(Since CPI - Maoist is the dominant Maoist group in India, I have used the term Maoist and CPI - Maoist interchangeably. Some information have been cited from sources collected through Wikipedia. - Shovon Chakraborty)
Lenin had used the term "useful idiots", to describe the romantic liberals of Russia, whose hearts had been bleeding for his Bolshevik comrades. Although, Lenin and his comrades had only one agenda, that of a violent uprising against what they viewed as corrupt and the rotten system, these romantic at heart, social activists, eulogized their "ism" and ultimately helped them in putting in place, a dictatorial "party-cracy". It took the people of Russia and its colonies, 73 more years to break free from the shackles of communism.
gap
Jump cut to India, circa 2012. Do we see a similar pattern emerging? Although, no Azad or Kishenda or Ganapathy or Kishenji has ever said something even remotely resembling Lenin's assertion, the laptop-totting, can't live without air-conditioning, armchair revolutionaries have been supporting the Maoists in exactly the same manner, as their Vodka gulping counterparts had done some 100 years ago. The so called intelligentsia do claim to have some kind of justification and logical arguments for their continued support of the self-styled "revolutionaries", the "Maoists", but those are hard to understand.
gap
The stock responses from these so called activists, start with some high pitch sounds against brahminism and manuvad (whatever those may mean), followed by pointing out how Maoists are pro-poor and fight for the oppressed massed and ultimately ending with the "excesses" committed by the people in power and the capitalist juggernaut. Radicals among these have even called the Maoist cadres, "Gandhian with a gun", probably, the best example of an oxymoron!
Lenin had used the term "useful idiots", to describe the romantic liberals of Russia, whose hearts had been bleeding for his Bolshevik comrades. Although, Lenin and his comrades had only one agenda, that of a violent uprising against what they viewed as corrupt and the rotten system, these romantic at heart, social activists, eulogized their "ism" and ultimately helped them in putting in place, a dictatorial "party-cracy". It took the people of Russia and its colonies, 73 more years to break free from the shackles of communism.
gap
Jump cut to India, circa 2012. Do we see a similar pattern emerging? Although, no Azad or Kishenda or Ganapathy or Kishenji has ever said something even remotely resembling Lenin's assertion, the laptop-totting, can't live without air-conditioning, armchair revolutionaries have been supporting the Maoists in exactly the same manner, as their Vodka gulping counterparts had done some 100 years ago. The so called intelligentsia do claim to have some kind of justification and logical arguments for their continued support of the self-styled "revolutionaries", the "Maoists", but those are hard to understand.
gap
The stock responses from these so called activists, start with some high pitch sounds against brahminism and manuvad (whatever those may mean), followed by pointing out how Maoists are pro-poor and fight for the oppressed massed and ultimately ending with the "excesses" committed by the people in power and the capitalist juggernaut. Radicals among these have even called the Maoist cadres, "Gandhian with a gun", probably, the best example of an oxymoron!
gap
All of these, lead me to ask the question - Are there really any substance in those logical (at least, according to the claims) arguments? Or, the intelligentsia, as usual, merely playing with words to pull a fast one over the general population of the country and ensure in the process, headline hogging sensational news-stories on themselves? There are also the added incentives in the form of lucrative speaking and writing assignments in foreign countries.
shovon chakraborty writes on maoist terrorism
I would like to believe myself as a casual observer of the Indian political arena. After all, with multiplexes charging a minimum of Rs. 200/- per person, the best form of affordable entertainment is provided, only by the politicians and the assorted activists. Now, with that self-certified tag, I become competent enough to pass judgement on the veracity of the arguments.
salwa judum
Even to a casual observer like me, the argumentative Indian intelligentsia's comments, can only evoke laughter and contempt. The childish attempts at justifying Maoist's actions, are hollow and even the various groups of supporters' comments, contradict one another.
