A Million Mutinies

Indeed, there's an amusing exchange of polemics in the party organs of the two Naxal groups.Addressed to 'Comrade Anarchist', the latest issue of the CPI(ML) mouthpiece Liberation has printed a lengthy rejoinder to a critique published in the PW organ People's March. The piece, generously peppered with terms like 'petit bourgeoisie', 'proletarian leadership', 'working class' and 'Comrade Lenin's views', is a robust defence of the Liberation group's decision to come 'overground' and winds up throwing slurs on the PW such as "your petty bourgeois class character shows everywhere!".

The quaintly outdated jargon is a pointer to the entire Left movement's struggle to remain relevant in a polity increasingly veering towards the conservative right. But they cannot be written off as long as their raison d'etre exists. Intelligence sources also point to linkages with other underground outfits—from Sri Lanka to Nepal. Their methods range from the primeval to the modern. Intelligence expert B. Raman, for instance, stresses the need to monitor the cyber activities of these groups. He points out that a website linked to the PW posted a death threat on October 4 to the CMs of Andhra, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Clearly, repressive police action has not worked. If anything, it may have alienated people further in Naxal pockets. To even begin to solve the problem, say experts, one has to address the root cause. But slave to the drama of electoral politics, the Indian State has till now been a colossal failure in tackling problems of poverty, health, education or exploitation. There is no reason to believe this will change. The wound will fester.