Book

War and Politics

Author: Gautam Navalkha

 180  225 20% off

Categories: Current Affairs, Political Science
Year January 2014
Pages VIII+184
Binding PB
Size
ISBN 9789380677545

 

This book attempts to understand the significance of war, to look at revolutionary warfare which the Communist party of India(Maoist) describe as the Protracted people’s War. It dispels commonly held misconceptions about the place of war in society and distinguishes revolutionary warfare from other forms of war. Indian scholarship on war and peace is patchy. The absence of violence is seen as peace,but the definition of violence overlooks structural violence practiced by the State. So peace in an internal war situation merely becomes restoration of the status quo.
Upon interrogation we understand what the war does to the State, its institutions, and the impact it has on the people. When we analyse the Maoists’ war, we learn how it progresses and how its expansion is stymied due to its own shortcomings. We realize how important their warfare is for freeing people from the double yoke of exploitation and oppression. It reminds us that for all the horror associated with them, wars have often breathed life into deadlocked situations and helped free human beings from enslavement.

Contents
Preface
In the Beginning There Was War
War against People
‘Vein of Prudery”
Revolutionary Warfare
Monopoly over Violence

Counter-Insurgency Doctrine
Escalating War
People’s War
Challenges of marking Territories
When Politics Is Not in Command
When Simmer Turns into Boil
Limits of Armed Struggle
Blame Game or Learning from Mistakes
Other Forms of Resistance
Prospects and Problems
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Endnotes
Annexure: Principled versus Piecemeal Approach

Gautam Navalkha

About the author: Gautam Navlakha is a civil liberties activist working for the non-funded Peoples union for Democratic Rights(Delhi) and was associated with Economical and Political Weekly for more than three decades. He is author of Days and Nights in the Heartland of Rebllion (Penguin Books India, 2012) and lives in New Delhi.

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