Ram Dayal Munda, a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC), which was reconstituted recently, is acknowledged as the most prominent tribal academician and intellectual in his state. Born in 1939 at Diuri village in Ranchi district of Jharkhand, Munda has been a musician, anthropologist, linguist, development activist and, of late, politician as well. He obtained a Master’s degree in anthropology from Ranchi University and went on to do his PhD in linguistics at University of Chicago.

He taught for 10 years at University of Minnesota before returning to India in 1981 to establish a regional and tribal language department at Ranchi University, where he served as the vice-chancellor from 1986 to 1988. He is regarded as a spiritual leader of the successful movement for separate statehood for Jharkhand. Munda joined the Congress party in 2004 and contested the 2009 assembly elections from the Tamar constituency. He became a Rajya Sabha member in March this year as one of the nominees of the president. He also heads the Tribal Advisory Council of Jharkhand, a constitutional body.

In an exclusive conversation with Trithesh Nandan, Munda spoke about the NAC’s deliberations, the government’s seeming ineptitude in its handling of Maoists, corruption in Jharkhand and his agenda for development of his state.

Edited excerpts:

How did you come to be appointed as a member of the reconstituted National Advisory Council?
I was away in a remote village of Ranchi district, overseeing some developmental projects, in early June when, to my pleasant surprise, I received a phone call from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself. He offered me the membership of NAC which I accepted then and there, even though, frankly, I did not know much about the work of this body. I also found myself wondering why the NAC would want me.

So did you accept the offer because the prime minister himself called you? Did you have occasion to work with the prime minister earlier as well?
I came to know Dr Singh in the early 1990s when he was the finance minister. Those were the times when the Jharkhand movement was in full swing. I met him a couple of times to demand more central funds for the areas that came to form the new state. 

By the way, I had had a pleasant surprise in March 2010 too when the prime
minister called me personally to offer me the Rajya Sabha seat. I was then coming out of Kolkata airport and it took me a few
minutes to realise that the prime minister was trying to contact me.

What exactly did you know about the NAC when you got the offer to become a member?
I did not know much except that such a body existed under the chairpersonship of Sonia Gandhi. After that phone call, I learnt more about the NAC from close friends. I then prepared myself for the first meeting on June 10.

How did this first meeting go?
The first meeting was introductory and loosely structured. Each member was given five-six minutes to speak; I raised the issue of absence of development and the problem of Naxalism in tribal areas. I made the point that Naxalites are our own people and you can’t solve the problem by waging war against them. However, if we need to counter those who are trying to overthrow democracy, then we must have the same sincerity, planning and intensity that they have. We also discussed the Food Security Bill, communal violence and other issues of governance.

How do you view the genesis of the left-wing extremism? Where is the state lacking in its response to the situation?
The current violent manifestation of Naxalism is linked to the fact that our growth has not been inclusive and there is a lot of resentment against the government. Tribals do have land but they do not have assured supply of food and other basic necessities; tribal areas also don’t have roads. Government officials do not go to these areas. Naxals have occupied this vacuum. I have been working recently at village Kurchudih in Ranchi district, where you see absolutely no development except an open-air primary school and a hand pump for drinking water. I recently got a road constructed there.

It is not that development can’t reach these areas, but, unfortunately, government officials themselves are a big hurdle. At Kurchudih, the local BDO, to my disbelief, tried to obstruct my effort to get a road built. There was no opposition from the red brigade or local people. The BDO even considered lodging an FIR against me. Fortunately, the district collector was very helpful.
I told the PM that if that attitude did not change, the government would continue to lose ground to the Naxals.  I told him that the government was indeed losing this battle.

The Naxals work 24 hours a day and our security forces work effectively for only eight hours. We need to assess their strength and evolve our strategy.

You must also empower people, which is not happening. Good governance is not happening. In fact, government has to integrate the planning of these areas in an honest way.

The NAC is generally seen as a super cabinet. Do you share this perception?
I don’t think it is appropriate to brand the NAC as a super cabinet. It has become an important body in formulation of policy by virtue of the fact that Sonia Gandhi heads it. A country as big as India cannot be run only by the government. It would be better to say that the NAC is an interface between civil society and government. My only concern is: NAC’s decisions should be implemented and not just remain in the records of its meetings.  

What made you join politics at what many would consider a late stage in life?
I have become more involved in politics during the last six years. I joined the Congress party in 2004, having realised that development was not reaching the people even after the formation of Jharkhand. It was not easy to join the Congress party because local leaders were against my entry. They knew I would do my brand of developmental politics. I have carried on despite these local Congressmen. Finally,I got the ticket to contest the Tamar assembly seat in 2009, which I lost. 

You have always wielded considerable influence in your region. So why did you feel the need to plunge into active politics?
Because of my total dissatisfaction with the way things turned out after the creation of Jharkhand. Corruption has ruined the state. As a spiritual leader of the Jharkhand movement, it is disheartening to see the leaders we prepared not having the commitment, dedication and farsightedness to take the state forward. Now the state leaders are committed only to their own good. Shibu Soren also got trapped in corporate culture.

So I thought: Let me also give politics a try to help people out of their misery.

You have an important duty to perform in the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) as well. What is your agenda there?
I was appointed the head of the TAC of Jharkhand in the first week of June. I have to pay more attention to the TAC than NAC. It’s a challenging job because you are accountable to the local people. Various chief ministers of Jharkhand have ruined the TAC by imposing their narrow agenda on it. I have a plan to revive the TAC by incorporating the people’s agenda. We will call a larger meeting of the TAC where every village head will be invited to share his or her experience. My aim is to empower the local people so that they are involved in their own development.

When I met governor MOH Farook, who took charge in June, I told him to take steps to hold panchayat elections as soon as possible. I also demanded reviewing the Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for mining and industrial projects that have been signed so far and the alleged misuse of central aid.

At 70, you have clearly set youself several goals to accomplish. What are your immediate priorities?
I am satisfied with my personal achievements but not with the state of affairs in Jharkhand. I became a Rajya Sabha member without spending a single penny; I became the virtual chief minister of Jharkhand by being appointed the head of the TAC. Now I want to live up to the expectations of the people of Jharkhand and contribute a lot to their benefit.