‘I believe in romance of revolution’

Both speakers highlighted that the Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA),which is accused to have derailed the ill-fated Gnaneshwari Express,had denied the charges. They also criticised the government move to deploy the Army. “It will only escalate the war. If the State reinforces its own battalion,it’s foolish to expect the Maoists to give up their arms,”Roy said.

The speakers also criticised the government’s charges of a lack of intellectual condemnation of Maoist violence against civilians.”This incredible pressure to ‘condemn’ Maoist violence against civilians is ridiculous. I have made it clear that I abhor any kind of violence against innocent people. But one must understand that these people,whom we label as Maoists,have only taken up arms when all else has failed,”Roy said.

She also questioned the need for deploying CRPF personnel in Dantewada. “If the paramilitary forces were fighting the Maoists,then by pressurising me to condemn their death,the state is indirectly pressuring me to support them in this war.”

Navalakha,on the other hand,minced no words in his support for armed struggle. “Look at the example of the Maoists in Nepal. They fought elections,in fact they are the majority in Parliament. But has anything changed in that country? We have seen the case of Kashmir in our own country. The moment the militants gave up their arms,the state turned its back on them,and claimed that normalcy had been

restored.”