 |
| Tuesday, March 14, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
Musharraf’s claim exposed
CONCLAVE
OF FORMER PRIME MINISTERS |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heavy water : India’s
technological advance by O. P. Sabherwal IN the area of heavy water, a key input in the chain of nuclear reactors being constructed all over the country, India has not only registered self-sufficiency but is now in surplus production overcoming all odds created by a Western cordon. And thereby this hangs a tale — of a battle to master a sophisticated technology on the way to building nuclear power production capacity.
Trust
the British!
Can
reforms help tackle Naxal menace?
March 14, 1925
|
|
A FEW days before his murder in broad day-light in a Karachi hotel room Mr Iqbal Raad, one of the lawyers defending deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had declared at a Hyderabad convention of the Pakistan Muslim League that he would lay bare before the court some revealing facts, so far hidden, regarding the Kargil episode. This was interpreted as quite unnerving for the ruling General. Since then many people in Pakistan had started expressing doubts about the security of Mr Raad. What has happened is, therefore, not surprising for these observers. This line of thinking makes one believe that the military regime or someone close to Gen Pervez Musharraf might be having a hand in the gruesome act. Whatever the truth, it will perhaps never be known, going by the past record of those in charge of law and order in Karachi, the commercial capital of Pakistan. Some people may describe this theory as very weak as the ruling General would not want to undertake a course which would give his regime a bad name, that too when US President Bill Clinton is scheduled to make a brief visit to that country. But such persons forget one fact: in Pakistan, the present and past rulers—Mr Nawaz Sharif included—have created an atmosphere in which anything that goes wrong can easily be blamed on India’s RAW (Research and Analysis Wing). This is what is being done in the case of the Raad murder. Even certain established newspapers of Pakistan have also interpreted the sensational incident on this unrealistic line. The agitation launched
by the legal fraternity over the Raad killing is focusing
attention on a different aspect. Their argument is that
the government has miserably failed in its moral duty to
provide adequate security to the lawyers defending an
accused person no less than a former Prime Minister. This
amounts to subverting the very process of law. The
indifference of the military regime to take note of such
an important viewpoint has also proved hollow the
much-publicised claim of General Musharraf — which
he had been making ever since he captured power in a
bloodless coup on October 12 last year — that
improving the law and order situation was on top of his
list of priorities. If the administration cannot protect
the life of such an important person as Mr Raad, how can
it ensure the safety of the lives and limbs of ordinary
people? The Kalashnikov culture is refusing to disappear
from Pakistan, and the situation in Karachi remains the
worst. One can buy any number of lethal weapons in
Karachi and elsewhere. It is not without reason that the
defence lawyers are demanding the relocation of Mr Nawaz
Sharif’s trial venue in the plane hijacking case
outside Karachi and somewhere in Punjab. Though they
cannot consider themselves secure even in a Punjab city,
going by the widespread lawlessness in Pakistan, they
will have at least the psychological satisfaction of
defending their client in a little safer area. But will
they be really carrying out their duty fearlessly? This
is not possible under the circumstances. Already they had
refused to take up the Sharif case initially, fearing
intimidation in view of the military regime’s move
to subjugate the judiciary, leading to protest
resignations by certain Pakistani Supreme Court judges.
