The importance of Development, Organization and governance

I

The results of the Gujarat elections are out and Modi has emerged the unscathed winner. Gujarat has crowned Modi by electing him and the media has done its bit by crowning the term “Moditva”.

Congress was drubbed and yet again the crowd that flocked to hear the leaders in the rallies failed to transform into votes. It would have been better if the Congress would have stuck to its own party members instead of allocating tickets to the rebel BJP leaders. These rebels were denied tickets by Modi and its no rocket science that Modi was aware that most of them will not be able to retain their seat and hence decided against giving them another chance. Yet Congress ignoring the obvious decided to ‘award’ these rebels. For the sake of a short term gain the party treaded on path to long term loss.

Time and again it has been said and seen that nothing serves better than a strong and sound state-district level organization and there is absolutely no substitute to that. Even For controlling and pulling strings you first need a puppet that is attached to the string that you intend to pull.

A person sitting in AICC headquarters in New Delhi cannot understand the ground realities of the situation in Patna or Rajkot. He will see what people want him to see. Till 22^nd evening Sonia Gandhi was assured by the Gujarati leaders that Congress will win more than 115 seats. Ironically it was the BJP which won 117 seats. The Congress tasted success in 59 up from 51 five years ago.

The bridge between Delhi office and that of the state level functionaries needs to be strengthened. BJP is a much stronger at the lower level because it has the RSS and the VHP who operate on ground zero. It has achieved more penetration in the cities and the mohallas and Congress will always find it difficult to match BJP if it doesn’t works on strengthening its state level organizational cadre. The headquarters needs to give out a message that every state level organization is independent of each other and its day to day working is not in any way to be governed by what is happening at the Delhi Headquarters.

Development issues and religion based issues are two totally different things. Those who have lost the Gujarat elections are saying that it was Hindutva that sailed Modi through. Maybe it was Hindutva but can the same people stand up and say that it was only Hindutva and not the development work that romped BJP home.

NSUI and Youth Congress have become defunct in most of the states and even though Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Tanwar have launched a membership drive to rope in 2.5 crore workers still they need to understand that merely increasing the members won’t help much. The members need to be shown that they are a part of an organization that is alive and kicking.

II

At the time when Shivraj Singh Chauhan was made the Chief Minister , BJP in Madhya Pradesh was in dire straits. It was at that time the most vulnerable with Uma Bharti and intra-fighting threatening to destroy the whole organization. That was the best time for state Congress to demolish the BJP or at-least weaken it fatally but they threw away that chance.

Now after consolidating his position Shivraj singh has embarked on a development over-drive. With the election scheduled to be held next year the state administration is working tirelessly and that work can be seen in the streets of Bhopal and its appreciated by the voters. And it is not limited to the cities and the towns, rural areas have also been invited to the party.

Political workers need a strong leader whom they can follow; a person who has the faith of everyone. Sadly Subhash Yadav the state PCC chief is not that man. Everytime he seems to stand tall he is overshadowed by the Digvijays, the Kamalnaths and the Arjun Singhs.

Though Subhash yadav was successful in ensuring that his son wins an assembly by-election yet that necessarily doesn’t guarantees that it will be smooth sailing for him in the run up to the state election.

Similarly is the story of Congress in Chhattisgarh which also goes to poll next year. Ajit Jogi has and always had a following among the mass and in the party ranks. Yet his hand has been tied by the people sitting in Delhi after they discovered that was becoming too tall for their comfort.

With Moti Lal Vohra and Suresh Pachauri making sure that Jogi is denied a berth in the Union cabinet and Vohra successfully making his supporter C D Mahant the president of state PCC, the infighting between the party has grown more fierce. Who wins in Chhattisgarh next year will not be determined by the BJP but by VC shukla, Motilal Vohra and Ajit Jogi.

Somehow the high command at 10 Janpath will have to find a way to fit everyone in the scheme of things if it really wants to pose a serious challenge to the ruling BJP and Raman Singh.

III

Those who have been to Patna recently won't give much chance to Nitish Kumar of making a come back. Infrastructurally the age old Patliputra is in a mess. But lets not forget that this mess is a result of the 15 years old rule of another son of Bihar, and what was done in 15 years cannot be undone in 5 years.

A lot of changes needs to be brought. The mindset needs to be changed and that takes time. The bureaucracy is still nostalgic about the old days when there was no work.

Maybe Nitish kumar will not be able to fulfill all he promised but at-least he is trying. And that’s why he deserves another chance and I hope that he is not blown away by the so called ‘anti-incumbency’ wave.

Congress fighting 'infighting' in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh

With the mid-term elections to the Lok Sabha looming large following constant threats from the Left , political parties have started to gear up for the forthcoming 'Dance of democracy'.

The Congress party across the state of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has its hands full with infighting plaguing the organization in both the states and it has is yet to decide on many a important appointments. Including that of who would be the PCC chief for 6 different states including Chhattisgarh.

Speculation is that Subhash Yadav who is the PCC chief of Madhya Pradesh will be removed from the post as to save the party from the infighting that has plagued the state organization for as long as one can remember.

The state has many a political leaders who have a heavy stake in the state. Digvijay Singh, Kamal Nath,Jyotiraditya Scindia, Suresh Pachouri and not to forget the old stalwart Arjun singh, all are in a midst of a war so as to decide that who would emerge stronger. These leaders have found a ring to match their strength in view of the expectation that the appointment for the post of state Youth Congress president would be made soon.

Among those in the race for the post include Union Minister Suresh Pachouri-supported Vikalp Deria and Atul Sharma, and MLA Rajwardhan Singh, a close confidant of Gwalior's Jyotiraditya Scindia. Other contenders include Mr Kamleshwar Patel, a supporter of Union Minister Arjun Singh, Mr Dinesh Gurjar, a confidant of Union Minister Kamal Nath.The post of state Youth Congress President had been vacant since the past two years after the tenure of then incumbent Meenakshi Natrajan ended.

