Yes! But Why? Why should otherwise able and intelligent people, shut their minds up to the reality that surrounds them? And run helter-skelter , seeking refuge behind ridiculous ruses when confronted with the likes of AR's interview?
Is it AR's no-words-minced style communication that jar their genteel desi-middle-class spirits? Upsets the equanimity of their peaceful lifestyles? Is it that Indian outlook, the absence of which desi-bloggers charge AR so bitterly with? Is it some facile ideological bondage that hold them prisoners, forcing them to accept the unacceptable? Are they terrified of acknowledging their govt's role in midwifing the birth of ULFA, something some not-so-nice fellow netters of theirs won't let them forget :-) ? The same govts. that they denounce routinely but are willing to hold up to the world so proudly as 'democratic' ? And get so bent out of shape when its dysfunction is pointed out , particularly to those whose approval they so seek, namely the West? Is it because of a deep seated insecurity, seeking shelter behind a nationalistic identity, even while knowing full well that it is built on a foundation of smoke and mirrors? Is it because of a sense of guilt from their own absence from shaping their society's collective welfare, even if only indirectly? Confounding, if you asked me. ---- mc mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The Brits had a joke: > "My mind is made up. Do not confuse me with facts". > here the mindmaking is all about the free loot to continue. > mm> Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:07:16 -0800> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: > [email protected]> Subject: [Assam] Arundhati's Interview on India's > spreading Violence> > It is not that I derive any vicarious pleasure out of > challenging my fellow netters to exercise their communication skills, knowing > that it is not everybody's bag of tea. One may not have the time or the > ability or the enthusiasm to engage in debates, rebuttals and so forth. But > that does not mean by any means that they are either unable to think > critically or analytically or lack the ordinary decency to be caring about > their fellow men -- the likes of which Arundhati Roy spoke about incisively > and passionately.> > What I find curious here, however, is the lengths to > which these highly intelligent netters would go to deny what must stare them > in their faces: In this instance the increasing VIOLENCE in Indian societies > across the sub-continent and the role of its purportedly 'liberal democratic' > governments, past and present, in generating and spreading it, by acts of > omission and commission, dating back to independence.> > The question is why > so? What is it that they are so afraid to admit, to acknowledge? Why do they > attempt to take refuge behind such absurd alibis as AR's motives, or her > personal shortcomings or her intellectual acumen or her western/un-Indian > attitudes? Would that make the issues she points out go away? Make them any > less important or consequential?> > I would not believe for a moment that my > fellow men are that simple-minded or that naive.> > So what is it then?> > > That is a conundrum I am not sure I have yet cracked :-). But I have some > guesses, which I will air in the days to come. In the meantime, anybody else > who have some thoughts why? The perpetrators too are welcome to explain their > own feeble attempts at hiding behind subterfuges and living in denial :-).> > > cm> > > > > > > > > > > > > There is an atmosphere of growing violence across > the> country. How do you read the signs? In what context> should it be read?> > > You donâ•˙t have to be a genius to read the signs. We> have a growing > middle class, reared on a diet of> radical consumerism and aggressive greed. > Unlike> industrializing Western countries, which had colonies> from which to > plunder resources and generate slave> labor to feed this process, we have to > colonize> ourselves, our own nether parts. Weâ•˙ve begun to eat> our own > limbs. The greed that is being generated (and> marketed as a value > interchangeable with nationalism)> can only be sated by grabbing land, water > and> resources from the vulnerable. What weâ•˙re witnessing> is the most > successful secessionist struggle ever> waged in independent India ╉ the > secession of the> middle and upper classes from the rest of the country.> > Itâ•˙s a vertical secession, not a lateral one.