Revolution #200, May 1, 2010
Oppose Operation Green Hunt!
In November 2009, the Indian government launched “Operation Green Hunt.” This massive military assault targets millions of adivasis (ethnic and tribal groups who were among the original inhabitants of the subcontinent). The adivasis have a long history of rebellion and militant uprisings.
The forests where adivasis live have abundant mineral wealth (iron, coal, bauxite, manganese, corundum, gold, diamonds and uranium). Over the last years foreign and Indian corporations, with the protection of the Indian state, have been exploiting and violently suppressing the people.
Two sides are shaping up in this struggle. On one side are the adivasis and the Communist Party of India (Maoist), whose members have lived and fought side by side with the adivasis since the 1970s. On the other side, with its military and police force, is the central Indian state—the representative and protector of the ruling classes that live off and suck the life out of the Indian masses. The Indian state urgently wants to clear the obstacles for a new wave of foreign investment and capitalist development aimed at taking advantage of the region’s resources. And the rulers of India are concerned by the deep ties the Maoists have made with the region’s people.
A statement last year from prominent intellectuals opposing “Operation Green Hunt” said, “Such a military campaign will endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of the poorest people living in those areas, resulting in massive displacement, destitution and human rights violation of ordinary citizens.”
The U.S. and India have a deep strategic relationship. In 2007, the U.S. moved to bolster India’s nuclear capacity, and India and the U.S. regularly conduct military exercises together. In the spirit of proletarian internationalism—and as part of standing up against the crimes of “our” government and oppressors aligned with it—“Operation Green Hunt” must be protested and opposed by all who hate injustice and oppression.
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