Reporter's Diary from Dantewada

15.04.10
1600 hrs, Dantewada, Chattisgarh

Right from the time we set out to leave from Mumbai for Vishakapatnama and then to Dantewada in Chattisgarh we were constantly warned of the place and asked to take care. On the surface everything seems normal but deep in the jungles is where all the action is happening.
The journey into the naxals heartland in Chattisgarh involves a 70 to 80km hike, winding through thick jungle over the mineral-rich Bailadila Hills and on through a number of naxal -controlled villages. While, it was obviously difficult for us to capture those dark tales when we were there nevertheless we managed a bit.

Dantewada:

We crossed the borders of three states (Andhar Pradesh, Orissa and Chattisgarh) to finally enter Dantewada. Ever since we stepped into the district –South Bastar area at around 4 pm in the afternoon that the eerie feeling set in. It is one of the most backward regions and district that I had ever been to in this country. It is a mineral rich resource state and if companies are allowed to do business here, it could probably give a fillip to all-round development in the district. But unfortunately, there has been no concrete development in this place for the last 30 years except for roads.

For the main district town-Dantewada has nothing much. The streets look deserted. We got out of our AC car into scorching heat biting in to our skins to find out if all was ok.. have we come on a wrong day, is there a problem.. all sorts of questions was crossing my mind…Finally on enquiring with a local shopkeeper, he tells us that shops are shut because of a weekly off. Strangely it was not hustling district town. We spotted only few locals on the streets. Found out there was only hotel (Madhuban) tucked away in some corner, no petrol pump, no cinema hall or even a children’s park and no auto rickshaws were visible either. There is one district hospital which has just about 22 doctors for the entire town. Manoj, a local shopkeeper tells us if one meets with an accident or is seriously ill he or she will have to be rushed either to Raipur or Visakapatnam both of which are equidistant from Dantewada.

We decide to go meet the district collector. To our surprise we find this young lady IAS Officer Reena Kangle. She has been posted there for a year now. Amidst all the eeriness she came as a breadth of fresh air. I was surprised to note that in a place where no sane person wants to go, here is this young lady who is the district collector and trying to bring some order in to the place.

She tells us the pathetic situation of the South Bastar region. “This is the most backward regions,” says Kangle. When asked about the hospital she says: “32 specialist doctors’ posts are still vacant here. Nobody is willing to come here.”
Of the 1700 schools in Dantewada, 200 have been blown off by the naxalites in the inner villages and the others have few teachers. “Dantewada is the least literate districts in the entire country just about 25 per cent of the 5.5 lakh population are literate,” says Kangle.
I was amazed to find out that a five year old in the villages of Bastar region or in the villages in Dantewada knows how to blow up an ID bomb or a land mine or even make a tiffin bomb, but they do not know how to write their name or count. Tiffin bombs as we understand from the police authorities are Naxalites greatest strength. These bombs come inside a steel tiffin box and is enough to blow up a jeep.

Moving freely in Dantewada or Kirundul and Bacheli which is about 40 kms from Dantewada main town gathering information was a difficult task. Kirundul and Bacheli is where the iron ore mines are situated.

The silence speaks volumes of intimidation and fear perhaps more from the naxals. The locals are not willing to talk. They do not want to be seen talking to strangers in their town as they would not want to be considered as any kind of informers out of fear of being tortured and killed by the Naxals. Somehow we found our own way to tackle the situation.

Naxals may not be visible to us or even the locals but they make their presence felt by blowing up schools or call for a bandh and disrupt services in the district. They run their own parallel economy and so called government.
The schools are blown up thinking they could become good fortresses for the police forces. In the last year alone they have blown up 12 residential schools building in the central and Southern parts of Dantewada. These are schools for the tribal children in the villages.

What’s surprising is that despite all their atrocities, there are sympathetic voices for these naxalites from educated and well-informed people, who deliberately seem to be ignoring the real menace.

Who are these Naxalites?