> Theyâ•˙re fighting for the > right to merge with the> worldâ•˙s elite somewhere up there in the> > stratosphere. Theyâ•˙ve managed to commandeer the> resources, the coal, the > minerals, the bauxite, the> water and electricity. Now they want the land to > make> more cars, more bombs, more mines ╉ supertoys for> the new > supercitizens of the new superpower. So itâ•˙s> outright war, and people on > both sides are choosing> their weapons. The government and the corporations> > reach for structural adjustment, the World Bank, the> ADB, FDI, friendly > court orders, friendly policy> makers, help from the ╢friendlyâ•˙ corporate > media> and a police force that will ram all this down> peopleâ•˙s throats. > Those who want to resist this> process have, until now, reached for dharnas, > hunger> strikes, satyagraha, the courts and what they thought> was friendly > media. But now more and more are reaching> for guns. Will the violence grow? > If the ╢growth> rateâ•˙ and the Sensex are going to be the only> barometers > the government uses to measure progress and> the well-being of people, then > of course it will. How> do I read the signs? It isnâ•˙t hard to read> > sky-writing. What it says up there, in big letters, is> this: the shit has > hit the fan, folks.> > You once remarked that though you may not resort to> > violence yourself, you think it has become immoral to> condemn it, given the > circumstances in the country.> Can you elaborate on this view? > > Iâ•˙d be a > liability as a guerrilla! I doubt I used> the word ╢immoralâ•˙ ╉ morality > is an elusive> business, as changeable as the weather. What I feel is> this: > non-violent movements have knocked at the door> of every democratic > institution in this country for> decades, and have been spurned and > humiliated. Look at> the Bhopal gas victims, the Narmada Bachao Andolan.> The > nba had a lot going for it ╉ high-profile> leadership, media coverage, more > resources than any> other mass movement. What went wrong? People are bound> > to want to rethink strategy. When Sonia Gandhi begins> to promote satyagraha > at the World Economic Forum in> Davos, itâ•˙s time for us to sit up and > think. For> example, is mass civil disobedience possible within> the > structure of a democratic nation state? Is it> possible in the age of > disinformation and> corporate-controlled mass media? Are hunger strikes> > umbilically linked to celebrity politics? Would> anybody care if the people > of Nangla Machhi or Bhatti> mines went on a hunger strike? Irom Sharmila has > been> on a hunger strike for six years. That should be a> lesson to many of > us. Iâ•˙ve always felt that itâ•˙s> ironic that hunger strikes are used as a > political> weapon in a land where most people go hungry anyway.> We are in a > different time and place now. Up against a> different, more complex > adversary. Weâ•˙ve entered the> era of NGOs ╉ or should I say the era of > paltu shers> ╉ in which mass action can be a treacherous> business. We have > demonstrations which are funded, we> have sponsored dharnas and social forums > which make> militant postures but never follow up on what they> preach. We > have all kinds of ╢virtualâ•˙ resistance.> Meetings against SEZs sponsored > by the biggest> promoters of SEZs. Awards and grants for environmental> > activism and community action given by corporations> responsible for > devastating whole ecosystems. Vedanta,> a company mining bauxite in the > forests of Orissa,> wants to start a university. The Tatas have two> > charitable trusts that directly and indirectly fund> activists and mass > movements across the country. Could> that be why Singur has drawn so much > less flak than> Nandigram? Of course the Tatas and Birlas funded> Gandhi too > ╉ maybe he was our first NGO. But now we> have NGOs who make a lot of > noise, write a lot of> reports, but whom the sarkar is more than comfortable> > with. How do we make sense of all this? The place is> crawling with > professional diffusers of real political> action. ╢Virtualâ•˙ resistance > has become something> of a liability. > > There was a time when mass > movements looked to the> courts for justice. The courts have rained down a> > series of judgments that are so unjust, so insulting> to the poor in the > language they use, they take your> breath away. A recent Supreme Court > judgment, allowing> the Vasant Kunj Mall to resume construction though it> > didnâ•˙t have the requisite clearances, said in so> many words that the > questions of corporations> indulging in malpractice does not arise! In the > ERA of> corporate globalization, corporate land-grab, in the> ERA of Enron > and Monsanto, Halliburton and Bechtel,> thatâ•˙s a loaded thing to say. It > exposes the> ideological heart of the most powerful institution in> this > country. The judiciary, along with the corporate> press, is now seen as the > lynchpin of the neo-liberal> project.> > In a climate like this, when people > feel that they are> being worn down, exhausted by these interminable> > ╢democraticâ•˙ processes, only to be eventually> humiliated, what are they > supposed to do? Of course it> isnâ•˙t as though the only options are binary > ╉> violence versus non-violence. There are political> parties that believe > in armed struggle but only as one> part of their overall political strategy. > Political> workers in these struggles have been dealt with> brutally, killed, > beaten, imprisoned under false> charges. People are fully aware that to take > to arms> is to call down upon yourself the myriad forms of the> violence of > the Indian State. The minute armed> struggle becomes a strategy, your whole > world shrinks> and the colors fade to black and white. But when> people > decide to take that step because every other> option has ended in despair, > should we condemn them?