Author: Uddipan Mukherjee
Publication: Uday India
Date: October 22, 2011
URL: http://www.udayindia.org/content_22Octobert2011/spotlight.html#a
It was September 20, 2011. The time was few
minutes past 6 am. A man of wheatish complexion, averagely-built, draped in
white full sleeve shirt and dark trousers; was walking towards a coaching
centre at Pukuria village. It was quite normal for him as he was a school
teacher in the area and used to deliver tuitions at the centre. However, he
hardly had inkling that it was his last journey. Two motorcycles-carrying
five men; emulating Khalistani-styled terrorists zoomed in on him and it was
a dastardly act of firing at point-blank range.
Before the assailants ran away towards the
Patasimul jungles at the periphery of the village within the district of West
Midnapore in West Bengal; they had carefully dropped few handwritten leaflets
near the slain body of the school teacher. It was not incidental that the
murdered teacher was a local leader of the Trinamool Congress (TC) and was
'personally known' to Ms Mamata Banerjee.
Naturally, Didi reacted. "Such murders
will not be tolerated," was her open rhetoric. Didi also announced a
Trinamool rally on September 24 in the affected area of Jhargram, to be led
by her close lieutenant Mukul Roy.
Nevertheless, it's well known to observers
that the Maoists are 'more' than obstinate. And whether it is under their
ever-elusive leader Kishenji or any other squad commander, they seem to have
willfully started to implement Charu Mazumdar's version of 'Khatam' (annihilation)
politics at Jangalmahal in West Bengal. They were pursuing it even before
the historic 2011 Assembly elections of West Bengal; but were hardly noted
then by the TC workers. The reason was too simple to comprehend. Before the
elections, the Maoists were at loggerheads with the erstwhile ruling party,
the Marxists. And hence, Trinamool was relishing the politics of annihilation.
Ironically, but quite expectedly, the same
Maoists have turned out to be strange bedfellows for the TC rank and file
after the elections and the latter's overwhelming transition to power. Now,
interestingly, Trinamool alleges that the Maoists are colluding with the Marxists
to destroy its positions in rural Bengal. And this was in essence what West
Bengal's Chief Minister had to exclaim on September 26; "The Maoists
are trying to kill me." Didi uttered these words a day after the Maoists
had murdered two political activists at Jangalmahal.
Mamata's Variable Approach
If one goes a little bit back in time, then
a visibly different picture emerges. In the third week of July this year,
Mamata Banerjee was jubilant about announcing a 'peace' package in the Maoist-hit
districts of Jangalmahal. She was rather hopeful that peace could be ushered
into the three western districts of the state through her offer of a robust
financial package and formation of a team of 'interlocutors' led by activists
such as Sujato Bhadra, Debashis Bhattacharya, Chhoton Das and others. She
even asserted the release of 46 political prisoners, who were incarcerated
during the regime of the erstwhile Marxist government.
In the process, Ms Banerjee probably wanted
to ensure two things. One: to send a message across to the Maoists that the
pre-election 'alliance' was not over yet. Secondly, to proclaim an 'alternative'
diplomatic solution to the Maoist imbroglio; which would be exemplary to not
only the recently 'rejected' Marxists but also her allies in the Union government
(read the Union Home Ministry).
However, barely two months down the road
of 'engagement', she seems to have contradicted herself, if not altogether
floundered in her attempt to resolve the Maoist insurrection. The following
utterances of Banerjee in the week preceding the Durga Puja are sure to evoke
consternation to political analysts: "I will give the last drop of my
blood to fight Maoism."
She is now treading the usual path of a Chief
Minister whose authority has been directly challenged by the left-wing ultras.
This was expected and is in fact quite normal. The Maoists had also known
during the pre-election days that their partnership with the TC was a tactical
one. If any part of their leadership had assumed that the TC would grant them
a free run at Jangalmahal, then it merely reflects their intellectual inadequacy
regarding strategic options.
For Mamata Banerjee too, the pre-election
calculations must have been considerably different from the post-poll scenario.
She might have presumed that a suspension of para-military operations would
be enough to console the Maoists and bring that mirage-like 'peace' at Jangalmahal.
Probably, she forgot that the basic objective of the Maoists is "seizure
of state power" through their New Democratic Revolution (NDR). For that,
their short-term tactical move could be alignment with either the TC or the
Marxists, as the need may arise. Banerjee must appreciate that pacifying the
Maoists tantamount to the taming of the Frankenstein's monster.