They had agreed to plead his case on a special request by
the former Prime Minister that he needed them to save his
life. Today when the lawyers see a serious threat to
their own lives, they will be morally justified if they
decide to boycott the proceedings in the case at this
stage. After all, they are fighting a losing court battle
as there are clear indications that their client will
meet the fate of Z.A. Bhutto. |
|
THOSE who are shocked “deeply” by the murder of seven Dalit individuals in Karnataka on March 11 are either mini-Valmikis with extraordinarily compassionate and highly empathetic abilities or pretenders to historical ignorance. The state is traditionally ruled by the most vicious form of casteism like, say, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and UP. The Scheduled Castes have been given a fancy name-tag: Dalit. To be caste-bound is not just to be tradition-bound. It means the inheritance of inhumanity through primordial prejudices and unending economic exploitation. It also means the defeat of the forces of social, economic and political change in spite of the codification of constitutional rights and the rule of law. Look at certain happenings within a year. Kolar, February 10, 1999: A landlord’s wrath made the hands of a 12-year-old boy, Anjanappa, gangrenously affected. He had entered the landlord’s fields to chase away his flock of straying sheep. He was tortured by a Reddy with a shattering water stream until his shoulders were broken and his hands became non-functional. Medical treatment being the privilege of the rich, he remained uncared for until the decaying limbs became ready for amputation. The rest is symbolic history. Kolur, March 21, 1999: It was the festive day of Ugadi in this village as in other places in the area. Dalit young persons, filled with joy, did not notice and, therefore, did not show “due respect” to gram panchayat president Hanumanthappa, who was passing by a temple. The big man’s goons destroyed seven huts of the poor and caused much harm to life, limb and habitat. (This place is in the Bellary constituency!) Bellary, March 29, 1999: Barbers refused to give Scheduled Castes men a shave and made them walk long distances for getting their hair cut. Subsequently, they were belaboured when they ventured to touch the chariot of the village deity or to come close to the temple. And now Kambalapalli,
March 12, 2000: Seven Dalits, including three women, were
burnt alive in the fiefdom of Mr S.M. Krishna after night
descended on the rich-ruled hamlet. Because even the worm
turns, two Scheduled Castes youths had an altercation
with two men of their age of the Reddy community. Several
“low-caste” men were attacked with wooden
clubs. Arson followed. The police took note of the case
when the news of this barbarism reached the ears of a few
politicians and the urban elite. One hears that a High
Court judge would enquire into the happening.... In any
attempt made at analysing the composition of our feudal
culture, the end of the road is not clear. The study of
tradition gets bogged in tradition. The social and
economic change has been half-hearted and frustrating.
Class has not emerged from caste. The mindset has
remained largely unchanged. Do we require higher judicial
wisdom to prevent caste catastrophes? A revolution
presupposes a whole process of evolution. Reddys,
Bhumihars, Thakurs and others of their kind are much
above the poverty-line. So why invoke Adam Smith, Ricardo
or Amartya Sen? And Manu or Marx? Punish the guilty as
soon as possible. Do not wait for the lawyers’
strike to end or the judges to go on vacation. We have a
Welfare State and a democracy. The law of the land
mandates quick justice. Little volcanoes are erupting in
many places. The Union Home Ministry and the Law Ministry
have been hearing wake-up calls almost continuously. Let
this Karnataka case mark the beginning of our travel from
savagery to civilisation. |
|
WHAT is common between Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik? Nothing. They are literally poles apart at least in their approach to dealing with the sensitive issue of degradation of the environment. Mr Dhumal, who heads a Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition, believes that heavens would not fall because of his decision to lift the ban on the felling of trees in the state. He may be right. Heavens may not fall, but the hills might if the thoughtless order allowing tree-felling is not withdrawn. But Mr Dhumal is in mood to relent because he is not Mr Bondevik. The difference in their approach to responding to environment-related issues stood out in bold relief during the debate on almost identical subjects in the Himachal Assembly and the Norwegian Parliament on Friday. In the Vidhan Sabha the Congress staged a walkout over the Speaker’s decision to not admit a private member’s resolution against the government on the question of felling of trees in Himachal Pradesh. The reason for refusing permission was the February 14 interim order of the Supreme Court restraining the state government from lifting the ban on tree-felling. Unfortunately, the attempt to press for a debate generated more heat than information. The Chief Minister claimed that he had issued no fresh order but was merely implementing the decision taken by the Virbhadra Singh government on January 14, 1997. He would have his detractors believe that the BJP-led coalition was merely implementing a bad decision taken by the Congress over three years ago. Does such an assertion make political sense? If the Congress was out to destroy the fragile ecology of the hill state, which has already suffered serious damage because of the recklessness with which state-sponsored and illegal acts of felling of trees were allowed before the ban, he should have shown better political sense by putting into place an eco-friendly policy. It is still not too late
for him to realise the frightening consequences of
allowing the hills to be denuded of the already
inadequate forest cover. He should call for details of
the debate in the Norwegian Parliament on the day he was
defending his unhappy decision on tree-felling. Norwegian
Prime Minister Bondevik too heads a fragile coalition.
