To be a Maoist in Jharkhand

(This was published, edited, here.)

In the dark about what his bosses think about him, yest over-worked and under-rested. Separated from his wife and unable to see his mother who suffers from mouth cancer. 

Jeevan Kandulna (36) could be just be another Indian man who keeps his emotions bottled. However, Jeevan's is no ordinary life.

In a rare, candid interview, a platoon commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist's People's Liberation Guerrilla Army spoke to this newspaper in the past week within the Porahat forest of Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district.

Jeevan assumed de-facto charge of the crucial Porahat sub-zone when senior leader Prasadji - whose real name is Krishan Ahir - was picked up by Ranchi police on August 13. "The party has not yet sent a replacement for Prasadji. In fact, no senior leader has talked to me since his arrest. I am supposed to co-ordinate with Bundu sub-zonal commander Dheeraj-da, but it has not been easy," said Jeevan, a Munda adivasi who uses the name Gajendra Singh, hails from Khunti district's Torpa block.

A full platoon of the PLGA comprises 30 fighters. There are at least two other platoons in the Porahat sub-zone. Kundan Pahan, the second-most wanted Maoist leader in the state, moves around with one of them.

The police made another significant arrest after Prasadji's, taking in Mukhlal Mahto (Mochu), who they say replaced Prasadji in Ranchi's Silli sub-zone. Jeevan disputes this: "As far as I know, the in-charge of Silli has been Pragati-da. But then, I wouldn't be so sure - I have not been reading newspapers for the last few months."

When this newspaper visited the site from where police say Mochu was arrested, villagers claimed he was brought in a police vehicle and that no encounter with his squad took place, as claimed by the police. With Prasadji, senior police officers have confirmed to this newspaper that he was picked up while on his way to meet his girlfriend and that no encounter had taken place as claimed before the the media.

Despite the arrests, Jeevan believes Silli has been a major gain. "The party was never present in Silli. We used to use it only as a corridor (connecting West Bengal's Purulia district) and could not afford to stay. We established a sub-zone and Prasadji was given additional charge of it earlier this year," said Jeevan.

The reason why Jeevan could not read newspapers was because he was down with brain malaria since June. Later, when Kundan Pahan's elder brother Dimba - a platoon commander who uses the name Suresh - joins us, he also reveals he was recently diagnosed with malaria.

Jeevan admits the party organisation is not in a healthy state in his region. "We had to hurriedly celebrate the Martyrs' Week (July) this year. The Foundation Week celebrations too, were held hurriedly in four places. The police were swarming here," he said. The Maoists have not managed to conduct the Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign - when they plan and execute major attacks against security forces - yet this year. The party is yet to announce its plan of action ahead of the assembly elections here.

"When a school teacher was arrested for being our supporter, we tried to conduct a mass agitation demanding that his replacement be posted immediately. People did not turn up in large numbers," he said. The party has been trying to mobilise alleged victims of sexual harrassment by security forces on anti-left wing extremist operations, but villagers remain scared to speak up. "I have asked a victim and her father to meet me. They are not coming forward," said Jeevan, constantly reminding us that his operational area shares space with Birsa Munda's.

Jeevan says the grassroots organisation has gone missing: "The party works through its committees. We don't have the Nari (Mukti Sangh) and (Krantikari) Kisan Committee are non-existent. I am the only person running the party here; there should be at least three." The situation is akin to a civilian head of state also being the chief of armed staff. In a sign that the Maoist party has come to be an overtly militaristic organisation, Jeevan says his militia is still strong. "Recruitment is still healthy. Our cadres could do with more training, though. Also, a number of them are not staying for long," he said.

In July this year, the West Singhbhum police had arrested a man travelling with 13 minors. He named Jeevan, saying the children had been on their way to join his squad. Most of the 10-15 sentries who secured the perimeter and kept watch looked like they were pushing the envelope when it comes to looking over 18 years old. When they were making their cadres pose for photographs, Suresh mumbled, "Only the two of us are left as seniors. Everyone else is gone."