Arjun Singh just like his own ambition of becoming Prime minister harbours an age old ambition of seeing his MLA son Ajay Singh become the CM of Madhya Pradesh. Though Political analysts feel that it would be difficult for Ajay as he will have to counter many a more senior and suitable leaders on his path. His not so successful stint as a minister in the previous Digvijay singh government hasn't helped his cause much.

Similarly Digvijay Singh who till recently was more active at the central stage has shifted his focus towards his home state. Diggi Raja has a point or two to prove after his loss in the previous state election where congress was completely wiped out by Uma Bharti led BJP. His clash of interest with the other 'royal blood' leader, Jyotiraditya Scindia is not hidden. The battle between the two can be seen as fight between a veteran ruler trying to consolidate his position and a young turk trying to make his mark.

A more interesting situation is being witnessed in the state of Chhattisgarh. Here it is "one against all", With the minority guy being Ajit Jogi. The former CM who has been going through a tough period of late and he will have to garner all his strength and experience to win the 'make or break' battle in the tribal state. With the entry of V C Shukla in the party, his climb has become more steeper.

Charan Das Mahant, Moti Lal Vora and now VC shukla, it appears that the tribal leader has got his hands full. Mahant is by no means a novice and with the active support of Vora, he has been able to make situation sticky for Ajit Jogi. The state PCC has not had a PCC chief since the previous election as both the rival camp are yet to decide on a consensus candidate. Although Mahant was apppointed as chief , but that is a temporary measure.

Observers feel that the only leader who can match Jogi in drawing crowds is Shukla. The previous round was won by Jogi when he defeated VC with a heavy margin to win the Mahasamund Lok Sabha seat. Motilal Vohra is seen as the man who facilitated Shukla's re-entry into the congress.

Most of the congress MLAs from the state claim support to the Jogi faction and this is where the Mahant-Vora-Shukla group may lose out. Detractors, specially VC Shukla may rake up the murder case of National Congress party (NCP) treasurer Ram Avtar Jaggi who was allegedly killed in 2003 allegedly at the behest of Amit Jogi ,son of Ajit Jogi.

After falling out from the good books of Sonia Gandhi , Ajit Jogi has slowly but gradually regained his lost position. This was evident after he was able to successfully demand a congress ticket for her wife Dr.Renu Jogi from Kota for the by-assembly . The seat was won by Renu Jogi by more than 22,000 votes after defeating BJP's Bhupendra Singh Thakur in a keenly contested by-election, for which she had got the ticket at the last minute amid protests from senior party leaders.

The Kota battle was dubbed a battle of prestige between the BJP and Ajit Jogi and was seen as a referendum on the state government. The BJP treating it as a prestige issue used all its weight andRaman Singh deployed all his 12 ministers for campaigning. RSS memebers also flew in from New Delhi.

After coming into power BJP hasn't had much opportunity to weaken the state Congress as this was easily done by the intra-fighting in between the various leaders. Observers feel that Raman Singh is fighting a very strong anti- incumbency wave and he also will have to pay a hard price for the corruption charge that has been levelled time and time against his party members.

A union cabinet expansion is on the cards, and it will be interesting to see that whether someone from Chhattisgarh makes into the Manmohan Singh ministry or not. Ajit Jogi has been a long standing candidate for a ministerial birth and he would have already been there but for Moti Lal Vohra.

It seems that the future political scenario in both these states would not be decided by the rivals outside but by rivals within.


[http://www.centralchronicle.com/20071009/0910305.htm]

[http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126853]

Chhattisgarh: End of democracy?

I wrote this in Feburary 2006, when the CSPS bill was still being 'debated' in the house. I am posting it on the blog in the wake of arrest of PUCL activist Dr.Binayak Sen who was arrested on May 5th 2007 under the CSPS act.

This article was carried by the Times of India and Central Chroncile.

The Chhattisgarh Special Public Security legislation 2005 (CSPS) which has been sent to the president for his approval is being seen as an instrument which will surely strangulate democracy in the state. The legislation which has been formulated to tackle the rising incident of naxalism has virtually given blanket power to the state so as to curb naxalism.

The legislation which contains 18 sections is being seen as the start of the series of laws which will be formulated in the country all in the name of combating terrorism, naxalism and communalism. If not repealed this legislation will be set a very bad precedent for the other states to follow suit.

Section 3 of this legislation authorizes the government to declare any organization as unlawful, and in some cases the government is even exempted from giving the reasons for declaring an assembly unlawful. When will our country realize that this is not an authoritarian or an anarchical state where you just do whatever you wish and go away with it. The more you try to justify your illegal legislation, the more illegal it will become.

Unlawful activity as defined in the legislation includes uttering words, writing or making visual representations that may “create risk or danger” for public order, peace and public tranquillity or create an impediment in the administration of law or institutions.

This definition can only mean one thing, either the government wants the state to be free from naxals or it wants to curb freedom of expression. This is up to the people and of chhattisgarh who reside in the naxal affected area to decide that the government is restraining whom , the naxals or the media..

All these years, the BJP government headed by Raman singh has said that naxal problem is socio-economic in nature, and it should be dealt in that way only. Bringing black cat commandoes and NSG troopers is not a socio-economic answer to a socio-economic problem, not by any farthest stretch of imagination.

The Legislation bans media from carrying reports of any kind of 'unlawful act'. Media is perhaps the most important party to democracy; and one cannot just stop them from doing what they are required to do, that is to report.

Media is the only front which has stopped the ever susceptible government from being draconian, and it’s the media that the politicians fear. By barring media from reporting, the government of Chhattisgarh is giving a message that they themselves are not sure that how would they tackle naxalism. Behind a closed door anything can happen.

Similarly under section 14 of the legislation any order or legislation by the government or the district magistrate or any other officer authorised by the government shall not be challenged in any court and no injunction shall be granted by any court or any other authority. First you gag the media then you cripple the judiciary. By doing this the government has conferred itself with an absolute power, one with no checks and balances. The judiciary through its several decisions has earned the respect of being the sole repository of the constitution and democracy in this country, and it remains to be seen whether the court will apply the same thinking that it had applied in various cases like Keshavnanda Bharti, Maneka Gandhi, V.G Row or N.B.khare?