But the handicap of not having a majority of his own did
not deter him from rooting for the adoption of an
environmental policy which he thought was essential for
controlling rising levels of pollution in his country.
According to him, “the anti-pollution law is a
pillar of a responsible environmental policy”.
Unfortunately, Parliament ignored his warnings of rising
pollution by voting for building gas-fired powered
plants. Mr Bondevik followed the next best option
available to him. After the vote in Parliament against
his anti-pollution proposals he drove to the Palace and
submitted his resignation to King Harod. He could have
bowed to the popular will and continued in office by
becoming a party to the decision to enforce a policy
which he thought may cause irreversible damage to the
ecology of the region. The difference between Mr
Bondevik’s concern for the environment and that of
Mr Dhumal is the difference between good politics and
bad. Mr Bondevik is, perhaps, aware that it takes the
earth nearly 10 million years for healing the injuries
caused to its fragile eco system. Mr Dhumal, on the other
hand, may find it difficult to believe that the felling
of trees in Himachal Pradesh could result in an
environmental catastrophe of a global magnitude. |
CONCLAVE OF FORMER PRIME
MINISTERS WHAT is this conclave of former Prime Ministers going to do? Will it be the nucleus of a new party? Recreate a Third Front? A new forum? A pressure group? A political trade union? An interventionist link? The four former Prime Ministers who met recently created a mild stir by getting together and exchanging views of some of the current topics of interest to the country. The little interest they created should flatter them because they could have been ignored since they represent no one. All that they can claim is that they are four distinguished citizens who have held the reigns of government in the past. Even when reports spread that they had joined together for a discussion, speculation was on that some of them did not even get on very well with each other. There are too many political parties in the country and comments spread that India would be better off with a two-party system. It is not what they tried to discuss that created the stir but the fact that they met. They have mentioned that they would be meeting again “as and when the situation so demands”. Obviously, they are thinking of a political role to play. Many guesses have been made why they met. One of the subjects they discussed was the conflict between the various opposition parties and the BJP over the RSS issue. They are believed to have discussed subjects like the reduction in subsidies. Mr Chandra Shekhar said: “If issues agitating the people are raised, like the disinvestment of PSUs at a throwaway price, the government will have to take a position on them and so will those who are opposed to the government. This is bound to have a political fallout.” These are subjects which attract the attention of the entire country. The former Prime Ministers cannot be faulted for coming together to discuss the issues some of which had almost halted the proceedings of Parliament, like the RSS issue of Gujarat. The former Prime Ministers were quite justified in raising such issues, but the question is what they are going to achieve beyond what the political parties are doing. The former Prime Ministers included Mr V.P. Singh, Mr Chandra Shekhar, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and Mr I.K. Gujral. The fifth former Prime Minister, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, had been invited but he did not come. Reports said that he could not come for personal reasons. The expectation is that when they meet again, Mr Narasimha Rao too would be there. Certain reports said that they may take steps to revive the Third Front. This would be an interesting development. The first meeting of the former Prime Ministers could have made a beginning at it. If they have reached any agreement on reviving the Third Front, their next step would be to go in for discussions with like-minded parties and senior leaders who also think on these lines. In that case it will be a political step with which certain parties like the JD (U), the JD (S), the RJD, the Samata Party and the Lok Shakti would be involved. If this is so, this would make the next step of the former Prime Ministers for a larger conclave quite necessary. This move can have nothing to do with the Congress and the BJP. Maybe in that case Mr Narasimha Rao may not join the others. Since he belongs to the Congress the chances are that he will keep aloof. If reviving the Third Front is not the motive of calling the meeting, the question is what is going to happen which would make them send out invitations for another meeting. There are so many questions that need to be answered before we can know what would bring them together again. These would be questions of procedure and of political import. Who would send out the invitations? Whoever takes up that task would convert himself into a convener. That would give him a special place. And what