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The Absent State: Insurgency as an Excuse for Misgovernance
The spiralling crisis in Jammu and Kashmir; the Naxalite-Maoist menace that seems to be intensifying with every passing day; the disturbing reach of proxy governments run by militant groups in Manipur and Nagaland ? today, a quarter of India is being held hostage by violence and anarchy. What has pushed the country, which has otherwise held together through seemingly insurmountable odds in the past, to the edge? In a series of dispatches the authors unveil the tensions, frustrations, challenges and justifications that are everyday realities in these troubled regions. Civil administrators talk about the widespread misappropriation of development funds in tribal and remote areas; security and police personnel describe extreme confrontations in the face of inadequate training and equipment; rebel ranks and former insurgents reveal how unemployment, lack of education and rampant exploitation have fuelled their defiance against the establishment and encouraged secessionist activities. At the heart of the on-going turmoil, ordinary people mourn the loss of their loved ones ? to starvation, lack of healthcare facilities and militancy ? even as they voice their demand to be heard.
- GenresNonfictionIndia
350 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 14, 2017
"We will not leave our village or our jungles or our Mother Earth.
We will not give up our fight.
They built dams that drown villages and built factories.
They cut down forests, dug out mines and built sanctuaries.
Without water, land and forest, where do we go?
Oh, God of development, we pray: tell us how to save our lives!
Dry is the Jamuna River, the Narmada River and the Suvanrekha River.
Ganga River is a dirty drain, Krishna River but a black line!
You may drink your colas and bottled water; how shall we quench our thirst with such polluted water?
Were our ancestor’s fools that they conserved the forest?
Made the land so green, made rivers flow like honey?
Your greed has charred the land and looted its greenery!
The fish are dead, the birds have flown who knows where?
The minister has become industry’s broker, snatched away our lands!
Armed battalions protect them!
The officer is king, and the contractor is millionaire!
Our village is their colony!
Unite and break the silence!
Fisherfolk, Dalits and Adivasis unite!
From fields and mines arise! Sound the nagara!
Listen, people of the country, struggle is the only way out! "
https://youtu.be/8M5aeMpzOLU
* This song was composed by Bhagwan Maaji, a leader of the Adivasi struggle against bauxite mining in Kashipur in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India.
September 2, 2015
A brilliant book that tells u on the ground realities in the Naxal belt, Kashmir and the North-east. The NE section is brief but for the other 2, the authors have also tried to give a history of the insurgencies. Balanced, hard-hitting yet full of empathy for those on the ground. Strongly recommended.
January 12, 2014
The Absent State is an appreciable effort to encapsulate all forms of insurgencies India is battling against. It is a compilation of the dispatches by two journalists working with national dailies. The book is divided into three sections, covering the three political and administrative casualties - the Naxalite surge, the Valley of Denial (Kashmir insurgency), and the Collapse of the North-East.
In the Naxalite surge, the authors take stock of the situation prevailing in the hinterlands of the Red Corridor, with emphasis on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. From the story of Turiya Munda , who was the first man to die because he has not received wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), to the Abujhmaad area of Chhattisgarh, which has been forgotten by the tax officials since the reign of emperor Akbar, we are shown the harsh eyesore which stuns us. Authors start with the Naxalbari of 1960s and tell us the history and reason of the naxal militancy, which according to them is the complete lack of governance in these areas. And this deliberate void created by the successive governments is now filled by the Maoists. They run the show in the areas like Dandakaranya, a 'liberated zone', extending over 1,00,000 sq km, incorporating parts of the State of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, with a population of over 2 crore. No Nehruvian Five Year Plan, no welfare scheme ever came within whistling distance of these areas. More than 90% of the population was illiterate, until the introduction of Marxism and they came to know about Mao Zedong before they came to know about alphabets.
While mentioning that Maoists now provide many basis amenities to the people, which the State should have provided, and recording the popular alienation, the authors reveal no particular sympathy for the Naxals and refrain from portraying them as the peoples saviour. In fact they have several tales to tell of the Maoists ruthlessness and the atrocities committed by them on the poor tribals. For ex while talking of the outbreak of malaria, they make this trenchant comment: "The mosquito is a socialist, it bites the villagers, the police and the naxal rebel with equal intensity. Naxals have quinine tablets to cope with the problem, while the villagers have nothing. There are many heart wrenching stories of the sufferings of the hapless villagers as well as the naxalites and the policemen. First part ends at the Lalgarh incident, where the Naxals are trying to create another 'liberated zone' like that of Dandakaranya.