Jeevan says he joined the party in 2009. His story is symptomatic of the conditions the CPI-Maoist operates in South Chotanagpur. "I joined after a neighbour who was with the PLFI (People's Liberation Front of India, the state's largest splinter group) killed one of my sisters. Those in my family then began attempting to kill him or his relatives," said Jeevan. Eventually, when he needed external support to counter the PLFI, Jeevan went over to the Maoists. His village is less than a kilometre from Jiten Gudiya's, the PLFI's second-in-command.

The PLFI is the enemy that knows the Maoists all too well and is the immediate threat. Jeevan admits of the three areas in his sub-zone, his party has no presence in one. "They keep coming into our territory. When we try to encounter them, they run away," he said.

The police are also closing in. Jeevan's wife Nirmala was arrested on July 8. This means Jeevan is yet to see his daughter, who was two months old then. He insists his wife was never a member of the party even while admitting two of his sisters were. "Recently, the police took my brother to meet my wife. It must have been to convince me to surrender, because he came back saying the government would give me land, money and five police security guards if I gave up arms," he said. Neither the state's or the central government's surrender policies have provisions for armed guards. He laughs at the suggestion, though. "It was easy to identify and fight the amgrez. On the other hand, these kala angrez - those who cheat our people - are not easy targets," he said.

Jeevan talks of a night early in October when he went to visit his mother, who has cancer in the mouth. "I had to see her because I had not been home for a long time due to my malaria. My parents keep telling me not to come as the police keep an eye out for me. As soon as I reached, the police arrived. I ran, hid in the forest for a day and escaped," he said.

As if it was an afterthought, Jeevan also says that his joining had to do with more than personal gains. "I was there when the Koel-Karo firing took place. I saw people die because they did not have anything to fight back with," he said. The February 2, 2001 firing, which took place in what is now Khunti district, resulted in the death of eight people when police took on those agitating against a hydroelectric project.

Why Silli won't be looking elsewhere this time

Published here
Silli, April 15

Travelling from Ranchi, there is an area 6-7 km ahead of Silli town called Chordera - the place where thieves live, literally. However, on the many buildings that have come up in the area since 2010 - a Guest House and a Multimedia theatre of the Forest Department, the area is called Ramdera - where Ram lives. In land records, the area continues to be Chordera, but if you are from Silli - and especially if you are a supporter of local MLA Sudesh Kumar Mahto - the area is now fit for the gods.

AJSU Party, of which Mahto (40) is President, is quite literally promising the biblical for Jharkhand. "I want our land to have an abundance of milk, honey, flowers and fruits," begins the party's manifesto, under the title My Dream. To prove that they walk the talk, AJSU Party points to Silli.

That the fight for Ranchi Lok Sabha constituency - which votes on April 17 - would be a messy affair was a foregone conclusion. While former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahai is trying to complete a hat-trick of consecutive wins with the Congress, the BJP brought back old warhorse and four-time consecutive MP Ram Tahal Choudhary. The influential President of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association and former ADG of Police Amitabh Choudhary - a bald man - is the candidate of Babulal Marandi's JVM(P), whose electoral symbol is the comb. Mandar MLA and former state minister Bandhu Tirkey, who merged his party into the TMC, is another candidate.

However, all of them had to rework their caste, tribal and religious vote bank calculations as soon as Mahto threw his hat into the ring. "Everybody could forget getting votes from Silli - and maybe even Ichagarh - assembly constituencies for starters," said a Congress leader. The BJP seemed to be the worst-hit from Sudesh's decision - Choudhary is a Kurmi, the same caste which forms Mahto's base in Silli. The BJP was quick to point fingers at the Congress, alleging that Mahto was a dummy candidate. If he ever was one, Mahto gave sweaty palms even to the Congress as campaigns ended on the evening of April 15, with little to choose between the BJP, Congress and AJSU Party.

