India Behind The Lens (News Centre)

Naxalbari is a place in West Bengal where the idea of Naxalism in India was parturitated in 1967. Naxalites are militant communist groups which were declared as terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967). The Naxalites oppress in 60 districts of India, mainly in the states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal who claim to fight for the land rights and jobs of the rebuffed agricultural labourers and poor. They follow the strategy of rural rebellion and attack the tribal, police and Government workers.

The first movement against Naxalites was ‘Jan Jagran Abhiyan’, which was ingenerated in 1991 by Mahendra Karma, a local tribal leader. But this movement was collapsed. Later on in the year 2006, “Salwa Judum” a counter-insurgency movement was initiated which was banned by the Hon’ Supreme Court in 2011. With help of Home Ministry, the government of Chhattisgarh launched Salwa Judum (SJ) as self-initiated and peaceful movement in the Dantewada district. Local tribal people constituted the militia of Salwa Judum. However, far away from peace the soldiers of Salwa Judum were armed with guns, lathis, bow & arrows and axes. There was dissolution of law and order in the district as Salwa Judum activist became vigilantes and asserted their right to batter anyone who was suspected to be a Naxalite. Shamefully, there are innumerable unreported cases of murders, loot, and rapes by the Salwa Judum throng. The Government never took the responsibility of the malpractices by Salwa Judum yet they supported, sponsored, encouraged, assured and granted them an extra-legal authority to rule the state. Instead of ameliorating the naxalite movement, Salwa Judum accentuated the ongoing bestiality.

Chhattisgarh is the ganglion of the conflict for the past few years. The evening of 25th May, 2013 turned out to be baleful when the naxalites attacked the Congress rally heading towards Sukma. It is been estimated that approximately 1200 naxalites including women attacked the rally. Consequently, the ambush by the naxalites murdered over two dozens of the innocents including the founder of SJ, Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel and Vidya Charan Shukla. Unlike other Naxalite attacks, this episode of decimation holds some unfathomable facts that need to be explored to uncover the hidden truth.

# The information provided by the intelligence about the likelihood of the attack by naxalites was subjugated by the Congress leaders and they adhered to their decision of carrying out the rally.

# The pre-defined security protocol was not followed by the rally organizers. Is this apathy or a deliberate blunder done to accomplish any conspiracy?

# Former CM of Chhattisgarh and Congress leader, Ajit Jogi and his son were supposed to accompany the rally. But he and his son left the place suddenly two hours before the rally. According to the leader, some urgent work plunged in and he had to rush immediately. Is it a mere fortunate coincidence or collusion in plan?

# It took almost 15 days for Sonia Gandhi to make an official statement after deadly Delhi gang-rape incident but she addressed the media within few minutes after the Naxalite attack. But instead of castigating the incident, she was there to politicize it and criticize the state-BJP government.

The above listed facts are enough to scourge our napping brains. It is futile to say that all these were coincident. The desolating intentions of senior Congress leaders can be made out ostensibly. Naxalites always wanted to take revenge from Mahendra Karma and Congress just paved their way. This incident could have been avoided by following appropriate stratagem but some senior leaders probably preferred to refurbish their vote–bank in the region.

Recently, Gadchiroli Police in Maharashtra has registered a case against a local Congress leader and a medical officer who were trying to supply arms and explosives to Naxals. Police has seized arms, four detonators, 1 kg of gelatin, 10 rounds of AK-47 rifle and medicines.

To negate naxalism, the government has so far set up special police forces and armed the civilians in the name of Salwa Judum. Such feeble measures have really questioned the concern of our sleeping government towards the countrymen. Also, it raises the question over unconstitutional remedies taken by the government itself.

Even the Indian Media ignores the naked truth. Instead of unearthing the truth, media snarls the issues with biased information. They only materialize facts when it is about Godhra but blindly ignore all other insurrections. Media wreck up the truth and commercialize their profession out of it. In place of cross questioning the government, the media cover up their flaws.

In the last one decade, government has taken only malicious moves to flare Naxalism. Naxalites have executed hundreds of the innocent people till now where in the government cooked its vote-bank on their pyres. This is the time to wake up and hammer the government for adding only fuel to the fire rather than taking steps to thwart the monstrosity of Naxalism.

Author : Dr Shweta Puri | Follow the writer twitter.com/DrShwetaPuri