gap
The stated objectives and activities of CPI (Maoist) clearly suggest that there are something more sinister in their scheme of things, than their "masks" in the public, e.g. poets like Gadar and Vara Vara Rao, will openly admit. The diverse mishmash, that constitute the supporter base of the Maoists, try to create an impression, as if the Maoist leaders are all saints and roam around with a halo behind their heads!
gap
A more than disinterested look at the modus operandi of the Maoists will tell anyone, that they are actually fighting the current democratic system of governance. The adivasis and/or the poorest of the poor are merely pawns in their greater scheme of things. The current organization, CPI (Maoist), was formed after the merger of People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Center (MCC). The merged entity decided to follow "Marxism-Leninism-Maoism" as its "ideological basis guiding its thinking in all spheres of its activities." Included in this ideology is a commitment to continue a "protracted armed struggle" to "undermine and to seize power" from the state. Simply stated, their inherent motive is to overthrow the current democratic disposition and to install a one party dictatorship in its place. What's more interesting is their view on the Islamic terrorism. They view Islamist militancy as a "struggle towards national liberation against imperialism", rather than as a clash of civilizations, and condones it as having parallel goals to the group's own. Now, who in their right frame of mind would like to live in a country or society, where your freedom and rights are either non-existent or severely curtailed? Not me! Probably Ms. Roy, Mr. Sen et al can better answer this.
gap
The Maoist sphere of influence mainly includes the areas, which are the least developed, viz. remote regions of Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, as well as Bihar and the tribal-dominated areas in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa. The CPI (Maoist) aims to consolidate its power in these areas and establish a "Compact Revolutionary Zone", from which they would advance the people's war in to other parts of India. The highest decision making body of the party is the Politburo, comprising thirteen or fourteen members, seven of whom were either killed or arrested between 2007-11. Central Committee is the second highest body in the party hierarchy, followed - in descending order - by Regional Bureaus, which look after two or three states each, the State Committees, the Zonal Committees, the District Committees, and the "dalams" or armed squads. Apart from these, the party also forces villagers, who have to live in areas under its de facto control, to act as scouts and the first ring of security guards under the sobriquet "People's Militia". This structured set up tells us that the Maoists are no rag tag band of anarchists, but a rather professional outfit.
gap
In their efforts to intimidate and consolidate control, the Maoists tax locals, extort businesses, abduct and kill "class enemies" such as government officials and police officers and have been found to regulate the flow of even aids and necessary goods. To help fill their ranks, the Maoists force each family under their domain to supply one family member and anybody, unfortunate enough to resist, meets a violent end. These terrorists have also been holding kangaroo courts, against their perceived opponents in the areas under their control, and more often than not, the hapless accused's fate is meet a bloodied end. The Maoists have also taken care to demolish government institutions and installations, including schools, communications towers and health centers, citing these as threats to their continued dominance of the regions.
gap
The Maoists reject parliamentary democracy and their stated aim is to capture power through protracted armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. This strategy entails building up bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones and then into "liberated zones", in addition to "encircling cities". The military hardware used by Maoists, as indicated through a number of seizures, include RDX or Semtex explosives, gelatine sticks, wired and wireless detonators, RPGs, assault rifles like INSAS, AK-47, FN-FAL, country-made weapons and improvised explosive devices. According to reports, total seizures of explosives till date, have been well over 20,000 kg.
gap
The funding for the Maoists comes from abductions, extortion and by collecting protection money, which they call taxes, in rural areas where official government appears to be absent. Poppy cultivation is another major source of funding for Maoists in large tracts of lands in Bihar and Jharkhand. In Orissa, they have been cultivating hemp to help fund their activities. In most of the cases, armed Maoist cadres force the peasants to cultivate these in the place of rice or paddy.
gap
The Maoists are not at all bothered whether the living conditions of the common people become better or whether they get to eat three square meals in a day or not. In fact, if the conditions become better and the youths get regular works, there will be an acute shortage in the number of armed cadres, the "action-squad" members. After all, with food to eat and job in hand, who would like to live as a hermit in the forests wielding a gun and with a very real threat of being gunned down by the security forces at any time looming over the head?
