Chidambaram’s new plea to Naxals

vIndianz.com (20 Oct, 2009) — Yet another day, a new Naxal attack. While the Home Minister was talking to the military chiefs, in West Bengal’s west Midnapore two policemen were killed and two were abducted.

And the Maoist politburo associate Kishenji went on record to not just disclose the beheading of Frances Induawar but too accused the government of betraying the public in backward areas.

“Chidambaram must apologize for betraying the people in backward areas. If Chidambaram desires to talk, he must pull out MoUs with international corporations in adivasi areas,” said Kishenji.

So, is India moving towards a bloody civil confrontation among security forces and armed Maoists who by now are in charge of 2000 police stations and 40,000 square kilometers of what’s come to be called the country’s red corridor.

In the capital on Tuesday renowned citizens including Justice Rajendra Sachar, Magsaysay Award winners Aruna Roy and Sandeep Pandey met to begin a discussion on the government’s anti-Maoist policy. They said if the state sent in additional forces, it would direct to genocide. And that previously people were sufferers of state violence.

The Home Minister responded willingly making a new offer for dialogue and also making it apparent that Maoists had to be “treated in a different way”.

In a letter written to the previous Speaker Rabi Ray, Chidambaram said: The Maoist leader were justifying violence and the lone obstacle to holding discussion with them was aggression. He said Maoists must disown violence and converse to the governments concerned.

More than 40,000 troops are by now there and 16000 more are to be sent into the forests off Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa for a combined operation to attempt and recover areas under Maoist control.

The lone thing that can stop it is if the Maoists accept the proposal for talks. It’s a slight chance but one that tranquility deserves.

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