Chidambaram Vs. Intellectuals

The person leading the campaign against the ‘sympathisers’ is Union home minister P. Chidambaram. I’m a great admirer of the HM, who is a man of formidable competence, vision and energy. Sadly, he thinks any attack on the way the state is handling the Maoist problem is a personal attack on him. Perhaps Mr Chidambaram’s insistence that intellectuals condemn Maoists has a psychological reason: he considers himself an intellectual and, consequently, craves for the support of his fraternity to justify his actions. But stories of state brutality—as spelt out in Outlook last week—pit the intellectuals against Chidambaram.

Vara Vara Rao: Incorrigible Optimist

A news item in The Hindushan Times has Vara Vara Rao, the revolutionary writer, saying that Lalgarh is the last hope amid the disaster in Sri Lanka and the disappointing developments of Nepal revolution.

He says,"I support the Maoists because of my conviction and no government can bar me from adopting any belief."