gap
After going through their activities, any person with a bit of sense prevailing, would have asked a few questions.
gap
Questions like how do the general strikes, which normally lead to a loss of livelihood for the poorest sections, benefit the common man, apart from the show of strength by the terrorists? In what way, the blowing up of schools and health centers help the common people to progress? Why is it that any damn business can operate in the Maoist infested areas, if they pay the required amount of protection money to them? What purposes have been served by sabotaging railway tracks, which have resulted in some of the worst accidents in the history of Indian Railways, with the total death toll running in to thousands? Why were public buses, carrying mostly the common people, blown up to kill, may be, 2 or 3 militias? Do the lives of 50 common people matter less than the death of 2-3 Salwa Judum activists? How do the cultivation and peddling of contraband drugs help the society? How come the Maoists always complain, like a crybaby, whenever one of their rank is killed, when they themselves do not fight following the rules of engagement? Why anyone opposing the Maoists' activities have to killed always? Because the Maoists do not accept the Constitution of India, do any of their captured comrades deserve to be treated according to the laws of the country? And, what about the protection rackets and kidnapping for ransom, which are hallmarks of the petty criminal gangs? Why don't they ever hid to the calls for discussion, when they are not threatened by the security forces?
gap
Have you ever heard any of the intellectuals to ask any of these questions? I haven't, and as such, I doubt their intentions too!
gap
The intellectuals want that there should first be developmental activities for the people living in the Maoist controlled areas. Some of them even contend that the state should improve the condition of the people of the country and the Maoist influence will go away on its own.
gap
Is that assumption correct?
gap
Actually, the Maoists' greatest fear is the implementation of the various development programs at the grass root level. Because, then they would lose whatever support base that they presently enjoy. That's why, they will never allow any kind of developmental activities to happen in the hinterlands controlled by them. And, to maintain their vice like grip over the territories, they can do anything, kill anyone and everyone coming in their way.
gap
The intellectuals are actually playing in to the hands of these terrorists. There are also some hard core believers in the Maoist ideology, who along with these intellectuals justify the terrorist activities by pointing to the so-called violence perpetrated by the state. The irony is the state has to conduct armed campaigns because of the Maoists, and not the other way round.
gap
I really don't know as to what stopped the various state governments and the center to act in unison and ensure that the issue is addressed for once and all. If required, the full might of the armed forces should be unleashed on these terrorists and no mercy should be shown, activists be damned. Without tackling the problem, no government shall be able to implement any developmental activities. Secondly, even if the developmental activities bear their fruit, the Maoists will still remain. Their terrorist activities are not aimed at development of the people, rather they are on a war against the nation, which they view as imperialist and bourgeois. Its trues that their cadre strength will be greatly diminished, but the hardcore members will continue their destructive and terrorist activities. Lastly, a Maoist takeover is bound to push the country towards the same dark days, as experienced by the people of Cambodia under Pol Pot or Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin or the Chinese under Mao himself, the threat should be permanently neutralized at any cost. There is no doubt that the Maoists should also enjoy their human rights, but perhaps, it is important that they common tax-paying, law-abiding citizens are not deprived of their own human rights. May be, the government will show some spine, even if for once.
gap
gap
All of these, lead me to ask the question - Are there really any substance in those logical (at least, according to the claims) arguments? Or, the intelligentsia, as usual, merely playing with words to pull a fast one over the general population of the country and ensure in the process, headline hogging sensational news-stories on themselves? There are also the added incentives in the form of lucrative speaking and writing assignments in foreign countries.
shovon chakraborty writes on maoist terrorism
I would like to believe myself as a casual observer of the Indian political arena. After all, with multiplexes charging a minimum of Rs. 200/- per person, the best form of affordable entertainment is provided, only by the politicians and the assorted activists. Now, with that self-certified tag, I become competent enough to pass judgement on the veracity of the arguments.
