Urban Naxals should be made irrelevant

The questionable role of these activists in sustaining Maoist violence surfaced recently in the wake of investigation in Bhima-Koregaon violence in Maharashtra.

Maximilien Robespierre, the lawyer-politician of France and a proponent of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, believed that politics could be radically purified to benefit the poor ‘only’ by killing their enemies. He became a victim of his violent ideas when he was executed at the young age of 36. Our Naxalites have their Robespierre in activists such as lawyers Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves, professors Varavara Rao and Gautam Navlakha. The difference is, they are more astute and do not openly flaunt their revolutionary linen. They work unobtrusively and are hard to deal with.

The questionable role of these activists in sustaining Maoist violence surfaced recently in the wake of the investigation in Bhima-Koregaon violence in Maharashtra. If police are to be believed, plans were afoot to end Modi Raj by enacting a Rajiv Gandhi-type attack, to collect `9 crore for procuring assorted rifles, grenades and ammunition, set up contacts with terrorist outfits in Jammu & Kashmir and insurgent groups in the Northeast, meet with arms suppliers in Nepal, Manipur, Myanmar and Bangkok, influence judiciary and motivate university students to become storm troopers of the Maoist movement.

How far these evidences will stand the test of judicial scrutiny is anybody’s guess, but there is no denying that these activists have been digging deep and wide to keep the nation on a boil. How else can you explain a thriving business empire of Maoists, running in over `1,500 crore, procured and operated through unlawful means?

Yet, we are told that raids conducted in their houses are meant to curb dissent and instil fear among those who want to help weaker and marginalised sections of the society, that freedom and liberty of citizens are under attack as never before and emergency has returned with vengeance. Ground reality, however, is different.  

Not a day passes when opponents do not abuse and vilify the state and its leadership. The Constitution remains un-tinkered, thanks to our ruckus polity and overzealous judiciary. Street protests and violent bandhs have shown no meltdown and there is no restraint in maligning the defence services, security forces and investigative agencies. So, where is the lid on dissent?

Left extremism is a serious problem and must be tackled hard, irrespective of who is involved—urban or rural Naxals. Forty-seven districts spread across Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are affected by it. Since 2001, Naxals have killed 6,489 civilians, 2,439 security forces, looted 4,215 pieces of arms and have lost 6,741 of their volunteers in an armed conflict which they can never win.

Mizos, Nagas, ULFA, Bodos and Naxalbari guerrillas in West Bengal followed the same path for years without achieving anything. Surely, Naxals have been victims of decades of economic and social exploitation but there is no reason why they cannot follow the example of over-ground STs, SCs and BCs who have used constitutional and judicial means to get their grievances redressed.  

Barring urban naxals and criminals who run the Maoist business, other members of the cadre are trapped in a dilemma; whether to be a part of India’s development story or remain underground—impoverished, illiterate and scared. Swapnil (name changed), my hostel roommate in college, joined the Naxalite movement in 1963, mesmerised by Kanu Sanyal and Charu Majumdar, who insisted that democratic institutions must be demolished if tribal and marginalised sections of the society were to become masters of their destiny. Forty-nine years later, he sought my help to join the mainstream but could not muster courage to take the final plunge. He was distraught that ideals had taken a back seat, cadre was crowded with extortionists, abductors and looters, newcomers were busy in procuring food, money and weapons and genuine volunteers did not know where to go. Swapnil was killed in the forests of Gumla, Jharkhand, in 2013.

It is activists like Rao who keep Naxals battling. They sell dreams of an egalitarian state, provide raison d’etre for an armed struggle and give them respectability to run a violent movement. Being artists, authors, NGO workers, lawyers and intellectuals, it is easier for them to camouflage their real intent to operate a motivated cadre, manipulate media, judiciary and public opinion to support the Maoist cause and maintain an uninterrupted supply of money and weapons to volunteers. Their ideology may have lost relevance the world over, but it will continue to resonate with left extremists so long as they are confined to jungles and deprived of schools, roads, hospitals and opportunities. It is important, therefore, to expose and marginalise these urban Naxals, fast. Once that happens, criminals can be quickly neutralised, paving way for foot-soldiers to give up arms and walk in an inclusive society.

Amar Bhushan

Former special secretary, Research and Analysis Wing

amarbhushan@hotmail.com

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