Volume 1, No. 9, November 2000

On November 1, 2000 the three new states of Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are finally coming into being. After decades of long struggles by the people of these states a partial victory has been achieved. After continuous opposition for years, by all ruling class parties, they had to finally bow before the wishes of the people. Power, ofcourse, will pass into the hands of local semi-feudal and comprador elements. Already the political sharks of these regions have been fighting for the booty that is to come their way.

Ever since the passage of the three Bills there has been a mad scramble for the potential loot : fights for the capital city of the new state and the huge contracts associated with it; fights over location of the high courts; fights for the Chief Minister and other ministerial posts; fights over the appointments of top bureaucrats .... it has been a maniacal dog-eat-dog competition, each trying to extract the maximum benefit for oneself. The welfare of the people in these most poverty stricken regions is the last thing on their mind.

Regional imbalances resulted due to state governments giving particular areas priority and neglecting these regions. Besides this, various historical, economic and socio-cultural factors, gave these regions a certain homogeneity and identity of their own. This was sharpened by their decades-long struggles against the state, whereby people shared a common suffering, with a bond built through unitedly facing the police brutalities, arrests, tortures and even killings. The martyrdom of their comrades-in-arms cemented their resolve and aspirations for a separate state.

Yet, though such movements are part of the democratic struggles of the people, it must be remembered that under the existing unitary political structure, with its fake federalism, the existing states are defacto municipalities of the Centre, with negligible fiscal, political and socio-cultural authority of their own. What is worse, even the nominal powers that exist, are sought to be further undermined by the BJP, which is working towards a monolithic Centre, with its Hindu Rashtra concept. While the demand for separate states stems out of a desire for the de-centralisation of power; the BJP, while supporting small states on the one hand, is making frantic efforts to curb the powers of the states still further, by increasing the centralisation of fiscal, political and socio-cultural power in the hands of the Centre. (See Box)

Genuine decentralisation can be achieved only through the devolution of power in the hands of the people, who assert their control over the land, forests and industry of their region. So quite naturally, the new states will give little to the vast oppressed masses; those to gain will be the ruling elite of the region, with a few crumbs thrown to a tiny section of the petti-bourgeoisie. So, the struggle will have to be carried forward to achieve the real devolution of power in the hands of the people. The plight of the masses will in no way change, with the establishment of these separate states, with the imperialists and compradors continuing to rob their vast natural resources, and the landlords, contractors, moneylenders, etc., continuing their ruthless exploitation. The new rulers of these states, will be nothing but the local agents to facilitate the continuing loot of the people of these three states. The acute poverty of the masses will continue.

In this brief article let us take a quick glance at these three new states.

This hill region comprises about 10% of the areas of UP, with a population under one crore, out of UP’s 16 crores. Though it has a high level of literacy (about 70%), it has been kept in a state of backwardness by successive governments at Lucknow.

So, for example, the economy of Uttaranchal experienced a growth rate of only 2.4% per annum in the Seventh Plan compared to 4.3% for UP as a whole. The real per capita domestic output for this region infact declined from Rs. 1,304 in 1984/85 to Rs. 1,014 in 1991/92. The number of registered job seekers has risen from 89,000 in 1981 to 2.5 lakhs in 1991. Employment in the organised sector was a mere 4% (1991) and unemployment is at about 70%.

The neglect of this region can also be seen from the fact that the central assistance to the total plan expenditure of Uttaranchal declined from 51% in the 5th Plan to a mere 28.8% in the ongoing plan. Besides Udham Singh Nagar, no other district has seen development, either in agriculture or industry. Cultivable land is just 9% of the total, and subsistence farming is the norm. The region has served merely as a tourist backwater, with its numerous religious centres, giving UP an annual revenue of Rs. 1,900 crores annually from tourism.

But, the present Bill that has been passed is treacherous. While, with one hand, it grants a separate state; with the other, it takes away much of its basic powers. Two clauses are particularly detrimental to the new State.

