* * * Jharkhand News <http://jharkhand.org.in/>* ** **
*Pushed by police, embraced by ultras* ** RANCHI/RAIPUR/BHUBANESWAR: There was a time, the tribals were driven to violence by bondage and poverty and the government's insensitivity towards their plight. The tribal belts of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, and Bihar are still trapped in poverty, but the people there now join the armed rebels for reasons other than their economic condition. In Chhattisgarh, Maoist guerrillas have started forcing young men and women and children to join their ranks. Today, the state is the major training centre for the Maoist recruits coming here from all over the country. According to the state director general of police, some 1,600 hardcore Maoists have undergone arms training in the state in recent months. According to the state intelligence sources, more than 8,900 Maoists are active in Bastar region of the state. Among them are nearly 2,000 rebels who have entered Bastar from the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The level of poverty in Orissa remains abysmal. As the eastern state fails to check poverty and its many districts are plagued by frequent natural disasters, the state is a perfect breeding ground for extremist ideologies. The sharp rise in the number of Maoist rebels has become a new headache for the Orissa government. In Orissa, the Maoists do not follow any formal recruitment system, but try to rope in villagers by cashing in on their personal and social problems. Since the poor and low- caste people here have limited access to administration and judiciary, they often take shelter in the kangaroo courts run by the ultra leftists for easy and quick justice. This allows the Maoist cadres to enter the villages. Instead of carrying out a recruitment drive, Maoist leaders wander through the remotest villages, talking to people. In areas where the government has hardly any presence, Maoists help the villagers construct check irrigation canals. They also "educate" villagers against the "problems caused by the capitalists". This makes an impact. And, through this process, they become a part of the village. Once inside a village, the extremists offer instant justice for internal problems like theft, cheating, vandalism, and land disputes in the area, drawing villagers closer to them. It is at this stage that the Maoists gain the trust of the villagers who are then ready to protect them from the police. It is only a matter of time before some boys join the red army. It is almost the same pattern in Jharkhand. According to a senior police official who has spent many years tracking the growth of Maoists in the state, the leftist rebels never organise a recruitment drive. Former DIG of Bokaro Anil Palta said that sometimes orphans and destitutes are picked up by the left activists and trained. "At times we have interrogated some Maoists and found that they have been working for a salary of Rs 3,000-5,000 per month. They are workers motivated by monetary reasons and not by ideology," Palta said. But for some Jharkhand villagers becoming a Maoist is more a compulsion than a choice. Ironically, it is police harassment that drives them into the arms of the red army. Police 'clampdowns' often result in innocents being rounded up and labelled Maoists. To avoid this torture, villagers actually join the extremists, taking shelter under their guns. However, everyone is not forced to traverse this path by police pressure. Some people join these outfits to settle personal scores and family disputes. Others enjoy the VIP status that joining an extremist organisation gets them in the village. In certain cases, it gives them a chance to take revenge against an oppressive local landlord. In some parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, managing the tenders for public works in favour of political leaders is another reason for which some people join the "party" (Maoist organisation). And, in return, they get cash and other privileges that improve their living standard considerably. In Vidarbha, the latest region to come under the Maoist influence, the recruitment peaks during People's Liberation of Guerrilla Army week in the first week of December and Martyrs' Week in the last week of July. With vast areas of the country trapped in poverty and neglected by the government, most of the time it's not a problem for the rebels to walk into a village, raise a few slogans and pick up some young boys who are ready to fire a gun. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2788498,prtpage-1.cms ** *Jharkhand Blog @ jharkhand.org.in/blog <http://www.jharkhand.org.in/blog> * . -- Jharkhand News [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jharkhand Online Network www.jharkhand.org.in/news
