The death sentences handed down by the NIA court to Maoist political activists—in a move reminiscent of the Nazi judicial system to exact political vengeance—stand as a prime example of the state’s naked legal terror, designed to crush the spirit of resistance among the oppressed!
Build resistance against this!
“Man is not made for the law; the law is made for man.”
— Comrade Bhagat Singh
Comrades, on September 16th in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, a court run by the NIA—an agency acting as a terror instrument of the fascist BJP government—sentenced ten Maoist political activists to death. This verdict stems from an incident of mass resistance that took place at Darbha Ghati (Jhiram Ghati) in Chhattisgarh in 2013. During that event, the revolutionary masses eliminated several individuals, including Mahendra Karma—the leader of the notorious mercenary goon squad 'Salwa Judum'—and Nand Kumar Patel. Since 2005, these perpetrators of mass atrocities had been carrying out a genocide of Adivasis under the banner of Salwa Judum. Salwa Judum was a force of rapists and murderers cultivated by the rulers of that time. They were created specifically to ensure the handover of the vast natural and mineral resources of Central India to domestic and foreign corporations—and private hands in general—and to displace local Adivasis as part of a calculated plan to sow terror through rape and murder. Maoist revolutionary communists stood as a shield against these anti-people activities. That is why the state is now intent on eliminating them and crushing the spirit of resistance.
The Jhiram Ghati incident did not stem from personal greed or envy. Jhiram Ghati represented the political resistance of the oppressed people against the unbridled rape, murder, and oppression perpetrated by the ruling class and political parties. Comrade Bhagat writes, “Justice cannot be rendered to any individual if the question of intent is completely disregarded. If intent is ignored, great generals would appear as mere murderers, government tax collectors would be equated with thieves and fraudsters, judges would face charges of homicide, and the entire social order and human civilization would be branded as a den of slaughter, theft, and deceit. If the question of intent is overlooked, by what right do rulers advise the public to follow the path of justice?” A series of horrific human rights violations—ranging from genocide, rape, and murder to the burning of villages—were proven against *Salwa Judum*. Consequently, under the pressure of intense mass movements, even the Supreme Court of India was compelled to ban *Salwa Judum*. However, leaders of ruling parties (including the Congress and BJP), local landlords, and their imperialist masters continued to fund and arm this force, allowing it to persist with its heinous agenda of displacing Adivasis under different guises. Even today, operating under names like the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Police Officer (SPO), they remain part of ‘Operation Kagar’—a campaign of even more destructive, genocidal violence.
In reality, an event cannot be judged in isolation from the underlying causes that precipitated it. Therefore, it is essential to understand the history behind the Jhiram Ghati incident. On May 17, 2013, this mercenary force of killers attacked the Adivasi population in the region, murdering eight Adivasis—including three children—according to official figures. This was not an isolated incident. At the hands of *Salwa Judum*, over 3,000 Adivasis were killed, more than 700 villages were torched, over 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes, and countless Adivasi women fell victim to rape. Under these circumstances, it became the duty of the revolutionary forces and the general public to retaliate. It was through the organized, just mass resistance of the revolutionary people—led by Maoist revolutionaries—that Mahendra Karma and other abettors of the genocide were eliminated. For participating in that resistance, ten Maoist revolutionaries were sentenced to death. Comrade Marx said that history repeats itself. We have witnessed such a recurrence in the history of the struggle against British imperialism. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt surrendered after throwing a bomb in the British Assembly. In a statement at the Lahore High Court, Bhagat Singh said, "Take the example of General Dyer. He opened fire and killed hundreds of unarmed, innocent people. Yet, instead of ordering him to face a firing squad, the military court awarded him a prize of a lakh rupees." Regarding the sentences subsequently handed down by the British government, the Comrade asked, "Why are we not all granted the rights provided by law? Is it because we have stood up against the prevailing regime? Or is it precisely because our actions hold political significance that we are denied these legal rights?" In today's India, the BJP government—led by the Brahminical-Hindutva-fascist RSS—has acted as a worthy successor to the British colonial administration; by "completely obscuring the question of intent," it has sentenced to death political activists who participated in the legitimate mass resistance at Jhiram Ghati. We vehemently oppose this. The death penalty is reserved only for the "rarest of rare" crimes. Political conflict and resistance can never be categorized under such "rarest of rare" offenses. In other words, this verdict runs counter to the very standards of the Indian judicial system. Having moved beyond the stages of extrajudicial killings and the slow elimination of political activists during trials, the ruling class now seeks to unleash even more brazen terror by weaponizing the judicial system itself. This "travesty of justice" proves exactly that. Conversely, we see figures ranging from the rapist Asaram Bapu and BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar—involved in the most brutal rape in Unnao—to the accused in the Gujarat massacre and the rape of Bilkis Bano, as well as those involved in riots and orchestrated communal violence spanning from Delhi to Murshidabad.
