Naxal Movement In Karnataka

It is often said these days that the Naxal movement in karnataka has reached its end. The main reason cited is the arrest of two top maoist leaders Nandakumar and Chandru Gorabal. Former was thought to be relieved from Karnataka duty and posted to other state. The latter as per police statements was a Member of South Zone committee and also a member of central committee. Will the arrest of these two top leaders will end the maoist movement in karnataka?
Ofcourse it should be accepted that arrest of many cadres is  certainly a set back for the movement. At present the movement is facing difficulties because of small number of full time party workers. But this is not the end of the movement. Though for few days there will be decreased armed movement and the parties aim should be in organising the mass movements for which the conditions in the state and pattern of ruling by the government are perfect.
One should remember that the armed movement is a part of the naxal revolution and it is not the only way. The people of Karnataka has seen the success of Naxals though smal, in the agrarian movement in which they were actively involved. It was because of Naxals the conditions in the Malnad was improved a bit. People have seen that democratic people movements are being crushed by the government. Recent example is of S.K. Kantha who was fighting against the land acquisition near Gulbarga for thermal power plant. He was also leading the struggle of Poura Kaarmika's. He was arrested regarding the latter struggle and was also granted bail recently, but the government arrested him with a fear that the land acquisition may become difficult if he is out. Now the government forcefully made the farmers to accept its conditions, if they fail they will get least compensation.
When more land is being marked for all MNC's who will develop Karnataka, the people who have seen the democratic movements getting crushed from the government with an iron hand will join and lead the movement with naxal ideology.

Change the system by being a part of the system?

It is often said that you should be a part of the system to change or to better the system. But this report will speak. I think there is no need for much comments from our side.

Staff Reporter, hindu
BANGALORE: Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde resigned from the post on Wednesday in “disgust” against the “non-cooperation” by the State Government in his crusade against corruption.
Mr. Hegde met Governor H.R. Bhardwaj and handed over his resignation, which will come into effect on August 31, 2010, at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
Explaining the reasons for staying on till August 31, the Lokayukta said he had to complete unfinished work, including submitting a report on THE wall collapse that killed a teenager. Moreover, with the Upalokayukta's post still vacant, his resignation would render the institution of Lokayukta a nonentity. He hoped that the Government would fill the vacancy by then.
Mr. Hegde's resignation, which is apparently the first time in the country that a Lokayukta has quit after blaming the Government for its failure to prevent corruption in public administration, comes on the eve of the second anniversary celebrations planned by the Yeddyurappa Government.
Mr. Hegde took over as Lokayukta on August 3, 2006, and his term was to end in 2011.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Hegde cited three reasons for his resignation: non-appointment of the Upalokayukta for the past six months because of which thousands of complaints had piled up; reinstating officers suspended following the Lokayukta's recommendation to the same post after a few months; and a recent recommendation made to the Chief Secretary by a Minister to suspend the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Karwar, who, on the directions of the Lokayukta, had seized eight lakh tonnes of iron ore illegally transported to Belekeri port.
Mr. Hegde said the official who had carried out a commendable investigation of the illegal transport of iron ore to the Belekeri port had brought to Lokayukta's notice the Minister's recommendation and sought his help. “‘But I told him that I can only provide legal advice if he is suspended.”
“I do not know whether the Government has suspended the officer. But this is not the way a Minister should act. Officers will lose their morale if Ministers behave in such a fashion. I thought over all these developments that happened over the past couple of months and decided that I should not continue in the post if I am unable to protect an officer who discharges his duty on my instructions, and also when I am not in a position to perform, not because of my inability but due to non-cooperation by the Government,” he said.
Officials shocked
The resignation of Mr. Hegde came as a shock to many in the institution. “I was shocked to hear the news,” said the former Upalokayukta N. Patri Basavanagoud.
Earlier, Mr. Hegde had a meeting with the Lokayukta personnel and made his intentions clear. “They were really heartbroken. They asked me to reconsider my decision and not to leave them in the lurch,” Mr. Hegde said. “But I explained to them that the institution's integrity would be lost if I continued to function in such a situation.”

