederation ForDemocratic Rights in Europe),[email protected] YASANACAK DÜNYA,[email protected] (Confederation Of TheOppressed Migrants In Europe),[email protected] (Föderation derkurdischen Vereine in Deutschland)[email protected] MLPD Rhein-Main region([email protected]), BIR-KARFrankfurt ([email protected])

These organizations declare theirunlimited solidarity with the NaxaliteLiberation Movement and the Adivasipeople and that the protests willcontinue until this repression in Indiawill finally come to an end.

Long Live InternationalSolidarity!

they were trying to snatch theirweapons at the roof.

A very pertinent question wasasked to us by a few tribal youths at ameeting in a village of KumbhariPanchayat. They told us that theGovernment wants tribals to keeppeace and help the Government anduse democratic means to state theircomplaints. But the CMAS membersasked us, “Why should we help

Government when it has not even givenus our basic survival needs like PDS,NREGS, schools and health?Government forced us to fight for oursurvival but killed us because we wentto ask them a question? Is that soundemocratic? And what the police didto us is that what you calldemocracy?”

The fact finding team alsoobserved that the local media personshave not been reporting the truth behindseveral facts of the firing incident and

are tracking movement of otherreporters and fact finding teams visitingthe area. They are conveying thisinformation to the local police. Theteam felt very strongly that local mediapersons were doing this with malafideintentions. Fact Finding Team Members1.K SudhakarPatnaik–Senior Journalist2.Manoranjan Routray – Journalist3.Sharanya – HumAnE, Koraput


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Authorities in the eastern Indianstate of Orissa must ensureindependent, credible and impartialinvestigation into the killings of twoadivasi (indigenous community)leaders by police and paramilitarypersonnel in Narayanpatna on 20November 2009, Amnesty Internationalsaid today.

The deceased – Singanna andAndrew Nachika – were peacefullyprotesting outside the Narayanpatnapolice station in Koraput district alongwith 80-100 other members of anindigenous people’s movement – ChasiMulia Adivasi Sangh (CMAS). Theprotestors demanded that the policestop harassing the adivasi communitieswho have been campaigning for an endto illegal mining in the area.Eyewitnesses have informed AmnestyInternational that the police firing beganwhen one of the leaders, Singanna,entered the police station premises totalk with officials. Another leader,Andrew Nachika, was also shot deadand at least eight other protestorssustained bullet injuries as police andparamilitary forces continued theirunprovoked firing at the unarmed andfleeing protestors.

The unnecessary use of force onadivasi protestors resulted in at leasttwo deaths. The State authorities areobligated, under international treatiesto which India is party, to respect andprotect the right to life at all times. Inan attempt to trace the woundedprotestors, police raided a number ofvillages and arrested at least 50 otheradivasi CMAS supporters. AmnestyInternational understands that thosearrested are accused of several offencesincluding those under Section 121(waging war against the State) andSection 124A (sedition) as the police

AMNESTY INTERNATIONALPublic Statement 2 December 2009

India: Probe killing of two adivasi leaders and release detained activist in Orissa

have claimed that the CMAS has linkswith the banned Communist Party ofIndia (Maoist).

A seven-member fact-finding teamof social and political activistssubsequently visited Narayanpatna toinquire into the killings and relatedarrests. Their report released at a pressconference in Orissa’s capitalBhubaneswar on 27 November rejectsthe police claim of a CMAS-Maoistlink and accuses the police officials ofunnecessary use of force and arbitraryarrests. On 29 November, the policearrested one of the members of the fact-finding team, Tapan Mishra claimingthat he provided arms training to thebanned Maoists.

Tapan Mishra is a known activist ofthe Communist Party of India (Maoist-Leninist) (Kanu Sanyal group) – arecognized political party. AmnestyInternational understands that TapanMishra has no links with any armedgroups and that his arrest may bepolitically motivated. Following thisarrest, other members of the fact-finding team have expressed fears oftraveling to Narayanpatna. AmnestyInternational is concerned that the arrestof Tapan Mishra appears to be anattempt by the State authorities tointimidate and harass those inquiringinto the lethal use of force by the policeat Narayanpatna.

Amnesty International urges theGovernment of Orissa to:* immediately order an independent,

impartial and thoroughinvestigation into the use of forceby the police and ensure that anyofficer suspected of using forceunnecessarily or excessively,including those who ordered theshooting or were otherwise resp-

onsible, is prosecuted in procee-dings which meet internationalstandards of fairness;

* provide reparations to the familiesof those killed, and to those whosuffered injuries or other harm as aresult of unnecessary use of forceby police;

* ensure that police officials as far aspossible apply non-violent meansbefore resorting to the use of forceand firearms which should be usedonly if other means remainineffective, and then only to theminimum extent required, and thatfirearms may be used only in self-defence or the defence of othersagainst the imminent threat of deathor serious injury, and only when lessextreme means are insufficient;

* ensure that the right to peacefulassembly is respected and protectedand that police, when fulfilling theirpublic order duties, respect humanrights as provided in internationaltreaties to which India is a stateparty, and

* Stop harassing, intimidating andbringing politically motivatedcharges against protestors and thoseengaged in defending human rightsin Orissa.Background

The CMAS is a social movementof Adivasi communities in south-western Orissa which has beencampaigning, over the last year,against illegal mining in their lands andhabitats by non-Adivasis andproduction and consumption of illegalliquor in the region. Since May last, theCMAS has intensified its campaign,leading to some non-Adivasi familiesfleeing their villages and attacks againstCMAS supporters. PM


In late 2009 the Indian governmentunleashed massive war against its ownpeople under the code name“Operation Green Hunt” involving thedeployment of 70,000 military andparamilitary troops in the so-called“Red Corridor” that runs through partsof Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and WestBengal states.

It’s the latest in a series of effortsby the Indian government, labeled the“biggest democracy in the world” byCanada and other western powers, toimpose “military solutions” on deep-seated social, political and economicproblems, and to clear the way forlocal and trans-national corporationsto plunder this region’s resources.Most of the riches sit on or under landoccupied by the poorest populationsin India, including the adivasis — theindigenous or tribal peoples.

Hundreds of agreements andMemoranda of Understanding (MoUs)that allow free plunder of people’sresources have already beenconcluded by mining and othercorporations with the central and stategovernment and Special EconomicZones for multinational corporationshave been established. The onlybarrier that now stands between thelocal and trans-national corporationsand their prize is people’s resistance,both unarmed and in some instances,armed.

During this military-economicoffensive, Indian government is activelyignoring its own Constitution and lawssuch as PESA and the Forest RightsAct and targeting anyone who daresto speak out against this state

ILPS-Canada demands an end to Operation Green Huntand the massive displacement of people in India

Indian government threatens to eradicate popular resistance by March 2010repression as a “potential terrorist”.

However, from Nandigram toNiyamgiri, Lalgarh to Dandakaranya,Koraput to Kalinganagar, Dadri toNarayanpatna, people have refused tobe mere victims of state-sponsoredpolitics of liberalism, privatization andimperialist globalization (LPG) in thename of “development”.

As a result of Operation GreenHunt and renewed aggressions inLalgarh, hundreds of thousands havebeen displaced, and the number ofburnt villages, persons displaced,injured, arrested or “disappeared” hasskyrocketed. Many have been placedin so-called “security camps” similarto the practice in Sri-Lanka, where thegovernment in Colombo, with thebacking of Washington and otherwestern powers, bloodily attacked theTamil population in early 2009.

In a letter to Indian Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, dated October 12,2009, Indian and foreign intellectuals,including Booker Prize-winning authorArundhati Roy and American politicalactivist Noam Chomsky, charged thatthe government’s offensive was “anattempt to crush democratic andpopular resistance againstdispossession and impoverishment”and a move that seemed to be gearedtowards facilitating the entry andoperation of “large corporations andpaving the way for unbridledexploitation of the natural resourcesand people in the affected regions”.

Arundhati Roy said, “This is a warwaged by the army and paramilitaryforces for the super rich corporationsagainst the super poor of India, whohave been driven to rebel and resistby years of injustice and

mistreatment.” Roy continued: “TheGovernment doesn’t give the peopleanything else than violence anddisrespect. And now they want to takeaway from them the last thing theyhave, their land”.

The purported aim of the Indiangovernment is to clear this heavilyforested area of resistance forces,including Maoists and other Naxaliteorganizations. Maoists — also knownas Naxalites after Naxalbari district inWest Bengal state where they first leda peasant uprising against landlords in1967 — have a strong presence in thisregion. The members of theCommunist Party of India (CPI -Maoist) the political wing of theMaoists, are now estimated bymainstream Indian media to be 20,000strong. The focus of Operation GreenHunt is the Maoist or “Red Corridor”which stretches from West Bengal inIndia’s northeast through the states ofJharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra inthe west. It includes many forest areasincluding the Dandakaranya forest. Itsmillions of adivasis were pushed intoforest regions by waves of invadersand generally excluded frommainstream Hindu society. They havea long history of rebellion and militantuprisings against British colonial rulestarting in the 19th Century and havebeen a major base for communistorganizing.

The forests where the adivasis areconcentrated have abundant mineralwealth (iron, coal, bauxite, manganese,corundum, gold, diamonds anduranium). Over the last years foreignand Indian corporations, with theprotection of the Indian state


apparatus, have been exploiting theseresources and violently suppressing thelocal people in the process.

The Communist Party of India(Maoist) has been active in this areasince the 1970s, following theNaxalbari rebellion. The Maoists havehelped lead the tribals in their strugglesfor just demands for land andopposition to police and militaryrepression. The Maoists have supportamong the Muslim population and theDalits (often referred to as“untouchables”). They have helpedorganize the people to improvesubsistence agricultural methods, buildwells and schools and struggle againstbackward feudal practices.

For years the Indian elite left thisarea in dire poverty and profited fromthe cheap labour which migrated allover India searching for work. Now,realizing the vast riches that lay in andbeneath the vast forests of this region,the Indian ruling elite, with backingfrom the U.S. and other forces, is tryingto clear the way for a new wave offoreign investment to plunder theregions’ resources.

The Indian government claims thatby March 2010 they hope to haveeradicated the Maoists and anyonewho dares to support them and resiststhe government’s armed presence.According to the Indian state, tens ofthousands of government “securitypersonnel” will combat “against 6,000-7,000 armed Maoist cadres”. Themilitary offensive has beenaccompanied by illegal arrests anddetainment of progressive leaders in thearea, such as Raja Sarkhel and PrasunChatterjjee, by the reactionary forces,under the CPI (Marxist), anorganization apparently Communist inname only, and the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP). Activists have beenheavily tortured to try to force themto give false testimonies against fellowactivists.

Progressive Indian political leaderKobad Ghandy was also abducted,illegally detained and tortured for threedays and nights while deprived ofmedicine and medical treatment for life-threatening health problems. TheCommittee for the Release of PoliticalPrisoners (CRPP) has been activelycampaigning for the immediate releaseof Ghandy and an immediate end toall illegal arrests and detentions andhuman rights abuses.

Operation Green Hunt follows onthe heels of the vast offensive againstthe people of Lalgarh-Jangalmahal inWest Bengal starting June 2009. AnAll-India Fact Finding Team which wasorganized by progressive forces tolook into the atrocities being committedby the West Bengal government wasprevented from reaching Lalgarh. Themembers of the fact-finding team werearrested, maltreated and detained. Aninternational team of AmnestyInternational was also prevented fromentering Lalgarh.

The International League ofPeoples Struggle Canada chapter(ILPS-Canada), and its memberorganizations and allies, support thecall of the Indian people to demandthat their government immediately andunconditionally withdraw its armedforces engaged in the military-paramilitary offensive against theoppressed adivasi people ofChhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa,Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka andother regions.

Furthermore, we support the Indianpeople who are demanding that theirgovernment take concrete measures tostop the plunder of the people’s land,forests, hills and rivers by Indian andmultinational corporations. Thisrequires the scrapping of hundreds ofMoUs signed by the central and stategovernments with various corporationswho plan exploit natural resources atthe expense of the poor and

marginalized citizens of India.We also extend our solidarity and

support to the struggle of the tribalpeople in Lalgarh-Jangalmahal.

We join the people of India indemanding:

- an immediate end to OperationGreen Hunt and the withdrawalof all military and paramilitaryforces;

- an immediate end to the “LalgarhOperation” against the tribalpeople of Lalgarh-Jangal mahaland the withdrawal of all militaryand police-paramilitary forcesfrom Lalgarh and nearby areas;

- the closing of all “internment”camps;

- the immediate release of allpolitical prisoners;

- the Indian government providedue compensation to the peopledisplaced and impacted byOperation Green Hunt andOperation Lalgarh, and punishthose military, para-military andpolice officials responsible forviolence, rape, loot and othercrimes;

- the repeal of the UnlawfulActivities Prevention Act(UAPA), 2008

- free access to affected areas forfact-finding and solidarity teamsand journalists;

- that the Central and Stategovernments in India shouldinitiate a dialogue with thepeople’s movements and accepttheir just demands.Resist imperialist globalizationand plunder!Long live the courageousresistance of the people of India!ILPS-Canada

February 1, 2010PM


The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and the ILPSPhil.Chapter today, Feb. 05, 2010, picketed near the IndianEmbassy in Makati City to demand that “the Indiangovernment immediately and unconditionally withdraw itsarmed forces engaged in the military-paramilitary offensivecalled Operation Green Hunt, against the adivasi (indigenous ) people of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa,Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka and other regions of thispopulous country.”

Alarmed by the growing resistance movement of theadivasi in many parts of India, the government hasunleashed Operation Green Hunt that has seen the burningof houses of adivasi, the targetting and killings of unarmedcivilians, the torture-detention-killings of mass leaders ofprogressive organizations Last year, Bayan and the ILPSPhil. Chapter, picketed near the Indian Embassy to protestthe militarization and violations of human rights of theadivasi in Orissa where a large tract of land would be clearedfor a sprawling factory for the cheap locally-made Indiancar called Tata.

“Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter demand that theIndian government immediately stop the plunder of vasttracts of land and forested areas for large scale mining andindustrial projects in special economic zones. Vast areaswithin India, both rich agricultural fields and areas richwith minerals like Jharkand, Orissa, Andra Pradesh,Maharashtra, and West Bengal, are being exploited by theMNCs in collaboration with India’s top industrialists” RitaBaua, Intl Solidarity Officer of Bayan and Vice-Chairpersonof the ILPS Phil. Chapter, said.

“Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter likewise condemnthe impunity of the Indian government towards the adivasiwho are resisting their plunderous activities. Already, 3million of the adivasi have been displaced by OperationGreen Hunt. The adivasi people are the rightful owners ofthe land and the fruits of their hardship, not the Indiangovernment which is pro-foreign investors, “ Baua said.Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter also called on the Indiangovernment for the immediate surfacing of two progressiveand militant leaders, namely, Mr. Ravi Sharma and Ms.Anuradha, who were forcibly taken from their workplaceand home, respectively. “We fear that both leaders mighthave suffered tremendously from torture and intimidation.We hope they have not yet been killed considering that Mr.Sharma was arrested last October 10, 2009,” Baua noted.“Bayan and the ILPS Phil. Chapter likewise condemn theObama Govt for providing not only logistical support suchas munitions and other war materiel, latest militarytechnology, but also US$18 billion; providing military adviseon mapping the deployment of revolutionary forces on theground, and holding of joint US-India-Israel militaryexercises. Obama who got a Nobel Peace Prize for Peaceis a contradiction in terms as far as the genuine peace inIndia is concerned” Baua said.

“We therefore demand that the Obama government stopits war of terror against the adivasi and the people of India.The latter will not be cowed by your weapons and political/military tactics meant to suppress them,” Baua concluded.

Press Release

Bayan/ILPS Phil. Chapter Urge Indian Govt to Stop its Operation Green Hunt

Grey Hounds gang-rape adivasi women in Vishakhapatnam

The notorious anti-Naxal Grey Hounds force of Andhra Pradesh, lauded by the central government and severalcounter-insurgency experts as a model to be emulated by other states in tackling the Maoists, has once again comeinto limelight with their gang-rape of four adivasi women on January 22. These lawless goons hired by the state withthe aim of creating terror among those supporting the revolutionary movement, have become a grave menace tosociety at large. There is no end to their atrocities on the innocent, unarmed people in the form of encounter murders,abductions, rapes and torture of adivasis and other oppressed sections.

The Balliguda atrocity in Vishakhapatnam district brings into one’s mind memories of the Vakapalli atrocity in2007 when 11 adivasi women were raped by these uniformed goondas. Vakapalli incident had then raised a furore inthe entire state. The Balliguda incident brought forth protests by various organizations and individuals. Three of thevictims were taken to KG Hospital on January 29 for medical examination. The tests could not be undertaken on theprevious day on account of the threats and intimidation by the terrorist police force. The victims agreed to undergotests only after some human rights organizations extended support to them. PM

PM


The following heart-rending storiesof state-sponsored terror by Congress-BJP’s vigilante Salwa Judum gangs inthe villages of Dantewada provide aglimpse of the brutal war waged bythe Indian state under the directsupervision of the Union HomeMinister P Chidambaram. Theseexcerpts are taken from the Tehelkamagazine dated February 06, 2010filed by SANJANA who had traveledin the remote region for over a week.

