Are these anti-Naxal Operations Mr. Chidambaram?

By Gladson Dungdung[1]
28 March, 2011 

An Adivasi woman in her burnt house in Dantewada

India’s security budget grows up every year and even the economic crisis does not make any difference to it. The Indian government spends most of its money for the security of its own people. Apart from this, the government also has special budget allocation for dealing with the internal security threat and several state governments also spend the money on security, allocated for the Tribal Sub-plan. Ironically, the government (s) use the money to kill the Adivasis, which is supposed to be spent for their welfare and development. The innocent Adivasis are victimized most of the time in the process of dealing with the security threat. The fastest growing state of Chhatisgarh is the living example of it, where the Adivasis have been victimized by the paramilitary forces, local police and Koya Commandos (an armed Tribal police comprising of surrendered Maoists) but instead of taking action against the perpetrators, the state justifies their inhuman acts and shield them.

In the recent incident, Chhattisgarh’s Koya commandos, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and CoBRA battalions burnt more than 300 houses and food grains, raped 5 Adivasi women and killed 5 men of Timapuram, Morpalli and Tarmetla villages of Dantewada between March 11 and March 16, 2011 alleging them as the Maoists during the ongoing special police operations against the Maoists in the region. The security forces comprising of 200 Koyas, 150 CoBRA and 50 CRPF Jawans carried out intensive operations in the vicinity on the report of a surrendered Maoist, who claimed about the existence of Maoists’ arms factory at Morpalli village and also the intelligence inputs indicated about the presence of 100 Maoists in the vicinity.  However, the security forces neither find any arms factory nor the Maoists. The police also accepted that the people killed during the operations were not the Maoists but the villagers. Indeed, these people who were victimized by the security forces were neither Maoists nor their supporters but they were innocent people living in their ancestors’ villages. Can P. Chidambaram, the corporate Home Minister tell us what kinds of anti-naxal operations are these where innocent villagers were killed, women were raped and their houses, clothes and food-grains were burnt by the security forces?

Of course, we need answer from the Home Ministry that why the top cops were not held accountable and punished for allowing paramilitary forces and local police to rape the women kill the villagers and burnt their houses? Why the Home Ministry is silent on the matter? And will the Ministry hear the villagers’ cry for justice? According to Madhavi Hunge of Morpalli village, her husband Madavi Chulla (30) was sitting in a tamarind tree and plucking tamarind. The force saw him and opened fire. She pleaded them to stop, but instead hearing her plea, they assaulted her too. Somehow she escaped but her husband was killed and dead body was left hanging in the tree. Similarly, 45 year old Aimla Gandi was plucking ‘Tendu leaf’ on the field when the force reached and alleged her as a spying of the Maoists. They threw her into the ground, pulled off her clothes and raped her in front of her two daughters. In another case, the force caught 45 year-old Madavi Ganga, his son Bima and his daughter Hurre and took them to the Chintalnar police station. The police put 20 year-old Hurre in a separate cell, stripped and raped her throughout the night. During the anti-naxal operations, the police burnt 37 houses in Morapalli, 50 in Timapuram and 200 houses of Tarmetla village including food-grain, clothes, utensils and money as well. The relevant questions are that what the villagers will eat this year? What will they wear? And where do they live? However, the billion dollar question is do they have citizenship rights in this country?  

The crime was perpetuated on them only because they denied shifting to the government run camps near the national highway. According to the police, since the villagers denied shifting to the camps therefore they are no different from the Maoists. The police justify saying that if they are with the government, they must have shifted to the camps but they don’t hear us because they are the Maoists and their supporters. Is this the justification to perpetuate crime against the Adivasis and other local people in Chhatisgarh? However, when there was a hue and cry, the Dantewada Collector R. Prasanna announced a probe into the matter and setup a 5 members committee headed by the Tehsildar of Konta. The committee shall submit its report in one month. The collector has also announced Rs. 50,000 as compensation for each house burnt, and will also reimburse villagers for their grain, utensils and other possessions. The questions here are, will really justice be delivered to the people? Can we expect the committee to bring out the facts without any pressure, manipulation and influence from the government? And why a high level judicial inquiry was instituted on the case? Is it because the state does not want the truth to come out in the public domain? 

The police officers and the top bureaucrats are playing dubious role in the ongoing brutalities against the Adivasis. The Director General of Police of Chhatisgarh, Vishwa Ranjan denied any police inquiry into the incident saying that since the local police are denying the charges therefore there will be no inquiry. The question is does a criminal accept the charge after committing a crime? The Dantewada superintendent of police, S R P Kalluri even went beyond in shielding his inhuman gunmen by dismissed the allegations and coins it as the Maoist propaganda. Irony is the district administration was sending rice, pulses, edible oil, clothes and fuel to Tarmetla village and also denied the brutalities. The Bastar Commissioner Shreeniwasulu and Dantawada collector R. Prasanna were prevented by the police to distribute relief materials even after that they denies about the arson, rape and killing. R. Prasanna says that no one has complaint him about the incident therefore he cannot take any action? Can the villagers dare to file complaints against the security forces that are put in operations by the top cops? The Sub-divisional officer who was taking relief materials had to return as the Koyas, CoBRAs and SPOs attacked the vehicle and severely beaten the drivers and food suppliers. Does our democracy have solution to it? Ironically, the Dantewada superintendent of police, S R P Kalluri blames the Maoists for everything. According to him, the security forces not allowing distribution of the relief materials among the victims of brutalities is also a part of Maoist propaganda. 







[1] Gladson Dungdung is a Human Rights Activist and Writer from Jharkhand. He can be reached at

Categories: General

3 replies

  1. As you told the home minister is a corporate himself and so he is keeping the interests of his men. But not people’s interests. No doubt about the people’s victory over the corporates. It may take some long time.

  2. Hope against hope is the only hope for devasted victimised,silent adibasis,when all the ears are shut,all the eyes are closed and all the mouth is dumb.May The God help Adibasis.

  3. exellent knowledge,,,

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