Let us now address the larger question of India's real growth. The government's Economic Survey 2009-10 has rightly commented: 'A nation interested in inclusive growth views the same growth indifferently depending on whether the gains of the growth are heaped primarily on a small segment or shared widely by the population. The latter is cause for celebration but not the former. In other words, growth must not be treated as an end in itself, but as an instrument of spreading prosperity to all.' Then it goes on to show how inclusive growth has taken place in the country, by showing a growth in the per capita GDP and the per capita consumption expenditure of the country. But these figures, I am afraid, do not give an accurate picture as it averages out the billionaire's income and wealth with that of a pauper and puts them in a common category. This is particularly skewed in India where just a few families have a wealth equivalent to 25 percent of our GDP. All official indicators in fact show a terrifying situation within the country that is quite contrary to the rosy picture painted by the government. In the Global Hunger Index 2010, India ranks 67th among 88 countries— it was 65 in 2009. And if we turn to the recently-developed UNDP Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which more accurately measures income on the basis of income, health, education etc., we find the situation even worse. India, it says, has 65 crore people who are poor on this index. It amounts to 55 percent population. Eight states of India (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) account for more people than those present in the 26 poorest countries of Africa.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), India ranks better only than Ethiopia in the number of malnourished children (under five). In 2008, the percentage of malnourished children was 51 percent in Ethiopia, 48 in India, 46 in Congo, 44 in Tanzania, 43 in Bangladesh, 42 in Pakistan, 41 in Nigeria and 37 in Indonesia.
The Right to Food Campaign says that two-thirds of our women are anaemic. India is also at the very bottom of the recently-compiled 'Quality of Death' index. This new study, on the provision of end-of-life care, takes a look at the quality of life and care made available to the old and the dying in developed and 'emerging' economies of 40 countries. In a scale of ten, the US was at 6.2 while India figured last at 1.9. So pathetic is the situation that even a country like South Africa that got independence after India has an index that is double that of India's.
The water in our country is so badly polluted that it has turned into one of the major killers. According to the United Nations (UN), one lakh people die each year of waterborne diseases in India. A Planning Commission report adds that out of over 600 districts, one-third (203) have high fluoride content in drinking water that causes flourisis among 6.5 crore people. Thirty-five districts have high arsenic content that results in 50 lakh people suffering from poisoning; 206 districts have high iron content and 109 districts have high nitrate content. Then, according to a study led by the Registrar-General of India, 14 lakh infants die every year of five major preventable diseases. This includes eight lakh children who die within one month of their birth. The study said 23 lakh children died before completing five years of age in 2005 alone, and of these 14 lakh children died from preventable causes like pneumonia, diarrohea etc. Even as one can clearly see that India is a 'sick' nation, national expenditure on healthcare is amongst the lowest in the world. State governments now barely spend 0.5 percent of their GDP on healthcare and hygiene as compared to one percent in the 1970s. Only 34 percent of India's population has access to government hospitals.
If one looks at the issue of food, the situation appears equally grim. Per capita food grain consumption has fallen from 177 kilos per year in 1991 to 151 kilos in 1998 (it has dropped even further now). Compare this to 182 kilos recorded by the LDCs (Least Developed Countries) and 196 kilos in Africa.
Such then is the horrific condition of the people of our country—that too after six decades of independence. This surely is a matter of grave concern. And, add to this the massive destruction of our land, forest and water resources, together with the total degradation of the moral fabric (corruption, greed, nepotism), is it not time to discuss various alternate models to better the policies of governance?
For those serious about our country and its future, there is an urgent need for discussion of various models and policies being put forward—like those of the National Advisory Council (NAC), various commission reports, Maoist views and from civil society. As far as the Maoist viewpoint goes, this book offers excellent information. Besides general reading, this book could be useful for any future dialogue between the government and the Maoists which is an urgent necessity.
Overall, this book will be a very useful read for varied sections of people to understand the root causes of the four decade-old Maoist movement in India and their alternatives in the spheres of economy and social life. Rahul has put in enormous effort to produce a work based on an important phenomena in today's India. This will only help any discourse to evolve a better future.