It needs to be mentioned here that when the bill was being debated, the main opposition party, the congress was boycotting the assembly and was out of the House. Now it’s up to us to decide that whose blame is it, Congress’s or BJP’s?

The purpose of the Bill as mentioned is to safeguard people's lives and property and to maintain public order, peace and tranquillity. This has always been the reason advanced, be it the case of POTA, or MISA, the argument of safeguarding public peace and welfare has always been taken by the state to justify its policies. The state must realize that Constitutional rights and liberties just cannot be bypassed or ignored under the garb of combating militancy and naxalism

Just months ago the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s in his speech at the Conference of Chief Ministers had said that the democratic government should make a distinction between the genuine and legitimate expression of dissent and disaffection and the manifestations of anti-national, anti-social and anti-people threats to our democratic way of life. He pointed out that while citizens are free to choose the particular brand of politics they wish to follow, they have the freedom to take recourse to collective activity to achieve the social, political or economic changes that they desire, but no one is either permitted or expected to resort to violence to achieve these ends. At the same time, the PM also recognised that “Extremism is not merely a Law and Order issue, Development; or rather the lack of it, often has a critical bearing, as do exploitation and iniquitous socio-political circumstances. This speech sums up the situation of chhattisgarh. This is what is happening in chhattisgarh, but is passing such legislation the answer to the problems? Its not.

Right to freedom has been inscribed under article 19-22 of the constitution. Personal liberty is the most important and the backbone of fundamental rights, without personal liberty a human is not a human. Article 19 provides for six freedoms, viz., freedom of speech and expression, freedom of assembly, freedom to form associations, freedom to movement, freedom to reside and to settle and freedom of profession and occupation. Freedom dismisses fear and empowers people against oppression of all hues; you take away freedom , and this gives oppression more opportunity to thrive.

In AK gopalan case, J. Patanjali Shastri had rightly said that the guarantee of each of the freedom rights is restricted by the constitution, its not an absolute right and the state can impose reasonable restriction as may be in the larger interest of the society, but one crucial aspect that needs to be understood is that the restrictions must not be arbitrary, and its upon the court and not the legislature to decide what is arbitrary.

In Indian express case the court said that the purpose of the press is to advance the public interest by publishing facts and opinions, without which a democratic society cannot make responsible judgements. Freedom of press is the heart of social and political intercourse.

Freedom of press has always been a cherished right of all the democratic nations, and press has always played a very vital role in shaping the democracy, and this freedom cannot be taken away.

Democracy is all about freedom. Freedom of speech, association, participation, expression, you decapitate these freedom, you have beheaded democracy

What if the Left, for a change really decides to pull out ?

Who wins and who doesn't in MP, Bihar and Chattisgarh

If the Lok Sabha elections are held immediately, the BJP may suffer heavily in Bihar and Chhattisgarh. But, with the Congress a strongly divided house in Madhya Pradesh, the same may not hold true for the central state. Though It can be safely said that the Bahujan Samaj Party will gain in MP.

The BSP which had organised a big rally of upper caste-Brahmins and Dalit in Bhopallast week, would do particularly well in Chambal and Vindya belt, comprising Rewa, Satna,Gwaliar and Bhind.

According to the political observers,the BJP may lose some important seats in Chhattisgarh, particularly in the tribal dominated Bastar and Surguja regions,from where it had won all the seats previously .The BJP has nine out of 11 members in the Lok Sabha from the state.

In the 2004 elections, the Congress had won the Mahasamund seat only , but in the by-elections held a few months back, the Congress captured Rajnandgaon seat which was retained by the BJP in 2004 elections.

The observers pointed out that the anti-incumbency factor would work strongly against the BJP, particularly the common -man and the common workers of the BJP are strongly against the chief minister, Raman Singh.The BJP government could not keep its promise of supplying Cows, Charan padukas (Shoes),free salt and subsidized gas cylinders in the rural areas. The party could not also keep control on corruption as there has been several cases of corruption confirmed by the committees of the state assembly, like the infamous Kunkuri rice scandal of Jashpur district.

The BJP may be able to capture only three to four seats, these observers feel and claimed the Congress would emerge stronger because of default.In Bihar, the recent floods and poor relief management may cause set back to the BJP in the elections,if held immediately. There has been several incidents of people being killed in police firings and riots over distribution of relief materials. The BJP would be sufferer as its leaders did not come to the aid of the common-man.

The RSS had the practice of rushing to the aid of the masses in distress, but in the instant case, the RSS cadre remained silent. Maybe because the CM, Nitish Kumar is from JD-U.

The Congress which has three members in the Lok Sabha from Bihar may not be able to improve its tally. This can be attributed to the fact that the Congress leaders, like their distant cousins remained inactive during distress of the people.In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has 25 out of 29 members in the Lok Sabha, the Congress has four, including Jytoridatiya Scindia and Kamal Nath.

The Congress is a deeply divided house in Madhya Pradesh with Digvijay Singh, Subhas Yadav and Jamuna Devi, all having their own different followings and different programmes. Uma Bharti who had helped the BJP to victory in the last elections may definitely cut into the strong BJP vote bank and may help the new combination formed by the Bahujan Samaj Party to get three to four seats in Chambal and Vindhya regions.

Satna, Rewa, Gwalior, Bhind and Morena may go to the BSP with the support of the Brahmins who have a very strong say in these areas.The BSP may also get support of the Gondwana Gantantra Party in the Mahakoshla belt where the regional party has strong following and this may affect the prospects of the BJP and the Congress.

The Congress may not be able to retain even the four seats in the present House from MP. Scindia junior had won the last elections with poor margin and with the BSP becoming more stronger, he may find it difficult to re-enter the Lok Sabha, according to the political observers.

Overall ‘an interesting battle’ ; if it happens that is.

The Red menace

In the biggest ever Naxalite related violence in the history of Chhattisgarh more than 60 security personnel were killed when a large group of heavily armed Maoists attacked a security camp at Rani Vodli in Bijapur police district of Bastar, bordering Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Though the state has witnessed many such attacks in the past, the present one brought the heaviest causalities.

