|
Killings, lootings on in Lalgarh
as govt prepares for showdown
WSN Bureau
LALGARH: In its June 3-9, 2009 edition, the World Sikh News reported
about a slice of India where people have effectively sacked the
government and have taken control of their own lives, of course with
weapons and a will to kill or die. This was the story from Lalgarh
in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district where naxalites and the CPI
(M) cadre have fought pitched battles for control with the official
machinery a bystander. Now, more trouble is brewing. Maoists had
been entrenching themselves in sundry sub-divisional areas of
West bengal
and a few other states for years. Lalgarh denotes the end product of
long term administrative callousness confronting public grievance.
As for the state, the ruling comrades were more busy fighting the
Trinamool Congress instead of redressing the grievances. No wonder a
force like the Lalgarh’s People’s Committee against Police
Atrocities came up and was backed by Maoists.
| |
CRPF on way, expect bloody
fights
India’s central government has decided to send five companies of
the CRPF to the troubled Lalgarh area where it says armed
Maoists have been on a rampage. Naxalites have completely
overpowered the state police and government administration is
reeling under their attack. But many fear that in the name of
controlling the situation in Lalgarh,
the CPI(M) state government might be tempted to use these forces
to crack down on opposition Trinamool supporters.Bloody fights
are expected soon. |
Now, it rules
Lalgarh. Meanwhile, the inventory of political leaders killed
recently in Lalgarh, or of families that have fled their homes, is
on a roll. Last Monday, a CPM Burdwan district committee member was
shot dead, allegedly by Trinamool activists, while suspected Maoists
torched police camps and CPM offices in Lalgarh. In retaliation for
the Burdwan murder, CPM cadres reportedly set houses on fire and the
party called a 12-hour local bandh. Earlier, on Sunday, about three
CPM workers had been killed by alleged Maoists in Lalgarh’s
Dharampur village. That armed tribals and PCPA members could go on a
rampage despite prohibitory orders shows how Lalgarh is beyond all
administrative control. True, it’s been on the boil ever since the
arrests following the November 2, 2008 attempt on Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee’s life at Salboni. Lalgarh’s tribal leadership has
shut out the police since then and had the Lok Sabha electoral
process radically altered in April 2009.
Indian media is
crying its head off about the need to enforce the rule of law but
there is little talk of how the state has abdicated its authority
and responsibilities. Lalgarh today is a product of complete apathy
of the Indian state, not because of any menace called Naxalism.
17
June 2009
|
Read Also