April 2011
KOBAD GHANDY
Tihar Jail, New Delhi
Index
Abujhmaad, 10, 56,103
Adilabad district, 40-43, 53, 58, 60, 67, 92, 177,178
Adivasis, 55, 61, 62, 64-65, 92, 102, 121,123, 128, 130, 175,
see tribals also
and, forest officials, 56, 57, 64, 65
Naxalites, 13, 59, 60, 63-65, 67, 114, 119, 123-24
police, 61-62
state, 56, 62, 123, 132
vadde, 57, 123
benefits derived from Maoists, 76, 100-02,119
food, 55, 63
incomes of, 55-57, 100, 170
language problems of, 66, 101, 123
schools for, 66, 101, 122
women, 56, 64, 65, 96, 114
Ahir, Rameshwar, 72
Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), 81
ambushed by,
Maoists, 8, 91, 106, 133, 166
police, 11, 100, 130
America, 12, 23, 26, 31, 83, 111
Amnesty International report, 132-33
Amte, Prakash, 102
Anand, 39
Andhra Mahasabha, 27
Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), 87
Andhra Pradesh, government, 85, 113, 177
Police, 6
anti-Polavaram dam sentiments, 93, 157
Badarpur, 3
Badke, Biwaji, 145
Bagchi, Amitabha, 112
Baitha, Ram Pravesh, 71, 77
Balraj, 156
bamboo, 41, 55, 56, 64
Bangladesh, 17, 110, 155
Bastar, 53-56, 58, 62-64, 67, 84, 100, 101, 103, 112, 113, 146-48, 150, 152, 157, 175, 176, 178, 180
Belampalli, 58
Besra, Misir, 104, 114
Bhourah, 59
Bhumaiah, 42
Bihar, 19, 23, 26, 71-77, 84, 88, 99, 103-05, 109, 157, 159
Biju Janata Dal (BJD), 179
Border Security Force (BSF), 132-33
Bose, Khudiram, 24
Bose, Prashant (Kishan alias Nirbhay da), 112
Bose, Sourin, 23, 24
Bose, Subhash Chandra, 139
Briggs, Harold, 28
Bush, George, 12
cadres,
overground, 47, 146
underground, 22, 33, 38, 47, 59, 114, 146
Calcutta, 23, 25-26, 33, 73,112, 139
caste, riots, 160
upper-, 71, 72, 75-76, 160
violence, 160
Central Committee (CC), 45, 86, 105, 107, 114, 150
Central Committee of China, 22
Central Military Commission (CMC), 105, 106, 114, 167
Central Organiser (CO), 40, 42, 53
Central Regional Bureau, 105
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 8
Chandauli district, 13
Chandrapur district, 59, 67
Chatterjee, Asim (Kaka), 25
Chatterjee, Kanai, 72-73
Chavan, Y.B.,
19
Chetna Natya Manch, 122, 124
Chhattisgarh, 8-10, 12, 28, 48, 53, 66, 88, 91, 93, 101, 102, 110, 119, 121, 124, 125, 127, 128, 132, 133, 147, 148, 176
Chidambaram, Palaniappan, 11, 166
China, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 73, 139, 158
Chinnalu, 47-48
Chomsky, Noam, 12
Chou En-lai, 24
civil liberties movement, 142
civil rights, activists, 11, 177 groups, 42
Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), 142
committeees, 22, 45, 54, 86, 87, 89,100,103,105-07,114, 125, 142, 147, 149, 150, 163, 166
Central Committee (CC), 45, 86, 105, 107, 114, 150
Central Committee of China, 22
Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), 142
communal riots, 30
communication, 5,37,155,156,164, 167
Communist cadres, actions by 21, 27-28, 29-30
Communist Party of China, 22, 23
Communist Party of India (CPI), 20, 139
Communist Party of India (Marxist), 20, 21, 25, 28 government, 9
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), 23,25,28, 37, 38, 45, 54, 75, 88
Communist-led United Front government, 23
Congress party, 11, 21, 23, 38, 55, 61, 82, 83, 84, 88, 92, 140
CPI (Maoist), 33, 44, 45, 48, 86, 89, 94, 96, 99, 101, 103, 106, 111, 112, 114, 146, 150, 156, 166, 167
membership, 99
Party, organisational structure of, 103, 105-07