would have to happen for such invitations to be sent? A subject that involves the entire country or only a certain set of political issues? And if invitations are to be sent would there be a consultation before these are dished out? It certainly cannot be that they will meet every time at Mr Chandra Shekhar’s hospitable house. The others may think it out of place to meet at a permanent venue. That would give a different meaning to the idea of a conclave of persons of equal importance. Would it mean that anyone of them can send out the invitation whenever anything of importance would strike him? Perhaps a far thought, it means that there will have to be a mini-secretariat to first consult the former Prime Ministers of the need for a discussion and then fix the dates and the venue. These may sound frivolous things to consider but these get to be very important in an organisation which wants to take up big and controversial issues. As far as one can know, no other country has a way where former Prime Ministers or Presidents have a system of meeting and discussing various political issues. In America, former Presidents sometimes meet but only when the serving President calls them either to discuss an issue, accompany him on a journey abroad (like going to attend a state funeral) or be present at a function which they did when, for instance, an agreement was to be signed between Israel and the Palestinians. As a matter of fact they are often informally referred to as President, like Bush would be called “President Bush”, not “former President Bush”. There are now in the USA President Reagan, President Carter, President Bush and President Ford. They do not meet by themselves and take up important issues for discussion. Of them President Reagan is too old and sick, suffering as he does from alzheimer’s disease. He does not meet anyone beyond his immediate family members. President Carter is active, taking part in a host of peace-keeping jobs and supervising elections in other countries. But these former chief executives do not play a political role as a group. In Britain, the former Prime Ministers do not meet at all for political discussions. In India, it is difficult to think that former Prime Ministers can come together and produce an agreed statement. Most of them are still active in politics. Two of them, like Mr Chandra Shekhar and Mr Deve Gowda, even fought the last parliamentary election. Mr Chandra Shekhar is a member of the Lok Sabha. He has political links with certain parties and is said to be quite close to the two Yadav leaders — Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav. Mr V.P. Singh, after a long furlough from politics because of ill health which kept him out of the country, has indicated that he is thinking of again taking up a political role. Most of them are still politically active. Mr Gujral had links with the Janata Dal. He has had a strange political history. When he last got elected to the Lok Sabha he was supported by both the Janata Dal and the Akalis. But when the next parliamentary elections came about, the political context had changed. The Akalis could not support him because they were now allies of the BJP and Mr Gujral, as a JD member, had voted against the BJP government which brought about the new election. But Mr Deve Gowda had a party of his own, though he got defeated. Mr Narasimha Rao would have fought an election but no constituency was offered to him. Mr Chandra Shekhar had no major opposition from any party and he got elected. Each, therefore, has some kind of a political outfit to link him with the politics of the day. The former Prime Ministers as a group have no mandate to carry on any joint political work. It is better that either they remain politicians aligned to political parties or lead a retired political life, not just spending most of their time cutting ribbons and releasing books but doing something more worthwhile. They could spring light on various problems facing the country, like overpopulation, corruption, pollution, terrorism. These are issues to which not much attention is generally paid by those who are not in authority. If these distinguished people, together with former Presidents, concern themselves with such issues, the nation will be better off. If they make political statements, how can they bring the various political parties to approve of them? How can they have a joint stand? They cannot, therefore, turn themselves into a pressure group. This is because they would not speak with a common voice on various issues. They are eminent
citizens and we should honour them as such. Dear former
Prime Ministers, may you be blessed with good health but
please don’t try to form a political party without a
mandate to lead you. We wish you the best of luck to
guide our country — but as distinguished
individuals. |
Trust the
