While the killing of Osama Bin Laden has dominated the Indian media space and the mind space of the Indians, the killing of eleven security personnel in Jharkhand by Maoists on 3rd may 2011 has been dismissed as routine. India may have to pay dearly for this indifference and insensitivity.
This article assess the Maoists situation as it obtains particularly in Jharkhand and Bihar. It is based on a very recent field tour by this author. It emerged from the interactions with various segments of the society as well as the administrators and security personnel that the overall intensity of the Maoist menace is certainly not on the decline. Even though in certain areas of Bihar the situation has abated, the Maoists are seeking to enlarge their influence in new areas.
One police official in Bihar lamented the fact that while the judiciary does not spare criminals, hard-core Maoists charged with dozens of murders are being granted bail. They come back only to unleash fresh round of terror.
In Jharkhand, the state authorities, given their some fresh administrative initiatives and expansion of security forces, are sanguine about rooting out the problem in a timeframe ranging from 5 – 15 years. This ambiguous time span in itself is indicative of the level of threat posed by the Maoists.
Certain revelations during the tour exploded many myths that the benefactors and ideologues of the Maoists have assiduously built over the years.
The Tribal Myth
It is only in the last three or four years that the entire Maoist movement has sought to be portrayed as an uprising by tribes in the forested areas of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
As far as Jharkhand is concerned, it is pertinent to mention that the population of adivasis in the state is about 30 percent. Of the 24 districts, not more than five districts have tribal majority. These are situated on the west, bordering Chhattisgarh and Orissa the epicenter of the Maoists. The proximity of the epicenter is responsible for the high intensity of Maoism in these districts rather than tribal issues. The spread of Maoist terror is indifferent to the concentration of tribal population in the 20 out of 24 affected districts of Jharkhand. The casualty figures for 2009 are an indicator — Ranchi – 44, East Singbhum – 34, Latehar – 29, Khunti – 23, Bokaro – 22, Gumla – 21, West Singbhum – 20. The level of intimidation and coercion in these areas is very high. Not even army personnel are being spared from extortion.
There is no displacement of tribal population on account of mining in Jharkhand. Also, the majority of the tribal have land-holdings. The problem of sharing of subsistence on forest produce is negligible.There are also no issues about exploitation of tribal by non-tribal. There is great deal of harmony between the two, not only in the towns of Jharkhand but the villages as well. The non-tribal are very much part of the fabric of society. The children of tribal and non-tribal go to the same schools, and given a geographical area have the same primary occupation. Amongst the people of Jharkhand, there is no ill-will, rancor, or complaint about industrial and mining activity.
The Maoist cadres and their local leadership are both tribal and non-tribal. There is no language divide between the two as the lingua franca across the state is Hindi. Culturally too, a great deal of synthesis has taken place over the years.
If the issue was only of tribal disaffection, the casualty (fatalities) would not have been so high in Bihar, especially in the backdrop of the widely hailed good governance in the state for the last six years.
Following the incident of killing of Inspector Tete in September 2010, there are reports about fissures in the Maoist ranks on ethnic lines. Otherwise, the Maoists have never tried to create or exacerbate any tribal or non-tribal divide, as it hurts their cadre recruitment and mobilization drives, and also has the potential to provoke the spawning of a counter revolutionary force, which would be detrimental to their political and financial interests. The “tribal displacement – forest rights – exploitation” label is a deliberate creation of the section of over-ground Maoists thriving in the garb of media, doctors, lawyers, intellectuals, NGOs, social workers and their international benefactors.
About 30 out of 38 districts of Bihar are impacted by the Maoist insurgency. The state has a tribal population of not more than one percent. There are no tribal majority districts in Bihar and yet the State continues to grapple with the Maoist menace, especially in areas like Gaya, Aurangabad and Sasaram, which are contiguous to Jharkhand. The intensity of Maoist violence in some pockets of these areas is as alarming as in the worst pockets of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
It is in Bihar, i.e. in Jahanabad, barely 50 kms away from Patna, the state capital, that the Maoists laid siege to a district town during their attack on the Central Jail on November 2005 to facilitate the escape of over 375 prisoners. It was not a guerilla type of operation. The Maoists attacked the police lines, offices of district administration and the jail simultaneously. The attackers had taken over the town for nearly three hours. The attacking force constituted Maoist cadres from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and even Andhra Pradesh.