CPI-ML (Party Unity), 75, 88
Dakshin Desh, 73
Dalit Panther movement, 141
Dalits, 25, 44-45, 58, 76, 114, 141, 143, 145, 160, 161, 170
Dandakaranya, 53-55, 57, 64, 66, 67, 93, 94, 96, 103, 105-07, 119, 133, 147, 149, 150
Dastagiri, 58
Delhi, 3-6, 18-19, 23, 53, 100, 112, 156, 157, 159, 160, 166, 175, 176, 180
Police, 6, 180
Deshmukh, Visunuru, 27
East Pakistan, see Bangladesh
Eiatu, 125-28
Emergency (1975), 12, 39, 42, 141
encounters, 8, 33, 63, 83, 86, 87, 99, 109, 112, 114, 125-28, 147, 162, 177, 178
Entally, 33
escape, 25, 54, 59, 86, 126
from police custody, 83, 87, 113
fact-finding, 12, 62, 130
famines, 19
Food Corporation of India (FCI), 18
food crisis of mid '60s, 18-19
forces, military, 9, 11, 23, 166, 167
paramilitary, 9, 11, 23, 48, 166
police, 11, 23, 48, 166
forest officials and Adivasis, 56, 57, 64, 65
Gadchiroli, 9, 55-56, 58, 64, 65, 66, 67, 125, 128, 131, 142, 146
Gaddar, legendary balladeer, 81, 146
Ganapathi, 44, 46, 48, 49, 84, 90, 91, 97, 99, 109, 110, 111, 114, 115, 169, 170, 180
Gandhi, Indira, 11, 23, 39, 54
Gandhi, Rajiv, 83
Gandhi, Mahatma, 42
Ganganna, 114
Ghandy, Adi, 139, 141
Ghandy, Anuradha, 7,107,137, 139, 140-52
Ghandy, Kobad, 7, 62, 112, 138-44, 146, 148-51, 180
Ghandy, Nargis, 141
Giri, V.V., 74
Girijan Rytu Coolie Sangams (tribal peasant labour associations), 61
Girijan Sangam, 30
Girijans, 29-30, 32
Globalisation, 160, 161
'Go to the village campaign', 39-40, 44
Goud, Kishta, 42, 43
Gram Rajya Committees (GRCs), 100
Green Revolution, 19
Greyhound force, 86, 87, 112
guerilla, central base of, 37
comparison with security forces, 127
Gujarat, 30, 74
Guntur, 142
Hansda, Sambari (Seema), 98
Haragopal, Akkiraju (Ramakrishna), 89, 93, 113
home ministry, 9, 11, 91, 167
Hyderabad, 26, 27, 38-39, 61, 82, 83, 87, 92, 159, 160
incomes, 4, 177, 179
Inderavalli, 60, 61, 62
Induwar, Francis, 134
insurgency, 8-10, 17
Intelligence Bureau (IB), 165-66
Jacob, Lt General J.F.R., 23
Jagtial peasant movement, 40, 46, 54
Jagtial town, 46, 54, 81
Jamshedpur, 73, 87
Jan Chetna Manch, 166
Jana Natya Mandali, 38, 39, 81
Janardhan, 39
Janathana Sarkar (People's Government, 94, 98
Jangal Mahal area, 72
Jangi, Manik, 131
Jangi, Mathru, 131
Jangi, Ramsay, 131
Jharkhand, 8, 9, 75, 76, 84, 87, 101, 104-05, 107-08, 112, 113, 115, 134, 150, 170
jobless, 5, 157
Kailasam, Adibatla, 29-30, 32, 33
Kakati Medical College, 37, 47
Kanchan (Sudip Chongdar), 156
Karimnagar, 28, 40, 42, 43, 44, 46, 53, 58, 67, 81, 85, 92, 111
Kashmir, 4, 8, 127
Khammam, 27, 53, 58, 90, 92
Kharibari, 17
Kishenji, 8-9, 47,110, 111, 112, 178
Kisku, Dhanai, 88
Koranna, 30
Kosa, Comrade, 102
Kranthi Sena, 87
Kranti, 83
Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan (Revolutionary Adivasi Women's Organisation), 96
Krishnamurthy, Panchadi, 33
Kushwaha, Sandesh, 77
Lalgarh, 8, 9, 111, 112, 134, 178
land ownership, surveys of, 18
landlords, 17, 21-22, 25, 27, 29-32, 40-47, 59, 66-67, 72, 73, 76, 91, 95, 100-01, 125, 134, 152
Lenin, 23, 54
Levidi village, 29, 30
liberalisation-globalisation period, 160
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), 84
Maa Danteshwari Adivasi Swabhimani Manch, 75
Maad division, 10
Madhya Pradesh, 19, 53, 57, 67, 159
Maharashtra, 8, 9, 41, 55, 59, 60, 66, 87, 102, 119, 125, 129, 142-43, 159, 177
Mahto, Badan, 77
Mahto, Jagdish, 72
Mahto, Sunil, 87
mahua, 57, 121, 129
