Capitalist rule cannot end the anarchy, violence and insecurity!

Build the unity of workers, peasants, tribals and all oppressed!

Elections have been announced for the 81 member Assembly in Jharkhand, to be held in 5 phases, starting on November 27 and ending on December 18. The state has been under Central rule for the last 9 months, since January 19, when the then Chief Minister Shibu Soren lost a by-election and had to resign.

These elections have been announced at a time when the people of Jharkhand are facing large-scale anarchy and violence, while state terror has been greatly stepped up. The Home Ministry is reported to be pushing for a massive military offensive against the people there, in coordination with the state police. The workers, peasants and tribals in Jharkhand are victims of savage exploitation and plunder at the hands of some of the biggest Indian and foreign multinational companies and the state. Nearly a third of the population of the state has been displaced over the years for setting up steel, mining and other companies. Major corruption scams involving the highest levels of the government have been a regular feature of this state.

Jharkhand is famous for its rich mineral resources like Uranium, Mica, Bauxite, Granite, Gold, Silver, Graphite, Magnetite, Dolomite, Fireclay, Quartz, Fieldspar, Coal (32% of India), Iron, Copper (25%of India) etc. Nearly 40% of the mineral resources of India are in Jharkhand. Forests and woodlands occupy more than 29% of the state, which is amongst the highest in India. The land is irrigated by numerous rivers, notable among which are the Damodar, Mayurakshi, Barakar, Koyal, Sankh, Son, Auranga, More, Karo, Bansloi, South Koel, Kharkai, Swarna Rekha, Ganga, Gumani and Batane rivers.

The rich linguistic and cultural heritage of the people of the state finds expression in the more than 14 languages spoken there, in the varied folk music and dance forms, folk art and numerous festivals celebrated by the people.

The colonial rulers and following them, the Indian capitalists have exploited the rich mineral resources of this region, with the full assistance of the Indian state. Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Giridih, Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, etc. have been associated with large-scale mining and heavy industry for several decades, in the minds of our people.

With liberalization and privatization and the opening up of this region for private exploitation in a big way, scores of Indian and foreign multinationals have their greedy eyes on the resources of this region. Contracts have been signed by the state government for steel, coal, mining and power projects with Tata, Mittal, Essar, IPSL, Ispat and many other Indian and foreign companies. For example, it has been reported that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who is currently at the centre of a major corruption scandal, during his tenure from 2005-2008, first as mines minister and later as chief minister, signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with private parties amounting to Rs 1,61,708 crore for various mega projects like steel plants and sponge iron factories. Most of the MoUs related to minerals and mines in the state.

Yet, the people of this region are among the poorest in the country, savagely exploited by the state and the capitalists. Peasants and tribals have been robbed of their land, forests, natural resources and traditional means of livelihood in large numbers, to make way for various infrastructural and industrial projects. This has only added to their poverty and misery, while greatly fattening the pockets of the capitalists.

Home to the legendary anti-colonial fighter Birsa Munda, this region has produced people with a long and rich history of valiant struggle against first the colonial rulers, then the Indian state and its machinery and against all forms of exploitation and oppression. The heroic struggle of the Santhals against the British, the Munda, Khewar and Bhoomij revolts in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and numerous other tribal revolts that continued even after 1947 are an important part of the revolutionary history of our people.

For several decades, particularly following end of colonial rule and reorganization of states, the Jharkhand movement demanded the creation of a separate Jharkhand state. This was based on the conception that if the tribal peoples of Jharkhand had a separate state of their own, then the people of the state would be able to benefit from the exploitation of the rich natural resources of the state to improve their well being. However, the bitter reality is that the Indian state and the Indian bourgeoisie has continued and escalated the colonial style plunder of the land, minerals, forests and labour of the people of Jharkhand, after the formation of Jharkhand state in 2000.

The big bourgeoisie and the Indian state has carried out the plunder through its main political parties, Congress and BJP, which have been part of every government that has been formed in the state in the past nine years, The petty bourgeois parties, including those that championed the cause of a separate state in the name of defending the rights of the tribals, have been divided and coopted by the big bourgeoisie and its main political parties, the Congress and BJP. Governmental instability has characterised the state ever since its formation, with the state having had 5 chief ministers in 9 years. The state has been repeatedly rocked by corruption scandals, while violence and anarchy have reigned, assisting the big bourgeoisie to carry out its plunder. The people remain poor and exploited, deprived of their land and livelihood and with no control whatsoever over their natural resources.

The political parties fighting these elections include the two major parties of the big bourgeoisie, the Congress and the BJP, as well as various other parties such as RJD, and those that have emerged from the movement for a Jharkhand state, such as the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), etc. The Congress and BJP are talking of a “stable government”, a “corruption free government”, hiding the fact that these are the two political parties which have been responsible for repeated governmental instability, and that the big bourgeoisie has thrived on exploiting the resources of the state by handing out bribes to this or that politician in power. These parties are shedding crocodile tears over the plight of the tribals, their utter poverty and backwardness, their displacement and devastation.

People cannot be fooled by these promises. It is clear for all to see, that the Congress and BJP have in fact been facilitating the loot and plunder of the state by the big capitalists. The various regional parties, far from defending the interests of the people, have been fully participating in the rule of the capitalists and the exploitation and plunder. Even as the Central government plans a severe military crackdown on the people of Jharkhand immediately after the elections, in order to facilitate the loot and plunder by the big monopoly capitalists, it is noteworthy that the Congress, the BJP, or any of the other parties have not the slightest mention of this in their election manifestoes, let alone any condemnation of it.

The workers, peasants, tribals and all working and oppressed people of Jharkhand have been waging militant struggles against this inhuman exploitation and in defence of their rights. The communists in Jharkhand have the important task of explaining to the workers and peasants and tribal people that capitalism, the program of globalization, liberalization and privatization, the rule of parties like Congress and BJP are the source of their problems. They have to organize the people to oppose the state terrorism, which is being justified in the name of ending anarchy and violence, and explain to the people how this anarchy and violence is in the service of the state of the bourgeoisie. They must tear all illusions about the Congress led front, the BJP led front or other bourgeois electoral fronts, and single mindedly work to build the front of workers, peasants and tribal peoples for a new society.