Hold fire, start talking to Maoists: Activists tell govt

With only a few days remaining before the government strikes hard against Maoists, civil right activists have asked the Centre to stop the offensive and told Maoists to cease hostilities to facilitate a ceasefire.

The activists said that since the government has not exhausted all options for development in the Maoist areas, they should not hurry with the offensive.“We had never dreamt that our own forces would be used against our own brothers and sisters. The situation is very grim and we can’t judge it by sitting in our rooms in Delhi. People who have taken up arms are doing so because for many years they have not been heard,” noted civil rights activist Aruna Roy said.

“Today the government calls these people Maoists, tomorrow it will find another name for them. But the problem will not end until we address the basic issues,” Roy said. The Citizens’ Initiative for Peace, too, proposed dialogue over offensive. The activists demanded that livelihood needs of the tribals and villagers be addressed urgently. “It is not the time to judge who is right or wrong. Many people in the country don’t realise the consequences that will follow the government action,” justice PB Sawant said.

“These people are only demanding their right to live decently. The government should decide if they have exhausted all initiatives.” he said.  Himanshu Kumar, a leading Chhattisgarh activist, said, “The government action is not to address the problems but to grab land. The forces have destroyed 1,000 villages and the government is not rehabilitating them.”