> Does anyone believe that if the people of Nandigram> > had held a dharna and sung songs, the West Bengal> government would have > backed down? We are living in> times when to be ineffective is to support the > status> quo (which no doubt suits some of us). And being> effective comes at > a terrible price. I find it hard to> condemn people who are prepared to pay > that price.> > You have been traveling a lot on the ground ╉ can> you give > us a sense of the trouble spots you have been> to? Can you outline a few of > the combat lines in these> places?> > Huge question ╉ what can I say? The > military> occupation of Kashmir, neo-fascism in Gujarat, civil> war in > Chhattisgarh, MNCs raping Orissa, the> submergence of hundreds of villages in > the Narmada> Valley, people living on the edge of absolute> starvation, the > devastation of forest land, the Bhopal> victims living to see the West Bengal > government> re-wooing Union Carbide ╉ now calling itself Dow> Chemicals ╉ > in Nandigram. I havenâ•˙t been recently> to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, > Maharashtra, but we know> about the almost hundred thousand farmers who have> > killed themselves. We know about the fake encounters> and the terrible > repression in Andhra Pradesh. Each of> these places has its own particular > history, economy,> ecology. None is amenable to easy analysis. And yet> there > is connecting tissue, there are huge> international cultural and economic > pressures being> brought to bear on them. How can I not mention the> Hindutva > project, spreading its poison> sub-cutaneously, waiting to erupt once again? > Iâ•˙d> say the biggest indictment of all is that we are still> a country, a > culture, a society which continues to> nurture and practice the notion of > untouchability.> While our economists number-crunch and boast about the> > growth rate, a million people ╉ human scavengers ╉> earn their living > carrying several kilos of other> peopleâ•˙s shit on their heads every day. > And if they> didnâ•˙t carry shit on their heads they would starve> to death. > Some fucking superpower this.> > How does one view the recent State and > police violence> in Bengal? > > No different from police and State violence > anywhere> else ╉ including the issue of hypocrisy and> doublespeak so > perfected by all political parties> including the mainstream Left. Are > Communist bullets> different from capitalist ones? Odd things are> happening. > It snowed in Saudi Arabia. Owls are out in> broad daylight. The Chinese > government tabled a bill> sanctioning the right to private property. I > donâ•˙t> know if all of this has to do with climate change. The> Chinese > Communists are turning out to be the biggest> capitalists of the 21st > century. Why should we expect> our own parliamentary Left to be any > different?> Nandigram and Singur are clear signals. It makes you> wonder ╉ > is the last stop of every revolution> advanced capitalism? Think about it ╉ > the French> Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Chinese> Revolution, the > Vietnam War, the anti-apartheid> struggle, the supposedly Gandhian freedom > struggle in> Indiaâ•œ whatâ•˙s the last station they all pull in> at? Is this > the end of imagination?> > The Maoist attack in Bijapur ╉ the death of 55> > policemen. Are the rebels only the flip side of the> State?> > How can the > rebels be the flip side of the State?> Would anybody say that those who > fought against> apartheid ╉ however brutal their methods ╉ were> the flip > side of the State? What about those who> fought the French in Algeria? Or > those who fought the> Nazis? Or those who fought colonial regimes? Or those> > who are fighting the US occupation of Iraq? Are they> the flip side of the > State? This facile new> report-driven ╢human rightsâ•˙ discourse, this> > meaningless condemnation game that we are all forced> to play, makes > politicians of us all and leaches the> real politics out of everything. > However pristine we> would like to be, however hard we polish our halos,> the > tragedy is that we have run out of pristine> choices. There is a civil war in > Chhattisgarh> sponsored, created by the Chhattisgarh government,> which is > publicly pursing the Bush doctrine: if> youâ•˙re not with us, you are with > the terrorists. The> lynchpin of this war, apart from the formal security> > forces, is the Salva Judum ╉ a government-backed> militia of ordinary > people forced to take up arms,> forced to become SPOs (special police > officers). The> Indian State has tried this in Kashmir, in Manipur, in> > Nagaland. Tens of thousands have been killed, hundreds> of thousands > tortured, thousands have disappeared. Any> banana republic would be proud of > this