70,000 paramilitary forces are about to enter the poorest districts in India. The excuse for this march of troops is a Maoist Rebellion. Are we on the verge of a civil war that pit's urban India against the poorest citizens of this country? Citizens who have been at the wrong end of the development continuum? Citizens who's land is now coveted because they contain mineral wealth? The answer appears to be "yes".
The government is taking millions of their poorest citizens and putting them in the same basket that they put Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists. This incorrect and outrageous re-labelling gives the Government the license to use military grade force on it’s own citizens. Once you get rid of these citizens you can transfer land from tribals and the forests to the mining company who’s share-holders are the first citizens of the liberalized and globalized world. The free-market will take control of all the “affected” districts. The Government will wipe out as much poverty as it can by wiping out as many civilians as it can.
Lakshmi Mittal has issued a threat to the Orissa government. He has said the he will pull out of a Twenty Billion Dollar investment unless the land acquisition is not “hurried-up”. If the Indian government was looking for an overt and corporate approval for Operation Green Hunt to place at the door-step of the first world, Lakshmi Mittal conveniently stepped in to provide it for them. Mr Mittal will not only get the land and mines but will also get a guarantee that others will be scared into submission to object to the land grab. Needless to say there will be a lot of bloodshed. Civilians will die, paramilitary forces will die and naxals will die. The mining company’s profits will rise. Lakshmi Mitall’s bluff is exactly what the media wants to hear to justify operation Green Hunt.
We have a Home Minister who has represented Enron in India in his capacity as a Harvard educated lawyer. He has held office with one of the largest mining conglomerates. A conglomerate, who’s subsidiaries receive some of the largest and most coveted mining concessions. We have this man deciding to send in our troops to kill our own people. Both Osama Bin Laden and George W Bush would have been proud of this strategy if they were the authors.
Operation Green Hunt will have many of the ingredients of “shock and awe”. The porn stars of India Media will be “embedded” with the para-military forces. We will see a live telecast of genocide that will be inconceivably rationalized and justified by the media. Do not be surprised if you see a TATA TEA advertisement promoting “Jaago Re” as the civil war in Chattisgarh unfolds. As these events takes place in India and on TV screens in our living rooms – we will see laws being re-written. These laws will further alienate people from their lands. It will be India’s highest dose of Shock Therapy to date.
The unfortunate reality is that we are on the brink of a civil war. The smoke screen of a civil war is what the disaster capitalists create to change the laws of the land and transfer wealth and resources to shareholders and away from citizens. Bolivia, Chilie, Argentina, Poland and Russia all suffered under this mode of capitalism. There was a difference, they were sold-out by the world-bank and were under dictatorships. We are doing it under a democratically elected government.
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