According to the writer, she alongwith TEHELKA photographer,tracked Adivasis whose lives weredestroyed by the Salwa Judum in thepast four months. This periodcoincides with the start of OperationGreen Hunt, an operation that theCentral Government calls a ‘mediacreation’.

In village after village, Adivasisrecount tales of the Judum attackinganyone they could find — “if theyfound a woman, they raped her. If itwas a man, he was killed.” None ofthe witnesses were willing to walk tothe police station to file complaints. Intheir eyes, the Judum and the policeare complicit. Seeking justice from oneagainst the other would be futile.Kunja Irmai, a resident ofPalod village said:

“We are battling drought on onehand and sickness on the other. Thenearest hospital is 30 kilometres awayand the only way to get there is onfoot. On top of all this, we’ve to facethe Judum. The Judum don’t killNaxalites but only poor people like us.Couldn’t the government think of anyother way to announce its presence inour village? Our only source of drinkingwater — three bore-wells — stoppedworking two years ago. All we getfrom the government is people who willkill us, without telling us why,” stated

How the State is Waging Warby headman of Dogpadu village,Kalumu Bheema, who witnessed thecold-blooded murder of VandoMangdu and Madkam Budra by SalwaJudum goondas in his village.

We went to the Kishtaram policestation the next day with people fromDogpadu and Tetmadagu. The Judumhad killed 6 people in these twoneighbouring villages as well. We askedfor the bodies of the people they killed.We were told that a helicopter tookthe bodies to Dantewada to conductthe post mortem. Who knows whathappened to the bodies?

Everyday I think of the curses thatthe Judum heaped on us when theyentered our village. They are angry thatwe refuse to join the Judum. If this isthe way they behave with us, whywould we even think of joining them?They killed Joga because they foundhim by the pond. They raped Irrebecause they found her grazing cattlein the forest. If they had found anyoneelse, they would have killed and rapedthem, too.

16-year-old Tunki Venkatesh ofPalachelima village whose brother andbrother-in-law were murdered bySalwa Judum, recounted:

The Judum made the three men walkfor 10 hours to the nearest policestation. My sister gathered 15 otherwomen from the village and followedthem back to the station. They saw theJudum take the three men into thestation. For hours, they maintained avigil outside. At some point in the night,the Judum slipped the men out of thestation and took them to a clearing nearthe village bus stand. They wereforced to strip and change into Naxaluniforms. The Judum tied them up todifferent trees and shot them dead.Enough villagers were around to seethem conduct this exercise.

Later, the Judum loaded the bodieson a truck and buried them in a massgrave at a town 70 km away.Schoolchildren watched the Judum digthe grave and throw the bodies in. Whycouldn’t the Judum at least give ourdead a decent burial? Why wouldn’tthey give us back the bodies? I hadhoped to finish school and go tocollege in Dantewada. I wanted towork in an office. My brother and Iwould sit and talk for hours about this.I had to drop out of school after thekillings to take care of the family. Whatchoice do I have?MADIVI MOYEE, Resident ofGachampadu village said:

In the morning, someone from anearby village came and asked us torun for our lives. The Judum washeaded our way, he said, and that theyhad killed a lot of people in the nearbyvillages. We left everything we had,picked up our children — my babywas four months old — and ran to theforests. We could see the village fromwhere we were hiding. A lot of people— it was impossible to count howmany — all armed with guns andsickles entered the village.

Within minutes of their arrival, wesaw smoke. Our houses were beingburnt. Then, screams rent the air. Irealised then that there were somepeople who had been left behind in thevillage. After a long time, I saw theJudum bring out two men and fivewomen from our village into the fieldbehind the village. The men’s handswere tied behind their backs and Icould see blood on one of their faces.The Judum lined up the men andwomen in two rows facing each other- the Judum men were behind thewomen. They shot the men down evenas the women looked on. At least two



In Chhattisgarh, jail is the cost of filinga public interest litigation plea

Konta: The mystery surrounding the killing of nineAdivasis in Gompad village in Dantewada district in Octoberlast year is deepening, with the Chhattisgarh police detainingthree more witnesses to the incident and restricting all accessto the area on the pretext of Operation Green Hunt.Operation Green Hunt is a catch-all phrase, used by thepolice and media alike, for all major anti-naxal offensivessince July 2009.

Total controlAs previously reported by The Hindu, the Chhattisgarh

police have assumed total control over the movements ofSodi Sambho – one of several witnesses in a Supreme Courtpetition that alleges that the 9 civilians were killed by thesecurity forces.

On Friday, armed policemen and Special Police Officers(SPO) lined the length of the highway from Dantewadatown to Konta, the block headquarters closest to Gompad,stopping vehicles and questioning commuters. Traveling withlocal journalists Anil Mishra of Nayi Duniya and YashwantYadav of Navbharat, this correspondent was repeatedlydetained along the route and told that Gompad village wasout of bounds as a major anti-naxal operation was underway.Non-journalists were, however, let through.

Concerned that we might enter the village from AndhraPradesh, we were detained by SPOs for about 45 minuteson the Chhattisgarh-A.P. border and allowed to proceedonly after the intervention of Deputy Inspector-General,Dantewada, S.R.P. Kalluri.

At present, the police have refused to comment on theveracity of the claims made in the Supreme Court petitionfiled by Sodi and others. “The Superintendent of Police ofDantewada has been told to initiate an enquiry into theGompad incident,” said T.J. Longkumer, Inspector-GeneralPolice, Bastar.

However, witnesses to the killings insisted in interviewsto The Hindu that the police were involved in the earlymorning ‘sanitization operation’ and killed nine villagers(seven from Gompad and two from nearby villages),

Aman SethiPolice detain three witnesses to killings in Gompad village, ban journalists from site

Police decline comment on veracity of claims made in petition filed

by Sodi Sambho and others

There is concern that the facts surrounding the Gompad killings might never be known

including three women and a 12-year-old girl. “The policealso cut off the fingers of a two-year-old infant,” said onewitness speaking on condition of anonymity fearing policeretribution. “The police stabbed Madavi Venka [a victim]and then shot him fatally,” said another witness, “All thosekilled were innocent villagers with no involvement with thenaxals.”

The witnesses were interviewed, via a translator, at aweekly bazaar at Adralpalli on the Andhra Pradesh side ofthe border between the two States. Due to the police cordonaround Gompad village, witness reports could not be verifiedindependently.

The villagers also claimed that the police have detainedSoyam Rama, Soyam Dulla and Kattam Dulla, threewitnesses whose testimonies could prove crucial when thecase comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court. “All threemen have been held at the police station at Konta for thelast one week,” said a Gompad villager. The Adivasis werepicked up by the police in the first week of January whenthey came to Dantewada town for a public airing ofgrievances, the villagers said, an assertion DIG Kalluricontests. “We have never detained these three men,” hesaid. “They have never been taken into police custody.”

However, police sources speaking to The Hindu onbackground confirmed that the three men were indeed held“for questioning” at the Konta police station till January 14but could not confirm their current location. At present, theirwhereabouts are unknown.

Yet to be addressed

Police control over witnesses and restrictions on themovement of the press have raised concerns that the factssurrounding the Gompad killings might never be known. Inanother PIL petition pending before the Supreme Court forthe past three years, allegations of large-scale killing ofAdivasis and arson by the Salwa Judum and security forceshave yet to be addressed.

PM


The sordid cynical drama that isbeing enacted right in front of the eyesof a hundred crore people for over fourmonths since the Gompad massacreshows the fake nature of ourdemocracy and the immense powerwielded by the murderers and criminalsin police uniform. On October 1, theCRPF and CoBRA forces sent toChhattisgarh by Chidambaram withthe pretext of “recapturing” territoryfrom the control of the Maoists, carriedout a brutal massacre in Gompadvillage in Dantewada district killing 9unarmed innocent adivasis. Then theyattacked three more villages andmurdered another three taking the tollon a single day to 12. Several peoplewere eye-witnesses to these gorymurders by Chidambaram’s men. Thestory of Sodi Sambho is now quite wellknown. She received treatment inAIIMS, Delhi after the Courtintervened and asked the Chhattisgarhgovernment not to obstruct her.However, she was abducted from thehospital by getting her dischargedbefore anyone could go to meet her.

After several petitions by humanrights activists in the SC that the eye-witnesses to the Gompad massacrewere in illegal police custody, the courtat last intervened and issued an orderon February 8 to the state governmentto produce the 12 missing witnessesin the court by February 15. The 12witnesses including Sodi Sambho wereabducted by Chidambaram-RamanSingh’s khaki goons soon after theydeposed before the Supreme Court onFebruary 5. They were illegallydetained even earlier for almost 45days in total.

In this context, the Supreme Court’sremarks on the missing witnesses areworth citing. Justice Sudarshan Reddytold the government counsel: “What is

going on in this country? If citizenscan’t come to this court where willthey go? There are no two classes ofcitizens. You cannot say those whodo not subscribe to your philosophyhave no right to live in this country.Don’t try to overreach this court. Ifnecessary, we will monitor this case.”On February 15, six of the 12 missingadivasis were produced before theCourt while the other six still remainuntraced. The reason why the othersix were not produced was becausethe police thought they might utter thetruth in the Court in spite of theintimidation and threats by the police.The six who were produced weretutored by the police to say that theysaw the killings in their village ofGompad but are unable to identify whothe murderers were. Actually the policetutored the witnesses to say that theysaw the Maoists carrying out theGompad massacre. This is what theGoebels of Chhattisgarh, VishwaRanjan, has been lying in publicwithout any sense of shamewhatsoever. This master liar squarelyplaces blame on the Maoists for themassacre of adivasis committed by thepolice and SPOs!

It is also amusing to see how thesinister drama is being played byofficials at the highest level. To impressupon the court how difficult it is toproduce the witnesses the AttorneyGeneral Vahanvati openly lied to theSupreme Court that when a policeparty accompanied by around 300SPOs went to the villages to fetch thewitnesses they were ambushed by theMaoists at Gorkha village inDantewada district injuring two SPOs.He even showed a fax message he hadreceived from the state’s DGP, VishwaRanjan, on February 9 informing of theserious situation after the land-mine

blast. Whatever be the truth behind theland-mine blast, the indisputable factis that the witnesses were actuallyunder confinement in the office ofDantewada SP.

Like several such mass murdersthat have become a common featurein the police state under saffron terroristRaman Singh, the Gompad massacretoo would have gone unnoticed by thecorporate media had it not beenpursued consistently by somedemocratic and civil rightsorganizations and individuals despitetheir being branded as Maoistsympathisers.

Union Home MinisterChidambaram thinks people are foolsto believe his words when he assertsthat he can do nothing at all whenhuman right violations take place instates since law & order is a statesubject and that the Centre cannotintervene. But this master liar rushesup to Raipur and Kolkata to organizemeetings of the chief ministers of theMaoist-dominant states to conductjoint operations. This fascist evencompliments Raman Singh for thesignificant progress he achieved in thefight against the Maoists with the helpof the central forces. He promises allassistance to the saffron terrorist incarrying out more blood-baths as inGompad. For all his talk of the rule oflaw, this hypocrite does not even raisethe “human rights violations” inChhattisgarh. Evading responsibility forthe murders of innocent adivasis bysimply yelling that law & order is astate subject, Chidambaram providescomplete legitimacy and immunity tothe state governments for their lawlessand unconstitutional acts, and givesthem a blank cheque by assuring themthat he would not interfere no matterwhat they do. Actually, it is not only

Chhattisgarh police abduct eye-witnesses toGompad massacre carried out by CRPF-CoBRA forces


the police forces of the states but alsothe central para-military forces thathave been carrying out the worstpossible crimes against the adivasis. Infact, almost all the recent atrocitiescarried out in Dantewada and Bijapurdistricts of Chhattisgarh after thecommencement of Operation GreenHunt, have been the handiwork of theCRPF and CoBRAs sent byChidambaram himself. And it is withthe help of these forces that the state’spolice and the Salwa Judum goons tooare able to carry out their murderouscampaign and inhuman atrocitiesagainst the adivasis. Hence there is notan iota of truth in what Chidambaramhas been trying to say in public—thathe cannot do anything regardinghuman right violations in states sincelaw & order is a state subject.

Moreover, this hypocrite has goneon record for praising the saffronterrorist regime in Chhattisgarh forimplementing the Centre’s plan againstthe Maoists very well i.e Chidambaramhas extended his all-out support toRaman Singh in carrying out the murderof almost one hundred unarmedinnocent adivasis including women andchildren, raping adivasi women andchopping off the fingers of a two-year-old child. He is also exerting pressureon other state governments likeJharkhand and Bihar to follow RamanSingh’s example and create a reign ofterror.

So in the kidnapping of the 12 eye-witnesses of Gompad massacreChidambaram is as much involved asRaman Singh for both the state andcentral forces had jointly perpetratedthe massacre. Both the state and theCentre are in dire need to protect theirmercenary forces at this criticaljuncture in their war against theMaoists. It is only massive outburstsof people’s protests as in Kashmir thata trigger-happy policeman would bepunished.

Even after the Supreme Court order

only six were produced before thecourt on February 15. And thesolicitor-general Gopal Subramanyam,who is paid by the state to defend itslawless policemen, had tried to hushup the criminal acts of the police anddivert the issue of the missing witnessesby narrating how dangerous and riskywere the lives of policemen working inMaoist areas. Appearing in the supremecourt on February 15, Subramanyamtold the court that police officers leavefor duty everyday in Naxal-affectedareas with a “death band” around theirheads. To prove his point he producedtapes with intercepts of conversationsbetween Maoists about their hit list ofpolice officers.

Chidambaram pretends that nothinghas happened even as his centralforces accompany and extend totalunconditional support to these SalwaJudum goons and play their own sharein the murders and rapes of adivasisof this region. This trusted manager forimperialist capital in India and a loyalagent of the comprador capital laudsthe significant achievements by hisuniformed thugs in Chhattisgarh and theprivate vigilante gangs. This khaditerrorist and saffron terrorist RamanSingh hug and pat each other for theirsuccess in destroying the adivasivillages and evacuating the adivasis topave the way for the take-over of themineral-rich belt by their corporatemasters. These thugs relentlessly squeallike chatter-boxes that Naxalites shouldabjure violence while they themselvescarry out cold-blooded murder ofpoor unarmed innocent adivasis. Andthese hypocrites and liars parexcellence abduct eye witnesses likeSodi Sambho right under public glareand get away with the crime. Thejudiciary assists these thugs andmurderers to carry out blood-bath andget away unscathed. Anyone, even ifit be a Gandhian, who sees themayhem, arson and terror created bythe gangs sent by Chidambaram and

Raman Singh, would advise theMaoists to equip themselves withbetter arms, train up more fighters andhit back the armies of aggression andinhuman marauders.

What is needed now is moreorganized, more effective and morewide-spread revolutionary counterviolence of the masses in defence oftheir land, forest, dignity and lives. Andthis revolutionary counter-violenceshould hit Chidambaram, Raman Singhand their band of rapacious inhumanexploiters and oppressors where ithurts them most. Led by the Maoistrevolutionaries, the oppressed people,who constitute the overwhelmingmajority of the Indian population, willsurely teach these neo-Nazi gangstersa fitting lesson.

to shift the case from Konta to theDantewada Sessions Court on March9 as the magistrate lived in Konta inthe very neighbourhood of theaccused.

Harassment began soon after. SPOscrossed the state border and searchedfor Madvi’s house on April 10, 2009.And on December 2, Madvi’s fatherand a boy who shared her husband’sname were apprehended and taken toChintur Police Station in AndhraPradesh. There the father wasthreatened and the boy was beaten.They were told to bring Madvi toKonta police station. At this point, shehad gone into hiding, knowing that hernext appearance at court was to beheld on December 10, when she hadto depose.The deposition didn’t takeplace. On the day of the hearing therewas a rally against the Vanvasi ChetnaAshram, who used to support heremotionally and financially. As ofJanuary 6 the Vanvasi Chetna Ashramhas ceased to exist, its workersarrested, its employees threatened. Noone can predict how Madvi’s story willend, but the omens are notencouraging.


