Cover Story: Inhuman Ideology

“Every Communist must grasp the truth: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,” was the dictate of Mao-Tse-Tung in whose name the Red terrorists are fighting in the jungles. Instead of allowing tribals to avail of opportunities created by the democratic process, they are exploiting them for furthering their ideology of violence and have become the new feudal lords of Bastar

Siddheshwar Shukla Eklavy
So 25 soldiers of 74 battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Kala Pathar near Chintagufa in Sukma were massacred by the Maoists using villagers as human shields. The region  is the worst Maoist violence-affected district in south Bastar area of the state. They were around 300 and we were around 150, we kept firing. I shot 3-4 Naxals in the chest, said CRPF constable Sher Mohammed who was injured in the incident. At least, a dozen of Maoists are also belived to be killed. They were part of a patrol party of the CRPF near Burkapal village which was supporting road construction work in the area when they were attacked. According to reports, the  gunbattle lasted for an hour. The Maoists looted all arms and ammunition of the CRPF jawans.

Opinion/Cover Story: Urban voices of Maoists

Cover Story/ Analysis: Marxists have a blinkered view of history

The attack was condemned by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister as a cowardly act of violence but  opposition tried to raise questions on the counter strategy and delayed appointment of the CRPF chief.   What is interesting is the strategy to dodge the real  questions associated with this mindless violence. Immediately after the incident, why did red terrorists ambush CRPF convoy and how did they succeed were the two questions naturally dominating the discourse. The intellectual debates in print and electronic media are
confined to answering the second question which is more in domain of security agencies and political parties.  But even the opinion makers have thrown their hats for blame game and left the first question unanswered which should have been their real concern. Why this massacre of soldiers in the name of ideology openly against the threat, why there are certain groups that stand by them in their open fight against the State and what kind of liberation is this where poor people from Scheduled Tribes are used as a shield.  