The Naxalites, who were lying low for the past few months, have once again proved the government wrong, as the Raman Singh led BJP government, all this while was claiming that the naxalites were forced to retreat due to the tight security arrangements and the popular success of the anti-Maoist-Salva Judum campaign. Apparently the retreat was more of a tactical step taken so as to give shape to the present carefully planned, dare-devilish attack.

The state government as well as the central government, which have been working jointly in the fight against the naxal threat, have again been found wanting as the recent attack proved. The highly publicized Salva-Judum campaign, which was launched by the state government to curb the naxal spread, has also proved to be a damp squib with human rights organization and media slamming the movement as a forced measure rather then a voluntary action by the villagers and tribals of the naxal affected areas.

Reports from Bijapur suggest the death of 65 security personnel and injuries to 16. The Maoists have killed about 700 people in the last two years in Bastar, but the Thursday pre-dawn attack on the security camp was the worst of all the crimes committed by the Naxalites as they raided the barracks, indiscriminately killed the sleeping security people, looted their arms and landmined the whole area before “retreating” back to the dense forests.

In the past too, they had killed 26 CRPF jawans in the same area. They had also killed 58 pro-Salva Judum volunteers returning from a Anti-Maoist rally, hacked a local pro-salva judum congress leader to death, blasted a railway station and invaded several relief camps killing the peace movement activists and their families which had forced the government to shift over 50000 people in the relief camps in their own homeland, which according to reports has been the largest exodus of people since independence.

The Rani Vodli incident had come within a week of the killing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha member of Lok Sabha,Sunil Mahto near Chaibasa in Jharkhand, which was also the handiwork of the naxals. Earlier way back in 2000 the Maoists had killed the then transport minister of Madhya Pradesh, Likhiram Kanware, similarly they had attacked the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh,Chandrababu Naidu in Tirupathi and later in 2006 stormed the Jehanabad jail in Bihar.

The series of attacks in Bijapur’s Farsegarh and Kotru blocks is definitely the result of lack of development activities in the remote areas even now. Corruption is rampant in the villages, the officials are finding it difficult to enter the villages and the contractors have literally surrendered themselves to the will of the Maoists.

The BJP led government had enacted the Chhattisgarh special Public security Act last year making strong provisions for detention of even those supporting the Maoists, banning the publicizing of Maoist related activities and or glorification of violent actions through audio or video presentations or photographs. The government had also made a special provision of Rs. five crores for the anti-Maoists campaign –Salva Judum in the annual budget last year. But sadly despite these measures there has been little or no headway in the states’s fight against the naxals.

The anti-naxal movement is meeting up with resistance from the Maoists frequently and the Rani Vodli attack is yet another incident in these series. The ritual of the chief minister calling upon the union home minister, demanding more forces and helicopters was repeated this time too.The approach of both the Centre and state governments on the increasing Maoists violence is very ‘weak’ so to say.

The Naxalites are working on the idea to create a corridor from Pashupathi Nath to Tirupathi (Nepal to Andhra Pradesh). The recent development in Nepal where the maoist are already sharing power in Kathmandu points towards the much larger objective that they are following which is also evident from their literatures.

When Maoists were digging up wells, constructing tanks and opening primary schools in Bastar, the state administration’s teachers, engineers were staying in the district headquarters. As a result of which the Maoist have gained support in most deep areas of Chhattisgarh

During Raman Singh’s weeklong tour to the villagers by helicopter, he was told about the non-availability of teachers, doctors and engineers in the blocks. The engineers of Wadrafnagar, a sub-divisional town in Surguja, prefer to operate from Ambikapur, the district headquarters,80 kms away from their posting giving enough space for the Maoists and their sympathizers , this perhaps sums the whole problem with the naxal infested state.

Banning is no panacea

Following the killing of 24 CRPF personals in the landmine blast, the Chhattisgarh government has brought an ordinance to ban the naxal outfits operating in the state. By doing so Chhattisgarh became the second state after Andhra Pradesh to ban naxal outfits in the country.

A critical question which needs to be addressed is whether banning the right step in the right direction? An eye for an aye and a tooth for a tooth is an easy game, a game in which no one wins. By imposing the ban the state has made the naxal problem a much bigger issue, it has ruined any chance of resolving the age old problem through talks. Prohibiting naxalsim would further aggravate the problem; growing resentment will force them to adopt more desperate measures, which in no way would solve the problem. They have been banned in the past too, but what was the result? Did it solve the problem?

Naxals unlike the Islamic terrorist don’t follow or fight for the purpose of any particular religion. It is totally different from the present Kashmir problem or the former Punjab trouble. It should not be looked as terrorist problem, but as a socio economic problem.

Naxalites are composed primarily of youths, and through them they carry out their operations and activities. Isn’t it important to look into the issue that why the youths, particularly the tribals join naxalites outfit? After all the life of a naxal is not a bed of rose.

The youths seeing no hope of improving socio economic condition are delineated from the mainstream society. They are disenchanted and share a feeling of discontent against the society, a society which is nothing but the creation of the state. A society which has offered them nothing and took many things.

No employment, increasing poverty, government machinery which has failed, failed to deliver even the basic amenities; and machinery in which everything comes for a cost, laws which prohibit them from using their own resources, all these factors have contributed towards changing the mind and transforming a common youth to feared naxalites.

It is a false genereal impression that the illiterate mind of the rural-tribal youth is easily susceptible towards adopting a lifestyle of a naxalites. All naxalites are not illiterate. It has been observed that many of the members of the “Dalam” (a group of naxalites operating in a particular area), are very ably educated, some even have completed their graduation. The core members of the Dalam have been found to highly qualified. Why blame them instead of blaming a system which doesn’t give the opportunity to utilize the education that they have been imparted?

Naxals like any Indian citizen are part of the same country in which we live. They are not foreigners but they too have evolved from the same civilization from which we have evolved. So why view them differently?

The roots of this problem are in the bleak socio-economic conditions of our country, especially the deep rural areas which have been neglected, and have seen either no or very little developmental activity. Development of not only the naxal infested area but the other interior remote part of the country should be given its due attention. Perhaps then only this age old problem will gradually disappear as it once appeared. Till this happens the slogan “Lal Salam” will continue to inspire fear even in the strongest of the hearts.

