The Violent Face of South Asia

In all of South Asia there is violence of an extremely high order. The fundamentalists and jihadis in Pakistan are creating havoc there on their own.

In Bangladesh, it is the same story. Hindus are being pushed out of the state with utter ruthlessness.

In Nepal the Maoists are creating havoc. Presently, they are working hand in hand with five other parties to oust the Maharana from his unsteady throne.

In Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and even in Karnataka, Maoists are steadily thriving. Their influence among the lowly and the dispossessed is growing by the day. In Bihar, out of 38 districts, over twelve are now thoroughly Maoist-infested.

According to an intelligence Report supplied to the Home Ministry, after a long fratricidal war, the CPI (Maoists), the Peoples War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) merged in 2004 to establish what they called a "Red Corridor". The idea, apparently, is to establish a "liberated zone" stretching from the "Siliguri corridor” of West Bengal to Andhra Pradesh and consisting of districts in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The order of the day is: Kill.

The question arises: why is there so much violence? The obvious answer is: high and unacceptable economic inequality leading to distress and emotional trauma. Naxalites thrive where social and simultaneously economic inequality is the highest. It was so in West Bengal in the sixties where Naxalites first raised their heads. It was the heydays of CPM power struggle. The appeal of the CPM was great among the dispossessed. In the end the CPM won - and it has been in power in West Bengal for three decades. There was re-distribution of land; CPM cadres held sway in every village. Once in power, CPM could no more afford violence and Naxalism was put down with a heavy hand.

But West Bengal, economically, is in no better shape today than it was when first it came to power. The CPM is slowly changing its colours. Haven’t Naxalites learnt their lesson from events in West Bengal? Murder and mayhem may strike terror in the hearts of the few, but the great middle class will always have the final word. The answer to economic disparity is not large-scale killing but large-scale land reforms and socio-economic development at the grass roots level. Violence only begets violence.

In Bihar upper class landlords sought to defend their interests by setting up an ’Army’ of their own. The Ranvir Sena was formed in 1994 to defend the interests of upper class landlords. The victims were, obviously, the landless labourers, mostly dalits, who were in a state of revolt. Dalit violence was met by upper class (mostly upper caste) violence. Running wild, the Ranvir Sena went on a killing spree. So much waste of life. And with nothing by way of peace to show.

So what is the answer? Empowerment of people? According to Nitish Kumar, the new Chief Minister of Bihar, empowerment means when Indians begin to realise that they can’t let Bihar slide into darkness. Fair enough. Bihar, at the time of independence was in a far better shape.

The number of jobless in India bas grown four times in ten years, from 10.8 million in 1991 to 44.5 million in 2001; Bihar contributes the highest number of jobless. How come?

Why aren’t industrialists interested in investing in Bihar or Jharkhand? Bihar is known for an abundance of natural wealth and educational opportunities. Today all the states now infested with Maoism are at the bottom of the scale. Instead of rushing armed forces into these disturbed states, the governments, both in the states and at the centre, would do well to make a detailed study of economic conditions in these states and suggest remedies. How come that Bihar, for instance, is burdened with a deficit of over Rs 40,000 crore? How come Bihar’s state coffers arc empty?

Why is Gujarat prosperous? Why arc people interested in investing in Gujarat and not in Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh or Chhatisgarh? Should we not try to answer these questions faithfully instead of beating our breasts and criticizing Maoism? The irony of it all is that Maoism is now dead as the dodo in Mao’s own land. And, irony of ironies, China wants to help Nepal put down the Maoists! That’s the biggest joke of all. As a people we have still to grow up.

The truth is that there is no true leadership. The Planning Commission is silent. It is not that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unaware of the facts of economic life. Only the other day inaugurating a conference of state Water Resources ministers in Delhi, the prime Minister consciously admitted that during the First Five Year Plan, irrigation was given 23 per cent of the total outlay. This, he said, has fallen to less than 5 per cent. Who is responsible for this? Will Mr. Singh kindly explain? Wasn’t the Congress in power in most of the years since independence?

The point is that we can handle Maoist violence not through counter-violence but through economic measures that create jobs fast and bring a measure of security to all classes and not just a few castes. India’s prosperity is on the rise, but efforts must he made to see that the prosperity is wisely shared. It is only then that Maoism will die a natural death. And India Shining will be a fact of life. When a Dalit knows that he has guaranteed three meals a day and a bank balance to boot, then he knows how to handle a Maoist. By his neck.