To ban or not to ban

On Monday,India was treated to the sight of the leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) tying themselves up in knots. It is truly confusing: a party in power in a state which has demanded no,pleaded that Central forces be sent to reverse its shocking loss of control also seems to think that the object of those forces,the people and organisation that they wish to see fought on a war-like footing,need not even be banned. Maoists must be combated politically and administratively, said CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat,apparently blissfully unaware of the fact that his partys state was busy combating them militarily. (And also through the deployment of large numbers of intellectuals and TV crews from Kolkata,a scorched-earth policy if ever there was one.)

And while agreeing that the definition of terrorist violence covers what the Communist Party of India (Maoist) is up to in large swathes of India,including West Bengal,Karat doesnt seem to think that treating it like other terrorist organisations makes sense. So,surreally,as his partys foot soldiers rush to Kolkata to demand protection from the state against violence inspired by this party,their supreme leader doesnt want the organisation responsible to face administrative sanction for its actions. After all,we are told,they may just regroup under a different name. (The uncharitable would say that,being leftists,splitting,regrouping and renaming would happen regardless of whether theres a ban.) Where were these concerns on the numerous occasions when they demanded that the Bajrang Dal be listed as a terrorist organisation and be banned? After all,if they are banned as the Bajrang Dal,there are still 107 names of Hanuman to choose from,one by one.

The Centre has taken the step of clarifying that the CPI (Maoist) is mentioned in the schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,meaning that it is,essentially,banned at the Centre. But the state government must do its bit. The CPMs central leadership has been joined in its tone-deafness by some constituents of the Left Front in Bengal. As Home Minister P. Chidambaram said,it is nevertheless the case that the state government is in charge,not the Front. The state government must take a call.