IMPHAL, January 2: A one-day Interactive Discourse on “Maoist Movement and the Role of the State: Chattisgarh Experience” was organized jointly by Centre for Manipur Studies, Manipur University in collaboration with Columnist Forum, Manipur with Imphal Times as the media partner, at Manipur Press Club today.
Taking part in the programme, Suvojit Bagchi, Bureau Chief, The Hindu, Kolkota delivered lecture on the theme.
Prof Rajendra Kshetri, Head, Department of Sociology, MU acted as moderator while Prof Felix Padel, Visiting Professor, Centre for Northeast India Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and K. Madhumangol, president Columnist Forum, Manipur were present as panellists.
The presentation made by Suvojit Bagchi was broadly divided in two parts. The first part dealt with the rise and factors responsible for the rise of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-M) in south Chattisgarh, referred to as the Dandakarnya by the Maoists.
The second part focussed on various forms of State repressions. The presentation on the events of south Chattisgarh was narrated using visual photographs and a couple of video clippings.
Bagchi submitted that earlier Bastar Division presently divided into seven districts formed the south Chattisgarh. It is around 30–35,000 square km in size almost the size of Kerala with one-tenth of Kerala’s population. The Maoists earlier known as Peoples’ War Group are largely concentrated in this region.
Regarding the rise of Maoist movement, he submitted that tribal uprising in the region is around 300 years old, and thus, Maoist movement is just a dot and subsequent happening.
Further, he stressed that tribal uprising against the State is continuing in central, west and east India. Thus, according to him, Maoists did not convert the Gond tribals of North India into a militant-tribe who protest for their rights against the State but rather the tribals adopted the Maoists and their policies, he said.
The Maoists at present fight for prevention of exploitation of the resources of the tribal people mainly forest produce. They attempt to regulate Tendu wage and price rate of forest produce, which are mainly dominated by the Marwari, Bengali, Gujrati, Sindhi, Panjabi and the Bihari in terms of business, while the tribal are the manual labourers, he pointed out.
Therefore, control of the Cintalnarh Market in Sukma District is the key – or a central character in the prevailing conflict in south Chattisgarh. The Maoists have taken up these issues in the form of their political programmes, he noted.
Suvojit added that the third factor in the rise of Maoism is two important Central Acts of India, such as the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and the Forest Conservation Act of 1980.
He cited the example of Dr Binayak Sen who was jailed for rising questions about lack of Health Care and blatant Human Rights abuses; torture of Soni Sori and Lingaram Kodopi for rising voices against such injustices and arrest of journalist Santosh Yadav and another journalist for reporting on these cases.
Social scientist Nadini Sundar was hunted because she was documenting these cases and approached the Supreme Court and ICRC was thrown out for providing emergency care, he mentioned.