From here in New Delhi, in an air-conditioned standard eight by eight cubicle, it is easy to look at the whole ‘naxalite situation’ and say that the country is going to the dogs. Of course, it is, but not in the way, we think it is.



Fueled by an uninterrupted supply of the hope from a population bursting with a sever case of ‘youthanasia’, we are ignoring the severe systemic problems with whole setup.



The hotel is leaking and far too many people and resources are going to the few fancy rooms.



It is a rare thing, justice. This most valuable of commodity is available to only the lucky and powerful in this country. Move away from the dusty heartland and it is still a rarity. Go to the nearest police station and check out for yourself.



Go to the rural and mufassil small towns and you forget thinking in terms of the state. It is just you, ‘them’ and the harsh land.



The naxals are expanding business. West Bengal, U.P. and others are next in their list. You will not be wrong if you visualize the naxal spread as an index of inequality and misgovernance.



Coming back to the topic, it is virtual free-for-all: caste vs. caste, rich vs. poor, employed vs. unemployed, govt. employee vs. private employee (this writer included), public school student vs. govt. school student, MBA vs. non-MBA, IIT vs. non-IIT. In a country where an average young person’s future is decided by the EXAM, where the system works for the VVIPs only, people are learning fast that they must take power in their own hands if they want to make a serious attempt at improving their lot.



The government, which has failed miserably to bring law and order to the land except during the elections, the ‘mahayagya’, is putting people to fight the naxals themselves. The naxals call this ’state-sponsored terrorism’.



In Chattisgarh, the government has nurtured the Salwa Judum (Campaign for Peace) and Jan Jagran Abhiyans in Dandakaranya.

Then you have the Gon Suraksha Samiti in West Bengal, Shanti Sena in Orissa and Gaon Bandi in Maharashtra. Local papers report about private armies like the Cobra and Tigers in Andhra. The Jharkhand government has transformed the tribals’ traditional Sendra (collective hunt) into an anti-naxal practice. While the naxals routinely chop off hands (or heads, determined by the level of offense), the Sendra participants lynch naxals to death. Private armies like Ranvir Sena are making a comeback in Bihar.



Bihar needs a big book to itself when vigilantism is considered. To deal with the kidnapping menace, people often summarily kill the perpetrators if they are unlucky to be caught.



Often, people go too far. If your car happens to hurt even a calf in the state (it is true in many other parts of the country), run fast. A lynching crowd is never far off during such moments.



The lawless heartland is slowly making an entry into the popular consciousness via the Hindi film industry. Films like ‘Haasil’ (lawless college), ‘Hazaar Khwahisjen Aisi’ (Emergency), and the upcoming ‘Omkara’ (Gangs of U.P., an adaptation of Othello) are a welcome addition. I hope this is just the beginning. I am waiting when the mainstream media sends more reporters to the heartland to do in-depth experience reporting. I am waiting when heartland bloggers make their presence felt, blogging via computers running on DIY inverters.



Welcome to the heartland.