Operation Lalgarh was an armed operation in India against the Maoists who have been active in organising an armed tribal movement alongside a group called the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). The operation is organised by the police and security forces in Lalgarh, Jhargram, West Bengal to restore law and order in the area and flush out the Maoists. The area of operation is said to be expanded to 18 police stations in the three Maoist-affected districts of Paschim Medinipur (including newly split Jhargram), Bankura and Purulia.
Background The incident has its root in an incident on 2 November 2008. On the way back from laying the foundation stone of Jindal steel plant at Salboni, the convoy of the chief minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada came under a landmine attack by the Maoists. Though the ministers were unharmed, it hit a police jeep in the convoy and six policemen were grievously injured. The CPI (Maoist) in a press release accepted the responsibility of the explosion and stated clearly that they were opposed to the steel plant on tribal land and that the target of the explosion was Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, the West Bengal Police carried out raids across the Lalgarh area. Due to the influence by ruling party CPI (Marxist), the police atrocities, indiscriminate raids and brutal beatings, resulting in serious injuries to many people, mainly women. People have been subjected to beatings, torture, molestation of women and false cases.
The locals allege that Lalgarh police station has long been torturing and detaining adivasis at the smallest pretext on basis of speculation. On 4 November 2008 evening, three boys all studying in high school between standards 8 and 10, were going to their homes in Bashber Village on foot. They were returning from Katapahari, where a program of Baul Song was going on. On the way they were picked up by Lalgarh police for being suspected Maoists The villagers were enraged in the incident and surrounded the Lalgarh police station and blockades were made on several roads by felling trees and digging the roads. Later they formed a committee named Police Santras Birodhi Janosadharan Committee () which demanded on thirteen issues and put up posters to publicise the same. The major demands include the Superintendent of Police of Paschim Medinipur district has to hold his ears and ask for forgiveness and he has to say 'Form now onwards I will stop illegally arresting the people and especially women' and release of those illegally arrested and cases has to be dropped against them. Some of the demands of the committee were met and cases against those children arrested were dropped. In turn the Committee removed some of the blockades, though police were not allowed to patrol the area. The Maoists congratulated the people of Lalgarh for their protest, but stopped short of claiming the movement to be under their control. The people of Lalgarh however continually maintained that their movement was peaceful and for demand of basic democratic rights.
Adivasis of these areas were demanding development measures such as health centres, schools and roads and the basic means for survival, such as proper prices for forest produce such as the Tendu leaves and Babui grass, and an end to harassment by forest officials and timber mafias. These demands drew the ire of the state, which led to the set up of the Police Santras Birodhi Janaganer Committee (PSBJC) () by Sri Chhatradhar Mahata.
The movement
The beginning The police quickly understood the extent of mobilization that the adivasis have made and started making false promises about the imminent release of those arrested including the 3 school students. The police thought of buying some time with these lies, hoping that the mass will disperse with time. But the adivasi crowd around the Police Station only got thicker. Support and solidarity from surrounding and far off adivasi villages started pouring in. The otherwise omnipresent leaders of political parties were not allowed to negotiate. The adivasi were rather happy about this as in the past the interference of these leaders in any mass protests have always resulted in confusion and withdrawing of the protests with unknown negotiations behind closed door meetings. This time the adivasis chose their representatives from amongst themselves who were communicators rather than leaders and took no decision on behalf of the mass but only communicated them. Soon the police understood that the adivasis were in no mood to return without a result and they disclosed that nothing was in their hands because the ones arrested had already been transferred to Midnapore jail the previous day.
The blockade
The repeated lies by the Lalgarh police infuriated the mass who decided not to depend on the police for any results and to build up a movement to force the release of those illegally detained. They decided to prevent the deployment of reinforcement of police and paramilitary as previously many adivasi movements have been brutally crushed using paramilitary force. Thus roads were dug up and blocked at several places by felled trees. This has uncanny resemblance to the Nandigram movement remained at the headlines throughout 2007 March to December. The Lalgarh village is connected with Jhargram and Medinipur towns by roads which are bordered on both sides by sparse to moderate forests. the roads have been dug up or blocked by trees at least in 25 places.
Solidarity The road blockade was not just in and around Lalgarh but villages all around took initiative to do the same as they joined in the movement. Adivasi people all around West Bengal felt oneness with the movement as most have faced torture at the hands of police for suspected of being Maoists or their sympathizers. People from villages across West and East Midnapore, Bankura, Birbhum, Puruliya quickly joined in the movement.