British! CABINET papers recently made public in London reveal how the British Government cleverly fronted for the United States and inveigled Diego Garcia out of Mauritian control before granting Mauritius its independence. How was Sir Seewusagar Ramgoolam, the sagacious statesman who negotiated the Mauritian independence outwitted? Well, we can only guess. “Sir Seewusagar, Her Majesty’s Government has great pleasure in granting Mauritius full and unconditional independence and we wish you and your people well.” “Thank you. Never again will Mauritius fall under the cruel yoke of British imperialism and colonialism.” “Quite. Sir Seewusagar, before the British delegation departs for London, it has a small request to make. As you know, out in the desolate Chagos archipelago, there’s a useless strip of uninhabited coral called Diego Garcia. Britain would like to retain it for a while as a memento of its long and happy association with Mauritius and its people.” “Are you out of your blinkin’ mind? Diego Garcia is uninhabited? Well, right now there are over 5,000 people living on Diego Garcia.” “Why Sir Seewusagar, you must be kidding. There are no people on Diego Garcia. Just giant marine turtles and to prove my point, here are a few satellite photographs, courtesy CIA’s Dirty Tricks dept.” “Mmm....they do look like giant turtles. Okay, you can keep Diego Garcia for a while and I’m sorry I got worked up over nothing.” “Oh, that’s all right, Sir Seewusagar, it happens to the best of us. Would you mind very much if we base a few B-52s on Diego Garcia?” “Just a minute. Aren’s B-52s giant intercontinental bombers of the United States Strategic Air Command capable of carrying atom bombs? Look, we don’t want to get involved if any super power rivalry and get blown to bits in the bargain.” “Why Sir Seewusagar, you must be joking. Whoever told you that B-52 was a plane? It’s nothing like that. B-52 is the brand name of a new detergent powder being test marketed. You see, it contains 52 per cent Benzene Glycol and that’s why it’s called B-52.” “Oh I see. Nobody tells me anything. In that case, you can base a few B-52s on Diego Garcia.” “Thank you, Sir Seewusagar, it’s a pleasure to con you and take you for a ride. We also wish to construct a few storage tanks on Diego Garcia capable of holding a million gallons of aviation fuel.” “Whatever for? You’re talking as though you’re planning to surreptitiously convert Diego Garcia into a major military base.” “Of course not, Sir Seewusagar and have we ever lied to you? You see, some of our American allies might sometimes vacation on Diego Garcia and they’ll need aviation fuel to wash their green fatigues.” “Oh, in that case you can construct the storage tanks.” “Thank you, Sir Seewusagar. We also want to blast the coral and deepen the approach channel into the harbour. You see, we expect a few cruise ships to occasionally visit Diego Garcia.” “A cruise ship? You mean something like the QE2?” “No, not quite.
Something like the USS Enterprise.” |
Heavy
water : India’s technological advance IN the area of heavy water, a key input in the chain of nuclear reactors being constructed all over the country, India has not only registered self-sufficiency but is now in surplus production overcoming all odds created by a Western cordon. And thereby this hangs a tale — of a battle to master a sophisticated technology on the way to building nuclear power production capacity. To overcome uranium enrichment problems for reactor fuel — later encountered for the operation of the Tarapur reactors built with American turn-key collaboration — India took to the pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) design for the first phase of its nuclear power production plans. Barring the first reactors at Tarapur, the chosen design of pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) needed heavy water as a moderator as well as coolant. On Indian capability to produce heavy water on a large scale in the country, therefore, rested much of India’s hopes and plans for creating a big nuclear power capacity. To meet the demand for heavy water indigenously was a major challenge and a test for India’s nuclear scientists. A difficult technology had to be mastered in order to build heavy water plants of a large capacity in the face of strict Western injunctions to put India’s bid to build nuclear power production in hot waters. In this testing assignment, development of heavy water technology in India has gone through a complete cycle the first leg of which required investigation of the most viable alternative technologies. The Heavy Water Board (HWB), which has guided the heavy water plants through vicissitudes, has also witnessed phased growth associated with any high-technology corporation. The HWB has faced tough problems related to the process, equipment, material and technologies, and emerged triumphant. The first phase was of the choice of suitable technologies and setting up of production plants based on these technologies. The problems encountered were far too many to be enumerated here since India was debarred from all technological or material help from the advanced countries. They required a tremendous amount of grit and determination. There were problems in both the technologies in use — namely, ammonia-based technology imported from Sulzer, and the indigenously-developed hydrogen sulphide-water