Why business never stops in Bastar

Business never stops in the Maoist heartland of Bastar. This was the damning observation of two experts on the region that’s one of India’s ground zeroes of violence and conflict. Damning, because it implicates both the state and the insurgents in a nexus of exploitation that strips the land of its resources at the cost of its inhabitants.
This was one of the many insightful observations made by the panellists—sociologist Nandini Sundar and journalist Hridayesh Joshi — during conversations on ‘stories from the Maoist heartland’ at the Times Lit Fest on Saturday, with journalist Nitin Sethi as moderator.
Sundar, 49, knows a thing or two about Bastar. The region is not only the focus of her academic work — including her latest book, The Burning Forest: India’s War in Bastar — her intense involvement with Bastar’s indigenous people have led to numerous run-ins with the state authorities. She was recently “implicated” in a murder case and had to knock on the Supreme Court’s door for relief.
The academic is equally hard on the region’s left wing extremists. “The Maoists are mixed up in the system of corporate capitalism,” she said, explaining why big business carries on despite the conflict.
“I never seen movement of iron ore being attacked,” said Joshi, who has not only extensively reported from Bastar, but has also written a work of fiction, Lal Lakir (in Hindi), a love story set in the region.
As the discussion veered through the wheels within wheels of exploitation and violence, someone in the audience had a simple question for the panel: So, what exactly is the problem in Bastar? Sundar’s answer was laconic as well as evocative, as he said, “Poor people in a rich land, exploitative attitudes, indifferent bureaucracy, elections funded with black money, with caste and adivasi tensions thrown in.”
Add to it the fact that Bastar remains a low priority for the national media — as does the entire mineral-rich belt of central India — and one can understand why the region is likely to continue simmering in conflict in the foreseeable future.