Naxal Series: Salwa Judum Divides Adivasis

Rajesh Ramachandran
NDTV Transcript
Friday, July 28, 2006 (Dantewada):
Its brother versus brother in the forest villages of Chhattisgarh. With the creation of Salwa Judum and its special police officers to take on the Maoists, the violence in Naxal-hit districts has only increased.It has pitted adivasis against each other.

The tension is palpable on the Sukhma - Konta high way in Dantewada. A different war is being waged here where aggressor and victim are both adivasis.

Here, 31 adivasis had their throats slit when Maoists attacked the Salwa Judam camp on July 16. Large parts of this camp at Errabore were burnt and the police station and CRPF post in the vicinity were no protection.

The blood letting between the Maoists and the Salwa Judam began in these forests a year ago, with the creation of Salwa Judum, a peace campaign by Opposition leader Mahendra Karma to counter Maoist violence.

Under Karma's leadership, the state government hired adivasis and made them Special Police Officers or SPOs for Rs 2500 a month and armed them. They in turn lead the security forces into the forests, bringing villagers into camps near police stations.

Government support

Supported by the government, Karma succeeded in bringing over 45,000 forest villagers into 17 camps spread across Dantewada. This, he sees, is the only way to wean villagers away from Maoist influence."

The Nagas, CRPF, BSF; they have not been invited to Chhattisgarh state to be fed. If they do what they have to, the Salwa Judum is not responsible. They allege that the police goons and we are fighting them together. What else can they say? This is their lie," said Mahendra Karma, Opposition leader, Chhattisgarh.

The Maoists had disturbed the traditional village hierarchy, barring headmen from polygamy and disempowering them.

Karma, the traditional headman of several villages has chosen another feudal head to lead the biggest camp Dornapal. Soyam Erra is from a family of traditional mukhiyas."Earlier the police party used to go inside the forests but only to get killed. What did they know of the forests? Now our Special Police Officers go along with the force and we show them Naxal hideouts and we attack them," said Soyam Erra, Camp head.

Erra and his SPOs are controlled by the police and outsiders from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere who have for generations settled on roadside villages.

Terrorised villagers

Some SPOs are accused of gang raping woman and terrorising villagers who are neither Maoists nor rich farmers but just victims.

"The Salwa Judum told us that when the Army comes you would be killed. If you remain in the forests you would be beaten up and limbs broken. But if you join Salwa Judum it would be better for you. We were threatened to join Salwa Judum," said a villager.

"That's what happened to everyone. We were all herded into these camps. But now Naxals say they would kill us if we remain here with Salwa Judum. We have been badly caught in between," the villager added.

This is probably the only place where people have refugees in their own land. If they remain in their villages they would be termed Maoists and targeted by the police and the Salwa Judum.If they come into the camps they would become victims of the Maoists. This state of civil war only seems to get worse everyday.