This newspaper met Mahto, wearing shorts and sitting cross-legged on the floor, in his camp office in Silli on the morning of the last day of campaigning. Yet, he was preparing to address a rally elsewhere. "We do work throughout the year. I am here all the time. I do not need to make last-minute runs through Silli," he said. Silli is that rare place in Jharkhand where one would hear the words, "We do not lack anything here," even if it was spoken by a supporter, as Wushu coach Wahid Ali would. "Silli ko Dilli banaye," says Pavitr Mitra, a supporter, and Mahto repeats it softly. "We want to offer Silli as a model to the people of Jharkhand and ask them to give us a chance to replicate it," said Mahto, who constantly refers to Kerala as a reference point.

His political opponents say Mahto, who hails from Lagam village within the Silli police station limits, spares no effort to win elections; the splurge is probably one reason why youngsters are attracted to the party. However, such a simplistic version risks overlooking the trapeze acts that took a 25-year-old who went to the Bihar Assembly as a United Goans' Democratic Party candidate in 2000 to being Deputy Chief Minister in December 2010.

Sudesh Mahto has been a minister in five of Jharkhand's nine governments. He has been a part of every NDA government here and astutely sat in the Opposition during the Madhu Koda regime even as his party's MLA Chandra Prakash Chaudhary was a minister. A deputy chief minister under Shibu Soren as well as Arjun Munda, he has handled almost every significant portfolio except Finance over the years. In between, he appropriated the All Jharkhand Students' Union, a statehood movement in which he was a fringe player, by registering a political outfit that calls itself the AJSU ("aaj-su") Party.

"We did not like Arjun Munda, but one of the most important reasons for bringing down this government is Sudesh. The AJSU is becoming too ambitious; keeping it away from power is akin to denying life support," said a JMM leader in confidence as Hemant Soren worked behind the scenes to bring down the Arjun Munda government in late 2012. There was cause for worry. When he was Road Construction minister, Mahto got Silli roads - 200 km of PWD and 600 km of village roads, he said. As minister for water resources, he brought check dams. As Forest minister, he got the luxurious Guest House, an Audio-Video Centre and a Deer Park approved. "When I asked for a portfolio like panchayati raj, fellow politicians were amused. I showed them what I could do with it," said Mahto.

The story of how the Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institute (RUDSET) in Silli, which won the award for being the second-best RUDSET in the country in 2012-'13, is illustrative of Mahto works. "He was the Deputy CM as well as the Rural Development minister when the institute was proposed. There was even land acquired for it in Ranchi. However, the minister lobbied hard for it to be moved to Silli by December 2011," said Director Ramchandra. Most of the legislator's activities are monitored by an NGO named Gunj Pariwar that he started. "Under our Jeevan Mitra programme, 16 ambulances are stationed at a centre each within the constituency. Anybody can use a toll-free number to call for one. They only have to pay for fuel charges," said Bharat Singh, Gunj's coordinator. "Our next programme is an adult education mission to achieve complete literacy," said Singh.

Apart from its Kurmi votebank, the AJSU Party has cultivated the youth and women as a support base over the years. As sports minister, he got Silli an artificial turf stadium. Over the years, he has given off the impression that he is one of M.S. Dhoni's closest friends. Even as he was Home Minister, Mahto made a bid to be the state cricket association president, losing to Amitabh Choudhary - which makes their electoral fight even more interesting. The Silli Sports Academy, of which Mahto is Chief Patron, trains children in archery, wushu and football. "Our residential facility currently houses 28 children. Minister saheb provides us with whatever we need, including kits. We have produced 250 medals, 12 national champions and two international players in the last four years," said Prakash Ram, chief coach at the archery academy.

The massive presence of women in rallies organised by the AJSU Party rarely fails to make news. Mahto's efforts mirror the Kudumbashree mission in Kerala, which empowered women politically, too. "We have formed over 900 Self Help Groups, bringing together 11,000 women in Silli block alone. Personally, I am impressed by the way the AJSU is making an effort to promote women leaders. I have a chance to develop here," said Shraddha Mahto, block coordinator of the Jharkhand State Livelihood Project.

