A State of War

‘Naxals are nothing but cold-blooded murderers’ said the tagline on an advertisement posted by a desperate government that is trying to curb the sphere of influence of an extremist rebellion of Maoists. This desperation must come as moral victory to these violent elements that sustain themselves by exploiting the population of the most backward areas in India.

From a violent uprising that started in the small hamlet of Naxalbari in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal in 1967 to its flowering as the chief dissident ideology in India, constantly on the boil towards staging an armed revolution, Naxalism has come a long way. In the past three months, Naxals have managed to ambush the police force in the Red Corridor that spans from Bihar,Chattisgarh,Jhakahnd, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra and West Bengal frequently enough to draw the central government’s attention. In the past week, they attacked the police in the Ghadchiroli district of Maharashtra. Led by Tarakka, the wife of the central committee member and head of the Maharashtra region, the ambush killed 17 policemen. The massacred policemen were the part of Maharashtra’s C-60 anti-Naxal squad.

Of all the regions under Naxal control, the tribal belt of Dantewada in Chattisgarh is the most affected. Chattisgarh has the worst indices of wealth misdistribution and income inequality. Dantewada presents a grim picture of malnutrition, starvation deaths, illiteracy, abysmal health facilities and unsafe drinking water. This region is blessed with rich natural resources which paradoxically is a curse on the population of these regions. The natural richness of this area means that it remains in the clutches of exploitation by the industry-State nexus. The tribals here voice their opinion against the treatment meted out to them through bloodshed and savagery that represents Naxal ideology. The abominable state of literacy at 39% -one-third of the national average - adds to the plight of the inhabitants. Poverty is endemic to this region.

The highest number of incidents of violence has taken place in four worst-affected states -- Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa -- where 2,212 people lost their lives from January 2006 to August this year. In Chhattisgarh, 388 people were killed by the Maoists in 715 incidents in 2006. While 369 lost their lives in 2007, another 242 were killed in 2008. In 2009 till August, about 180 people lost their lives in the state. Altogether 124 people were killed by Maoists in 2006 in Jharkhand, 157 people in 2007 while another 207 lost their lives in 2008. In 2009 till August, about 150 people were killed by the Naxals.

Even though the Naxal attacks remain rampant, the Prime Minister has refrained from utilising the armed forces against them. The government has unveiled a Rs. 7300-crore developmental work plan in areas not under the control of the Naxals. Armed resistance should be the least used option. Rehabilitation and restructuring of the developmental and industrialisation plans is the need of the hour. The developmental policy regarding the increase of private investment and ownership in mining and forestry is a cause of concern. This type of development was the initial reason behind the alienation of tribals since they saw their communal methods of ownership and freedom being curtailed and destroyed

The present aim of Naxal ideology is not seizure of land and crops but the ultimate capture of State power. Elections and all democratic norms of engagement have been trampled over. They continue to attack capitalism and feudalism, the bane of the social structure according to their thinking. The state and central governments continue to develop plans to contain and eliminate the Naxal movement.

This movement encompasses around 98 percentage of all Left wing extremism. The now infamous Salwa Judum is a part the State’s counter insurgency strategy which empowers the locals, majority of whom are unemployed. Salwa Judum has become a tool that the government uses in its witch hunt against any opposition, Naxalite or otherwise. It is a strategy that has backfired on the authorities. This organisation of Special Police Officers who are mostly youths, have done grave injustice to the very cause of their formation.

Salwa Judum has been accused of using minors for their operations, abusing women in the settlements and killing tribals on mere suspicion of harbouring Naxal elements. The Bharatiya Janta Party and the Congress have been accused of encouraging Salwa Judum. Human Rights groups have also protested against the activities of this organisation.

In West Bengal, the Naxalites have found a footing after the Singur and Nandigram agitations. The agrarian revolution has allowed them to follow a war path that would encourage the population of these impoverished regions. The various Special Economic Zones to be set up for the so-called industrial upliftment is sure to cause more flare-ups. With the recent success of the Maoists in Nepal, similar plans will be chalked out to support the secessionists in order to carve a separate state structured on Maoist principles. The Naxals have supported the call for a separate state in the Telengana and Vidarbha regions.

