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Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

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A WELCOME MOVE

THE ANDHRA PRADESH Government's decision to initiate talks with the banned People's War is certainly a step in the right direction and should be welcomed by all concerned. Both the Government and the extremist outfit should realise the State's yearning for peace and all-round development as well as the responsibility that is cast on them. The Telugu Desam Government began talks with People's War two years ago, but the process collapsed before making any headway. The Rajasekhara Reddy administration must take care to ensure that a congenial climate is created for the talks, a detailed agenda prepared, and constructive pressure maintained on the Naxalites to remain engaged in the process until a lasting solution to this decades-old problem is found. In this context, the involvement of the Committee of Concerned Citizens will be useful. The Government has sensibly taken preparatory steps such as halting combing operations and withdrawing the rewards scheme for policemen who captured or gunned down the Naxalites. It was only after these conditions were met that People's War expressed its willingness to talk and to observe "a simultaneous ceasefire."

The challenge of armed Naxalism is not confined to Andhra Pradesh and affects a substantial part of central and eastern India. Its attempt has been to create a "contiguous forest corridor" from Andhra Pradesh to Nepal, traversing Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and even parts of West Bengal. Any breakthrough in Hyderabad can have significant positive implications for all the affected regions. What are the issues that have made Naxalites wage war against the State? Lack of land reforms, regional imbalances in development, the longstanding neglect of the rights and livelihood concerns of tribal folk, especially their right to land, police high-handedness and atrocities. These are issues any State Government must address, Naxalism or not, as they involve the basic rights and expectations of the people. If the new Congress Government is serious about restoring peace and normality in South India's biggest State and addressing these genuine problems of the people, it has the opportunity to come up with a fast track response, without waiting for the talks to progress. Bold thinking and sincerity in peace-building could usher in a major psychological change.

It is equally important to convince People's War that the path of excitative terrorism and violence must be abandoned, for a start, provisionally and on a conditional basis. The armed groups must not be allowed to use the talks to consolidate themselves or regroup. People's War is on record that "talks are a tactics which can be used to serve the interests of revolution, if properly handled... Talks too could become counterproductive if they are not handled with a class perspective and serve the strategic goal at every step." The Government cannot afford to lower its guard on security-related issues, but it must demonstrate its commitment to addressing the genuine concerns of the people and the social and economic causes that aid the growth of such extremist movements. The Common Minimum Programme of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre is clear-sighted about the nature of the challenge: "The UPA is concerned with the growth of extremist violence and other forms of terrorist activity in different States. This is not merely a law and order problem, but a far deeper socio-economic issue which will be addressed more meaningfully than has been the case so far. False encounters will not be permitted." The Andhra Pradesh Government must work systematically and determinedly to put this understanding to work to achieve a breakthrough.

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