RED SUN : THE STORY OF FAILED DEMOCRACY

Red Sun: Sudeep Chakaravarti

Naxalbari has not died and it will never die – Charu Mujumdar

Naxalism is one of the most debated, controversial and aggravated threat to India’s national integrity. It was also romanticize unnecessarily as a fight against injustice and inequality. Typical stereotypical assessment of Maoism , that it is a socio-economical issue which can resolve not with guns but with inclusive policy making and uplifting of the  tribal by means of good governance is partially correct but not ultimate solution of the problem. So many hidden threads are attached to the issue and author had unfolded the same threads in the book i.e. Red Sun.

Sudeep Chakaravarti , has travelled through the red corridor ,especially through Dandkaranya and Saranda (second largest area under the command of maoist after dandkaranya). He had interacted with the kanu sanyal and abhijeet mujumdar( son of charu mujumdar) along with many underground comrades of Communist Party of India (Marxist/Leninist). It provides us first-hand information about the problems of tribal people and how government officers are ignorant about them.In red corridor, there is blame game. Everyone’s finger is pointed towards the opposite side. Naxalites are blaming government for the abysmal condition of tribal and government is blaming naxalites for under development of red corridor. Equally, author has also depicted the brutal oppression policy by the naxalites over the poor tribal who are unnecessarily suffering between SALAWA JUDUM and naxalites. He has assessed unseen facets of Salawa Judum,(rebellious uprising by adivasis of dandkaranya ), later supported by the government agencies by providing arms and ammunition.

Vested interests of capitalist companies are involved Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa with an eye over rich natural resources. These companies have cordial relations with high ranked bureaucrats and ministers, so that they get all discounts and favours to establish a project in these states. This nexus is subtly narrated by the sudeep with concrete proofs and examples in this book.

Human angle stories are another facet of this book. Interviews with local people, volunteers of NGO’s working for tribal, Salawa Judum activist, SP’s and DCP’s of these states provides the arguments from both side and enlighten us about ground reality of red corridor.

Noteworthy aspect of this book is author has travelled from Naxalbari (west Bengal) to Bijapur, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), almost through the entire red corridor. So how there is also a cast and regional politics for leadership in naxalites organisation, how Andhra’s leadership is dominating over the Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, how naxalites deals with the different issues in different states and still successful in uniting the organisation, all these thing are brilliantly put by author which gives a profound insight of the naxalites movement. An interesting anecdote from the book is about a small group of naxalites from Jharkhand separated from main stream organisation fighting against exploitation of forest department. They don’t want a different country or they are not following Mao’s idealogy. Their demands are simple; they just want peace and justice. Tribal and poor people don’t know anything about the democracy or Maoism. They are just struggling for basic needs.

In nutshell, Red Sun is an interesting and insightful study of India’s internal war which raises many questions. A must read book for all politicians, bureaucrats and also for comrades to understand the sombre issue of India.