Do read this, and think, you've nothing to lose

Chhattisgarh, which claims to the only power surplus state in the country, has been witnessing a bloody struggle for power for roughly three years now. The rest of the country doesn’t know about it, we all know Chhattisgarh as an emergent state rich in minerals and ores, covered with dense forests, and a prospective industrial hub. We get to know about Chhattisgarh only when the Times of India comes up with a survey placing Bhilai/Durg on the sixth spot among the fastest developing cities in the country. Those of us born and brought up in the affluence of Bhilai, feel great about the news and get on with our lives. Even when we were there we didn’t care about what was happening 150 kms away in the tribal regions. Indeed, it wouldn’t be fair to expect anyone to care. Naxalites, disillusioned tribals, needless violence, have all become a part of our daily lives.
But what’s been happening in Chhattisgarh since 2005 goes far beyond that. It is true that we should always take anti-state reporting and campaigning with a pinch of salt, as they are often exaggerated to the hilt and even fabricated at times, but the sequence of events, the credibility of the people involved, and the evident situation in the tribal areas do suggest that the districts of Bastar are weighed down by anarchy and bloodshed of an unprecedented magnitude, which shows no signs of abating.
Stray incidents of violence and unrest were commonplace in the area since the early 90s, even before the assassination of the leader of the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Shankar Guha Niyogi, in 1991. As has been the norm, the hired assassin was apprehended but is still awaiting the result of the trial and there is still no clue as to who hired him. The growth of the naxalite movement gained ground after the murder of the union leader and the callousness shown in nabbing the culprits.
The state of affairs in Bastar after the formation of Chhattisgarh in 2001 went from bad to worse. The people from the most backward district in the country were frequently displaced in the name of industrialization. Of course, industrialization does have benefits which eventually trickle down to the populace, but due to the inherent inefficiencies of the bureaucratic set-up, the tribals ended up without land, without livelihood and without hope. Sent into improvised camps and settlements, they had to confront atrocious living conditions and a sense of deracination.
Though the state probably meant well, the collective ire of the tribals fell at them, and the naxalites cashed upon it. Thus the strength of naxalites kept growing and the government, forced by the systemic inertia, did nothing to improve the tribals’ conditions, instead focusing on improving the state’s image to attract external investment.
With increasing violence, attacks on personnel, policemen, forces etc., there was a marked change in the state’s collective consciousness, evident in statements of police and government officials. The state developed an antagonism, and was intent on vendetta against the naxalites, who they started bracketing with the tribals.
That’s where it all started to go wrong, when the law enforcer cannot do its work dispassionately and carries pre-conceived notions; a situation like Hitler’s Germany is likely to arise. The state, incited by a few intense strikes by the naxalites, chose a course aimed at curbing violence which ended up escalating it beyond controllable proportions.
It formed a unit called Salwa Judum, which literally translates into ‘Purification Hunt’ and gave it the license to commit all crimes to eradicate the influence of naxalites from the tribal regions. An initial group of a few people, who were not from the armed forces but locals having a history of violence and crime, was sent out into the tribal areas to identify and terminate the naxalite sympathizers. To extend its power, a reward of 2 Lakhs was proposed for any tribal who wished to join the SJ, with the assurance that they could contravene the law. (The above is inferred from a recorded conversation from one of the meetings of Salwa Judum, where the SP of Bijapur is stating this to a group of tribals, noted from the Statesman)
As anyone with a sane mind can imagine, with the formation of this group in 2005, all hell broke loose in Chhattisgarh. Any and everybody who wanted to settle scores could easily do so and get paid for it. The remarkable disaster this policy turned out to be is evident from the official figures of casualties revealed by the state:
2003: Maoists: 74, Civilians: None
2004: Maoists 83, Civilians: None
Salva Judum formed in July 2005
2005-2006: Maoist: 65, Civilians: 243
First three months of 2007: Maoists: 42, Civilians: 226
And these are all official state figures, seeing which and with increasing criticism from the media and the people in general, the state distanced itself from the group. However, in 2005, at the formation of the SJ, the District Collector of Dantewada was present and he went on to attend almost all their meetings. So, the distancing was a bit too late. Maybe the state tried to reign in the SJ, but the war has reached such proportions that the SJ has become a bigger threat than the naxalites.
Besides all these repressions and thoughtless acts, the state also came up with a visibly dictatorial and unconstitutional act called Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act in 2005. Under the auspices of this act, the state could detain anybody without bail for anti-state activities for an indefinite period pending trial/. Probably aware that the formation of the SJ would invite huge criticism and wrath, the state incarcerated all those who were likely to raise their voice and mobilize protests in the region. These included the pediatrician and member of PUCL, Dr. Binayak Sen, who was a close associate of Shankar Guha Niyogi, Praful Jha, a journalist, Ajay TG, a filmmaker and scores of others under fabricated charges. The most ridiculous charge was placed on Dr. Sen who was a frequent visitor to the prison in Raipur where he went to attend to an injured Naxalite. Consequently, he was charged with sedition. He has since been in jail pending trial.
Its imperative to attract attention towards the incarceration of the people who can communicate the people’s woes to the world. If they continue to be behind bars, the repression will continue and the country will remain unaware of the world of difference that exists between the lives of a tribal in Bastar and an executive living at Napean Sea Road. I don’t know what can be done, but there has to be something, the media is hungry for anti-establishment rhetoric and for projecting heroes. Here we have real heroes and they don’t even know about them.

