People's Democracy

 Don’t Whip Up Regional Chauvinism

 Sitaram Yechury

THE incendiary flames of regional chauvinism have once again claimed the lives of nearly 60 people in Assam. Unless immediately checked, these threaten to spread to various parts of the country, raising the ugly spectre of strife, hostility and death.

The attacks in Assam, which are threatening to spread elsewhere in the North-East against Hindi speaking people, began with the Assamese youth preventing Hindi speaking youth from writing a selection examination for junior posts in the North-Eastern Frontier Railways. This sparked off reappraisals against North-Easterners in Bihar, the state to which most Hindi speakers in Assam trace their origins. This, in turn, became the provocation for killings in Northern Assam where a large number of Hindi speaking people live. The Shiv Sena, ever eager to whip up regional chauvinism, has gone about creating mayhem in Mumbai on this very issue. 

Apart from the immediate law and order problems and the imperative to restore normalcy, these incidents once again bring to the fore various dimensions that continuously feed regional chauvinism. North-East, particularly Assam, was in the grip of such vicious forces in the 1980s, who exploited the sentiment for their political benefit at the immense cost to the people and property. The "sons of the soil" movements have shown their disastrous disruptive potential in various parts of the country in the past.

By espousing the slogan of "sons of the soil" in regard to education, employment etc, many political forces like the Shiv Sena made their presence felt dramatically in Indian politics. However, there is yet another dimension that feeds such chauvinism. We have repeatedly argued that the new economic policies of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation are generating greater regional economic imbalances, with backward areas becoming more backward and this feeding regional chauvinism. The recent developments have an element of all these dimensions. 

First, let us deal with the genesis of the current spurt in attacks. The main issue was concerning jobs in Indian Railways that were frozen since 1982. Following a spate of serious accidents, the railways "discovered" that staff cuts had seriously affected track maintenance. Gangmen who carry out manual inspection of the tracks were drastically reduced and the daily length of track to be inspected was increased to unpractical lengths, rendering such inspection ineffective. This Vajpayee government's constant refrain after every accident is that these were due to "sabotage" as fish plates on the track were "removed."  These fish plates can be displaced or disturbed after the passing of a fast train on the track. It is the gangmen who inspect and remedy the situation or report to higher authorities. In fact, the gangmen and the dakia (the postmen) are the two categories of employees who have played an unparalleled role in uniting this vast country --- India.

Recently, the railways decided to fill up around 38,000 vacancies spread over 17 railway zones. These posts were to be filled up by 19 Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). 

This attracted over 75 lakh applications across the country. Of these, 55 lakhs were found valid. Those applying for the jobs of gangmen, khalasis and helpers included MBAs, graduates, post-graduates and engineers when the requirement was just "eighth class passed"! This, by itself, nails the lie of our prime minister that during his rule nearly one crore new jobs were created. India is "shining," we are told. When engineers and MBAs scamper for jobs with a starting salary of around Rs 5,000 per month, then one can gauge the colossal unemployment crisis in the country.

Following article 16 of the Indian constitution and a recent Supreme Court judgement, the railways are barred to distinguish on the basis of regional or linguistic considerations. Tests are being conducted by the RRBs at various centres in the country between November 9 and December 28. The charge against the present railway minister is that the tests at Patna and Ranchi were conducted earlier permitting people from this region to travel to other centres to give the tests for different posts. Notwithstanding this, the fact remains that in many regions, given the huge army of the unemployed, the demand arose that only people of that region be given these jobs. This was the basis for the clashes and tensions that began.

In this context, it is pertinent to note that, while opposing the creation of more railway zones bifurcating the existing ones, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau had noted on July 6, 2002 that the efficacy of the railways as a national integrated network would get adversely affected. Further, this issue may lead to parochial feelings being aroused all across the country. This is being vindicated resoundingly. 

Quite naturally, political parties that thrive on regional chauvinism picked up the issue with alacrity by rousing passions. The ULFA in Assam and various other organisations like the AASU, whose political existence depends on regional chauvinism, and the earlier movements to rid Assam of all foreigners "rose to the occasion" literally. The Shiv Sena in Mumbai ransacked the office of the Railway Recruitment Board and threatened that this was only "the trailer." It also threatened that it will not allow the holding of examinations for people from outside of Maharashtra (read: non-Marathis).

It is not a mere coincidence or ironic that these very forces who thrive on regional chauvinism are also those that advocate and promote the economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. The dismantling of whatever little planning was there in the Indian economy, and the virtual destruction of the public sector, have demolished all efforts to create some degree of regional economic parity. 

The location of PSUs in backward regions --- Rourkela, Bhilai, Korba, Haridwar, Pimpri etc etc --- was aimed at creating economic resources and infrastructure in backward regions, which also generates jobs and economic development of the region. With the LPG policies and its newfound god --- market --- the economic activity confines itself to areas where there is economic infrastructure available. Hence, capital and investment flows go only to prosperous regions. The consequence is that backward regions become more backward.

The consequent discontent and growing misery are compounded by the unprecedented agrarian distress that is sweeping across the country. With agriculture unable to productively employ rural youth, migration to urban centres has begun in a big way. It is these people who, in search of some livelihood, numbering tens of crores, desperately seek some employment anywhere they can find. Such is the misery that lakhs migrate annually from Bihar to the western borders of India to work as agricultural labour in Punjab.  This is as true for all other areas and professions. The local populations, themselves groaning under the impact of these LPG policies, are naturally not  willing to share their slice of the fast-shrinking economic cake with such people coming from ‘outside,' so to speak. 

Needless to add, in the immediate situation, the topmost priority must be to restore normalcy in the disturbed areas. All necessary resources and forces must be made available to the state governments in Assam and Bihar to control the situation. Many other outfits like the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) will try to fish in troubled waters. Already there are reports of the KLO seeking to foment tensions in North Bengal. Utmost vigilance is required to thwart all these efforts.

This is all the more necessary given the fact that the present Vajpayee government, thriving as it does on whipping up religious sectarianism and using it for its political advantage, may well find an ally in regional chauvinism to achieve the same objective. After all, some of the firmest BJP allies are forces like the Shiv Sena who continue to spearhead regional chauvinist violence as a method for political gain. 

In the final analysis, however, the economic policies pursued by the Vajpayee government, which not only heap greater misery on the people but also widen regional disparities fomenting disruptive regional chauvinism, must be defeated.    The attainment of regional economic balance is an important element in the maintenance of the unity and integrity of India.