PM

PM


Seema Azad, editor of the left-wing journal DASTAK published from Allahabad, was taken into custody by the policeSaturday, 6th February, soon after she alighted from the train on her return from the Book Fair at Delhi. She, along withher husband and left-wing activist Vishwa Vijaya Azad, has been detained at the Khuldabad Police Station. Seema Azadjust published a collection of articles criticizing the Indian government for its “Operation Green Hunt” — the ongoingmassive military attack by the government against the tribal inhabitants of central India. The booklet contains articles bynoted authors and media-persons such as Arundhati Roy, Himanshu Kumar, Anil Chamaria, Punya Prasoon Vajpeyi,Sunita Narayan, and others. Although they were produced before a court in Allahabad, the details of the charges leveledagainst Seema Azad and Vishva Vijaya were not specified. Seema is the state secretary of the People’s Union for CivilLiberties (PUCL) for Uttar Pradesh. The PUCL has released the following letter addressed to the Chairperson of theNational Human Rights Commission in New Delhi.

Seema Is a Human Right Worker, Not a ‘Naxali’Letter to the National Human Right Commission, New Delhi

by People’s Union for Civil LibertiesTo,The Chairperson,National Human Right CommissionNew Delhi,sir,We want to acknowledge you that

Seema Azad ,journalist ,human rightworker and executive member ofpeoples Union for civil liberties(PUCL), and her husband formerstudent leader Vishwavijay and friendAsha, were detained by the police onAllahabad Railway Junction withoutany proper reason on Saturday(6th Feb2010). Both of them were returningfrom World Book Fair, New Delhi bythe Reewanchal Express. According topolice they all are Naxalites.

Sir, the organization wants tohighlight the background of detention.PUCL has continuously raised the voiceagainst the atrocity done by the police-Bahubalies nexus in Kachhari region ofAllahabad and Kausambi district on thesand mining labours. Due to thepressure of politician and Bahubalies,DIG of Allahabad has framed manyfraud cases against the labourmovement leader. DIG had banned the‘Lal Salam’ cited it as against thenationality. PUCL had condemned theban saying that it was natural addressof Communist party. According toPUCL ‘Lal Salam’ is a common addressof labourer across the world. Raisingthe cause of fighting labour against theillegal collection and illegal mining ofsand in Nanda ka Pura village ofKausambi, the Minster Seema Azad and

advocate K. K. Roy of PUCL has issueda report on human right violation. Inpast one month the police and PACjawans has unleashed the Lathichargecouple of times in Nanda ka Puravillage. Police had torched the localoffice of CPI (ML) New Democracy inNanda village. And their leaders weredetained in the jail for several days infraud cases. The voice against them,doesn’t suit the mood of DIG ofAllahabad and police. Police doesn’twant that the voice should be raised byany organization against their workingstyle. The arrest of Seema Azad, herhusband Vishwavijay and friend Aashais done by the police in the revenge.Seema Azad has no any connectionwith the Naxalite and she is working inthe field of human right for past severalyears. She is also editor of a monthlymagazine ‘Dastak’. She has madereport on serious issues like humanright situation in eastern Utter Pradesh,labour movement, SEZ, situation ofMushar cast and Encephalitis disease.Vishwavijay, husband of Seema Azad,and his friend Aasha were active studentleader of Central university ofAllahabad for a long time. They havestrongly raised the concerned problemof students under the banner of‘INQUALABI CHHATRAMORCHA’. The persons which arenaxalite, according to the police, areworking in between students and labourfor a long time.

Sir, in past also UP Police hasthreatened the leader of PUCL workingfor the human right concern. PUCL has

raised the questions against theencounter of Kamlesh Chaudhoury inChandauly dated 9th November. Afterthat, in a press conference dated 11thNovember 2009, DGP Brijlal hasarticulated that “the action would betaken against the PUCL leader”(seeDainik Hindustan of November 12,2009). The Allahabad arrest of SeemaAzad is a chain of the same retaliation.

Hence, we appeal for the promptaction in the matter and also we appealthat police atrocity and human rightviolation should be stopped. We alsodemand that Seema Azad and her friendshould be released as soon as possible.

- SincerelyVandana Mishra, General Secretary,PUCL, U.P.Chitranjan Singh, NationalSecretary, PUCLK.K. Roy, Advocate, state executivemember, PUCLRavikiran Jain, state executivemember, PUCLSatendra Singh, Convener, People’sUnion for Human Rights(PUHR)Sandeep Pandey, winner ofMagsaysay award and stateexecutive member,PUCLS. R. Darapuri, former policedirector, state executivemember,PUCLAnshu Malviya, Shehri GaribSangharsh MorchaShahnawaz Alam, OrganizationSecretary ,PUCLRajeev Yadav, OrganizationSecretary,PUCLVijay Pratap, Freelance journalistand human right worker PM


Operation Green Hunt to flush outthe Maoist rebels from central Indiamay have begun only last November,but the hapless tribals of Chhattisgarh’sBastar region have been at the receivingend of official hostility for years beforethat. It is not clear why they shouldattract official ire, but they do. Thestate machinery, of course, denies anysuch sentiment.

Take the case of four Muria tribalwomen from the village of Samsetti.The Muria say they don’t knowanything about rape; their word for itis closer to balatkaar than anythingelse. On July 6, 2006, according towitnesses, government-appointedspecial police officers and SalwaJudum members gang-raped threeyoung women, 19, 22 and 23, duringa raid on Samsetti, which is inDantewada district. Another girl wasallegedly raped in January of that year.But the state wanted to know nothingabout it.

When they went to file a complaintat the police station, the girls say theywere threatened and chased away. Itwas discovered later that there wereallegedly 24 cases of rape in the entireKonta block, but only six womenwould speak up. Four were fromSamsetti, one from Arlampalli andanother from Bandarpadar. Thecomplaints, however, were notrecorded.

Finally, on March 27, 2009, thewomen first wrote straight to thesuperintendent of police and the districtcollector. Nothing happened. Then acomplaint case was jointly filed withthe Judicial Magistrate First Class,Konta, on April 29.

Interestingly, while statements werebeing recorded at the court on June16, the accused were said to beloitering around the corridors. On the

The tribal ‘Ruchikas’ of DantewadaJaved Iqbal, 08 Jan 2010

From News Papers

next court date, July 17, when thetestimonies of the victims were meantto be heard, the magistrate wasabsent, allegedly ‘called away toheadquarters’. The magistrate alsomagically disappeared on the nextcourt date, August 12.

The magistrate, Amrit Karkatenervously rides his bicycle to courtevery day from his house in Konta –the bastion of the accused. A warrantfor the 30 accused was finally issuedin October to the police stations ofDornapal, Konta and Bhejji. Yet noarrests were made. The accused aresaid to be missing yet one of them iseven giving speeches. The SPOs areon duty but for some reason they’remissing, too.

What about the victims? Recently,these women were said to have beenbeaten by the same accused andforced to give their thumbprints onblank papers. They were detained forfive days in Dornapal police station,where some of the accused too arestationed. Once the girls they releasedrefused to talk to anyone. Samsettivillagers too apparently told the victimsto forget about it. ThroughoutSeptember last year, the sarpanch ofSamsetti kept asking villagers towithdraw the cases and put theirthumbprints on blank papers, otherwisethe police and the SPOs would cometo the village again. They did not heedthe threats.

Harassment of the victimsapparently continued as the womenfled their village for the Gandhian NGOVanvasi Chetna Ashram run byHimanshu Kumar. The ashramapproached district collector ReenaBabasaheb Kangale on August 11 toensure the safety of the women. Noassurance was forthcoming. Theyreturned to their village. They’d be

beaten.They’d be dragged to jail,

irrespective of the fact that once awarrant is issued, the accused cannotwithdraw the case unless the accusedare brought to court and the matter canproceed. What’s the point of beatingthem now? Take the case of MadkamMadvi (name changed) ofBandarpadar, Konta block, who wasallegedly gang-raped by SPOs atKonta police station in April 2008.According to her testimony, she wastaken to the police station by the SalwaJudum, robbed of some Rs 25,000,then kept alone in a room. She wasfirst raped by an SPO in an isolatedroom in the police station, thenblindfolded and gang-raped over twodays at the station by three moreunidentified persons. Eventually, shewas set free and after furtherharassment escaped to AndhraPradesh. She had hoped to start overand had even married.

At this point, members of the SalwaJudum tracked her down in AndhraPradesh and the harassment resumed.According to her husband, they hadthreatened him saying, ‘We were goingto sell this girl and earn some moneybut now that you married her, we havesuffered a loss that you shall now haveto pay back.’ He said they stole Rs3,500, one cow, three goats and twochickens to ‘make up for their loss’.After further threats, they went backto Chhattisgarh, ensuring that Madviwould sleep in a different room in adifferent village every night.

Finally, through the Vanvasi ChetnaAshram, a complaint was written to thesuperintendent of police, Dantewada.There was no reply for months. Thematter was taken to the court as aprivate complaint. There was a request



BIJAPUR: In Lingagiri,it didn’t take long to tally theresults of the recently concluded panchayat elections.On January 31 this year, a sum total of four people votedin this remote village in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.The poling booth opened on time, the polling officerswere present, and then the force arrived.

Pujari Rajamma, 35, was combing her hair in hercourtyard. “I was getting ready to walk down to thepolling office, when the uniformed men stormed in,” shesaid,”they checked my fingers for the voting mark.” Whenthey didn’t find it, they beat her with sticks. The bruisesare still visible on Rajamma’s back; she can barely moveher swollen left arm.

Pujari Chandeyya, 40, was sharpening a chisel, hisbrother, Pujari Lakshmaiah was lying in bed with a fever,when the force found them and assaulted them. “Theywanted to see the vote mark.” He said, “I hadn’t votedyet.” Gulla ganesh, 25, was waiting for his friends by atamarind tree; Soyam Ramulu was stringing a rope whenthe force attacked them. In all, five villagers wereassaulted by men in combat fatigues for not voting in theelections.

“The villagers have registered a complaint,” saidassistant sub-inspector Madan Pately. “As per theirdescription, the CRPF or the CoBRA force could beresponsible. An investigation is under way.” Pately, whowas present in the booth, said that the four votes were“probably” cast by those manning the booth.

Abandoned in 2006The attack occurred at about 10.30 a.m. after which

the villagers decided to boycott the election. Had theyvoted, their votes would have made little difference tothe outcome. The winning candidate was a foregoneconclusion. Tokal Ramaiah stood unopposed for the postof sarpanch. He filed his papers in Avapalli (about twohour away by road) and has not visited the village forthe last four years. The villagers found out he wascontesting only after the results of the election weredeclared.

Lingagiri and neighbouring Basagud were abandonedin 2006 when the state-sponsored Salwa Judumprogramme was in full sway. As the conflict between

Compulsory voting, Chhattisgarh styleAman Sethi

The Hindu 14 Feb

state forces, aided by the Salwa Judum, and the naxalsintensified, villagers across Chhattisgarh fled to the relativesafety of Andhra Pradesh or to camps set p by thegovernment.

Lingagiri itself emptied out in 2006 after four villagers wrekilled and two raped, allegedly by the security forces andspecial police officers, according to testimony gathered bythe National Human Rights Commission.

During hearings on an ongoing PIL, the Supreme Court in2008 ordered the State government to rehabilitate villagesdestroyed in the Salwa Judum campaign. The governmentdid nothing to implement tis order but in March 20009,Lingagiri was resettled by villagers and the Van Chetna Ashram,an NGO. Todate, about 2000 of Lingagiri’s estimated 500residents have returned the rest are scattered acrossChhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. A successful election wouldhave provided much needed legitimacy to state institutions inan area where naxals still exercise considerable control.

Toka Ramaaiah, who will take the oath of office onFebruary 15, is one of those who are yet to return toLingagiri.”He hasn’t set foot in the village since 2006,” said avillager speaking on condition of anonymity. In Basaguda too,Bendke Kamala, another émigré sarpanch, won unopposed,both, Tokal and Bendke currently reside in Bijapur – andadministrative outpost about five hours by road from thevillages they represent.

When the IG jumped the GunThe Indian Express, February 2, 2010

Last week, Inspector General of Police in charge of anti-Maoist operations, Sanjiv Manik landed in soup when hecalled up journalists to announce that the abducted CPMleader in Sundargarh district has been killed by the Maoists.Anandmasi Horo, CPM leader, and two others wereabducted by the Maoists during the two day bandh onJanuary 25 and 26. While the two others were released,Horo did not return home prompting the IG to predict thathe has been killed by the rebels. The IG based his predictionon the ‘breaking news’ of some TV channels whichproclaimed that Horo might have been killed. No soonerdid the CPM politburo condemn the ‘killing, Horo wasreleased by the rebels. His family and party immediatelyslammed the IG for his ‘announcement’.

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From The Developmental Terrorism of the Indian StateA document prepared by Sanhati CollectiveIn almost all cases the affected

people try to ventilate their grievancesusing peaceful means of protest; theytake our processions, they sit ondemonstrations, they submit petitions.The response of the State is remarkablyconsistent in all these cases: it cracksdown on the peaceful protestors,sends in armed goons to attack thepeople, slaps false charges against theleaders and arrests them and often alsoresorts to police firing and violence toterrorize the people. We only need toremember Singur, Nandigram,Kalinganagar and countless otherinstances where peaceful anddemocratic forms of protest werecrushed by the state with ruthlessforce. It is, thus, the action of the Statethat blocks off all forms of democraticprotest and forces the poor anddispossessed to take up arms to defendtheir rights, as has been pointed outby social activists like Arundhati Roy.The Indian government’s proposedmilitary offensive will repeat that storyall over again. Instead of addressingthe source of the conflict, instead ofaddressing the genuine grievances of

the marginalized people along the threedimensions that we have pointed to,the Indian state seems to have decidedto opt for the extremely myopic optionof launching a military offensive.

While the poor have seen theirincomes and purchasing power tumbledown precipitously in real terms, therich have, by all accounts, prosperedbeyond their wildest dreams since theonset of the liberalization of the Indianeconomy. There is widespreadevidence from recent research that thelevels of income and wealth inequalityin India have increased steadily anddrastically since the mid 1980s. Arough overview of this growinginequality is found by juxtaposing twowell known facts: (a) in 2004-05, 77percent of the population spent lessthan Rs. 20 a day on consumptionexpenditure; and (b) according to theannual World Wealth Report releasedby Merrill Lynch and Capgemini in2008, the millionaire population inIndia grew in 2007 by 22.6 per centfrom the previous year, which is higherthan in any other country in the world.

It is also worth remembering thatthe geographical terrain, where thegovernment’s military offensive isplanned, is very well-endowed withnatural resources like minerals, forestwealth, biodiversity and waterresources, and has of late been thetarget of systematic usurpation byseveral large, both Indian and foreign,corporations. So far, the resistance ofthe local indigenous people againsttheir displacement and dispossessionhas prevented the government-backedcorporates from exploiting the naturalresources for their own profits andwithout regard to ecological and socialconcerns. We fear that thegovernment’s offensive is also anattempt to crush such democratic andpopular resistance againstdispossession and impoverishment; thewhole move seems to be gearedtowards facilitating the entry andoperation of these large corporationsand paving the way for unbridledexploitation of the natural resourcesand people of these regions.

Special Correspondent“Stop Operation Green Hunt”

NEW DELHI: Operation Green Hunt was in the dock at apeople’s tribunal in the capital over the weekend and theverdict of the jury was loud and clear: Guilty.

Organised by civil society groups, the “IndependentPeople’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab andOperation Green Hunt” heard the testimonies of tribal people,activists, academics and experts from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The finalrecommendations of the jury advised the government to “StopOperation Green Hunt and start a dialogue with the localpeople.”

Among the jury members were Justice P.B. Sawant, JusticeH. Suresh, Yash Pal, V. Mohini Giri, P.M. Bhargava, and K.S.Subramanian. In their observations, they noted that “stateviolence has been accentuated by Operation Green Hunt inwhich a huge number of paramilitary forces are being usedmostly on the tribals. The militarization of the state has reached

a level where schools are occupied by security forces.”They also warned that if peaceful resistance was

violently crushed, the government “could very well besowing the seeds of a violent revolution demanding justiceand rule of law that would engulf the entire country.”

The jury recommended that all compulsory acquisitionof agricultural or forest land be stopped. The forceddisplacement of tribal people needs to end, andrehabilitation started immediately. It called on thegovernment to declare the details of all MoUs andindustrial and infrastructural projects proposed in theseareas and stop all environmentally destructive industries.

The paramilitary and police forces need to bewithdrawn, and dissenters must not be victimized, saidthe jury.

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The attitude displayed by Sonia-Manmohan-Chidambaram gangtowards the people of Telangana showfor the umpteenth time how people’sdemocratic aspirations have never beena matter of concern for the reactionaryrulers of our country. The ordinaryIndian citizen, in the eyes of theseplunderers, is worth no more than a voteand assumes importance only once infive years. They show to the world thepoor emaciated Indian voter, deprivedand alienated from all the so-calleddevelopment that Manmohan & Coboast of, as a testimony for a “vibrant”democracy. The voter is promised aparadise on earth by the parliamentaryleaches if they are elected to power. Butthe moment an election comes to anend, the voter is treated as dust and allthe promises are consigned to the dust-bin.

