Check out the murderous rage on his face!
Check out the hand that has bludgeoned many heads!
Check out the strained forehead that explain his years committed to bloodshed!
When Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh referred to Maoists as being the “single largest threat to the nation”, did he mean this child, whose fingers were brutally chopped off while his family was massacred?
Now, even before this 'Maoist' could be sent in for a narco-analysis, let's understand where he comes from.
Name: Madvi Mukesh
Age: Two years old
Tribe: Muria
Residence: Gompad village, police station Konta, district Dantewada (on the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border)
Family: Maternal grandfather Madvi Barjar (50) – dead; grandmother Madvi Subhi (45) – dead; mother Kartam Kunni (20) – dead; maternal aunt Madi Mooti (8) – dead; father (21).
Mukesh was with his family on the morning of October 1, 2009, when something unusual happened. Several men wearing military fatigues – SPOs (special police officers), police and other security forces – pointed their guns at these 'Maoists' and shot at them. Mukesh's neigbours were killed – Muchaki Handa, Markam Deva, Tomra Mutta, newly-married couple Soyma Subba and Soyam Jogi.
Mukesh's family was wiped out. He was found to be crying near a pool of blood, oozing from the chopped body of his aunt. His wails were uncontrollable – did he understand the meaning of the loss of his family, or was it because his three fingers were chopped during the carnage?
His 'Maoist' father wasn't at home at that time. He was saved.
Houses were burnt down. Paddy, pulses, brass pots, poultry and cash were taken away. In all, the villagers found that 10 of their people were dead. Some youths were missing. Mukesh Madvi, the 'Maoist', disappeared into the jungles with his father.
About 200 kms north of Gompad, news about an encounter was being circulated in the press. Operation Green Hunt had officially begun on October 1, 2009, and it was declared that some Maoists were killed near the Andhra border. When questions were raised by some sceptical journalists about the bodies of the Maoists, they were told that the villagers had disposed them off.
On January 3, 2010, when I met Amresh Mishra, Superintendent of Police (SP) of Dantewada, and had asked him about the Gompad massacre, he clarified that it wasn't a massacre. “There was only a firing from both the sides. There was no casualty; only some explosives were found.”
January 7, 2010, would have been the day when, like Mukesh, many other 'Maoists' would have come to Dantewada for a Jan Sunwai (public hearing), so that they could put forth their case. Home Minister P Chidambaram had promised Himanshu Kumar of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, who had planned the Jan Sunwai, that he would be present to hear the unending woes of the people. However, the Governor of Chhattisgarh ESL Narasimhan prevented the Home Minister from making that visit. The Jan Sunwai was bound to have opened a can of worms before the national media, if the Home Minister had attended the meeting.
Mukesh did arrive for the Jan Sunwai along with his father, and several other optimists, on January 5. They were about 25 of them. No sooner did they arrive at Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, they were surrounded by SPOs. About 30 minutes later, they were all packed into three Boleros which bore no number plates.
It has been 10 days since those 'Maoists' were taken to an undisclosed location and there has been no news about them.
So that is the government's definition of a 'Maoist', whom I encountered personally – the tribal carrying logs of firewood who starts walking through jungles since 3 am, and reaches the nearest town by 7 am, to sell the firewood for Rs 60. The tribal who walks about 50 kms to reach the police station, to complain that the forces stationed in his village killed the only hen that he had, is a Maoist for the government. The two-year-old Mukesh is a Maoist for the government.
8 Comments
What is the action recommendation part of your piece? I feel that is missing and I want to see the polarity of this phrasing, being an activist myself
ReplyDeleteThanks for this yet another heart breaking report. All the best for your efforts
Cheers
Krishnan
Hii Krishnan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing in. This piece was meant to provide information about the way how the state government perceives the "single largest threat" to Indian democracy. What the government lacks is its understanding of its own people. No minister has ever gone to Gompad village. And yet, it goes about announcing the Op Green Hunt to flush out Naxals, without bothering about collateral damage. Then, there is the blind and deaf and mute media which works in connivance with the government to consciously ignore what has been going on.
The action recommended is the right kind of democracy -- where we, the privileged sections of the society, scream out that we don't want the government's definition of development. We are self-sufficient, thanks; and there is no need to slash and burn our tribal brethren for us.
Keep reading and writing in, and spread the word around. The action begins with that small step :-)
Thanks and please keep this focus and that can really feed in to those minds who stares curiously for a moment and move on without hitting much internally. People are on a mad rush and we need to feed them with these practical piece to be with us. I liked your stand on 'self sufficiency & humble beginnings of participation' logic of looking at regional governance mechanisms that are mostly unique to its own situations. Let's expand this further. Thanks for a quick response! Cheers again
ReplyDeleteYes, we can expand this further. I have already begun to, through what I write. Would be nice if you too feel the need to disseminate it around. Thanks again!
ReplyDeletewhy are you making a fun of yourself?
ReplyDeletesuppose you are two years old & your father is a criminal. Does it make any sense not to kill your father while he would have been trying to escape from the custody or for self defense by the police just because you are two years old????????????
Where on earth are you from? Perhaps system doesnot work on emotions. It works according to the laws defined. I don't think there is any law which prevents police from detaining maoists because they happen to be fahters or relatives of some younger siblings.
Please don't play with the emotions of the common people. You have greater responsibilty to ensure nothing wrong happens. Whatever you write will be belived by most of the people because they do not know the real situation. If you put false facts the truth willl never come out. It's a habbit of ours to weep when we are supposed to stand up and help people who are trying to prevent the governance system from collapse. The maoists are against the state and unless they shun violence, there is no point in going soft on them. If they want to change the system they must contest. India is a democratic country and any change can be brought about only within the democratic framework and not by violence. Don't behave irrationaly for I fear your judgement is biased by the perceptual error that you have. The organizational behaviorists call it stereotyping. I hope you understand this.
ReplyDeletePlease do not play with pious name of Chhattisgarh.
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