“SENTENCE first – VERDICT afterwards” , said the Queen
“Nonsense!” said Alice loudly
“Off with her head” the Queen shouted at the top of her voice.
(Alice In Wonderland)
(Alice In Wonderland)
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was murdered by the Bolivian army aided overtly by the CIA. That was in the sixties, when the Americans smelt a commie under every bed. Che was shot point blank like the many murders he supervised at the heights of his undiminished longing for revolution and change to the world order.
Neither the Bolivian army nor the CIA in any remote way feigned ignorance and non complicity of direct or indirect involvement in the capture and murder of Che. A strange streak of lack of duplicity from an incessantly wanton organisation of a democratic country!
Here is an extract from the moments of the assassination.
“Moments before Guevara was executed he was asked by a Bolivian soldier if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No", he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution”. When Sergeant Terán entered the hut, Che Guevara then told his executioner, "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward! You are only going to kill a man!"Terán hesitated, and then opened fire with his semiautomatic rifle, hitting Guevara in the arms and legs. Guevara writhed on the ground, apparently biting one of his wrists to avoid crying out. Terán then fired several times again, wounding him fatally in the chest at 1:10 pm. In all, Guevara was shot nine times. This included five times in the legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and finally in the throat”.
That was in 1967, in the Jungles of South America.
The clock moves and it is 1976, the jungles of Wayand, north Kerala.
Another revolutionary and votary of the leftist ideology Naxalite Varghese is captured by the state police and a constable is directed to shoot the captive. The constable complies with the order after a virtual threat from his superior a DySP . The canard is spread that Naxalite Varghese was shot and killed in an encounter.
It took further twenty two years of perhaps agonising self introspection, traumatic and haunting nightmares and depressing insomnia, for the constable Ramachandran Nair to finally succumb at the break point and confess.
The quirk of the fact is that seemingly the CIA displayed apparent transparency in a murder it orchestrated while in another democratic state, Kerala the state police simply lied like cowards and covered it brazen act of injustice and crime.
How many such encounter killings, a euphemism for extra judicial murders, orchestrated by the State happens in India and goes un- reported? The easy route to the elimination and dispatch of inconvenient men and women in a system that proclaims equality before law, diligence and due process in all matters that touch the masses and the society as a whole!
"If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine". Che Guvera
11 comments:
All the talk of civilization and culture ceases to make any sense when one thinks of such heinous crimes; man to man, even in the so called modern era. Are we any different from our brutal ancestors anyway? Or is that we have in us a beast waiting to be unleashed? The only ray of hope is to see such men like Laxmana is brought into the book, though not often.
The Pulpally attack was directed against the exploitation of migrant farmers who had illegally occupied the forest land (about 20,000 acres) owned by Devaswom and were cultivating there. If people were allowed to occupy governmental land this way,no land would have been left. Was it sufficient reason to take up arms and kill?How would you expect the Police to deal with such killers?
The Naxalites who initiated this revolt were under direct Chinese support.They received books about and by Mao from the Chinese Embassy itself. The Embassy even sent them photos and badges of Mao. It is this direct contact with the Chinese Government that helped the intellectual leaders in Kerala later to survive the wrath of the central leadership of CPI(ML) under CharMazumdar.
Describing these attacks
as ‘spring thunder over India’, People’s Daily of China held that it was the result of the militant action of the "revolutionaries" of the Indian Communist Party who had "deserted the united front government" in West Bengal because "it served as a tool of the Indian reactionaries. . .
The Naxal attacks at Northern Kerala were cruel,inhuman and unjustified.They beheaded some landlords and the killers still walk around preaching philosphies.