There is no shortage of Security personnel’s, innocent villagers, and disoriented youth in this huge country, but letting them die for a cause which is not justified, either ethically, morally, politically or economically is not acceptable.

(http://dailypioneer.com/displayit1.asp?pathit=/archives2/sep2005/edits/edit4.txt)

Tribal renaissance

By seeing through the hypocrisy of industrial houses that want to acquire their land by fair means or foul and the government’s pathetic rehabilitation package meted out in the name of industrialisation, tribals of Orissa and Chhattisgarh have demonstrated that they cannot be ignored any longer, writes Abhinandan Mishra.
The recent revolt by Kalinganagar tribals against poor compensation for the land acquired for establishment of a steel plant is the upshot of a renaissance taking root in the tribal belt of the country.
After the Kalinganagar uprising against industrialisation, tribals of Rourkela and Bastar have also started a revolt against the poor package meted out to them by government and industrial houses.
The renaissance among tribals of Orissa and Chhattisgarh appears to be spontaneous as political parties and politicians and even leaders of non-governmental organisations surfaced at a later stage ~ after the killing of 13 tribals and the chopping off of the hands of five tribals. There was no Medha Patkar or Anna Hazare to champion their cause.
The plan of a big industrial house(Tatas) to establish a Rs 10,000- crore steel plant at Lohariguda in Bastar is also facing tough tribal resistance.The industrial house proposes to acquire land in 10 villages which would uproot at least 250 families.They have been assured of a house site of 3,000 sqft for each family, water and road connectivity and compensation between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh per acre as compensation.
Jobs have been promised to one person per family by the industrial house which has told the government it would invest two per cent of the profit on the area’s development.The public sector National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) had also planned to set up a steel plant at Nagarnar, twenty kilometres from the Jagdalpur divisional headquarters. The foundation stone for the project was laid four years back and the land of the tribals was acquired by the corporation for the project. Tribals have been dispossessed of their cultivable land by the corporation which had promised “peripheral development” of Nagarnar.In the last four years, there has been no development. Contrary to the NMDC’s promise, neither have schools nor hospitals come up in the area.Tribals of Nagarnar are also opposed to the proposed steel plant now.
Another private sector company (Essar) had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a steel plant at Bastar.
Tribals of the area have declared they would not give their land for the steel plant. One more private sector company had signed an MoU for another steel plant in Bastar four years back. After resistance from land holders, the group backed out. Tribals are holding their jan adalats (people’s courts) at different places, including Belar, Nagarnar and Lohariguda and passing resolutions such as, “We will not give our valuable land, whatever may be the price”.
The tribals feel betrayed by the non-implementation of the commitments made by the government and the industrial houses in the past.“We would not like to be cheated again,” said Laikan Vaghel. “The government had made a commitment to give Rs 5 lakh a year to the nagar panchayat of Nagarnar, but not a single paisa has reached us so far,” he said, adding, “We want to reclaim our land”. The tribals have genuine reasons to complain. In the process of land acquisition, the mandatory consent of the gram sabha is not taken. This happened in the case of Nagarnar. During investigations, panchayat employees confirmed that the pages from the register of the gram panchayat’s special sabha of Kasturi had been “removed”.
“I do not know who tore off the pages missing in the proceeding register,” Lakhan Singh, panchayat employee of Kasturi panchayat told the divisional commissioner(now the post is abolished), while giving details about irregularities in the acquisition of land for the Nagarnar steel plant.
Rahuraj Devangan, panchayat employee of Bamhani panchayat, said while elaborating on the proceedings of the gram sabha held for land acquisition: “I did not write the proceedings. Seven pages are missing from the register. I do not know how these pages disappeared and who removed them.” There are similar statements made by employees of the panchayats in several villages where vital pages from the registers were missing.
The pages were removed as they carried objections from the tribals and an impression was given outside that the villagers had consented to the land acquisition. Tribals of the area are illiterate and the lowest-grade employees of the Panchayati Raj bodies who maintain office records of the panchayats come under the influence of agents of industrial houses to manipulate documents to suggest the entire “gram sabha” had given its approval for construction of the plant and land acquisition. Tribals had filed affidavits to claim they had been obliged to accept cheques even though they had not consented to land acquisition.
The tribals appeared to have taken lessons from past mistakes committed by their elders and seem to have realised that their ignorance should not be taken for granted in the name of industrialisation by the government or big industrial houses.

Chhattisgarh: Tribes on verge of extinction

Some tribes, particularly, Abuj Madias and Baigas are cut off from rest of the world as the areas inhabited by them have no infrastructure like roads, bridges etc, points out Abhinandan Mishra.

The centrally government aided schemes for the development of primitive tribes- Baigas, Pahari Korbas, Abuj Madias and Birhors in Chhattisgarh have failed to uplift the condition of the tribals staying in the jungles and hills of the state. The Centre had sanctioned Rs 100 crores three years back for their development and the state had separate development authorities for the primitive tribes' development with their headquarters at Bastar, Kawardha, Bilaspur and Jashpur, but the agencies failed in improving the lot of the aboriginal tribes, admit the officials.

A few weeks back, the district administration of Jashpur had uncovered a racket of defalcation of crores of rupees meant for the development of Pahari Korba who were served recovery notices from the nationalized banks for the loan which they had never taken. The primitive tribes are so backward that they are not even enrolled as voters in most parts.

The primitive tribals have been given concession in the family planning which is not imposed on them due to their fast declining population. The doctors and quacks have been warned against family planning on the primitive tribes as their number is not even 50,000 taken together all the primitive communities from Bastar to Surguja. The literacy rate among the Pahari Korbas staying near villages of Korba town is 2 per cent and for the Abuj Madias and Baigas, the Ramakrishna Mission have started "ashram pattern" schools near their villages. Among the Baigas of Kawardha and Bilaspur it is nil.

The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi and Ms Sonia Gandhi had made an over night stay at Gugul, one of the villages inhabited by primitive Kamar tribals, but even after 20 years of the PM's stay, there is no change in the life of the villagers.