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಗೃಹ ಮಂತ್ರಿಗೊಂದು ಪತ್ರ.

" ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗ ನಕ್ಸಲರು ಇಲ್ಲ. ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ನಾಮ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಪೀಡಿತ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಹೊರಕ್ಕೆ." - ಗೃಹ ಸಚಿವ ವಿ.ಎಸ್.ಆಚಾರ್ಯ.
ನಕ್ಸಲರೆಂದರೆ ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದು ಬಂದೂಕು ಹಿಡಿದಿರುವವರು ಮಾತ್ರ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದವರಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಈ ರೀತಿಯ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ಬರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ. ಹೌದು , ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ನಾಯಕರ ಬಂಧನದಿಂದ ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಕ್ಸಲರ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಕ್ಷೀಣಿಸಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ 'ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಮುಕ್ತ'ರಾಜ್ಯವಾ?.
ಮೊದಲನೆಯದಾಗಿ ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಭಾರತದಾದ್ಯಂತ ವ್ಯಾಪಿಸಲು ಮೂಲ ಕಾರಣ ದೇಶದ ಆಡಳಿತದಲ್ಲಿನ ಲೋಪದೋಷಗಳು, ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೂ ಅದು ಅನ್ವಯವಾಗುತ್ತೆ. ಒಂದೊಮ್ಮೆ ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಹೋರಾಟ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ನಿಲ್ಲಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಸರಕಾರಗಳು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಕಾರ್ಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸಬೇಕು. ಆದರೆ ಅದು ಆಗುತ್ತಿದೆಯೇ? ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಯನ್ನೇ , ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕೇವಲ ಈಗಿನ ಸರಕಾರದ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಯನ್ನೇ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಾದರೆ ಬಿ.ಜೆ.ಪಿ. ಸರಕಾರ ಅಧಿಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ನಂತರ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಆಡಳಿತ ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ಭರವಸೆ ಮೂಡಿಸುವ ಹಾಗಿದೆಯಾ? ಗಣಿ ಮಾಫಿಯಾದವರ ಅಟ್ಟಹಾಸ , ಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ, ಹಾದರ, ಕೋಮುಗಲಭೆಗಳು, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕೋಮಿನ ಮೂಲಭೂತವಾದಿಗಳ ಅಟ್ಟಹಾಸ, ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಾದ ಪ್ರವಾಹ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪಕ್ಷದವರು ಮಾಡಿದ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಮೋಸ - ಜನರು ಈ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕಾಗಿ 'ಪ್ರಜಾ ಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ' ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಇಡಬೇಕಾ? ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೂ ಜನರು ಸರಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಂಬಲ ಕೊಡುವಂತೆ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬುದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಮತ್ಯಾವ ಪರ್ಯಾವವೂ ಕಾಣದಿರುವುದೇ ಆಗಿದೆ.
ಸದ್ಯದ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆ ಹಿನ್ನೆಡೆ ಅನುಭವಿಸಿರಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ಸಂದೇಶ ಮುಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಸರಕಾರ ನಿರ್ಲ್ಯಕ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಚಳುವಳಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತರವಾಗಬಲ್ಲದು ಎಂದು. ಇದು ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಕ್ಸಲರಿಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ಗೆಲುವು. ಸರಕಾರದ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳೇ ಹೇಳಿರುವಂತೆ ಕೆಲವು ಉತ್ತಮ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ನೆರವಿನಿಂದ ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಪ್ರಭಾವ ತಗ್ಗಿದೆಯಂತೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತಮ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಜಾಗಕ್ಕೆ ಬರಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತಮ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಒಂದಷ್ಟು ದಿನಗಳ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗಾದರೂ ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಜನರು ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಹೋರಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಬೇಕೆಂದು ಸರಕಾರವೇ ಪರೋಕ್ಷವಾಗಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದಂತಾಯಿತು.
ಉಳಿದಂತೆ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಬಹುತೇಕ ಶಾಂತ ರೀತಿಯ ಹೋರಾಟಗಳನ್ನು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರಕಾರ ತನ್ನ ಕುತಂತ್ರದಿಂದ, ಅಧಿಕಾರದ ಬಲಪ್ರಯೋಗದಿಂದ ಹತ್ತಿಕ್ಕಿರುವುದನ್ನು ಜನರು ನೋಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇತ್ತೀಚಿನ ಉದಾಹರಣೆ ಗುಲ್ಬರ್ಗದ ಅಣು ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ಸ್ಥಾವರ.
ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಎಕರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೃಷಿಯೇತರ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಕೊಡಲು ಹೊರಟಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಸರಕಾರ. ನಕ್ಸಲ್ ಹೋರಾಟವನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಉಳಿದ ಯಾವುದೇ ಹೋರಾಟವನ್ನು ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಜನ ನೆಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ಗುಲ್ಬರ್ಗದ ರೈತರಿಗಾದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯೇ ಅವರಿಗೂ ಆಗುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳು ಅಧಿಕ. ಒಂದೊಮ್ಮೆ ಸರಕಾರ ತನ್ನ ಅಧಿಕಾರದ ಬಲದಿಂದ ಜನರನ್ನು ಬೆದರಿಸಿ ಕೃಷಿಯೋಗ್ಯ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ನಂತರದ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕಾಶದ ಕಡೆ ಮುಖ ಮಾಡುವ ಆಹಾರ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳ ಬೆಲೆಯ ಬಿಸಿ ಜನರಿಗಿ ಮುಟ್ಟಿದಾಗ ಶುರುವಾಗುವ ಹೋರಾಟವನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಲು ಸರಕಾರದ ಬಳಿ ' ಅಪರೇಷನ್ ಗ್ರೀನ್ ಹಂಟ್' ನಂತಹ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬೇರೆ ಯೋಚನೆಗಳಿವೆಯೇ?