Separate Telangana too is one suchempty promise dished out by thesetraitors going by the name ofmainstream democratic parties.Telangana issue had served as a vote-catcher for all the parliamentary partieswhich had included it in their electionmanifestos. But once the electionseason is over, these opportunistic,hypocritical, shameless, self-seeking,corrupt, power-hungry, anti-peopleparties have ditched the voters and havenot hesitated a bit in resorting to theuse of lathis and bullets to crush a just,legitimate, democratic mass agitation.

Chidambaram, the worst liar to haveoccupied the post of Home Minister tilldate, was not just indulging in flip-flop,as the media had put it mildly, but hadtaken his art of lying to a new record.He promised to the people of Telanganaon December 9, 2010 that the politicalprocess for the formation of a separatestate would commence soon. Within afortnight, cringing before the money-power of the Andhra-Rayalaseemacapitalists, he backtracked on the issue

Telangana Continues to Burn as Neros Sonia, Manmohan andChidambaram fiddle

by stating that wide-rangingconsultations are required and aconsensus was necessary for resolvingthe issue. On February 1, he declaredthat a committee would be formed tolook into the issue. Within a few days acommittee headed by former Justice SriKrishna was constituted with four othermembers; terms of reference were fixedand time was given until the end of2010 for submission of report by thecommittee. It is significant to note thatthe people of Telangana have beenopposing the setting up of any morecommittees and demanding that thegovernment immediately declare adead-line for the formation of a separatestate. What has further infuriated thepeople of Telangana is the absence ofthe term Telangana in the terms ofreference. Thus while Telangana isburning, the Neros in Delhi had onlyadded fuel to the fire by callouslyskipping any reference to the issue offormation of Telangana. Thesehypocrites and opportunists of thehighest order wanted to hunt with thehound and run with the hare by tryingto balance mid-way between those whodemanded Telangana and those whobitterly opposed the demand. In reality,they had kow-towed before the moneypower of the capitalist class hailingfrom the Andhra-Rayalaseema region.

It is also significant to note that thePrime Minister as well as the extra-constitutional power and the defactohead of state, Sonia Gandhi, had notopened their lips ever since the issuebegan to snowball into a majorconflagration. Of course, the imperialiststooge Manmohan Singh did warn ofthe dangers of regionalism on theoccasion of the Republic Day therebyhinting clearly that he was opposed tothe democratic aspirations of the peopleof Telangana. It is clear that thecomprador-feudal Congress party thathas been serving the imperialists and

the comprador-feudal classes of ourcountry ever since its formation in 1885can never dream of fulfilling theaspirations of Telangana people. Untiland unless, of course, it is driven to thewall by a wave of mass resistancemovement.

The great betrayal by the state andcentral governments has angered thepeople of the region as never before.The spineless, opportunist leaders of thestate Congress party had tried to justifythe constitution of the bogus committeeinterpreting it as an affirmation of thecommitment of the Congress to theformation of Telangana state. But thevery fact that the leaders of variousparties of Andhra-Rayalaseema regionhad hailed the setting up of the SriKrishna committee and had appealedto all parties in the Telangana region toabide by the recommendations of thecommittee showed beyond a shadow ofdoubt that the setting up of thecommittee is a conspiracy by the Centrein collusion with the feudal-capitalistcomprador forces f Andhra-Rayalaseema region. It is clear that thecommittee would spare no effort tosabotage the demand for separateTelangana. At best, it might come upwith a solution that is acceptable to theAndhra-Rayalaseema bourgeoisie andland mafia by excluding the city ofHyderabad from the new state ofTelangana.

The tactic of the reactionaryCongress leaders and the ever-lyingHome Minister Chidambaram is toprocrastinate on the issue with the fondhope that “emotions” of the peoplewould die down in course of time.Thereby their dirty plan of continuingthe plunder of Telangana in a unitedstate of Andhra Pradesh could proceedunchecked. Most of the Congresslegislators of Telangana region who hadbeen yelling that they would submittheir resignations if the political process


for the formation of Telangana state isnot initiated immediately went back ontheir promise without a sense of shame.They had even justified the setting upof the Sri Krishna committee byChidambaram and began to fool thepeople once again by saying they wouldwait for six months and then resignfrom their posts if nothing comes outby that time. The TDP MLAs fromTelangana submitted their resignationletters to the Joint Action Committeeto outwit their Congress counterparts.

The social fascist CPI(M) showedits worst authoritarian and anti-peoplestance by bitterly opposing the demandfor separate Telangana. Its greatest fearis that once Telangana demand isaccepted it may have to give in to thelegitimate demand for a separateGorkhaland in the “Left Front” ruledstate of West Bengal. It would nothesitate to unleash the most brutalblood-bath in Gorkhaland to retain itas the colony of the Bengali bourgeoisieand to loot the revenues of the region.Every Bengali-chauvinist party andleader is opposed to the democraticdemand of the Gorkhas for a separateGorkhaland.

The political JAC was splitvertically with the betrayal by theCongress legislators of Telanganaregion and the dilly-dallying by theTelangana legislators from TDP andother parties. The student JAC hadintensified its agitation as an answer tothe Centre’s regressive move of settingup the committee. Every section ofsociety from Telangana region came outin protest resorting to many novel formsof protest. A student rally calledPOLIKEKA was held in the city ofWarangal on February 7 attended byseveral lakhs of students. The police,as usual, used their strong-arm tacticsand tried to disrupt the student meetingby all means at their disposal. Anyonenot possessing a student ID card wasbarred from entering the venue of themeeting. And thousands were stoppedin spite of having ID cards. Despitethese heinous attempts by the police the

student rally was a grand success likethe Vidyarthi Garjana held in OsmaniaUniversity campus in the month ofJanuary. Speaker after speaker lashedout at the Centre and the Congress party.There was unanimous demand from thestudents for the immediate resignationof the legislators from Telangana regionof all parties.

The last fortnight witnessedpeaceful as well as militant forms ofstruggle by the students, teachers andprofessors, lawyers, journalists,doctors, workers, and various sectionsof people. The police attacked thestudents in Osmania campus usinglathis, teargas and rubber bulletsinjuring several students. The protestsby students spread to other districtsforcing the government to institute anenquiry into the incident. On February19, students organized a chalo assemblyrally to demonstrate before theAssembly which was to commence itsbudget session that day. The Roshaiahgovernment mobilized over 25,000policemen and blocked all roadsleading to the Assembly. Section 144was imposed throughout the city ofHyderabad and the entire traffic withina radius of 4km around the Assemblywas brought to a halt by theoverzealousness and paranoia of thepolice who became objects of ridiculeby the common man. The OU campusresembled a battle-field with thousandsof students trying to break thebarricades and the police stopping themwith lathis and teargas. A studentcommitted suicide by immolatinghimself frustrated by the betrayals bythe political parties by the cause ofTelangana. This tragic incidentinfuriated the students and the situationturned more volatile. After the chaloassembly programme was disrupted bythe police there were demonstrationsthroughout Telangana with demands forthe resignation of the legislators goinglouder. Some legislators were gheraoedor attacked.

The government and the police triedto cook up an excuse for using brute

force against the students by sayingthat Maoists had entered the OUcampus and the situation was going outof control. The Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity denied that Maoists were inthe hostels. The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt directed the government towithdraw the paramilitary forces fromthe Osmania campus. The SupremeCourt stayed the High Court order butasked the state government to furnishproof of the entry of Maoists in thehostels. Now attempts are on by thenotorious APSIB to plant Maoistliterature and weapons in the rooms ofsome students to prove they belongedto banned CPI(Maoist). There is a deepconspiracy to suppress the studentagitation in the name of a Maoist take-over. The students are prepared for anysacrifice and to forego an academic yearto achieve their goal of a separateTelangana. The examinations have beenalready postponed six times this year.The stalemate continues with the stateand central governments adamant intheir stand of not conceding the demandfor a separate Telangana on the onehand, and the students and othersections of people prepared to fight anddie for their demand on the other. Thereactionary rulers are amassing theirspecial police forces and the centralparamilitary forces to suppress theagitation in rivers of blood. Thesituation is indeed ripe for the growthof revolutionary forces and theemergence of a real alternative politicalforce in the Telangana region. Theintransigence of Sonia-Manmohan-Chidambaram gang at the Centre andthe betrayal by the opportunist,hypocritical parties in the state on theother has created a situation for thegrowth of a massive militant anti-statemovement. As it is, all theparliamentary parties have lost theirrelevance in Telengana. And these arecertain to be swept away from the soilof Telangana as the mass movementtransforms into a mighty tornado.

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In an exclusive interview to TheHindu, Azad, spokesperson of theCommunist Party of India (Maoist),answers in writing questions on hisparty’s attitude to dialogue with theUnion Government. The following isthe edited text of the full interview:1. In recent weeks one has seenstatements by the Government ofIndia and leaders of the CommunistParty of India (Maoist) saying theyare in favor of dialogue and talks buteach side seems to lack seriousness.There has also been an element ofdrama or more precisely, theatre, withKishenji and P. Chidambaramexchanging state-ments through themedia. Our first question is whetherKishenji’s statements can be treatedas authoritative pronouncements ofthe CPI (Maoist) central leadershipin pursuance of a nationalstrategy? Or are these tacticalannouncements by him keeping onlythe specifics of the Bengal situationin mind.Azad: It is true our Party leadershiphas been issuing statements from timeto time in response to the government’sdubious offer of talks. But to generalizethat there is lack of seriousness on bothsides does not correspond to reality.To an observer, exchangingstatements through the media doessound a bit theatrical. And it isprecisely such theatrical andsensational things the media relisheswhile more serious things are sweptaside. Now the stark fact is lack ofseriousness has been the hallmark ofthe government, particularly of theUnion Home Minister P.Chidambaram. It is Mr. Chidambaramwho has been enacting a drama in thepast four months, particularly eversince his amusing 72-hour-abjure-violence diktat to the CPI (Maoist) inthe course of his interview with Tehelka

Response by Azad, Spokesperson,Central Committee, CPI (Maoist)

Magazine some time last November.As regards Kishenji’s statements,they should be seen with a positiveattitude, not with cynicism. Thoughour central committee has notdiscussed our specific strategy withregard to talks with the governmentat the current juncture, as a PolitBureau member, comrade Kishenjihad taken initiative and made aconcrete proposal for a ceasefire.Whether comrade Kishenji’sstatements are the officialpronouncements of our CentralCommittee is not the point of debatehere. What is important is the attitudeof the government to such an offer inthe first place. Our central committeehas no objection to his proposal for aceasefire. But as far as the issue of talksis concerned, our Party will pursue theguidelines given by our UnityCongress-9th Congress held in early2007.2. Both the Government and theMaoists are also laying downpreconditions. Chidambaram saysthe Maoists should “abjureviolence and say they are preparedfor talks… I would like no ifs, nobuts and no conditions”. Now ‘toabjure’ can mean to renounce orforswear violence, or even to avoidviolence, i.e. a ceasefire. What isyour understanding of Mr. Chidam-baram’s formulation? What do youthink is the implication of what hewants the Maoists to accept?Azad: It is a very pertinent questionas no one knows exactly what Mr.Chidambaram wants to convey by hisoft-repeated, yet incomprehensible,abjure-violence statement. Hence Ican understand your confusion ininterpreting Mr. Chidambaram’s“abjure violence” statement. It is notjust you alone but the entire media isleft in a state of confusion. His own

Party leaders are a confused lot.Some interpret Mr.Chidambaram’sstatement to mean that Maoists shouldlay down arms. Some say it meansunilateral renunciation of violence byMaoists. Yet others say what this couldmean is a cessation of hostilities byboth sides without any conditionsattached.

It is indeed very difficult tounderstand what Mr. Chidambaramwants to convey. This seems to be acharacteristic trait of Mr.Chidambaram whether it be hispronouncements on Telangana, whichare mildly described by the media as“flip-flop” behaviour and interpretedby both pro and anti-Telanganitesaccording to their own convenience;or on Operation Green Hunt whichhe describes as a “myth inventedby the media” even as the entirepolitical and police establishment, andthe entire media, give out graphicdescriptions of the huge mobilizationof the security forces, and thesuccesses achieved by OperationGreen Hunt; or on MoUs signed byvarious MNCs and Indian Corporatehouses with the governments ofChhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa,West Bengal and others.

The Home Minister himself haddisplayed his split personality, notknowing what exactly he wants whenhe says Maoists should “abjureviolence.” To a layman what thisproposal obviously implies is that thestate too would automatically put astop to its inhuman atrocities on theadivasis, Maoist revolutionaries andtheir sympathizers. But not so to ourHome Minister!

When you ask us what ourunderstanding of Mr. Chidam-baram’sformulation is, our answer is: we arevery clear that the real intent behindhis rhetoric is not a ceasefire between


the government and the Maoists, likethat with the NSCN, but an absurddemand for a unilateral renunciationof violence by the Maoists. Anyonewith a bit of common sense wouldunderstand the unreasonableness ofthe Home Minister’s demand.

It is not that our so-calledpolitical analysts and others whoappear on TV channels or writearticles in the print media lack thiscommon sense. It is their vestedinterests that come in the way ofquestioning the Home Minister in astraightforward manner. Can they notput a simple question why thegovernment cannot stop its brutalitieson the people, adhere strictly to theIndian Constitution by putting an endto the police culture of fakeencounters, abductions, rapes,tortures, destruction of property,foisting of false cases and suchindescribable atrocities on the peopleand the Maoists? Chidambaram iscosy in studios and pressconferences before English-speakingTV anchors and correspondents butcan never answer the questions put byilliterate adivasis. That is the secretbehind his skipping the Jan Sunwaayiin Dantewada last December. For,drama and real life are entirelydifferent. The implication of what Mr.Chidambaram wants the Maoists toaccept is crystal-clear. He wants theMaoists to surrender. Or else [thestate’s] para-military juggernaut wouldcrush the people and the Maoistsunder its wheels. It is total surrender,pure and simple. While repeating thathe never wanted the Maoists to laydown arms – as if he had generouslygiven a big concession – he comes upwith an even more atrocious proposal:Maoists should abjure violence whilehis lawless forces continue theirrampage creating more Gachampallis,Gompads, Singanamadugus, Palach-elimas, Dogpadus, Palods, Tetema-dugus, Takilodus, Ongaras, and so on.Not a word does he utter even as

scores of inhuman atrocities by hisforces are brought to light bymagazines like Tehelka, Outlook, ahost of websites, and, to an extent,some papers like yours. What is itif not sheer hypocrisy on the partof the Home Minister to ask Maoiststo abjure violence while hisparamilitary forces indulge in crimesevery day, every hour, in grossviolation of the very Constitution bywhich he swears?3.The Maoists also have theirpreconditions for talks. In his recentinterview to Jan Myrdal and GautamNavlakha, Ganapathy made thefollowing formulation on the issue oftalks: “To put concisely the maindemands that the party has placedin front of the government [of India]for any kind of talks are 1. All outwar has to be withdrawn; 2. Forany kind of democratic work, theban on the Party and MassOrganizations have to be lifted; 3.Illegal detention and torture ofcomrades had to be stopped andthey be immediately released. Ifthese demands are met, then thesame leaders who are released fromjails would lead and represent theParty in the talks.”

My question is whether these arerealistic preconditions. For example,the “all out war” can be suspendedfirst before it is “withdrawn,” i.e. aceasefire, so why insist on itswithdrawal at the outset? Are youasking for a ceasefire or somethingmore than that?

Secondly, you want the ban onthe Party and its mass organizationslifted and prisoners released.Usually in negotiations of this kindaround the world betweengovernments and insurgent groups,the lifting of a ban is one of theobjects of talks rather than aprecondition and the release ofpolitical prisoners an intermediatestep. Is the Maoist party not

putting the cart before the horse,making demands that thegovernment may be unlikely toaccept as a starting point, ratherthan positing the same as one ofthe end points of the proposeddialogue? Azad: I concur with the logic of yourarguments. It is logically a validargument that such demands couldbe resolved in the course of actualtalks and not as a precondition fortalks. But you must also understandthe spirit of what comrade Ganapathihas said in his interview given toMr. Jan Myrdal and GautamNavlakha. Some clarification isrequired here. I will try to clarifywhat comrade Ganapathi has said.

Firstly what he meant when hesaid the government should withdrawits all-out war is nothing but asuspension of its war, or in otherwords, mutual ceasefire. Let there beno confusion in this regard. WhatChidambaram wants is unilateralceasefire by Maoists while the statecontinues its brutal campaign of terror.On the contrary, what the CPI(Maoist) wants is a cessation ofhostilities by both sidessimultaneously. This is the meaningof the first point. A ceasefire by bothsides cannot be called a precondition.It is but an expression of thewillingness on the part of both sidesengaged in war to create a conduciveatmosphere for going to the next stepof talks.