Some of the primitive tribes, particularly, Abuj Madias and Baigas are still cut off from rest of the world as the areas inhabited by them have no infrastructure like roads, bridges, dispensaries and markets.

They have not even joined the political activities and many of them have not even voted in the elections-from panchayats to the parliament. A couple of Pahari Korbas had voted in the last elections near a booth at Korba. The government intends to preserve their traditional culture and in the pockets of Abuj Mad, outsider's entry is still restricted. The area of Abuj Mad was not surveyed as yet and for the first time, the state has entered into an agreement with the ISRO for aerial survey with ground support as the entire area is Naxalite infested and they have their training centres too.

In certain pockets, food items are sent in advance for four months of monsoon as the villages have no pucca roads. Most of the Baigas are illegal settlers on the protected forest areas. The National Remote Sensing Agency-(NRSA), ISRO's unit at Hyderabad will start an aerial survey of the 6,000 sq metres area of Abuj amad, inhabited by 12,000 primitive tribes of Abuj Madis soon. This will be first survey of the area which remained cut off from all governmental activities so far. According to the agreement, 237 inhabited villages in Narayanpur, Dantewara and Bijapur (covering Abuj Mad) will be covered under the aerial survey to be done by two modified Super King aircraft which would get ground security support from the police.

The Abuj Mad area is literally under the control of the Naxalites of Bastar. The IG of police of Bastar has assured full protection to the technical staff of the NRSA, Hyderabad during the survey.

The NRSA has sought clearance from the three units of the defence- Navy, IAF and the Army for the aerial survey. The agency will get clearance from the union home ministry before starting the year-long survey. The ministry of railways will also have to give clearance for the survey though there are no railways installations in the area.

In each of the sorties, the defence ministry staff would accompany the agency team during the survey. All photographs taken from the height of 15,000 feet would be examined by the defence ministry before allowing it to be handed over to the state government. The defence ministry staff would examine the photos with their negatives and would have all authority to delete them as there are some defense installations in the Bastar.

The one-year long aerial survey would cost the state and the Centre Rs 5.50 crores. The ISRO would take Rs 1.50 crores as photography charges.

The photographs taken from the height of 15000 feet would give a clear picture of the trees, cattle-wealth, human population, their constructions, rivers etc in the area. The object of ten metres would be visible in the photographs taken from the aircraft with computer controlled navigation system. The Abuj Madias are scattered in the 237 villages of the region and they practice shifting cultivation. There is no road communication in the area.

The government will start physical verification of the findings made by the air for two years and this would help in extending the government schemes to the primitive tribes.

The exercise of aerial survey was used by the American defence ministry in Iraq, according to the NRSA scientists who claimed recently they completed the aerial survey of the entire islands dominated Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Abuj mad remained neglected so far.

While the NRSA will help know the details of Abuj Madias, the state government has prevented family planning among another primitive tribes-Baigas staying in Kawardha and parts of Bilaspur .The primitive Baiga tribes are on the verge of extinction and thanks to the efforts of family promotion schemes launched by the Government of India, the population has reached 29303 from 20,002 in ten years. Baigas still stay in the jungles and on the hills, still semi-naked and dependent on the minor forest produce.

The central government launched a special assistance programme for the Baigas in 134 villages of the district where 2712 families are staying. The centre has created a special Baiga development authority headed by one of the tribal leaders who is himself illiterate and is the titular head of the authority. The Rs 1.25 crores scheme is aimed at creating health facilities for them and opening food godowns, giving them tools and animals for farming.

The state government and the society is promoting live-in relationships among the primitive tribals too. Live- in- relationship (Pethu in local dialect)) is getting popular among the tribals of Bastar region as it has got social sanctions. Children borne out of these live -in relationships are recognized in the society and the couples marry even after the birth of children who attend the marriage of their parents. According to the sociologists engaged in tribal researches, 80 per cent of the couple have live in relationships.

At one such mass marriage of primitive tribals, 22 year old Van Kumar formally married his live in partner Rachnawati at Nagarnar village in presence of a priest and friends. The two had their two year old daughter Dhanwanti as witness to the marriage ceremony. They went to the local Shiva temple before joining the "mandal" in the local weekly market place.

Van Kumar admitted they were staying together for the last three years and both of them are from the same village-Kutabadan, 20 kms from the divisional headquarters of Jagdalpur. The boy said he had paid Rs 800 to the parents of the girl when he took her away from a local market. Acceptance of the "Mahala" was the approval of the live in relationship by her parents.
The tribals community has fixed Rs 2500 as Mahala (dowry to be paid to the girls parents by the boy). They can stay together for years before formalizing their marriage. Phool Singh Bogde and Padmawati, another young couple also married in the same fashion. Live in relations have got social and legal sanction too. This is common in entire Bastar. The "Udhalka vivah" (marriage after kidnapping) is common among the tribals here.

The system is more popular in Bijapur, Farasgaon, and Narayanpur blocks among the Gond and Mariya tribes.

Under the system, any youth can hold the arms of the girl in a public place, mostly in weekly haats or Madiyas, the festivals. If the girl does not protest, she agrees for the relationship. The boy takes the girl to his home and informs the society about the Udhalika vivah. Next day, he goes to the girls parents and gives the amount of Mahala (dowry). This may include money, liquor, goats, bulls or boars.

The Gonds, Mariya, Bhatra, Dorla and Maharla tribals prefer this system. However, the problem arises when there is no match of sub-castes among the tribal boy and girls. Bonjha Ram, father of the Lohaniguda janpad panchayat was arrested by the police as his son Satyanarayan (a Madia tribal) kidnapped a Murya tribal girl in the weekly haat. The Sub divisional magistrate took cognizance of the complaint and the boy and his father were arrested as the tribals do not encourage inter-sub-caste relationship.

