Framed

If anyone still parrots the root cause argument for Naxal violence,two images might change her mind. The first was of the headless body of Sanjoy Ghosh,a 23-year old West Bengal state armed police jawan. Though Ghosh had been kidnapped during an operation,his beheading indicates a cold-blooded death,not retaliatory fire from Maoists under siege. The likely hearing that Ghosh received in the kangaroo courts that Maoists like to call peoples justice was seen in the second image,this one taken in Jhargram in Bengal on Wednesday. The photograph shows court proceedings of the Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities the Lalgarh-based,Maoist-backed group. The two accused,allegedly police informers,are sprawled,their hands tied,on the ground. Their judges,armed PCPA members,surround them,keeping the accused honest by beating them with sticks. This is,after all,peoples justice.

While there can be no moral equivalence between the state and the Maoists,the worry is that lack of state coordination is imperilling the entire effort. Reports suggested that the new Shibu Soren government in Jharkhand had rolled back offensive patrolling and confined the CRPF and state police to the barracks. This was not just foolhardy for Jharkhand,it imperilled Operation Greenhunt by providing a safehaven for Maoists besieged elsewhere. It is in this context that Sorens statement that the Centre and his government were on the same page is reassuring. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has reiterated this,confirming that Soren is on board with other chief ministers. It is hoped that the Jharkhand government now delivers,and these statements indicate a changed mindset.

Up ahead is the February 9 meeting of four Naxal-affected chief ministers Soren included in Kolkata,chaired by the home minister. This meeting follows a similar one held in Chhattisgarh,involving Orissa,Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. It is these meetings as much a forum for tactics as symbols of political cohesiveness that are crucial for the success of Operation Greenhunt. But for those in search of other,more utopian symbols,perhaps the beheaded body of a poor jawan might provide some answers.