Dr. Prasanna Mishra |
| Blog | Posted By: hindtodaynews on:5/3/2010 10:15:24 PM |
(Dr.Prasanna
Mishra )
No better
example can demonstrate the attitude of the Orissa government to the Left Wing
Extremists than the response of the three Ministers of the state who were in
the Koraput region when the dastardly act of the extremists near Boipariguda
killed eleven policemen of the state on the fourth of April 2010. Those killed were in the prime of their youth; none of them was
born with a silver spoon in his mouth—a factor that could have annoyed the
messiahs of the proletariat. The Ministers could have shown respect to those
killed; they could have placed wreaths on the slain bodies. They didn’t. One
could appreciate their compulsions. They had important affairs of the state to
attend to. They were to ensure victory of the Ruling Party in the impending
election to the urban bodies of Balimela and Sunabeda scheduled on the sixth of
April. This explains the priorities of the present government. The Party must
rule, everywhere in the state. Governance can be only a peripheral issue.
What have these
extremist elements done for the state and what benefits have they brought to
the people so far? Did they stop illegal mining in the mining belt mostly
inhabited by tribal communities? Did they take any mining mafia to task? Did
they intercept overloaded lorries carrying stolen iron ore? Did they take
anybody to task for showing favour at check-gates or weighbridges? Considering
the total silence of these principled men and women when the state was
witnessing a loot of mind-boggling proportion, one would wonder whether their
concern for the downtrodden has ever been more than skin-deep. Number of
landless peasants is quite high in Orissa. Such peasants, in many cases, till
the land of others and enjoy a share of the crop. Land Reforms in the state
have been half hearted. In spite of this, even the Left Parties in the state do
not talk of land reforms in the state. Did the extremists ever take up this
issue and initiate a movement to bestow tenancy right on such peasants who have
been tilling the land for years and getting only a share of the crop? Have the
extremists stopped operations of the moneylenders who charge usurious interest?
Have they ensured that schools in remote tribal areas regularly run? Situation
remains as chaotic as before in the field. The exploiters continue their
depredations; poor people continue to struggle; apathy of government is noticed
in abundance. The extremists have trained their guns only on the security staff
who, by and large, come from poor families and in most of the cases a sepoy
could be the sole government employee in the family and major breadwinner.
With such a poor
record as harbinger of a dawn of prosperity for the exploited, the extremists
should stand discredited and certainly cannot be considered as invincible.
Government must demonstrate its determination to rid the state of the menace. The
state government, unfortunately, seems to have swiftly reached a conclusion
that the problem is nothing more than a law and order issue. That too, it is an
issue that needs to be tackled primarily by the central force. Here is the
grand fallacy. The state police apparatus continues to be under staffed and ill
equipped. It is yet to demonstrate high degree of professionalism.The situation
must improve, quickly. There has been no effort to activate political forces to
meet the challenge of the extremists. State administration must ensure that
schools with teachers run regularly, hospitals are functional with staff and
equipment; PDS sops run regularly; kerosene is available even at the remotest
of habitations. The youth must be assisted in getting jobs. More and more job
opportunities must be created in the affected areas. People must have a feeling
that there is rule of law. Every one concerned must be sensitised that the fish
of extremism flourishes in a pond of deprivation. Deprivation need not be only
material. A person socially marginalised would have a feeling of deprivation. A
section of people, which for some reason has found itself low in self-esteem,
may find the call of the extremists attractive. We must therefore ensure that
every segment of our society feels that it is in the main stream. This has to
be achieved through a political process and political parties must come forward
to play their role. It may be of interest to recollect the exact occurrence
that triggered the Naxalbari revolt in 1967. Naxalbari, a remote village, had a
tribal youth named Bimal Kissan. He obtained a judicial order to plough his
land and was attacked by the landlord and his musclemen. This demonstrated the
quality of governance and our attitude towards rule of law. Collective tribal
retaliation resulted and the rebellion snowballed.
In the ultimate analysis the spread and
intensity of the activities of the extremists is related to the quality of
governance. Government of our state is yet to demonstrate its ability in this
area. If the continuing casual approach to governance persists, the extremists
would find the state hospitable.( The writer is a former IAS officer )
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