Setback to peace
'Azad’s exit will strength-en the hand of hardliners.'
The spate of killings, blasts and abductions by Maoists during their two-day bundh to protest the killing of their politburo member Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad by Andhra police marks a sharp escalation in violence. That they are angry with Azad’s killing is understandable. He was a senior leader and that too, one who was reportedly engaging in quiet efforts to get negotiations with the government going. Swami Agnivesh, who is mediating between the Centre and the Maoists, has revealed that Azad was in touch with him regarding a ceasefire and talks, and was to give him dates for negotiations with the government. The Maoists have claimed that Azad was killed not in an encounter as claimed by the government but arrested in Nagpur and then shot dead in cold blood in the jungles of Adilabad. While their sense of outrage is reasonable, the methods they are using to articulate it are not. The killing and abduction of innocent civilians is reprehensible and unacceptable, however deep their sense of anger and betrayal.
It is possible that the police were not kept in the loop on the role Azad was playing in the peace process. Still, this does not excuse a fake encounter. If Azad was arrested, it is for the courts to decide his fate, not for police to execute him. The government must come clean if a fake encounter did indeed take place. An honest judicial probe is essential to clear the air.
Azad’s death, which has been hailed in some circles as a significant blow to the Maoists, might in fact be a severe setback to the quest for a negotiated settlement of the conflict. His killing could nip in the bud an attempt to de-escalate the ongoing violence and to resolve the conflict. Azad is believed to have been a proponent of talks with the government. His exit will strengthen the hand of hardliners among the Maoists. Talk of revenge and retaliation is growing. This is a pity as talks hold out the promise of waging the conflict non-violently. The death of Azad, while a loss to the Maoist movement, must not stand in their way of taking their grievances to the government via talks. If the Maoists are indeed committed to seeking justice for the tribals, on whose behalf they claim to speak, they must give the political option a shot, just as Azad had.