The Valley of Denial takes us to the paradise on earth - Kashmir. Authors say that in Kashmir the malfunction of Government had for long been masked behind the facade of a twenty one year old insurgency. For ex a closer look at the beautiful Dal lake would reveal that it was rotting and shrinking despite the 240 crores spent on cleaning it. No militant had ever attacked a civic official or seized the dredger meant for cleaning the Dal lake.
The amount of money streaming in from the Central Government is whopping, but the capacity to spend it well is something to ponder. Going by the account of the authors, militancy also brewed under the nose of the deficient governance. From the ousting of the Kashmiri pandits to the desire of an independent Kashmir, the book covers it explicitly.
Also, although it is a State deeply divided on the basis of regional aspirations, Jammu & Kashmir has a few milestones of pride, which are also probably the bulwark of its future. Multiculturalism and religious tolerance have survived in the valley and the authors prove it with ample examples.
In the Collapse of the North-East, the authors say that 'there is a parallel government running because the people are not getting what they expected from the government'. To quote a contractor Peter, who candidly gave his version of the condition of governance in Manipur: Government in Manipur is really run by the 'Undergrounds', who are the real Government. Government officials are mere rubberstamps. And this is accepted by even senior government officials, in fact even by the DGP of the State. There are more than twenty five extremist groups and more than fifteen thousand extremists in the State, who can kidnap, extort ransom and kill whomsoever they want. Even the ten year old daughter of the education minister of the State is not safe. And, the worst thing is that, to nab her killer, the State agencies has to ask for help from another extremist group NSCN-IM. In Nagaland and Manipur the extremists have a free run and they are even expanding their area of dominance in neighbouring States. The greatest drawback of North-East is its crippled infrastructure and complete breakdown of Government machinery. Other factors include unfenced borders with neighbouring countries etc.
But in spite of the through research by the authors, part three disappoints as only Manipur and Nagaland are discussed. There is no attention to other States, which are also affected by insurgency, especially Assam, which is the biggest eyesore.
This book gives a purely journalistic insight and it is informative and not of analytical nature. The authors try to give us an insight of the situation by putting the bare truth and blunt images before us. And in this they are quite successful. Also there are some parts of the book which may seem partisan. For ex taking digs at the left leaders and questioning the filling of Kashmir by combat boots in response to Pakistan sponsored terrorism may not go down well with some people. But the highlight of the book is in its portrayal of harsh reality and its sincerity toward the voice of the weak and downtrodden who have never been allowed to speak up and dissent.
In the Naxalite surge, the authors take stock of the situation prevailing in the hinterlands of the Red Corridor, with emphasis on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. From the story of Turiya Munda , who was the first man to die because he has not received wages under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), to the Abujhmaad area of Chhattisgarh, which has been forgotten by the tax officials since the reign of emperor Akbar, we are shown the harsh eyesore which stuns us. Authors start with the Naxalbari of 1960s and tell us the history and reason of the naxal militancy, which according to them is the complete lack of governance in these areas. And this deliberate void created by the successive governments is now filled by the Maoists. They run the show in the areas like Dandakaranya, a 'liberated zone', extending over 1,00,000 sq km, incorporating parts of the State of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, with a population of over 2 crore. No Nehruvian Five Year Plan, no welfare scheme ever came within whistling distance of these areas. More than 90% of the population was illiterate, until the introduction of Marxism and they came to know about Mao Zedong before they came to know about alphabets.
While mentioning that Maoists now provide many basis amenities to the people, which the State should have provided, and recording the popular alienation, the authors reveal no particular sympathy for the Naxals and refrain from portraying them as the peoples saviour. In fact they have several tales to tell of the Maoists ruthlessness and the atrocities committed by them on the poor tribals. For ex while talking of the outbreak of malaria, they make this trenchant comment: "The mosquito is a socialist, it bites the villagers, the police and the naxal rebel with equal intensity. Naxals have quinine tablets to cope with the problem, while the villagers have nothing. There are many heart wrenching stories of the sufferings of the hapless villagers as well as the naxalites and the policemen. First part ends at the Lalgarh incident, where the Naxals are trying to create another 'liberated zone' like that of Dandakaranya.
The Valley of Denial takes us to the paradise on earth - Kashmir. Authors say that in Kashmir the malfunction of Government had for long been masked behind the facade of a twenty one year old insurgency. For ex a closer look at the beautiful Dal lake would reveal that it was rotting and shrinking despite the 240 crores spent on cleaning it. No militant had ever attacked a civic official or seized the dredger meant for cleaning the Dal lake.
