Am I a Maoist?
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 20, May 8, 2010
Am I a Maoist?
I appeared in public life through my human rights work, writings and speeches. However, I reached to a larger audience when I got a chance to appear in CNN-IBN and NDTV-24×7 debates on the issue of Naxalism last year. After these debates, I got immense positive and negative responses from across the country. I was upset for sometime precisely because of the most negative responses I got from the youth who are running behind the market forces unknowingly. They ruthlessly questioned me about whether I get money from Pakistan, Nepal or China for speaking against the Indian state. I responded to a few of them with detailed explanations, but many believe in P. Chidambaram’s theory of this side or that side; therefore they are not ready to accept my rational arguments.
Meanwhile, I continued my work of raising the genuine issues of the (more…)