exchange process. Since there was no single proven technology for heavy water production available, the HWB had to try these two different technologies both of which were in the process of development in the seventies. In fact, the ammonia-hydrogen exchange technology, though developed by the Sulzer Corporation, was being tested on a large enough scale for the first time in India. A great deal of process modifications had to be done during construction and pre-commissioning of the projects. It was only because of the tremendous efforts put in by scientists and engineers of the HWB that the process could be made successful. Only in the late eighties the board had a real turn-around. With the commissioning of heavy water plants at Hazira and Manuguru, the upward trend in heavy water production began. All the problems faced in the previous heavy water plants at Kota, Tuticorin and Baroda were taken care of in the new generation plants at Manuguru, Thal and Hazira. It is creditable for scientists and engineers of the HWB to have mastered both technologies and today India is perhaps the only country which is producing heavy water based on both processes — ammonia-hydrogen exchange technology and hydrogen sulphide-water exchange process. The nineties has been a period of consolidation for the HWB. As of now, India is surplus in the heavy water production capacity. The HWB has also begun exports on a modest scale, the first sizeable export deal having been transacted with South Korea. Long-term plans are also being finalised. The long-term perspective of nuclear power production is of 20,000 MWe in which PHWR production would be predominant, The heavy water capacity already created would be sufficient to meet much of this large requirement. While the present heavy water plants can support a PHWR programme of the size of 6000MWe, heavy water required in excess of this PHWR capacity can be met by the expansion of the heavy water plant at Manuguru. This would be an attractive proposition as it would utilise the existing infrastructure facilities at this plant and hence would be most economical. The process package for such additional capacity has already been worked out and detailed engineering can be taken up once decided. While the envisaged expansion of the Manuguru plant can meet the PHWR capacity of heavy water needs for the immediate future, the excess PHWR capacity created in pursuit of the 20,000 MWe target can be met by setting up fresh plants even in the course of power production build-up. Plants set up for this purpose will have to be based either on the hydrogen sulphide-water exchange process or the ammonia-hydrogen exchange process. Plants based on the ammonia hydrogen exchange process are linked to the fertiliser plants for the supply of feed synthesis gas. With the fertiliser technology slowly but surely shifting from high pressure to low pressure, this linkage may not remain viable. Keeping this in view, the HWB is at present proceeding with the development of an alternative process of ammonia water exchange which will make these plants completely independent of the fertiliser plants. For the development of
an organisation of the size of the HWB it is important
that the organisation keeps itself abreast of the latest
developments in technology and also diversify into other
areas. As a sequel to this strategic thinking, the board
has stepped into the development of high quality
organo-phosphorous solvents, beginning with diethyl hexyl
phosphoric acid (DEHPA) at its Talcher plant. There are
further plans to manufacture other solvents which are
imported at a high cost. The board would also try to
collaborate with various reputed hydrometallurgical
institutions in the country and develop solvent
extraction technologies as well, a field full of
potential. |
Can
reforms help tackle Naxal menace? IT has been a quirk of irony that the Naxalites struck at another political target, in Andhra Pradesh barely 36 hours after the Union Home Ministry boasted of “effective strategies” to root out Left-wing extremism. The bravado had come soon after the sixth meeting of the “coordination centre” set up in the Home Ministry to monitor anti-Naxalite operations in the five worst-affected states. The five states are Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The coordination centre — the term ‘centre’ itself resembles the names of some of the innumerable Left extremist splinter outfits — has been the product of the new Home Ministry establishment’s conviction that Naxalite activities could be tackled like a dacoit gang or urban don. Everything, from Veerappan to Kashmir terrorists, is taken merely as a law and order problem and sought to be dealt with accordingly. It has been this unshakeable faith in the efficacy of force that had prompted the new “Sardar Patel” to declare that he could establish total law and order within a year. North Block’s new grandiose plan against the Naxalite violence includes “aerial surveillance”. The only issue to be settled is whether it should be “aerial photography” or the “space resolution technique” or unmanned