The Line Of No Control

source - tehelka
MORE ADIVASIS ARE BEING RAPED. MORE ADIVASIS ARE BEING ARMED. THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS IT IS DISAPPEARING, BUT THE SALWA JUDUM CONTINUES TO FUEL A PROXY CIVIL WAR. TUSHA MITTAL REPORTS FROM GROUND ZERO. PHOTOGRAPHS BY TARUN SEHRAWAT
AT A clearing in the forests of Chhattisgarh, barely a kilometre from the Chintalnar CRPF camp, a man in civvies walked up to our local guide. “Don’t take them any further. Remember, you have to live in this state,” he threatened.

Price of rice Tribal women walk back to their village through dense jungle, carrying rice from a ration shop 20 km away. Few buses ply the route in these times of escalated conflict

A few hours earlier, we had chanced upon a Naxal poster nailed on a tree, saying 10 women were raped by the forces. We were waiting for motorcycles to visit their villages. The narrow strip of road slowly disintegrates ahead of Chintalnar, after which the ‘interior villages’ are considered Maoist strongholds. In the myopic narrative of the state, any attempt to venture into these areas is seen as an attempt to assist the Maoists.
Despite repeated attempts, security forces did not allow TEHELKA to go beyond the Chintalnar camp. Reasons ranged from safety concerns to the pretext of a Naxal bandh. “No one is being allowed into the area,” said Dornapal Assistant Sub-Inspector SK Dhurve. We watched as trucks and buses passed through without hindrance. TEHELKA then met the rape victims by crossing over into Andhra Pradesh, traversing an alternative back route through deep forests. What was an 80-km journey stretched to atleast 300 km.
In the Chhattisgarh conflict, there are many tools of war — the clampdown on civil society, the unplugging of Adivasis from access to the media or the judiciary, the arming of civilians, fake encounters, the arbitrary detention of villagers, and now a brutal targeting of tribal women. Rape has become a way to terrorise an entire community into submission. The Adivasis of Dantewada are increasingly being left with two choices — become part of the ‘mainstream’ or flee further into the forests.
Already, a new exodus has begun. The village of Mukram, only a few kilometres from where the Maoists ambushed 76 security personnel, is turning into a ghost village. On May 22, three girls were raped and five people including the Sarpanch picked up.
Facing a backlash from the troops, most of the 115 families are fleeing to Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. “The forces broke into my house during search operations,” says Mangal Kunjam. “Who knows what they might do next. We are leaving for Orissa tomorrow.”

