The Middle Ground: Earnest mediation between Maoists & the Indian State could yet yield peace
India’s last noteworthy effort to mediate an armed conflict began in 1997, when a group of former government officials, intellectuals and civil society members came together as the Committee for Concerned Citizens (CCC), with a single aim to stop a spiral of violence between Naxalites and the Andhra Pradesh government. The CCC, spearheaded by the bureaucrat SR Sankaran, had a formula that helped the body position itself as an important voice: stand for the victims; be impartial between Maoists and the government.
In early 2002, the CCC eventually placed before the Andhra government and Naxalites an equal set of demands that were directly derived from the concerns of people at large. They insisted that Naxals stop using land mines to attack the police because that put locals at risk of being used as human shields by the police. They also demanded that the government lift the ‘wanted’ price on the heads of Naxal leaders because it only encouraged instances of police torturing locals to extract information on their movement.
Sankaran had the respect of both sides for his untainted public image as a man with strong moral values. The CCC had several senior journalists as well, which helped galvanise public opinion on the issue, thus giving ordinary people a stronger say as an interested party that could hold both sides to account. By constantly pushing both to set a code of ethics against which they could be held accountable, the CCC created the conditions for a gradual de-escalation of the violence. Finally, in 2004, both parties agreed to come forth for talks.
The mood in Hyderabad was euphoric when the rebels came out of the jungles openly for the first time. Naxal leader Akkiraju Haragopal alias Ramakrishna held durbars at Manjira Guest house where the rebels stayed and talks were held. “[YS Rajasekhara Reddy, then Andhra CM] used to conduct his durbars at Lakeview guesthouse. These eight days nobody attended his durbars. Right from police officers to revenue officers to divorce cases, all were brought to the Maoists to solve,” recalls Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao.
Unfortunately, the ceasefire agreements struck at these talks within months and a fierce battle erupted between Naxals and the government. While the Naxal leadership used this time to consolidate positions, the government’s intelligence apparatus used this opportunity to create moles within Naxals. Soon afterwards, a sustained operation against Naxals saw them being written off in Andhra Pradesh.
“Sankaran became very quiet after the talks failed. For a long time, he wrote nothing or said nothing. It was emotionally devastating for him because he really believed that the talks would lead to something permanent,” recalls CCC member Anant Maringanti.
So, is the Indian State really serious about mediation? read more