First, it is the only Bill of its type which mentions, in the statement of objects and reasons, that the land ceiling act of the mother state (UP) will apply to the new State. This is obviously to protect the interests of the huge landlords in Udham Singh Nagar.

Second, Sections 79 and 83 of the Bill virtually leaves Uttaranchal with a begging bowl. The sections abrogate the rights of the proposed Uttarakhand over water resources, that were expected to be the mainstay of their economy. As per the said sections of the Uttaranchal Bill, the sole rights over the waters of the Ganga, Yamuna, Sharda and their tributaries would vest with a ‘Ganga-Yamuna-Sharda Jal Board.’ The Board will be headed by representatives from UP, Punjab, Delhi, H.P, Haryana and Rajasthan. Not only hydro-electricity and irrigation, but even fishing, boating and watermills would be at the mercy of the Board !!

The people of Uttaranchal have been opposing the Tehri dam for its disastrous impact on the people and ecology of the region. The people’s lives are being corrupted to cater to the pleasures of the elite as a big tourist centre. All this will continue unless the people continue and intensify their fight against the new rulers. The people of Uttarakhand will gain nothing unless they take full control of the vast water resources of the state and assert their authority over its land and forests, by smashing the authority of the landlords, contractors, forest mafia, and the political touts that serve them.

The Jharkhand now carved out of Bihar will comprise of 18 districts, though the earlier movement had been for 26 districts, encompassing also districts from neighbouring states. It comprises 46% of the area of the original Bihar state. In the new state the population of scheduled castes and schedules tribes will be roughly 47%. In this bifurcation, all the major heavy industries, three-fourths of the power, Tata Steel and Engineering, three national coal companies, the Bokaro Steel Plant and the Fertiliser Corporation will go to Jharkhand. With the creation of Jharkhand, the truncated Bihar will suffer a revenue loss of Rs. 1,500 crore annually.

Inspite of this vast natural wealth, the people of Jharkhand are one of the poorest in the country. Barely 7% of their land is irrigated.

Though the area comprises only 2.5% of the country it produces 25% of its minerals — including 100% of its copper, 52% of its mica, 58% of its coal, 38% of its bauxite and a big proportion of its iron ore, manganese, gypsum and uranium.

The movement for a separate state of Jharkhand is one of the oldest and most militant of such movements in the country. The tribals, particularly the Santhals of this region, have a long and glorious history of rebellions, from the early British times. Tribal rebellions which began as early as 1789 was followed by the "Bhumij" rebellion in 1812-13, the "Koe-revolts" that took place in 1818, 1820 and 1832, the great Santhal rebellion of 1835-36 and 1855-57, the Chowar rebellion of 1898-99 and the rebellion led by Birsa Munda in 1895-1900. All these rebellions were directed at both the British and also the feudal lords. The demand for ‘Jharkhand’ was first raised by the Adivasi Maha Sabha as far back as 1938. In 1950 the ‘Jharkhand Party’ was formed which demanded a separate state. In 1952 the Jharkhand Party, which contested the elections, won 32 seats and became the chief opposition party in the Bihar assembly. When these leaders capitulated to the Congress, the Jharkhand movement continued, fighting bitter battles with the jotedars, police and para-military forces. Many became martyrs in these heroic struggles.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) which came to the forefront with militant struggles in 1973, later capitulated. Earlier they had said that ‘Not by vote, but by the bow, Jharkhand will be achieved.’ But in the mid-1970s they supported Indira Gandhi’s 20-point programme during the Emergency. Since their infatuation with electoral politics they have turned into the worst opportunists selling themselves to various ruling-class parties. Utilising the discontent of the masses with these opportunist leaders, the BJP made big inroads into Jharkhand having now a near majority in the new state. It gave mock support for a separate state, with its call for a so-called ‘Vananchal’. The RJD has changed its position a number of times, with its sole goal being, to keep power in Bihar. It makes little difference to the masses of Jharkhand, whether the new government is made up of the criminal parties of the centre or the local opportunists. The loot of Jharkhand will continue.