The amount of money streaming in from the Central Government is whopping, but the capacity to spend it well is something to ponder. Going by the account of the authors, militancy also brewed under the nose of the deficient governance. From the ousting of the Kashmiri pandits to the desire of an independent Kashmir, the book covers it explicitly.
Also, although it is a State deeply divided on the basis of regional aspirations, Jammu & Kashmir has a few milestones of pride, which are also probably the bulwark of its future. Multiculturalism and religious tolerance have survived in the valley and the authors prove it with ample examples.
In the Collapse of the North-East, the authors say that 'there is a parallel government running because the people are not getting what they expected from the government'. To quote a contractor Peter, who candidly gave his version of the condition of governance in Manipur: Government in Manipur is really run by the 'Undergrounds', who are the real Government. Government officials are mere rubberstamps. And this is accepted by even senior government officials, in fact even by the DGP of the State. There are more than twenty five extremist groups and more than fifteen thousand extremists in the State, who can kidnap, extort ransom and kill whomsoever they want. Even the ten year old daughter of the education minister of the State is not safe. And, the worst thing is that, to nab her killer, the State agencies has to ask for help from another extremist group NSCN-IM. In Nagaland and Manipur the extremists have a free run and they are even expanding their area of dominance in neighbouring States. The greatest drawback of North-East is its crippled infrastructure and complete breakdown of Government machinery. Other factors include unfenced borders with neighbouring countries etc.
But in spite of the through research by the authors, part three disappoints as only Manipur and Nagaland are discussed. There is no attention to other States, which are also affected by insurgency, especially Assam, which is the biggest eyesore.
This book gives a purely journalistic insight and it is informative and not of analytical nature. The authors try to give us an insight of the situation by putting the bare truth and blunt images before us. And in this they are quite successful. Also there are some parts of the book which may seem partisan. For ex taking digs at the left leaders and questioning the filling of Kashmir by combat boots in response to Pakistan sponsored terrorism may not go down well with some people. But the highlight of the book is in its portrayal of harsh reality and its sincerity toward the voice of the weak and downtrodden who have never been allowed to speak up and dissent.
January 17, 2012
This book should be mandatory reading for every indian...the most balanced and illuminating account of India's various insurgencies i have come across , very well researched and with unprecedented access to the many of the insurgents esp Maoists ..unputdownable...absolutely brilliant!
April 22, 2016
Some of the best reporting I've read from some of the most conflict-ridden districts of India. The only accounts I had ever read of the Maoist insurgency, or the J&K conflict, came from one side or the other. What was missing was a story of the people who live their lives in contested territories. The Absent State fills that gap in my opinion, and gives a "People's History/Story" of the civil wars raging across the country.
It is six years now since the book was written, and aside from a few "victories" against what was the rising Maoist tide in 2010, precious little has changed. Mining companies continue to rake up controversies and flout norms with impunity. Land deals in these regions remain as shady and bloody as ever, while the latest government continues to fortify its beliefs in supply side economics by systematically wiping out and displacing tribal communities for the want of resources. Even though great thinkers of the last century have pointed out that a country's natural endowment of resources has little to do with how much it's economy can grow or the number of jobs it provides, our pardoning of resource-driven land grabs continues unabated.
The Absent State points out a common thread that connects the government's attitude to these movements. These are regions caught in a vicious circle. Abandoned by their governments a long time ago, the emergence of insurgency to fill the void left in law and order has become a justification for successive governments to stay away from these regions, except when elections come around. The insurgents have a stranglehold on these regions to varying degrees; from an almost bureaucratically driven system of extortion in the north-east to respect derived from absolute fear in the central regions of the country. The authors brilliantly highlight this excuse-driven apathy of governments through extensive reportage and interviews from those caught in the middle.
Each chapter points out that though each of these communities joined or initiated an armed rebellion with hopes of self-governance, they all find themselves yearning for jobs, education and a shared concern for their children. Ideas of self-determination and secession indeed seem a luxurious thought to entertain for those who haven't sided with either government or rebels. Most of all, the accounts of the lives of the foot-soldiers of the government waging the war in inhospitable climates with little or no supplies is a reminder that even though no one on the ground wants to fight this war, the entire country seems in thrall of justifying more force to bring these rebellions into line.
The only factor that prevented me from giving this book a 5/5. The book could have used a lot more historical narrative and interpretation, especially in Kashmir. The Kashmir story is well written in terms of reporting from the general public, including the likes of Yasin Malik. Kashmir's situation is also more similar to the north-east than is shown in the book; there is considerable cross-talk between governments and the separatist movements that have sprouted around the area. But, Rahul Pandita, one of the authors, has written a separate account of the Maoist movement, which I presume is filled with a lot more historical narrative than this one
Ultimately, I think the book serves as a great start to anyone who wants to begin understanding the different stories that play out everyday in these parts of our country.