record. Now the> government wants to import these failed strategies> > into the heartland. Thousands of adivasis have been> forcibly moved off their > mineral-rich lands into> police camps. Hundreds of villages have been > forcibly> evacuated. Those lands, rich in iron-ore, are being> eyed by > corporations like the Tatas and Essar. Mous> have been signed, but no one > knows what they say. Land> acquisition has begun. This kind of thing happened > in> countries like Colombia ╉ one of the most devastated> countries in the > world. While everybodyâ•˙s eyes are> fixed on the spiraling violence between> > government-backed militias and guerrilla squads,> multinational corporations > quietly make off with the> mineral wealth. Thatâ•˙s the little piece of > theater> being scripted for us in Chhattisgarh.> > Of course itâ•˙s horrible > that 55 policemen were> killed. But theyâ•˙re as much the victims of> > government policy as anybody else. For the government> and the corporations > theyâ•˙re just cannon fodder ╉> thereâ•˙s plenty more where they came from. > Crocodile> tears will be shed, prim TV anchors will hector us for> a while > and then more supplies of fodder will be> arranged. For the Maoist > guerrillas, the police and> SPOs they killed were the armed personnel of the> > Indian State, the main, hands-on perpetrators of> repression, torture, > custodial killings, false> encounters. Theyâ•˙re not innocent civilians ╉ > if> such a thing exists ╉ by any stretch of imagination.> > > I have no > doubt that the Maoists can be agents of> terror and coercion too. I have no > doubt they have> committed unspeakable atrocities. I have no doubt they> > cannot lay claim to undisputed support from local> people ╉ but who can? > Still, no guerrilla army can> survive without local support. Thatâ•˙s a > logistical> impossibility. And the support for Maoists is growing,> not > diminishing. That says something. People have no> choice but to align > themselves on the side of whoever> they think is less worse.> > But to equate > a resistance movement fighting against> enormous injustice with the > government which enforces> that injustice is absurd. The government has > slammed> the door in the face of every attempt at non-violent> resistance. > When people take to arms, there is going> to be all kinds of violence ╉ > revolutionary, lumpen> and outright criminal. The government is responsible> > for the monstrous situations it creates. > > ╢Naxalsâ•˙, ╢Maoistsâ•˙, > ╢outsidersâ•˙: these> are terms being very loosely used these days. > > > ╢Outsidersâ•˙ is a generic accusation used in the> early stages of > repression by governments who have> begun to believe their own publicity and > canâ•˙t> imagine that their own people have risen up against> them. Thatâ•˙s > the stage the CPM is at now in Bengal,> though some would say repression in > Bengal is not new,> it has only moved into higher gear. In any case,> > whatâ•˙s an outsider? Who decides the borders? Are> they village boundaries? > Tehsil? Block? District?> State? Is narrow regional and ethnic politics the > new> Communist mantra? About Naxals and Maoists ╉ wellâ•œ> India is about > to become a police state in which> everybody who disagrees with whatâ•˙s > going on risks> being called a terrorist. Islamic terrorists have to> be > Islamic ╉ so thatâ•˙s not good enough to cover> most of us. They need a > bigger catchment area. So> leaving the definition loose, undefined, is > effective> strategy, because the time is not far off when weâ•˙ll> all be > called Maoists or Naxalites, terrorists or> terrorist sympathizers, and shut > down by people who> donâ•˙t really know or care who Maoists or Naxalites> > are. In villages, of course, that has begun ╉> thousands of people are > being held in jails across the> country, loosely charged with being > terrorists trying> to overthrow the state. Who are the real Naxalites and> > Maoists? Iâ•˙m not an authority on the subject, but> hereâ•˙s a very > rudimentary potted history. > > The Communist Party of India, the CPI, was > formed in> 1925. The CPI (M), or what we now call the CPM ╉ the> Communist > Party Marxist ╉ split from the CPI in 1964> and formed a separate party. > Both, of course, were> parliamentary political parties. In 1967, the CPM,> > along with a splinter group of the Congress, came to> power in West Bengal. > At the time there was massive> unrest among the peasantry starving in the> > countryside. Local CPM leaders ╉ Kanu Sanyal and> Charu Mazumdar ╉ led a > peasant uprising in the> district of Naxalbari which is where the term> > Naxalites comes from. In 1969, the government fell and> the Congress came > back to power under Siddhartha> Shankar Ray. The Naxalite uprising was > mercilessly> crushed ╉ Mahasweta Devi has written powerfully> about this > time. In 1969, the CPI (ML) ╉ Marxist> Leninist ╉ split from the CPM. A > few years later,> around 1971, the CPI (ML) devolved into several> parties: > the CPM-ML (Liberation), largely centered