CONDEMN THE CONSPIRACY OF THE RULING CLASSES

COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA (MAOIST) CENTRAL COMMITTEE

Press Release: June 1st, 2010

CONDEMN THE CONSPIRACY OF THE RULING CLASSES AND THE MEDIA HYSTERIA TO IMPLICATE MAOISTS IN THE JNANESWARI EXPRESS TRAGEDY!!


The removal of panroles on the railway track near Jhargram in West Bengal leading to the accident of Kurla-bound Jnaneswari Express and consequent deaths of 150 innocent civilians and injuries to over 200 passengers is highly condemnable. The CC, CPI(Maoist), expresses its deep sorrow at the tragic incident and shares the suffering and pain of the families of the deceased. Strangely, the tragic incident which took place on the intervening night of May 28/29 is being used by West Bengal government, the police and some ruling class parties like the Hindu fascist BJP and the social fascist CPI(M) to tarnish the image of our Party—CPI(Maoist)— and gain legitimacy to the counter-revolutiona ry war unleashed by the Indian State against the poorest sections of the Indian society led by the Maoists.

Baseless accusations against the Maoist revolutionaries are part of the dirty disinformation campaign let loose by the reactionary rulers through their police-intelligence agencies and their pet media. For two days after the incident the police did not even confirm whether a blast had occurred at the site let alone finding any clue about the involvement of the Maoists or the PCAPA. However, they came up with the theory of Maoist involvement with the argument that the area is a hotbed of the Maoists, and Maoists had been targeting trains for some time. The entire media has been playing to the tune of the conspirators by running banner headlines that "Maoist terrorists" had taken the lives of innocent people, Maoists are blood-thirsty hounds and such trash which only insane people can say. Would anyone in his senses ever imagine that the CPI(Maoist), which had been fighting for land, livelihood and liberation of the people for over four decades, which had sacrificed thousands of its leaders and cadres for the cause of the oppressed, which has no other interests than the interests of the people, can harm the lives of those very people?

Bhopal's Gas And India's Future's tragedy.

Our politicians, officials and some intellectuals never toldthis.Atlast the judiciary system showed the strength to declare To Whom This INDIA belongs.
Recently Veerappa moily stated that judicial failure is one of the reason for the naxal uprising in the country.Unfortunately again he was forced to comment on judicial system BURIEDJUSTICE regarding Bhopal gas tragedy verdict.

8 accused for Killing more than 25 thousand people have been put to imprisonment for 2 years with a fine of rs 1 lak but granted bail. Hats off. But it is not just the judiciary which has to be blamed here. Why did the government failed to bring the main accused to india? It was surely a deal to put it in raw words.
At the place of one multinational industry which was least bothered about the lives of people now we have politicians who are always ready with garlands to welcome them in big numbers.

They arrange Global Investment Meet to attract the investors like that happened recently in karnataka. Yediyurappa who sworn in the name of farmer is showing his full gratitude towards the farmer by displacing them from their lands. They are ready to provide them uninterrupted power whereas for the biggest industry, AGRICULTURE which is just not a need but an essential thing for everyone's living 4-5 hours of 3phase power is also a dream. Atleast our judiciary is not dramatic like our politicians, they have showed it many a times clearly that india belongs to the elite class. Ofcourse there judgement is a reflection of our politicians attitude and more than that reflection of their interference in the legal system.

Global Investors Meet In Bangalore

Todays paper had a lot of turns and comedy sequences. First page told
that 4 lak crore is being invested in k'taka 9lak jobs!, CM in full
suite.next page an ad by BBMP about environment day. CM in white and
white. Next page murugesh nirani's statement that 1lak acres of land
is needed for industries. And last but not the least the reality bite
which informs us that the prices of DAL has further rocketed.so
finally we will have iron,steel,computer,cement to eat and electricity
to drink. Jai ho.

