The kidnapping of district collector and a junior engineer in Orissa has sparked a debate, which like so many others, espouse extreme viewpoints. The strident tenor in these debates make it impossible for the middle ground to hold its own and explore a solution space. This has been frustrating to say the least.
The problem with the debate is the central theme on which these debates are predicated on. "Should we be negotiating with Maoists?" is a way to push people apart, even further. My sense is the that if you want a middle path and seek a discussion with an intent to evolve a move forward plan of action, then the debate and hence the topic of the debate / the key question driving the debate must facilitate such a non-polarized, thinking and action taking forum to come together. Unfortunately, this rarely has been the forte of Indian media.
IMHO, I would like to simplify things and place an argument in this armed struggle space.
Both, Government and people must consciously move away from the tu-tu main-main stances.
Yes, for 60 years post independence, tribal welfare has not been the priority of any ruling party. This is a fact. We need a statesman to stand up in Lok Sabha, acknowledge this, commit to action taking and apologize for the same. The healing process must start and I believe that the Government must start it.
Just as there are death due to fake encounters, there are genuine criminals, bad apples that have been eliminated as well. There are police officers serving the state that have been eliminated in hundreds. Violent ends and killings in any form - is bad and must be strongly condemned.
Not all police officers are clean. There are the brutal and unethical variety. Again, not all Maoists are honest and true. There are bad apples in their system as well. Police collect "hafta" and naxals extort their pound of flesh as well. So, any debate that seeks to identify which side has been holier - is bound be a waste of time.
We must demand that Naxals to drop their armed struggle; I fully support it. But we also need a clean police force who can enforce the rule of law.
Swami Agnivesh claims that 700 innocent people in Orissa are in police custody without a chargesheet. I am not sure about the veracity of this allegation. This may well be happening. Its unfortunate; but it is a reality. Let us for a minute assume that this is a fact that does not require further investigation. What does it tell us about about our judicial processes ? While we can sit back and argue that none of this can be an excuse for armed action; it must be understood that a dysfunctional judicial process needs to be fixed. Do we have a government that will listen to its people if we dropped a post card to the PM asking for corrective action? This probably won't work either. Instead of looking at what is wrong with the means, it is important that Government works overtime to fix these issues.
The Indian Government must issue a "demarche" of sorts to ensure that folks who are held without chargesheet beyond a certain period of time are released. We must eliminate excuses which justify kidnapping and extortion as a means of bargaining with the state.
Swami Agnivesh must be reminded of the facts. If the Maoists kidnapping eventually bargained for the release of all the innocents in the Orissa jails, the public ire might have been direct against the process of judicial custody and law of the land. Instead, the so-called representatives of the tribals have sought the release of cold blooded murderers. So, things are not as clean as Swami claims.
The Indian state must campaign extensively and make public a comprehensive common minimum program for the upliftment of tribals and the poorest of the poor in our country. It is a fact that most of civil unrest seems to have started in states [north east, for example] where development was rarely the agenda of the state and central governments.
The Indian Government will always be UP, Bihar and MP centric. Now a few southern states have gained some importance in the governance. This is clearly a behaviour that is driven by votes and vote banks.
It is not likely that Tripura and some of the smaller NE states ever get the attention that they deserve given our fixation on vote banks. It is time, the Indian state rose above petty considerations and set the tone for inclusive development. And this must be the mandate for all state governments as well.I believe that it is indeed time for us to re-engineer our democratic institutions and processes. These have served for over 60 years. Like all things in life, these processes require a fresh start.
The argument that we have the vote to change things is hollow. Yes, we have the vote to bring about a change. But who will speak for the millions languishing on the fringes of Indian society ? And when will the bottom of the pyramid be the priority for the Government ? The more we shy away from these hard questions, the more civil unrest we will face.
There is still time for us to wake up from the romantic idea of "India Shining" and get to work towards an "Inclusive India Shining" objective.
