The backlash

Salwa Judum's mobilisation of people against naxalites triggers large-scale violence and exodus of people in Chhattisgarh.

PURNIMA S. TRIPATHI in Raipur

THE Chhattisgarh government has suspended Salwa Judum, launched as a people's awareness campaign to oppose naxalites, in the wake of the killing of several of its activists in Dantewada district and the spurt in naxalite attacks on civilians. The movement had become controversial after the exodus of tribal people from villages because of extremist.

The latest atrocity came to light on April 29, when dismembered bodies of 15 villagers were discovered on the main highway and jungle roads in the district. Most of those killed were special police officers who formed part of Salwa Judum. They were kidnapped, along with 37 others, from Manikonta village a week earlier. The villagers had been residing in a relief camp at Dornapal and had gone to their village to get their belongings and meet their family members. The freed villagers were tortured and warned not to join Salwa Judum.

Chief Minister Raman Singh told Frontline in an interview that the naxalite retaliation and the resultant exodus of villagers had become a matter of concern for the State government because providing protection and accommodation to the fleeing people was a difficult task. The Chief Minister said that Mahendra Karma, the Congress Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and the leader of the movement, had been told to "take it easy for the time being". Raman Singh said: "The large number of killings is unfortunate. We need to take a re-look at the security aspect of those involved in Salwa Judum. Now we realise that the modality needs to be changed. Villagers should not be exposed to naxalite attacks like this and for this we have asked Karma not to organise huge rallies and public meetings. We have asked him not to identify the villagers who are associated with Salwa Judum so that they do not become targets of naxalites. I have told Karma to organise the movement in such away that even while cooperating with us, the villagers would continue to stay in their villages and lead normal lives."

The Chief Minister said that the government was surprised by the exodus of villagers, but added that it was a sign of their desperation. He said: "They are so terrorised by the naxalites that they prefer to live like refugees in camps rather than in their village homes. Now it is our duty to reassure them of protection and proper rehabilitation." Raman Singh said if people were now turning away from naxalites and looking up to the government for security and development, it was a positive signal. Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam agreed that Salwa Judum activists lacked security, which made them susceptible to naxalite attacks. "Once we have ensured adequate protection to the Salwa Judum activists, hopefully the people will resume the movement," he told Frontline. Netam said that in April alone 15,000 villagers had fled their homes in Dantewada district and taken shelter in relief camps. He said: "There were 45,000 villagers in 27 relief camps until a month ago, now there are 60,000 of them."

The exodus has put the government in a difficult situation as it is hardly equipped to provide full security to the villagers. "Tell me, how does one provide security to 5,000 to 10,000 people living like refugees in relief camps?" asks K.P.S. Gill, the newly appointed Security Adviser to the Chief Minister. Gill has been espe<147,2,1>cially brought in by the government to evolve a strategy to deal with the naxalite problem and "present the State's case before the Centre in a more credible manner", Raman Singh said. Although Gill is still studying the situation, he thinks it is the result of "years of criminal neglect of a problem that should have been handled with a firm hand in the beginning itself".

No one in Chhattisgarh, however, knows how the situation can be redeemed now. With 60,000 people having become refugees in their own homeland, a police force which is hardly equipped or trained to deal with the problem and lack of resources acting as a major handicap, it remains to be seen how the State government will handle the problem. Moreover, senior police officials claimed that the Centre's response was "lukewarm". "There have been times when we shouted for help, like when the NMDC [National Mineral Development Corporation] depot was looted. We kept shouting for air support to help track the naxalites, to no avail. We were left high and dry," said a senior police officer in charge of anti-naxalite operations. "We are a new State, we do not have the required resources. Although the Centre's attitude is positive, we still have a long way to go," said Netam.

This probably explains the near-total absence of State police personnel in the naxalite-affected areas. During a visit to Dantewada district, covering a distance of over 1,000 km, this correspondent did not see even a single State policeman on duty, though some Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were seen patrolling in the jungle. According to rough estimates, in order to police the naxalite-affected areas properly the State needs over one lakh police personnel, but has only 34,000 in all, of whom approximately 10,000 are deployed for anti-naxalite operations in the Bastar region. Director-General of Police (DGP) O.P. Rathore agreed that lack of personnel was a major handicap. He said: "We only have six battalions of the CRPF, one battalion of the Naga force and eight battalions of the State police to man an area of 1,35,000 sq km. Jammu and Kashmir has 144 battalions [70 of the CRPF, 20 of the Border Security Force and 54 of the Rashtriya Rifles] to man an area of 55,000 sq km, and Manipur has 48 battalions to man 22,000 sq km." He said: "But now we are taking some steps to motivate the forces, like giving the man insurance cover of Rs.10 lakhs for duty in naxalite-affected areas, besides an ex-gratia of Rs.5 lakhs and Rs.1 lakh from the benevolent fund." Then, he says, new recruitments have begun, jungle warfare training is being given to the police personnel, and developmental activities have been initiated in the naxalite-affected areas.

The DGP, who has participated in peace missions with United Nations forces in Bosnia, believes that policing alone will not be able to solve the problem. Socio-political initiatives have to be taken simultaneously, and in this people's movements such as Salwa Judum can play a positive role, he said. Rathore said: "Salwa Judum is the panacea for us. But having mobilised people against naxalites, now it is our duty to provide them protection and instil faith in them that the police force, which is the most visible arm of state power, is there to support them." Besides, he says, the naxalites need to be made to understand that killing innocent poor people cannot be justified by any ideology.

But all this is easier said than done. A visit to the naxalite-affected areas makes it clear that the situation has gone out of the State government's control. It is becoming difficult for it to manage the huge mobilisation and the people are paying the price. Senior police officers in charge of anti-naxalite operations agree that in Dantewada district the Salwa Judum movement has peaked prematurely. "In their haste to take credit, those leading the movement rushed into mobilising huge crowds without realising the consequences and without checking whether the State police was ready to provide protection to them," said a senior police officer. The DGP agrees that at least in Dantewada, the movement was "premature" resulting in heavy casualties. But he added that it was good that people were now coming out openly against the naxalites, undeterred by the killings. "This is a good opportunity for us to win over people to our side and find a solution to the naxalite problem," Rathore said.

One, however, cannot help wondering whether the State government has made the unarmed villager a pawn in its fight against naxalism.