Battle for survival

MAHIM PRATAP SINGH

source - frontline

The tribal people of Niyamgiri hills in Orissa are determined to prevent Vedanta Aluminium Ltd from mining the area for bauxite.

MAHIM PRATAP SINGH

Nearly 8,000 of the Dongria Kondh Adivasis, who revere the Niyamgiri mountain as their king and god, fear displacement and disruption of their centuries-old culture once the company gets the clearance to mine the hills.
Niyamgiri in Orissa is all set to become a scene of local community resistance to corporate interests. The hills of Niyamgiri, a Fifth Schedule area under the Constitution of India and home to Dongria Kondh Adivasis, are allegedly under threat from the proposed mining activities of the Mumbai-based Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL), a subsidiary of the British mining giant Vedanta Resources Plc, which owns the majority stake in the now privatised BALCO. VAL is awaiting the second stage of clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for its Niyamgiri project. It got the first-stage clearance from the MoEF in September 2004.
The company has already started operations at its refinery in Lanjigarh, a town downhill from the Niyamgiri forest. The bauxite for the refinery is brought chiefly from Vedanta's mines at Bodai-Daldali in Chhattisgarh. The refinery requires three million tonnes of bauxite a year. Naturally, Niyamgiri is extremely important for Vedanta because getting the required amount of bauxite transported from outside would not be viable for the company.

Bulldozer regime

PRAFULLA DAS
in Bhubaneswar

Protests against displacement by industries in Orissa show no sign of losing steam.

BISWARANJAN ROUT/AP

Kabita Sahoo inside her house, burnt during clashes between anti-Posco activists and the police at Balitutha village, on May 16.

In a State where more than two-thirds of rural families live below the poverty line and other social indicators are as dismal, the process of industrialisation that began at the turn of the century ought to have been a cause for optimism. But, of late, people have been fighting tooth and nail the many proposed industrial projects in Orissa because they threaten to take away their fertile lands and livelihood sources. The latest flashpoint was on May 15 at Balitutha, the main entry point to the project area of Posco-India Private Limited in Jagatsinghpur district, where the police fired rubber bullets and resorted to lathi-charge against hundreds of men and women who have been holding a dharna against the South Korean company's steel project since January 26 this year.

The protests against displacement in the State have shown little sign of losing steam despite publicity campaigns by private companies “to be partners in progress” or Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's frequent statements on television about peaceful industrialisation. Highways of the State are replete with billboards of private companies announcing sponsorships, scholarships, health camps or skill development programmes.

The hard sell is no more evident than in capital Bhubaneswar where workshops and seminars on Orissa's ‘development' in various sectors have become a regular feature. Both the government and the private sector feed the media with information that suits them the most. Leading editors in the State are invited for exclusive briefings or meetings with corporate bigwigs.

In the far-flung districts where there is much opposition from people to industrial projects, company executives seem to have won over many local journalists; it is not surprising for a visiting journalist to find scribes canvassing for the projects. The Internet is a major tool used by corporate communications departments and public relations firms to issue press releases that squarely blame people's organisations for the delay in the implementation of industrial projects.

The major projects facing strong anti-displacement protests in the State are Posco, Tata Steel, and Vedanta Aluminium Limited. In Jagatsinghpur district, Posco faces opposition from the people of three gram panchayats for its proposed steel plant with a capacity of 12 million tonnes. In Kalinganagar, Tata Steel is trying to acquire 3,200 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare) for a six-million tonne steel plant.

Vedanta has plans to extract bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills at Lanjigarh for its alumina refinery situated near by. Besides, a foundation run by Anil Agarwal, the founder-director of U.K.-based Vedanta, is making all-out efforts to establish ‘a world-class university' alongside the Puri-Konark marine drive. The State government, however, is nonchalant about the anti-displacement agitations. Indeed, the administration seems to have been left free to help the companies acquire land through various means. Using police force against the agitators has become the order of the day.

On January 2, 2006, 14 tribal men and women opposing ground-levelling work on the land allotted to Tata Steel in Kalinganagar were killed in police firing. Later, criminal cases were registered against those leading agitations against various companies in different regions, and many of them were arrested.