The Thalassery attack was cordinated by Varghese, Thettamala Krishnan kutti, ‘Kurichiyan’ Kunjiraman, Kisan Thomman, Philip M. Prasad and Ajitha.Had they not dealt with these attacks effectively,the story of Kerala would have been different. The situation at Kerala never needed a Naxal style revolt. Kerala was not NaxalBari or UP.These so called revolutionaries just went on doing mad killings for the sake of revolution. The story of relationship between the landlords of Kerala and their laborers are different from elsewhere.We always had such eccentric leaders carrying cloth bags and smoking beedi calling themselves intellectuals.
I am not justifying the killing of Varghese.But I seriously doubt a police officer had personal vendetta against Varghese. One must also remember it was Varghese who cordinated the Polic Station attack.A Killing like that would have been a "natural killing",if it had happened at the police station. I dont know where all this sympathy is flowing to the Naxalites now. There were other people involved in the planning of Varghese's killing,probably political.They always escape.
You and me and all are sitting and talking in Kerala because the movement was aborted in time.
While what the doc said make sense, one should also look into the conditions that created Naxalism. It is true that China exploited the situation.
Tribals in Wynad were treated as the worst possible slaves by the landlords. Their lands were taken away, their women subjected to unimaginable extent of sadism and subjugation. Dr.Antony said in his comment to another blog post that taking up arms is justified when there is no other way to defend themselves. What the governments should have ensured is the survival and dignity of the lowest of the low sections in our community. If they had done so, Naxalism and Maoism would have never taken root in this country. I had a distant relative of mine who was a landlord in Palakkad district in the 60s and 70s, who was on the hitlist of the Naxals. Believe me, I was too young at that time to cut his head off; I know what he had done to the farmers and labourers there. We in these modern times refuse to acknowledge that such darkness had prevailed and still prevails in this country of ours.
I talk from intimate personal experiences with the indigenous communities from different parts of Kerala.
@ Arun
@ doc antony
@ balan
I never wanted to provoke a debate on the extreme left movement in Kerala. In fact I'm not even distantly capable as I do not know much of the movement in the late sixties and seventies; The Post was ipso facto a glance into the extra judicial elimination of people.
I do agree with doc and as Balan said one must look back at the grounds that triggered violent reactions.
As for the encounter killings the government sponsored murders are called what does the general populace know of it? One need not be a terrorist, a leftist revolutionary to be eliminated this style by the State,
Pity thatVearghease did not in death grow to be an icon like Guvera.
@ Anil & Bal
When I was a College student,it was more or less a fashion to join the Marxist union.At St. Berchmans College,there were no unions,and more so,any leftist.My friend Aravindakshan was the first one to enroll students in to that union,and I was one of the first to join. To go against anything ordinary was the fashion.
At Medical College,I knew many bright students who joined SUSI and walked around with cloth bags and Jubbas,and wasted their careers. Nothing was gained.
Dont you think,in all honesty,that the communism they preach is not a practical solution to the problems?. The way communists ruled their countries,all of us know.Like many religions,it is an extinct philosphy. Is it communism which goes on in China? And are you happy about the Communism in Cuba?This is all an eye wash. No one does any thing for the poor.In which way is our leftist party different from others? Except that they wear dhoti in public and smoke beedis,but secretly amass wealth,smoke Dunhill and live luxuries.
I am against all sorts of killings.But I pity our rules which encourage killers. One can easily kill any number and walk away,if you have some political support. The maximum is life,which is about 8 years after public holidays!!
If there is accountability for any deeds,that is more than enough. When I see the killers of yesterday sitting and talking shamelessly in public,and claim they are talking for the poor,I feel nauseated,even at the sight of them.
I had responed to a blog,yes,I said taking arms is "justifiable, if there is no other way". In a democratic country,there are many other ways.
I pity the way Varghese lost his life.But I dont justify his causes.And I also believe that he real killers,who planned it, will never come under the law.They are beyond the law.All our politicians are above the law,they just make laws,not follow them.
ബ്ലോഗിലെ അപൂര്വ്വമായ വ്യത്യസ്തത
@ Ashok sadan
'Nanndhi', thanks , pls keep in touch
very well written.
@ Kaalpanique
Thank you.
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