Chhattisgarh comprises 16 districts of Madhya Pradesh. It yields 30% of its revenue, generates 40% of its power, but has been allocated just 28% of development and plan expenditure. It is rich in natural resources. Forest produce earnings of the government alone come to Rs. 300 crores. It is rich in mineral wealth, having vast deposits of iron ore, coal, bauxite etc. Of late, large diamond deposits have been found in the region.

The demand for a separate Chhattisgarh state has been constantly opposed by both the BJP and Congress (I). It was only after they were routed in the elections due to their anti-Chhattisgarh stand that they changed their tune.

The BJP, for example, began to espouse the cause of statehood only after it lost all the 11 Lok Sabha seats from the region in the 1991 elections. After supporting statehood it gained 6 seats in 1996 and a further two once Vajpayee promised statehood.

The Digvijay Singh government passed this resolution in 1993, but prior to that, it too did not see the need for a separate Chhattisgarh, though it was in power in both the State and at the Centre. V.C. Shukla, who claims the crown for Chhattisgarh, floated his Chhattisgarh Rajya Sangharsh Morcha only in May ’99 when the achievement of the demand seemed imminent.

The CPI(ML)[People’s War], which has a large presence in the present Chhattisgarh, in a statement issued on August 10, has welcomed the formation of the new state, but, with reservations. The statement said that Bastar should not be included, but should be given the status of an autonomous state. It stated that the tribals of Bastar have got their own lifestyle, culture and customs, that are totally different from the rest of Chhattisgarh.

The tribals of Bastar, once exploited by the rulers of Madhya Pradesh will now be exploited by the new rulers of Chhattisgarh. The imperialists and compradors will continue to rob Bastar of its rich natural resources — forest produce, iron ore, bauxite, etc. For example, the Bailladilla mines with its rich deposits of iron-ore is being looted by the Japanese imperialists with the local government acting as their agents. This will continue, only some agents will change. Also, Bastar has the largest market in Asia for minor forest produce, all of which have been cornered by the Madhya Pradesh government, and the contractor-agent mafia. This loot too will continue. The brutal repression of the tribals by the Central and MP governments will continue, with the involvement of the new government of Chhattisgarh. The same central parties will become the new rulers of Chhattisgarh. There will be no change, either in the lives of the people of Bastar or of Chhattisgarh.

Also the statement expressed serious concern over the neglect of the Chhattisgarhi language in the Bill. It demanded that Chhattisgarhi and not Hindi be declared the official language of the new state, as more than one crore people speak it.

Of the many regions demanding statehood, only three have been granted. The rulers see these as a test-case on which to decide their future course of action. The demands for a separate Telangana (from AP), Vidarbha (from Maharashtra), Kodagu (from Karnataka), Gorkhaland and Kamtapur (from West Bengal), Bodoland (from Assam), Bundelkhand (from UP) and some others, are still pending. Unless fierce struggles are waged in these states, separate statehood is unlikely.

In two of the new states formed — Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh — the revolutionary forces have a major presence amongst the oppressed masses of the region. The people of the new states must demand an immediate stop to the repression on these movements, withdrawal of all the central forces, and the release of the hundreds of political prisoners in their jails. Besides, as both states have a large tribal population, the people must demand that the new governments must immediately set up Autonomous Councils under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.

Finally, the struggle in these states must be further advanced, to gain real devolution of power in the hands of the people. Real democracy can be achieved by smashing the power now being usurped by the local semi-feudal and comprador elements and establishing a new people’s power, from the village level upwards. It is only when the land, forest and other natural resources are brought under the control of the people, that genuine democracy and decentralisation of power can take place. And such a process will be a first step towards the setting up of a voluntary union of people’s republics of India.

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