deprival

Have lost the desire to write, or read a thing, to think without a purpose, to venture out without any intention, to while away time at a chai shop, to watch the people around me, to love, to hate to be passionate, to be angry, to be vociferous, to be silent, to be irritating, to be irritated, to be bothered, to bother someone, to enjoy on my own, to stay all alone, to know something new, to hear someone’s point of view, to realize that this has unwittingly turned into a verse, to appreciate that things can’t be much worse.

guilt

The single-most significant, rather the only reason for disturbance, guilt. Listening to a song, smoking, guilty about wasting the time that could’ve been spent on something else, for screwing my lungs, to my future, and her future, it sucks. After my break-up, emptiness, an excuse for every stupidity, groped around for sympathy, finally reached my hermitage, living alone, feeling that this was bliss, guiltlessness was bliss. Do anything I want to, now again, guilty about listening to music, watching a movie; do not relish reading anymore, always working out a plan. Sitting at a south Indian restaurant, for the whole day, just to live those moments, now even eating is a job, last few months there were pretty bad, agreed, there was always something to run towards, remember, I even felt guilty about not knowing the meaning of the word ‘perdition’ of not owning a car, a DVD player, I have no idea what this is

self-appointed authorities

To Raj Thackeray and his troop of monkeys (yes, I mean monkeys though the one Harbhajan used would be more appropriate for you all, in fact, it’s an insult to monkeys to equate you with them). Anyway, all you buffoons out there hell bent upon making peoples’ lives miserable, I challenge you, any one of those who are a part of this gang of scared kids, to a duel, hand to hand. I’m nearing 35, have a smoke infested, drug-abused, unshapely, body which is in such a pathetic state that I can’t climb three storeys without having to take breaks for rest at least twice. But I can take on the physically strongest among you, I’m sure, because you guys are such pathetic losers that even if you do subdue someone physically, you will be the one will who suffer and the next moment try to find someone else who is the bane of your existence. You’ll make up another gang of your deprived brethren and vent out your combined frustration at your impotency on some new unknowing target. You would never realize that no one else is a bane; it’s your existence which is a bane. Right now, you are fighting north Indians, later you’ll fight south Indians, still later you might fight someone else. What you don’t understand is that your being good-for-nothing has nothing to do with them. There have been many instances like these in the past; many mad caps like this inconsequential bug raj Thackeray in history, Hitler, amin, Mussolini, all of them attributed their troubles to an identifiable group which was easily targetable. All of them knew that the best way to gather disillusioned loafers was to make them believe that they are wronged, and point them towards it. But at least these Mussolini and Hitler’s have their moments of glory; at least they have power, money, what about you, you all couldn’t do that either, reviled, kicked around, hated by everyone, the likes of you are an object of ridicule, destroying MF Husain’s paintings, burning posters of taslima nasreen and harassing people on valentine’s day. It is laughable, at least the earlier villains of the piece had some ideals, some conviction on which they based their tyranny, their evil. You all, even you don’t know what the basis off your sporadic attempts at violence are. youre almost like the bunch of stray dogs who stay down when alone on the highway but start running after every car and bike if they are ion groups, without any tangible reason, just because they are more in numbers.

dnrc gems

If a grapefruit is happier than a bulldozer, then that means your toaster can turn jam into sound.

so wonderful that existing adjectives are inadequate. I recommend a new word to be used exclusively for DNRC members: splendsmartiful.

so splendsmartiful that the mere sight of you stuns doves in flight, causing them to plunge to their deaths.

those of you on this mailing list will form the new ruling class and get to treat all other people like five-and-a-quarter-inch diskettes.



from scott adams dnrc newsletters

saigon

There's something truly extraordinary about the first ten minutes of apocalypse now, I find it so bewitching that am in a trance every time I watch it; the first shot, the chopper blade sounds, this is the end, explosions, beautiful friend, chopper blades the jungle again, the face of charlie sheen, the eyes of charlie sheen, in fact, one of the most noticeable things about the film; his eyes; which always give the expression of being dead and alive at the same time; those who've seem the movie can easily relate to that; and then his voice, not a fantastic voice, but something about this film, makes it seem like the most resounding voice ive ever heard;

saigon;

rewind and replay