Leaders involved in the massacre of Muslims, as well as the perpetrators of atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis—including the killers of Graham Staines—continue to secure everything from acquittals to repeated paroles, all under the protective umbrella of the ruling party and the ruling class. This is because they effectively serve as instruments of the current regime's terror tactics. Conversely, merely participating in resistance against these events invites the wrath of the state.
The state has always viewed Maoist political activists as obstacles to its class interests. Consequently, we see a progression from *Salwa Judum*—which served as a blueprint for the genocide of Adivasis—to *Operation Green Hunt*, *Operation Samadhan-Prahar*, and the *Surajkund Strategy*, culminating in the current *Operation Kagar*. On one hand, there is a concerted effort to privatize India's natural resources, minerals, and labor force in the interest of imperialism, necessitating the displacement of Adivasis from their homes. This process involves a litany of atrocities, including genocide, aerial bombardment, rape, and the burning of villages. On the other hand, an all-out destructive war is being waged against the Maoist revolutionaries who resist these actions. Over the past year and a half, many members of the Maoist party—ranging from the General Secretary and high-ranking leaders to ordinary cadres—have been martyred. In most instances, they were killed while in custody or through staged "fake encounters." This repression is also being unleashed on a broader scale against all forms of political and anti-government opposition, including intellectuals, students, journalists, and writers. They are variously branded as "Urban Naxals" or "Ideological Naxals." These democratic voices are also being targeted and imprisoned; bail is denied to them even when they suffer from severe physical ailments. Just this year, veteran Comrade Prashant Bose—a Central Committee member of the Maoist party and a long-time political activist—died in a West Bengal prison after being denied even basic medical care. Recently, we also witnessed the government stripping political prisoners held in West Bengal jails of even the minimal facility of telephone communication. This time, instead of killing them slowly while in custody, the government has more brazenly used the judicial system to orchestrate the execution of political activists.
We, the Revolutionary Students' Front (RSF), oppose the death sentences handed down to Maoist political activists in connection with the legitimate mass resistance at Jhiram Ghati. The current state and its judicial system—acting as instruments of the ruling class and flaunting their power—seek to execute political activists who mounted a firm mass resistance against mass slaughter. This decision is, in the words of Comrade Bhagat, "opposed to the fundamental concept of justice." Echoing his sentiments, we too believe: "Down with the law that is not founded on reason and violates the core principles of justice! Such a law ought to be abolished." We wish to state clearly that the state has no authority to take away the right to life. Just recently, the Kolkata STF arrested Comrade Asim Mondal, a member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Neither mass resistance nor opposition to the government can ever be considered a crime. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of every one of these political prisoners. Clearly, in the current state system, the death penalty is nothing more than a tool used by the state to suppress the resistance of the exploited classes. Therefore, we oppose the death penalty in principle. We are also aware that the current fascist government will never accept these demands of ours. They will never release the revolutionary political activists who are striving to dismantle this exploitative system—just as the British government did not spare Comrade Bhagat Singh and his comrades. Consequently, we call upon all exploited sections of society across the country—workers, peasants, students, intellectuals, and small business owners—to build a massive mass movement demanding the revocation of these death sentences. We appeal to all democratic, anti-fascist, and progressive forces and individuals to unite and launch a militant mass movement demanding the withdrawal of the death sentences against the Maoist communist revolutionaries involved in the Jhiram Ghati resistance, the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners, and the protection of their fundamental rights while in custody.
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