People's Democracy

COMMENT

PWG Terrorism In West Bengal

THE CPI(ML)-PWG (People’s War Group) was formed in Andhra Pradesh in 1980, under the leadership of Kondapally Sitaramaiah, with the help of some of the naxalite leaders of the state. Almost from the beginning, the PWG worked with a so-called perspective of guerrilla zone, basing itself on the armed squads and armed struggle. It expanded its bases in parts of Andhra Pradesh, then in Dandakaranya area, in parts of Bastar in Madhya Pradesh. In Bihar, the PWG was engaged in internecine fights with other naxalite groups like the CPI(ML)-Liberation, Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), etc.

In 1998, the Party Unity group merged with PWG and this helped them in getting some newer areas of action. Another important decision was to align with the MCC, after recognising them as a "revolutionary" force. The MCC was never a part of the CPI(ML) and, in fact, opposed the idea of formation of such a party back in the 1970s. the MCC was involved in caste-based massacres in Bihar and they were much more powerful than the PWG in that state.

The alignment of these two groups helped them in forming some sort of a "corridor" through AP, MP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. In West Bengal too, these two groups are working in tandem and they are concentrating on the state’s border areas.

In its strategy and tactics, the PWG is based on the line of armed struggle. Whatever be their pronounced goals, the PWG has refrained from organising any sort of democratic struggle with the people’s involvement. In fact, almost every other naxalite group has termed them as "anarchists." Contemporary reports and documents suggest that their extreme dependence on armed squads has raised serious questions within the party too. Some of the leaders of Telangana, Dandakaranya, Karnataka and a section of the party in West Bengal have questioned the policy of the PWG. They have argued that the party has completely sidetracked the working class movement, participation in the democratic struggles of the people and has, instead, turned into some sort of an armed gang.

For example, the PWG is not a banned organisation in West Bengal. But here too, it never tried to initiate democratic political activities according to its own slogans either. Instead, they started and continued with armed activities in the fashion of terrorist gangs.

The PWG is obsessed and heavily dependent on the so-called guerrilla squads, which they think are growing into a full-fledged army.

The PWG launched a systematic campaign against the CPI(M) in West Bengal --- not as a reaction to any "attacks" or something, as has been campaigned by a section of the media. The PWG’s line of action in West Bengal is amply clear from a document of its West Bengal state committee that was propagated as a rejoinder to the resignation letter of ‘Manik,’ former secretary of the party’s state unit. Manik resigned in January 2002, after a prolonged debate within the party. In answering his charges, the party said: "After debacle of some years, we started organising in West Bengal with a perspective of guerrilla zones and we are not only propagating but also practicing the politics of armed struggle from the very beginning."

The PWG has targeted the CPI(M) as its sole enemy in West Bengal. In his resignation letter, Manik said: "We are working like a blind person in West Bengal. Without analysing the socio-economic condition, without class analysis of enemy or friend, we are organising class struggle. We have replaced the class by party and fighting them. One SCM has asserted in the state committee meeting without hesitation that the CPI(M) is the real counter-revolutionary class in West Bengal. Only by ousting the CPI(M), we can survive. As if ousting the CPI(M) and replacing them by Trinamul-BJP or Congress will be very beneficial for us. When a state committee member feels that the aim of the struggle is to oust the CPI(M), then it is not difficult to assume the nature of politics at the lower levels."

This politics had its other effects too. The PWG aligned with Trinamul Congress-BJP combine in the terror campaign unleashed during 1999-2001 in Midnapore and Bankura. This too has been recognised by the PWG state committee in its document. According to them, it was a "tactical decision" to align with one "fascist force" to fight another.

Up to September 2002, at least 10 CPI(M) leaders and workers, including two district committee members, have been killed by the PWG squads. They are mainly targeting effective organisers of the party at local or zonal level. The latest is the case of Comrade Ajit Ghosh at Goaltor, in West Midnapore district.

The PWG operates mainly in the villages contiguous to the forest areas. Armed members of the squad enter villages for extortion and to forcibly take shelter. An exhibition of arms is the most important feature. It is true that in a few places they have been able to get some support from a section of the villagers. But everywhere they move against the CPI(M) sympathisers and threaten against any activity by the party. It is no guerrilla war; individual killing is the order. The PWG squads have killed poor agricultural labourers like Comrade Rampada Majhi in Ranibandh (Bankura) after abducting him. In Shalbani (Midnapore) they attacked the house of Srishtidhar Mahato, a poor peasant and CPI(M) sympathiser on May 31, and killed his mother, wife and little daughter. In fact, the daughter was butchered before the eyes of her mother. Such actions are planned to arouse fear among the villagers.

The CPI(M), on its part, has emphatically declared that it would politically fight the PWG. But that does not mean that the state administration can allow any group to roam freely with arms or kill political opponents. The police have taken some steps in this regard and arrested some activists of the PWG in some districts.

Questions have been raised in some quarters about the police action, particularly after the arrest of a lecturer in Calcutta University. While some of these concerns stem from a general belief in the democratic atmosphere of the state, some allegations are not only wild but ill-motivated. Firstly, the primary charges against those arrested are either direct involvement in criminal conspiracy to murder or possession of arms, or supply of arms to murderer gangs. They are not charged for their political belief, as has been propagated in a section of the media. Secondly, all the arrested persons were produced before a court of law regularly. The bail applications of some of them, including Kaushik Ganguly, the said lecturer, have been rejected by the courts so far. None of them were detained without following the due process of law. Thirdly, the state government reacted quickly to the allegation of ‘torture’ by the policemen in one incident and constituted an investigation under the special secretary (home).

The PWG leaders have floated a so-called proposal for "dialogue" through the media as a purely diversionary measure. One must remember that they have not stopped their terror tactics even for a day and killed an important leader of the CPI(M) in Midnapore district after the arrests also. The CPI(M) leaders and the chief minister have rightly asserted that there could not be any dialogue until the cessation of arms by the PWG.