Secondly, if peaceful legal workhas to be done by Maoists as desiredby several organizations and membersof civil society, then lifting of banbecomes a pre-requisite. Withoutlifting the ban on the party and massorganizations how can we organizelegal struggles, meetings etc in ourname? If we do so, will these not bedubbed as illegal as they are led by abanned Party? According to us, the banitself is an authoritarian, undemocratic,and fascist act. Hence the demand for


the lifting of the ban is a legitimatedemand, and, if fulfilled, will go along way in promoting opendemocratic forms of struggles andcreating a conducive atmosphere fora dialogue.

Thirdly, what comrade Ganapathihad asked for is that the governmentshould adhere to the IndianConstitution and put an end to theillegal murders in the name ofencounters, tortures and arrests. Wemust include the term ‘murders’which is missing in the third point.There is nothing wrong orunreasonable in asking the governmentto stick to its own constitution. Asregards the release of politicalprisoners this could be an intermediatestep as far as the nature of the demandis concerned. However, to hold talksit is necessary for the governmentto release some leaders. Or else,there would be none to talk to sincethe entire Party is illegal. We cannotbring any of our leaders overgroundfor the purpose of talks.

4. Would the Maoists be preparedto establish their bona fides onthe question of talks by announcinga unilateral ceasefire or, perhapsthe non initiation of combatoperations (NICO) after a particulardate so as to facilitate the process ofdialogue?Azad: It is quite strange to seeintellectuals like you asking the Maoiststo declare a unilateral ceasefire whenthe heavily armed Indian state iscarrying out its brutal armed offensiveand counter-revolutionary war. Howwould unilateral announcement ofceasefire or NICO after a particulardate establish the bona-fides of ourParty on the question of talks? Whatpurpose would such an act serve? It isincomprehensible to me why we areasked to “display this generosity”towards an enemy who has the leastconcern for the welfare of the

people and derives vicarious pleasurein cold-blooded murders, rapes,abductions, tortures and every kind ofatrocity one could ever imagine. Andhow would this “generous Gandhianact” on our part facilitate the processof dialogue with the megalomaniacsin the Home Ministry who do notspare even non-violent Gandhiansocial activists working in Dantewadaand other places?5. What do the Maoists hope toachieve with talks? Are you onlylooking to buy time and regroupyourselves – which is what thegovernment said the CPI (Maoist)did during the aborted dialogue inAndhra Pradesh? Or is it part of amore general re:evaluation of thepolitical strategy of the party, onewhich may see it emerge as anoverground political formation,engaged in open, legal activitiesand struggles, and perhaps evenentering the electoral fray directlyor indirectly at various levels inthe kind of ‘multiparty competition’that Prachanda says is necessaryfor the communist movement? Whenyou say you want the government tolift its ban on the party, are you alsoundertaking not to indulge inmethods of struggle (eg. armedstruggle) which led to theimposition of the ban in the firstplace? There are other Maoist andrevolutionary communist partiesacross India that is mobilizingworkers and peasants throughmass politics. They have not beenbanned. Why does the CPI (Maoist)not believe those are legitimate formsof struggle? In Kashmir, the Hurriyatconference stands for the selfdetermination of J&K and seeks tomobilize people for this but theIndian state, which may useviolence and repression andexcessive force against people whopeacefully protest, has not bannedthe Hurriyat. Does this not indicatethat there is some space in thesystem for the Maoists to press

their demands through peacefulpolitical means? Azad: Your question, or rather, awhole set of questions, requires adetailed answer. I am afraid it will takemuch space but I will try to be as briefas possible. Before I proceed, letme clarify at the very outset thatthe proposal of talks is neither aploy to buy time or regroup ourselves,nor is it a part of the general re-evaluation of the political strategyof the party that could lead to itscoming overground, entering theelectoral fray, and multi-partycompetition as in Nepal. Our CC hadalready dealt in detail with the questionof multi-party competition in our OpenLetter to the UCPN (M) and variousarticles and interviews by our Partyleaders. So I will not go into it againhere.

Now let me take up each of thepoints that you had raised.

First, you asked me what we wantto achieve with talks. My one sentenceanswer is: we want to achievewhatever is possible for thebetterment of people’s lives withoutcompromising on our politicalprogramme of new democraticrevolution and strategy of protractedpeople’s war. People have a right toenjoy whatever is guaranteed underthe Indian Constitution, howevernominal and limited these provisionsare. And the government is duty-boundto implement the provisions of theConstitution. We hope the talks wouldraise the overall consciousness of theoppressed people about theirfundamental rights and rally them tofight for their rights. Talks will alsoexpose government’s hypocrisy,duplicity, and its authoritarian andextra-constitutional rule that violateswhatever is guaranteed by theConstitution. So talks would help inexposing the government’s callousattitude to the people and may helpin bringing about reforms, howeverlimited they may be.


Another important reason is: talkswill give some respite to the peoplewho are oppressed and suppressedunder the fascist jack-boots of theIndian state and state-sponsoredterrorist organizations like the SalwaJudum, Maa Danteswari SwabhimanManch, Sendra, Nagarik SurakshaSamiti, Shanti Sena, Harmad Bahini,and so on. Those who sit in studiosand insulated rooms, and make theirexpert analyses about how Maoistswant to buy time or utilize therespite to regroup themselves, cannever understand the ABC ofrevolution or the ground situation. Thisis actually not an argument at all. Ifthe Maoists try to utilize the situation,so would the police and thegovernment. Wouldn’t they? Theycreated an extensive network of policeinformers during the six-month periodof ceasefire in Andhra Pradesh in2004. The intelligence hawks attendedevery open meeting and activity of theMaoists, took videos of people, andcould easily target them after theclamp-down. Maoists had definitelyincreased their recruitment but sodid the enemy. It doesn’t need muchof a common sense to understand thatboth sides will utilize a situation ofceasefire to strengthen their respectivesides. Then could this be called anargument at all? These cynics, or, Iwould rather call them, war-hungryhawks, itch for a brutal suppressionof the Maoists and the people theydirectly lead, even if it meansgenocide. They do not care if in theprocess thousands of police andparamilitary personnel too perish forthey are nothing but cannon-fodder inthe eyes of these gentlemen.

So let me make it crystal-clear: theproposal of talks is meant neither tobuy time nor to regroup ourselves butto give some respite for the people atlarge who are living under constantstate terror and immense suffering.How many of our countrymen knowthat three lakh adivasis were drivenaway from their homes, that half the

adivasi population in our country isalready living under conditions ofchronic famine and even the rest ofthe population is now pushed intofamine condition? And why? Becauseof the insatiable greed of the corporatesharks that is fuelling Chidambram-Raman Singh’s war in Chhattisgarh,Chidambaram-Naveen Patnaik’s warin Orissa, Chidambaram-Buddhadeb’swar in West Bengal,

Chidambaram-Shibu Soren’s warin Jharkhand, and so on. Whoeverhas the minimum concern for thewell-being of the masses, no matterwhat his/her ideology is, wouldnaturally think of how to save themfrom being decimated. But those whohave nothing but sheer contempt forthe poor and helpless people and onlythink of how to maximize the profits ofa tiny parasitic class, put forth weirdand cynical arguments deliberately toconfuse the people. They depict theMaoists as terrorists, create a fearpsychosis in the middle and upperclasses that the Maoists would sooncome to your cities and disturb yoursupposedly secure lives; that theywould seize power by the middle ofthis century, and what not. By suchhysteria whipped up by the rulersthrough the various means at theirdisposal, they justify the brutal war onthe people and make the massivedisplacement, mayhem, massacres,rapes and atrocities appear likecollateral damage in the larger nobleobjective of achieving peace, progressand prosperity for all.

Question of re-evaluation ofpolitical strategy of CPI (Maoist),demand for lifting of ban, and theissue of legitimacy of open, legal formsof struggle

There are a lot of questionsrelated to the above and I feel thisneeds some detailed explanationkeeping in mind several misconce-ptions doing the rounds. Firstly youare wrong in assuming that it is theforms of struggle (armed struggle)pursued by the CPI (Maoist) that had

“led to the imposition of the ban in thefirst place.” On the contrary, it is theother way round. It is the impositionof the ban that had led the Party andmass organisations to take up armsin the first place.

People are easily misled to believethat it is the violence of the Maoiststhat had compelled the government toimpose the ban. This is a classicexample of how a white lie can bedressed up and presented as the truthby endless repetition. If you have evena cursory glance at the history of therevolutionary movement in ourcountry you will find that the formsof struggle adopted by the Maoistrevolutionaries from time to timebasically corresponded to the formsof suppression pursued by the rulers.

A stark example of thetransformation of a peaceful massmovement into a violent armed struggleis right in front of our eyes. Lalgarh’speaceful mass movement with simpledemands for an apology from thepolice officials and an end to brutalpolice repression had transformedinto a revolutionary armed struggle dueto the brutal suppression campaignunleashed by the state and state-sponsored terrorists like the HarmadBahini. So was the case of themovement in Kashmir and variousstates of North East. Even inNaxalbari in 1967, the first shotswere fired on unarmed women andchildren by the police. The peopleretaliated in their own manner andthe party took birth and evolved acorrect political line for the Indianrevolution. In Srikakulam, Koranna,and Manganna were the first martyrsand these murders transformed themovement into an armed struggle.Even during the first great armed massuprising of Telangana during the late1940s, the spark was first lit when thecruel feudal lords murdered DoddiKomaraiah.

If you take the case of thetransformation of the movement led


by the erstwhile CPI (ML)[PW] orMCCI or the present CPI (Maoist),you will find the same pattern. Therevolutionaries go to the oppressed,make them conscious of theirinherent strength and the reasonsfor their misery, make them awareof their fundamental rights, organizeand unite them, mobilise them intopeaceful forms of protest and struggle.Then the state enters with its baton indefence of the class of big landlords,contractors, industrialists, land mafiaand other powerful forces that controlthe state and economy. Everywhere,the peaceful struggles are crushedbrutally, entire areas are declareddisturbed, fake encounters,abductions, disappearances, rapes,burning down villages, and untoldatrocities become the order of theday.

The Indian Constitution isconsigned to the dustbin by the rulersand is not even worth the paper it iswritten on. At that point of time anyrevolutionary party has to quicklyswitch to non-eaceful and armedforms of struggle if it is really seriousabout transforming the lives of thepeople and the oppressive conditionsin the country. The alternative is tosurrender the revolutionary aims,make adjustments with the system andsail with other parliamentary partiesalbeit with some revolutionary rhetoricfor a while. This, however, will notwork for long as people cannotdistinguish between the bourgeois-feudal parties and the ML party thathad turned into a new parliamentaryparty. When people are fighting a do-or-die battle you cannot turn yourtail but will have to provide themwith new appropriate forms ofstruggle and forms of organization.And this is what our Party had doneright from the days of Jagtyal JaitraYatra.

What shook the rulers at thattime and compelled them to declareJagtyala and Sircilla tauks in

Karimnagar district of NorthTelangana as disturbed areas in 1978was not the armed struggle of theMaoists (which had suffered acomplete setback after the setback inNaxalbari, Srikakulam and elsewhereby 1972 itself) but the powerful anti-feudal militant mass struggle thatupset the hitherto established feudalorder in the countryside. And one ofthe main forms of struggle at that timewas social boycott of the feudallords and their henchmen, whichwitnessed the unity of over 95 percent of the people in most villages.Social boycott had disturbed thepeace and tranquility of the feudalbarons who functioned like a statewithin a state. From then on,undeclared ban has been in vogue inparts of North Telangana until 1985when it encompassed the entirestate. CRPF was deployed for thefirst time to suppress the peacefulmass struggles that broke out againstliquor. I remember how themainstream media like the IndianExpress published stories of policemenselling arrack at the police stations andforcing people to consume liquor inorder to foil the anti-liquor agitationof the revolutionaries.

We find the same story in theurban areas too. The Singarenicolliery workers organised themselvesinto a trade union called SingareniWorkers’ Federation (SIKASA) in1981 but it was unofficially bannedwithin three years. An undeclaredban was imposed on the studentsand youth organisations, women’sorganizations, workers’ organiz-ations, cultural organizations andevery form of peaceful, democraticprotest was brutally suppressed.One must see the development ofarmed struggle in the background ofthe strangulation of even the limiteddemocratic space available in thepresent semi-colonial semi-feudal setup, and the brutal suppression ofthe movement by unleashing thelethal instruments of the state.

To cut a long story short, it is notthe forms of struggle and forms oforganization adopted by a party thathad led to imposition of ban but thevery ban (whether declared orundeclared) on every type of open,legal activity including peaceful publicmeetings that had compelled therevolutionaries to adopt non-peacefuland armed forms of struggle andunder-ground forms of organization.Our Party appeals to all independentobservers and unbiased mediapersonnel to look at this phenomenonhistorically and analyse this with anopen mind. You will realize that whatI have said is hundred per centcorrect. We are prepared to enterinto a debate with anyone on thecourse of development of therevolutionary movement led by ourParty in our country and how, why,and when, armed form of struggle hadto be adopted by the party.

Revolutionaries never mincewords. There is no need to. Webelieve that ultimately people have totake up armed struggle to seize power.But this does not mean we take uparmed struggle at the cost of allother forms of struggle and therebyinvite the state to unleash its brute forceon the people. On the contrary, it isonly when all other forms of strugglefail to achieve the objective, whenthese are crushed under the iron heelsof the state that we resort to non-peaceful and armed forms of struggle.It is very important to understand thisas it has become a common practicefor some so-called political analystsand representatives of the rulingclasses to charge the Maoists asresponsible for all the violence sincetheir very ideology talks of armedstruggle. Hence, they conclude, thereis no use of talks with the Maoists.These simpletons resort to themethod of simple reductionism:Maoists believe in violence andarmed struggle to overthrow thestate; hence they indulge in endless


violence; there is no use of talking topeople whose very ideology is rootedin violence; and hence there is no otherway than to crush the Maoists with allthe means at the disposal of the state.Such goes their argument. I will dealwith this later on.

I didn’t quite understand what youmeant when you said referring toother open Maoist and revolutionarycommunist parties across India thatare mobilizing workers and peasantsthrough mass politics: “Why doesthe CPI (Maoist) not believe thoseare legitimate forms of struggle?”, youask. Who has said we do not believethese are legitimate forms of struggle?We consider all forms of struggle aslegitimate, right from social boycottas we had practiced in Jagtyala,hunger-strikes as our comrades invarious prisons are frequently takingup besides other places, and variousmilitant demonstrations. Armedstruggle is also a form of struggleand assumes importance dependingon the tactical moves by the enemy.While all forms of struggle arelegitimate in our eyes, some so-called revolutionaries, veterans ofyesteryears, surprisingly excludearmed struggle from the forms ofstruggle and lay one-sided emphasison peaceful forms of struggle. Theycan well join the Gandhianorganisations and fight for somereforms instead of calling themselvesas part of the ML stream or asMaoists aiming for the revolutionarytransformation of society. For some ofthem, ML ideology or label is only afashion. They do not wish to bringabout the revolutionarytransformation of the society and statebut only a few cosmetic reforms.

The question of imposing or notimposing a ban on a certain party ororganization depends on severalfactors. It would be too simplisticto conclude that just because a Partybelieves in armed struggle andindulges in acts of violence it is being

banned while those who pursue open,legal forms of struggle are allowed tofunction freely. During theEmergency, as we all know, boththe revolutionary

Left as well as the reactionaryRight parties were banned. Even at theheight of sectarian violence indulged inby the Hindu fascist gangs, they areallowed a field day. They carry arms,display them openly, threaten thereligious minorities with genocide,indulge in violence against theMuslims and Christians, and yet aredeemed as legitimate organizationssince they are part of the rulingclasses and their integral culture ofviolence.

The acts of destruction in theviolence that was organized in aplanned manner [in Andhra Pradesh]by a faction of the Congress in oneday far surpassed the so-calledviolent acts carried out by Maoists inan entire year! Yet our Union HomeMinistry issues advertisements againstMaoist violence while keeping mumabout the mayhem and arson by hisown Congress party hooligans. Thusthe question of how you look atviolence is coloured with a class bias.The violence by the ruling class partiesis considered legitimate while thoseby the oppressed masses and theirorganizations are dangerous and athreat to the security of the rulers.This has been true right from the timeof Charvakas. 6. If the government believes theMaoists “misused” the Andhratalks, your party believes thedialogue there was abused by theauthorities to identify and thentarget your leaders. How, then, doyou hope to deal with the risks ofonce again entering into a dialoguewith the Indian state?Azad: The talks we held with theCongress regime in AP provided uswith important lessons. And theselessons would guide us in any futuretalks with the governments of the

exploiting classes. It would be toosimplistic to conclude that the policecould identify and target the leadersby utilizing the talks interregnum.Theyused it to some extent just as weused it to take our politics widelyamong the people in the State andoutside. The setback we had sufferedin most parts of AP is not a fall-out oftalks but due to several inherentweaknesses of our Party in AP and ourfailure to adopt appropriate tactics toconfront enemy’s tactics. This is anentirely different subject and can bedealt at some other time.

