A million mutinies now? Has the Indian State really got it so wrong? Has the failure to put a genuinely federal structure in place spawned the discontent that rages in large parts of India? And, perhaps more importantly, is there a progressive link in the demands for autonomy, statehood and self-determination? The answer on all counts is an unequivocal yes. Or so the various 'nationalities' participating at a seminar on the 'nationality question' held in the capital last week emphasised.
Organised by the All-India People's Resistance Forum (AIPRF), a loose grouping of ultra-Left organisations with a marginal influence on national politics, the seminar was essentially an attempt to appropriate the separatist agitations in many states of the country by making them an integral part of the 'struggle to establish a revolutionary state'. Not surprisingly, it failed in this respect as representatives of prominent Kashmiri, Naga, Assamese, Uttarakhandi and other organisations made it clear that their presence at the seminar was aimed only at raising the profile of their separate agitations and putting their views across to a wide and sympathetic audience.
Said Professor Abdul Gani Lone of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) of Kashmir: "When the idea of constituting a joint committee of the various organisations demanding the right to self-determination was mooted by the AIPRF, we readily agreed. But we made it clear that our support was for their agenda and was limited to the extremely positive stand they have taken on the question of the varied nationalities in India and their right to self-determination. Naturally, there are some related issues on which we all agree, such as the need for the abolition of the draconian laws that the Indian State is using to unleash repression in the areas where the demand for independence is being raised and the release of detenues arrested under these laws. But we do not subscribe to the ultra-Left ideology of the organisers."
What the organisers did succeed in doing, however, was to bring together, perhaps for the first time, organisations such as the APHC, the Naga Students' Federation (which has close links with Naga insurgents, including both factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland), known ULFA sympathisers and those demanding greater autonomy/statehood for Punjab, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. While these organisations may not be the sole representatives of the people in their regions, their stance does seem to convey the overwhelming mood in these parts of the country.
According to Lone, the common thread that runs through the trend of 'nationalities' asserting their right for self-determination is that of the 'betrayal' of the aspirations of the people by the Indian State since Independence. "In Kashmir, the situation is distinct in the sense that the right to self-determination has already accrued to us. We are fighting against the attempts being made to prevent us from exercising this right. The demands for independence by the Sikhs, the Nagas and others in the North-east, regardless of the current state of these movements also need to be seen in this context," he added. As for the demand for a separate state in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh or even Gorkhaland, Lone felt that these demands could be the precursor to a demand for self-determination if the state fails the people once again.
And some mainstream politicians agree. Said Ram Bilas Paswan of the Janata Dal: "The fact that these demands are emanating from regions which have such close links with the mainstream should give us cause for thought. It is certainly the failure to implement a federal structure of government that has led to these demands. And this may lead to a situation where a separatist agenda would find fertile soil. The only solution is that maximum autonomy be given to all states within the Constitution and the demands for statehood be accepted."
EVEN a cursory glance at the current scenario in any of these regions shows how grim the situation is. In Kashmir, Nagaland and, to an extent, Manipur, Assam and even Punjab, the armed opposition to the state continues. Recent events in Kashmir have shown that the desire for self-determination is widespread. In fact, according to official sources, while the offer by four militants for 'direct talks' with the Centre, which has won a degree of support in the Valley, may be of help to the Indian Government in negotiating a settlement as it shows up cracks in the militant leadership and reduces their bargaining power, it also sends out a more fundamental message: despite a degree of disillusionment
The insurgency in Nagaland seems to be peaking once again and the 1964 cease-fire agreement between the Naga separatists and the Indian security forces has been largely forgotten. "Though militant attacks are sporadic, they are increasing in frequency. Also, the security and intelligence agencies are arming the Kukis who are demanding a homeland for themselves to be carved out of Naga areas and this has made the situation extremely volatile," pointed out members of the Naga Students' Federation. Uttarakhand and Jharkhand continue to simmer despite the sops offered by the Union and state governments to the leadership of the region, because the demands clearly come from below. And then there are the 'lesser' agitations in Punjab and Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh. "Put together, these agitations show just how disillusioned a large number of people are and someone has to take the blame," said Justice Ajit Singh Bains, a staunch proponent of "maximum autonomy and self-determination" and head of the Punjab Human Rights Commission.
Artax A. Shimray of the Naga Students' Forum put the onus on the Indian state: "The Centre has signed a number of accords in the North-east but all of them except the one in Mizoram have failed. The Indian State has upset an already delicate situation by their lack of sincerity and the mood for independence, or self-determination at the very least, is palpable in Nagaland. We too have joined hands with others who have suffered at the hands of an all-powerful Centre. Just look at the number of people across India who feel they have been given a bad deal? How can this be ignored?" Government officials, on the other hand, point to Punjab where the situation has changed from the domination of a blatantly separatist agenda to a scenario where even the proponents of greater autonomy do not seem to be in the majority. But even they do not deny that the price that the country paid to bring about this change was high.
In fact, the message being sent out by those who attended the gathering seems quite contradictory to the aim of the seminar, because, behind the facade of separatist rhetoric many of the participants concede in private conversations that the global realities and the might of the Indian State cannot be wished away. "But unfortunately the problem lies in that we do not trust the State or believe in its protestations of sincerity when looking for a lasting solution," said Shimray.
The times have moved on from when Stephen Decatur toasted "our country, right or wrong!" in 1816 and this nationalist clarion call found a resonance in the far-flung outposts of the European colonial empires and later in the strong nation states of the western world. If one moves the setting to contemporary India, the statement is more likely to beg the question—but whose country is it anyway?
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