All Eyes On Lalgarh

Our focus of attention must remain Lalgarh. We are fortunate to have an on-the-spot report from ET’s political bureau – here. It says that the security forces are feeling quite insecure themselves. They are camped 10km from Lalgarh – and their line of retreat has been cut off. The sub-divisional police officer’s jeep has been blown up. The villagers are shooting from within the jungle.

This is nothing less than a Revolution!

And it puts paid to many theories advanced about India – from our supposedly Weberian “rational-legal” district administration to local government and panchayati raj to the nature of our “recognized political parties” all the way to the great god of democracy itself.

And this is West Bengal, one of our supposedly leading states.

I found one comment particularly noteworthy, which came from the spokesperson of the Maoist rebels, quoted here. He says:

"We want the entire Lalgarh to be a liberated zone for the tribals. We want them to have a democracy of their own, a democracy that will be guided by a new and free economy.”

Heck dude, if you want some lectures, in Bengali, on the free economy and its basic laws, on local government, on the errors of socialism and communism, or on Swiss direct democracy, I would be happy to oblige.

I myself had a slight brush with police brutality against alleged Naxalites in Karnataka, during my time in Mangalore. The police shot dead two girls in a forest. Many prominent personages came out to condemn the police, including many university professors. This is how the alienation occurs. And it grows and festers.

Such events must be happening in the Lalgarh area too, for the organisation leading the revolt is called People's Committee Against Police Atrocities. The word “atrocities” must be noted carefully, in the plural. Indeed, I myself once complained to the Karnataka Lokayukta against atrocities inflicted upon me by the state police – but that’s another story. I have every good reason to be on the side of these brave rebels of Lalgarh.

And as far as the district administration is concerned, I am reminded of an IAS officer I met in their Mussoorie academy many years ago, when I had gone to lecture there, who had served as district officer in the area now dominated by Maoists. He told me: “My writ did not run beyond the gates of my bungalow.” The rot set in long ago. This is the bitter harvest of decades of misrule – by socialist and communist politicians.

Lalgarh may indeed be the tipping point.

For once, we are talking about People in the jungles. Real people. Armed people.

The ToI is still blabbering on about the rights of elephants.

Ostriches.