Karma sons admit: Papa erred with Salwa Judum

“Every movement involves some mistakes. It was Papa’s mistake to take the support of the Raman Singh government,” says Chhavindra Karma,the second of four sons,in reply to a question. “The police involvement changed the movement’s character. Since he led Salwa Judum,he is the one will always remain associated with the mistakes.”

His father had been termed a “BJP agent” and “Raman Singh’s 13th minister”. Chhavindra says,“It was a people’s movement,successful in the initial stages. But it failed later. Whoever got caught in the crowd suffered.”

The nature of Salwa Judum has been a running debate among security forces,the BJP government and activists. While the first claim it was a spontaneous movement against Maoists,the last say it was fully funded and supported by the administration. The remarks by Karma’s sons mark the first instance of the family admitting it was a failure.

“We admit all our mistakes. We thought by taking the support of the government,it (Maoist movement) will end. It only increased further,” says eldest son Deepak Karma,also a nagar palika president in Dantewada.

The Supreme Court has declared recruitment of SPOs during Salwa Judum illegal. Significantly,after the abduction of Sukma collector Alex Paul Menon last year,Raman Singh had publicly denounced Salwa Judum and said “Salwa Judum never existed”. Karma had then accused Singh of betraying the movement.

His sons now admit the focus on armed conflict was among the failures. “The movement could have been used to usher in development. When lakhs of people are following you,you could have taken roads,health facilities and education inside. Maoists would not have been able to resist these. But it did not happen,” says Deepak,adding the shape it took did not help tribals.

At least 50,000 tribals were displaced during Salwa Judum,when advancing SPOs forced interior villagers to live in temporary urban camps. The strategy was to clear the forests and launch a final assault on Maoists. It backfired as these camps brought more discontent and violence.

Making a promise that rejects the Salwa Judum strategy,Deepak says,“If our government comes to power,we will rehabilitate the tribals displaced. We will close down all relief camps and facilitate the return of tribals to the villages they once lived in.”

In fact,Mahendra Karma too had nuanced his stand towards Maoists. Three months before his death,he had told The Indian Express that Salwa Judum had not gone the way he had wanted. And after the Ehadsameta encounter in May when eight tribals were killed by security forces,Karma said: “Let Maoists grow,not a single tribal should die in an encounter.”

Days later,he joined the list of many members of his family killed by Maoists.