salwa judum
Even to a casual observer like me, the argumentative Indian intelligentsia's comments, can only evoke laughter and contempt. The childish attempts at justifying Maoist's actions, are hollow and even the various groups of supporters' comments, contradict one another.
gap
The stated objectives and activities of CPI (Maoist) clearly suggest that there are something more sinister in their scheme of things, than their "masks" in the public, e.g. poets like Gadar and Vara Vara Rao, will openly admit. The diverse mishmash, that constitute the supporter base of the Maoists, try to create an impression, as if the Maoist leaders are all saints and roam around with a halo behind their heads!
gap
A more than disinterested look at the modus operandi of the Maoists will tell anyone, that they are actually fighting the current democratic system of governance. The adivasis and/or the poorest of the poor are merely pawns in their greater scheme of things. The current organization, CPI (Maoist), was formed after the merger of People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Center (MCC). The merged entity decided to follow "Marxism-Leninism-Maoism" as its "ideological basis guiding its thinking in all spheres of its activities." Included in this ideology is a commitment to continue a "protracted armed struggle" to "undermine and to seize power" from the state. Simply stated, their inherent motive is to overthrow the current democratic disposition and to install a one party dictatorship in its place. What's more interesting is their view on the Islamic terrorism. They view Islamist militancy as a "struggle towards national liberation against imperialism", rather than as a clash of civilizations, and condones it as having parallel goals to the group's own. Now, who in their right frame of mind would like to live in a country or society, where your freedom and rights are either non-existent or severely curtailed? Not me! Probably Ms. Roy, Mr. Sen et al can better answer this.
gap
The Maoist sphere of influence mainly includes the areas, which are the least developed, viz. remote regions of Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, as well as Bihar and the tribal-dominated areas in the borderlands of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa. The CPI (Maoist) aims to consolidate its power in these areas and establish a "Compact Revolutionary Zone", from which they would advance the people's war in to other parts of India. The highest decision making body of the party is the Politburo, comprising thirteen or fourteen members, seven of whom were either killed or arrested between 2007-11. Central Committee is the second highest body in the party hierarchy, followed - in descending order - by Regional Bureaus, which look after two or three states each, the State Committees, the Zonal Committees, the District Committees, and the "dalams" or armed squads. Apart from these, the party also forces villagers, who have to live in areas under its de facto control, to act as scouts and the first ring of security guards under the sobriquet "People's Militia". This structured set up tells us that the Maoists are no rag tag band of anarchists, but a rather professional outfit.
gap
In their efforts to intimidate and consolidate control, the Maoists tax locals, extort businesses, abduct and kill "class enemies" such as government officials and police officers and have been found to regulate the flow of even aids and necessary goods. To help fill their ranks, the Maoists force each family under their domain to supply one family member and anybody, unfortunate enough to resist, meets a violent end. These terrorists have also been holding kangaroo courts, against their perceived opponents in the areas under their control, and more often than not, the hapless accused's fate is meet a bloodied end. The Maoists have also taken care to demolish government institutions and installations, including schools, communications towers and health centers, citing these as threats to their continued dominance of the regions.
gap
The Maoists reject parliamentary democracy and their stated aim is to capture power through protracted armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. This strategy entails building up bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones and then into "liberated zones", in addition to "encircling cities". The military hardware used by Maoists, as indicated through a number of seizures, include RDX or Semtex explosives, gelatine sticks, wired and wireless detonators, RPGs, assault rifles like INSAS, AK-47, FN-FAL, country-made weapons and improvised explosive devices. According to reports, total seizures of explosives till date, have been well over 20,000 kg.
gap
The funding for the Maoists comes from abductions, extortion and by collecting protection money, which they call taxes, in rural areas where official government appears to be absent. Poppy cultivation is another major source of funding for Maoists in large tracts of lands in Bihar and Jharkhand. In Orissa, they have been cultivating hemp to help fund their activities. In most of the cases, armed Maoist cadres force the peasants to cultivate these in the place of rice or paddy.