It is six years now since the book was written, and aside from a few "victories" against what was the rising Maoist tide in 2010, precious little has changed. Mining companies continue to rake up controversies and flout norms with impunity. Land deals in these regions remain as shady and bloody as ever, while the latest government continues to fortify its beliefs in supply side economics by systematically wiping out and displacing tribal communities for the want of resources. Even though great thinkers of the last century have pointed out that a country's natural endowment of resources has little to do with how much it's economy can grow or the number of jobs it provides, our pardoning of resource-driven land grabs continues unabated.
The Absent State points out a common thread that connects the government's attitude to these movements. These are regions caught in a vicious circle. Abandoned by their governments a long time ago, the emergence of insurgency to fill the void left in law and order has become a justification for successive governments to stay away from these regions, except when elections come around. The insurgents have a stranglehold on these regions to varying degrees; from an almost bureaucratically driven system of extortion in the north-east to respect derived from absolute fear in the central regions of the country. The authors brilliantly highlight this excuse-driven apathy of governments through extensive reportage and interviews from those caught in the middle.
Each chapter points out that though each of these communities joined or initiated an armed rebellion with hopes of self-governance, they all find themselves yearning for jobs, education and a shared concern for their children. Ideas of self-determination and secession indeed seem a luxurious thought to entertain for those who haven't sided with either government or rebels. Most of all, the accounts of the lives of the foot-soldiers of the government waging the war in inhospitable climates with little or no supplies is a reminder that even though no one on the ground wants to fight this war, the entire country seems in thrall of justifying more force to bring these rebellions into line.
The only factor that prevented me from giving this book a 5/5. The book could have used a lot more historical narrative and interpretation, especially in Kashmir. The Kashmir story is well written in terms of reporting from the general public, including the likes of Yasin Malik. Kashmir's situation is also more similar to the north-east than is shown in the book; there is considerable cross-talk between governments and the separatist movements that have sprouted around the area. But, Rahul Pandita, one of the authors, has written a separate account of the Maoist movement, which I presume is filled with a lot more historical narrative than this one
Ultimately, I think the book serves as a great start to anyone who wants to begin understanding the different stories that play out everyday in these parts of our country.
June 24, 2016
i liked the starting line regarding the coverage of naxalism in the book "every fire starts in the belly" i am now firmly convinced that the system has failed to deliver in this part of India. As far as Kashmir is concerned i consider it to be a problem of alienation from India but it would have been better if the authors should have focused more on the issue of exodus of pandits from valley in duress. I find here some similarity with LAJJA of taslima nasrin but she was more clear in explaining the persecution of hindus, in the instant case authors only paid lip service to the issue. The most interesting part was the coverage of north east I feel what fun is a ceasefire if one sides keeps consolidating its position in its garb expanding its tax base and area of influence i think the delhi's policy is to " let it rot" Its better if both nagaland and manipur are placed under strict presidents rule and development activities are conducted through some other agency which has muscle to protect the interest of the common man.
May 20, 2017
Amazing and sad to know a bit more about Rural Tribal India. Comparing with them, our life seems too easy to be true. Also a perspective is now available for me to understand internal security concerns of Modern India.
Authors have worked really hard to gather all those stories under life threatening conditions.
Authors have worked really hard to gather all those stories under life threatening conditions.
April 6, 2014
one of the best books so far on insurgency. I have been following these issues since last 4-5 years but this one is the by far the most expansive and unbiased book. It has opinion of separatists, police, govt officials and the natives of course. Journalists have honored their profession :)
December 26, 2012
This book gives an insight to Maoist, NE and kashmir insurgencies
November 4, 2022
This and other such books dealing with the subject should be made a mandatory read for all existing politicians, administrators and students. A book that makes one instinctively start thinking about a possible solution to the problem. Forums should be formed by these State Governments, the Centre and citizens to gather ideas about how can these states get on the development rail with the rest of India.
Writing off States should not be acceptable.
A thought provoking read.
Writing off States should not be acceptable.
A thought provoking read.
June 6, 2022
I really liked the part where author covers naxal insurgency. He shares in details of mess created by absence of governance between Tribals , policeman , CRPF, maoist, Tribal army. How we are developing as a nation continuously but failed to provide basic facility to several parts of India.
April 19, 2019
Three of the most glaring militant challenges for the Union of India. I am a bit disappointed about the very short space dedicated to the problem of North East though.
June 18, 2021
Very informative.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews