Friend of Indian Maoists Jan Myrdal ends visit to India

New Delhi, Feb.14 (ANI): Jan Myrdal, the well-known communist writer and friend of Indian Maoists, concluded his visit to India on February 13th. He addressed gatherings of Maoist front organizations in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Delhi during his visit between January 26 and February 13.

In blatant violation of visa conditions, he freely criticised the Indian State. He voiced the usual Maoist propaganda about state brutality, which people of India have largely learned to ignore. His visit evoked little interest in the media. The largest gathering he addressed was in Delhi - all of 150 persons.

But his prescription to the CPI (Maoist) Party is interesting. Try to win over the middle-class through propaganda against the state.

Unfortunately for him, the middle-class in India have learnt to see through the Maoist propaganda. The middle-class views Maoists as cold-blooded killers. The double-speak of Maoists carries no conviction. In large tracts of tribal heartland, the Maoist cadres are seen as murderers and extortionists. They are only tolerated because of the gun.

The dilemma of the Maoists is that the day they drop arms, they will be kicked out by local populations in the tribal heartland, and if they do not drop arms, the middle-class will view them as thugs and criminals. This is the existential dilemma of an outdated ideology.

But having taken to the gun and tasted blood, the Maoist cadres will continue to kill. The leadership has little or no control over the cadres now.

Their only hope to achieve their strategic objective of winning India is through China. It suits China to contain India with little costs to itself. There are clear indications that on China's bidding, the Maoists prevent mining in Central India, setting up of industries in Orissa and Jharkhand and building of dams and irrigation projects in many parts of India.

They also routinely destroy India's infrastructure. They engineer strikes and violence in factories (Honda, Gurgaon). The idea is to weaken India economically for the next 25 to 30 years.

By then, China would be a superpower. The hope is that China will be in a position to directly help the Maoists effect a 'regime change'.

The reward for China would be the mineral wealth in central India 'preserved' by the Maoists, which will be priceless by then.

The added bonus is an India ridden by civil war. A potential global competitor would be eliminated.

The proof of this is that today, the CPI (Maoists) are using Chinese arms and ammunition. They use Chinese wireless sets. They are trained by China-backed North-East insurgents.

Chinese currency is recovered from their hideouts frequently. The latest feather in their cap are the China-made condom packets recovered recently in Orissa! The media has missed this very obvious China connection.

India was historically always betrayed from within. But the India of 21st century is different. It is a much more confident India.

It is an India with checks and balances and a level of integration. The media and other institutions of accountability exercise constant vigilance.

Most importantly, it is an India with a huge middle-class. This section can see through the Maoist game plan.

They cannot be swayed just by propaganda as Jan Myrdal has suggested.

The middle class finds the brutality of Maoists revolting and unacceptable.

Any amount of Maoist propaganda against the state will not wash the bloodstains left behind by the Maoists.

The Maoist 'Peoples War' is doomed to fail. But much blood will be shed till it happens.

Most unfortunately, innocent tribals will end up killing each other just because a bunch of ideologues from Andhra Pradesh feel that ideology is an end in itself and has no context.

The China dream will just be a mirage because the people of India already know the designs of CPI (Maoists). By Rahul Kumar (ANI)