Vignettes of Violence

There are some tales of violence that seem highly atypical, unrepresentative, and even bizarre, and are often forgotten as entertaining snippets. But at times they contain more than a grain of truth, reflecting reality at angles rarely seen. Here are some samples from the Naxal movement of Bihar:
I
Theatre of Violence
Those acquainted with Indian politics must be aware of the Naxalite movement – the movement of the landless peasantry and autochthonous tribes that stretches all the way from Bengal to the state of Andhra Pradesh. Divided into many factions, the Naxal groups freely use violent methods to deal with local landlords as well as the different arms of the government. In fact they run what have come to be known as parallel governments in large swathes of northern and peninsular India, ensuring some justice and fairness for those whom the Indian state has persistently overlooked. The irony is depending on your fancy you call them marginal or mainstream depending on your take on overall Indian reality.
Rashtriya Sahara [Patna, 21 November], a Hindi daily reports that eighteen members of a Naxal group were recently apprehended in Nalanda, Bihar while performing the play ‘Sultana Daku [bandit]’. Sultana, a bandit often deified by insurgents has been a legend in the rural north as a sort of Robinhood figure. The report goes on to mention that being based on the life of a bandit, the play naturally called for liberal use of firearms as props. The dialogues and action also both required much violent rhetoric and bravado, altogether a rich spectacle, drawing a sizeable audience for the performers. Life as usual so far!
But the local police got wise to the theatrical pretense when informed that the entire cast of the performers [18 in number] was made of Naxal activists. On top of it, it was found that the actors were flaunting not toy but real guns, and doing so with a gusto that bordered on foolhardy exhibitionism. It was soon discovered however that the crew was not foolhardy after all – they wanted to terrorize the local populace with a show of arms but without being overt about it. A good Naxal, one must understand, is supposed to solicit popular support and it does not behoove him to shove guns in the face of likely constituents. But if you can let them know in the gentlest possible way, nothing like it!
Whatever the argument, when the police ambushed the show, they were surprised to find no resistance and the entire crew was handcuffed without a single shot being fired. The explanation came later – it seems the eighteen armed Naxals mistook the police to be fellow actors. Apparently, folk plays traditionally have highly flexible scripts and improvisations are freely made on the spot to suit the audience’s moods! And a folk artist worth his salt is expected to flow along with the improvisations rather than resist them.
According to the police official interviewed such shows had of late become common in the region – the entire purpose of these events was to ‘terrorize the public’ through entertainment. Well, to make a hairsplitting distinction, to terrorize the enemy, and to impress the supporters! A bit like the Indian state flaunting its weapons as part of the Republic day parades in Delhi? One wonders.






II

I have often wondered how secret[ive] organizations of any kind, whether Al Qaeda, MI 15, or our own home-grown Naxal groups conducted their recruitment – whether the recruiter approached the likely candidate, or the candidate found his way to a recruiter. Both the approaches seemed fraught with the most poignant danger – a bit like the anthropological first encounter between tribes.
Sanjeev K Jha, a correspondent with the Times of India however found himself a witness to an elaborate recruitment ceremony of the Naxals in the Munger region of Bihar. According to him he saw posters and wall writings advertising ‘wanted young men and women to spill blood in the fight for justice’ all over the Haveli-Kharagpur area of Munger [The Times of India, May 19, 2007, Patna-Ranchi edition]. The candidates were lured with ‘a stipend of Rs 3000 per month, free arms and ammunition and training in guerilla warfare’, in the words of the journalist.
The journalist was led by local villagers to the nearby Dharhara Hills, where he met candidates as they descended from the hill top after their interviews got over. According to the candidates, questions were asked on all aspects of life, including their villages, education, likes and dislikes, and even hobbies. The journalist found himself talking among others to a young woman who was sexually assaulted by her in laws after her husband died in a road accident, and a young man whose father was killed by the landlords and falsely implicated in cases that put him in the prison for two years. This was clearly a job for the traumatized and the tormented with their own personal scores to settle. They seemed to have all the makings of loyal members of the club rather than paid operatives – the two broad types of recruits with a gray area in between.
When the journalists attempted to climb the hill, he was stopped by gun-toting guards who told him enough is enough. The local police clearly in the denial mode shook their heads in disbelief and claimed that this is not how Maoists [Naxals] recruited their cadre.
Clearly, an operation or activity becomes covert by definition if you refuse to see it, register it, or deny its significance. Also, even as the common folk are fully aware of the goings on around them, it takes experts special ‘intelligence’ to laboriously glean and infer their findings – in Kashmir, in Iraq, and also Munger!

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This is a platform for those Biharis and non-Biharis who have to say something of significance on Bihar and its neighbourhood. that would include politics, culture, society, history, literature, art, economy, folk lore, archeology, humour and especially those topics that bring into focus the linkages among these. we are open to discussion on linkages with the neighbouring regions like Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, assam, Orissa and the North east.