Currently out of power and left to wither - AJSU supporters allege that the A-V centre is not being inaugurated because of hurdles placed before it by the current government - Mahto has found a new cause. His main poll plank is the Special Status for Jharkhand and blames the central government for the poor development in the state: Mahto deflects questions about how he has become a rebel despite being probably the individual who has remained in power the longest. Here begins another act on the trapeze.

AAP Jharkhand split imminent; rebels to boycott 7 of 8 candidates

Ranchi, March 24

The Aam Aadmi Party in Jharkhand is on the verge of a split, with a section of its leaders deciding on Monday to boycott all but one of the party's eight official candidates and to nominate alternate candidates in four Lok Sabha constituencies.

The meeting, attended by party workers including a member of the now-disbanded Preparatory Committee and the former Ranchi Convenor of the AAP, decided that they would support only Khunti candidate Dayamani Barla. The rebel group has also laid claim to the AAP's official status and election symbol.

"We have decided to nominate Amit Kumar, who has been part of the anti-corruption movement for three years, as the Ranchi candidate. We will also have candidates in Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Hazaribag. We are the AAP; our candidates will demand the broom as election symbol," said Sunil Mahato, former member of the Preparatory Committee.

Trouble within the party began on February 5, when the AAP's state incharge Somnath Tripathi tried to announce the formation of a 11-member Election Campaign Committee in Ranchi. AAP members had disrupted his press conference, alleging that most members of the committee were not even party members.

The immediate anger was brought on by the identity of the party's Ranchi candidate Amanullah Aman, whom the rebel leaders allege is not even an AAP member. "He did not even submit an online application for candidature. Amanullah Aman lives in Lohardaga - in 2012, he tried to contest the Hatia asembly bypoll on a Congress ticket; in 2009, he tried to get a Lok Sabha seat from the JVM(P). He is no different from the people the Aam Aadmi Party is trying to throw out," claimed former Ranchi Convenor, Ajay Chaudhary.

The disgruntlement spread and has now affected seven of the AAP's candidates in the state. "Most of them were not active in the party; they have not worked among the people here. Dayamani Barla is the only exception, so we will support her. Everybody else was sent from Delhi without consulting party workers in the state. This is no Swaraj," said Sunil Mahato.

Amanullah Aman is an IIT-Kharagpur graduate who says he left a life of luxury to serve the people. "After leaving the corporate world, I have been working for the people since 2007, but never got to fight an election. I have been involved in several election campaigns. The AAP has given me a chance, I will do my best. It is a democratic country and anybody is free to contest against me," he said. Incidentally, JVM(P)'s Ranchi candidate Amitabh Choudhary is also an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus.

Ranchi: Local issues, not coal, to work against Subodh

Ranchi, March 13

Former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay, removed from the cabinet after his name cropped up in the coal block allocation scam, breathed a sigh of relief after the Congress on Thursday granted him a chance to complete a hat trick from Ranchi.

"I am happy that the Congress High Command had decided to let me contest. I am also indebted to the people who have supported me of late," said Sahay to news channels.

He was referring to the support Ranchi-based Congress leaders, various organisations and even the media had extended to him since the day he did not feature in the first list of candidates released by the Congress. The party had left Ranchi for later and reportedly even considered a celebrity - Mohd. Azharuddin's and Nagma's names did the rounds - for the seat.

Sahay immediately rushed to Delhi along with supporters and lobbied intensely for the seat. While he was always guaranteed a tough fight this time, the uncertainty and the outpouring of support that followed was unexpected. Mostly because the perception has been that Sahay, Congress' lone MP from Jharkand in the 15th Lok Sabha, did not do enough for the state and constituency this tenure.

His involvement in the coal scam was in relation to brother Sudhir Kant Sahay, who was allegedly involved with SKS Ispat and Power - the company on behalf of which Sahay wrote a recommendation letter to PM Manmohan Singh. Within 24 hours of receiving the letter, the company was in line to receive a coal block.

