Saturday, June 20, 2009

Lalgarh

The heads of the State are unnerved,the media is crying hoarse for action as several others from different parts of the country come to know of Lalgarh for the first time. The agitation has taken a militant shape,the institutions have been challenged as the people of Lalgarh (as would comfort us) led by Communist Party of India (Maoist) have driven out our institutional forces to form a rule of their own.
The evil other 'The Maoists' have been spotted and hence it's time for war, for the keepers of law of our country. The war mongers are letting us know in beautiful words the capability of the special task forces and Cobra commandoes trained to kill people within. Prepared for Lalgarhs of the future and still fighting 'Lalgarhs' of the past.
However, let us for once slow down this breakneck speed of events and blaring television sets; Do we want this merciless killing of our own people by our armed forces? The answer is a thumping no followed by a but.
But how else can we tackle the situation?
How else can we bring back rule of law?
Lalgarh is still burning and perhaps several others would be dead and tortured while I write this piece and it gets printed. The only answer is that we should not have let what happened in Lalgarh and should not let other Lalgarhs happen. We were silent when innocent Shamsher Alam was arrested, school teacher Chhatradhar Mahato was beaten up by our upholders of law on mere suspicion. We never were so shocked as now when more than 40% of the people in Lalgarh,Jhargram and Purulia had been living on less than Rs 20 a day.
They still live and they often die of hunger and poverty. The war that our Government is now forced to start in Lalgarh is an indication, which perhaps would make us realise that there are thousands of people across our socialist, democratic country dying of hunger and poverty. Several thousand farmers have committed suicide and the government cannot wash its hands off such mayhem, giving excuses of nature and its forces. If we still don't react, still don't ask the right questions perhaps it will be a bit too late, thousands of people may decide not to die (of hunger) any more.
Let us not fool ourselves into believing that the Maoists have fooled the people of Lalgarh. Everyone who has taken up arms there knows that they will be no match to the Indian armed forces but they still fight even if for a few days of freedom. Such is their loss of faith in our institutions.
Such tremendous courage sends cold shivers down my spine,for one does not need to be a social scientist to know that there are so many other Lalgarh's waiting to erupt.
I fear for I know that in my country children are carried away in jeeps to return days later, I know that young girls shiver in fear of the midnight 'santri' a ritual at the helm of protest in Lalgarh. And I know that we had known all this but decided keep quiet. This is the time that all silence needs to be broken and injustice is spoken against in more sense and less language . The only way now to safeguard our democracy won after years of struggle is to wage a
war , a war of politics over economics a war for democratic political participation.

4 comments:

Ritwik said...

I think it sticks to the main issue quite well and you make your points clear.
I hate to suggest anything but maybe you can build up more on what has led to this situation and make your article more powerful and hard-hitting for the reader. Put more of the bare facts.
Your message is right though! Silence is not golden here!

Neer said...

The justifications for the battle being waged by masses against the State seem richer when you say that more than forty per cent people in india are living BPL and not only that, they are in fact surviving on the meagre amount of Rs 20.. and it does not stop there only, to talk of homeless and jobless ones wud be just to start with something....there are myriad issues where the State falls speechless and finds itself trapped.......this is totally sensical to say that they represent the larg chunk of our population so who is to thrust policies and who to be thrusted is anybody's common logic to be made......lest the State take some constructive approach towards solving these REAL issues, we will be forced to see more Lalgarhs in the coming days......Neeraj.

Jeet said...

Study properly and don't worry about these things.

Don't think too much. Go to malls. Enjoy Dude!!

We are members of the middle class. We don't have property -- just a flat here, a flat there-- Qualification is our only asset. So study for 6 hours every day, and enjoy in your free time. Pleasure yourself.

These things have no relevance in our lives. These incidents happen in places we will never visit. Don't take tension. Don't think twice, its all right.

Find a girl. Settle down. Be happy. Pray to God everyday - for world peace.

M. Anas said...

First, a good piece to start with. Second, bravo for choosing a topic and venting your ink the way you want and, as I personally think, we should. I agree that most of these Maoist fighters surely knows that they would be no match to Indian state's military might, but their penchant for freedom is keeping them upfront with guns.

But, on the concluding note, I think the ultras will have to shun guns to make them heard. Nepal experiment holds no relevance in Indian context.