What is of relevance here is thatthe talks in AP have given us a richexperience and important lessons. Ifat all a situation for talks arises onceagain—which we do not foresee inthe near future given the inexorablecompulsions on the government fromthe corporate sharks for total controlof the mineral-rich region—we caninstruct our leadership in variousprisons to take the responsibility. OurGeneral Secretary had explained thisin the course of his interview withMr. Jan Myrdal and Mr. GautamNavlakha. The mistakes committedin AP during talks with the governmentwill not be repeated.7. There is a contradiction betweenthe recent offer for talks made byKishenji and the spate of violenceand killing by the Maoists whichhas followed that. The HomeMinistry has compiled a list of suchincidents and circulated it to themedia (see Annex). No doubt therehas been no letup in the governmentoffensive during this period and youcould produce your own counter listbut many of these attacks by theMaoists do not appear to be‘defensive’ but ‘offensive’. Can theoffer of talks go hand in hand withthe intensification of offensiveMaoist military activities? Azad: This is not as complicated as itis made out to be. The crux of thematter is: no ceasefire has been


declared either by the Maoists or bythe government. The Maoists hadmade an offer of talks which wasimmediately dismissed by thegovernment as a joke and spurnedby Chidambaram himself who wantsnothing short of total surrender,whatever be the language he uses.When the government is not seriousabout a ceasefire and dialogue, andis placing a condition that Maoistsshould abjure violence withoutspelling out whether it will reciprocatewith a simultaneous declaration ofceasefire, then what is the use ofgrumbling about acts of violence byMaoists? The acts of violence by bothsides will cease from the day aceasefire is declared.

Now I am not going into theinnumerable atrocities by the policeforces and the paramilitary gangs sentby [the state]. There has been awide coverage in magazines likeTehelka, Outlook and our own MaoistInformation Bulletins. The statementsand fact-finding committee reportsby various organizations andGandhians like Himanshu Kumarclearly show how savage the state hasbecome.

Equally atrocious is the listcompiled by the Union HomeMinistry regarding the violent acts byMaoists to justify its rejection of theMaoist offer. The annexure appendedto your questionnaire speaks volumesabout the duplicity and lies spreadby the war-mongering hawks in theHome Ministry as part of their psy-war. This is meant to lend anelement of legitimacy to theirrejection of the ceasefire offer byMaoists and also to their war wagedfor nipping in the bud the alternativeorgans of people’s power, thealternative development models, andfor grabbing the resources in themineral-rich region for the benefitof the class of tiny parasiticcorporate elite they represent. I willnot go into all the incidents listedtherein.

The very first “heinous act ofviolence” cited by the Union HomeMinistry in its annexure circulated tothe media to manufacture consent forits dirty war, goes like this: “In WestBengal (February 22, 2010) –attackon a State Police-CRPF Joint patrolparty in PS Lalgarh, district WestMidnapore. In the ensuing gun battleLalmoham Tudu, President of thePolice-e-Sangharsh Birodhi JanaganerCommittee (PSBJC) was killed.”

The above incident was said tohave taken place within three hours ofthe offer of a 72-day ceasefire madeby comrade Kishenji. Chidambaramhimself had gone on record repeatingseveral times this fabricated “heinousact” in a desperate bid to justify hisrejection of the Maoist offer. Earliertoo, Chidambaram had deliberatelyhurled an accusation against the CPI(Maoist) of massacring villagers inKhagaria district.

Coming to the so-called attack byMaoists on the joint patrol party, it is ahundred per cent lie. There was nosuch attack at all. Ask anyone inNarcha village or Kanatapahari.Every villager, and not just the familymembers of Sri Tudu, will tell you howa hundred-odd CRPF men lay inwaiting at his house on the night of22nd, how they caught the three,and carried out the cold-bloodedmurder. That there had been no firingby the Maoists was corroborated evenby the CRPF men guarding the camp.

Initially, the SP of PaschimMednipur asserted that Mr. Tudu diedwhen the CRPF men “bravely”retaliated an attack by the Maoistguerrillas on the fortress-like CRPFcamp in Kantapahari. Later, realizingthe hollowness of his own story andfearing that it would evaporate likedew drops with the first rays of thesun, they changed the version by[saying] that Tudu and other two werekilled when a Maoist guerrilla squadattacked the CRPF’s raiding party.This lie is being propagated

consciously, with a clearly workedout strategy of justifying thegruesome offensive by our own brandof George Bushes and DonaldRumsfelds.

Tehelka Magazine, Star Anandaand other media sources havegraphically exposed this lie.

As for your question regardingoffensive and defensive actions, I wishto clarify to every well-meaning personwho desires a reduction of violence onthe part of the Maoists that there isnothing like defensive and offensiveactions once the war has commenced.However, our revolutionary counter-violence is overall defensive in naturefor a considerable period of time. Thisdoes not mean we will retaliate onlywhen we are fired at and keep silentthe rest of the time when the police,paramilitary and the vigilante gangsunleash terror and engage in all-roundpreparations for carrying out genocide.To make this clear, let us suppose themen sent by Chidambaram arecombing an area. When we come toknow of it, we will carry out anoffensive, annihilate as many forcesas possible in the givencircumstances, and seize arms andammunition. We will also takeprisoners of war where that ispossible. This will be part of ouroverall defensive strategy although itis a tactical counter-offensive.

In the war zone, if you do nottake the initiative, the enemy willseize the initiative. Likewise, we mayhave to attack ordnance depots,trucks carrying explosives, guards atinstallations such as NMDC, RPFpersonnel, and even outposts andstations far beyond our areas toseize arms, as in Nayagarh, forinstance. To fight a well-equippedsuperior enemy force that has nodearth of arms supplies and logisticalsupport, what other option do we havebut to equip ourselves with the armsseized from the enemy?

Some of these men are killed whenthey offer resistance. We feel sorry for


their lives but there is no other way.Chidambaram may yell that innocentCISF jawans were targeted eventhough they were in no way relatedto the state’s offensive againstMaoists. But that is how things wouldbe in a war zone. The war would getdirtier and dirtier, engulf new areas andaffect hitherto unaffected regions andsections of society. But this isprecisely what [the ruling] coteriewant. We will also destroy theinformer network built by the enemy,his supplies, bunkers, communicationnetwork and infrastructure. We haveto confiscate money from the banksand other sources for funding therevolution. There is no use of yellingabout the indiscriminate destructionby Maoists. We have to paralysethe administration, immobilize theenemy troops, cut off his suppliesand perhaps even target thepolicemen engaged in removing thedead bodies of the enemy. Therewas a hue and cry when our guerrillasplaced mines under the dead bodies.

But why such a hue and cry?Where are the rules in this war?Who has defined the rules? If therewere rules, then why are the peace-chanting pigeons in the HomeMinistry completely silent about thebeasts in police uniform who hadchopped off the breasts of 70-year-old Dude Muye before killing her,murdered in cold blood over 120adivasis since August 2009 inDantewada, Bijapur, Kanker andNarayanpur, and yet roam freelyand continue their atrocities withouthindrance? Chidambaram, Pillai,Raman Singh and their like shouldfirst define the rules of engagementand then, and only then, they havea right to speak of violations of therules. I am sure they would neverdare to discipline their own forceswhile preaching meaningless sermonsabout Maoist “atrocities.”

We appeal to all peace-loving,democratic-minded organizations and

individuals to ponder over thisquestion, pressurize the governmentto adhere to the Geneva Convention,punish those who are creatingGompads, Gachampallis,Singanamadugus, Palachelimas,Tetemadugus, Takilodus, Dogpadus,Palods, and several other massacres.If it is to be a war, then let it bebut the state should clearly statewhether it would abide by its ownConstitution and the InternationalConventions on the conduct of war.8.The Maoists are engaging inarmed struggle but have nothesitated in use violence againstnon combatants. The beheading ofa policeman, Francis Induvar,while in Maoist captivity, shockedthe country and was a blatantviolation of civilized norms and ofinternational humanitarian law,which the Maoists, like theGovernment, are obliged to adhereto. If civil society condemns thesecurity forces for killing civiliansin places like Gompad village inChhattisgarh and elsewhere anddemands that justice be done andthe guilty punished, it has an equalright to condemn the Maoistswhenever they commit such crimes.There have been some reports thatthe Maoist leadership hasapologized for the killing ofInduvar but what steps have youtaken to punish those who wereinvolved? What steps have youtaken to ensure such crimes are notcommitted by your cadres? If youranswer is that the state has alsonot punished those among its rankswho have committed crimes, areyou then admitting that the politicalculture and moral universe theMaoists represent is the same as thatof the state which you decry asillegitimate?Azad: I had already covered part ofyour question in my answer to yourearlier question. Our attempt willalways be to target the enemy who

is engaged in war against us. Non-combatants are generally avoided. Butwhat about the intelligence officialsand police informers who collectinformation about the movements ofMaoists and cause immense damageto the movement? It is true most ofthem do not carry arms openly orare unarmed. What to do with them?If we just leave them they wouldcontinue to cause damage to theParty and movement. If we punishthem there is a furore from the mediaand civil society. Caught between thedevil and the deep sea! Our generalpractice is to conduct a trial in apeople’s court wherever that is possibleand proceed in accordance with thedecision of the people. Where it isnot possible to hold the people’s courtdue to the intensity of repression weconduct investigation, take theopinion of the people and giveappropriate punishment.

I agree there is no place for crueltywhile giving out punishments. I hadclarified this in one of my earlierinterviews while referring to the caseof Francis Induvar. But it is made intoa big issue by the media when athousand beheadings had taken placein the past five years by the police-paramilitary and Salwa Judum goons.You are saying the beheading of FrancisInduvar was a blatant violation ofcivilized norms and of internationalhumanitarian law which both sides inthe war are obliged to adhere to. Doyou really think the government isadhering to the law? And has themedia ventured to ask Chidambaramwhy [the state] hasn’t been followingthe international law or at least theIndian Constitution when dealing withthe people in the war zone or citizenselsewhere? Just ten days ago, two ofour Party leaders—comradesShakhamuri Appa Rao and KondalReddy—were abducted fromChennai and Pune respectively bythe APSIB and the CentralIntelligence officials and were


murdered in cold blood. What crueltortures these comrades weresubjected to by the lawless goons ofthe Indian state no one will ever know.I can give a thousand such examplesof killings of our comrades in coldblood while in police captivity in thepast five years. Why is the media silentabout these murders but becomeshysteric when one Police Inspector isbeheaded? What is the civil societydoing when such cold-bloodedmurders are taking place in policecustody? Why single out a rare caseof the beheading of one Induvar andplay it up whenever you need anexcuse to bash the Maoists?

When our comrades hear of thesecold-blooded murders committed bythe APSIB or other officials of the state,it is natural that their blood would boiland they will not bat an eye-lid to hackany of the perpetrators of theseinhuman crimes, say a man fromAPSIB or Grey Hounds, to pieces ifhe fell into their hands. In the war zone,the passions run with such intensitywhich one cannot even imagine in otherareas or under normal circumstances.Could someone who has seen womenbeing raped and murdered, childrenand old men being murdered afterhacking them to pieces in the killingfields of Dantewada and Bijapur, evergive a thought to your so-called non-existent ( I say non-existent as none ofthe combatants know what these arenor would follow these conventions asthe history of fake encounters by theIndian state shows) internationallaws when the perpetrator of suchcrimes happens to fall into their hands?The pent-up anger of the masses is sointense that even the Party generalsecretary will perhaps fail to controlthe fury of the adivasi masses whenthey lay their hands on their tormentors.

Maoists are not for crude and rawjustice as some are trying to make itappear. Maoist guerrillas are not thugsand mercenaries like the men whocarry out their brutal heinous acts in

the name of democracy and the “ruleof law.” Maoists have great respect forhuman life. Democratic values andnorms are an integral part of socialistand communist ideology. Yet at thesame time we think it is necessary todestroy the few poisonous weeds tosave the entire crop.

I once again request you and allothers to think by imaginingyourselves what would you have donewhen your mothers, sisters anddaughters are raped in front of youreyes, your father, brother and sonsare murdered after being hacked topieces. And worst of all, when there isno guardian of the “rule of law” toreceive your complaints and thecomplainant himself/herself isabducted. When we do not understandthe feelings of the affected people, it isbetter to imagine ourselves in theirplace. This may help us in gettingnearer to the truth. 9. The Supreme Court has askedthe petitioners who filed a PILagainst Salwa Judum atrocities todraw up a rehabilitation plan forthose displaced by the violenceperpetrated in Chhattisgarh bySalwa Judum, the regular securityforces and the Maoists. Is the CPI(Maoist) prepared to give anundertaking that it will allow therebuilding of schools and theestablishment of basic governmentservices (primary health care,anganwadi, PDS etc.) as part of acourt backed plan for the welfareof the tribals affected by the conflict?Will you agree not to attackgovernment employees andofficials who enter to provideservices to the tribal masses?Azad: Asking us to give anundertaking that we will allow therebuilding of schools andestablishment of basic governmentservices in the areas we control andthat we will not attack governmentemployees and officials is quite bizarre,to say the least. The welfare of the

masses is the first priority for theMaoist revolutionaries. You shouldrequest Mr. Chidambaram to allowyou to visit the areas inDandakaranya, Jharkhand, Orissa, orthe villages of Jangalmahal bycontrolling his paramilitary forces,the SPOs, the Salwa Judum, ShantiSena, Nagarik Suraksha Samiti andHarmad from obstructing you. Thenyou will see with your own eyes ahitherto hidden story of how theadivasis are prevented from pursuingtheir normal activity by the state andstate-sponsored terrorists.

You will find how the forces hadoccupied school buildings for sixmonths to a year, thereby preventingthe children from pursuing theirstudies. You will find how the adivasisare prevented from buying their dailynecessities from the weekly bazaarsmost of which were forcibly closedthrough threats and intimidation bythe so-called security forces. Who isblocking the development of theadivasis, who is preventing them fromcarrying on their normal activity likecultivating the fields, tending theanimals, collecting minor forestproduce, picking tendu leaves,obtaining their daily necessities, andso on will become as clear as day-lightonce you visit these remote villages.Hence the government, its “security”forces, and vigilante gangs are hell-bent on preventing independentobservers and fact-finding teams fromvisiting these areas.

It is worthwhile to keep in mindthat it is not the lack of developmentthat has become the problem in therural areas, particularly adivasi-inhabited areas. On the contrary, it isits imperialist-dictated anti-peopledevelopment model that is drivingthem to displacement and deprivation,death and destitution, and extremedesperation. There need be hardly anydoubt that the poor adivasis havebeen a happier lot before the civilized[corporate] goons set their foot on


their soil. The development modelpursued by [the rulers] displaced themand made them aliens in their own land.

The so-called development that youare referring to is the development thatIndia had seen under the Britishcolonialists. The talk of roads in remoteareas is not for the benefit of thepeople, who are without food anddrinking water, but only for thespeedier movement of the rawmaterials from the hinterland to thecities, to help the mining sharks totransport the mineral wealth and forestproduce. And, of course, for rushingin the state’s troops to quell anymilitant people’s struggle against therapacious plunder by the tiny parasiticclass of blood-sucking leaches. Theentire world knows that a George Bushinvaded Iraq for oil even as the mediain the US barked about Saddam’snon-existent Weapons of MassDestruction. Entire India knows that[the rulers] and the vultures theyrepresent are itching to lay their handson the abundant reserves of iron ore,coal, tin, bauxite, dolomite, limestoneand other minerals of Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Orissa and other Stateswhere their Operation Green Hunt islaunched.

Lastly, banding together Maoistswith the state and vigilante gangs, andequating their revolutionary counter-violence in defence of the rights of thepeople with the counter-revolutionaryviolence of the state and vigilantegangs like the Salwa Judum, is adespicable trick played by the rulersand those so-called democratic forcesto obfuscate the stark reality of thebrutal violence of the state and state-sponsored terrorists. I can say withfull confidence that there was nodisplacement, whatsoever, of innocentpeople due to the revolutionarycounter-violence by the Maoists. It isonly a handful of anti-peopleexploiters, tribal heads and landedgentry who had fled the villages inthe course of the class struggle.