The next phase of action against those opposing industry-induced displacement started in Kalinganagar in March this year when the people of affected villages and activists of the Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch were attacked indiscriminately. More than 700 armed policemen were deployed in the Kalinganagar area to facilitate the construction of a common corridor road. The local people say the road will primarily be of use to Tata Steel if the plant is established there. On March 30, hundreds of policemen entered Baligotha village in Kalinganagar and fired rubber bullets at the residents and beat them up for opposing the construction of the road. Apparently, many people who were injured did not go to hospital fearing arrest. A few days later, members of the pro-industry group attacked workers in the same area. A local journalist was hurt while covering the incident, and his camera was snatched away.

The police action then shifted to villages where people refused to vacate their land and homes for the Tata project. On May 12, the police opened fire in Chandia village and a tribal person was killed. The body of the victim, Laxman Jamuda, was cremated under mysterious circumstances, and the police refuted the villagers' claim that the death was caused by police firing.

Rabindra Jarika, secretary of the Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch, is, however, firm about continuing the protest. “We will not allow destruction in the name of development at any cost. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik cannot carry out industrialisation at gunpoint,” he said.

Balitutha incident

As efforts were on in Kalinganagar to carry forward the displacement process, on May 15, hundreds of policemen went berserk at Balitutha when they tried to chase away people who were holding a dharna against the Posco steel project. Many people were injured in the incident, which occurred in the presence of senior administration officials. The police were acting under the instructions of the State government, which was making a desperate attempt to facilitate the implementation of the project, already delayed by five years.

Those sitting in dharna at Balitutha had created a ‘laxman rekha', resolving to prevent the entry of any official, the police or Posco employees to the gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakunjang. The proposed project is likely to affect 20,000 people in these villages.

The local residents who ran for their life on May 15, however, returned to Balitutha on May 19 with the same resolve to resist the project and attended a public meeting organised by the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti. The Samiti has been opposing the steel project since the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the company and the State government in June 2005.

The leaders of six opposition parties – the Communist Party of India (CPI), which is backing the Sangram Samiti; the Communist Party of India (Marxist); the Samajwadi Party; the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Forward Bloc – addressed the meeting. CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan condemned the police repression and warned the State government against using police force to acquire land for the Posco project, which would affect thousands of families. “Use of force will only add strength to the agitation,” he said.

PRAFULLA DAS

Rabindra Jarika, Bisthapan Birodhi Janamanch leader, leading a rally of tribal people against displacement in Kalinganagar area, on May 22.

Sangram Samiti president Abhay Sahoo criticised the State government for not taking the village committees into confidence and for submitting wrong information to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests with regard to the use of nearly 1,200 acres of forest land in order to help the company get the final forest clearance for the project. The government said no one lived on the forest land when there were tribal people living there and cultivating the forest land. Under the existing laws, villagers living on forest land have genuine rights over the land on which they have been living for generations together, he added.

A day after the meeting, the Chief Minister held a discussion with the Lok Sabha Member from Jagatsinghpur, Bibhu Prasad Tarai of the CPI, and four legislators of the ruling Biju Janata Dal from the area. He gave them a proposal that Posco would be asked to exclude 300 acres of private land under Dhinkia panchayat from the 4,004 acres of land earmarked for the steel plant. The CPI rejected it.

Bardhan, who was camping in Bhubaneswar, told the media the next day that the State government should shift the project to another place. Although he welcomed the government's willingness for talks between senior officials and those opposing the project, he said there would not be any deviation from the demand for the shifting of the site.

He also demanded that the State government issue a White Paper on the Rs.52,000-crore Posco project stating how much Orissa would lose in terms of land, captive iron ore and water from the Mahanadi river; the impact the project would have on the people and their livelihoods; and the impact of the proposed captive port of Posco on the existing major port at Paradip.

Vedanta's projects

As for the agitation against Vedanta Aluminium's proposed bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills, which is considered sacred by the Dongria Kondh tribal community, and the pollution the company's alumina refinery is allegedly causing, the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti is hopeful that the Centre will deny mining clearance to the company in view of the latest reports by three experts who were sent to the area by the Union Environment Ministry. The tribal people of Niyamgiri had failed to resist the construction of the company's refinery, but they are now united in their fight to save Niyamgiri from being mined (see “Battle for survival”, page 37).

