(Published in March 2009)
By C Shivakumar
The
giant statues loom large over the lush green paddy fields. An epitaph
is engraved on a pillar adorned with the hammer and sickle of communism
along with four stars. Nearby stands a giant hoarding with images of
Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao.
This is
Nayakankottai in Dharmapuri district, the only village in the whole of
Tamil Nadu to have statues of its Naxalite leaders, L Appu and Balan.
The epitaph marks their contribution to the movement.It was in
their time the late 1970s that the movement reached its peak. Says
Siddhanandam, one of the pioneers of the movement: “We were successful
in doing away with the double tumbler system (one for Dalits and one for
other castes), which was discriminatory. ”
The 54-year-old, who
has eluded police for the last 24 years, has been witness to the
transition of communist China and the fall of the Soviet Union. Today,
the recession has brought a smile to his face. “American capitalism has
lost. Everybody believed in it. Now look what it has brought. It is the
victory of socialism.”
The Maoist movement in Dharmapuri was disbanded in 2003 after many of their leaders were either killed or arrested. These days, however,
the party is positive about regaining its base in the state. Its
leaders believe current neo-liberal policies that have led to an
“increased socio-political polarisation” favour it. “More and more
people are joining the movement,” says a Maoist source.
“The party may
have gone underground, but there has been a shift in strategy.”These
days the Maoists focus on urban areas instead of the traditional rural
pockets. The reason, again, is the same. They believe the new economic
policies have created a divide within the urban population. The special
economic zones have displaced millions of people in the urban (and
rural) areas, spawning slums and deepening poverty. A late surge in the
number of unorganised labour due to growing infrastructure activity
gives the Maoists an ideological tool to win over people deprived of any
guarantee of a dignified life.Says a Naxal source: “Tamil Nadu
has more than 40 cities with large numbers of migrants. A majority of
them are poor. Besides the financially backward in the urban areas, we
are targeting the middle class. They are fed up with corruption and
failure of the state machinery in resolving their woes.”And then
he adds. “Do you know Tamil Nadu is a state that has attracted huge
investment, most of it in the rural areas? Multinational companies and
Indian conglomerates have invested nearly Rs 3 lakh crore in the state,
buying rural land for export-based trade. This has affected small-scale
farmers and industries.”But why the sudden shift now? Has the
movement failed to penetrate the rural areas? Some naxals agree. The say
it could not penetrate the hinterland partly because of the Dalit
movement and parties. “Recruiting cadres is tough due to the presence of
Dalit parties who consider them their vote-bank. There have been many
instances where they have turned police informants,” says a party cadre.The
other reason is the failure to attract youth they constituted the
mainstay of rebel activity in the early 1980s. “For every movement to
succeed,” says the cadre, “you require the support of youth. However,
the rise in rural unemployment and lack of pro-farmer schemes has led
many to migrate to the cities. This has affected our movement.”Some
Naxalites believe the lack of proper planning crippled the movement in
the last few years. “Even before it strengthened down south, the high
command moved the whole cadre to Dharmapuri. Initially, the plan was to
form a triangle linking the rebels in Tamil Nadu with Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka,” says a Maoist-turned-sympathiser of the movement.“But
a lack of proper training and foresight saw the movement crumble as the
police crushed it decisively,” he says. “Even Maoists in Karnataka were
forced to move their base to Shimoga from where they operate
successfully.”The Maoists admit to links with other separatist
movements in South Asia, though they say the LTTE doesn’t figure. All
these movements come under one umbrella — the Coordination Committee of
Maoist Parties and the Organisation of South Asia. They include parties
from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Balochistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Kashmir. In
fact, the Maoists have developed a variety of fraternal and
non-fraternal ties with militant groups, including United Liberation
Front of Asom, within India, the South Asian region and beyond.A
senior Naxalite says ULFA does provide arms to the Maoists, but not the
LTTE. “Their arms are too sophisticated. They aren’t suitable for our
kind of operations.” Another ultra says most of the weapons are of
indigenous make. And sometimes they steal arms from the police. The
seizure of parts of rockets and launchers from Ambattur near Chennai a
few years ago provides some evidence that the manufacturing units are
located in the state. But with police hot on their heels, the Maoists
refuse to provide any information on training camps.Crucially, a
few years back, police successfully busted an arms training camp near
Periakulam in the southern Theni district. “The party allocates nearly
Rs 15 lakh for operations in Tamil Nadu. Most of it is through nidhi
(fund-raising) and through funds allocated by the central committee,” he
says.“Most of it is spent on party literature and payment of wages for full-timers, who number around 60,” he adds.
What
is the reason for the movement, which was completely crushed in the
1980s and 1990s, regaining its vitality? “It is mostly due to economic
policies, failure to stem corruption and also failure to implement land
reforms,” says a Naxalite in a cocksure tone.Even the report of
an expert group to Planning Commission highlights similar reasons for
the spread of the Maoist movement in India. “Naxalites typically operate
in a vacuum created by inadequacy of administrative and political
institutions, espouse local demands and take advantage of the prevalent
disaffection and perceived injustice among the underprivileged and
remote segments of the population.’’ The paper goes on to add that
Naxalism ‘‘is not merely a law and order problem; it has deep
socio-economic dimensions.”So far, the Central government has
released Rs 3,677.67 crore to the Naxal-affected states of Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Karnataka. In 2006-07, nearly Rs 434.61 crore was allocated.According
to an Empowered Group of Ministers, the police alone cannot resolve the
problem. States should address socio-economic issues such as land
reforms, employment generation, healthcare, economic development and
poverty alleviation.As Siddhanandam points out, “For every
action, there is a equal and opposite reaction.” And it may be true. As
Mao Zedong stated, “Fish were the militants, and the disgruntled
peasantry constituted the water. So long as there was dissatisfaction
among the peasantry, militants could operate freely.”
Focus now on the massesThe
Maoists are increasingly deploying their female cadre to expand their
base in semi-urban and industrialised areas. The non-implementation of
labour laws and the plight of unorganised sector workers and farmers in
various parts of the country have helped the Maoists. “The female cadres
are not involved in violent activities. They take jobs as labourers and
through their interaction with the people, try to bring them into the
Maoist fold,” says a senior Naxal leader.In the southern
districts, the Maoists are making their presence increasingly felt. This
area includes Theni, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore and
Ramanatha-puram. They are also trying to use the Sri Lankan Tamil issue
to broaden their appeal. They feel nobody can do politics in the state
without the issue. “If you can back Palestine, Kosovo and other
separatist movements, then why don’t you back the Tamils in Sri Lanka
for a separate Eelam?” one of their leaders asks. Their pro-Tamil stance
has enabled the Maoists to recruit more people.But do the
Maoists have LTTE connections? “The Tigers don’t back any movement
waging an armed struggle against the Indian state,” says a senior
Naxalite. But he adds that some ex-LTTE cadre did give them arms
training. “These people came to India after leaving the organisation,
and formed communist groups,” he says.
shivakumarc@epmltd.com
