Is this life?

Just was watching a report regarding the plight of the Adivasis and the villages in the Bastar region of Chattisgarh. This area is in the heart of the Red Corridor, the corridor that is dominated by the Naxal outfit. The naxals are the Maoist cadres who are against the setup of the state as well as the police machinery of the state. The region south of Chattisgarh has been troubled by the Naxals for the past 3 years. Looking at the plight of the people in that area, it makes the concept of comfort trivial to all those people who are in the comfort of their couches in a luxurious city.

A movement is underway in that region to counter the Naxal menace. It is called 'Salva Judum'. It is a movement carried out by the local tribespeople as well as the government to counter this naxal menace. Many tribals and their vilages are part of this movement, and there is a constant secuirty presence in those regions. The CRPF, and the police patrol the dangerous forests, where the naxals inhabit. Lots of tribal people live in camps, where they are protected from the naxals. But, in the recent year, this has proved to be just a watershed.

Naxal cadres have proven to be bolder, and have attacked police stations and CRPF camps in the region. Looting weapons, killing police officers, killing of tribals and other prominent villagers part of the Salva Judum movement are some of the actions. The attacks just keep getting bolder and bloodier, and each time, the police machinery is unable to cop up with the attacks. The naxals have stated from the very outset that they will eliminate the police machinery in the region, and thus, both Security personnel and the villagers live in a climate of fear.

The tribals have lost hope with the police, and now they abandon their villages to get away from the menace. Some villagers, brave enough to stay back, spend sleepless hours of vigilance, in the case of the next attack. A tortured living, without adequate security, and being hopelessly cut off from the mainstream, the tribal population wonders for how long will they have to endure it.

The naxal menace needs to be looked at very seriously. The attacks are like shouts from a rooftop highlighting injustice. Wether it is against the tribals or against the naxals is debatable. On the surface, it may seem that the Naxal movement is a terrorist movement to destabilize the country. Attacking the Law as well as making the system dysfunctional are all trademarks of terrorist activities.

But, it can be viewed that the Naxals are also highlighting the flaws in the system. Maybe, the Naxals are highlighting the inequalities that this system dishes out to the people, and how the law manages to strengthen this inequality. The attacks on the police as well as on the Government machinery indicate the fact that the system is indeed very flawed. On what angles is the system flawed could be anybody's guess. But, one thing is certain, if the activities in the Red Corrider become more Crimson, then the Naxal movement might gain momentum, and perhaps it wont be long when the Red Corridor becomes the Red State of Terror.