Rise of Red Lords
This most aggressive argument of comrade intellectuals in justification of Maoist violence has been – exploitation of local people by the officials on ground. Now this is completely missing in this incident. They were there to guard the road development work that was going on. It was due to the efforts of 74th CRPF battalion camp that the residents of Burkapal village on the site were very friendly with the force and regarded them as their saviours. The CRPF has also taken up some initiatives to improve the living  standards of the tribal villagers with the motto of  sustainable living. This bond between the force and villagers was so strong that the villagers used to inform the movements of Maoists in the area. This went against the dictate of Maoists who are the new feudal lords of the region. They did all efforts to pressurise village head Madhvi to change his side but he never cared for threats. The feudal comrades then killed him around two months back. Thus, they succeeded in installing a sense of fear amongst the villagers and compelled them to support the terrorist comrades through threats  to their beloved leader. These villagers were so terrorised after the death of Madhvi that they chose to work as informers and even human shield for the red feudal comrades operating in the region.  
Of course, this method of getting the support was not democratic but oppressive for none of the white collar  comrades getting fat salaries from public exchequer in  universities or from the revenue earned from capitalist media houses through advertisement; have courage to use freedom of expression against this oppression and exploitation of the poor tribal and peasants by the red comrades working on the ground.
The second fact which warrants strong condemnation of this ambush should have been on the conceptual ground, which white collar comrades frequently use in their intellectual writings and speeches – developmental disparity. Sukma is hotbed of regional developmental disparity. At a time, when India is flying in planes and innovating in information technology, the entire region is still devoid of basic amenities and road connectivity. The development efforts of the present Central and state governments, particularly the construction of the road at which the ambush took places, is aimed to bridge development disparity and integrate the Scheduled Tribes with the developmental aspirations of the country. This development will definitely improve their living standards and would prove to be a milestone in eradicating their problems. Ideally, for anyone who is fighting for justice, this process of bridging the development disparity should have been a favorite topic. Instead, Maoist intellectuals usually condemn the government and not the red feudal lords who are responsible for derailing the process of development in the region. So both their arguments of exploitation and disparity seem to have failed in Sukma. This creates a suspicion on whether Indian comrades are turning feudal?
The argument of feudalism extends further as the previous governments in the State and Union used to ignore the area from the point of development hailing it as Red Corridor. This stand fulfilled the interests of red feudal lords and gave them full authority in the tribal villages. The combined endeavors of the present governments in the State and Union have showed the courage to plan and execute development works in the areas that has shaken the feudal kingdom of red extremists.
Comrades project themselves as crusaders of dissent in urban spaces.  Contrary to this convenient positioning, they have no history of accepting the dissent in any form of Communism. When they are not in power, they try to hold the real power in the name of dissent. Through this  manufactured dissent, they hold the key to power in the corridors of power. However, when these white collar comrades come in power they unleash violence to shut each and every voice forever. This happened throughout the world and is now happening in Kerala and West Bengal under various slogans. In this way, they follow the strategy of ‘my way or no way’ to hold real key to power forever. During the times of successive Congress governments, both the State and Union, the leftists successfully used this strategy and enjoyed the real power. The entire Kerala is painted red with the blood of the volunteers of RSS. The people who dissented against the autocracy and feudalism of Communist leadership have been  eliminated by the white collar comrades.
In fact, ‘my way or no way’ is in the intellectual DNA of comrades of all hues. They have been practising it since the age Mahatma Gandhi. It was only after Gandhi refused to visit Moscow, the Mecca of Leftists, he became intolerant, compromising person and agent of the British government. The comrades’ literature is filled with derogatory references to Gandhi only because he refused to accept the preaching of their father Karl Marx and propagated his own idea of “Ram Rajya”. The architect of our constitution, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar was also the eyesore of Indian comrades for the same reason. These two great intellectuals of India rejected Karl Marx and came up with their Indian models for egalitarian society. The rejection and derogatory references for Gandhi and Ambedkar in Marxist literature again symbolise the feudalism in the field of intellectualism. Deendayal Upadhyay is obviously the object of hate for leftists as his integral approach to the social, political and economic issues in India provided the alternative rooted in the civilisational wisdom of India. The party claiming his legacy has  acquired the prominent space in Indian polity. This fundamental change in Indian political landscape has threatened the very existence of feudalism of comrades that they have been practicing for decades. This seems to be the core reason why these red lords are using all techniques,  propagated by Marx to Mao, to save their tiny citadels either in University campuses or in Bastar.
The Way Ahead
It’s a high time intellectual investigation into the  changing strategy of the left with reference to Sukma ambush. At a time when so called ‘exploitative’ forces of the State are protecting the lives of tribal villagers and poor road construction workers at the cost of their own life, the so called ‘crusaders’ of ‘egalitarian society’ are out to kill them. The white collar comrades should condemn the factor of feudalism in the strategy of red terrorists or else they will automatically lose the right to provide them intellectual support in the name of ‘Human Rights’. We recently saw huge media coverage and intellectual debates on lynching of a cow trader in a Rajasthan village and no doubt, such discussions are essential in a democracy. But the question that pinches any thinking mind is, why there is no such  coverage and discussion on the murder of Madhvi in Bastar? Do the victims of comrade feudal lords have no protection under Human Rights?
The Government needs to revise its strategy to deal with the red terror. Investigating atrocities against the villagers by Maoists will restore the confidence in the State. These comrades functioning as feudal lords are nothing but the manifestation of literature created by their white collar counterparts funded on the tax-payers money. Some of whom were caught red handed in the so called ‘liberated zone’ of Bastar. The security agencies should investigate on why no serious action and extra precautions were taken after the village head Madhvi was murdered and terrorists started visiting the village. These all persons must be identified and dealt firmly as per the rule of law. Meanwhile, the security agencies must prepare a future plan to avert the incidents like murder of village heads, and informers.
The government should reaffirm its stand about  development and bridging the gap of developmental  disparity. We need to integrate maximum tribal people with the development aspirations by providing them with better opportunities.  
The integral humanistic approach, where unique cultural traditions of tribals are respected, expressed in terms of humanistic policies of ‘Antyodaya’ is the best way to defeat the divisive agenda of the red terrorists.