Struggling to keep sanity

“How Can You Do This To Your Own People?”

Running into the jungle, Madakam Idma, whom fellow villagers desc­ribe as a shy, reclusive man of 20 seasons, must have realised he had forgotten to pack food needed to survive for some weeks. He ran back and never made it back He was reportedly shot dead by police the next day. His body has not been found yet.

That was on November 9, when security forces raided Tatemargu village in the Konta block of Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh.

When news of the imminent raid reached the village, most ran into the jungle with whatever they could carry. They returned only when they heard that the forces had left. To find burning homes, missing food and livestock Those unfortunate ones who had remained in the village, unable to run, told stories of harassment. Even more unfortunate were the four who were taken away to the Kistaram police station.

According to news received at Tatemargu from villages around Kistaram, the four from Tatemargu along with two from Doghpar village and one from Pallodi

village were reportedly shot dead on November 10 near Kistaram police station. Madakam Idma  was among them.

A few villagers went to Kistaram police station to recover the bodies and were told the bodies had been taken away. The graves of these seven people have not been found.

Tatemargu lost much more in the raid. Kalmu Soma, who has around 30 acres, lost 60 quintals of rice, a solar panel, its battery, a motorcycle and his home. His home was among the 60 allegedly burnt down that day. Sodi Sukda lost 40 quintals of rice and a house of cement and brick that took him five years to build. Hoongi Madkam’s house and her produce were intact but she lost her husband, Oonga Madkam. Sukda Raja lost his brother, Dodhi Raja.

Maoists visiting the village would tell them, “These things happen in war”. Those that had remained in the village that day told others the things that happen in a war.

The raid started around 11 am, there were more than 500 men, and they had a real picnic. They killed the goats, chicken and the ducks, and cooked them. They estimate about 10 to 15 goats and 10 ducks were eaten.

Some of the villagers were taken to a monolith painted in red, built to commemorate a fallen dalam (a Maoist fighting unit) member Chutey Khoja, shot dead in Bijapur last year. They started to question the villagers. Who built it? Why is Comrade Chutey Amar Rahe written on it? When they feigned ignorance out of fear, they were beaten. They eventually confessed that Maoists had asked them to build the memorial.

Around this time, some security personnel started to misbehave with the six women in their custody. They tried to cut the hair of Jogi Madvi, 18, with a knife. The witnesses, eventually set free, said a senior adhikari (officer) in uniform, came to her rescue. “How can you do this to your own people?” the officer had asked, snatching the knife and throwing it away. The same officer had also refused the food cooked for the ‘picnic’.

The raid ended at 5 pm and the security forces camped in the jungle with the four villagers from Tatemargu and two from Doghpar. The next day, they entered Pallodi and captured one villager. Somewhere on the way to Kistaram all seven were reportedly shot dead.

— imissyahoo@gmail.com

What is Tatemargu like?

Tatemargu was settled 50 years ago by Muria villagers from Sukma who brought their techniques of cultivation from Jagdalpur. The abundance of resources made Tatemargu ideal for cultivation. They had ample water, and they have never used pesticides.

Reportedly, agriculture has never failed, even though cultivation has all but ceased in the majority of Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh — ever since the inception of the Salwa Judum. It is unofficially described as the most affluent village in the Konta block.

At Tatemargu, long before the Maoists, villagers were at the mercy of forest officials. “To live here, you must bear a few beatings,” the old women of Tatemargu would tell their children.

The Maoists imposed prohibition — restricting the intake of liquor rather than banning it. They also ensured that everyone worked on everyone’s land. Those who drank too much and did little work weren’t allowed more than three acres.

Tatemargu has been left untouched by government influence ever since the Salwa Judum started. Many of Tatemargu’s families have relations at Konta or Sukma, in Salwa Judum camps. Quite a few keep that fact a secret for fear of retribution by the Maoists. They seldom meet one another and that too only clandestinely.

“When Muria kill Muria, who benefits?” asks Poodiyan Lakhma referring to Salwa Judum. He was in Andhra Pradesh when he got news of the raid. His three children and his young wife escaped unhurt, but his home was burnt to the ground.

Jharkhand police gear up

“It is actually a war of intelligence being fought without intelligence,” is how an Inspector-General of Jharkhand police had described the state’s battle against Maoism. The police intelligence gathering system is in shambles, and contrary to the brave face officers publicly put on about getting local support, almost every cop involved in anti-Naxal operations says, that there is no help from the villagers.

In terms of equipment too, the police has everything. AK 47s, Insas rifles and the SLRs. Every police station in the Maoist affected areas, 18 out of the 24 districts in the state, has bullet-proof vehicles. There are anti-landmine vehicles in the all severely affected places.

He says one of the lesser known aspects of the Andhra Pradesh police’s relative success against the Maoist is their beefed-up intelligence. “They have sleeper cells of  4-5 men that are taking care of specific targets. They will be on the target’s trail and follow them wherever they go, from Bihar to Orissa. We also need something like that,” he said.

On the other fronts though the police have done well. Senior police officers point to the active recruitment drive since 2001, which increased force strength from 33,000 to more than 56,000 by the end of 2007. In terms of equipment too, they have everything. AK 47s, INSAS rifles and the SLRs. Every police station in the Maoist affected areas, 18 out of the 24 districts in the state, has bullet-proof vehicles. There are anti-land mines vehicles in the all severely affected places. The police station security has been beefed up and now they resemble fortress with watchtowers, light machine guns and mortars.

Police stations also have motorcycle patrols for interiors areas known as Quick Response Teams.

For the Assembly polls, the Jharkhand police have requested 250 companies of Central Security forces, which means 25,000 additional troops, said V H Deshmukh, IG and spokesperson of Jharkhand police. Sources say that more than half of them will stay back after the polls for anti-Maoist operations. The state has its own Special Task Force called the Jharkahnd Jaguars and also 12 battalions of the Jharkhand Armed Police. On August 11, the Jharkhand government decided to set up three counter-insurgency schools at Netarhat,

Hazaribag and Latehar at a cost of Rs 1 crore each.

According to the home ministry, more than 800 fatalities in left-wing extremism in Jharkhand between 2004-2008. Till July 2009, 20 most wanted Maoists had been killed in 61 encounters, former police spokesperson S G Pradhan has been quoted as saying. There have been 228 Maoist attacks till July this year and 261 have been arrested during that period. Worst incidents this year: In June, 13 Special Forces personnel were killed in Bokaro district. In April, seven BSF personnel were killed when their bus was blown up in Latehar district.