aerial vehicle. The most cost-effective method would be employed to spot the extremist movements in the inaccessible forests and remote rural areas. “It is like guerrilla warfare,” declares the Union Home Secretary. And the forces are being told to adopt the best strategy, communication equipment and arms to match those of the adversary. Accordingly, each of the five states would be provided with one battalion of the reserve police and the best monitoring equipment. Then there is special inter-state operation groups for anti-Naxalite operations. All such war preparations were to be chalked out in the wake of the killing of 23 policemen in a landmine blast in Bastar district. After the Andhra Minister’s killing, another meeting has been scheduled for April 3 which also will be attended by the intelligence wings of the state and the Centre. Even Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, says that such big plans mean little unless the Centre provided the states with minimum necessary material support. Such simplistic solutions to complicated socio-economic problems have been typical of the new approach. Naxalite violence is not routine terrorism or extremism. It cannot be wiped out by bullets alone. Arrest of a few leaders would only pave the way for the emergence of a new set of leaders. This has been the experience of 33 years of Naxalite violence in the country. Why did Naxalism died down in Naxalbari itself? How West Bengal, the birthplace of the movement successfully put it under check? What socio-economic factors provide fertile ground for breeding such kind of violent protests? It is officially acknowledged that there has been a spurt in Left extremist activities. In the past two years, there have been two dozen major incidence of violence. Official estimates of the strength of the three major extremist outfits are Maoist Communist Centre 2,050, People’s War Group 5,000 and Vinod Mishra’s CPI (M-L) 40,000. The latter is now led by Dipankar Bhattacharya. Sprouted during 1967-69 as an extremist offshoot of the CPI (M) four years after the latter’s split from the CPI, initially it has been an intellectual and youth protest. For a few years, Naxalism remained the creed of the Calcutta youth. While the general rung of these revolutionary youths later took to gainful careers, some struck to their ideology and followed the dictum ‘back to villages’. It has been these sections and their followers who have emerged as the backbone of the existing Naxalite movement. Naxalism is a political phenomenon which stems from the failure of the state and the political establishment, especially the Left. The geographical and social spread of the Naxalite movement reveal this aspect. The failures of the political parties are too obvious. Defying all political ground rules, the Vinod Mishra group of the CPI (ML) has established its electoral sway in several districts of Bihar. This they did in an extremely adverse atmosphere, in spite of a hostile media and the threats of the upper-caste rich. The CPI had a fairly strong base in Bihar and eastern UP. In the latest assembly election, the CPI and its electoral ally, CPI (ML), got six seats each. The CPI (M), though never a big force in Bihar, got two seats as part of a seat sharing with the RJD. Thus a substantial chunk of traditional Communist base has gone over to the CPI (ML). The Vinod Mishra group is the one faction that has taken simultaneously to both electoral politics and mass action as well as armed struggle. This leads to two conclusions: first, the Naxalites have been able to occupy the space originally occupied by the traditional Left. The Left’s failure to inspire the weaker sections in the backward areas has facilitated the Naxalite growth. Second, the Naxalites have been able to flourish mainly in marginally Left pockets. In established CPI (M) strongholds like Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura, after the initial success Naxalism yielded ground to the mainstream Left. After the Gandhians, the Left alone had tried to concern themselves with the problems of the oppressed as an economic and social group. Vinoba Bhave’s bhoodan campaign had failed miserably due to their inherent weaknesses. But bhoodan was essentially an attempt to divert the rural poor from the Communist influence as was manifested in the Telengana uprisings of the late forties. Both the Left and Sarvodaya movement failed to earn the confidence of the deprived classes in the vast central Indian tracts, where the Naxalites have established deep roots. For a long time, Indira Gandhi had managed to earn the Dalit and Adivasi votes through her carefully cultivated pro-poor image and a network of rural lords. Other non-Left political parties did not even have such a perception of working among the weaker sections. In the main Naxalite belts, upper caste landlords and their men constituted expert booth managers. So the politicians hardly bothered about the lower caste farm workers and landless. Instead, it was easier for them to cultivate booth managers. The failure of the state is too stark. Barring the half-hearted