Naxalites are flexible in their tactics and methodical in executing their plans. It is high time that the government implemented all its developmental programmes in these regions, and at the same time, used force against organisations which de-stabilize the State and the country. Naxals are not misguided elements but a genuine threat to the nation's well being

games so far

The size of the audience at the Champions League T20 (CL T20) matches so far has been a bit of a dampener, but that has taken nothing away from the manner in which the teams have gone about their business. The games have by and large been edge of the seat nail-biters with spectacular finishes.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) kicked off the inaugural season of CL T20 against the South African Cape Cobras with a flurry of runs. They posted a competitive score of 180 against the Cape Cobras with Ross Taylor gracing the innings with trademark swishes over mid-wicket. A rejuvenated Robin Uttappa, who had a below par IPL season, played some staggering shots to lift the team to a respectable score. RCB would have fancied their chances at this stage of the game, never suspecting an onslaught from the opposition.

The South African T-20 champions came hard at them. J.P Duminy played a Bevanesque knock that fell one short of a well deserved century. It was stroke-filled and well executed to the point of perfection. The Royal Challengers would have considered themselves favourites with the Cobras having to chase 117 in 70 balls. In a gut wrenching final over, with Duminy clobbering Vinay Kumar for a six, the Cobras sealed the match.

Despite the loss, RCB along with Cape Cobras has managed to graduate to the next level of the tournament by comprehensively beating New Zealand’s Otago Volts.

In this tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL) sides seem to follow each other when it comes to choking in the last couple of overs. The Deccan Chargers (DC) followed suit against the Somerset. After barely managing to put up a formidable score of 157 in the 20 overs, thanks to a cameo by Venugopal Rao and an unusually brisk start from V.V.S Laxman, the Chargers had Somerset on the mat by the 17^th over. With the prospect of an exhilarating finish to the match in the last over, Somerset began with a loss of a wicket. This unfolded into a last ball slog into the boundary by the number ten batsman Alfonso Thomas.

The incapability of the bowling attack to go for the kill must be demoralising for teams like RCB and DC, considering that they lack accomplished stand-bys. The Challengers will have to sacrifice a top order batsman to include Dale Stein to comply with the four-overseas-players-in-a-team rule.

The Deccan Chargers on the other hand are the most skilled bunch on paper yet the most uncoordinated. Their survival will depend on the ferocity of Gilchrist’s form. Between Rohit Sharma’s fluctuating form and Andrew Symonds’ failed sobriety tests, Gilchrist has very few options but to rely on providence.

The teams from India have the faculty to register themselves in the annals of T20 history. It is only want of collective execution that could deny them the crown of champions.

Different League

Last year’s 26/11 terror attacks ended all hopes of the much awaited inaugural Champions League T20 (CL T20) competition to be conducted in India. But, the tournament this year is anticipated to be a heady concoction of hyper cricket and instant fame. With many of the international players like DeVilliers, Pietersen and Collingwood out of action due to injuries , the CL T20 is bound to be an arena for youngsters to blossom into champion cricketers. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has thrown up surprises in the two years of its exhilarating existence. It facilitated the entry of greenhorns in teams that comprised primarily of the game’s giants and in return the old hands have got an opportunity to learn a format distant from their beginnings in the game. This cosmopolitan version of the IPL is sure to be a revelation of potential.

Although, Champions League has been accused of being another sinister, money-making plot of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it nevertheless attracts a lot of takers for its gala cricket events and competitions. Many of the players have protested strongly at the prospect of being denied permission to play in this well paying Indian T20 format. And why shouldn’t they?

This year includes the top T-20 teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka. Many of the visiting international players look familiar to the crowds from their IPL stint earlier in the year, but they have switched loyalties to their respective state sides.

The opening ceremony of the tournament on October 9 is expected to be an over the top affair with music and gizmos that would convert the austere looking Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore into a theatre of splendour. The sensational A.R Rehman has composed the theme song for the League, whose performance in the opening ceremony will be embellished with dancers and acrobats.

The Indian diaspora the world over has helped create a wonderful aura around the IPL which will certainly rub off on the Champions League. But the extent to which Lalith Modi Chairman and Commissioner of IPL, can achieve his dream of developing club loyalties in cricket with constantly switching players from IPL teams to their state sides is yet to be seen.

If the Champions League is as explosive and well received as the IPL, it will in all likelihood transform into a tournament bigger than the T-20 World Cup. IPL and the Champions League draw bigger audiences and revenue worldwide than any other cricket tournament in history.

Both these tournaments will emancipate local cricket in all participating countries through their inclusive and youthful formats. They have made the game at the grass roots level a lot more competitive.

The winner of this $2.5 million tournament will be at the centre of envy and adulation for obvious reasons.

The Champions League should be a spectacle to behold.

In the succeeding post I will be commenting on the various matches in the Champions League.