The Pethu or Udhalikya marriages are improved versions of the "Ghotul" system, which is still common among the primitive tribals staying in Abuj mad area of Bastar. In the Ghotuls, which are make shift pre-honeymoon camps, young boys and girls stay together under the same roof for a fortnight and get training in post marriage social customs. In the western part of Kondagaon and Narayanpur tehsils, even now, the Ghotul system is prevalent. By evening, girls called Behla (in local dialect) invite their boy friends described as Sirdhar (in local dialect) in the beautifully decorated huts with carvings and spend their night together for a fortnight to know each other before they go for formal relationship.
The centrally government aided mid-day meal scheme and Antodaya scheme are also absent in the areas dominated by the primitive tribes. According to a report of the National scheduled tribes' commission, the administration did not provide Antyodaya cards to Pahari Korbas as per directions of the Supreme Court.
The commission made surprise checks in many villages of Surguja having many Pahari Korba families, and found several schools where mid-day meals were not being provided regularly. Over 200 complains about absence of several food schemes and land rights of the primitive tribes were received at Pandripani (Surguja) these were registered with the Additional Collector. The advisor to the Commission played a proactive role and personally collected more complaints from the Pahari Korbas.
The Pandripani episode raised the larger issue of non-compliance of states with the Supreme Court order to issue Antyodaya cards to all primitive tribes.
According to the report of the commission, Koriya district highlighted the dysfunctional state of the integrated child development scheme among the primitive tribes in the district. The Commission took the state government to task on this and this prompted the complete overhauling of the ICDS system in Manendragarh block of the district.
The union government had sanctioned Rs 100 crores for the development of primitive tribes like Pahari Korbas, Baigas, Abuj Madias, Birhors, Patalkot and Kamar because of their fast dwindling population. The centre has asked the state to provide at least 100 days employment to a member of these families in a year, besides providing seeds and other facilities for farming.
9http://www.centralchronicle.com/20060206/0602304.htm)

Naxalism - Chattisgarh losing it

Reports of large number of tribals staying in the government run relief camps in different parts of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh leaving the camps is an alarming signal on the efficacy of "Salva Judum" against the Maoists.It is more frightening that about 90 members of the CPI(Maoists)who had surrendered to the police last year and were accommodated in the relief camps after paymet of "compensation" also deserted the camps and rejoined the cadre.

The government admission that 600 tribals deserted the Dornapal camp and about 90 ex-Naxalites left Bhairamgarh camp is a pointer that Salva Judum may not be sustained for a longer period.Whether the 90 Maoists who had surrendered and later left the camps was a ply of the Naxalites will be known later on, but it appears that were facilitated to surrender to know about the strategy of the government machinery against the Maoisim.If that is true,then it is a blunder on the part of the adminstration,first to let them “in” and later allow them “out “.

The state had received reports from Bastar police about the plan of the inmates to desert the camps well in advance.The inmates claimed they were dissatisfied with the arrangements in the make shift camps built of polythene sheds ,no beds nor basic human facilities.

The government had planned to construct pucca housing colonies from them near the police stations and high-ways to prevent the Maoists from attacking them.The decision was to handover the construction of model housing colonies through the public sector HUDCO and the foundation was scheduled for October last year.But,nothing happened.The tribals staying in the camps did not get incentives.The government was unable as the numbered swelled to 50,000.

The state launched the movement by the people and for the people,but could not take effective steps to conrol attacks on the people .There was no security to the people. Recent spurt in violence by the Naxalites and "irresponsible" and vague statements by the state’s home minister and the senior police officers has raised serious concern over the containment of the Maoist' menace in the state.

The recent violence is one of the series of major incidents committed by the Maoists in since the Salva Judum was launched on June 8 last year from Bhairamgarh.The government claimed 200 people have been killed by the Maoists for their involvement in the campaign against the Maoists. Maoists have killed innocent tribals,members of the Nagaland police,CRPF,CISF,Special Armed Force,district armed force ,attacked the police stations,blew up railway stations,supply belt of the NMDC,magazine of the corporation and disrupted the power supply of Bastar by blasting the high tension power lines..

The Naxalite who earlier used to operate only in the interiors of Bastar and Surguja are now visible in action on the highways in the two regions and police reports suggest they have even planted pressure bombs in water hand pumps. The growing influence of the maoist can be gauged from the simple fact that they even managed to reach the state capital to distribute their VCDs and literature and that too in the flats of the MLA’s.

Though there has been a significant increase in the Naxal related violence since the last one year, but inaction even after intelligence inputs and presence of large number of security personnel in the state shows the inability of the state to run the normal administration effectively in the Naxal infested areas.

There has been a debate over the movement of the Salva Judum campaign as whether the state has any rights of using people as an instrument in their efforts of eradicating the Left Wing extremism, The state government is not only determined to use them as tools ,but is also glorifying it. Till now, more than 200 villagers associated with the movement have lost their lives in a span of eight months which averages to two persons being killed every third day. In a rare mass migration in post independent India, more than 50,000 villagers have been displaced and are now staying in refugee camps.

Even when so many people have lost their lives and homes with a commitment to drive out the Naxalites from their homeland, state government still has to formulate a policy as how to go about the public upsurge in these areas which is adding to the casualties. The tribals and the villagers who are associated with the campaign have been stranded with nowhere to go, for it’s the maoist who bay for their blood if the join the movement and if they do not, the same is done by the state government.

The developmental programmes and the rehabilitation of villagers displaced owing to the movement as announced by the government eight months back, are still at the policy formulation levels, furthering adding to the miseries of people. Government in a statement admitted non-utilization of 90 per cent of the fund allocated for Naxal infestedDantewada district. There is no construction of roads, no relief works in the district. Maoists got support from the villagers due to rampant corruption in the tribal areas of Bastar.The government sponsored scheme of free supplying of LPG cylinders to villagers and tribals of the naxalite infested district has run into rough weathers, with zero cylinders being distributed in Kanker and Dantewada and 74 against the target of 5,000 in North Bastar

The ministers and the senior leaders of the BJP in Chhattisgarh had been complaining of Centre's poor assistance in combating the problem. It seems the BJP government has no knowledge of the Constitutional provisions of police being a state subject and duty of the state government is to provide security to its citizens. The law and order is an exclusive issue to be dealt by the state government and the role of the Government of India is limited to extending support in form of resources, like extra force and funds. Even after getting the support of the Government of India, which was evident when the centre willingly allowed the state to use the services of the NSG commandos, the state's inability in combating the problem has now the forced it to find new excuses and new strategies to ignore its responsibility. The state now blames the "inaction of the neighboring states".