efforts under the Nehruvian planning, nothing worthwhile has been done for these neglected sections in the vast expanse of the backward India. The bureaucracy and the rural vested interests systematically robbed whatever funds that were made available in their name. In the absence of effective land reform, the landless had to look to the rich farmers and landlords for work. The rural poor has been the worst victims of the disabilities of the regional backwardness. Lack of irrigation and infrastructure forced them to migrate to the urban centres or states with booming agriculture. Spurned by all others, Naxalism becomes appealing to them. Its annihilation theory provides them with easy solution to their problems and an end to their miseries. For Dalits in UP and certain pockets of other states, even the BSP’s self-respect slogan provides solace. Naxalite workers give them self-confidence, tell them how to fight for the barest minimum agricultural wages, take back the alienated land, fight for right to grazing and forest resources. Apparently, such awareness and assertion lead to Naxalite violence — something which take different forms and intensity depending on the region the kind of Naxalite leadership. So far, Andhra Pradesh alone has seriously tried reformatory methods to wean people away from the Naxalite influence. But the results are far from effective. On the other, the 1991 reform decade has only made it worst for Indian’s rural poor. Post-reform closure of a large number of small units in cities have forced many of them back to their villages in sheer desperation. Under the earlier era, there have been isolated moves to set up government units in backward areas. Now the private investors have little use for such social concerns. Privatisation and marketisation leave no scope for such priorities. They go to where the best infrastructure existed. Competition means efficiency, and efficiency can be achieved by more sophisticated production process. The experience of modern capitalism has been that the growth of industry has not led to any substantial growth in employment. Thus unskilled workers become the worst victims. They suffer simultaneously two disabilities — that of unskilled labour and regional backwardness. The recent spurt in Naxalite violence has to be viewed as a manifestation of this deep-rooted malaise. Interior backward areas of BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UP) states are going to be the worst trouble-spots. The process may be delayed where established political parties have strong presence. Every NSS report for the reform decade reveals this hard truth. The latest one says that 40 per cent of the population lives on just Rs 10 a day. The NSS calculates that poverty in rural areas has increased by about 3.50 per cent during this period when we have more shining cars and more soft drinks and cyber games. Every kind of economic divide is widening — the income difference between the poor and rich and rural and urban population. Every decision under the reform package — PDS, price hike, higher farm input and emphasis on the “quality” of (the affluent section’s) life — tend to turn the condition of the rural poor worse. There have been over 3,500 killings in the Naxalite areas in the past two decades. The figure is put at 2,000 for Andhra Pradesh, where in the past two years there have been 275 and 226 killings respectively. It is Yashwant Sinha, rather than L.K. Advani, who should be concerned with the task of checking the growing rural rebellion.
|
March
14, 1925 WHILE there is much in the minority report of the Reforms Enquiry Committee which is truly valuable, it is disappointing to observe that in so important a matter as the disqualification of persons for election to the Council on the ground of their conviction, they should have quietly accepted the view of the majority. Public opinion has with one voice demanded that the Government should forthwith make a change in the present rules, by which persons convicted of offences involving no moral turpitude might have their disqualification automatically removed. Instead of accepting this commonsense view, what the majority of the people recommend is that the period sentence which constitutes a disqualification should be raised from six months to one year, and that the Local Government should be empowered to remove the disqualification if and where it exists. A more halting or more ridiculously inadequate suggestion than it is difficult to think of. One has only to remember that under the proposed rule such men as Mr Tilak in the past, and Mahatma Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai and the Ali brothers at the present time, would stand disqualified, unless the Local Governments concerned were pleased to remove their disqualification, to realise the incomprehensible absurdity of the four eminent Indian leaders constituting the minority acquiescing in such a proposal.
|
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | In Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 119 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
