Bibhu Prasad Routray
IPCS Article No. 4395, 21 April 2014
That the
Communist Party of India-Maoist (Maoist) does not believe in democratic
principles and electoral processes is too well known. The 2014 Lok Sabha
elections provided the extremist outfit with yet another opportunity to
reassert its vision for the country. In words and as well as with accompanied
violence, it proved once more that the probability of a negotiated settlement
to the long-standing conflict is rather low.
The CPI -Maoist
released three sets of somewhat contradictory statements in March 2014, two
signed by the spokesperson of the outfit's Central Committee (CC) and one on
behalf of the outfit's Eastern Regional Bureau. Dated 24 March, the CC released
its customary boycott of elections calling the affair "another huge
financial burden on the people", which can not transform the "present
exploitative system." Critiquing all the political parties for their
dishonest policies towards the tribals, the statement termed the government's
peace proposals "deceptive."
Interestingly,
another 19-page document was released by the CC on the same day, which
contained answers to 11 questions posed by the media persons to the outfit. Responding
to a question on the outlook of the outfit on peace talks with the government, the
spokesperson stated that while the outfit is "not against Peace Talks with
the government", since talks are "an integral part of the political
struggle." However, five demands were outlined which the government must
fulfil before a peace process could begin. These included declaring the CPI -Maoist a
political movement; de-proscribing the outfit and its front organisations; initiating
judicial inquiries into the killings of its senior leaders; stopping of
security force operations; and releasing arrested leaders/cadres of the outfit.
The statement
surprisingly was hailed as the outfit's declaration for peace by the media, ignoring
the fact that the conditions outlined have remained an integral part of the
outfit's statements in the past. While the outfit expects the government to
fulfil some of its most impious demands, the outfit itself has rebuffed the
minimum condition laid down by the home ministry to "stop violence for 72
hours" as the lone condition for starting of a peace process.
Few days
prior to the release of the twin CC statements, the CPI -Maoist's
Eastern Regional Bureau had issued a four-page 'short-term vision document' appealing
the masses to chose between "real democracy" or a "pseudo-democratic
system." This document, which effectively constituted a manifesto of the outfit,
reiterated the need for a "new constitution" including provisions for
"equal socio-economic rights to women" and "death penalty
compulsory for molestation and rape." It further called for "freedom
of speech and expression, right to congregate and protest, form an organisation,
primary health care, access to primary education, primary and minimum
employment and compulsory participation in daily governance system." The
outfit additionally promised not to suppress the separatist movements with the
power of the gun, but to "honour nationalist movements and self-decision
to allow them dignified and peaceful co-existence (sic)."
Neither the
proclamation of intent for peace nor the declaration of its own manifesto, however,
stopped the outfit from carrying out a series of attacks on security force
personnel, poll officials as well as civilians in the affected states that went
to polls. Compared to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, during which 19 people were
killed by the outfit, till the writing of the article, at least 20 civilians
and security forces had been killed in Maoist attacks.
These
contrasting signals emanating from the outfit signify two possibilities. One, peace
negotiation as an instrument of conflict resolution does not figure in the
imagination of the extremist outfit and its utterances on a peace process are
merely rhetorical. Two, the outfit intends to use violence as a bargaining tool
in case a peace process with the government comes to fruition.
Faced with
this deceptive extremist strategy, the action plans of the political class to
deal with the challenge, remains highly fractured. Going by the manifestos of
the political parties, the probability that the new government in New Delhi
While the
Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promise to deal with the problem
with a "firm hand" and a policy of "zero tolerance" respectively,
the Aam Admi Party (AAP) prefers a "multi-lateral dialogue." The
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI -M) opines in
favour of "specific measures to tackle the socio-economic problems" faced
"particularly by the tribal people." The BJP insists that "talks
with the insurgent groups will be conditional and within the framework of the
constitution." The Congress, on the other hand, is silent on the process
of dialogue and prefers to pursue "a development agenda to empower people"
in the affected areas. While the CPI -M insists
that left-wing extremism is "not just a security issue," the AAP
reiterates that "socio-economic development and effective political de-centralisation"
hold the key.
A project
that attempts to reconcile these stark differences is not only difficult, but
is likely to produce a compromised and ineffective policy. Thus, in all
probability, left-wing extremism will continue to be a challenge, inhibiting
growth, development and governance, in the foreseeable future.
http://www.ipcs.org/article/naxalite-violence/naxal-violence-old-challenges-for-the-new-government-4395.html
Reproduced in Eurasia Review
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