What Mamata is likely to do now
But to the amusement of many, she seems to have lost her cool too soon. It
needed only a few murders of her partymen to infuriate Banerjee. She has reacted
bitterly as she told the media on 26 September: "The police cannot sit
idly while the Maoists continue with their bloodshed at Jangalmahal."
Her policy of initiating a Salwa Judum-style militia at Jangalmahal has backfired
with the Maoists. However, Mamata-di might as well have thought of taking
into fold the tribal elements at Jangalmahal through this instrument as it
could have been a pertinent employment-generating scheme. At the same time,
she was covertly attempting to uproot the Maoist rebellion by pitching 'a
tribal versus another tribal'. And by all means, she is well aware of the
latest verdict of the apex court and hence wants to legitimize the tribal
militia.
In fact, Mamata Banerjee plans to take on
the Maoists by issuing an executive order allowing the state to appoint about
10,000 policemen under special category other than the Special Police Officer
(SPO) scheme. This is planned to take place from Jangalmahal alone. Such an
executive order would allow the state government to pick the youth from a
particular area alone which cannot be done if the appointments are done through
the state police board as it means recruitment from every district of the
state.
The signs are crystal clear. Didi has decided
to 'take' on the Maoists instead of 'talking' to them. Tactical sense has
probably prevailed on her. However, her sudden turn from negotiation to confrontation
may be a matter of amazement to many; but not to those who are acquainted
with her fits of temper of the old days and those who know that ultimately
any government has to base itself on realpolitik.
Banerjee has added another feather to her
burgeoning cap. In her brief tenure of four months, she has succeeded in reversing
the land acquisition of Singur. It was her chief electoral plank and she kept
her promise even after entering Writers' Buildings. The higher judiciary was
on the side of the state government and Banerjee's victory at Singur can go
a long way towards establishing herself as a pro-poor, pro-peasant leader.
That could be a significant factor in "winning the hearts and minds"
of the tribal-peasant group at Jangalmahal.
The Challenges and What Mamata Must Do
But Mamata-di will face some challenges too. First, any out-of-the-track recruitment,
in resonance with the erstwhile 'execrable' Salwa Judum, could spell legal
problems for her. Gorkhaland issue will come to haunt her sooner, if not later.
The Marxists will regroup and attempt to attack her government in every possible
manner. Fourth, the infrastructural malaise that cripples Kolkata, let alone
the other urban areas of the state, needs to be resurrected. Fifth, the climate
of investment needs to be channelized with peasant-friendly corporate bodies
venturing into the state. With the Singur Land Act at the background, that
seems to be an unlikely option.
In this political landscape, if anyone had
contemplated a peaceful solution to the Maoist imbroglio in West Bengal, then
it would have been logical to doubt the political sagacity of that person.
The Maoists would hardly recognise the path of 'talks' as a mode of solution
as 'seizure of state power' is their basic goal. On the other hand, though
Mamata-di had started off on a positive note, she is now treading the expected
path. After all, her own position would be in jeopardy as Maoists are set
to dismantle the democratic political structure in her province.
Notwithstanding the recent murders of TC
political workers, Mamata-di, on September 29, gave a 'go-ahead' to Sujato
Bhadro and his group for furthering the possibility of talks with the rebels.
Well, it appears that Ms Banerjee is probably being tactical when she gave
the green signal. 'Talks' can be a weapon to gain time and resources for either
group. The state forces need time to re-group, re-vitalise and wait for the
opportunity after the monsoons are completely over. The best thing for the
state government would be to erect a 'façade' of 'talks' and utilise
the time for 'targeted' killings and imprisonment, as the case may be, of
the Maoist top brass.
Many had the notion of pre-poll camaraderie
between TC and the Maoists. That gave some activists-turned interlocutors
optimism for a negotiated settlement. Extrapolations were projected keeping
in view the marriage of TC and the Maoist cadres. However, let us not forget
a simple thing. A holy marriage was never on the cards between Mamata-di's
TC and the Maoists. Rather, it was a relationship of 'living together' till
both could maximally utilise the other to the fullest extreme. There is no
question of 'honeymoon being over' between Mamata and the Maoists since it
was an impossible marriage right at the outset.