in> Bihar; the CPM-ML (New > Democracy), functioning for the> most part out of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar; > the CPM-ML> (Class Struggle) mainly in Bengal. These parties have> been > generically baptised ╢Naxalitesâ•˙. They see> themselves as Marxist > Leninist, not strictly speaking> Maoist. They believe in elections, mass > action and ╉> when absolutely pushed to the wall or attacked ╉> armed > struggle. The MCC ╉ the Maoist Communist> Centre, at the time mostly > operating in Bihar ╉ was> formed in 1968. The PW, Peopleâ•˙s War, > operational> for the most part in Andhra Pradesh, was formed in> 1980. > Recently, in 2004, the MCC and the pw merged to> form the CPI (Maoist) They > believe in outright armed> struggle and the overthrowing of the State. They> > donâ•˙t participate in elections. This is the party> that is fighting the > guerrilla war in Bihar, Andhra> Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.> > The > Indian State and media largely view the Maoists as> an ╲internal > security╡ threat. Is this the way to> look at them?> > Iâ•˙m sure the > Maoists would be flattered to be viewed> in this way.> > The Maoists want to > bring down the State. Given the> autocratic ideology they take their > inspiration from,> what alternative would they set up? Wouldnâ•˙t their> > regime be an exploitative, autocratic, violent one as> well? Isnâ•˙t their > action already exploitative of> ordinary people? Do they really have the > support of> ordinary people?> > I think itâ•˙s important for us to > acknowledge that> both Mao and Stalin are dubious heroes with murderous> > pasts. Tens of millions of people were killed under> their regimes. Apart > from what happened in China and> the Soviet Union, Pol Pot, with the support > of the> Chinese Communist Party (while the West looked> discreetly away), > wiped out two million people in> Cambodia and brought millions of people to > the brink> of extinction from disease and starvation. Can we> pretend that > Chinaâ•˙s cultural revolution didnâ•˙t> happen? Or that millions of people in > the Soviet Union> and Eastern Europe were not victims of labor camps,> > torture chambers, the network of spies and informers,> the secret police. The > history of these regimes is> just as dark as the history of Western > imperialism,> except for the fact that they had a shorter life-span.> We > cannot condemn the occupation of Iraq, Palestine> and Kashmir while we remain > silent about Tibet and> Chechnya. I would imagine that for the Maoists, the> > Naxalites, as well as the mainstream Left, being> honest about the past is > important to strengthen> peopleâ•˙s faith in the future. One hopes the past> > will not be repeated, but denying that it ever> happened doesnâ•˙t help > inspire confidenceâ•œ> Nevertheless, the Maoists in Nepal have waged a brave> > and successful struggle against the monarchy. Right> now, in India, the > Maoists and the various> Marxist-Leninist groups are leading the fight > against> immense injustice here. They are fighting not just the> State, but > feudal landlords and their armed militias.> They are the only people who are > making a dent. And I> admire that. It may well be that when they come to> > power, they will, as you say, be brutal, unjust and> autocratic, or even > worse than the present government.> Maybe, but Iâ•˙m not prepared to assume > that in> advance. If they are, weâ•˙ll have to fight them too.> And most > likely someone like myself will be the first> person theyâ•˙ll string up from > the nearest tree ╉> but right now, it is important to acknowledge that> > they are bearing the brunt of being at the forefront> of resistance. Many of > us are in a position where we> are beginning to align ourselves on the side > of those> who we know have no place for us in their religious or> ideological > imagination. Itâ•˙s true that everybody> changes radically when they come to > power ╉ look at> Mandelaâ•˙s ANC. Corrupt, capitalist, bowing to the> IMF > driving the poor out of their homes ╉ honoring> Suharto, the killer of > hundreds of thousands of> Indonesian Communists, with South Africaâ•˙s > highest> civilian award. Who would have thought it could> happen? But does > this mean South Africans should have> backed away from the struggle against > apartheid? Or> that they should regret it now? Does it mean Algeria> should > have remained a French colony, that Kashmiris,> Iraqis and Palestinians > should accept military> occupation? That people whose dignity is being> > assaulted should give up the fight because they> canâ•˙t find saints to lead > them into battle?> > Is there a communication breakdown in our society?> > > Yes.> > _______________________________________________> assam mailing list> > [email protected]> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > _________________________________________________________________ > Search from any Web page with powerful protection. 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