With the coal scam not getting the importance it should be in Jharkhand, the history of his brother Sunil Kumar Sahay's is likely to be an issue his opposition will use against Sahay. The then-minister had successfully lobbied for Sunil to be made candidate from Ranchi's Hatia in a 2012 assembly bypoll. Even though the poll was necessitated by the death of a Congress legislator, Sunil lost, unable to even recover his security deposit.

Another topic that his opponents are likely to use against Sahay is the seizure of money - allegedly intended for distribution among voters - from a Ranchi hotel ahead of the municipal corporation polls in April last year. Former Mayor Rama Khalkho, who had joined the Congress before the elections, was arrested and sent to jail. No charges have been brought against Subodh, who brought Khalkho into the Congress and who was present with her at the hotel minutes before a police party raided the place.

In Dhanbad, vote and be a star

Ranchi, March 13

The Dhanbad district administration is set to launch a Facebook page to which voters can upload the photos of their inked finger to claim prizes.

This was one of several decisions announced on Wednesday after Deputy Commissioner Prashant Kumar had a meeting on the Election Commission's Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme.

The coal-based industries of the area - SAIL, Tata Steel, Maithon Power Limited, BCCL, etc - considered "partners" under the SVEEP, have told the DC that they would do their bit to boost voter participation. "They told me they would consider doing things like giving a 10 per cent discount in their canteens to those who show their inked finger on election day," said Kumar. Considering that the polling day is a declared holiday, that offer would have to be give the next day.

These are apart from the routine assistance expected of partners under SVEEP, like printing and posting banners and stickers in their workplaces. "We will be coming up with a 21-point Action Plan soon. The idea is to have something or the other happening on each day after March 19. Banks have already promised to print posters, which will be stuck at ATMs," said Ranchi DC Vinay Kumar Choubey.

The Dhanbad district administration however, is going the extra mile. DC Kumar said that the entry fee to parks in the district could be slashed by up to 50 per cent on April 24, when Dhanbad votes.

"Through the Proud Voter Photo Contest, anyone who has voted can send upload a photo of their inked left index finger. Based on their creativity, the best three will be selected by an independent jury. The winner will be the proud voter icon of Dhanbad. Apart from an appreciation letter and reward, the winner will be featured in our billboards," said Dhanbad DC Kumar. "Young voters think the electoral process is a drab idea. We want to tell them that voting can be cool, that it can be a style statement," he added.

Koda Nemesis Joins BSP

Ranchi, March 10
This was published here: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/oraon-joins-bsp-to-contest-from-ranchi-ls-seat/

Durga Oraon, whose Public Interest Litigation was the reason the Jharkhand High Court initiated action against former chief minister Madhu Koda in 2008, joined the BSP on Monday and will contest from the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat.

He joined in the presence of Brijlal Khabri, the party's Jharkhand incharge.

Oraon (40), the chairperson of the Jharkhand Against Corruption movement, had been approached by the Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP saw him as an ideal candidate to lead the party in Jharkhand, but talks went nowhere. "Someone from the AAP had come to meet me at home. After that, no one contacted me. The AAP in Jharkhand is over; there is no enthusiasm anymore," said Oraon.

He was known as Durga Munda before his activism days, had contested the 2013 Ranchi Municipal Corporation's Mayoral elections. Following the seizure of money allegedly intended for distribution among voters, the election was called off despite voting having taken place. A re-poll has not yet taken place.

On Monday, Oraon claimed that Mayawati's outlook on social justice had attracted him. "I have been fighting for justice. What Mayawatiji has done is the same - to get rid of social inequalities that exist around us," he said, adding that the corruption charges against his new leader did not worry him.

Oraon was even given a security detail and took extreme measures to protect his whereabouts in 2008 after he filed the PIL against Koda. The change in surname was made in the PIL to protect himself. That PIL led to a CBI inquiry, and the arrest of Koda and three of his ministers.

