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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Naxalite & Maoist Masquerade


Oppression is alive and well!

Despite the economic gains Bharat has made in the last decade, there is a significant prevalence of human rights violation, more so in Rural Bharat than in Urban Bharat. Exploitation and oppression exists despite efforts to eliminate it through law and order, judicial, and social means.The parties involved are the oppressed, and the oppressors comprising of – Zamindars, upper-castes, thugs, bandits, law and order forces, Naxalites and Maoists.

Naxalites and Maoists; is there a difference?

The Naxalites and Maoists label themselves as revolutionaries and the champion of the down trodden. The Naxalites and Maoists may claim ideological differences. To the public at large, it is not clear who is fighting for what and against whom, except that the oppressed remain oppressed.

Blowing up infrastructure is an act of Idiocy!

Blowing up of railway tracks, mobile transmission towers, machinery and setting fire to buses, by Naxalites and Maoists serve no purpose. They are acts of terror and idiocy. Their justification that these actions are reactions to corruption and oppression, is a futile attempt to bring justice to the down trodden.

Eradication of Corruption and Oppression is the answer

Corruption and Oppression are viruses and have to be eradicated. It is understandable that without recourse to expedient justice, that allow perpetrators to flagrantly break the law, citizens out of desperation will take the law into their own hands. The law and order personnel are supposed to uphold the law. At times, it is not clear whose interests they are upholding.Two wrongs don’t make a right, but if one party can break the law and get away with it, what is to stop another to take the law into their own hands? 

What about the Naxalites and Maoists? Both are engaged in acts of violence against the “establishment” – consisting of commercial enterprises (both government and private sector) and law and order forces. Maoists are resorting to acts of terror and intimidation of villagers as well. Instead of standing up for the exploited, they are exploiting the exploited. From a Law and Order perspective, anyone who bears arms and chooses to use weapons to break the law is at risk of arms being used against them. As the saying goes, those who live by the sword, die by the sword. What about the oppressed? Much has been said about eliminating exploitation and oppression through law and  order, judicial, and social means. These efforts are of no avail, if the rural poor have no jobs and are at the mercy of others who take advantage of their predicament.

What the Rural poor need are jobs and opportunity

Regardless of the circumstances and situation, the most effective method is to provide any individual who is willing to work, the opportunity to generate a sustainable income stream and use that to work themselves out of their predicament. The only viable “rapid jobs and "opportunity" creation for the Rural poor. This is accomplished by growing the Organized Sector comprising of medium to large-scale undertakings, including agro-based industries, and Special Economic Zones (SEZs). It is easier for a villager to move to where a job is, than to bring jobs to them. The organized Sector is the economic engine that promotes unorganized sector jobs that out number the organized sector jobs. The Naxalites and Maoists, by fighting the Organized Sector are simply playing into the hands of the local oppressors i.e. the Zamindars, who would prefer status quo in order to perpetuate the current environment and maintain their hold.. Anything that results in rural job creation should be promoted and anything that inhibits rural job creation such as corrupt practices, oppression, exploitation, and bureaucratic hurdles should be eliminated.

Naxalites and Maoists can play a positive proactive role

By promoting progress, exposing oppression and corruption, rather than destroying public/private property and inconveniencing citizens. Resorting to knee jerk reactive responses only adds to the problem rather than being part of the solution. It is the government’s responsibility to prosecute the oppressors and the corrupt and bring about justice, expediently and efficiently. In Bharat today, the government is clearly delinquent.

Naxalites and Maoists can be our modern day Pandavas

Naxalites and Maoists need to reinvent themselves. Rather than adhere to a foreign ideology that was proposed at a different time and a different place and irrelevant to today’s environment. They ought to look into our Hindu scriptures and derive their ideology from the richness we have in Hindu philosophy.The corrupt and the oppressors are modern day Kauravas. They embody the “Duryodhana Complex” of not being satisfied with what they have and taking what is not theirs. The Bhagavat Gita clearly outlines the fate of the Kauravas that results from Duryodhana’s greed, pride and obstinacy.

Who will restore Dharma?

Bhagwan Parashuram annihilated the wrong doers and fought for the oppressed. He slew King Krutavirya for stealing a cow! Krutavirya’s sons beheaded Parashuram’s father rishi Jamadagni, in retaliation. Parashuram hunted down all of Krutavirya sons and killed them. But Bhagwan Parashuram did not stop at that. He vowed to wipe out 21 generations of Kshatriyas to remove evil from Earth and re-established Dharma. The frustrations experienced, by the Naxalites, Maoists and well minded citizens due to the government’s inability to deal with our modern day Duryodhanas and Krutaviryas is understandable. If Naxalites and Maoists were to take on the role of modern day Pandavas or Bhagwan Parashuram, and their response is to strike the fear of life among the corrupt and the oppressors so be it! Someone has to restore Dharma to Glorious Bharat.

Disclaimer: The author does not condone the destruction of property and assets by the Maoists or Naxalites. Nor does the author condone the flagrant Human Rights violations of innocent parties taking place. The author is a proponent of “Inclusive Growth”, wherein in the pursuit of progress, reasonable and valid expectations of all stakeholders are taken into consideration and addressed, along with adherence to pragmatic environmental guidelines.

The author is a sympathizer of the oppressed. People have a right to bear arms and fight Human Rights Violations that are taking place, some in the absence of governmental intervention, some sanctioned by the “establishment”, some undertaken by the Naxalites and Maoists.