gap
The Maoists are not at all bothered whether the living conditions of the common people become better or whether they get to eat three square meals in a day or not. In fact, if the conditions become better and the youths get regular works, there will be an acute shortage in the number of armed cadres, the "action-squad" members. After all, with food to eat and job in hand, who would like to live as a hermit in the forests wielding a gun and with a very real threat of being gunned down by the security forces at any time looming over the head?
gap
After going through their activities, any person with a bit of sense prevailing, would have asked a few questions.
gap
Questions like how do the general strikes, which normally lead to a loss of livelihood for the poorest sections, benefit the common man, apart from the show of strength by the terrorists? In what way, the blowing up of schools and health centers help the common people to progress? Why is it that any damn business can operate in the Maoist infested areas, if they pay the required amount of protection money to them? What purposes have been served by sabotaging railway tracks, which have resulted in some of the worst accidents in the history of Indian Railways, with the total death toll running in to thousands? Why were public buses, carrying mostly the common people, blown up to kill, may be, 2 or 3 militias? Do the lives of 50 common people matter less than the death of 2-3 Salwa Judum activists? How do the cultivation and peddling of contraband drugs help the society? How come the Maoists always complain, like a crybaby, whenever one of their rank is killed, when they themselves do not fight following the rules of engagement? Why anyone opposing the Maoists' activities have to killed always? Because the Maoists do not accept the Constitution of India, do any of their captured comrades deserve to be treated according to the laws of the country? And, what about the protection rackets and kidnapping for ransom, which are hallmarks of the petty criminal gangs? Why don't they ever hid to the calls for discussion, when they are not threatened by the security forces?
gap
Have you ever heard any of the intellectuals to ask any of these questions? I haven't, and as such, I doubt their intentions too!
gap
The intellectuals want that there should first be developmental activities for the people living in the Maoist controlled areas. Some of them even contend that the state should improve the condition of the people of the country and the Maoist influence will go away on its own.
gap
Is that assumption correct?
gap
Actually, the Maoists' greatest fear is the implementation of the various development programs at the grass root level. Because, then they would lose whatever support base that they presently enjoy. That's why, they will never allow any kind of developmental activities to happen in the hinterlands controlled by them. And, to maintain their vice like grip over the territories, they can do anything, kill anyone and everyone coming in their way.
gap
The intellectuals are actually playing in to the hands of these terrorists. There are also some hard core believers in the Maoist ideology, who along with these intellectuals justify the terrorist activities by pointing to the so-called violence perpetrated by the state. The irony is the state has to conduct armed campaigns because of the Maoists, and not the other way round.
gap
I really don't know as to what stopped the various state governments and the center to act in unison and ensure that the issue is addressed for once and all. If required, the full might of the armed forces should be unleashed on these terrorists and no mercy should be shown, activists be damned. Without tackling the problem, no government shall be able to implement any developmental activities. Secondly, even if the developmental activities bear their fruit, the Maoists will still remain. Their terrorist activities are not aimed at development of the people, rather they are on a war against the nation, which they view as imperialist and bourgeois. Its trues that their cadre strength will be greatly diminished, but the hardcore members will continue their destructive and terrorist activities. Lastly, a Maoist takeover is bound to push the country towards the same dark days, as experienced by the people of Cambodia under Pol Pot or Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin or the Chinese under Mao himself, the threat should be permanently neutralized at any cost. There is no doubt that the Maoists should also enjoy their human rights, but perhaps, it is important that they common tax-paying, law-abiding citizens are not deprived of their own human rights. May be, the government will show some spine, even if for once.
gap
gap
Demographic strructure of the Maoist areas is pathetic. A special focus on education and employemnt of the areas are very urgent. At the same time, law and order has to be maintained more strictly with more forces in those areas.
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