It is in Bihar that recently in September 2010, when four policemen were abducted by the Maoists in Lakhisarai district and the only tribal amongst them, Inspector Lucas Tete, was killed in cold blood. Earlier in February 2010, a group of around 200 Maoists had earlier attacked Korasi village in Jamui district and killed 11 people, including three women and a child. Most of the deceased were of the scheduled tribe Koda community, which dominates the region.If the issue was only of tribal disaffection, the casualty (fatalities) would not have been so high in Bihar, especially in the backdrop of the widely hailed good governance in the state for the last six years. If the tribal argument had substance would have been glaring contrast in casualty figures between Bihar and Jharkhand. Moreover it would have not gone beyond the Bihar-Jharkhand border. The casualties in Bihar in the year 2010 were Monghyr-18, Jammui -17, Gaya-16, Aurangabad-13, Sheohar-11, Lakhisarai-8, Rohtas-4, Banka-3, East Chamaran-3, Kamiur-2 and Patna-2. A comparative table is given below:
Therefore, the Maoists problem is not about tribal and their rights. However, by conscious design, the benefactors of the Maoists and their urban faces have managed to wean the Indian peoples’ focus of Maoism as it exists in Bihar and West Bengal and Jharkhand, and reduce it to a tribal problem and link it with forest and mining issues. It is not without reason.
The forests provide the ‘Red Base’ and the illegal exploitation of India’s mineral wealth brings the riches and international leverage, which is growing phenomenally.
Development is not the Issue
In Jharkhand and Bihar even in the most Maoist affected areas, the Maoists are in a minority. It is for this reason that they have taken the path of violence and intimidation. In villages, where the Maoists have made strong inroads, there are only few hardcore supporters of the Maoists. The voter turnout during various elections despite the Maoist threat in certain areas is testimony.
after very searching probes and insistence, people from across Jharkhand revealed that there is no “˜hunger or “˜starvation in the state. Not one person said that they were denied rations through BPL cards.
Recently, Panchayat elections were held in Jharkhand after 32 years, and the response was overwhelming despite ‘boycott calls’ by the Maoists in selected areas where they perceived themselves to be politically weak. Many Maoists have also managed to get elected. It remains to be seen whether it will help in democratization of the Maoists and bring them into the mainstream or whether they will further entrench themselves to act as bases for capture of state power in conformity with the objective of the Central Committee of the Maoists.
In Bihar too, the Panchayat elections are being conducted. Some Maoists are participating under the banner of CPI (ML), though they deny it. The CPI (ML) candidates are the only ones who are fighting under party banner. The response to them is lukewarm. The Maoists also issued diktats for poll boycott in certain areas. This is typical of the Maoists who are known to use both underground and over-ground means in their journey for capture of power.
If the absence or lack of development was any issue, there would have been near unanimous support for the Maoists. Moreover, they would not have destroyed schools, hospitals and prevented construction activities.
Bihar today has one of the best road communications in the country, both in terms of network and quality. The few very ugly patches are in the areas, where the Maoist threat is high and the contractors are being harassed for levy in amounts, which they can ill afford to pay.
The question in Jharkhand is not about absence of development, it could be about quantum and pace. The arterial roads are there and are being improved at a feverish pitch. The link-roads to villages need considerable improvement. Bihar today has one of the best road communications in the country, both in terms of network and quality. The few very ugly patches are in the areas, where the Maoist threat is high and the contractors are being harassed for levy in amounts, which they can ill afford to pay. Expensive road construction machinery destroyed by the Maoists can be seen strewn in many places in Bihar.
In Bihar, the public mood is incredibly upbeat because of the earnest efforts of the government towards development and in reaching out to people. The government has embarked on an initiative ‘aap ki sarkar, aap ke dwar’ (your government at your doorstep). These measures have endeared the government to the people, but the Maoist leaders are hardly impressed. They are in fact unnerved by the very pace of development in Bihar.
If one were to consider the high sale figures of cars and two-wheelers in India, its most visible impact can be seen in Jharkhand and Bihar. The people of all the 24 districts of Jharkhand maintained that 40 to 50 percent families in the villages have at least one two-wheeler. The increasing density of four-wheelers and two-wheelers in Bihar is also unmistakable. 80 to 90 percent rural families in Bihar and Jharkhand have cellular phones.
The infrastructure destroyed by the Maoists has not been supplanted for more than a decade now. In fact, wherever the Maoists made intense inroads, the areas have been robbed of their soul.
However, it also cannot be denied that both Bihar and Jharkhand have so far been woefully wanting in meeting the energy demands of its people. As a result, the penetration of television in the rural areas of both the states is far from optimum. However, in all fairness it should be said that both states are lately addressing their energy deficiency problem cogently and observers are sanguine that there will be substantial turn around in two years time. One politician of the ruling dispensation said that in the next election the Nitish government will go to the electorate on the plank of achievement in the energy sector.
