Fragile peace

The offer by the Maoist leader Kishenji of a 72-day conditional ceasefire will not just be carefully considered by the government but also taken with a few pinches of salt. There is no doubt that the concerted effort to flush out the Maoists by the Centre and state is responsible for this apparent peace gesture by this violent movement.

he offer also follows the very brutal attack on police personnel at Silda in West Bengal and is in response to Union home minister P Chidambaram’s offer to talk to the Maoists if they stopped their violent attacks for 24 hours. There is a sort of in-your-face arrogance in Kishenji’s response — 72 days of peace if the state stops its ongoing operations against Maoists.

The fact is, however, that the Maoists have been rattled by the extent and the strength of the state campaign. And unlike the Salwa Judum campaign, where civilians were pitted against Maoist militia, the Union home ministry let loose the might of India’s security forces on Maoists in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

There have been reports of divisions within the Maoist camp, where some leaders felt that the movement was alienating the people and the violence was becoming counter-productive. The arrest of several senior Maoist leaders, both commanders and so-called intellectuals, has also been a setback for them.

The government is correct to examine the Maoist offer closely, without making any hasty commitments. Within hours of the offer being made, an attack was made on a joint forces camp in Midnapore in Bengal where at least one person was killed. Clearly, the Maoists are not one in this and will find it difficult to give up their commitment to change or social revolution through violence.

This is not the time for human rights activists to jump in with their do-good ideas. It is no one’s case that there have not been terrible atrocities against the people in the Maoist-dominated areas by the authorities or that the state has failed so many underprivileged in large parts of the country. But nor can it be denied that the Maoists themselves have also been brutal and that their continued adherence to their violent ideology makes conversation in a democracy very difficult.

It would be better to allow the government to call their bluff on this offer and see whether this is just one more red herring for much worse to come.