Review: Notes On Resistance by Noam Chomsky

Notes on Resistance

I love reading Noam Chomsky till he writes on Kashmir.

He is a voice one must hear, though some, especially the likes of politicians, CIA, NSA etc., will dismiss his views as utopian. Whether his views are idealistic or not, one thing is for sure that he does not mince words when exposing the brutality of imperialism and authoritarianism, espcially American one. This book has been stitched together from a series of interviews he gave on various topics.

It is no wonder that Chomsky never was given too much attention in the mainstream media, unless during thos rare times when he was talking about linguistics.

The book is devoid of any jargons or over the top theories, and brings forth so many diversified examples of imperialism and power-grab that the first time reader of Chomsky might wonder if all of this is actually true (I am not a first time reader of his). But the added dimension is that the reader would be even in more disarray because he/she never read about it in history books. Because history books are not supposed to tell you how Iran’s democratic government was overthrown by U.S. and Britain due to their concerns of oil being nationalized. That India’s armed forces have often resorted to unspeakable violence when dealing terrorism in Kashmir (I told you, I hate Chomsky). However, in cases like Kashmir or Palestine, what Chomsky fails to realize is that just one act of misdirected violence by the forces would result in endless criticism. Whereas the infinite steadfastness of the forces to resist attacking the stone-throwers is never praised. There is no black and white in such cases. Neither side is perfect or imperfect. Grey zone is a reality of life, especially in conflict zones. But still reading Chomsky is a must for most of his critiques are valid and pointed.

However, most of Chomsky’s writings or views do suffer from what is suffered by Roy. There is no solution presented by Chomsky. It is naive to believe that only democracy is the best way to rule over a country. And naive to believe that only American way of democray is the ‘right way’ (Chomsky doesn’t believe this by the way). Wish his critique lead to suggestions and possible solutions too.

A must read book by all means.

Review: The End of Imagination by Arundhati Roy

Roy has been a favourite of BJP supporters since last few years in the category of ‘anti nationals’. My first brush with her was an eye opener. And then her heart-punching, gut-breaking article in Outlook created a sort of an uproar, not just inside me but also in the media. However, if you are enamoured with Roy (“Delhi’s greatest living writer” – Mayank Austen Soofi, who does not do justice to neither of those three names), you won’t be able to see the downside of her ‘activism’ (which she calls ‘writing’).

‘End of Imagination’ is a collection of her writings and speeches, most of them during early 2000s. Her critique is scathing and her phrases do make one guffaw, though there is nothing to guffaw about the serious topics on which she writes. Her criticism, mostly, is valid. The power nexus of the corporates, the governments, the bodies (IMF, World Bank, etc.) is beyond the comprehension of the common man.

Roy, however, is no saint. She writes in Guardian on September 29, 2001 and Outlook on October 8, 2001 about the “unconscionable September 11 suicide attacks”. So 9/11 were “suicide” attacks and not “terror” attacks by a bunch of boys who had nothing to do with Islam. That’s Roy for you. She refuses to call out Islamist extremism. When she writes about the Gujarat riots of 2002, she never mentions how the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra was “unconscionable”. She does not utter a word about the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, but mentions how more than eighty thousand people have been killed in Kashmir over a period of more than a decade with “most being Muslims”. You get the gist of what I am saying? She is not, but almost appears like an apologist for Islamic extremism. You will never, or at least not in this book, read Roy writing about any Hindus suffering anywhere, neither in Kashmir, nor Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, nor in sectarian violence which is perpetrated by religious fanatics (always poor and thinly educated if at all) of all religions around India, where policing is not only inadequate but also corrupt to say the least. I get it: she is a champion and a voice of the voiceless, like Dalits, tribals, and so on. But ignoring the sufferings of one religious community because they are a numerical majority is hypocrisy, when called out mildly, and wretchedness of the highest order.

So if I were to compare the thought-process of Roy with a meme, it would be this, this, or this. Throughout the book and almost in all of her writings, the problem is not that her criticism of capitalism or religious extremism (read ‘only Hindu extremism’) is mostly valid and stinging; the problem is larger: she does not present any solutions. It is akin to giving an exam and just getting a pass / fail result at the end, without knowing what you did wrong. She writes about Kashmir, Afzal Guru (of course), JNU, Sardar Sarovar dam, Narmada Bachao Andolan (linked to Sardar Sarovar dam), Bhakra Nangal dam, Gujarat riots, 9/11, American imperialism, Chomsky (her favourite). But yet, the issue remains, and this time in all caps: SHE DOES NOT GIVE ALTERNATIVES OR ANY SOLUTIONS.

She, throughout the many chapters, asserts that she is not an activist but a writer. As a writer she visits dalits, naxals, and others to document their sufferings. But where is the solution to alleviate these sufferings? Now she might as well say: I am not the government and it is the job of the government to find solutions. So it is a full circle with no end in sight.

Roy’s acidic attacks are valid but are to be taken with a pinch, or rather handful, of salt. For there is no end to her spewing, often rambling, monologues. Does Roy ever want to hear her own criticism? I doubt. If you see this interview with Thapar, you can clearly see that Roy does not answer any of Thapar’s questions and in fact skips most of them through misdirections.

Do read Roy, for you also should not be in an echo chamber where everything is perfect and where there are no consequences of development on forests, farms, animals, biodiversity whatsover. Bridging the gap between these development hawks and criticism vultures is the challenge which nobody rises to.