A chance meeting with Mahesh Babu (name changed), a surrendered naxalite and who is now a SPO (Special Police Officer) with the state police force brought to the fore the point that the under the garb of alleviating the suffering of the tribal people, their only mission is to loot the rich to buy expensive sophisticated weapons to run their parallel government. None of the money that is being extorted in the name of tax from the local villagers and businessmen is being used for development of the tribals. They are not doing it and they do not want the government to do it either.
“They have their own political agenda. The tribal people’s cause is a façade to cover their evil desires. Most of these naxalite leaders’ kids are studying outside whereas they do not want us tribals to get basic education as well,” Babu says.
From a village in the Bastar region, Babu joined the ranks of the naxalites when he was just 12 years old.
His family comprised of his peasant father, mother, brothers and sister. Babu was brain washed and inducted into the naxal movement in 1993 when the naxalites had come into their hostel building in Dronapal to propagate their movement. They spoke of their ideology by saying that “You cannot end the world’s injustices without stirring a revolution and no revolution happens without bloodying your hands. We are fighting a people’s war – a protracted people’s war.”
Flown by their ideology Babu joined the movement. Like other rebels, he was offered no salary, only the promise of liberation. There were many others like him at the jungle hideout including girls.
He spent three months at a Maoist camp. He was given all the necessary arms training like bow and arrow training, handling of the 12 bore 303 rifle, guerilla tactics; learned how to make and plant bombs, ambush police patrols and attack police posts etc.
By the fourth month, he was ready to embrace the gun and die for the movement. He also rose to the rank of deputy commander and was based in the jungles of Orissa within a year.
“Initially when I got inducted the ideology was to stop the atrocities that the local rich people committed on the adivasi community but later on I realised that the ideology was just a farce. They were actually keen on looting people for their own benefit. Their ideology is wrong. Most work for them including the villagers as they fear for their lives. The Naxalite leaders say they have no desire for money, then why do they themselves run away with the money? What are they struggling for then?
They say this struggle is for establishing their own government. They say they will wipe out the police and set up their own government. That our lives will improve, but I knew that this is untrue. It will never happen.
I then decided to run away and get out of the shackles of the naxalites. In 1996, I got that opportune moment I was waiting for and ran away,” Babu says.

Since that day Babu has been living in constant fear of being killed. His father and two younger brothers have already been killed by the naxalites. And in the recent past Babu himself has been attacked several times. His body is full of cuts and wounds. Babu now tries to save himself and his mother and younger sister. But he says life is better now than what it was in the jungles. He now works for the Chattisgarh police as a Special Police Officer (SPO) and is paid around Rs 3500 a month. He hopes that some day he will be roped in as a permanent employee in the state police force.

These surrendered boys and girls are roped in as special police officer as they are well informed on how these naxalites operate and also know the jungle routes etc.

Mahesh’s account of what the training process entails

We used to wake up at 4 am for PT and drill, followed by breakfast and then the leaders would talk to us about the teachings of Mao and their way of life. After this we would have lunch and two hours rest followed by PT, drill, training and tea.
In the night after dinner we went to the jungle for night training. Later we were sent to a larger camp for training, here we were taught how to draw maps of police stations, how to gherao police posts, how to snatch a rifle from a constable. We were trained by military commanders. On an average 4 to 5 batches get trained there. The routine at all these camps are the same. We are also trained in self defense in case we came under attack.
Everything that these naxals do is much planned. In the camp they give orders and tell you that today you have to kill. If they order you to kill, you have to do so. They allocate the duties during roll-call, you can't be scared, you have to carry out what they tell you.
They don't even give any money for the work they make us do. The commanders keep all the money and sometimes run away with it. Even if you ask them to give you some money they don’t. They get crores of rupees. The leaders don't fight on the ground as we do. All they do is brain wash the tribals and loot the rich villagers and kill all those who oppose them and hold meetings.

Current Situation in Dantewada:

The police authorities along with the district authorities are doing their best to restore peace in the region and also doing their bit to educate the tribal children. There are several ashrams being run for the children who have been orphaned by the naxalites.
One such ashram in the main district town of Dantewada is the state-run Astha Gurukul School which houses 150 kids. Most kids here have seen their parents being killed brutally before their own eyes and they now want to avenge their parents death and for spreading bloodbath in their State.
“We want to get the 6 to 18 year olds out of the clutches of the naxals and educate them,” says Kangle. DSP Sanjay Sharma says
“How to inject an achievement drive in this region is an issue we are trying to tackle,” says SP Amresh Mishra.
Currently, all efforts are currently on to restore peace, law and order in the district town.