Human Rights Violations in North-East

I FIRST met Chandrashekhar, the CPI(ML) activist who was killed recently in Bihar, about five years ago in JNU. I had been invited by an informal group of students to talk about the struggle of the bhils in Madhya Pradesh. We had a long discussion afterwards about the relevance of the environmental movement to a broadbased people's struggle in India. He had made the point that environmental struggles were ephemeral because they did not fully address the demands of the poor and also did not challenge the state and other exploiting interests comprehensively enough. I had responded then by pointing out the limitations of the CPI(ML)'s understanding and tactics. His murder underscores the fact that the CPI(ML) through its many groups still poses the most serious challenge to the exploiting classes and despite its limitations remains the sole standard-bearer of a people's revolution in this country.