Inconsistencies and Contradictions

 I read today about arrest of Maoist/Naxalite (I will use the terms interchangeably) Prashant Bose. Few days back, Milind Teltumbade died in encounter with police in Gadchiroli.  I admire Naxalites. It takes courage to take up on mighty state, especially when your life on such path is not going to be a cozy one. Whether we agree with path of Naxalites or not, whether we subscribe to ideology on left or right, we must ask - why would one participate in the armed struggle against the national state as mighty as India? The lifelong participation in armed struggle cannot be without a driving force. Influence in youth can drive one towards such path, but then disillusion can set in quickly.  It is easy to criticize or even condemn 'violence'. The kind of life I am living and I am likely to live, I am unlikely to experience a systematic violence due to religion, class, or caste/tribe. I am also unlikely to get exploited or uprooted due to these factors. But is the life of a tri...

 Stan Swamy, 84 years old and an accused in Bhima-Koregaon Violence and alleged and accused Maoist sympathizer died yesterday. He died while being detained without facing trial and with multiple rejections of a bail.  Prime facie, the manner of death is tragic, irrespective of whether accusations are proven or not. I do not presume Swamy's innocence, but I do not think he should be declared 'guilty' since courts have not declared him so.  His pictures on internet, where we see frail old man participating in various meetings and agitations, invoke a certain admiration. It is admirable to fight with the mighty state. But fact that he was in fight with state and admiration invoked by visual clues does not make him innocent. He might have been kind and loving to those around him, but that does not mean he was against violence of any sort. Being political activists is being selective about certain sort of violence. There is no one who is 'human right activist'. I know th...