Many, however, had surrenderedto the people, mended theirbehaviour, and continue to live in thevillages like others. The Supreme Courtshould know that the displacement ofthe adivasis was done in accordancewith a pre-mediated plan to evacuatethe villages and settle them in Vietnam-type strategic hamlets. And thispolicy is being continued by theBJP government in Chhattisgarh withfull assistance from the Congress-led government at the Centre. TheSupreme Court, if at all it is seriousabout the displacement of theadivasis, should direct the central andState governments to immediately haltits brutal armed offensive on adivasivillages in the first place, which isresulting in the massive exodus of thepeople estimated at around three lakhssince the current brutal war began inthe name of Operation Green Hunt.10. Human rights groups havecondemned the security forces andthe Maoists for not respecting thesanctity of schools. If the securityforces take them over and convertthem into barracks, the Maoistshave also been guilty of destroyingschool buildings and infrastructure.Even in the absence of a ceasefireor dialogue, don’t you think bothsides need to come to anunderstanding that schools andschool children should not becometargets of this war?Azad: It has now become afashionable thing for some humanrights groups and the media personnelto play the role of referees in asports event. By criticizing both sidesequally they imagine they are beingimpartial or neutral in the war. Ifsomeone says that both Indians andthe British were responsible for theviolence in India during the twocenturies of British rule would youaccept it? Or that both Iraqis and theAmerican occupiers are responsiblefor the violence in Iraq? Any freedom-loving person would unequivocally say

it was the British colonialists thatcaused the blood-shed in India and itis the American aggressors that are thecause for the unending violence in Iraq.

By criticizing both the so-calledsecurity forces and the Maoists for notrespecting the sanctity of schools,these human rights groups imaginethey are playing a neutral andimpartial role. But they do not evensee the cause and effect chain ofevents. They do not ask themselvesthe simple question: If the policeand paramilitary do not occupyschools, then where is the need forthe Maoists to destroy them? Do youknow the fact that in many villages itwas not the Maoist squads but thepeople themselves who haddemolished school buildings since theydid not wish to see the security forcescreate insecurity in their villages? Howcan you ask the Maoists and thepeople to assure you that they willrespect the sanctity of schoolsoccupied or likely to be occupied bytheir tormentors?

My request to media people likeyou is: please do not be misled by anact, by how it happened, but godeeper into why it happened. Onlythen you will reach the truth.

However, we also agree withyour proposition that even in theabsence of a ceasefire or dialogue,both sides should come to anunderstanding that schools and schoolchildren should not become targets ofthe war. We take this occasion toconvey to the GOI that it shouldimmediately withdraw all its forcesfrom school buildings and stoprecruiting school children as SPOsand as police informers. If theywithdraw their forces and assurethey would not reoccupy schoolbuildings, then our Party will desistfrom targeting schools. And if thegovernment stops recruitment ofschool children as SPOs and policeinformers, then the very basis forpunishing these people disappears.


But the more important thing andthe larger issue is: can schools functioneven if the buildings are intact whenthe parents of the school childrenare murdered, raped, abducted,tortured, and are forced to flee? Whatdo you have to say of the children ofthe three-lakh people who had fledthe villages due to Operation GreenHunt I and II? What use are the schoolbuildings and the talk of sanctity ofschools when the villages themselvesare deserted? A more rationalproposal would be to ensure thatthe inhabitants of the villages areresettled with the assurance that thepolice and paramilitary would notcontinue their atrocities and let themlive in peace. This is the mostimportant thing and should assumefirst and foremost priority in the wartheatres all over India, particularlyDandakaranya.11. Is the Maoist party andleadership under pressure becauseof recent top level arrests like thatof Kobad Ghandy? Is there also awider crisis of leadership with feweractivists from the intelligentsia gettingattracted to Maoists?Azad: I did not understand whatpressure you are referring to. Is itthe pressure for a ceasefire and talks?If so, then I would say you arecompletely off the mark. One cannotovercome pressure through suchtactics. Actually the Party andleadership will grow rapidly in timesof war. Several new leaders areemerging out of the struggle. War isgiving birth to new generals andcommanders, which we neveranticipated in normal times. While ittook several years to produce aleader of calibre in relatively peacefultimes, it is taking a fraction of that timein the midst of the war situation.

Today we find even childrenacquiring high level of consciousnessat an early age. War is transformingthe world outlook of the illiteratepeople, their understanding about the

class nature of the state and its variouswings, and how they have to get ridof the anti-people state and establishtheir own organs of power. Peoplehave begun to understand from theirown lives what comrade Lenin hadtaught in his State and Revolution. Thistransformation has contributed to thedevelopment of leadership at all levels.At the central level, I agree there issome problem, though not very acute,after the losses in the past two years.

Overall, it is not true to say that thereis a wider crisis of leadership due todrop in recruitment from theintelligentsia. You will be surprised toknow that contrary to the assessmentof various analysts and mediapersonnel, the appeal of the Maoistmovement has actually grown strongerin the intelligentsia. And it is preciselythis fact which is rattling [the rulers]and [their] trumpeters in the media.The threats and attacks on intellectualshave been increasing in tenor andthere are growing attempts at isolatingthe intellectuals who seem tosympathise with the Maoists. Themore the growth in popularity of theMaoists and their politics, the moreis the cacophony about the erosionof the mass base of Maoists,especially among the intellectuals.

You must also look at it from anotherangle, instead of concluding that [a]lack of intelligentsia has created a crisisof leadership. The mass base of theMaoists has actually grown stronger,notwithstanding the attempts of therulers to destroy it by brute force. Themore you try to crush it the more itbounces back. Our leadership isdrawn basically from the oppressedclass of adivasis, dalits, agriculturallabourers and poor peasants. It isprecisely because of this circumstancethat our movement has becomeinvincible. Intellectuals are a good assetfor the party but it is the basic classesthat are the life-blood of the Party.And we have plenty from thesesections.

12. In Ganapathi’s interview to JanMyrdal and Navlakha he said: “Ireiterate that at present no one partyor organization is capable enoughto be a rallying center for allrevolutionary, democratic,progressive and patriotic forcesand people. Hence, at presentjuncture our Party can play asignificant role in rallying allrevolutionary, democratic, progre-ssive and patriotic forces andpeople.” This suggests you see theMaoists as one part of a wider forceof progressive, patriotic people. Whoelse do you consider part of theseforces? Which organizations orparties do you regard as progressiveand patriotic part of these forces?Does this not include the CPI andCPI (M)? Why then have Maoistsin Bengal been involved inassassinating cadres of othercommunist parties like CPI (M)?Azad: It is not only now, but allalong we have been consideringourselves an indivisible part of thebroader force of other revolutionary,democratic and patriotic sections ofpeople. Firstly, we are one of theseveral revolutionary detachments inthe international detachment of theworld proletariat and we see ourselvesas a part of the broad world-wideanti-imperialist front. Our massorganizations are a part of theInternational League of People’sStruggles (ILPS) and are in theforefront of the struggle againstAmerican imperialism.

Within India, our party took birthin the midst of the revolutionaryupsurge of the late 1960s, particularlywith the glorious Naxalbari uprising,and hence we are an indivisible part ofall that is revolutionary in the Indianpolitical stream. We are also an heirto the great Telangana ArmedAgrarian Uprising (1946-51), theTebhaga uprising of 1946, and allthe revolutionary struggles led bythe Communist Party since its birthin 1921, notwithstanding the


betrayals by its central leadership atevery critical turning point in therevolutionary political history of ourcountry.

Second, and the one morepertinent to your query, is the fact thatthe Communist revolutionaries arepolitically (i.e., in terms of itsprogramme), a part of the widerdemocratic stream of all anti-feudaland anti-imperialist forces in thecountry. This is the essence of ourprogramme of new democraticrevolution (NDR), which seeks tounite all those opposed toimperialism, feudalism, compradorbureaucratic capitalism into onebroad front to overthrow theseenemies and establish a governmentcomprised of the four-class alliance ofthe working class, peasantry, urbanpetty-bourgeoisie, and the nationalbourgeoisie. Once you grasp thispolitical basis of our NDR it will notbe difficult to understand why we aretrying to form numerous tactical unitedfronts as part of forming a strategicunited front in various States and at theall-India level.

To identify the organizations orparties that can be called progressive(usage of the term ‘democratic’ wouldbe more appropriate) and patriotic,one has to see not only whether theyhave any anti-imperialist, anti-feudaland anti-state or anti-authoritarianaspect included in their politicalprogrammes, but also their actualpractice. We consider most of the MLrevolutionary forces as part of this front.

We consider national liberationorganizations like the NSCN, ULFA,PLA of Manipur, and the JKLF inKashmir as part of the widerdemocratic forces fighting the Indianstate. We consider the various non-parliamentary trade unionorganizations, various progressiveorganizations belonging to thereligious minorities which arepersecuted by state-backed Hindufascist organizations; various

organizations of dalits and otheroppressed castes, adivasis andwomen; the non-parliamentaryorganizations that are fighting fordemands like separate Telangana,Gorkhaland, Vidarbha, Bundelkhandand so on; the organizations that arewaging struggles against SEZs,mining and other so-calleddevelopment projects leading tomassive displacement of people;organizations fighting against theL i b e r a l i s a t i o n - P r i v a t i s a t i o n -Globalisation (LPG) policies of thereactionary rulers; those which boldlyconfront the growing authoritarianismand unbridled state repressionresulting in fake encounters, massmurders, and violation of allfundamental rights of the people;and so on, as part of this broad-based non-parliamentary democraticpeople’s front.

There are also a large numberof intellectuals and other democraticindividuals who are concerned aboutthe well-being of the people and thesovereignty of our country at large.We consider all these as genuinepatriotic forces that are deeplyconcerned about the future of ourcountry, about the well-being of theoverwhelming majority of the Indianpeople rather than that of a tinyparasitical class that runs the countrythrough the so-called mainstreamparliamentary parties.

I am obviously leaving out thenames of the organizations andindividuals who, in our opinion couldplay a crucial role in the revolutio-nary transformation of our countryinto a self-reliant, genuinely demo-cratic society. Today we are passingthrough a phase of IndianMcCarthyism that brands every formof dissent and anyone who questionsthe authoritarianism of the Indian stateas Maoist in order to legitimize itswitch-hunting and brutal repression.

Today immense possibilities haveunfolded for the rapid advance of

the revolutionary war in India andthe task of the revolutionary Partylies in how effectively and ably itcan utilize the present situation, rallyall those who have become thevictims of the anti-people,imperialist-dictated policies of thecomprador-feudal forces ruling ourcountry, and forge a broad-basedunited front of all these affectedsections of our society and allrevolutionary, democratic and patrioticforces in the country. This taskshould be achieved by defeatingthe brutal all-out countrywidecoordinated war unleashed by thereactionary ruling classes of ourcountry with the aid and assistance ofthe imperialists, particularly Americanimperialists.

If we fail in achieving broaderunity of all these forces, the fall-outwould be disastrous for the Indianpeople at large since the aim ofthis cruel armed onslaught is not onlyto suppress the Maoist movement, butalso to suppress every form ofdemocratic dissent and struggle ofthe people against the authoritarian,feudal and autocratic structure of theIndian state and socio-politicalsystem. As put forth by our GeneralSecretary, comrade Ganapathi, in thesame interview given recently: “Thiswar is principally against Maoistmovement but not limited to thismovement and aimed enough againstall revolutionary, democratic,progressive and patriotic movementsand the movements of oppressedcommunities of our society includingoppressed nationalities. At thisjuncture, all these forces have to thinktogether how to face this mightyenemy and for this how to unite togo ahead.” Now coming to yourspecific question regarding the CPIand CPI (M). Are they not a part ofthe wider democratic and patrioticforces? I would say YES and NO. Asfar as the rank and file cadre of theseparties is concerned, there is still someamount of sincerity and zeal among a


section of them to work for the well-being of the people. But theleadership has completely capitulatedto the exploiting ruling classes andpursues a reformist line that would onlyhelp sustain the status quo albeit witha few cosmetic changes. Here too, wehave to differentiate the CPI from theCPI (M). We do not place both theCPI and the CPI (M) in the samecategory. The CPI leadership has beencritical of the policies of the CPI (M),has consistently opposed counter-revolutionary vigilante gangs likeSalwa Judum propped up by theState and central governments, and isopposing the Operation Green Huntlaunched by the Centre. One canwitness the reactionary anti-peoplenature of the policies of the CPI (M),especially in States where it is in power.Singur, Nandigram, Lalgarh, and a hostof other names have stripped the CPI(M) of its guise of anti-imperialism andanti-neoliberalism. The CPI (M) isnot even a thoroughgoing democraticforce, let alone being Communist.However, we are prepared to joinforces with even these revisionists ifthey come forth into non-parliamentarystruggles on the basic issues of thepeople, and to the extent they upholddemocratic values.

It is wrong to say we areassassinating the cadres of the CPI(M). We are confronting the armedonslaught by the storm-troopers likethe Harmad Bahini and other armed[men] maintained by their party leadersby putting up courageous resistance.The struggle against the CPI (M) is

part of the class struggle of thepeople against exploitation andoppression. We challenge them to anopen debate on any issue. Despite theirdiplomatic and opportunistic stand thattheir fight with the Maoists is mainlypolitical, they are in the forefront inthe war waged by the Indian rulingclasses against the Maoists. Unable toconfront us ideologically and politically,their leaders and spokespersons haveunleashed a vicious campaign ofoutright lies and slander against theMaoists.

We call upon the cadres of theCPI (M) and other so-called leftparties to come forward to unite withother forces to fight against thedisastrous policies of the central andState governments, to unite withothers to oppose the brutal warwaged by the reactionary rulers guidedby the US imperialists against theMaoist movement and all forms ofdemocratic dissent. We are preparedto unite with all sincere and genuineforces in these parties who take theside of the broad masses of people.13. Why has the CPI (Maoist)decided to reach out through thecolumns of The Hindu? To use anewspaper to clarify its views vis avis the Government? Azad: Among the daily newspapers,The Hindu has a reputation for givingout serious news and less of sensationalstuff that has become the genre of themedia these days. Our partyleadership has given interviews tothis paper earlier too, such as my

interview on the developments inNepal, which was covered in twoparts. On a lighter vein, I think it willreach out to our direct Enemy No. 1at the present juncture, Mr.Chidambaram, too.

I think the media can play a rolein carrying the views of a bannedparty to the government and thepeople at large, particularly at atime when facts regarding our Partyare distorted, misinterpreted, andobfuscated in a meticulously plannedmanner. And when there is no scopefor a dialogue given the determinationof the rulers to carry out their pre-programmed war offensive that wasworked out a year ago, we think itappropriate to reach out to the peopleat large through the media too.

Finally, I thank The Hindu for thethought-provoking and incisivequestions it has placed before ourParty. We look forward to more ofsuch interaction with the media infuture. On behalf of our CentralCommittee and our entire Party, Iwelcome any questions related toour ideology, political programme,strategy, tactics, and practice. I hopethrough regular and active interactionbetween organizations like ours thatare proscribed by the government andthe media, an opportunity is providedto the people to arrive at a correctjudgment and seek truth from facts. Orelse, truth is certain to become acasualty in this world dominated bycorporate sharks that control virtuallyevery source of information that is fedto the people. PM

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As this report gets written Singannaand Andru’s bodies are being crematedat Podapadar village amidst a throngof police platoons waiting to arrest anymember of Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha(CMAS) who exposes herself orhimself to the police. Already 20 havebeen arrested and there is evident fearof many more hundreds beingdetained or arrested. The total clampdown on participation of the media,activists, leaders and any sympathizerof CMAS is not only condemnable buttotally unjustified. The district has beenturned into a hunting ground of tribalsand there is fear written all over thefaces of tribals in this remote block ofKoraput district. A small team of threemembers made a two-day visit toNarayanpatna to ascertain the situationand understand the truth behind thefiring incident which killed two tribals.

Blocked roads, long walks up anddown winding hill paths and petrifiedtribals afraid to open their mouths toany unknown persons were thememories etched in the team members’minds. But what left the membersshocked during their visit on 21st and22 ndNovember 2009 was thatdemocracy had fallen to its worstduring those three days after the firingand murder of two tribals.

There is much to be asked aboutthe firing but the question foremost onour mind is – who ordered the firing?Did the police take the permission of amagistrate before setting off their guns?And why were tear gas and other non-fatal measures not used to disperse acrowd which police thought mightcreate a law and order situation? Thetime gap between the protest gatheringand the firing is just about 30 minutes?But police say they requested andwarned and then opened fire? All these

‘Democracy’ at its worst!(Fact Finding of Narayanpatna Firing on Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha, CMAS)

things happened in 30 minutes? Soundsa little preposterous and forces one towonder whether it was cold bloodedmurder or a freak incident or a well-planned strategic elimination of aleader who held sway over a largenumber of fearless and empoweredtribal cadres of CMAS. As the days pass rising policebrutalities destroy brick by brick theeuphoric notions of ‘democracy’ socarefully packaged and sold to peopleof India by a political class sold out tocorporate greed. Every night andevery dawn brings shivers to the tribalsas they await an assault on their hamlet,whether on the hill top or on the plainsor deep in the jungles, by themarauding security forces. No oneknows from which end and at whattime under cover of darkness thesecobras and scorpions will attack theirvillage, break open their doors, kickthem out of their homes and beat theblues out of them. The CMAS hasbeen persistently branded a frontalorganization of the CPI (Maoist)despite their vehement rebuttal andlack of any evidence to show theirMaoist connections. Facts and observations stated inthis report are based on informationand statements collected duringinterviews with Narayanpatnaresidents who were witness to thefiring, local media persons andvillagers of Kumbhari andNarayanpatna Panchayats.