And to make it personal, let me ask this: does Roy not use any of the products or services of these industrial conglomerates she criticizes in every single second of her life? Does she use a smartphone produced by an NGO? How does she fly to give “enlightening lectures” in Amrika? Or does she swim in the oceans to reach the shores? Her clothes always seem to be quite modern, of course with eye liners. Maybe those are produced by NGOs from Naxalbari? Does she use internet created by the tribals of hinterland? Does she use multivitamin supplements and medicines produced by the oppresed castes of the villages? Oh, well, why does she use English language for her communication and writing? I suppose English was brought to India by tourists of the East India Company. And does she use a detergent powder to wash her clothes? Who created that powder? The Tatas or the Unilivers? Does she employ a maid or househelp? Does she use an auto-rickshaw or a taxi driver to travel around in a city? Oh well, isn’t that class supremacy? But for Mayank-Austen-Soofi-types, she is the “best” and so be it. Be the best.

Review: Walking with the Comrades by Arundhati Roy

Walking with the Comrades

It was Aditya Adhikari’s book which got me hooked onto the ways of the Maoist rebels in the subcontinent. ‘Hello Bastar‘ was one popular book about them but somehow the red bold-face font never made the book cover serious enough to be considered. Well, I am not judging a book by its cover but only ‘not picking’ a book based on its cover. Cover arts do surely add to the enigma of an unread book, hiding all the mysteries of its pages by a plain sheath of artwork.

First things first – this did not turn out to be a book. On Amazon.com it is being sold by Hamish Hamilton (a Penguin imprint) and states that it has 240 pages. However, at the top it states it has 144 pages – don’t know what’s wrong with Amazon here. Amongst so many reviews of it there is not even one person who noticed this difference comes as a disappointing surprise, or was I the only one who got a wrong copy? The actual length of the book is around 30-40 pages. And the entire content is a rip-off from an Outlook India article freely available on University of Pennsylvania website. I wrote to Amazon and they readily refunded my money and topped my account to offset any inconvenience caused. Yes, their customer service was really good and responsive.

So, in essence, I am reviewing an article, not an actual book. Read it for free here.

 

The contradictions of Dantewada, a Maoist ‘infested’ district, are brought out starkly – “it’s a border town smakck in the heart of India“, “police wear plain clothes and the rebels wear uniforms“, “villages are empty, but the forest is full of people“. The struggles of tribal people have always been there against encroachment on their turf, “it’s convenient to forget that tribal people in central India have a history of resistance that predates Mao by centuries“. Their fight against the Corporate Giants is a task uphill, unmatched by the difficulties of the uneven unyielding terrain. These Corporates are funding schools, universities, hospitals and various other ‘welfare’ schemes, which the author rightly dissects as “creeping, innocuous ways mining corporations enter our imaginations: the Gentle Giants Who Really Care. It’s called CSR, corporate social responsibility“. Economic growth rate which “leaves economists breathless” is what is plucking these tribal people from the heartlands of their homes to roadside shanties and settlements. Growth for whom? Growth for the greedy, death for the needy.

The author travels to the forests and lives with them for days together to understand their way of living, their morals, their struggles, and most importantly, their dream of leading a simple unhinged life. She meets lot of senior comrades who were involved in grassroots revolution from the beginning. Like Comrade Venu, who was “in one of the seven armed squads that crossed the Godavari from Andhra Pradesh and entered the Dandakaranya forest in June 1980, thirty years ago. He is one of the original forty-niners. They belonged to the People’s War Group (PWG), a faction of the Communist Party of India (Marxist – Leninist)“. She doesn’t go much into history of how Naxalism started and the Naxalbari movement. The various modes in which the Indian State has tried to suppress this movement makes one think of the brouhaha about morality and its impending impact on action – “Mahendra Karma, founder of Salwa Judum – were conferred the status of Dwij, twice-born, Brahmins. As a part of the Hindutva drive the names of villages were changed in land records, as a result of which most have two names now, people’s names and government names. Innar village became Chinnari. On voters’ lists tribal names were changed to Hindu names (Massa Karma became Mahendra Karma). Those who did not come forward to join the Hindu fold were declared ‘Katwas’ (untouchables), who later became the natural constituency for the Maoists“. PWG’s two historical successes are chronicled: rise in the price for tendu leaves (used to make beedis) and the second against Ballarpur Paper Mills. But these were worldly gains; that they can become united against atrocities was a triumphant moment.

 

That “Tata Steel and Essar Steel were the first financiers of the Salwa Judum” comes as the rudest shock from this book/article. She refers to a report of Ministry of Rural Development. That report clearly states, “A civil war like situation has gripped the southern districts of Bastar, Dantewara and Bijapur in Chattishgarh. The contestants are the armed squads of tribal men and women of the erstwhile Peoples War Group now known as the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on the one side and the armed tribal fighters of the Salva Judum created and encouraged by the government and supported with the firepower and organization of the central police forces. This open declared war will go down as the biggest land grab ever, if it plays out as per the script. The drama being scripted by Tata Steel and Essar Steel who wanted 7 villages or thereabouts, each to mine the richest lode of iron ore available in India“. Frontline did a story on that, and the Tatas soon came up with an explanation. Counterview offers an insight into the economies of how farmers become unorganized industrial labour in Maoist-lands (Felix Padel is great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin). The hand-in-glove approach of mainstream media is dissected with the detachment of a surgeon, “you might have read about (an attack on Salwa Judum) – something like ‘Maoists attacked the relief camp set up by the state government to provide shelter to the villagers who had fled from their villages because of terror unleashed by the Naxalites’“. The author’s brilliant piece on Capitalism should be and must be read (and then there are half-baked fact-based counterpoints).

 

However, no movement however pious is bereft of human shortcomings, the lure of violence and instant justice as amazingly documented here. There is discontent amongst the tribal people with regards to Maoist overtures. And this is what was used for the creation of Salwa Judum: discontent.

The article (sorry, book!) makes for a decent read on what the Maoists are suffering for and fighting for.