Dialogue, not violence, can tackle Maoist insurgency

After more than six decades of Independence, the greatest threat our nation faces today is not external but ‘internal’. This threat is posed by Maoist insurgency that affects almost one third of our country. 

Genesis of this problem lies in the denial of natural rights to the tribes that inhabit these areas. The tribespeople are the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent who were pushed into the forests by Aryans who came in wave after wave crossing Himalayan passes beginning 4000 years ago and eventually dominating almost the entire subcontinent. Aryans were pastoralists and agriculturists whereas the original inhabitants, who were later labelled as various tribes, were hunters and food gatherers who drew their sustenance from the forests they lived in. Even today, they continue to follow the same practice.

For thousands of years, they were left in relative peace and isolation. But as industrialization picked up pace, the value and demand for minerals that lie buried deep in these jungles increased enormously. This resulted in their habitat becoming hunting ground for exploration and mining by large mineral corporations.

One such example of ruthless exploitation is bauxite mining by Vedanta Resources Plc in Niamgiri hills area in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha. Vedanta Resources Plc is a metal and mining giant headquartered in London. It grew at scorching pace by acquiring some large metal and mineral public sector enterprises in India. The company was built from scratch by a person who started as a scrap dealer in Mumbai. Vedanta set up an alumina refinery in Kalahandi district in the year 2006. The company was given rights by state government to mine 150 million tons of bauxite, the main row material for refinery, producing aluminium. It was not to mine the hills since Dongria Kondh and Kutia tribespeople, living in that area, believed that their deity resided on top of the hills and they had been worshiping these hills since time immemorial. But the Vedanta management threw all caution to the winds and started mining the hilltops. The tribespeople then started agitating. After an outcry in international media, the Union ministry of environment and forests withdrew environmental clearance for mining.

The Odisha government took up the matter to Supreme Court that gave the ruling, under forests rights act 2006, directing state government to take opinion of 12 gram sabhas in the affected area. All gram sabhas unanimously gave the verdict in 2013 that they do not want any mining operation, in spite of a lot of inducements from Vedanta. Now the mining operation has come to a halt.

Vedanta is just one such example. This kind of large-scale destruction of tribal habitat has been going on for many years in several parts of the country in the name of development. This has alienated tribespeople, forcing them to take up arms against the State. The government has deployed paramilitary forces to crush these insurgents. This has led to bloodbaths and there is no solution to the problem as yet. 

To find a lasting solution to this insurgency, legitimate grievances of the tribespeople need to be addressed, their habitat protected and some autonomy to be granted so that they can decide their own fate. Dialogue is the only way forward.

The author is a teacher and corporate trainer