by RAJNI BAKSHI
A few weeks before he was compelled to leave his home in Dantewada, Gandhian activist Himanshu Kumar came to Mumbai [ Images ] to address a public meeting co-hosted by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, Citizens for Peace, Gateway House and Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Those who heard Himanshu in November are not surprised by the ambush in which 76 CRPF jawans were killed last Tuesday.
While making it clear that he holds no brief for the Maoist forces, Himanshu had explained why they have a tactical advantage in an armed confrontation with the government.
One, the misery and rage of dispossessed adivasis has given the Maoists a cadre that is both passionate and determined. Two, the adivasis’ intricate knowledge of the terrain will enable the Maoists to engage in a prolonged guerrilla warfare in which the State’s security forces will remain at a disadvantage.
“You want peace because you want your life to continue uninterrupted,” Himanshu told the gathering of business people and professionals who have most of what we need in life and then more. “They, the adivasis, want justice.”
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(Submitted by SANSAD)