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Journalism of Courage
After every Naxalite strike, each more daring than the previous, the Chhattisgarh government puts on a brave face, holding up the state-backed Salva Judum campaign as a crusade that will pay in the long run. Hundreds of people have been killed in the confrontation and on the ground, the campaign is taking a blind turn 8212; of retribution that is pitting tribal against tribal.
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Kyndiah warned of the consequences last week, suggesting a rethink on the Salva Judum strategy which, he said, was turning into a 8216;8216;fratricidal war8217;8217;. What happened in the Judum8217;s Errabor camp in Konta tehsil on July 18 has left little doubt of what is to follow. A tribal army comprising hundreds of men, women and children many below 10 years of age, armed with anything from automatic guns to bows and arrows swooped down on the relief camp, mercilessly attacking the inmates, all fellow tribals. Women and children were not spared 8212; among the 32 dead were a one-year-old and a three-year-old.
So far, the Naxalites aren8217;t known to have killed women or children. The Judum challenge is becoming the story of an anti-insurgency campaign going wrong, pushing the left extremists to desperation.
8216;8216;Just look at how barbarically they have killed the two children. That shows their real face,8217;8217; says Errabor Judum leader Muka Soyam. Muka belongs to the Dorla tribe which lives mostly by the roadside as against the Muriyas who live deep in the forests. He denies his tribe is siding with the Judum. 8216;8216;We don8217;t need the Judum for anything. We want development,8217;8217; the Dorlas say. The Muriyas also deny they have Naxalite sympathisers among them. 8216;8216;There is no truth in this. All tribals are one,8217;8217; brushes off chief Judum protagonist and Congress leader Mahendra Karma, a Muriya himself.
Those caught in between point out that the casualties have only risen. 8216;8216;Whatever it may be, ultimately all those getting killed are poor tribals, isn8217;t it?8217;8217; says a teacher handling a relief operation for the Judum campaign. But criticism isn8217;t welcome within Judum ranks and the campaign being a state-sponsored one, most prefer anonymity.
Incidentally, many Judum leaders are schoolteachers. K Madhukarrao, who started the movement at Karkeli, is also a teacher. And even as critics are emerging, the campaign has found widespread and vociferous support too 8212; among its active votaries are local news correspondents.
For now, though, the Judum is fraught with troubles of its own even as it goes to battle everyday.
Ever since the first Judum gathering was reported at Karkeli village in Bijapur on June 4, 2005, 17 camps housing more than 50,000 tribals have come up in and around Bijapur and Konta. In 35-km belt from Dornapal to Konta, about 25,000 Judum activists live in four camps. The Dornapal camp is the biggest, with more than 15,000 inmates. Law and order, here, is a question. Three months ago, a landmine blast killed 27 people in the same belt. Kidnappings, killings and Naxalite raids are routine.
Life in the Judum belt has been crippled. Education has come to a standstill. Last year, the government promoted the affected students to the next class. This year, too, educational institutions are unlikely to open. The layout of the camps is a tough ask for effective security. At Errabor, for example, people have been housed in disjointed padas spread over a kilometre, making an effective response almost impossible in the event of an attack.
8216;8216;I have decided to shift to a safer place,8217;8217; says Nandkishore Gandhi, a trader from Dornapal. 8216;8216;This place has become hell.8217;8217; The huge surge in the village population could fetch him more business but Gandhi says, 8216;8216;Zinda rahenge toh kamaenmge na We can earn only if we stay alive.8217;8217;
Security agencies admit there8217;s a problem. 8216;8216;We have to improve security. We need better intelligence. Fencing the area could be one way,8217;8217; says Director General of Police OP Rathod. No solution, however, will work in the absence of coordination among police, Judum security trainees and the CRPF.
On Tuesday, there were just seven policemen when the tribal army of hundreds struck. 8216;8216;We are only eight here,8217;8217; explains assistant sub-inspector Narad Vanjare.
The advantage is with the Naxalites. The Maoists cleverly chose to attack the weak police-end. The CRPF camp is about a kilometre away and before the jawans could make it, the Naxalite army had run down two padas. 8216;8216;CRPF men didn8217;t rush fast enough,8217;8217; say inmates who ran for cover.
DIG Subramaniam8217;s counter: 8216;8216;If we hadn8217;t, the death toll would have been higher. And the Naxalites also lost at least 10 of their comrades.8217;8217; Besides, 8216;8216;we have been posted here for anti-Naxalite operations. Security is a joint responsibility of the Judum SPOs and the state police8217;8217;.
The Judum leadership, buoyed by the initial success, is in danger of over-confidence. On Tuesday, its leaders were enjoying a liquor party following SPO Nariya Soyam8217;s marriage. Nariya himself received 65 burns in the arson by Naxalites. He is recovering at a hospital in Khammam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Its response the day after is strident as ever. 8216;8216;The Judum will continue. We will take revenge. We will wipe them out,8217;8217; says Ismail Khan, an SPO whose fianceacute;e Kawasi Dule, a 23-year old SPO, was kidnapped and brutally killed by Naxalites on Tuesday.
There is another landmine the Judum is facing. Maoists have penetrated the Judum ranks, gathering intelligence and helping their colleagues accurately plan attacks. Besides, forcing villagers to join the campaign has created more Naxalite sympathisers. 8216;8216;That8217;s our biggest headache,8217;8217; admits Mohammad Rafique. 8216;8216;Discontent is evident among many of the SPOs who have been promised but not yet given Rs 1,500 monthly salary.8217;8217;
An SPO cuts in: 8216;8216;We have to do a lot of strenuous, life-threatening legwork, but the assured money hasn8217;t come for the past five months.8217;8217;
One year down the line, Salva Judum is beginning to show up the lack of planning that should have gone into a people8217;s anti-insurgency campaign in the tribal heartland. Chief Minister Raman Singh has already been called by the Centre to explain the state8217;s strategy. An activist associated with tribal welfare long before the Judum strikes a grim note: 8216;8216;Clearly, Salva Judum is proving to be a knee-jerk campaign, where no thought has been spared for the dreadful social consequences that await the tribals as a whole in south Bastar.8217;8217;
We don8217;t know who the real Judum activists are and who are Naxalites disguised as Judum activists.
8226; Mohammad Rafique
Salwa Judum activist
I came here with the Judum procession, not on my own. I want to go back to my village, but if I go, I will be killed. Naxalites are no do-gooders, but there are many villages in the interior still staunchly with them.
An errand boy for Judum leaders
We will end this war only after wiping out Naxalites.
8226; Muka Soyam
Judum leader at Errabor
It8217;s not our responsibility to provide security. We are here for anti-Naxalite operations.
8226; CRPF DIG NG Subramaniam
Why use poor tribals? You can8217;t win a war when your army is reluctant to fight it.
8226; A teacher discharging Judum responsibilities as govt representative
I am planning to quit this place lock, stock and barrel. Nobody knows what will happen.
8226; Nandkishore Gandhi, trader from Dornapal Judum village
Naxalites have spoilt everything here. We are determined to teach them a lesson.
8226; A village teacher actively associated with Judum
We don8217;t know what to do. We feel helpless. The police and the CRPF aren8217;t providing proper security.
8226; Madkam Gangi
An old woman in the Errabor Judum camp