Importantly, after very searching probes and insistence, people from across Jharkhand revealed that there is no ‘hunger’ or ‘starvation’ in the state. Not one person said that they were denied rations through BPL cards. Only one person complained about rations falling trifle short of entitlement. So when the celebrated Chattisgarh based Maoist facilitator, soon on his release on bail says that 50 percent of Indians are malnourished, it is motivated. From the pictures in the TV, most of his family members appeared to be overfed.
The most gratifying feature of my interaction with senior government functionaries, whether in-charge of development or security, was the revelation that there was no dearth of funds. The only serious complaint was that they do not have the latitude to prioritize the development schemes under NREGA and MNREGA. This is being dictated by the central government. As a result they felt that the scheme was not appropriately targeted. Left to them, they said that they could have successfully addressed many development issues especially road-communications within the villages.
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The bogey of development being the primary cause of Maoism is best exemplified in the so-called liberated areas of the Maoists. They lie in ruins. The infrastructure destroyed by the Maoists has not been supplanted for more than a decade now. In fact, wherever the Maoists made intense inroads, the areas have been robbed of their soul. It was very much palpable during this author’s tour. Swathes of uncultivated lands abandoned due to Maoists threat can be seen in these areas. All economic activities in these areas at best, appeared to be limping.
Maoism as an Industry
Maoist organizations at all levels are cash rich. Officials in Jharkhand and Bihar pointed out that the scale and intensity of development being undertaken by the two states in effect is also filling the coffers of the Maoists. The Maoists generally do not hinder infrastructure building activity as long as they get their desired levy. They are however very sensitive to projects, which compromise the security of their bases or strongholds.
The fact that Maoists have become cash rich is evidenced by the pay scales they are offering to their armed cadres, which has seen at least four-fold increase in the last four years.
The same is the case with the mining industry. Only those mine owners, who do not pay levy to the Maoists or refuse to provide cover to the illegal mining activities by the Maoists, are being targeted. The officials also maintain that there are unscrupulous business and engineering concerns, who have been using the excuse of Maoist threat as alibi for their non-performance.
The fact that Maoists have become cash rich is evidenced by the pay scales they are offering to their armed cadres, which has seen at least four-fold increase in the last four years. In Bihar, they have advertised vacancies for computer literate personnel, offering them as much monthly salary as Rs.15,000/- . So there is a corresponding equation between the development by the state and wealth generation by the Maoists.
It is no coincidence that the Maoists strongholds are in the mineral heartland of India. Figures suggested by various sources regarding the financial worth of the Maoists through extortion, illegal mining, drug trafficking, vary wildly; nevertheless it is substantial. Some reckon that it may be even more than the GDP of some of the smaller third-world countries.
The wealth of the Maoists has manifested in: increasing mobility of their cadres in the Red Corridor; sophisticated weapons; relatively luxurious bases with generators, solar panels and dish antennas and communication equipment; latest vehicles; better uniforms and better training facilities. The attack on Silda camp in West Bengal in February 2010 was carried out by cadres, who came in four wheelers and the attack on Gyaneshwari Express in May 2010 was carried out by motorcycle borne Maoist cadres. Some government officials were intrigued about the back inflow of wealth generated by the Maoist industry, which is yet to be established. However, they are convinced that it runs far into the state capitals and New Delhi, and possibly also outside India.
In Bihar, they have advertised vacancies for computer literate personnel, offering them as much monthly salary as Rs.15,000/- . So there is a corresponding equation between the development by the state and wealth generation by the Maoists.
Basic development, therefore does impact on Maoism, but only to the extent of making recruitment and mobilization of Maoist cadres difficult. It is only a temporary reprieve because development is a relative phenomenon. It is in context of time, technology, resources and aspirations. To an extent, it enables the state to increase its presence and imprint. It is also truism that ultra-leftist ideology has great adaptability to ride over the grievances economically rich and psychologically impoverished societies.
Earlier in the 80s and 90s, when India was still a weak economy, various factions of the Maoists were engaged in a bitter internecine war, not for ideological reasons but over economic spoils and influence. This author met many victims of this war, who had pathetic tales to narrate.
The internecine war was devastating for the people as two or more factions could never be appeased. However since 2004, after merger of two main groups The Peoples War Group and Moist Communist Center, the extortion and mining industry of the Maoists have been fine-tuned and is yielding impressive dividends. The authorities in Jharkhand spoke about criminal activities of splinter and fringe groups, who are entirely motivated by lure of money rather than ideology. The spawning of such groups is something that the CPI (Maoist) cannot prevent in Jharkhand and elsewhere especially in times when the movement descends into the low phase. This explains as to why there can be no talks with the Maoists, as not one leader can guarantee enduring peace.
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