Dubey goes to TMC; Congress makes Sahay wait

Ranchi, March 9

Former minister in the Hemant Soren cabinet and Congress legislator from Vishrampur Chandra Shekhar "Dadai" Dubey joined the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata on Sunday after being denied the Dhanbad seat.

Dubey's name did not figure in the list of six candidates released by the Congress on Saturday and he promptly went over to the TMC, which offered him the Dhanbad ticket.

It was another coup for the TMC, which has been going about acquiring disgruntled leaders all over the state. Dubey is the party's third legislator; TMC is yet to have even a state unit. However, sources close to him said he would soon resign as a legislator as the anti-defection law would apply.

There were more surprises from the Congress when it came to distribution of candidatures - the decision on the Ranchi seat has been delayed while the Pradesh Congress President would not contest. The INC, scheduled to contest from eight constituencies, announced only six seats in its first list.

Subodh Kant Sahay, the Ranchi legislator and lone MP of the party from Jharkhand, did not find a place in the list on Saturday. "We are all quite surprised that the party was not decisive and seems to be hesitating on declaring his candidature," said a senior leader who did not want to be quoted. There is a perception that Sahay, a former Union minister, did not perform well this tenure but most party leaders assumed that he would be retained. Regional news channels reported that an individual from outside the state could be the party's nominee this time. A delegation of Sahay's supporters returned from Delhi on Sunday after lobbying for their leader.

Also missing from the Congress list was PCC president Sukhdeo Bhagat, widely tipped to be the party's candidate from Lohardaga. "The highcommand has decided that the party presidents of Jharkhand and Bihar should concentrate on campaigning," said Shailendra Sinha, PCC spokesperson. Lohardaga has been entrusted with Rameshwar Oraon, Chairperson of the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes, who won from the constituency in 2004 but lost in 2009.

Meanwhile, Savita Mahato, widow of former deputy CM Sudhir Mahato has excused herself from being the JMM's Jamshedpur candidate. She cited personal reasons. Recently-widowed, Mahato was initally the JMM nominee for the Rajya Sabha elections this year before the party withdrew her candidature.

Empower Us, To Empower You

This piece was published, edited, here.

February 7

They say a man who listens is a prized catch. By that indicator alone, Rahul Gandhi's stock should rise.

After all, it is not everyday we see a political leader asking people what they want. Almost never are our adivasi women posed such a question.

On Friday morning at Ranchi's Hotel Ashok, Rahul Gandhi listened. He even asked party general secretary B.K. Hariprasad not to interrupt when the latter tried to make a woman cut her speech short. He listened through complaints, he chuckled at anecdotes.

However, he answered what he wanted to. There was of course the talk of empowerment, on a loop. Worse, often his answers were twice removed from the questions.

Women stood up to ask micro-problems. There were several questions about anganwadi sevikas, parateachers, adivasi women's inheritance rights under tenancy laws, human trafficking, branding of women as witches: all Jharkhand-specific issues expected to be asked by adivasi women.

Yet, Rahul answered by throwing back stock answers at them - MNREGA, Right to Food - missing a chance to make clear that he has understood the problems of the adivasis with some nuance and to offer solutions.

Probably the only direct promise he made to the 800-odd women during the one-hour interactive session was that he would pressure the state government, of which the Congress is a coalition partner, to give more power to panchayats.

But that is not new, even for Rahul. On day one of his two-day visit to the state in September 2012, Rahul had met with panchayat representatives, who raised the demand of devolution of power. At that point in time, the BJP and JMM were leading the government here. Since then, the Congress has come to share power - even handling the relevant portfolio - but little has been done for the panchayats.

Maybe the Congress Vice President has taken on the empowerment of women as his new project, probably evident from the absence of a meeting exclusively with youngsters during his Jharkhand visit. He is already miles ahead of his counterparts when he shows a willingness to listen and talk to the most deprived of this country. But there is no evidence yet that he can walk the talk.