PM, Nepal Maoists meet may not end in farewell to arms by their Indian shadows
KOLKATA: After the death of Maoists’ politbureau leader Kishanji’s death in November 2011 in an encounter in West Midnapore in Bengal while Maoists were on the run, but this isn’t the case with either in Bihar or Jharkhand or to a point in Chatisgargh amd Maharashtra.
And this also gives a special importance to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s `15-minute meeting with Nepal Maoist Communist Party chairman Prachanda’ in Kathmandu.
If the issue of Nepal Maoists’ links with their Indian counterparts died out with Prachanda becoming Nepal’s Opposition leader? The issue got side tracked, feel observers.
Prior to Modi’s visit, Prachanda was not known to have entertained very friendly views about India nor having much sympathy for government machinery used to tackle Maoists in India.
It was though not very recently but beginning of 2000 millennium, Bengal police and its intelligence used to have sleepless nights for Nepal Maoists entering North Bengal on several reasons, including treatment. “In fact they planned a route stretching from Andhra, Odisha, Bengal Bihar to Nepal,’’ used to admit intelligence senior people.
Even in 2007 Government of India admitted in Rajya Sabha about their `fraternal/ideological links’ between Nepal and Indian Maoists though the reply denied any physical relations, but according to a senior commentator, sympathy may not have ended as with slowly settling down the poverty factor, in India may put the red extremists on the wane but so far Indian Maoists didn’t decide to join the mainstream as yet, mainstream politics even those few who were rehabilitated, including in West Bengal.
And experts here believe Parchanda may have been “won over as Nepal’s Opposition leader’’ Nevertheless it would be over simplification of Ideological link factor.
It’s not exactly known what transpired between Indian Prime Minister and Nepal’s Maoist leader who gave up arms and joined electoral politics, but with Maoists (though present China would have nothing of Mao other than gagging of media and party dictatorship) relations ideological often refuse to die.
Political observers here believe, taking the present Bengal case where it waned could be temporary if people in earlier affected districts do not get enough education after poverty to make themselves capable of social transfer to job sector whence they bade farewell to arms and a foreign ideology forever. “And it’s here Modi’s meeting an erstwhile extremist in Kathmandu
raises questions for Nepal leader’s Indian shadows in several states like Maharashtra, Andhra, Odisha, Bengal, Jharkhand and other states,’’ he added.