The Facts of 20th November 2009 About 200 CMAS membersincluding 100 women came toNarayanpatna Police Station toprotest against harassment of tribals inparticular women during the previousdays’ combing operations by securityforces. They reached the police station

at around 2 pm and since the two gatesof the police station were closed theycalled on the OIC to come out for adiscussion. The police refused to letthem in and began verbally abusingtribals who had assembled at the gate.

When the police did not respondto their repeated requests to let a teamof tribals into the police station fordiscussion on their complaints with theOIC, CMAS leader Kumudini Beheraand CMAS President KendrukaSinganna broke open the lock of thesmall side gate of the police compoundwith an axe. As the gate opened 5-6main leaders of CMAS includingSinganna and Kumudini went to meetOIC Gouranga Charan Sahu. During aheated exchange between the OIC andSinganna, the OIC began to shout thathe was being attacked by CMASleaders and he ordered the IRB guardson the roof of the police station to openfire on the crowd gathered outside.The police fired three shots in air andthen began to indiscriminately fire atthe crowd standing outside the policecompound. The firing was done by theIRB as well as CRPF and Cobra at2.45 pm. The firing continued for halfan hour and 300 bullets were fired atpeople.

Hearing the sound of firingSinganna and others came out of thepolice station. Singanna was hit in thechest while he was walking out of thepolice compound. He received tenbullets in his chest and fell in front ofthe small police gate. Another CMASmember Andru Nachika of Bhaliaputvillage received bullet injuries and fellface down outside the policecompound. Their bodies were leftthere by CMAS members who ranhelter-skelter as the police began firingat them. Around 300 bullets were fired


at the people. In this firing, while twohave died it is being estimated thataround 60 more persons have beeninjured and some are in a seriouscondition.

Singanna is survived by his wifewho is also pregnant, three sons and adaughter. Andru is survived by his wifewho is also pregnant and two children.The Reason for CMAS Protest

During a fact finding visit on22 nd November 2009, all CMASmembers and villagers interviewedstated that they had gone to the PoliceStation to lodge their protest againstpolice harassment of tribals and inparticular women who were beingharassed by the security forces.

One of the main reasons for CMASmembers’ protest was that theywanted an answer from the OICregarding violation of an assurancemade to the tribals earlier. The CMASmembers stated that about two monthsback they had held a protest rallyregarding harassment of tribals in thename of combing and deployment ofsecurity forces in their villages.Following the rally, the OIC had givena written assurance to CMAS leadersthat forces would not enter theirvillages and harass the tribals. Theywould conduct combing operationswithout harassing the locals. But theCMAS members stated that the policehad violated this assurance and hencethey came to ask the police the reasonfor this gross violation which was aserious breach of trust.

Of particular importance ispeople’s statement that the securityforces categorically told them duringcombing operations on 18 thand19th November that they should leavetheir villages immediately or else theywould have to face dire consequences.They even told them that the non-tribalswhose lands CMAS had ‘grabbed’(sic!) would come back soon to claim

their lands! Combing operations and related

harassment of 18th and 29th Novemberwas reported from Odiapentha,Dandabeda, Palaput, Dubaguda andBadhraguda villages.

Apart from warning them, they didnot allow the women and men tocontinue their harvesting work. Somesaid that they even took away theirharvested paddy and mandia crops.The tribals explained to us that thisseason is the most important time forthem because they are engaged inharvesting, husking and storing of theirfood grains. Hence such combingoperations and threats to peoplewould destroy their harvestingoperations and affect their foodsecurity.

When the tribals related this to theirCMAS leaders, the latter decided togo to the police station to demand anexplanation for this warning and alsoprotest the harassment. The CMASleaders sent cadres to different villagesand assembled the members and tooka decision to hold a peaceful march tothe police station to make their protestand put their demands before police.

About 50 tribals whom weinterviewed and most of who hadattended the march to the policestation, categorically stated that theydid not carry any firearms and that theycarried a few axes and thick bamboosticks. None carried any bow andarrow because they explained to us thaton previous occasions their bows andarrows had led the media to brandthem as Maoists. So they said that theyhad consciously not carried any bowsand arrows or local swords. Situation of 22nd November 2009

As of today, it is difficult toascertain the exact number of personsinjured as CMAS members havereturned to their villages and have notbeen able to meet or communicate

with each other about the actual injuriesto their members. Medical aid to thesepersons is not available as the injuredare afraid to come to NarayanpatnaPrimary Health Centre (PHC) formedical treatment for fear of beingarrested. They are taking treatmentfrom their traditional tribal healers(disaris). Doctors are also reluctant togo to the villages for treating anypatients for fear of abuse by the policeand security forces. Local Anganwadisand ASHA workers are unable to teatthe injured as they do not have thenecessary medicines, spirit and cottonto clean and dress the wounds.

Far flung villages and constantcombing by the security forces is alsomaking it difficult for the leaders tomove to different villages to ascertainhow many have been injured and whatis their condition. Most leaders are inhiding as there is a reported shoot-at-sight order against them.

On 22nd November early morningthere was a combing operation bysecurity forces and seven persons werearrested from their homes between 5to 6 am. Apart from this, forcesforcefully broke into homes andsearched for ‘red flags’ (whatever thatmight signify as evidence!?). Theyabused people, in particular thewomen, kicked and beat young boyswith thick bamboo sticks who did notanswer questions. They seized axes,sickles, knives, bows and arrows andbamboo sticks from every house theyentered and told the tribals that theseare ‘dangerous weapons of murder’and that they would be arrested if theywere found in their homes next time.The tribals asked us, “These are ouragricultural implements and dailyhousehold needs so how can we notkeep them at home? How will we getfuel wood, cut vegetables, harvestpaddy and cut branches to feed ouranimals? Where should we hide themand why should we do that when we


never use these as weapons of murderas accused by the police?” We hadno answers ….

Four CMAS members fromNarayanpatna and three persons fromPalaput, 1 km away fromNarayanpatna. The details of personsarrested are: 1. Raju Huika Narayanpatna Kandha Sahi2. Dora Nachika

Narayanpatna Kandha Sahi3. Masi Sirka

Narayanpatna Kandha Sahi4. Ramesh Khosla

Narayanpatna GhasiSahi

5. Kumudini Dora Palaput Tala Sahi

6. Debendra Behera Palaput Tala Sahi

7. Satyanarayan Bangu Palaput Tala Sahi (his commanderwas seized) These seven persons have been

taken into police custody on22nd November and will have to beproduced before Judicial Magistrate atLaxmipur within 24 hours. If this is notdone then the police would be violatingits own laws.

Apart from this, the fact finding teamalso met three persons who havereceived bullet injuries. A boy of 18years received two bullet injuries in hisleg and in the same village anotherperson has a bullet injury wherein thebullet is still lodged in his hip. Yetanother person of that village has abullet wound which whisked past hisleft calf and has left a slit which needsimmediate stitches. Another older manof another village has received a bulletinjury in his left hand. This person wasmarketing dry fish near the policestation when he was hit. He had noidea about the rally and the reasons

for it. He is also partially hearingimpaired. Apart from this, the peoplethe fact finding team spoke to said thatabout 60 others have also receivedbullet injuries and are hiding in thevillages. None of these persons areable to get medical help.

As the fact finding team wanted togive some medicines to the injuredpatients and went into Narayanpatnatown for purchasing these at around 3pm on 22 nd November they werestopped by DSP Jagannath Rao andSemiliguda IIC Sarat Sahu along withsome armed constabulary. After initialquestions on where the team had goneand why and checking of vehicle, theyasked the team to leave the townimmediately or else they would haveto detain the members. This warningcame despite knowing the fact that twoof the fact finding members werejournalists. Impact of Firing on People

All people whom the fact findingteam met in the last two days are undertremendous fear that the police wouldkill every tribal they set their sight onincluding all members of CMAS. Thereis fear in their eyes as they spoke tothe fact finding team members. Theyasked, “What should we do when thepolice come to our village?” When theywere told not to run upon seeing theforces, they asked, “If we do not runthen how can we save ourselves? Theywill definitely kill us”. The womenstated that they heard forces warningthem in low breath that if the CMASmale members did not handthemselves over to the police then theywould rape the all the women to ‘teachthem a lesson’. One old woman askedus, “What wrong have we done? Weonly asked for lands to cultivate andlive a life of dignity and freedom fromhunger?”

People are afraid to move out ofvillages due to fear of arrest and areconstantly discussing about what willhappen to them after this. Every villagewe went to we found women and menassembled in their village meeting placediscussing the impending dangers.They are afraid to stay in the junglesas the forces are patrolling the junglesas well. They say that if they stay inthe jungles they will be hunted andkilled and if they live in their villagesthen they will be hunted out into thejungles and then also killed. “So eitherways we die”, tell the women.

The leaders of CMAs have severalquestions : why did the police not usetear gars to disperse the tribals if theythought there was going to be a lawand order situation ? Why were rubberbullets not used? The firing took placewithin half and hour of the protest rallyso how did the police state that theygave the people adequate opportunitiesto break the rally and disperse?

The CMAS leaders also asked us,“when the police comes attacking usin our villages we do not retaliate andkill them? In fact we allow them tosearch us, our homes and even beatus up mercilessly? So why did policekill us when we came to their home toseek answers to simple questions?”They told us, “even if we had snatchedthe weapons we could not have firedbecause we do not know how to usethem? So how did we become threatsto the life of the OIC or the IRB guardsstanding on the rooftop?”

They asked us to reflect on whywould they, the tribals, want to attackthe police in their own compound? Andwhy would 200 tribals come to thepolice station to loot arms when theOIC did not even have a gun on himwhen they confronted him? Theyexplained to us that the IRB guardsstationed on the roof, who fired at thecrowd, were beyond the reach oftribals and hence it is impossible that



Express News ServiceKOCHI: Post-Independence, the media in India has gradually

transferred to a vehicle of profit and a revenue-seeking streamwith no value from a vehicle of popular aspirations once,Magsaysay award winner and journalist P Sainath has said.

The idea that the dominant media is the watchdog ofdemocracy is a false concept, he said, adding that private treatywas the new norm of the media.

Speaking at a media seminar on ‘People’s right to criticize themedia’, organized by the T K Ramakrishnan Cultural Centre hereon Saturday, Sainath said Press Commissions had observed thatthe linkage of media with the multi-nationals had been a majorthreat. “There was a demand in Parliament to delink media frombig business,” he said. Sainath said that ‘private treaty,’ a dealbetween a media organization and a private corporate where themedia house agrees to project the interests of the corporate in theform of journalism for a fixed value of shares from the latter, hadbeen a growing trend in Mumbai and New Delhi.

“The private treaty not only promotes the interests of thecorporates but also gives them immunity from investigativejournalism and from being exposed. The media has become arevenue seeking stream with no value,” he said.

Sainath said the media monopoly had become an arm of othervested interests.

“The Fourth Estate is becoming the real estate. There’s veryless difference between the two,” he said. Exposing the vestedinterests within the media, Sainath said though two lakh farmerscommitted suicide during the period 1997- 2008, there had beenno major news articles or discussions in major newspapers or TVchannels regarding the issue.

He said the Union Government had written off corporate taxworth Rs 5,00,000 crore in the Budget, which amounts to about80 percent of the tax eligible for collection. Answering a questionfrom Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, Sainath said the monopolyin media should be fought. He said alternatives to the existingsystem of media were possible.

P Rajeev MP presided over the function.The book ‘Vyajasammithiyude Nirmithi’ (Manufacturing of fake

consent), jointly written by Finance Minister Thomas Isaac andKairali TV News Editor N P Chandrasekharan was released on theoccasion.Thomas Isaac said the attempt was to analyze the mediaculture in the state in the backdrop of some recent incidents.

K E N Kunhahammed spoke.

As journalists, we should practice guerrilla journalismMedia has degraded, says SainathSilence of the media on crucial social

issues disturbing, says SainathThe Hindu

‘Resolution of problems in the media requires serious publicaction.’

Kochi: Noted development journalist and Rural Affairs Editor ofThe Hindu, P. Sainath, on Saturday said that the areas of silencein the media are startling and interesting. “Interesting in a sadway,” he said.

Speaking on “Criticism of the media: the right of the people” at aseminar organized by T.K. Ramakrishnan Cultural Centre inconnection with the release of ‘Vyajasammathiyude Nirmithi’ (Themanufacture of consent), jointly written by Finance Minister T.M.Thomas Isaac and journalist N.P. Chandrasekharan, Mr. Sainathsaid there had been no discussion in the media on the Union budgetadmission under the head ‘statement of revenue forgone by thegovernment’ that Rs 5 lakh crore, including Rs.80,000 crore indirect corporate taxes, had been written off by the government.“This means that 80 per cent of the tax that you can collect hasbeen forgone voluntarily,” he said, ruing that “the media maytake photographs of Mayawati’s currency garlands, but they willnot talk of the money that is going to big corporations”.The media also turned a blind eye to the ‘largest recorded waveof human suicide in history’, he said pointing out that the dataavailable with the National Crime Records Bureau showed thattwo lakh farmers had committed suicide due to debt and distressbetween 1997 and 2008. “How much are the media concernedwith this issue?” he asked.Credibility challengedChallenging the credibility of experts and economists featuredby the dominant media, Mr. Sainath said that no mainstreameconomist could predict the advent of the great recession of 2008.Arguing that it was the ‘structural compulsion’ of the capitalist,mainstream media to lie that economic recovery was complete,Mr. Sainath said ‘private treaty journalism’ (wherein media housesbecome shareholder in large corporations) being practiced by themwas the ‘mother and father’ of paid news. If media organizationsbecame part-owners in business, they should be called equity firmsalso doing the business of journalism.They lied about the state of the economy as they had much atstake. The threat about the linkage of the press to business firmshad been predicted by the past Press Commissions, he said.‘Serving the powerful’While liberation journalism characterized by dissidence set theIndian media apart till Independence, the dominant media atpresent was the ‘lapdog of the powerful’ instead of being the‘watchdog of democracy’. “Conventional journalism is about theservice of power,” he said, adding that throughout history, greatjournalism had only come from dissidence.“In the last 30 years, what we have witnessed is a conversion ofthe once radical and revolutionary media form a vehicle of popularstruggles, ideas and aspirations into a vehicle of profit—a revenuestream—for the powerful and richest people in the country, someof them also the richest people in the world. But this does notmean that you cannot do good journalism. There are zones of

autonomy within the media and we should exploit those spaces…The choice is whether to be a journalist or a stenographer.”According to Mr. Sainath, the resolution of problems in the mediarequires very serious public action.“People should take their role as citizens of a democracy veryseriously and fight monopoly because the root of the problem iscontrol of information and communication by a handful of people.As journalists, we should practice guerrilla journalism,” he said.

PM

PM

THE HITLERS WAGING WAR ON INDIAN PEOPLE

VIL WAR

CI

IND

INIA

WCIVIL

AR

IN INDIA

ADIVASIS, DALITS AND ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE LED BY MAOISTS

TEN THOUSAND ARMED GUERRILLAS + MILLIONS OF STARVING MASSES

BUDRUS, DUDI MUYES, SODI SAMBHOS, IRUMAIS

ILL-FED, ILL-EQUIPPED ARMY OF THE POOR

Vs

Vs

Vs

Vs

BATTLE-GROUND: WEST MIDNAPUR-BANKURA-PURULIA TO NORTH ANDHRA AND NORTH TELANGANA

OVERALL COMMANDER: HERR PDOLF CHIDAMBARAM DEPUTIES: RAMAN SINGH, NAVEEN PATNAIK, BUDDHADEB, RR PATIL

KILLERS IN THE FIELD: VISHWARANJAN, SRP KALLURI, RK VIJ, AMARESH MISHRA,..

ACCOMPLICES: MEDIA MERCENARIES LIKE ARNAB GOSWAMY, CHANDAN MITRA, SAPANDAS GUPTA….

OBJECTIVE: CLEAR THE MINERAL-RICH REGION OF MAOISTS AND HAND OVER TO IMPERIALISTS AND COMPRADOR BUSINESS HOUSES

METHOD: KILL ALL! BURN ALL! DESTROY ALL! DRIVE THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION TO STRATEGIC HAMLETS

CORPORATE SHARKS AND MNCs LED BY KHADI-SAFFRON GANGS

300,000 ARMED TROOPS (ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND CENTRAL FORCES + TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND STATE FORCES) PLUS TWENTY THOUSAND SALWA JUDUM GOONS

TATAS, MITTALS, JINDALS, ESSAR, VEDANTA

WELL-FED WELL-EQUIPPED MERCENARY FORCES OF THE RICH

FOR ALL UPDATES...... PEASE WATCH....

MANMOHAN SINGH'S FAIRY TALES (CORPORATE AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY) IN PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA

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People's March ' - BANNEDTHOUGHT.NET

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