It is good to see that the Prime Minister doesn’t mince words when criticising Naxals and Naxalism
On the face of it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blistering attack on Naxals and Naxalism (also called Maoists and Maoism) can be viewed, even dismissed, as a political statement. At a ‘Chintan Shivir’ of state Home Ministers and police chiefs, Modi said by way of a video link, “Naxals can be holding guns and also holding pens. They are misleading the youth.” It is not very often that a top political leader says unpleasant things about various manifestations of communism. Owing to the Marxist indoctrination that successive generations have suffered in our country, communism and its less virulent form, socialism, are still regarded as ‘humane’ and ‘emancipatory’ ideologies. So, the public intellectuals who condemn fascism and Nazism are rarely seen saying anything critical of communism and socialism. Against this backdrop, it is good to see that the Prime Minister doesn’t beat about the bush when it comes to Naxalism. It is a threat for a variety of reasons. Mao Zedong, the patron saint of Naxals, famously said that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. By the way, the quote is not metaphoric; it is literal and real. This is what Mao did all his life, resulting in the death of millions of people, anywhere between 30 million to 70 million. The totalitarian state he laid the foundations of has today become a threat to global peace.
In India, his followers, right from the 1960s, have waged a violent war against the Indian Republic as we know it, resulting in the death of thousands of security personnel and civilians. It is true that there are a zillion problems that the country faces, from poverty and unemployment to social evils and environmental degradation, but the way out is not a bloody revolution that the Naxals believe in. The revolutions that the world has witnessed since the beginning of the twentieth century have caused vicious purges, disastrous collectivisation drives, mayhem, and chaos. Therefore, PM Modi must be lauded for slamming Naxals. He is also correct in his assessment that these people tend to mislead the youth with the meretricious slogans and promises. This is done by pro-Naxal thought leaders who hold the pen. At the same time, however, the Prime Minister must ensure that his Government’s drive against Naxals and Naxalism doesn’t target intellectuals indiscriminately. Only those writers and activists should be targeted who are directly involved in criminal activities. Those who are merely sympathetic to the Maoist cause but don’t do anything illegal must be exposed for the intellectual hollowness and moral bankruptcy; they shouldn’t be prosecuted. One’s belief should not be criminalised; otherwise, we would be marching towards the Orwellian dystopia in which people are penalised because of ‘thought crimes.’ This is what communists, including Maoists, do; the world’s largest democracy should not be doing that. Hence the so-called urban Naxals should be prosecuted only if their actions are illegal.