The state machinery in its statements has termed Maoist violence as an act of cowardice and has repeatedly talked of new strategies almost every week, but on the ground the situation is worsening day by day. Much hype was created by the state government officials regarding availing the expertise of the elite NSG commandos in combating the naxalites, now after these commandos have arrived in the state, no official has spoken anything regarding their effectiveness.

The maoist have also stepped up their activity and have warned that more big strikes would be carried out unless the Salva Judum campaign is stopped.

The Salva judum campaign which was claimed to be launched ‘by the people’ is now leading to sufferings ‘to the people’ and the basic relief ‘for the people’ is the ultimate casualty. It now remains to be seen that when will the state government decide that enough is enough.

(www.centralchronicle.com/20050811/1108304.htm)

Chattisgarh: Blood on the tribal land

In post independent India, more than 30000 villagers have been displaced and are now staying in refugee camps, says Abhinandan Mishra

The arrival of the American President nearly overshadowed the killing of more than 25 innocent tribals by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh. The inability of the Chhattisgarh government which is of "the people" and "by the people" to provide security "to the people" is a matter of grave concern in enforcement of Constitutional provisions in Chhattisgarh. Recent spurt in violence by the Naxalites and "irresponsible" and vague statements by the state's home minister and the senior police officers has raised serious concern over the containment of the Maoist' menace in the state.

The recent violence is one of the series of major incidents committed by the Maoists in last 30 days in the state. Tuesday's Maoists attack was preceded by killing of tribals, attack on police station, killings of jawans of Nagaland armed battalion, looting of explosives from the NMDC ore mines and blasting of high tension transmission tower.

The Naxalite who earlier used to operate only in the interiors of Bastar and Surguja are now visible in action on the highways in the two regions and police reports suggest they have even planted pressure bombs in water hand pumps. The growing influence of the Maoist can be gauged from the simple fact that they even managed to reach the state capital to distribute their VCDs and literature and that too in the flats of the MLAs.

Though there has been a significant increase in the Naxal related violence since the last one year, but inaction even after intelligence inputs and presence of large number of security personnel in the state shows the inability of the state to run the normal administration effectively in the Naxal infested areas.

There has been a debate over the movement of the Salva Judum campaign as whether the state has any rights of using people as an instrument in their efforts of eradicating the Left Wing extremism, The state government is not only determined to use them as tools, but is also glorifying it. Till now, more than 150 villagers associated with the movement have lost their lives in a span of eight months which averages to two persons being killed every third day. In a rare mass migration in post independent India, more than 30000 villagers have been displaced and are now staying in refugee camps. Even when so many people have lost their lives and homes with a commitment to drive out the Naxalites from their homeland, state government still has to formulate a policy as how to go about the public upsurge in these areas which is adding to the casualties. The tribals and the villagers who are associated with the campaign have been stranded with nowhere to go, for it's the Maoist who bay for their blood if the join the movement and if they do not, the same is done by the state government.

The development programmes and the rehabilitation of villagers displaced owing to the movement as announced by the government eight months back, are still at the policy formulation levels, furthering adding to the miseries of people. Government in a statement admitted non-utilization of 90 per cent of the fund allocated for Naxal infested
Dantewara district. Since September, there is no construction of roads, no relief works in the district.

The ministers and the senior leaders of the BJP in Chhattisgarh had been complaining of Centre's inability and inassistance in combating the problem. It seems the BJP government has no knowledge of the Constitutional provisions of police being a state subject and duty of the state government is to provide security to its citizens. The law and order is an exclusive issue to be dealt by the state government and the role of the Government of India is limited to extending support in form of resources, like extra force and funds. Even after getting the support of the Government of India, which was evident when the centre willingly allowed the state to use the services of the NSG commandos, the state's inability in combating the problem has now the forced it to find new excuses and new strategies to ignore its responsibility. The Irresponsible attitude of the chief minister was evident from his statement when he attributed the increase in violence to "inaction of the neighboring states".

The home minister too has been using idioms in state's response to the increasing violence of Maoists which are boasting, irresponsible and baseless. In addition to the politicians, the state's DG of police calling the Maoists as thieves, dacoits and smugglers shows the professional incapability of the state police chief. The state machinery in its statements has termed Maoist violence as an act of cowardice and has repeatedly talked of new strategies almost every week, but on the ground the situation is worsening day by day. Much hype was created by the state government officials regarding availing the expertise of the elite NSG commandos in combating the naxalites, now after these commandos have arrived in the state, no official has spoken anything regarding their effectiveness.

The phenomenal rise in the naxal violence is mainly attributed to sagging morale of the security forces of which the government is not even apparently aware of. There is no uniform policy of posting of police men in naxalite infested areas and most of police officers are posted in those areas as punishment. Police is struggling for the basic needs and even the senior police officials are struggling for their genuine needs.

Another reason for the increase in naxalite authority is the rampant corruption which has covered the state. The government sponsored scheme of free supplying of LPG cylinders to villagers and tribals of the naxalite infested district has run into rough weathers, with zero cylinders being distributed in Kanker and Dantewara and Seventy-four against the target of five thousand in bastar.

As described by the chief Minster the state Government is engaged in fighting a "battle" against the maoist, a battle which is being fought through pamphlets, posters and vcd's on the same scale as done by the maoist.

The "gentleman, humble and generous" chief minister of the state Raman singh has apparently become a victim of confusion, lack of coordination and communication among the different section of the state bureaucracy, police and his own office which became evident when contradictory statements were issued about the casualty figure and kidnappings following Tuesdays tribal massacre. The chief minister literally woke up following the message from the president and statement of the union home minister in the parliament and consequently the international community was fed with high alarming figures of death which remained un-confirmed.

The Salva judum campaign which was claimed to be launched 'by the people' is now leading to sufferings 'to the people' and the basic relief 'for the people' is the ultimate casualty. It now remains to be seen that when will the state government decide that enough is enough.

(http://www.centralchronicle.com/20060313/1303304.htm)