Grass root democracy The movement had no conventional leadership and often entire village population sat together and discussed for hours as to the steps to be taken in the movement. Men, women, youth, students all took part in these grand meetings. The traditional leaders were not stripped of the respect that they usually received but were given no more weight than anyone else at the meetings. A forum was thus launched which had no conventional political color and which united the entire adivasi society for a common cause after a long time. It gained immense popularity and most mainstream parties and their mass bases vanished altogether.
Village committees Each Village formed a committee of 10 representatives who would with committees of other villages to communicate the decision of the masses of one village to another. Each committee further had two persons who had to be available at all times in case of urgent meetings at short notices.
Participation of women
Many Adivasi women have come forward to carry forth this movement. Every 10 persons committee has 5 women members. This involvement of women came naturally to the adivasis who have a more gender-equal society. Women also commonly participate in meetings and rallies. The atrocities over the women of Lalgarh have been excessive, and the women since then never attend rallies unarmed, bringing bows, arrows, knives, swords, scythes, axes, sticks, brooms. The attack on the dawn of 5 November has been most brutal on the women, with one of them losing her sight, as the butt of a police rifle landed on it. Another woman of Lalghar was manhandled and left unconscious in broad daylight as she tried preventing the police who dragged away her husband who happens to be a local Jharkhand Party leader while they were buying medicines. This has added to the torture and repression of women, leading to the present consolidation of the adivasi women.
The demands
The adivasis of Lalgarh sat together to decide upon eleven demands to be met by the government in order that the blockades be removed and police activity normalized. Press statement were given, leaflets distributed and posters in Bengali put up all around, stating the demands. The English translation of the demands would be The SP has to hold his ears and ask for forgiveness. He has to say 'Form now onwards I will stop illegally arresting the people and especially women.' The police who were involved in the 5/11/2008 incident where women were beaten up have to rub their noses on the ground as punishment, from Dalailpur Chawk to Choto Pelia. The women of Choto Pelia who were injured by the police torture have to be compensated with 200,000 rupees each. All suspects arrested or detained in relation to the Shalboni incident have to be released unconditionally. All people arrested or accused in suspicion of being Maoist in West Midnapore since 1998 have to be cleared of all charges and should not be compelled to attend court sessions or police station enquiries regularly. Arresting locals from anywhere, anytime without warrant have to be ended. All paramilitary camps like those in Dharampur, Kalaimudi, Ramgarh have to be removed immediately. That Sasadhar Mahato planned the Shalboni explosion sitting in Bashber village — this allegation has to be withdrawn. The practice of harassing clubs and organizations of independent people all over Bengal must be put to an end. Police patrolling in villages from 5 in the evening to 6 in the dawn have to be stopped. Schools, hospitals, panchayet offices cannot be used as police camps, the existing ones have to be removed Later two more demands were added in face of violent attacks by CPI(M) cadres on the adivasi people involved with the movement.
Traditional leadership The traditional tribal leaders have been mostly disowned by the tribals of Lalgarh. The Majhi Baba or village elders had since 10 November 2008 proactively engaged in negotiations with the government authority. On 13 November 2008 they declared that most of their demands have been agreed upon and thus they were withdrawing the blockade. Some blockades were removed as well, but the adivasis sat together to decide otherwise and decided to boycott the Bharat Jakat Majhi Marwa group. Their youth wing leader was even beaten up and made to apologise for removing a blockade.
Maoist connection The government and the ruling party CPI(M) have throughout maintained that the movement of Lalgarh was instigated and somewhat led by Maoist agents, many of whom have come from Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. The police from the beginning blamed the Maoists for the Shalboni blast and raided the villages and detained people for having suspected Maoist Links. The police alleged that Sasadhar Mahato and other Maoist action squad members planned the Shalboni blast while in Bashber village, Lalgarh. The Maoists soon accepted responsibility of the blast and congratulated the people of Lalgarh for their protest, but stopped short if claiming the movement to be under their control. The people of Lalgarh however continually maintained that their movement was peaceful and for demand of basic democratic rights.
Ruled by fear
Back in 1977, after the first Left Front government took power in West Bengal, entire villages were freed from the control of jotedars, or landlords, by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers.
Income poverty and deprivation continue to exist throughout the region — but land reform has given adivasis a level of freedom and security their counterparts in the rest of India do not enjoy.
Marketed as the liberation of Lalgarh, Maoist rule, in fact, made the life of most adivasis worse. Income from forest produce, on which most local residents are dependent, dried up. Government programmes intended to mitigate hardship collapsed altogether.