Similarly, hundreds of families and many people's organisations in Puri are strongly against the acquisition of 6,000 acres of land for the Vedanta University project. While there are many cases pending in different courts against the project, those opposing the venture are sticking to their stand against handing over a vast expanse of land for the establishment of a university in alleged violation of coastal zone management rules. Acquisition of land for the proposed steel plant project of ArcelorMittal with a capacity of 12 million tonnes also faces opposition in mineral-rich Keonjhar district, which has been in the headlines for large-scale illegal mining.

But even as protest continues in different places against the handing over of thousands of acres of land, displacement, diversion of water meant for irrigation to industries, illegal mining and pollution of the environment, the companies, with the help of the local administration and political leaders, are trying hard to divide people in the name of development in order to achieve their goals. The main opposition parties in the State, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which express their opposition to displacement now and then, have not been able to force the government to resolve the issues of land acquisition and displacement. Meanwhile, the district administrations concerned are making serious efforts to facilitate land acquisition for the industries.

The Chief Minister reiterates that his government favours peaceful industrialisation and warns that no one should take the law into their hands. He has also been saying that not a single drop of water meant for irrigation will be diverted to industries. He has been attending most of the ceremonies organised at the State secretariat for the signing of MoUs to set up new steel plants, alumina refineries, ports, thermal power plants and other such ventures.

He has also been assuring companies and promoters of all cooperation from the government. He also reviews regularly the progress on different industrial projects such as Posco.

But he has not visited any of the villages opposing the industrial projects – even the tribal hamlets of Kalinganagar since the 2006 police firing or Lanjigarh or the coastal villages in Jagatsinghpur where innocent people have been facing the wrath of the police and pro-industry groups.

Arundhati Roy talks on 'War of People'

source - rediff

Activist Arundhati Roy spoke on 'War of People' at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh in Mumbai on Wednesday. Below is the transcript of the talk.

"I think we should reverse the way we see this issue (war against Naxalism) and the way it is being put to us. But the fact is nobody needs this war more than this government. The fact is it is manufacturing an enemy to justify its war. When the PM said Maoists are the greatest internal threat to the country for the first time in 2004, what was the situation?

Maoists were just wiped out in Andhra, but why did the share prices of the mining companies go up? Because it was a message to them saying their interests were taken care of. The government actually made the Maoists seem bigger than they were...

What is that makes it so urgent for the government to fight this war? In 2005, a huge number of MoUs were signed by the biggest corporations in the world, and they have been waiting. If you read the business papers you will understand clearly which MNC is waiting for which land.

Maoists are only the violent end of a spectrum of a dissent in this country that this massive sale of land is just not on. Whether it is Kalinganagar, or POSCO, or Singur, or the Maoist movement, at the heart is land

All these infrastructure projects, the first thing they do is relocate the poor people.

I am not here to defend the killing of innocent people by anybody, not by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Maoists or the government. That is not my brief. When the 76 CRPF personnel were killed, there was this tremendous pressure on me, saying you went inside, you romanticised violence, now come and condemn this violence. BUt I ask what were the CRPF people - she lists an array of heavy arms -- doing there?

It is not so simple, it is a very thorny, knotty issue. It is not possible for me to go there and see these people with their loin clothes, bows and arrows, and you want to snatch it from them, and you want me on your side, it cant be done, she says

This is the war between the poorest people of the world, against the biggest democracy in the world. And they are winning. They have stopped the corporates on their tracks.

They are asking a serious question. This is questioning the meaning of democracy, of civilisation itself.

These are not questions that are coming from art galleries -- they are coming from the millions of people who have put their lives on the line to ask this question. The answers are the key to what is going to become of this planet, this civilisation, the human race.

When Capitalism won against the Afghans in the 1980s, the whole world did a somersault, including India [ Images ]. We became natural allies of the US and Israel, and then digressed to condemn the attack on the flotilla.

When i wrote 'Walking with the Comrades', I was happy when I was criticised of romanticising because I believed in the romance of the forests, the romance of the people. We love romance... we like the romanticism of violence in our movies, as long an airhead with biceps and machine gun is doing it. But, when the violence of the poor people is romanticised, we don't like it.

In the Dandakaranya, where I walked with the comrades, 640 villages were emptied. Many of them live in Andhra, many live in the forests.

The same things -- same violence, same terror, same allignment of forces -- happened during the Telangana movement of the 50s and 60s.

Pakistan, which was never allowed to have a democracy thanks to the US, is craving for a democracy, while India, a democracy is fighting for a military state.

The media, the middle class is begging for a military state, she says.

When a journalist asked her if she supported violence, she said, "In human nature, there is always violence, and there is always love. When we decide to be violent and when we decide to love is up to the individual.

Today people like me are totally on the side of the resistance; because we think the question the tribals are asking -- whether the bauxite can be left in the mountains -- is correct.

The adivasis are not fighting for state capitalism, they are fighting for the bauxite to be left in the mountains. They are saying we don't want advanced weapons, aircraft, etc. Mining bauxite gives alumina, which consumes a lot of water. They have a revolutionary armed resistance but they do not have a revolutionary vision.

It has a totalitarian vision, it does not tolerate dissent. I cannot quarrel with that military strategy right now but then we have to think what is going to happen. So that is why a dialogue is needed…

A rock hard resistance, which is elastic and takes in dissent and argument, will make it stronger. But we need to understand we can't betray the causes we are fighting for.

All across South Asia, what are the areas under attack? All of them are under assault by a marauding capitalist system. In Afghanistan, the resistance is taking the form of radical Islam; in India, it is communist extremism -- but the assaulting force is capitalist everywhere."

You must talk about these issues because your life will be affected too at the end of it."

Roy then takes questions from the audience.

A questioner says he shared every emotion expressed today, but what can we do until human nature changes?

Roy: We shouldn't conclude that human nature is greedy. IT is also sensible. The most successful secessionist movement in this country is the secession of the middle and upper class in this country. They are sitting there and saying 'What is our bauxite doing in their mountains, what is our water doing in their rivers, they ask from up there'.

A questioner, who introduces himself as a student of Indian economics, says India is the most oppressive society and a revolution is required, but the Maoists are not the revolutionaries who are needed right now. He says it was wrong of Roy to support them.

Roy: What is going in the Congress is an old game, where Sonia and Rahul are playing the good guys, and Chidambaram and Manmohan are the bad guys. Rahul Gandhigoes to Dantewada, but doesn't say a word about Salwa Judum (an uprising of local indigenous people in Chhattisgarh to fight Naxalites which was run by a Congress leader and supported by the BJP government.

Suspected naxal Nandakumar arrested

Source - hindu

SHIMOGA: N. Nandakumar, alias Rangappa (38), suspected to have been involved in naxal activity in the border villages of Raichur taluk in the 1990s and who later was active in the Western Ghats region, has been arrested, the Shimoga Police announced on Tuesday.

He was nabbed by the Hyderabad Police when he was allegedly attempting to meet naxal leaders in the Andhra capital, and then handed over to the Shimoga Police. He was taken into custody by a team led by Shimoga Deputy Superintendent of Police Shekharappa which went to Hyderabad last week. He is likely to be produced before the court in a day or two. The police claim to have extracted crucial information from him in connection with naxal activities in the State.

Nandakumar is said to have married Asha, who was among the four persons arrested last year somewhere on the Andhra Pradesh border. He had taken an active role in the fighting eviction of forest dwellers in the Kudremukh National Park in Chikmagalur. He was wanted by the Sadar Bazar Police in Raichur in connection with the murder of Siddangouda in 1997 and a stone-throwing incident during the inauguration of a police station at Yapaldinni village of naxal-prone border areas of Raichur taluk.

After the death of Bhaskar, a naxal leader from Srikakulam in an encounter in 1987, Nandakumar is said to have shifted his activities to the Western Ghats.

His name figures in the list of the most wanted naxalites