Protest in Democratic India Authority’s Response to Challenge

269 Pages·2019·5.329 MB·English

by  Leslie J. Calman

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Leslie J. Calman
ISBN 978-0-367-28455-8
www.routledge.com aninformabusiness
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Protest in Democratic India
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About the Book and Author
This book explores radical challenges to Indian governments' legiti-
macy and power and the responses of the Indian state and central
governments to those challenges. Dr. Calman describes the unintended
role Indian governments have played in fostering the emergence of
radical movements and analyzes the effectiveness of governments in
combating their growth. Light is shed on the power of newly developing
decentralized movements to politicize impoverished groups and ulti-
mately to challenge the legitimacy of the Indian mode of governing.
These new movements, represented in this book by Shramik Sanghatana
and Bhoomi Sena of Maharashtra, have more power to effect change
than movements that attack the military force of government, like the
Naxalites of Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh. The book draws
upon government documents, a variety of unpublished sources, and
extensive interviews with government officials and key participants in
radical groups.
Leslie J. Calman is assistant professor of political science and
women's studies at Barnard College, Columbia University.
To Isobel and Joshua Calman
Protest in Democratic India
Authority's Response to Challenge
Leslie J. Calman
I~ ~?io~I!~n~~~up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 1985 by Westview Press
Published 2019 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1985 by Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Calman, Leslie J.
Protest in democratic India
Westview special studies on South and Southeast Asia
Bibliography: p.
1. India-Politics and govemment-1947-
2. Radicalism-India-History. I. Title.
DS480.84.C28 1985 954.04 85-3216
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-28455-8 (hbk)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ............................................ ix
Introduction: The Struggle for Legitimacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PART 1
THE SRIKAKULAM NAXALITE MOVEMENT
Introduction to Part 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2 The Development of Tribal Poverty ....................... 21
3 The Early Girijan Movement ............................. 45
4 The Naxalite Movement in Srikakulam .................... 63
5 After the Armed Struggle: Continuing Suppression of the
Naxalites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6 Government Recognizes the Legitimacy Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Conclusion to Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
PART 2
THE MAHARASHTRA MOVEMENTS:
SHRAMIK SANGHATANA AND BHOOMI SENA
Introduction to Part 2 ................................... 137
7 The Development of Tribal Poverty in Maharashtra ....... 145
8 The Development and Organization of Shramik
Sanghatana and Bhoomi Sena ............................ 163
Vll
9 State and Movement Interactions: Issues of Tribal
Landlessness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
10 State and Movement Interactions: Work and Wages .........2 11
Conclusion to Part 2 .................................... 231
11 Conclusion: Protest's Challenge ........................... 235
Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Glossary ............................................... 243
Bibliography ............................................ 247
viii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is the product of many years of thinking, researching, writing,
and, inevitably, re-thinking and re-writing. The task would likely not have
been accomplished without the personal, intellectual and financial support that
I was lucky enough to receive and for which I am very grateful.
My research in India was financed by a Columbia University Travel Grant.
The American Institute of Indian Studies provided important institutional sup-
port. In India, many libraries and research institutes allowed me the privilege
of using their resources. I would particularly like to thank the staffs of the
Nehru Museum Library, the National Labour Institute, and Sapru House, all
in New Delhi; the Maharashtra State Archives and the invaluable B.U.l.L.D.
Documentation Centre in Bombay; the Gokhale Institute of Politics and
Economics, and the Tribal Research and Training Institute in Pune; and the
Tribal Cultural Research and Training Institute in Hyderabad.
The intellectual odyssey leading to this book began at Barnard College
in New York under the influence of two extraordinary teachers: Dennis Dalton
and Peter H. Juviler. Both are exceptional in their ability to impart to students
not only knowledge, but values. I have been enriched by their appreciation
of human life and dignity and have taken to heart their belief that political
action can make a positive difference. As my teachers and now colleagues,
they have been unfailing sources of personal and professional generosity; every
young scholar should have such mentors.
This study had an earlier life as a doctoral dissertation for the Columbia
University Department of Political Science. During my incarnation as a doc-
toral candidate, my work was aided by W. Howard Wriggins, who offered
incisive advice and steady encouragement over a number of years. Philip K.
Oldenburg shared with me his considerable expertise in matters scholarly and
bureaucratic. He and his wife Veena Talwar Oldenburg shared, too, their in-
fectious enthusiasm for Indian life, culture and politics. Ainslie Embree gave
me a friendly push towards publication. Stephen Rittenberg and Demetrios
Caraley read the manuscript and offered valuable criticism and encouragement.
Once in India, I found the concept of "networking" taking on new dimen-
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