Caste War Within Red Revolutionaries
A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.
It’s a voice sputtering out of a radio set, meshed by heavy static. The listeners, 50 heavily armed men somewhere in the forests of Jharkhand, are disappointed. It’s the score of the sixth One Day International between India and Australia at Guwahati when the Indians folded for 170 runs. But they don’t believe in the legitimacy of the Indian state, wage a war against it and refuse to acknowledge that India gained “Independence” in 1947. For a moment though, the scratchy voice on the radio brings alive the idea of India. For that moment the guns rest easy in Saptpahari forest.
Departure from Maoism:
The 50 men in battle fatigues belong to the ‘A’ platoon of the Maoist Communist Centre Tritiya Prastuti Sammelan (TPC), a breakaway faction of the MCC. The TPC is hunting the parent for veering away from Maoism: “Lal Salam, Comrade. Comrade, Lal Salam.” Fifty hands reach out. A man they call Mani, the Platoon Commander, gets up from under the shade of a tree, pats the twigs off his Kalashnikov and says, “I welcome you on behalf of the Peoples Army.”
It’s been a long and torturous journey to this rendezvous, after a number of discreet inquiries, false tip offs and trails that ran cold. It happened very simply. One day a contact calling himself Sanjeev offered a motorcycle ride. It was a ride to nowhere, 40 km north of Balumath, the block headquarters town in Latehar. The last metalled road disappeared after 20 km, the last dirt track about 15 minutes later. For the remaining 40 minutes, there were no roads. Villages appeared now and then. They did not have electric poles. If they did, there was no wiring. In some houses there were solar lanterns. In some villages children smiled, some had brittle teeth, the result of fluoride in the water.
MCC-PWG merger:
At places, Sanjeev asked the children, Saathiyan kahe hai? (Where are the friends?) The invariable reply, sometimes with a knowing smile, was a hand pointed towards the hills. The TPC’s story runs on familiar lines.
In Jharkhand, the merger of the MCC and PWG in 2004, to form the CPI (Maoist) was not smooth. The unified command structure the CPI (Maoist) imposed did not go down well. Many owed loyalty to their immediate leader, not the Central Committee. Therefore, some moved away, renamed themselves and continued to fight the state.
100 splinter groups: There are about 10 splinter Maoist groups in the state. The TPC is different from all of them. It is the only one whose stated agenda is to liberate areas from the CPI (Maoists), a war of ideology in which former brothers in arms are killing each other. The theatre of war is six districts – Latehar, Chatra, Palamau, Garwha and Lohardaga and Simdega. Mani, a veteran of 17 years, says, “We must have killed 40-45 CPI (Maoists) since 2004, some with whom we fought together for years. They sold their souls, oppressing the people they are supposed to liberate. We cannot tolerate that.” He does not tell how many TPC members the CPI (Maoists) has killed, but police say it may be around 20. It’s a bit like David and Goliath, but the TPC has some advantages.
Parting of ways:
The CPI (Maoists) may have a force of 50,000 and more, but it is spread over seven states. The TPC is as well equipped as the Maoists. Also, most of them served in the MCC for years, and they know everything about it, hideouts, supply chain, tactics. It boils down to one platoon versus another, and the TPC so far has held the upper hand.
Many reasons are given for the parting of ways. Some say the MCC was dominated by the Yadavs who marginalized the tribals. Others claim it was the merger of 2004, which the TPC terms as directionless in its literature that caused the split. Some police officers say it is all about money. “They want areas under their control to collect levy. Latehar with its coal and bauxite mines, both legal and illegal, is worth fighting for.” The platoon is heavily armed – AK-47, AK-56, SLRs, .315 rifles, even the odd 303 and plenty of ammunition. Mani says ‘C’ platoon also has a mortar and LMG. The TPC has three platoons, which means about 200 armed men, and 500 unarmed men, who can fight when necessary.
