Tribals- the victims of Maoist violence
The successful elimination of top Maoist leadership including their General Secretary Basav Raju has sent shockwaves through the Maoist Party. The Shock and Awe Offensive has destroyed the impregnable ‘Red Corridor’ which once extended from Pashupati to Tirupati . For more than two decade it was like a Red Dagger slicing through Indian heartland . A strong Political Will accompanied by effective police action has neutralised the most serious threat to internal security. Strong political will can give magical results .
But this is no time for euphoria or complacency. Only the armed Maoist ,the PLGA is paralysed, the Urban Maoist leadership is fully intact, the violent Maoist ideology is alive and the Maoist virus is not dead .
It has to be remembered that this violent communist problem has been a menace since the 1940’s their Party names kept changing but the violent ideology resulting in bloodbath remained a big problem in different parts of the country. In the late 1940s it was the Telangana agitation which lasted for about four years, approximately 4000 people died during this bloody agitation. In the late 1960s & early 70s it was the Naxalbari & Srikakulam movement which resulted in in the deaths of thousands of people. In the 1990s it was the MCC in Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa and the PWG in under Andhra Pradesh which perpetrated such brutal violence that it shocked the whole country. During the two decades of 2000s these two organisations merged together to form the CPI (Maoist) Party. this terrorist organisation became the single most serious threat to India’s internal security . It had a well trained standing army of thousands of cadres, their control extended from Pashupati to Tirupati , it was rightly called as the ‘ Red Corridor’ . The situation was so pathetic that the ‘State’ had seized to exist in the red corridor. On this background the recent success of the Indian security forces is most commendable .
It is pertinent to note that all these years the extreme left wing terrorist have always used the tribals living in the remote areas as foot-soldiers or mere ‘Pawns’. In the leftist parlance they are ‘useful idiots’. In various parts of the world, during different times, the communist have used and misused numerous types of ‘useful idiots’ . Manipulating and misusing the tribals as mere ‘ Cannon Fodder ‘ has been going on for decades. At a very young age the Maoist indoctrinated the tribal youths with the hateful ideology then they were trained to kill or die. At the behest of the Maoist they killed thousands of fellow tribals and in the process they themselves died at some stage of this violent moment .
In the early stages, in the 1960s and 70s the communist used a catchy slogan “Land to the Tiller” in the Srikakulam uprising the local ‘Sawara’ & ‘ Jatapu’ tribes fell prey to this slogan and under the leadership of the maoist launched a violent struggle. In the process hundreds of tribals died and their families were destroyed. Similar tactics were used by the Maoist during the Naxalbari uprising. Using this same slogan “Land to the Tiller” the Maoist Party trapped the local Santhal, Oraon &Rajabhanshi tribals . These tribals were used as mere cannon -fodder to kill or die. Innumerable tribal families were destroyed. the tribals gained nothing but lost everything . In the recent past the ‘Madia’ tribe had to suffer the same fate in the Bastar region. To trap these tribes ,the Maoist coined a new attractive slogan “Jal Jungle Jamin’ . Since 1980s, the Telugu Maoist embedded themselves in the Madia tribe, they indoctrinated their youths, poisoned their minds and trained them to kill their own fellow tribals who did not accept the Maoist orders. For the last 40 years these Maoist trained tribals had been mercilessly and brutally killing their fellow tribals . In this Maoist initiated and instigated violent movement thousands of security forces personnel ,civilians and Maoist cadres died. More than 95% of the dead are tribals Just a small example of Gadchiroli district makes the whole picture very clear. In Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, from 2004 to 2024, the number of
1)tribal civilians killed by Maoist —254
2) tribal Maoist killed in encounters– 161
it means that total tribals killed in the Maoist violence — 415
…. it is very important to note that during this same period,the number of Telugu Maoist carders who were killed in encounters is only 6 (SIX).
It is very clear from the above data that the Telugu Maoist Top Leaders have fooled the innocent tribals is in the Bastar region. These Telugu top leaders send the tribals on the frontline to die while they themselves hide behind the tribals and remain safe. This is how the Maoist use the tribals as cannon-fodder. They are simply pushed to kill or die. The Maoist turned the simple and innocent tribals into ‘Killing Machines’ , the once peaceful tribal area was converted into a ‘war zone’ . The Maoist did not allow the government to build roads and bridges, destroyed the existing roads as there were no roads the tribal area became totally inaccessible no roads, no schools, no colleges, no hospitals, no development of any sort,the tribals gained nothing but lost everything, even their lives. In their desperate effort to implement their insane ideology the Maoist misused and exploited the tribals for a very long time.
Fortunately, this situation is now fast changing the tribal youth are now fully aware of the insidious and diabolical designs of the Maoist terrorist .The government has launched a two pronged strategy ‘Security and Development’ for the Maoist affected areas. Strong security measures and sincere development efforts are showing magical results. There is tribal awakening, Maoist support-base has eroded, the red corridor is shattered, maoist violence has reduced and a conducive atmosphere has been created for the development of these remote backward areas . Now it is expected that all the government agencies would embark on a massive development campaign. Roads, schools, colleges need to be built, dispensaries and hospitals are urgently needed, agriculture has to be boosted, business and industry has to start so as to generate employment. Holistic social & economic development model has to be implemented .
Political leaders must bear in mind that mindlessly handing over tribal lands to ‘Mining Barons’ is not at all a “development model” . It is the primary responsibility of the government in power to provide the basic infrastructure and facilities to its citizens. Government should not ‘Outsource’ development to private corporate companies. This would result in the establishment of a ‘Company Sarkar’ . Only the democratically elected government has the right to govern. Governments must do governance and Business Establishment should do profit earning business. These two spheres are separate and their respective responsibilities are different
Let us hope that better sense shall prevail among all the stakeholders and a new era of peace stability and development is ushered in.
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— Milind Mahajan
(15.6.25)
