Like Tarzan, give a cry of victory

KOCHI: Kreegah! Like Tarzan of the apes, we  can thump our chests and give a cry of victory. For, we have several achievements to our credit. One is appalled at Indians’ capacity  to demolish their idols, degrade them and ultimately destroy them. Take the  recent example of a great cricketer who has been degraded to a third rate politician. He can now rub shoulders with, no, I wouldn’t take names. He can be trusted to send a missile right at the target to be decided by his peers.Before that we had destroyed the reputation of two patriotic and valiant soldiers on petty matters. We hounded out an accomplished and world-famous artist who died in exile without seeing the country he lived and loved. And we called home a talented and dedicated UN official, then threw him into the hurly-burly of politics and did everything to spoil his reputation. The list would go on.  Coming to our achievements, what if we condemned an Indian admiral, we are going to get a condemned Russian admiral.  Don’t we have Agni V aimed at the ‘Maoists’- not of the desi variety. If the Chinese are followers of the great Chairman, they are the true Maoists. Well, there is no tax on day-dreaming of hitting China. Some day someone is going to suggest use of a short range Agni in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Wasn’t it one of our worthies who said that they are our worst enemies?That reminds me of what a reputed administrator of Madhya Pradesh  suggested recently that ‘’there should be no hesitation in using air support’’ in fighting the menace of Maoists. How sad if our own forces meant to fight foreign enemies have to turn their guns on our own deprived populace.Our governments have done everything to deprive and destroy the tribals right from the wake of independence. The tribals are a self-sustaining group of people who produce everything they want except salt and kerosene which they obtain from the weekly markets bartering their produce and suffering a loss. The tribals of Chhattisgarh are an exploited group of people.  Though the government could not help them, they sent officials, including tough policemen, who  terrorized and exploited them.It is not known how many in the present generation remember the sordid tales of Bailadila where scores of adivasi women employed as domestic help by officials, were made pregnant. It was the forceful intervention by a District Collector that could do some justice to them. Some committed district collectors and police officials had done good work in these areas which at least could delay the emergence of hard liners.Left to them, the tribals are law-abiding citizens. Then, who are these hard-bargaining and cunning Maoists? It is a matter of common sense and simple inference. If it is a difficult task for the government and sociologists, resort to your dangerous remedies at your own peril and the common man. The terrorists would definitely flee, but the tribals would perish. (The views in the article are the writer’s own. Phone: 0474/2768378, 9447168378).