Manekshaw, Sam, 23-24
Manganna, 30
Mangtu, 125
Mao Tse-tung, 19, 20, 23, 24, 31,37
Maoist, 12, 25, 27, 28, 30, 32-33, 57, 60, 64, 65, 66, 87, 96, 106, 109, 115, 120-27, 147-50
guilty of sedition, 12
training of, 37, 84-85
warfare, 20, 33, 34, 42, 84, 98, 147
zone, 9, 10, 53, 67, 99, 104, 108
Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), 73, 75-77, 89, 112
Maoist, medical care, 94, 101-02, 124
on relationships, 126
party document, 94-99
problems, nature of, 10-11
camp, 11, 66, 82,120-21,123
doctrine, 98
insurgency, 8-10,17, 27,156, 177
leadership, 7, 8, 33, 42, 44, 45, 48, 65, 82, 86-90, 93, 96-97, 103-04, 107, 110-14, 120, 122, 125-26, 134, 156-59, 161-63, 168, 170, 177-78
military forces of, 3, 28, 66, 80, 95, 100, 104-07, 114, 120, 121, 125, 126, 147, 157, 161, 166, 167
weapons of, 21, 30-31, 104, 106, 109-10, 120, 127
and the state, violence between the, 132
attacks on security forces, 49, 94, 97-98
concerns of, 115
funding, 107-09
language problem faced by, 66, 101, 147
recruitment by, 81, 93, 166, 167, 169, 170
use of internet by, 149, 167, 168
contribution in, education, 94, 101, 167
health, 101-02, 124, 149
help to Adivasis, 76, 100-02, 119
relations with other insurgent groups, 110
urban movement, 156-58, 161-64, 168-70
Mazumdar, Charu, 19-20, 22, 23-25, 28, 31-33, 37-38, 47-48, 138
conditions to join him, 20
Midnapore, 9, 2
4-25, 98
mineral resources, 10, 179
Mizoram, 28
MMG (Man, Money, Gun), 73
Moinbinpetta, 59
Molarband Extension colony, 3, 5
moneylenders, 29-30, 32, 41, 59, 61, 64
Murali, 39
Musahiri block, 72
Mushirabad jail, 42
Muslims in India, 27, 111, 145, 161
My Years in an Indian Prison, 73
Nagrik Suraksha Samiti (NASUS), 87
Naidu, Chandrababu, 85-86, 88, 92
Nalgonda, 27, 28
Narain, Govind, 23-24
Narain, Jayaprakash, 157
Naresh, Seelam (Murali), 44, 88
Narmada, Comrade, 96
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), 121
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), 108
National Socialist Council of
Nagaland—Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), 110, 155
Naxalbari, 17, 19, 22-26, 29, 32, 33, 72, 137, 178
movement, 26, 33
Naxal-dominated areas, 9, 12, 72, 91
Naxalism flourished due to, 8, 65, 72
Naxalite prisoners, conditions in the jail, 73-75, 88, 141
Naxalites and Adivasis, 13, 59, 60, 63-65, 67, 114, 119, 123-24
Nepal, 17
New Delhi, see Delhi
Nizam of Hyderabad, 26-28
Operation Steeplechase, 23
organisations, 'overground', 38-39, 110
underground, 21
Orissa, 8, 9, 18, 23, 67, 90, 109, 113, 159, 167, 179
Osmania University, 38
Padmakka, 86
Paidgun, 59
Panda, Sabyasachi, 112
Panda, Subhashree (Mili), 113
Pantavne, Devanand, 144
Parliament, 4, 11, 87, 145, 166
Patil, Shivraj, 11
peace talks, 88
peasant movement, Jagtial, 40
peasants, 21-22, 27-29, 39, 41, 42, 45, 66, 72, 99, 161, 170
landless, 17, 20, 54, 95
militant, 19, 22, 27, 33, 37, 134
tribal, 17, 61
People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), 88, 90, 91, 93, 99, 104, 106, 109, 115, 120, 150, 164
three main sections of, 106
People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), 61, 166
People's War Group (PWG), 54, 60, 75, 81, 82-85, 88, 89, 94, 95, 109, 112, 142
Phansidewa, 17
police and Adivasis, 61-62
Politbureau (PB), 105
politicians, 11, 85, 87, 92, 113, 137
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